[Husker] Press Conference (LONG)

[Skylar Dodds]

It's getting more and more clear that I don't share any opinions of other
Husker listers in regards to Dirk C, Bo's terrible behavior or TM's
performance up to the OSU game.

In fact, I would argue (and could collect some pretty convincing stats) that
TM was regressing for something like 9-10 games in a row,  The 1st 4 games
(and really the last 5 - 7 of last year) he was terrible with decision
making, Jr high level footwork, at or below 50% passing, no scrambling or
evasive ability, repeated fumbling (thought Rabbit's feet now rub HIM for
good luck based on the fumbles he's lost), he looked horrific running the
option, etc. etc.  

Now all that being said, I have no idea if Carnes was any better or worse.
I wish we got to see some meaningful snaps for him tho, if for no other
reason because you never know if a running QB will get hurt.  I also know
that TM was not our only problem (who would have ever imagined a Bo Pelini
defense that couldn't stop anyone).   But Dirk's article was on the spot.
Bo had hung his hat on TM being the QB.  He 'ran off' Green, moved Turner to
WR, bet on a QB with top MLB draft baseball skills and a super agent on his
right hand and we're left with TWO scholarship QBs on the roster.  That is a
SCARY depth situation.  It's not like a QB has never gotten hurt before.
It's not like HIS QB had never gotten hurt before.

TM is what he is.  He's never going to be the media darling or even the
favorite guy on the team (believe me, that right now is Rex Burkhead by
FAR).  He's never going to sling the ball around like Brady or Manning or
whatever and he doesn't have to be.  He just has to take care of the ball
and deliver occasionally in the passing game (and 50% or below is NOT
delivering) to keep defenses honest.  I hope he turned a corner Saturday
(and I also hope Beck turned one too in how he calls the game for TM), but
his last 10-12 games have still left me skeptical we won't see the kind of
consistency we need.  I HOPE I am wrong.  I REALLY REALLY REALLY DO.

He is what he is.  He's a track STUD.  He can go 20 yards in one direction
faster than pretty much anyone else he's ever going to share the field with.
UP UNTIL LAST SATURDAY, AKA WHEN THE ARTICLE HAD BEEN WRITTEN, ALL OF THESE
THINGS WERE TRUE (and to be fair, one game doesn't change a 17 game track
record, but it gives you hope).  At the time it had been written, many fans
were getting tired of the TM experiment.  No small reason was because we
have a stable of young RBs and WRs with a level of talent we haven't seen
since the triplets and our offense would probably be pretty good if we just
had a guy who could consistently get the ball into the hands of the guys who
can make plays.

Look, here's the REAL problem with Bo's tirade.  It's not that he was
sticking up for his players, he should do that.  But you can stick up for
your players and still act like an adult.  He could have accomplished the
same thing if he had just done something like the following:

DC: "hey Bo, what impressed you most about Taylor tonight?"
BP: "Man, he really came through.  He showed a lot of poise and maturity in
a big game when a lot of media members were questioning his ability and
mental toughness."

DC: "Who did?" 
BP: "You did.  I read your article. Friday.  We knew what we had all along
in Taylor and you got a glimpse of that tonight."

DC: "What did you think of the crowd at the end of the first half?"
BP: "Well frankly, the crowd is going to do what it's going to do, but at
that point, we hadn't given them much to cheer at."

DC: "Did that motivate the players?"
BP: "Our team is plenty motivated, we don't need outside help for that.  We
just needed to play better and we did in the 2nd half and the crowd got
behind us."

With that, he sticks up for his guys, gets in a dig about the article that
was proven wrong.  That's how I would expect anyone in the office to behave
or in customer service somewhere or a company spokesman, etc.  Can you
imagine if the President or a CEO of a large company (which let's face it,
NU football program IS) went on a tirade like that in the press?  He'd be
fired/impeached/whatever before the next news cycle, FACT.

Bo makes almost $3 mil a year for the largest public organization in the
state.  It's in fact in his CONTRACT that he has to represent the University
in a positive and professional manner.  He is getting paid to do something
that he is falling drastically short.

Now, here's the worst part of it all.  We just had our largest comeback in
the history of the program and almost every single fan is talking about
this.  That's not Dirk's fault or the OWHs fault or Lee's fault or any of
those 'evil' press members that try to represent a faction of the fan base's
opinion.  It's ABSOLUTELY 100% BO'S FAULT.  We should be talking about how
it seemed Taylor turned a corner and how SJ Baptiste passed the eyeball test
and made plays to fill the opposite corner spot we've been so desperate to
fill.  We should be talking about the incredible efforts from Rex and
LaVonte who as much as anyone put the entire team on his back and willed
them to victory Saturday.

But instead, message boards are filled with discussion about a f'ing press
conference that 90% of fans don't even watch (I always do after big games
because I love to see the coaches and players demeanors).  Whether you like
it or not, whether Bo had the right or responsibility to go after Dirk, BO
and NOBODY ELSE made this the story.  A few national stories have been
written and it was discussed on College Football Live and Rome and THAT is a
problem, especially for a team that MUST recruit nationally to stay
relevant. 

I know some of you will take this as a 'soft' or 'cry baby' stance, but I
don't care.  I care about the Huskers and everything that effects them good
or bad.  I have the emotional maturity (and I don't think most sports fans
do) that I can discuss both the good and the bad of the team without having
my emotions hurt.  I don't have to have everything be perfect on my team to
love and support them.  Humans/coaches/players and by extension football
programs are flawed. I don't ever feel the need to fight someone who
disagrees with me.  I may think less of their cognizant abilities, but I
respect that there will always be other opinions than mine and that's ok.
Someone who MUST have sunshine all the time can support this team just as
well as someone who is critical about what's going on.  I can buy Husker
gear, go to Husker games, cheer my ever loving ____ off and at the same time
when I get home talk with friends and internet folks about things that could
have gone better or whether or not I would play certain players if I were
the coach. 

Anyhow, that was WAY longer than I intended it, but I hope you got something
out of it and I hope you took the time to read it.

--
Skylar

-----Original Message-----
From: husker-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:husker-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf Of
Steven
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 7:04 PM
To: Husker List
Subject: [Husker] Press Conference

Bo Pelini handled the press conference perfectly.  The article Friday 
was classless and Dirk C from the World Herald is out of his league when 
it comes to division 1 football player management.  He took pot-shots at 
a young guy who is really improving week by week. TM was at one point 10 
for 10 and ended the night as the Big Ten offensive player of the week.
I just don't understand the constant criticism of Bo Pelini's coaching 
style and team management.  I seriously hope that the staff doesn't 
speak to the media, or even make the players available for abuse. I 
would force the media to make their own judgements by watching the on 
field results.

GO BIG RED!

Steven K
Class of 1983
Proud Member of the Oklahoma Cornhusker Club
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