[Husker] several points

[Martin, Douglas]

There was this guy named Crouch that played in 2001 that I think was as, if not more. important to the success of the team in answer to your question number four.
 
Doug Martin, MD

________________________________

From: husker-bounces at tssi.com on behalf of weldoc at juno.com
Sent: Fri 1/5/2007 8:38 PM
To: husker at tssi.com
Subject: [Husker] several points



Just a few observations after the NU loss and several days to think on
it...

1. Whatever happened to "the kicking game" emphasis that TO always talked
about ? IIRC he basically divided the overall effort into 3 equal parts,
O, D, and KG. I got a little tired of seeing our punt and kick return
guys just watch balls drop in front of them and go out of bounds. I
certainly hope NU can recruit personnel to do better, or coach them
differently next year.

2. All the optimism about, and emphasis on, incoming recruits is fine but
there are a lot of ifs...IF they actually stay...IF they don't quit first
(a la H. Beck)...IF they play up to their expected levels, as projected
by the coaches...and IF they stick around for the full duration, not jump
to the NFL after one good year, etc. Whatever happened to player
DEVELOPMENT ? Is NU gonna rely so heavily on jucos indefinitely ? Is this
becoming commonplace at every school ? How much loyalty--beyond mere
resume enhancement--can someone "develop" to a program in a single year ?
 (Especially if he's a "blue-chipper" with one eye always on the NFL ?)

Call me old, but I remember quite a few past players who WEREN'T
blue-chippers who were coachable, played backup roles, waited maybe even
until their senior year to start, etc. Now the pendulum seems to have
swung completely the opposite direction to where NU gets a player like
Keller for ONE year and everyone expects him to have a terrific year and
"save" the program !  For years, many NU fans snickered at UT's
"blue-chip" lists when compared to where those teams ended up at season's
end. It was a given...and NU fans sensed a superior coaching effort in
Lincoln, compared to that in Austin...

3. At what point might it become obvious that maybe all the top recruits
in the world coming to NU isn't enough ?  (This goes back to the eternal
"players vs coaches" debate regarding who hasn't lived up to expectations
during a given game.)

4. I hate to imagine what the 2005 and 2006 seasons would have been like
if Zac T. HADN'T had the degree of familiarity of the WCO offense in his
head as he arrived in Lincoln. Has NU EVER been as reliant on a QB
performing well as it has seemed necessary under BC ?

The disappointing thing at season's end to me is that you look at teams
like OU and UT and see where THEY have had "off-years" and you think "if
ONLY NU could have played better" because next year's editions will
almost certainly be better. This may have been our best chance in a long
time, with the schedule so much in our favor, to have a better-than 9-5
record.

Bill Laughlin
Wichita, KS

_______________________________________________
husker site list
husker at tssi.com
http://romaine.tssi.com/mailman/listinfo/husker


         ********************************************

This message and accompanying documents are covered by the 
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521, 
and contain information intended for the specified individual(s) only. 
This information is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient 
or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you 
are hereby notified that you have received this document in error and 
that any review, dissemination, copying, or the taking of any action 
based on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you 
have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately 
by e-mail, and delete the original message.

        *********************************************