The Stones sing that Tiiiiiiime, is on my side (yes it is).
The Huskers took that to heart. They ground down the Illinois defense. There were a couple of drives that the media guys had to get assistance form the geology department to properly measure.
The final Time of Possession was Nebraska 38:01, basically, Nebraska got to stay on offense for an entire quarter more than Illinois. Nebraska ran 72 plays, to Illinois' 44.
Caleb Lightbourne did nothing to earn his scholarship. Zero punts.
How Many ways can I break this down. Points per play, Nebraska 0.43, Illinois 0.36.
Points per possession. Nebraska 3.88, Illinois, 2.
The Big One, Scoreboard, 31-16.
No, they didn't cover, the spread, so from a betting standpoint, Illinois won, 16-10.
In Not Fantasy World, Nebraska is 5-0 for the first time in forever (2014). If they get to 6-0, we can start talking about time travel.
Why even talk about this? I guess I'm the weird one. I watch the game, I see Nebraska give up some yards, give up some points, and I look at the time remaining, and don't see any reason to panic.
I don't lay chairs down gently when there's a fumble. I don't like them, but I don't panic. I don't kick the cats when Tommy throws into triple coverage and gets picked. Yes, that led to three Illini points, but, big picture, again. 16 of 23 (70%), 220 yards, and a touchdown to go with the pick, and a rating of 155.6 (which is pretty good). Of the 7 'misses', 1 pick, bad Tommy; 1 throw back across his body to the endzone that would have been spectacular if the receiver could have held on to the ball. All in all, pretty good, but he'll still get crap for 4% of his pass attempts, rather than credit for the 70% that worked.
I guess it's a sign of a return of expectations, but I dislike hearing the 'should-bes'. For example, 'against these guys Nebraska should be up by X by halfway through the second quarter. Huskerfan tends to get all wound up if the margin isn't where it "should be'. The networks usually don't help. After taking a 16-10 lead in the Third Quarter, ESPN started talking about how Illinois hasn't beaten Nebraska in back-to-back games since the 20's, there's an upset brewing and all that other fluff, designed to keep the 36 Illini fans actually watching , glued to their sets. Another note to the Should Bes, there are a lot of FBS schools that can stroll in and take one away, these days. Witness what North Carolina did to Florida State, in Tallahassee. North Carolina, who beat Illinois by 25, but lost to Oregon, broke the Nation's longest home winning streak. Not to worry, I'm sure the 'Noles, with two losses will still be ranked ahead of Nebraska.
After the weirdness in Champaign, last year, where Tommy and Coach got side by side accommodations under the bus, the arm-chair quarterbacks and 25th year senior walk-ons said he should have stuck with the run. Nebraska ran the ball 47 times. The pounding the Illinois defensive line had taken all day long, cracked in the 4th quarter. Terrell Newby's 63-yard TD run was a thing of beauty. Newby touched the ball on 17 plays in the 4th quarter.
Speaking of Newby I want to address 'The Spot'. I think Nebraska got a gimme. While it wasn't a game decider, it certainly was a game-changer. It all balances out, game-theory and all. The refs should have blown the whistle when Devine Ozigbo was inside the the Northwestern 1, but they didn't.
The defense played well, most of the time. They gave up a couple of big plays, but this is modern college football, who doesn't. The things that really stood out for me on defense, was the fourth quarter. Illinois had three possessions, ran ten plays and filed to generate a first down. That was definitely not the case, last year. Twice, Illinois got inside the Nebraska 10 and had to settle for field goals. I imagine the Should Bes would have been apoplectic if Illinois had gone up 24-10 in the 3rd quarter. Through five games, the defense has given up 11 touchdowns. I think that's how many Bo's defense gave up the last time Nebraska played Wisconsin in Madison.
The penalty bugaboo wasn't particularly horrible, and Illinois was way worse on that front. Nebraska had 3 for 35 yards, two on the same drive, which almost killed the drive and made a tough FG attempt for Drew Brown. Illinois only got hit for 47 yards, on seven penalties, two on the same drive, both which extended Nebraska's possession and resulted in a touchdown.
It's a good thing the Huskers have next week off, they need it. Moore was out, Cethan Carter and Devine Ozigbo had to leave the game. Tommy looked a little gimpy after getting his back folded up, and JW got to spend the night eating green jello and annoying the nurses at the hospital, after getting a knee to the back.
Take it easy, this week. Relax, get healed up. Get ready to do the two week prep thing to Indiana.
Husk-husk and on the qb.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Illin', Illini, Illinois
I had to get a hold of Lloyd. I had finally gotten to, what I felt, was the hinge in the case. The file marked, 'киска'. In it was a series of pictures, all of them of women, pretty young looking, mostly blondes, most of them wearing tank tops, or other really tight-fitting clothing. All of them had a weird, back-lit sort of lighting or a bluish tinge to their faces. They all had names like Anya, Ivana and Valentina.
I clicked on a picture marked 'Yelena', since it appeared to be first. I might as well be systematic about this. The first screen brought up a picture of Yelena, presumably, stretching out provocatively on a bed, wearing a tank-top and tights...or leggings...or yoga pants, I can never tell. The caption was hilarious, though. 'Young student wants to make English chat for practicing'.
I didn't even want to think about what she was majoring in.
There were several files, so I clicked on one. I got more than I bargained for.
It was a video of a chat session between Willy and Yelena. I was assuming it was Willy, anyway. The first segment was benign, and a little awkward. Willy is in his mid-fifties, and Yelena looked like she would get carded, trying to buy a Slush Puppy. It was like watching a tourist ask for directions in Marseille. Eventually they got to the crux of the matter. He started complimenting her, and she started tee-heeing-ing and 'oh, you-ing', playing up the coy, little coquette.
I was glad I hadn't eaten. Rather abruptly, Willy told her to take her top off. I had forgotten I was in the bar, and the Frankenal turned and glared at me, sharply. I killed the video, and closed down the lap-top. Must remember headphones.
"Sorry about that, guys..."
"You need to think about where you are," the Frankenal interrupted.
"What you do in private is no concern of ours, but in public is different matter." The other half of the Frankenal continued.
"I know, gentlemen, I know," I said. "It wasn't planned. You'll just have to trust me when I say that its not a habit of mine to observe adult-oriented content in public...unless I'm at the mall," I joked.
"That's not even funny." Condemnation from the Frankenal. Ouch.
Luckily, Lloyd bounded in, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Sit down, man," I said to him. "Order a drink, deflect the attention of the Frankenal from me."
Lloyd turned toward the Frankenal. "What'd he do now?"
"He's a pervert."
"We know, that," Lloyd deadpanned. "But what'd he do now?"
The Frankenal laughed. Lloyd must have a better delivery.
"Why so bouncy?" I asked Lloyd.
"Oh, I dunno, we're sitting at 4-0, and while the coaches are constrained to the one-game at a time, mantra, I'm not."
"Explain."
"I was just looking at the schedule, and barring injuries or complete, catastrophic meltdowns, it's looking pretty good for us."
"All right, break it down," I said.
"There are five 'should wins' on the schedule, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Maryland, and Minnesota. That puts it at nine wins on the year. Iowa is almost a 'should win', they are not as good as last year, and we're better than we were, but Iowa always plays us close, and the game is in Iowa City, but that's ten wins."
"Ok, what about the other two games?"
"Wisconsin is a toss-up. I still think they are a bit over-rated, since they got to where they are by beating teams that were overvalued. They have to face a death march before getting to us, they had Michigan State, then Michigan, a week off, then Ohio State and Iowa before we head up there. They will be beat up, and have at least two losses. the downside is that Camp Randall Stadium is the stuff of nightmares for Husker fans."
"What's left?"
"The week after going to Wisconsin, we have to go to Columbus and Ohio State. I hate to pick against us, but I'm marking that down as highly improbable. But, if that turns out to be our only loss, we might get a rematch with them in the B1G Championship game. We'd have to play the winner of thew Michigan-Ohio State game, which is in Columbus."
"Either way, that sounds scary, me."
"I know, I know," Lloyd said. "I'm getting way ahead of the curve, here.
"Back to the task at hand. What are we going to do to Illinois?"
"Coach says Illinois has a tough d-line. That d-line is 11th in the B1G in stopping the run. They allowed Western Michigan and North Carolina to roll up on them and their one win is over Murray State. They might have talented defensive ends, but if they are giving up run yards, that tells me their linebackers are awful."
"Ground and pound, or air it out?"
"Ground and pound, be patient, use screens and the play action pass, when its advantageous. Other than that, let the three-headed beast wear them down."
"Revenge game #2?" I asked.
"Yep. The Huskers seem to be a much more cohesive unit, than last year. The coaches seem more tuned in to what the players' skill sets are. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tommy run a lot more than they let him, last year. Hopefully his trend of minimizing brain cramps continues."
"All right Mr. Confident. Cowboy Steve says the Huskers are 21-point favorites. Take it?"
"21 is a big number, but North Carolina beat them by 25. We're averaging over 43 points a game, at home. I say take it, they won't score 20 points, they'll be lucky to get 14, their offense is terrible. I have a feeling we get a lot of short field opportunities."
"Final score prediction?"
"Huskers start slow, but pull away in the second half. Maybe 21-7 at halftime, double up for both teams in the second half, Nebraska 42-21."
I nodded. Sounds like a good day.
Husk-husk and on the qb.
I clicked on a picture marked 'Yelena', since it appeared to be first. I might as well be systematic about this. The first screen brought up a picture of Yelena, presumably, stretching out provocatively on a bed, wearing a tank-top and tights...or leggings...or yoga pants, I can never tell. The caption was hilarious, though. 'Young student wants to make English chat for practicing'.
I didn't even want to think about what she was majoring in.
There were several files, so I clicked on one. I got more than I bargained for.
It was a video of a chat session between Willy and Yelena. I was assuming it was Willy, anyway. The first segment was benign, and a little awkward. Willy is in his mid-fifties, and Yelena looked like she would get carded, trying to buy a Slush Puppy. It was like watching a tourist ask for directions in Marseille. Eventually they got to the crux of the matter. He started complimenting her, and she started tee-heeing-ing and 'oh, you-ing', playing up the coy, little coquette.
I was glad I hadn't eaten. Rather abruptly, Willy told her to take her top off. I had forgotten I was in the bar, and the Frankenal turned and glared at me, sharply. I killed the video, and closed down the lap-top. Must remember headphones.
"Sorry about that, guys..."
"You need to think about where you are," the Frankenal interrupted.
"What you do in private is no concern of ours, but in public is different matter." The other half of the Frankenal continued.
"I know, gentlemen, I know," I said. "It wasn't planned. You'll just have to trust me when I say that its not a habit of mine to observe adult-oriented content in public...unless I'm at the mall," I joked.
"That's not even funny." Condemnation from the Frankenal. Ouch.
Luckily, Lloyd bounded in, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Sit down, man," I said to him. "Order a drink, deflect the attention of the Frankenal from me."
Lloyd turned toward the Frankenal. "What'd he do now?"
"He's a pervert."
"We know, that," Lloyd deadpanned. "But what'd he do now?"
The Frankenal laughed. Lloyd must have a better delivery.
"Why so bouncy?" I asked Lloyd.
"Oh, I dunno, we're sitting at 4-0, and while the coaches are constrained to the one-game at a time, mantra, I'm not."
"Explain."
"I was just looking at the schedule, and barring injuries or complete, catastrophic meltdowns, it's looking pretty good for us."
"All right, break it down," I said.
"There are five 'should wins' on the schedule, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Maryland, and Minnesota. That puts it at nine wins on the year. Iowa is almost a 'should win', they are not as good as last year, and we're better than we were, but Iowa always plays us close, and the game is in Iowa City, but that's ten wins."
"Ok, what about the other two games?"
"Wisconsin is a toss-up. I still think they are a bit over-rated, since they got to where they are by beating teams that were overvalued. They have to face a death march before getting to us, they had Michigan State, then Michigan, a week off, then Ohio State and Iowa before we head up there. They will be beat up, and have at least two losses. the downside is that Camp Randall Stadium is the stuff of nightmares for Husker fans."
"What's left?"
"The week after going to Wisconsin, we have to go to Columbus and Ohio State. I hate to pick against us, but I'm marking that down as highly improbable. But, if that turns out to be our only loss, we might get a rematch with them in the B1G Championship game. We'd have to play the winner of thew Michigan-Ohio State game, which is in Columbus."
"Either way, that sounds scary, me."
"I know, I know," Lloyd said. "I'm getting way ahead of the curve, here.
"Back to the task at hand. What are we going to do to Illinois?"
"Coach says Illinois has a tough d-line. That d-line is 11th in the B1G in stopping the run. They allowed Western Michigan and North Carolina to roll up on them and their one win is over Murray State. They might have talented defensive ends, but if they are giving up run yards, that tells me their linebackers are awful."
"Ground and pound, or air it out?"
"Ground and pound, be patient, use screens and the play action pass, when its advantageous. Other than that, let the three-headed beast wear them down."
"Revenge game #2?" I asked.
"Yep. The Huskers seem to be a much more cohesive unit, than last year. The coaches seem more tuned in to what the players' skill sets are. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tommy run a lot more than they let him, last year. Hopefully his trend of minimizing brain cramps continues."
"All right Mr. Confident. Cowboy Steve says the Huskers are 21-point favorites. Take it?"
"21 is a big number, but North Carolina beat them by 25. We're averaging over 43 points a game, at home. I say take it, they won't score 20 points, they'll be lucky to get 14, their offense is terrible. I have a feeling we get a lot of short field opportunities."
"Final score prediction?"
"Huskers start slow, but pull away in the second half. Maybe 21-7 at halftime, double up for both teams in the second half, Nebraska 42-21."
I nodded. Sounds like a good day.
Husk-husk and on the qb.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Freedom for all or Freedom for none.
Due to some requests, and because I think it's too important to make light of, I'm setting aside the fedora and gumshoe for this piece. What started out as one player (who I don't like) on one team (which I don't like), has evolved and grown into a movement, that has cascaded to colleges and high schools, and has spread out, eventually reaching us, here, in the stolid Midwest.
During the National Anthem at Northwestern, three Nebraska players knelt, an act of protest against what they see as oppression against minorities and the far too frequent use of excessive force by police agencies across the country. I'm paraphrasing and projecting, a bit, here, since I wasn't in the room when Michael Rose-Ivy made his speech explaining his actions to his coaches and teammates.
I want to go on the record and state unequivocally that I support their action. They have every right to peacefully protest what they see as injustice. The First Amendment is a double-edged sword, and I wouldn't have it any other way. If I want to preserve my right to say unpopular things, things that are controversial, or critical of the government, then I need to stand up and defend those who express ideas, even if they are ideas I disagree with. That's what Liberty is all about.
There were four Nebraska players that helped hold the big, giant flag, on display in the middle of the field. That's cool, too. Those four felt moved enough to express how they felt, and I support them, too. They aren't any more or less American than the three who knelt. They aren't any more of less patriotic than those who knelt. Of the 90 or so players on the travel squad, most of them stood on the sideline, most with their hands over their hearts, at a position, more or less of attention. They weren't any more or less American or patriotic than the seven who made more obvious statements.
But, but, but...They are offending the Veterans.
Nope.
First of all, 'The Veterans' are not a hive-minded Borg, that think as a unit. Are there Veterans that are upset and or offended by these actions? I'm sure there are, you could even cite several to prove your point. I counter that with this Veteran, thumb pointed right at my chest, supports these player's right to peacefully protest. I'm a Cold Warrior, and one of the things that we always indicated as a point of superiority over the dirty Commies, was that we, as Americans, can criticize the Government, we can call our president a reckless cowboy, a philandering drug abuser, or a Muslim appeaser, and the Secret Police won't spirit us away in the middle of the night to some gulag south of Nome. We can voice our displeasure with the weapons designed to protect us and their cost. We can criticize how the military is deployed and it's attendant costs. We the People, ultimately, have the means to bring the Government to heel, if we exercise that freedom to do so.
That's one of the reason's I signed on.
But, but, but...It's not the right time, or place, or their just stupid kids.
Nope, nope, and nope.
If not here, where? If not now, when? If one wants to bring attention to an issue and promote a dialogue, then you grab attention when you will get the most exposure. Are these players drawing attention to themselves? Yep. Will it promote discourse? It has, so far. These young men see a problem, a problem that they know is too big to handle individually, so yes, they, by kneeling during the National Anthem, are gaining attention and requesting help in solving the issue. They should not 'shut up', or find a venue that is more convenient for those that disagree. They are paradoxically taking a stand by kneeling. They are risking far more than any of their critics, and exhibiting a good deal more bravery than any of the numerous fans that stand and endure the three minutes of British Drinking Music that is the last bit of waiting before the games begin.
Really take a look around, the next time you're at a game, and the Anthem is played. You see people of all ages fidgeting, leaving their hats on, messing with their phones, still chit-chatting away, pointing out the chick over in section 36C with the nice rack. Yet, no-one is stepping up and calling them out for disrespecting flag, or dishonoring the memories of fallen warriors. or any of the other red herrings that are being used to criticize these players.
Full disclosure, I stand and follow code when I am present during the playing of the Anthem. I do not, when it is on TV, or on the radio. Even in public, I was at a bar, on Saturday, during the playing of the Anthem, I remained seated. There were three grown-ass men, already drunk, who made quite the ostentatious display of removing their headgear, and standing during the Anthem. They continued to talk loudly, during it's entirety, so, when you boil it down, I guess they earned 1.3 more Patriot Points than me.
What harm is inflicted by the players' actions? I mean, what actual hurt, or pain, or suffering is endured by those that disagree with them? None. To reference Thomas Jefferson when discussing Religion, "...it neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." Sure, if you want, you can get all in a tizzy about their disrespect, lack of honor, hatred of Country, or whatever, but if you are really offended by what these players do, then you are no better than the Social Justice Warriors crying out against micro-aggressions and trigger words and needing a safe space. That's lame. If you really want to exercise your freedoms and your rights, do some research on the issue. Develop cogent, well-thought out reasons why you disagree with their message, and engage in thoughtful debate. What are you risking? The chance that you might be wrong or that you might have to change your mind. Pretty scary, eh.
On the whole 'Love it or Leave it' attitude. That just makes me sigh. I used to think that way, during the Cold War, when I was 12. If your house is deteriorating around you, do you just love it, anyway, despite the rot, or do you try to fix it? I wonder what side of history I would have been on, and I challenge my readers to examine their own beliefs on the question. That line of binary, false dichotomy has been used against: anti-nuke protesters, (I'm pro nuke); anti-Vietnam War protestors, (I would have been drafted, and gone); Anti-segregation and pro-Civil Rights marchers ( don't think I would have been a Freedom Rider, but I definitely would not have supported Segregation); the Suffrage movement for women (Votes for women, count me in); let's go all the way back to the 1770's. There was a group of rabble-rousers that were protesting, not so peacefully, sometimes, against injustices and abuses by their own government. There was another segment of society that wanted them to shut up, to do their patriotic duty and stop stirring up trouble. They consisted of about 1/3 of the population, and they were called Tories.
So, these rabble-rousers tried various means of protest. They wrote letters, the staged demonstrations, they wrecked stuff up. They were a minority of the population. They were threatened with jail, they were threatened with arrest and they persisted.
When I see a player kneeling on the sideline, calling attention to an injustice, exercising his right to peacefully protest, I think that Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Henry, et al, would look at it and say, 'They get it'. The Great Experiment is ongoing, and can only continue if we consistently uphold the rights of all Americans, not just the ones who agree with us, or think like us, or look like us.
Personally, and I'm biased, I like what the Seattle Seahawks have been doing. Rather than singling out players to take the risk on themselves, they have approached the issue as a team. Linking arms and standing respectfully during the Anthem. The whole idea behind the linked arms, is to show that the issue can be resolved through unity and teamwork. People from all backgrounds and beliefs working together to help each other overcome what is obviously a problem. One group can't, and shouldn't have to shoulder the burden alone.
So, Michael Rose-Ivey, Mohammed Barry, and Daishon Neal, speak out, have your say, exercise your rights. Drew Brown, Sam Hahn, Nick Gates, and Zach Darlington, speak out, have your say, exercise your rights. I will reach out and help up MRI, Barry and Neal, and will extend my hand to Brown, Hahn, Gates, and Darlington. I will link arms with you guys at any time, and together, we can fix this.
Husk-husk and on the QB.
During the National Anthem at Northwestern, three Nebraska players knelt, an act of protest against what they see as oppression against minorities and the far too frequent use of excessive force by police agencies across the country. I'm paraphrasing and projecting, a bit, here, since I wasn't in the room when Michael Rose-Ivy made his speech explaining his actions to his coaches and teammates.
I want to go on the record and state unequivocally that I support their action. They have every right to peacefully protest what they see as injustice. The First Amendment is a double-edged sword, and I wouldn't have it any other way. If I want to preserve my right to say unpopular things, things that are controversial, or critical of the government, then I need to stand up and defend those who express ideas, even if they are ideas I disagree with. That's what Liberty is all about.
There were four Nebraska players that helped hold the big, giant flag, on display in the middle of the field. That's cool, too. Those four felt moved enough to express how they felt, and I support them, too. They aren't any more or less American than the three who knelt. They aren't any more of less patriotic than those who knelt. Of the 90 or so players on the travel squad, most of them stood on the sideline, most with their hands over their hearts, at a position, more or less of attention. They weren't any more or less American or patriotic than the seven who made more obvious statements.
But, but, but...They are offending the Veterans.
Nope.
First of all, 'The Veterans' are not a hive-minded Borg, that think as a unit. Are there Veterans that are upset and or offended by these actions? I'm sure there are, you could even cite several to prove your point. I counter that with this Veteran, thumb pointed right at my chest, supports these player's right to peacefully protest. I'm a Cold Warrior, and one of the things that we always indicated as a point of superiority over the dirty Commies, was that we, as Americans, can criticize the Government, we can call our president a reckless cowboy, a philandering drug abuser, or a Muslim appeaser, and the Secret Police won't spirit us away in the middle of the night to some gulag south of Nome. We can voice our displeasure with the weapons designed to protect us and their cost. We can criticize how the military is deployed and it's attendant costs. We the People, ultimately, have the means to bring the Government to heel, if we exercise that freedom to do so.
That's one of the reason's I signed on.
But, but, but...It's not the right time, or place, or their just stupid kids.
Nope, nope, and nope.
If not here, where? If not now, when? If one wants to bring attention to an issue and promote a dialogue, then you grab attention when you will get the most exposure. Are these players drawing attention to themselves? Yep. Will it promote discourse? It has, so far. These young men see a problem, a problem that they know is too big to handle individually, so yes, they, by kneeling during the National Anthem, are gaining attention and requesting help in solving the issue. They should not 'shut up', or find a venue that is more convenient for those that disagree. They are paradoxically taking a stand by kneeling. They are risking far more than any of their critics, and exhibiting a good deal more bravery than any of the numerous fans that stand and endure the three minutes of British Drinking Music that is the last bit of waiting before the games begin.
Really take a look around, the next time you're at a game, and the Anthem is played. You see people of all ages fidgeting, leaving their hats on, messing with their phones, still chit-chatting away, pointing out the chick over in section 36C with the nice rack. Yet, no-one is stepping up and calling them out for disrespecting flag, or dishonoring the memories of fallen warriors. or any of the other red herrings that are being used to criticize these players.
Full disclosure, I stand and follow code when I am present during the playing of the Anthem. I do not, when it is on TV, or on the radio. Even in public, I was at a bar, on Saturday, during the playing of the Anthem, I remained seated. There were three grown-ass men, already drunk, who made quite the ostentatious display of removing their headgear, and standing during the Anthem. They continued to talk loudly, during it's entirety, so, when you boil it down, I guess they earned 1.3 more Patriot Points than me.
What harm is inflicted by the players' actions? I mean, what actual hurt, or pain, or suffering is endured by those that disagree with them? None. To reference Thomas Jefferson when discussing Religion, "...it neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." Sure, if you want, you can get all in a tizzy about their disrespect, lack of honor, hatred of Country, or whatever, but if you are really offended by what these players do, then you are no better than the Social Justice Warriors crying out against micro-aggressions and trigger words and needing a safe space. That's lame. If you really want to exercise your freedoms and your rights, do some research on the issue. Develop cogent, well-thought out reasons why you disagree with their message, and engage in thoughtful debate. What are you risking? The chance that you might be wrong or that you might have to change your mind. Pretty scary, eh.
On the whole 'Love it or Leave it' attitude. That just makes me sigh. I used to think that way, during the Cold War, when I was 12. If your house is deteriorating around you, do you just love it, anyway, despite the rot, or do you try to fix it? I wonder what side of history I would have been on, and I challenge my readers to examine their own beliefs on the question. That line of binary, false dichotomy has been used against: anti-nuke protesters, (I'm pro nuke); anti-Vietnam War protestors, (I would have been drafted, and gone); Anti-segregation and pro-Civil Rights marchers ( don't think I would have been a Freedom Rider, but I definitely would not have supported Segregation); the Suffrage movement for women (Votes for women, count me in); let's go all the way back to the 1770's. There was a group of rabble-rousers that were protesting, not so peacefully, sometimes, against injustices and abuses by their own government. There was another segment of society that wanted them to shut up, to do their patriotic duty and stop stirring up trouble. They consisted of about 1/3 of the population, and they were called Tories.
So, these rabble-rousers tried various means of protest. They wrote letters, the staged demonstrations, they wrecked stuff up. They were a minority of the population. They were threatened with jail, they were threatened with arrest and they persisted.
When I see a player kneeling on the sideline, calling attention to an injustice, exercising his right to peacefully protest, I think that Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Henry, et al, would look at it and say, 'They get it'. The Great Experiment is ongoing, and can only continue if we consistently uphold the rights of all Americans, not just the ones who agree with us, or think like us, or look like us.
Personally, and I'm biased, I like what the Seattle Seahawks have been doing. Rather than singling out players to take the risk on themselves, they have approached the issue as a team. Linking arms and standing respectfully during the Anthem. The whole idea behind the linked arms, is to show that the issue can be resolved through unity and teamwork. People from all backgrounds and beliefs working together to help each other overcome what is obviously a problem. One group can't, and shouldn't have to shoulder the burden alone.
So, Michael Rose-Ivey, Mohammed Barry, and Daishon Neal, speak out, have your say, exercise your rights. Drew Brown, Sam Hahn, Nick Gates, and Zach Darlington, speak out, have your say, exercise your rights. I will reach out and help up MRI, Barry and Neal, and will extend my hand to Brown, Hahn, Gates, and Darlington. I will link arms with you guys at any time, and together, we can fix this.
Husk-husk and on the QB.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Beating the Smart Kids
"I beat the smart kids. I beat the smart kids. Ow, I bent my wookiee." -- Ralph Wiggum
The Huskers road tripped for the first time, this year. Traveled up to Evanston, Chicago, but not really, and played on a field that looked like it was airlifted from a derelict lot from south of the Dan Ryan. Dear Northwestern Board of Regents, with all the money you save from not paying taxes on that stretch of lake-front property you own, you can afford a decent grounds keeping crew. I see Field Turf in your future, seriously.
Nebraska went in and took care of business. It wasn't flawless, but it was effective. A win and one that covered the spread is good enough in my books. Yeah, I was a bit off on my score prediction, but losing two fumbles in the opponents end zone complicates things.
Lets get the flaws taken care of, first. Two fumbles. Both into the Northwestern end zone for touchbacks. Both would have resulted in scores. 14 points off the board. The first one was a heartbreaker. Terrell Newby had just busted loose on a great 50-yards run, launched himself, lunging for the goal line, on the third play of the game. He lost his grip on the ball just before breaking the plane, and instead of delivering a standing eight count in the opening minutes of the game, the defense had to trot onto the field.
I appreciate his effort, he was trying to be Superman, unfortunately the ball turned into Kryptonite at just the wrong moment.
The other fumble I'll credit to the Northwestern defense playing to the whistle, never giving up. Devine Ozigbo had crashed into the line, was churning his way inside the one, in a classic pile-up of big nasties concentrated in a small space, when one of the defenders ripped the ball from him and another defender fell on it, just inside the goal line. Maybe his forward progress had been stopped. Maybe Ozigbo relaxed, because he thought he was down. Either way, the Wildcats dodged another bullet and kept the game in reach.
There were a few bad snaps, one flew over Tommy's head. One rolled up to Tommy like a lost puppy. There were a couple of other snaps that Tommy had to make a reflex roll to handle. I suspect the green sand that Northwestern tries to pass off as grass as much as I suspect an amped up Dylan Utter, the center. They got settled down, for the most part, but might have to have a few extra moments of Zen in practice, this week.
The penalties, only four, for 60 yards, so four big ones. The one on the kick return gave up a bit of field position, no biggie. The facemask after a big pass completion, ouch, quit it, but not too horrible. Freedom got called for hands to the face on a 2nd and 8 play that resulted in an incompletion. Instead of 3rd and 8, Northwestern got a first down. The drive ended in an interception, so the penalty wasn't a killer. The worst one was in the fourth quarter. Nebraska was putting together a classic, heart stomping, kick to the guts drive to finish the game. On 3rd and 9 from the Northwestern 26, Tommy found Newby on a screen, who finally got stopped inside the 10. Oops, Nebraska gets called for a chop block, and now has 3rd and 24 from the Northwestern 41. Essentially a 30 yard penalty and removal from scoring position.
Northwestern helped with some penalties of their own, at least one drive extender and two drive killers, so it pretty much evened out.
One more negative, Clayton Thorson torching the defense for a 41-yard touchdown run off of, yep, the zone read. He finished with 43 yards rushing, which means the defense was knocking him backwards a lot more than he was going forward, but still, tired of 6-4, 220 pound dude looking like Cam Newton, but just against Nebraska.
On to the positives. The defense played pretty well, the 41-yarder, notwithstanding. They contained Justin Jackson, sacked or disrupted Thorson a lot. They only allowed 13 points, which is the big picture, after all. The yardage allowed wasn't great, but yards don't always translate into points. The defensive backs also picked Thorson off, twice, which pushed the turnover margin back to zero.
Another positive was that Drew Brown, the kicker, outscored the Northwestern kicker 6-1. A whiff on a short field goal, and a doink on an extra point, plus a pass on a fake field goal that was unsuccessful, and Jack Mitchell had a rough night. He kicked off to the end zone, well, all three times..
Which brings me to the next positive. The offense. They only scored 24 points, left 14 in Northwestern's end zone. They also generated 556 yards, but, see above.Tommy missed Wetserkamp on one attempt in the end zone that resulted in a field goal.so they could have easily scored 42.
The ground game had some moments, but was a bit inconsistent. Despite that inconsistency, they still ran for 310 yards, and 6.6 per pop. The Committee for I-Backs got 29 touches for 165 yards. Pretty decent numbers if it had been one running back. Then add Tommy's 132, most of which resulted in very positive yardage, and no wonder the Northwestern defense looked gassed,
The really big positive was Tommy. Of those 556 yards, Tommy generated 378 of them, that's 68% of the yardage. He went 18 of 29 and had a QBR of 144.7 and a TD, missed on at least one other TD pass, and most importantly, threw zero picks. There was one that was close, and two that got batted down, at the line, but he made good decisions on throwing the ball away when he had to, and not forcing it.
Keep in mind, going into the game last night, the Nebraska-Northwestern games have been decided by less than 6 points, five out of six games. Make that five of seven, now.
Next week is Illinois, in Lincoln, for a bit of a revenge game. Nebraska might even crack the top 15, and is 4-0 for the first time since 2014. OK, not that long ago.
Bring on the Illini
Go Big Red.
The Huskers road tripped for the first time, this year. Traveled up to Evanston, Chicago, but not really, and played on a field that looked like it was airlifted from a derelict lot from south of the Dan Ryan. Dear Northwestern Board of Regents, with all the money you save from not paying taxes on that stretch of lake-front property you own, you can afford a decent grounds keeping crew. I see Field Turf in your future, seriously.
Nebraska went in and took care of business. It wasn't flawless, but it was effective. A win and one that covered the spread is good enough in my books. Yeah, I was a bit off on my score prediction, but losing two fumbles in the opponents end zone complicates things.
Lets get the flaws taken care of, first. Two fumbles. Both into the Northwestern end zone for touchbacks. Both would have resulted in scores. 14 points off the board. The first one was a heartbreaker. Terrell Newby had just busted loose on a great 50-yards run, launched himself, lunging for the goal line, on the third play of the game. He lost his grip on the ball just before breaking the plane, and instead of delivering a standing eight count in the opening minutes of the game, the defense had to trot onto the field.
I appreciate his effort, he was trying to be Superman, unfortunately the ball turned into Kryptonite at just the wrong moment.
The other fumble I'll credit to the Northwestern defense playing to the whistle, never giving up. Devine Ozigbo had crashed into the line, was churning his way inside the one, in a classic pile-up of big nasties concentrated in a small space, when one of the defenders ripped the ball from him and another defender fell on it, just inside the goal line. Maybe his forward progress had been stopped. Maybe Ozigbo relaxed, because he thought he was down. Either way, the Wildcats dodged another bullet and kept the game in reach.
There were a few bad snaps, one flew over Tommy's head. One rolled up to Tommy like a lost puppy. There were a couple of other snaps that Tommy had to make a reflex roll to handle. I suspect the green sand that Northwestern tries to pass off as grass as much as I suspect an amped up Dylan Utter, the center. They got settled down, for the most part, but might have to have a few extra moments of Zen in practice, this week.
The penalties, only four, for 60 yards, so four big ones. The one on the kick return gave up a bit of field position, no biggie. The facemask after a big pass completion, ouch, quit it, but not too horrible. Freedom got called for hands to the face on a 2nd and 8 play that resulted in an incompletion. Instead of 3rd and 8, Northwestern got a first down. The drive ended in an interception, so the penalty wasn't a killer. The worst one was in the fourth quarter. Nebraska was putting together a classic, heart stomping, kick to the guts drive to finish the game. On 3rd and 9 from the Northwestern 26, Tommy found Newby on a screen, who finally got stopped inside the 10. Oops, Nebraska gets called for a chop block, and now has 3rd and 24 from the Northwestern 41. Essentially a 30 yard penalty and removal from scoring position.
Northwestern helped with some penalties of their own, at least one drive extender and two drive killers, so it pretty much evened out.
One more negative, Clayton Thorson torching the defense for a 41-yard touchdown run off of, yep, the zone read. He finished with 43 yards rushing, which means the defense was knocking him backwards a lot more than he was going forward, but still, tired of 6-4, 220 pound dude looking like Cam Newton, but just against Nebraska.
On to the positives. The defense played pretty well, the 41-yarder, notwithstanding. They contained Justin Jackson, sacked or disrupted Thorson a lot. They only allowed 13 points, which is the big picture, after all. The yardage allowed wasn't great, but yards don't always translate into points. The defensive backs also picked Thorson off, twice, which pushed the turnover margin back to zero.
Another positive was that Drew Brown, the kicker, outscored the Northwestern kicker 6-1. A whiff on a short field goal, and a doink on an extra point, plus a pass on a fake field goal that was unsuccessful, and Jack Mitchell had a rough night. He kicked off to the end zone, well, all three times..
Which brings me to the next positive. The offense. They only scored 24 points, left 14 in Northwestern's end zone. They also generated 556 yards, but, see above.Tommy missed Wetserkamp on one attempt in the end zone that resulted in a field goal.so they could have easily scored 42.
The ground game had some moments, but was a bit inconsistent. Despite that inconsistency, they still ran for 310 yards, and 6.6 per pop. The Committee for I-Backs got 29 touches for 165 yards. Pretty decent numbers if it had been one running back. Then add Tommy's 132, most of which resulted in very positive yardage, and no wonder the Northwestern defense looked gassed,
The really big positive was Tommy. Of those 556 yards, Tommy generated 378 of them, that's 68% of the yardage. He went 18 of 29 and had a QBR of 144.7 and a TD, missed on at least one other TD pass, and most importantly, threw zero picks. There was one that was close, and two that got batted down, at the line, but he made good decisions on throwing the ball away when he had to, and not forcing it.
Keep in mind, going into the game last night, the Nebraska-Northwestern games have been decided by less than 6 points, five out of six games. Make that five of seven, now.
Next week is Illinois, in Lincoln, for a bit of a revenge game. Nebraska might even crack the top 15, and is 4-0 for the first time since 2014. OK, not that long ago.
Bring on the Illini
Go Big Red.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Business Trip
The metaphoric weather, around town, was interesting, this week. In the days leading up to the Oregon game, it had been grey, drizzly, rainy, the kind of weather you have to deal with in Eugene, every, damn, day. It was like the football Gods were giving Nebraska a taste of what the Ducks deal with.
Saturday broke clear and bright and a little on the warm side. Since the win, there hasn't been a cloud in the sky and its been, 'a little warm' for the start of fall. Clear and warm, and with Huskerfan getting a little spring in their collective step, the weather has reflected a brighter mood, lately.
I was inside. I had work to do, plus I hate smoking when it's hot out. Maybe I'm a wienie, but puffing on a cigar while sweat beads up on my eyebrows and my skin becomes one with the fabric of my clothes while I peel myself off the plastic chair, never holds much appeal for me. So, I sat in a dark room, listening to the AC hum, the glow from the TV's reflecting of the framed art, smoking a Gurkha Assassin, contemplating the ebb ans swirl of the smoke as it drifted toward the ceiling.
And I was getting paid to do it.
I had the laptop in front of me, and I had opened a file marked 'Business Trip'. There were a bunch of folders that mostly had dates, or number sequences on them. Those were just boring contracts, and presentation and customer engagement documents that would bore even the most hardcore Human Resources mandarin. There were two that caught my eye, though.
One had promise, and was labeled 'Groping in the Dark'. I opened it up and it was a video. Intrigued I clicked play, expecting the worst. Five young kids, all right, adults, about high school or maybe college age, were on a stage. They were pretty good. They covered mainly classic rock stuff, that allowed their lead singer, one of two girls in the band, to show off her range.
They opened with Heart's 'Crazy on You' and it was obvious that the young lady was a big Ann Wilson fan. She emulated the delivery to a tee, and were it not for the poor quality of the 'recorded on a cell-phone' aspect of the video, she would have sounded even better. At one point, she was moving across the stage and I got a look at the drum kit, which had 'Groping in the Dark' printed on the bass drum skin.
I ticked off a couple of mental notes. Willy didn't seem like a rocker, so why was this on his computer? Need to do a search, to see if Groping was signed, a garage band, or what?
There was one more file that I was about to click on a file marked 'киска', the Cyrillic lettering intrigued me, when Lloyd bopped in.
"What's up. Lloyd. Care to join me in a little carbon exchange?"
Lloyd sat down across from me, he asked for a water and a torch, as he unwrapped a cigar. "You know," he said. "I feel pretty good about a road game for the first time since...
"Illinois. Last year," I interrupted.
"Yeah, that's about right," he said, shaking his head. "That didn't turn out too well, did it?"
I imagined the memory of the game swirling in his head like an unpleasant snow globe.
"Why are you so confident, now?"
"Execution, mainly," he said as he let loose with a cloud of smoke. "There have only been a few plays where the players look lost, like they didn't know what they were supposed to do."
"Including Tommy?"
"Even Tommy. He still has some mechanical issues, like throwing off his back foot on the deep ball, sometimes, but his decision making is much better. He's learning that its ok to throw it away, or eat it if he has too, rather than just throwing it up and hoping."
"He did that several times against Oregon," I said. "He made the right call in running out of bounds at the three, instead of trying to throw it into triple coverage in the end zone. What about the defense?"
"They are better, as a unit, than last year. Statistically, they don't look good against the run, mainly because of four plays by Oregon. Northwestern is not Oregon. They have been really good against the pass, less than 200 yards per game, less than 6 yards per attempt, they have forced seven interceptions and only given up two TD passes. Last year, it was like two TD passes, per game, minimum."
"Funny how a year of working with the same systems seems to make things, much better, doesn't it?"
Lloyd waved his smoke away with a dismissive gesture. "He's not there, yet. Riley's got a long way to go before I'll be convinced that he's a great coach."
"Fine," I said. "I'll just remind you, that he now has 18 games to coach and I win our bet from last year. Since we made that bet, he and his Huskers have gone 6-1."
"If he makes it to that game, and the Huskers are at least B1G contenders, then I will gladly pay up."
"Lets move on to the upcoming task," I said. "Northwestern. Worried?"
"Not really," Lloyd said. I know you can't apply the transitive property to football, but Nebraska should be able to beat a team that lost to both Illinois State and Western Michigan. They played better against Duke, but unless it's basketball or lacrosse, that doesn't mean much."
"They won, here, last year," I pointed out.
"Oh, I know, that was a classic example of the whole year, in a nutshell. Make good plays, get the lead late, piss it away at the end. The defense can not let Clayton Thorson do what he did last year. I don't think they will, they seem much better, fundamentally, this year."
"So, what's it going to come down to?"
Lloyd puffed away for a moment. "Look at it this way," he said. "Level of competition. Their toughest opponent was Western Michigan, and they lost. Nebraska's was Oregon, and Nebraska won. Who do you think would win in an Oregon-Western Michigan match-up?"
"Oregon, easily," I said.
"Exactly. The most points Northwestern has scored all year is 24, and I'm betting that Nebraska's defense is better than Duke's. Even if the Wildcats play well, I don't see them scoring more than 20.
On the flip side. Nebraska has scored 43, 52 and 35 points. Lowest is 35. Maybe Northwestern's defense is as good as Oregon's, maybe better. I'm thinking with all the weapon's Nebraska has, they will score a minimum of 28."
"Then your score prediction is?"
"If I low-ball it," Lloyd said, "I'm still picking Nebraska for a 28-20 win. If I go with my gut, and throw confidence level into the calculations, I start thinking more like 42-13, Nebraska."
"Cowboy Steve has Nebraska by 10," I said.
"I'd cover that," Lloyd said. "I'm feeling confident, right now."
I turned my attention back to the computer. I had to find out what was in the 'киска' file.
Husk-husk and on the qb.
Saturday broke clear and bright and a little on the warm side. Since the win, there hasn't been a cloud in the sky and its been, 'a little warm' for the start of fall. Clear and warm, and with Huskerfan getting a little spring in their collective step, the weather has reflected a brighter mood, lately.
I was inside. I had work to do, plus I hate smoking when it's hot out. Maybe I'm a wienie, but puffing on a cigar while sweat beads up on my eyebrows and my skin becomes one with the fabric of my clothes while I peel myself off the plastic chair, never holds much appeal for me. So, I sat in a dark room, listening to the AC hum, the glow from the TV's reflecting of the framed art, smoking a Gurkha Assassin, contemplating the ebb ans swirl of the smoke as it drifted toward the ceiling.
And I was getting paid to do it.
I had the laptop in front of me, and I had opened a file marked 'Business Trip'. There were a bunch of folders that mostly had dates, or number sequences on them. Those were just boring contracts, and presentation and customer engagement documents that would bore even the most hardcore Human Resources mandarin. There were two that caught my eye, though.
One had promise, and was labeled 'Groping in the Dark'. I opened it up and it was a video. Intrigued I clicked play, expecting the worst. Five young kids, all right, adults, about high school or maybe college age, were on a stage. They were pretty good. They covered mainly classic rock stuff, that allowed their lead singer, one of two girls in the band, to show off her range.
They opened with Heart's 'Crazy on You' and it was obvious that the young lady was a big Ann Wilson fan. She emulated the delivery to a tee, and were it not for the poor quality of the 'recorded on a cell-phone' aspect of the video, she would have sounded even better. At one point, she was moving across the stage and I got a look at the drum kit, which had 'Groping in the Dark' printed on the bass drum skin.
I ticked off a couple of mental notes. Willy didn't seem like a rocker, so why was this on his computer? Need to do a search, to see if Groping was signed, a garage band, or what?
There was one more file that I was about to click on a file marked 'киска', the Cyrillic lettering intrigued me, when Lloyd bopped in.
"What's up. Lloyd. Care to join me in a little carbon exchange?"
Lloyd sat down across from me, he asked for a water and a torch, as he unwrapped a cigar. "You know," he said. "I feel pretty good about a road game for the first time since...
"Illinois. Last year," I interrupted.
"Yeah, that's about right," he said, shaking his head. "That didn't turn out too well, did it?"
I imagined the memory of the game swirling in his head like an unpleasant snow globe.
"Why are you so confident, now?"
"Execution, mainly," he said as he let loose with a cloud of smoke. "There have only been a few plays where the players look lost, like they didn't know what they were supposed to do."
"Including Tommy?"
"Even Tommy. He still has some mechanical issues, like throwing off his back foot on the deep ball, sometimes, but his decision making is much better. He's learning that its ok to throw it away, or eat it if he has too, rather than just throwing it up and hoping."
"He did that several times against Oregon," I said. "He made the right call in running out of bounds at the three, instead of trying to throw it into triple coverage in the end zone. What about the defense?"
"They are better, as a unit, than last year. Statistically, they don't look good against the run, mainly because of four plays by Oregon. Northwestern is not Oregon. They have been really good against the pass, less than 200 yards per game, less than 6 yards per attempt, they have forced seven interceptions and only given up two TD passes. Last year, it was like two TD passes, per game, minimum."
"Funny how a year of working with the same systems seems to make things, much better, doesn't it?"
Lloyd waved his smoke away with a dismissive gesture. "He's not there, yet. Riley's got a long way to go before I'll be convinced that he's a great coach."
"Fine," I said. "I'll just remind you, that he now has 18 games to coach and I win our bet from last year. Since we made that bet, he and his Huskers have gone 6-1."
"If he makes it to that game, and the Huskers are at least B1G contenders, then I will gladly pay up."
"Lets move on to the upcoming task," I said. "Northwestern. Worried?"
"Not really," Lloyd said. I know you can't apply the transitive property to football, but Nebraska should be able to beat a team that lost to both Illinois State and Western Michigan. They played better against Duke, but unless it's basketball or lacrosse, that doesn't mean much."
"They won, here, last year," I pointed out.
"Oh, I know, that was a classic example of the whole year, in a nutshell. Make good plays, get the lead late, piss it away at the end. The defense can not let Clayton Thorson do what he did last year. I don't think they will, they seem much better, fundamentally, this year."
"So, what's it going to come down to?"
Lloyd puffed away for a moment. "Look at it this way," he said. "Level of competition. Their toughest opponent was Western Michigan, and they lost. Nebraska's was Oregon, and Nebraska won. Who do you think would win in an Oregon-Western Michigan match-up?"
"Oregon, easily," I said.
"Exactly. The most points Northwestern has scored all year is 24, and I'm betting that Nebraska's defense is better than Duke's. Even if the Wildcats play well, I don't see them scoring more than 20.
On the flip side. Nebraska has scored 43, 52 and 35 points. Lowest is 35. Maybe Northwestern's defense is as good as Oregon's, maybe better. I'm thinking with all the weapon's Nebraska has, they will score a minimum of 28."
"Then your score prediction is?"
"If I low-ball it," Lloyd said, "I'm still picking Nebraska for a 28-20 win. If I go with my gut, and throw confidence level into the calculations, I start thinking more like 42-13, Nebraska."
"Cowboy Steve has Nebraska by 10," I said.
"I'd cover that," Lloyd said. "I'm feeling confident, right now."
I turned my attention back to the computer. I had to find out what was in the 'киска' file.
Husk-husk and on the qb.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Duck a la Rouge, anyone?
Tommy gave his all. After seeing him writhing on the ground, legs spasming in pain as he lay on the sideline, I thought he was done. Fourth quarter, critical mass. Ryker Fife sent in to take a snap. I have about as much confidence in Fife as I do a Nigerian Prince who needs my account in order to free up assets.
One play, a badly short pass. Then we had to punt. Things did not look good.
The defense rose to the challenge, as they did, most of the day. Yeah, Oregon had scored some points, that's what they do. Their best running back had been injured in the fourth quarter, I don't think they missed him. Almost all of Oregon's points came on big plays. The zone read, that damned zone read. The Huskers actually seemed to have it under control, for most of the game. Really, they did, but the Ducks have enough quick, shifty backs that one mistake can cost you, and they made Nebraska pay. Three times the Ducks scored from 20 yards or more, all runs. Kani Benoit averaged 16.7 yards a carry, good thing they only let him touch it 6 times.
The thing about Oregon, is that everyone thinks they throw the ball all over the field. Nope. They run that zone read over and over again, then throw out of the zone read look. They ran the ball 47 times, and attempted 23 passes. Dakota Prukop, the graduate transfer, accounted for 243 of Oregon's 482 yards of offense. That's right, 482 yards, back in the day, Charlie McBride would have been biting aluminum benches in two, if the Blackshirts had given up that many yards. Charlie never had to face the Quack Attack.
Speaking of the Quack Attack, a lot has been being made about Oregon going 1-4 on they're 2PAT attempts. If they just kick those, they win by one, has been the prevailing theme. Oversimplification, at best. Each decision on strategy and play calling, is dictated primarily by the score at the time.
What the defense did do right, was force Oregon to punt the ball on six possessions, and a turnover on downs with time running out. You could see how Oregon would win or lose a series on first down, if they got behind the chains, it got easier for the defense. They held Oregon without a touchdown pass for the first time in 82 games. Prukop was limited to a quarterback rating of 44.6, which is pretty good.
The D-line did pretty well, getting a good push, for most of the game. The ends had a bit of a challenge with the zone read, but that's what the zone read does, it forces the ends to commit, and make them pay if they commit the wrong way.
The line-backers did a good job of flowing to the point of attack, but too many whiffs on the edge, from being out of position, made it a rough day for them. They did get decent pressure on some blitzes, and they dropped back into coverage, a lot, which helped the D-backs.
Speaking of the D-backs, pretty much high praise all the way around. Most of the time, Prukop would drop back to pass, and check down several spots, or get pressure, because the deep guys had things pretty much under control. Yes, they had a couple of breakdowns, like allowing a 25 yard completion on 2nd and 27, that Oregon converted on a 3rd and 2 with a 41-yard touchdown run. It was a good throw by Prukop, but on 2nd and 27, the defense should win that battle.
The offense took a while to get going, and when they did, it was by the classic ground game setting up the pass. Nebraska also ran the ball 47 times. They got 228 yards out of it, but missed the big plays that Oregon hit on. The longest run by a running back was 19 yards.
The most painful sequence to watch happened in the second quarter. The Huskers had driven down to the Oregon 12, trailing 14-7, Tommy tried to hit Mikael Wilbon for a swing pass, that was a backward pass. Wilbon couldn't get a handle on it, it was a fumble which Oregon recovered and returned to midfield. I want to say it was a gadget play. Wilbon hadn't even been in the game, to that point, if he catches it and slings it into the end zone for a touchdown, then it's a brilliant call at just the right time. Instead, it was 'cutesy' and resulted in a 14 point swing, Oregon's way.
Demornay Pierson-El provided a spark. His 43 yard punt return, after getting hit and interfered with, before even touching the ball, was as pretty as a Porsche 911 on the Autobahn. That set up the score, right before the half, that Nebraska needed. Weird series, too.
1. At the Oregon 19, Tommy hits Stanley Morgan for a first down at the 8.
2. Oregon 8, Nebraska spikes ball to stop the clock at 0:26
3. Oregon 8, Tommy misses JW
4. Oregon 8, Tommy tries to hit Morgan in the endzone, but, interference on the Ducks.
5. Oregon 2, False start, Nebraska.
6. Oregon 7, Tommy tries to hit JW in the endzone, Oregon again interferes.
7. Oregon 2, Tommy rolls out, finds nothing, runs out of bounds.
8. Oregon 3, Tommy lofts a perfect pass to JW in the endzone for a TD.
The play where Tommy ate the ball and took a one-yard loss, might have been the smartest play Tommy did all day. Bad Tommy, the one who tries to force the ball in between defenders, the one who throws deep balls across his body to the opposite side of the field, didn't do those things. He kept his mind in the moment and it paid off.
Back to Tommy. Final drive that mattered. Trailing 32-28, 80 yards away, 7:32 to go in the game. Nebraska needed a touchdown. Devine Ozigbo on three straight runs, gets the ball to the Nebraska 45, with 6:23 left. Then, the football gods decided to mess with both teams. Nebraska tried to run a jet sweep, or maybe it was just motion, but the center snapped the ball and it hit the receiver, who couldn't handle it, and Oregon pounced on it. That's it. Game over.
But wait, flag on the play. False start, Nebraska, dead ball foul, play never happened.
Best. Penalty. Ever.
Tommy runs for 13, holding downfield makes it 2nd and three instead of moving the chains.
Devine picks up the first down. 4:33 to go. Devine loses 3, Tommy gains four. On third and 9, Tommy tries for Cethan Carter, who can't come up with it, his getting hit before the ball got there, is apparently of no concern to the officials.
Fourth down, 3:14 to go. Money time, Tommy gimps up to the line, gets the snap, drops back, finds his bestest buddy, JW open and hits him for a 14 yard gain and a first down.
Nebraska was at the Oregon 38, with 3:01 to go, draining the clock, but needing to score. Tommy, in pain, runs for four. Time slip sliding away, Nebraska lines up in a passing formation. It's obvious to everyone that Now they must throw the ball. Tommy gets the snap, takes a step back, plants his foot and goes. He goes through the line and has blockers. He gets through the second level, his legs on fire from dehydration, churning out step after agonizing step, each one ever closer to the goal line. A duck lands on his back and tries to haul him down. Tommy keeps pumping his legs, diving, reaching, getting the ball past the pylons for the game-winning touchdown.
It may not have been the biggest win in Nebraska history. It may not even be the biggest win of this coaching staff. What this win does, is help push Nebraska back into relevance. That 1970 GTO may still need some parts, but it muscled it's way to a win, a win that Coach definitely had to savor.
One play, a badly short pass. Then we had to punt. Things did not look good.
The defense rose to the challenge, as they did, most of the day. Yeah, Oregon had scored some points, that's what they do. Their best running back had been injured in the fourth quarter, I don't think they missed him. Almost all of Oregon's points came on big plays. The zone read, that damned zone read. The Huskers actually seemed to have it under control, for most of the game. Really, they did, but the Ducks have enough quick, shifty backs that one mistake can cost you, and they made Nebraska pay. Three times the Ducks scored from 20 yards or more, all runs. Kani Benoit averaged 16.7 yards a carry, good thing they only let him touch it 6 times.
The thing about Oregon, is that everyone thinks they throw the ball all over the field. Nope. They run that zone read over and over again, then throw out of the zone read look. They ran the ball 47 times, and attempted 23 passes. Dakota Prukop, the graduate transfer, accounted for 243 of Oregon's 482 yards of offense. That's right, 482 yards, back in the day, Charlie McBride would have been biting aluminum benches in two, if the Blackshirts had given up that many yards. Charlie never had to face the Quack Attack.
Speaking of the Quack Attack, a lot has been being made about Oregon going 1-4 on they're 2PAT attempts. If they just kick those, they win by one, has been the prevailing theme. Oversimplification, at best. Each decision on strategy and play calling, is dictated primarily by the score at the time.
What the defense did do right, was force Oregon to punt the ball on six possessions, and a turnover on downs with time running out. You could see how Oregon would win or lose a series on first down, if they got behind the chains, it got easier for the defense. They held Oregon without a touchdown pass for the first time in 82 games. Prukop was limited to a quarterback rating of 44.6, which is pretty good.
The D-line did pretty well, getting a good push, for most of the game. The ends had a bit of a challenge with the zone read, but that's what the zone read does, it forces the ends to commit, and make them pay if they commit the wrong way.
The line-backers did a good job of flowing to the point of attack, but too many whiffs on the edge, from being out of position, made it a rough day for them. They did get decent pressure on some blitzes, and they dropped back into coverage, a lot, which helped the D-backs.
Speaking of the D-backs, pretty much high praise all the way around. Most of the time, Prukop would drop back to pass, and check down several spots, or get pressure, because the deep guys had things pretty much under control. Yes, they had a couple of breakdowns, like allowing a 25 yard completion on 2nd and 27, that Oregon converted on a 3rd and 2 with a 41-yard touchdown run. It was a good throw by Prukop, but on 2nd and 27, the defense should win that battle.
The offense took a while to get going, and when they did, it was by the classic ground game setting up the pass. Nebraska also ran the ball 47 times. They got 228 yards out of it, but missed the big plays that Oregon hit on. The longest run by a running back was 19 yards.
The most painful sequence to watch happened in the second quarter. The Huskers had driven down to the Oregon 12, trailing 14-7, Tommy tried to hit Mikael Wilbon for a swing pass, that was a backward pass. Wilbon couldn't get a handle on it, it was a fumble which Oregon recovered and returned to midfield. I want to say it was a gadget play. Wilbon hadn't even been in the game, to that point, if he catches it and slings it into the end zone for a touchdown, then it's a brilliant call at just the right time. Instead, it was 'cutesy' and resulted in a 14 point swing, Oregon's way.
Demornay Pierson-El provided a spark. His 43 yard punt return, after getting hit and interfered with, before even touching the ball, was as pretty as a Porsche 911 on the Autobahn. That set up the score, right before the half, that Nebraska needed. Weird series, too.
1. At the Oregon 19, Tommy hits Stanley Morgan for a first down at the 8.
2. Oregon 8, Nebraska spikes ball to stop the clock at 0:26
3. Oregon 8, Tommy misses JW
4. Oregon 8, Tommy tries to hit Morgan in the endzone, but, interference on the Ducks.
5. Oregon 2, False start, Nebraska.
6. Oregon 7, Tommy tries to hit JW in the endzone, Oregon again interferes.
7. Oregon 2, Tommy rolls out, finds nothing, runs out of bounds.
8. Oregon 3, Tommy lofts a perfect pass to JW in the endzone for a TD.
The play where Tommy ate the ball and took a one-yard loss, might have been the smartest play Tommy did all day. Bad Tommy, the one who tries to force the ball in between defenders, the one who throws deep balls across his body to the opposite side of the field, didn't do those things. He kept his mind in the moment and it paid off.
Back to Tommy. Final drive that mattered. Trailing 32-28, 80 yards away, 7:32 to go in the game. Nebraska needed a touchdown. Devine Ozigbo on three straight runs, gets the ball to the Nebraska 45, with 6:23 left. Then, the football gods decided to mess with both teams. Nebraska tried to run a jet sweep, or maybe it was just motion, but the center snapped the ball and it hit the receiver, who couldn't handle it, and Oregon pounced on it. That's it. Game over.
But wait, flag on the play. False start, Nebraska, dead ball foul, play never happened.
Best. Penalty. Ever.
Tommy runs for 13, holding downfield makes it 2nd and three instead of moving the chains.
Devine picks up the first down. 4:33 to go. Devine loses 3, Tommy gains four. On third and 9, Tommy tries for Cethan Carter, who can't come up with it, his getting hit before the ball got there, is apparently of no concern to the officials.
Fourth down, 3:14 to go. Money time, Tommy gimps up to the line, gets the snap, drops back, finds his bestest buddy, JW open and hits him for a 14 yard gain and a first down.
Nebraska was at the Oregon 38, with 3:01 to go, draining the clock, but needing to score. Tommy, in pain, runs for four. Time slip sliding away, Nebraska lines up in a passing formation. It's obvious to everyone that Now they must throw the ball. Tommy gets the snap, takes a step back, plants his foot and goes. He goes through the line and has blockers. He gets through the second level, his legs on fire from dehydration, churning out step after agonizing step, each one ever closer to the goal line. A duck lands on his back and tries to haul him down. Tommy keeps pumping his legs, diving, reaching, getting the ball past the pylons for the game-winning touchdown.
It may not have been the biggest win in Nebraska history. It may not even be the biggest win of this coaching staff. What this win does, is help push Nebraska back into relevance. That 1970 GTO may still need some parts, but it muscled it's way to a win, a win that Coach definitely had to savor.
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Duck Hunt?!?!?! Don't shoot the Dog.
I had been lugging around the lap-top for a couple of weeks, now. It had become part of my daily equipment, and I felt like I couldn't let it out of my sight. It had it's own little, black, carrying bag, covered in enough velcro and zippers to make NASA happy and annoy me if I got within 10 feet of a sweater.
I had access to all the information. The client, Willy, had given me his password and let me bop through his system. Most of it was hum-drum, boring stuff. His gig dealt with some sensitive issues, but not exactly national security material. He is a public figure, and the case at hand dealt with embarrassment more than illegality. The big problem, for him, was the he had it on the wrong computer. If it had been on his personal property, no one would have known, or cared.
I didn't really care, either, but he was paying the bills, so I had to do what I could. It seems on one lonely night, out of town, he had gotten into a wee bit of chat with a woman. That chat evolved from the mundane to the flirty sort, then morphed into naughtiness. The kind of naughtiness a married cat, like Willy, probably shouldn't have pursued. Pursue it he did, and then the hunter became the hunted.
She pulled a bit of trickery out of the deck and played a black card, the blackmail card, to be exact. She threatened to be a tattle-tail, and expose what Willy had been doing with the wee Mr. Willy. The conversation was rife with double entendre to an eye-rolling degree. It was like every dirty joke a middle schooler would tell, but involving grown-ass adults, who should know better.
It was sad, really, but my job deals with a lot of sadness. Sadness as a result of chasing happiness of a sort. Sadness and secrets is my stock in trade.
I sighed and tried to get to the heart of leverage this chick had on Willy. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do about it, but I had a nagging, gut feeling that there was a deeper layer, a wider net that had yet to be uncovered.
I had a good cigar, a decent whisky glassed up and ready for action, and the FrankenAl for entertainment. Even if I didn't make any progress, the day wouldn't be a total wash. The FrankenAl were discussing the Stanley Kubrick film, 'Eyes Wide Shut', and how Kubrick knew he was dying, and slipped in Easter Eggs for his fans throughout the movie. There is the scene where Tom Cruise is offered the underage girl, by the Russian, shop owner, read, 'Lolita'. A scene where Cruise shows up at the party in 18th Century fancy dress, looking like Ryan O'Neill in 'Barry Lyndon'. They started to lose me when they mentioned Sydney Pollack playing with the balls on the pool table. He seemed to be displaying the eight ball, which was a character in 'Full Metal Jacket'. I was about to weigh in on the debate when Lloyd walked in, unusually amped up. I say unusually, because there were a couple of beads of sweat, on his face.
Lloyd rarely sweats.
I gestured for him to join me. He sat down on one of the big comfy chairs, leaning forward, excited but not distressed. "Lloyd, my good man, what has you in such a state?" I asked.
"I just passed by a bunch of Duck fans," he said. "They are all over, out there, wearing those ugly green and yellow shirts, and flashing their sign language 'vagina' hand signals all over the place."
I laughed a little, "It's not quite that. It's close, but no cigar, but the internet is a marvelous tool for letting jokes run wild."
Lloyd sighed, "I know, I know. It's just more fun to mess with them and make them all defensive," he said, letting a mischievous smile sneak across his face.
"You really don't like those guys, do you?" I asked.
"Nope. I am a Husker fan, but I got hooked on football when I was a kid in Washington. Oregon and Oregon State used to be the two games a year that the Huskies could mark off as wins, before the season even started. Then Phil Knight, and Michael Jordon turn Nike into the biggest shoe brand in the Universe. Phil Knight does the right thing, and donates tons of money to the program. It makes Oregon relevant, hell, it even helps them become good, the balance of power shifted." He shook his head, "Ducks should never beat Huskies."
"I've been trying to bring back an oldie, but a goodie," I said. "I want the fans, for just this week, to revive the old, 'Beat O-U', like we had when we had to battle Oklahoma, every year."
Lloyd nodded. "That would be cool. A win would be cool, too. This game has me a little nervous, though."
"It should," I said, taking a long draw from the cigar. "This is Reilly's first chance to take on Oregon on a level field. For years he was trying to race a tricked out Impala low-rider with a Honda Civic, held together with duct tape and bondo."
"What does he have, now?"
"Now he's got a Pontiac GTO, a 1970 with a 455 V-8. There are still some parts missing, and he'd really like to upgrade to a Corvette ZR-1, but that will take a couple more years. He's on his way, though."
"Analogies aside," Lloyd said, turning all serious, on me. "Can we beat the mother Duckers?"
"Their speed on offense, and their tempo is what scares teams. They line up and go, go, go, never giving the defense a chance to substitute packages and they get away with a lot of pre-snap movement that should draw flags, but doesn't. They sucker coaching staffs into playing their style, trying to match tempo and get into a track meet with them. It's pretty effective if an opponent loses discipline and panics."
"How do you counter that?"
"Control the ball," I said. "Pound their undersized d-line with the run game. Get on long, sustainable, frustrating drives. Pick up two or three first downs, every time. Pick your points at which to hit them with a big, play-action pass. Let your defense rest and stay fresh. Their front seven doesn't have the depth to have 300-pounders smacking them play after play after play."
"How do you stop that offense, though? They score 30+ points on everybody."
"It can be done. Michigan State, Washington and Utah all kept them from scoring 30. We beat Sparty, last year, and I know the transitive property doesn't apply, but I don't think this year's Oregon squad is as good as last year's and definitely not the team of two years ago that made Ohio State look like the Suckeyes."
"They've got an experienced quarterback, who knows the system."
"Dakota Prukop?" I scoffed. "Yes, he's a fifth-year graduate transfer; from Montana State. You know why he played at Montana State? He wasn't recruited by any of the big boys. He hasn't played in front of 93,000 people, and he has never faced a defense with the speed and athleticism of Nebraska. I'm not saying the Huskers are an Alabama defense, but they are a damn sight better than any FCS school or UC-Davis. Virginia wasn't much of a test, either, they lost to Richmond, the week before."
"So, the defense is soft, the quarterback is no Marcus Mariotta, but what about Royce Freeman?"
"He's legit," I said. "Early Heisman candidate, he's got some wheels and if he gets into the open, watch out. I stop him by crashing him on every zone-read play. Make Prukop beat you. Their o-line is inexperienced, so, some wrinkles that have been set aside until now, could cause problems. They will ride him as long as they can."
"So, final score prediction?" Lloyd asked.
I sat back, took a few puffs to get it nice and smokey. "It's close, the whole game. Neither team able to get a two possession advantage at any point. Nebraska scores in the fourth to make it a 38-35 game. Prukop throws a pick, deep in Nebraska territory, and the O-line paves the way for Ozigbo to run out the clock. Tommie takes a knee inside the Oregon five as time runs out, to drive in the final nail."
"I like it," said Lloyd. "I just wouldnt be surpised if it ended up as a triple overtime 63-59 shootout."
I sat there, silently. I watched the smoke drift toward the ceiling and wondered what the FrankenAl thought about the game. I didn't ask, though.
Husk-husk and on the QB
I had access to all the information. The client, Willy, had given me his password and let me bop through his system. Most of it was hum-drum, boring stuff. His gig dealt with some sensitive issues, but not exactly national security material. He is a public figure, and the case at hand dealt with embarrassment more than illegality. The big problem, for him, was the he had it on the wrong computer. If it had been on his personal property, no one would have known, or cared.
I didn't really care, either, but he was paying the bills, so I had to do what I could. It seems on one lonely night, out of town, he had gotten into a wee bit of chat with a woman. That chat evolved from the mundane to the flirty sort, then morphed into naughtiness. The kind of naughtiness a married cat, like Willy, probably shouldn't have pursued. Pursue it he did, and then the hunter became the hunted.
She pulled a bit of trickery out of the deck and played a black card, the blackmail card, to be exact. She threatened to be a tattle-tail, and expose what Willy had been doing with the wee Mr. Willy. The conversation was rife with double entendre to an eye-rolling degree. It was like every dirty joke a middle schooler would tell, but involving grown-ass adults, who should know better.
It was sad, really, but my job deals with a lot of sadness. Sadness as a result of chasing happiness of a sort. Sadness and secrets is my stock in trade.
I sighed and tried to get to the heart of leverage this chick had on Willy. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do about it, but I had a nagging, gut feeling that there was a deeper layer, a wider net that had yet to be uncovered.
I had a good cigar, a decent whisky glassed up and ready for action, and the FrankenAl for entertainment. Even if I didn't make any progress, the day wouldn't be a total wash. The FrankenAl were discussing the Stanley Kubrick film, 'Eyes Wide Shut', and how Kubrick knew he was dying, and slipped in Easter Eggs for his fans throughout the movie. There is the scene where Tom Cruise is offered the underage girl, by the Russian, shop owner, read, 'Lolita'. A scene where Cruise shows up at the party in 18th Century fancy dress, looking like Ryan O'Neill in 'Barry Lyndon'. They started to lose me when they mentioned Sydney Pollack playing with the balls on the pool table. He seemed to be displaying the eight ball, which was a character in 'Full Metal Jacket'. I was about to weigh in on the debate when Lloyd walked in, unusually amped up. I say unusually, because there were a couple of beads of sweat, on his face.
Lloyd rarely sweats.
I gestured for him to join me. He sat down on one of the big comfy chairs, leaning forward, excited but not distressed. "Lloyd, my good man, what has you in such a state?" I asked.
"I just passed by a bunch of Duck fans," he said. "They are all over, out there, wearing those ugly green and yellow shirts, and flashing their sign language 'vagina' hand signals all over the place."
I laughed a little, "It's not quite that. It's close, but no cigar, but the internet is a marvelous tool for letting jokes run wild."
Lloyd sighed, "I know, I know. It's just more fun to mess with them and make them all defensive," he said, letting a mischievous smile sneak across his face.
"You really don't like those guys, do you?" I asked.
"Nope. I am a Husker fan, but I got hooked on football when I was a kid in Washington. Oregon and Oregon State used to be the two games a year that the Huskies could mark off as wins, before the season even started. Then Phil Knight, and Michael Jordon turn Nike into the biggest shoe brand in the Universe. Phil Knight does the right thing, and donates tons of money to the program. It makes Oregon relevant, hell, it even helps them become good, the balance of power shifted." He shook his head, "Ducks should never beat Huskies."
"I've been trying to bring back an oldie, but a goodie," I said. "I want the fans, for just this week, to revive the old, 'Beat O-U', like we had when we had to battle Oklahoma, every year."
Lloyd nodded. "That would be cool. A win would be cool, too. This game has me a little nervous, though."
"It should," I said, taking a long draw from the cigar. "This is Reilly's first chance to take on Oregon on a level field. For years he was trying to race a tricked out Impala low-rider with a Honda Civic, held together with duct tape and bondo."
"What does he have, now?"
"Now he's got a Pontiac GTO, a 1970 with a 455 V-8. There are still some parts missing, and he'd really like to upgrade to a Corvette ZR-1, but that will take a couple more years. He's on his way, though."
"Analogies aside," Lloyd said, turning all serious, on me. "Can we beat the mother Duckers?"
"Their speed on offense, and their tempo is what scares teams. They line up and go, go, go, never giving the defense a chance to substitute packages and they get away with a lot of pre-snap movement that should draw flags, but doesn't. They sucker coaching staffs into playing their style, trying to match tempo and get into a track meet with them. It's pretty effective if an opponent loses discipline and panics."
"How do you counter that?"
"Control the ball," I said. "Pound their undersized d-line with the run game. Get on long, sustainable, frustrating drives. Pick up two or three first downs, every time. Pick your points at which to hit them with a big, play-action pass. Let your defense rest and stay fresh. Their front seven doesn't have the depth to have 300-pounders smacking them play after play after play."
"How do you stop that offense, though? They score 30+ points on everybody."
"It can be done. Michigan State, Washington and Utah all kept them from scoring 30. We beat Sparty, last year, and I know the transitive property doesn't apply, but I don't think this year's Oregon squad is as good as last year's and definitely not the team of two years ago that made Ohio State look like the Suckeyes."
"They've got an experienced quarterback, who knows the system."
"Dakota Prukop?" I scoffed. "Yes, he's a fifth-year graduate transfer; from Montana State. You know why he played at Montana State? He wasn't recruited by any of the big boys. He hasn't played in front of 93,000 people, and he has never faced a defense with the speed and athleticism of Nebraska. I'm not saying the Huskers are an Alabama defense, but they are a damn sight better than any FCS school or UC-Davis. Virginia wasn't much of a test, either, they lost to Richmond, the week before."
"So, the defense is soft, the quarterback is no Marcus Mariotta, but what about Royce Freeman?"
"He's legit," I said. "Early Heisman candidate, he's got some wheels and if he gets into the open, watch out. I stop him by crashing him on every zone-read play. Make Prukop beat you. Their o-line is inexperienced, so, some wrinkles that have been set aside until now, could cause problems. They will ride him as long as they can."
"So, final score prediction?" Lloyd asked.
I sat back, took a few puffs to get it nice and smokey. "It's close, the whole game. Neither team able to get a two possession advantage at any point. Nebraska scores in the fourth to make it a 38-35 game. Prukop throws a pick, deep in Nebraska territory, and the O-line paves the way for Ozigbo to run out the clock. Tommie takes a knee inside the Oregon five as time runs out, to drive in the final nail."
"I like it," said Lloyd. "I just wouldnt be surpised if it ended up as a triple overtime 63-59 shootout."
I sat there, silently. I watched the smoke drift toward the ceiling and wondered what the FrankenAl thought about the game. I didn't ask, though.
Husk-husk and on the QB
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Misfiring Cowboys Lose Gunfight
Sometimes it's ok to be wrong. Every once in a while, a game doesn't go as you anticipate it will. When you're wrong, and it still results in a 35 point win, embrace and accept it.
I expected Nebraska to pound Wyoming into submission with a run-heavy package that wore their defense down and allowed multiple ball carriers to get 100-yard games.
I was about as wrong as the would-be John nailed by the undercover cop on the prostitution sting. Dead giveaway, if she's cute, she's a cop.
Tommy did his damage through the air. He hit on 20-34, for 377 yards, 3 TDs and 1 pick. He also ran fro a score. Tommy broke the record for most TD passes in school history. It used to be Taylor Martinez. Who? Oh, that guy. The guy that caused Bo to go all R. Lee Ermey. The guy who could score on an 80 yard run at will, but couldn't hit an 8-yard out to save his life.
That's in the past, though.
Tommy can make a lot of the throws he needs to. The bomb to Porn Stache was beautiful, deep passes to Reilly and Moore were also good. He hit his RB's where he needed to on screen passes. The medium range stuff still needs work. Better than most games, but still some head scratching misses. With 1 interception in 34 attempts, it's hard to quibble. Quibbling is what I do and doing hard things can be fun. First down, goal to go. Tommy rolled to his right, his throwing side, got some pressure sooner than expected, which forced him to throw earlier than he would have liked. There were three defenders between him and the intended receiver, five if you count the guys bringing pressure. Tommy, it's first down, unless your dude is wide open, wing it as hard as you can to Thomas Tvurdy, from Crete, in section 17 who's about to tuck into that Fairbury hot dog, he just forked over three bucks for.
I have to give credit to Wyoming, they sold out to stop the run. They brought dog blitzes up the middle, they brought corners off the edge, I think they even brought Dick Cheney's hunting party on a couple of plays. Stop the run, force their 50-50 quarterback to beat us with the pass. Decent strategy, except the 50-50 quarterback beat the odd, not by a bunch, but he did beat them.
I know a lot of Huskerfans were a bit knickertwisted with only a 7-point lead, heading into the fourth quarter. Was it a clean game? Nope. Penalties reared up again, wiping two scores off the board for the Huskers and extending drives for Wyoming. Seven penalties for 93 yards. Not cool, man. The one on Gerry for unsportsmanlike should have been off-setting. It was kind of a dick move to hand the ball to the quarterback after picking him off. But the Wyoming quarterback deserved a flag for whipping the ball at Gerry.
Dude, you just threw it to him twice in the last five seconds.
Nate, better way to handle that, don't ever, ever, ever let the quarterback tackle you on a return; or, if he does, you bulldoze his stupid ass into the turf...legally, of course.
The defense played pretty well, they gave up some big plays, but made more. Five picks in a game for the first time since 2010. Add in a fumble recovery and you get a +5 in the turnover margin. Going to win most of your games with that stat.
That third quarter, though. Give up a field goal to cut your lead to seven, oh yeah, drive extended by big penalty. That's fine. Get good filed position, then go three-and-out, ok, four-and-out, with an odd, what, fake-punt option? Start running what looks like a rugby punt, it started off, well. Then Lightbourn tucked it and ran, hoping the blockers knew what he was doing. Either the play call or the execution was a big, whaaaaa?
Wyoming, driving again. Drive extended by a big penalty, stopped by a pick on fourth down.
Opportunity. Huskers drive length of the field and score on a beautifully executed screen pass. Except for the Cethan Carter touching a defenders back when it wasn't even necessary. TD called back, Tommy sacked, forced to punt.
Huskerfan getting nervous. Top three things heard around the stadium. 1. Riley still hasn't learned the Killer Instinct. 2. They should have put this game away, already. 3. The longer you let an underdog stick around, the more confidence they gain, and the harder it will be to finish them.
Kieron Williams gets his pick-six lottery winnings, the lead goers back to 14, heart rates slow a bit. Get a stop and a score, and the game is over.
Got it.
Someone forgot to tell Wyoming. Six plays, 76 yards and a TD. The lead is back down to seven points. See above paragraph concerning top three things, repeated.
In the third quarter, Wyoming outscored Nebraska's offense, 10-0. Outgained the Huskers, 156-49, with at least 43 yards coming by penalty. Hmmm, Nebraska looks just awful. Maybe that's why they play four quarters.
In the fourth, Nebraska outscored Wyoming 28-0, outgained them 177-23. Forced four turnovers, all of them at midfield or closer. Just to show how confident the offense has become, Ryker Fife was given the nod to check out to a fly route when he saw the cushion being given to Gabe Rahn. I know, I'd never heard of him, either.
You flip open the local fishwrap and see 52-17. Must have been an ass-kicking. It was.
One of the seals fortelling Nebraska's return to greatness has been broken. Huskerfan is bitching about a 35 point loss, the spread was 24.5, they covered. They lead the entire game (essentially). People still aren't happy.
Just like the good old days.
Next up, the Ducks. I want to send them home feeling as ugly as their uniforms.
I expected Nebraska to pound Wyoming into submission with a run-heavy package that wore their defense down and allowed multiple ball carriers to get 100-yard games.
I was about as wrong as the would-be John nailed by the undercover cop on the prostitution sting. Dead giveaway, if she's cute, she's a cop.
Tommy did his damage through the air. He hit on 20-34, for 377 yards, 3 TDs and 1 pick. He also ran fro a score. Tommy broke the record for most TD passes in school history. It used to be Taylor Martinez. Who? Oh, that guy. The guy that caused Bo to go all R. Lee Ermey. The guy who could score on an 80 yard run at will, but couldn't hit an 8-yard out to save his life.
That's in the past, though.
Tommy can make a lot of the throws he needs to. The bomb to Porn Stache was beautiful, deep passes to Reilly and Moore were also good. He hit his RB's where he needed to on screen passes. The medium range stuff still needs work. Better than most games, but still some head scratching misses. With 1 interception in 34 attempts, it's hard to quibble. Quibbling is what I do and doing hard things can be fun. First down, goal to go. Tommy rolled to his right, his throwing side, got some pressure sooner than expected, which forced him to throw earlier than he would have liked. There were three defenders between him and the intended receiver, five if you count the guys bringing pressure. Tommy, it's first down, unless your dude is wide open, wing it as hard as you can to Thomas Tvurdy, from Crete, in section 17 who's about to tuck into that Fairbury hot dog, he just forked over three bucks for.
I have to give credit to Wyoming, they sold out to stop the run. They brought dog blitzes up the middle, they brought corners off the edge, I think they even brought Dick Cheney's hunting party on a couple of plays. Stop the run, force their 50-50 quarterback to beat us with the pass. Decent strategy, except the 50-50 quarterback beat the odd, not by a bunch, but he did beat them.
I know a lot of Huskerfans were a bit knickertwisted with only a 7-point lead, heading into the fourth quarter. Was it a clean game? Nope. Penalties reared up again, wiping two scores off the board for the Huskers and extending drives for Wyoming. Seven penalties for 93 yards. Not cool, man. The one on Gerry for unsportsmanlike should have been off-setting. It was kind of a dick move to hand the ball to the quarterback after picking him off. But the Wyoming quarterback deserved a flag for whipping the ball at Gerry.
Dude, you just threw it to him twice in the last five seconds.
Nate, better way to handle that, don't ever, ever, ever let the quarterback tackle you on a return; or, if he does, you bulldoze his stupid ass into the turf...legally, of course.
The defense played pretty well, they gave up some big plays, but made more. Five picks in a game for the first time since 2010. Add in a fumble recovery and you get a +5 in the turnover margin. Going to win most of your games with that stat.
That third quarter, though. Give up a field goal to cut your lead to seven, oh yeah, drive extended by big penalty. That's fine. Get good filed position, then go three-and-out, ok, four-and-out, with an odd, what, fake-punt option? Start running what looks like a rugby punt, it started off, well. Then Lightbourn tucked it and ran, hoping the blockers knew what he was doing. Either the play call or the execution was a big, whaaaaa?
Wyoming, driving again. Drive extended by a big penalty, stopped by a pick on fourth down.
Opportunity. Huskers drive length of the field and score on a beautifully executed screen pass. Except for the Cethan Carter touching a defenders back when it wasn't even necessary. TD called back, Tommy sacked, forced to punt.
Huskerfan getting nervous. Top three things heard around the stadium. 1. Riley still hasn't learned the Killer Instinct. 2. They should have put this game away, already. 3. The longer you let an underdog stick around, the more confidence they gain, and the harder it will be to finish them.
Kieron Williams gets his pick-six lottery winnings, the lead goers back to 14, heart rates slow a bit. Get a stop and a score, and the game is over.
Got it.
Someone forgot to tell Wyoming. Six plays, 76 yards and a TD. The lead is back down to seven points. See above paragraph concerning top three things, repeated.
In the third quarter, Wyoming outscored Nebraska's offense, 10-0. Outgained the Huskers, 156-49, with at least 43 yards coming by penalty. Hmmm, Nebraska looks just awful. Maybe that's why they play four quarters.
In the fourth, Nebraska outscored Wyoming 28-0, outgained them 177-23. Forced four turnovers, all of them at midfield or closer. Just to show how confident the offense has become, Ryker Fife was given the nod to check out to a fly route when he saw the cushion being given to Gabe Rahn. I know, I'd never heard of him, either.
You flip open the local fishwrap and see 52-17. Must have been an ass-kicking. It was.
One of the seals fortelling Nebraska's return to greatness has been broken. Huskerfan is bitching about a 35 point loss, the spread was 24.5, they covered. They lead the entire game (essentially). People still aren't happy.
Just like the good old days.
Next up, the Ducks. I want to send them home feeling as ugly as their uniforms.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Cowboy Dreams and Router Nightmares
Due to the death of a router (Netgear sucks), and all of the scurrying around that accompanies trying to sort out technical issues, Husk-Husk will not deliver a pretty-game issue. Rather than allow the quality to slip in a hurriedly cobbled together, inferior piece, I'm going to try to recapture the standards with an excellent post-game piece.
For the record, Nebraska welcomes back Craig Bohl with a nice, smash-mouth, 49-17 hootenanny. Huskerfan is nervous with only a 21-14 halftime lead, though. Tommy goes 12-12, 157 yards, 2 TDS, 1 pick. Ozigbo and Newby both hit 100 rushing.
Go Big Red!
For the record, Nebraska welcomes back Craig Bohl with a nice, smash-mouth, 49-17 hootenanny. Huskerfan is nervous with only a 21-14 halftime lead, though. Tommy goes 12-12, 157 yards, 2 TDS, 1 pick. Ozigbo and Newby both hit 100 rushing.
Go Big Red!
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Putting Down the Bulldogs
The day was a weird one. It started out with an earthquake. A real earthquake. While it wasn't Charlton Heston in collapsing Los Angeles level earthquake, it was as unusual as a construction worker ordering his own pumpkin spice latte.
The weather was weird, too. Very cool for early September, a little rain, then, just as the stadium was filling in, the skies went sploosh. It was like a freaking monsoon for about 20 minutes, then tapered off, and cleared up just in time for kickoff.
As far as the game, it almost...almost felt old school. There was a sense of inevitability from the get-go. A feeling that Nebraska was going to pound Fresno State into submission, just how long would it take was the question.
As I sat in my office, puffing on a cigar, Nebraska Clean Air Act be damned, taking the occasional pull from the desk bottle, I watched the crowd disperse from the stadium to the various sports bars, gin joints flesh bazaars like a cloud of virulent spores. All right, not virulent, we won, so the rage factor was minimized. I can be a little harsh, it's my line of work. I know that they appear outwardly good, but experience has taught me that there are layers that can be peeled back, for a price.
I reflected on the game, I didn't get into a drive-by-drive breakdown, like Lloyd does. I couldn't even tell you what o-line package was on the field when x play was run for y result, that's like calculus, baby, and I'm not wired, that way. I look for the key moments, the impressions, the schwerpunkts that happen along the way.
Nebraska's opening drive, was a bit disappointing, or was it? Super conservative, three running plays and then they ran the missing man punt formation for a delay of game penalty to Honor Sam Foltz, the punter who was killed in a car wreck, this year. Brilliantly handled, coaches. Get it out of the way early in the game. The kids can have their cathartic moment early on, and get back to normal emotional level for the rest of the game.
Fresno was super classy about the moment, too. You could tell that they honored the moment, as well.
The Bulldogs came to play. They moved the ball well, early. Not surprising, since Nebraska had nothing to prepare with, since FSU had new coordinators. The defense solidified in time to force a missed field goal. Energy was good, speed looked good, no-one was out of position, Fresno made some good plays. The out route to the tight end was working for them.
Then, the pounding began. Over the next two possessions, Nebraska ran 17 plays, 1 pass, and scored two touchdowns. It was almost like watching game films from the 80's. The defense was stepping up, too. They forced two 3-and-outs and were controlling the line of scrimmage. The d-line was particularly impressive, as they stoned the FSU o-line and let the backers roam around cleaning stuff up.
Then, it got sloppy for a while. A Demornay Pierson-El fumble on a jet sweep, set up a long yards to make situation, and two good defensive plays by the Bulldogs forced a punt, which was blocked.
Fresno State had the drive of the night, only 32 yards, but converted on third down twice. Both times, FSU made good plays. The touchdown, their only touchdown of the night, was a good play design and took advantage of a size mis-match. Gotta give them a 'well done'.
Sloppiness continued as a dumb penalty for illegal formation negated a first down. Iffy playcalling on a third and 7. Going deep to Westerkamp, ummmm, ok. Another punt, and Fresno is still in business.
On a third and long, scramble play, Luke Gifford gets a flag for helmet to helmet, giving FSU a first down. Luckily for Nebraska, piss-poor clock management in the final minute, made the Bulldogs settle for a field goal. Personally, I don't think Gifford should have been flagged. He's taller than Virgil, he had his head up, and he approached with his arms up to deflect the pass attempt. Yes, his helmet made contact with Virgil's, so by the letter of the law, the flag comes out. What was more disappointing was how disorganized the defense became after that. They gave up chunks of yards on the drive. Short memories, lad, like politician level short memories.
The opening of the second half was almost scripted, perfectly. Fresno goes 3&O, Nebraska pounds it right down the Bulldogs' throat. 21-10, breathing room and you can just tell that the o-line is beginning to dominate.
The rest of the 3rd quarter is a snooze fest. The Blackshirts allowed just 33 yards in the quarter and forced an interception. Except for the first drive, the offense sputtered on their other two drives, amassing four yards and getting knocked for 30 yards in penalties.
At the end of the 3rd, the impression was one of underperformance. The game should have been in hand, the running game was working, the passing game was ok, special teams was not great and the defense was exceeding my expectations. Put them away, already.
In the 4th, that's just what they did. Tommy opened the nuclear football and dialed up a launch code to Alonzo Moore. Great strike, score is 28-10, and FSU crumbled.
The rest of the fourth quarter was old-school. The backups came in and pounded the ball all over the field. Tre Bryant and Mikael Wilbon showed their stuff. Ryker Fife even completed a pass. The most interesting play in the fourth quarter came on an extra point attempt. The Huskers have a new pre-snap alignment for extra point attempts. the snapper, holder and kicker liner up in an I alignment, with 4 o-linemen spread out on each side of the line of scrimmage. Prior to the snap, the linemen assume their usual positions, the holder and kicker line up and kick the PAT. On this play, the snapper snapped the ball to Zac Darlington, the holder, who swept right, then cut back to the inside and powered into the end zone for two. He spun the ball on the turf, getting a penalty (rightly so), but the commenters didn't get into this kid's back story.
In 2013, his senior year of high school, Zac was playing quarterback in the season's first game. He was a Nebraska prospect, we had even offered him a scholarship. He took a massive hit, and had to be dusted off by helicopter from the field. He had such a severe concussion, he was told that he probably shouldn't play football, anymore. Nebraska stood by him. Former coach, Bo *%$#*, told him that the scholarship offer stood, and he was still welcome here, even if he never played a down. I can understand his exuberance on that play, which we will probably never run, again.
The only point of interest toward the end of the game was covering Cowboy Steve's betting line, 29 points. Chris Jones prevented lots of money from changing hands with his interception in the end zone. Two plays prior, we got another stupid penalty. The refs made the right call in picking up the flag for targeting, but were right in dropping one for unsportsmanlike conduct. Great breakup by Aaron Williams, but the celebration was over the top. Save that shit for when your getting paid to do it, and the other guy is getting paid to take the risk. Just my 2 cents, which I cant really afford.
Up next are the Cowboys from Wyoming, and a bit of a reunion with former DC Craig Bohl.
I went back to watching the crowd. Trying to not let the unpleasantness of porn and blackmail intrude on my enjoyment of the post-game festivities. It would be a losing effort.
The weather was weird, too. Very cool for early September, a little rain, then, just as the stadium was filling in, the skies went sploosh. It was like a freaking monsoon for about 20 minutes, then tapered off, and cleared up just in time for kickoff.
As far as the game, it almost...almost felt old school. There was a sense of inevitability from the get-go. A feeling that Nebraska was going to pound Fresno State into submission, just how long would it take was the question.
As I sat in my office, puffing on a cigar, Nebraska Clean Air Act be damned, taking the occasional pull from the desk bottle, I watched the crowd disperse from the stadium to the various sports bars, gin joints flesh bazaars like a cloud of virulent spores. All right, not virulent, we won, so the rage factor was minimized. I can be a little harsh, it's my line of work. I know that they appear outwardly good, but experience has taught me that there are layers that can be peeled back, for a price.
I reflected on the game, I didn't get into a drive-by-drive breakdown, like Lloyd does. I couldn't even tell you what o-line package was on the field when x play was run for y result, that's like calculus, baby, and I'm not wired, that way. I look for the key moments, the impressions, the schwerpunkts that happen along the way.
Nebraska's opening drive, was a bit disappointing, or was it? Super conservative, three running plays and then they ran the missing man punt formation for a delay of game penalty to Honor Sam Foltz, the punter who was killed in a car wreck, this year. Brilliantly handled, coaches. Get it out of the way early in the game. The kids can have their cathartic moment early on, and get back to normal emotional level for the rest of the game.
The Bulldogs came to play. They moved the ball well, early. Not surprising, since Nebraska had nothing to prepare with, since FSU had new coordinators. The defense solidified in time to force a missed field goal. Energy was good, speed looked good, no-one was out of position, Fresno made some good plays. The out route to the tight end was working for them.
Then, the pounding began. Over the next two possessions, Nebraska ran 17 plays, 1 pass, and scored two touchdowns. It was almost like watching game films from the 80's. The defense was stepping up, too. They forced two 3-and-outs and were controlling the line of scrimmage. The d-line was particularly impressive, as they stoned the FSU o-line and let the backers roam around cleaning stuff up.
Then, it got sloppy for a while. A Demornay Pierson-El fumble on a jet sweep, set up a long yards to make situation, and two good defensive plays by the Bulldogs forced a punt, which was blocked.
Fresno State had the drive of the night, only 32 yards, but converted on third down twice. Both times, FSU made good plays. The touchdown, their only touchdown of the night, was a good play design and took advantage of a size mis-match. Gotta give them a 'well done'.
Sloppiness continued as a dumb penalty for illegal formation negated a first down. Iffy playcalling on a third and 7. Going deep to Westerkamp, ummmm, ok. Another punt, and Fresno is still in business.
On a third and long, scramble play, Luke Gifford gets a flag for helmet to helmet, giving FSU a first down. Luckily for Nebraska, piss-poor clock management in the final minute, made the Bulldogs settle for a field goal. Personally, I don't think Gifford should have been flagged. He's taller than Virgil, he had his head up, and he approached with his arms up to deflect the pass attempt. Yes, his helmet made contact with Virgil's, so by the letter of the law, the flag comes out. What was more disappointing was how disorganized the defense became after that. They gave up chunks of yards on the drive. Short memories, lad, like politician level short memories.
The opening of the second half was almost scripted, perfectly. Fresno goes 3&O, Nebraska pounds it right down the Bulldogs' throat. 21-10, breathing room and you can just tell that the o-line is beginning to dominate.
The rest of the 3rd quarter is a snooze fest. The Blackshirts allowed just 33 yards in the quarter and forced an interception. Except for the first drive, the offense sputtered on their other two drives, amassing four yards and getting knocked for 30 yards in penalties.
At the end of the 3rd, the impression was one of underperformance. The game should have been in hand, the running game was working, the passing game was ok, special teams was not great and the defense was exceeding my expectations. Put them away, already.
In the 4th, that's just what they did. Tommy opened the nuclear football and dialed up a launch code to Alonzo Moore. Great strike, score is 28-10, and FSU crumbled.
The rest of the fourth quarter was old-school. The backups came in and pounded the ball all over the field. Tre Bryant and Mikael Wilbon showed their stuff. Ryker Fife even completed a pass. The most interesting play in the fourth quarter came on an extra point attempt. The Huskers have a new pre-snap alignment for extra point attempts. the snapper, holder and kicker liner up in an I alignment, with 4 o-linemen spread out on each side of the line of scrimmage. Prior to the snap, the linemen assume their usual positions, the holder and kicker line up and kick the PAT. On this play, the snapper snapped the ball to Zac Darlington, the holder, who swept right, then cut back to the inside and powered into the end zone for two. He spun the ball on the turf, getting a penalty (rightly so), but the commenters didn't get into this kid's back story.
In 2013, his senior year of high school, Zac was playing quarterback in the season's first game. He was a Nebraska prospect, we had even offered him a scholarship. He took a massive hit, and had to be dusted off by helicopter from the field. He had such a severe concussion, he was told that he probably shouldn't play football, anymore. Nebraska stood by him. Former coach, Bo *%$#*, told him that the scholarship offer stood, and he was still welcome here, even if he never played a down. I can understand his exuberance on that play, which we will probably never run, again.
The only point of interest toward the end of the game was covering Cowboy Steve's betting line, 29 points. Chris Jones prevented lots of money from changing hands with his interception in the end zone. Two plays prior, we got another stupid penalty. The refs made the right call in picking up the flag for targeting, but were right in dropping one for unsportsmanlike conduct. Great breakup by Aaron Williams, but the celebration was over the top. Save that shit for when your getting paid to do it, and the other guy is getting paid to take the risk. Just my 2 cents, which I cant really afford.
Up next are the Cowboys from Wyoming, and a bit of a reunion with former DC Craig Bohl.
I went back to watching the crowd. Trying to not let the unpleasantness of porn and blackmail intrude on my enjoyment of the post-game festivities. It would be a losing effort.
Friday, September 2, 2016
New Season, New Cases
I have drifted to a new locale. Jake's was fun, while it lasted, but a new joint has opened up in town, and instead of the Hipsters and the college kids, Cigarz is the hang-out for an older, more seasoned, and decidedly more worldly clientele. It's the kind of place where the occupants have more stories, more experience and more secrets. Some secrets that need to be protected from exposure, and some secrets that need to be revealed.
Sam Hammett, private investigator, discreet inquiries, is what it said on my business card. I still had a bunch of them. I placed an order for 500 and still had most of them in a little box, back at the office. I carried some around with me, but I also had a small city constructed on my desk, while we all waited for the phone to ring.I was supposed to meet a client. I got the call a couple of days ago, and the case intrigued me enough to listen. The offer of half a G in order to solve it intrigued me even more. I sat puffing on an Isla del Sol, watching the smoke drift into the ventilation system and sort of paying attention to the myriad of TV's, all dedicated to news and highlights of the sports world. Serena Williams was obliterating yet another hapless Russian, Go Terminator. Don't get me wrong, I love Serena. I think she may be the best women's tennis player of all time. I also think she could probably dunk a basketball and pin me in under thirty seconds of wrestling, but I digress.
More stories about Colin Kaepernick and his refusal to stand for the National Anthem. Lots of hand-wringing and attacks on his patriotism, loyalty, intelligence and manhood. Tricky thing, that First Amendment. We veterans dedicated ourselves to protecting it, and I for one, get it, that sometimes the exercising of those rights can be something we disagree with. Personally, I think the flag represents the ideals we strive for, as well as the shortcomings of the Republic, currently and in the past. If dude wants to focus on the negative, that's all right with me, as long as he's cool with criticism from those of us who disagree with him. He'll be back to riding the pine, soon enough, and counting his 11 million bucks to watch the game from the sideline. Stupid, oppressive America.
Sigh.
FrankenAl was there. FrankenAl are a couple of older cats, late 60's or so, whop hang out just about every single day. Eavesdropping on their conversations is a trip. Frank is a 'Nam vet, served up in I Corps as one of Uncle Sam's Misbegotten Children. He's always got a big smile and a twinkle in his eye, but looks like he could still field strip your rib cage with a K-Bar if he needed to. Al is softer, claims he was at the '68 convention in Chicago. Sometimes you hear them solving the world's problems over a stout, sometimes it's the 1918-19 flu pandemic, and sometimes they are delving into the philosophical interpretations of The Big Lebowski.
The other reason I like Cigarz, is that it offers a greater degree of protection from the heat. There are days in Nebraska where the heat and humidity get to the point where it feels like a Great Dane is sitting in your lap, panting in your face. The bar is down an alley, in the shadow of a parking garage. It's air conditioned, and offers booze and cigars. What's not to love?
The season was turning from Hot to Football. Here, we have four seasons, Cold, Wet, Hot, and Football. The leaves were turning, the wind making those leaves skitter through the gutter and the topic of conversation typically revolved around predicted season record, and who was going to play third-string tackle. A couple of players had been suspended for the season opener, one dude for getting busted for DUI, the other for 'an unspecified violation of team rules'. I always like that one, it allows me to make up my own stories about what the kid had done. Pure speculation, here, but I wondered if he road tripped to Colorado, partook of the perfectly legal brownies, there, and then tested positive. Remember kids, you can get drunk off your ass, and nobody gives a rat's ass, because it's legal. Drop some herbally infused edibles, and it's still a no-no, if it's in the team handbook.
I have no idea if that's what happened or not. Just spitballing.
The season opener is tomorrow. The Fresno State Bulldogs are rolling into town. It is a 7 o'clock kickoff and about 90,000 people will be downtown and drunk. Riley Mk.II will be on display, and we'll get to see if a year of familiarity with the system makes things a little bit better. Another year of knowing what is in the playbook and in the coach's head for everybody should make things a little more efficient, a little more cohesive. Hopefully less improvisation and check downs to plays that don't even exist. Fewer examples of not being lined up in the proper place to pick up a blitzing linebacker from the quarterback's blind side. More familiarity for the defense so they can read and react, instead of thinking about what they are supposed to be doing. Having to think, slows reaction time. When a receiver is blazing past you with his 4.4 speed, you don't want to waste even .05 seconds wondering if you're doing the right thing.
Tommy Armstrong is back for his final year. Hopefully the coaches realize that he is closer to being Cam Newton than he is Joe Montana, and let him use his speed and athleticism, more, than trying to force him to be a pocket passer, making multiple reads and hitting those 8-yard outs. Tommy's deep passes are good. His short passes are ok. His medium passes are an adventure, every time.
The receiving corps is stacked. This may be the best pass catching unit Nebraska has ever seen. There are 6 guys who are legitimate targets on every play. Jordan Westerkamp and his awesome porn 'stache could break several career records, this year. Cethan Carter has finally showed up, and is a real threat on seam patterns from the tight end position.
Nebraska is deep at running back. There are about 4 guys who could start about anywhere in the B1G, except for maybe Michigan and Ohio State. If the staff commits to the run, like they did against UCLA, big things will happen. The O-line is the big question mark. They are bigger and stronger than last year, but they are not very experienced. Hopefully, they gel quickly, so Tommy isn't scrambling for his life on every third down greater than 3 yards.
On defense, the line is also a bit novice, but Freedom Akinmolodun is back, and I hope is ready to sack opposing quarterbacks, with abandon. Note to the student section, whenever he gets a sack, I want to hear, 'Freedom!', a la Braveheart.
The linebackers might be the best unit at that position, in years. Talent and experience will have them as the strength of the defense. They finally have some depth, too, so if someone gets hurt, it's not a green flag to the opposition to go after the replacement.
The defensive backfield is an intriguing situation. They were really bad, last year, so I'm hoping that experience and learning the scheme will lead to a big improvement.
The kicking game is a mystery. Drew Brown seemed to figure it out, last year, and will be pretty reliable. The punting duties are going to be interesting, following the tragic death of Sam Foltz. While I am interested in seeing how the team pays tribute to him, in the first punting situation, I'd rather not have to punt.
That could happen against Fresno. The Bulldogs are a far cry from the team that could scare a good D-1 program or even pull off the occasional upset. It may take a few possessions to shake off the rust and work out the kinks, and Cowboy Steve tells me Nebraska is favored by 28. Just looking at the talent and depth disparity, Nebraska should pound them into oblivion. Tennessee should have pounded Appalachian State, last night, too, but needed overtime to pull it out.
It;s not a very big limb, but I think the Huskers will cover, and this year gets out to a nice, satisfying 45-14 bang.
My client finally showed up. He looked nervous. He looked familiar. he pulled a laptop computer out of its carrying bag and plopped it down on the table, next to me. "I need help," he said. "This damned thing has gotten me into some trouble, and I need someone like you to get me out of it."
I took a big drag from the cigar. Computers. Shit. I was really hoping he had been conned into investing in a guided fishing LLC in Mali. Maybe he had sent the wrong e-mail in a fit of interoffice squabbling, and needed me to create a detente situation by digging up dirt on the rival. It was probably porn, though. Whatever it was, I would need to retain Lloyd Ellroy, tech-geek to the stars, to help me out.
I didn't want to touch it. I tapped the grey, consumed carbon into the ash tray.
"Porn?" I asked.
He nodded.
Sometimes I hate being right.
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