OK, I am a blogger taking on the personality of our head coach.
There’s two things to point to in No. 19 Nebraska’s heartache of a 16-15 loss to No. 13 Virginia Tech. Well, let’s just say Nebraska went from jubilation to deflation like lickity-split.
For starters, there’s Virginia Tech wide receiver Danny Coale running past Nebraska safety Matt O’Hanlon. Coale caught the ball around the Husker 40-yard line before O’Hanlon hustled to tackle Coale at the 3. Unfortunately, two players later, the Hokies scored the go-ahead touchdown with 21-seconds left in the game.
The Nebraska defense that played so incredibly well throughout the game flat-lined. With VaTech taking over at its own 16, what on Earth is O’Hanlon doing letting a receiver get behind him?
Others would lament other missed opportunities by Nebraska – too many to list – over O’Hanlon taking an angle too flat while cornerback Anthony West appeared to have underneath coverage.
As for the missed opportunities:
-- Going 0-for-5 in the red zone in scoring touchdowns (5-for-6 in total scoring opportunities). Do that against a team that’s your equal or superior, you deserve to get beat.
-- There were four penalties (very legit ones at that) that take Nebraska from first-and-goal at the Hokies 6-yard line. First, Zac Lee’s touchdown to Mike McNeill is waved off for a holding penalty. One play later, Menelik Holt cannot maker a clean catch of Lee’s touchdown pass. Three penalties later, the Huskers are backed up and forced to punt at the 36.
-- There was Curenski Gilleylen running wide open down the right sideline that he has to reach for and fall out of bounds instead of running with so much open field even Mark Mangino could have scored.
In a nutshell, moral victories suck. If head coach Bo Pelini thinks so, then dammitt so should we!
OK, O’Hanlon getting beat deep and the offense faltering inside the red zone. Both are responsible for this loss. It’s not an “either/or” argument. You can’t mention one without the other.
I know the defense gave up a big play late, but this loss has to hang on the offense. Five field goals? It’s one thing to have to settle for a field every once in a while but when you have a top 25 opponent on the ropes you have to put them away. Especially when you are playing in their house, you know they are always going to make a game of it if you don't.
The most discouraging aspect of this loss is that special teams was the area most Husker fans, bloggers, message board posters, etc. feared given VaTech’s tendency to be superior. However, Nebraska played the Hokies even if not superior in special teams.
Granted, there was Dyrell Roberts’ 76-yard return on the opening kickoff that set up Ryan Williams’ touchdown but Niles Paul also gave Nebraska a 55-yard punt return to set up a field goal. Alex Henery also got off a 76-yard punt after a high snap. Adi Kunalac kickoff three touchbacks.
In a nutshell, very painful loss. I thought it was a great overall performance, especially by the defensive front seven, the offensive line and running back Roy Helu (28 carries, 169 yards). I don't fault offensive coordinator Shawn Watson for calling a more conservative game, on the road, with a young QB. However, I really wonder why we don't have a full house backfield for short yardage situations with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh lead blocking. The red zone is where you have to establish your physical dominance.
The Huskers are getting closer but still need to be better at closing time.
Showing posts with label Menelik Holt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Menelik Holt. Show all posts
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Attitude change in full force for the Big Red
The start of fall practice is typically a preseason honeymoon period. Everyone’s undefeated. Everyone’s optimistic about the upcoming season.
The 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers are no different entering head coach Bo Pelini’s second season. The buzzwords in a recent Lincoln Journal Star story were accountability, intensity, and team unity. The 2008 Huskers took a step in the right direction in Pelini’s first season, improving from 5-7 in 2007 under Bill Callahan to 9-4 last season. As fans, we all expect to see this theme carry over to the field. These qualities were desperately in the Callahan years.
We should see that attitude continue to pay off in 2009. The question is how much will it translate from a win-loss perspective? Just reading a few player sound bites are very telling:
“The other word we used all the time was “dominate,” Nebraska tight end Mike McNeill said. “And we did a good job of dominating our tasks this summer.”The Huskers had accountability for poor effort or tardiness, too. Senior safety Larry Asante said players who fell short of expectations, or were late, had to admit those mistakes in front of the whole team.Then the team would decide a punishment for the player. It was the kind of player accountability, Asante and wide receiver Menelik Holt agreed, that members of NU’s national championship teams in the 1990s had talked to them about in the spring. “Sometimes we’d make them stand there and watch us run,” said Asante, a member of the 2009 Unity Council. “It was kind of a mental thing, to make them sit on the side and watch us run. Because we are a team.”Holt, also on the Unity Council, said Pelini stressed that each Husker “learn how to be a man.”“Part of being a man is being accountable for your actions,” Holt said. “We hear that all the time. Pelini’s always teaching us about those characteristics like a father would. And I think you’ve seen our team change in our leaders and how they act. You saw the team also change. We hear that from the 95 team when those guys come in.
I like what I am hearing. If the seniors like Phillip Dillard, Ricky Thenarse, Asante and others buy into this and play up to their potential, this could be a special year. We have seniors with a ton of talent. I hope we get the quality senior leadership that has been absent for a long time in this program.
Listening to the players and reading what they say, it sounds to me like the players think they can improve on last year and that their coaches know how to get them there. They also sound like they've bought into Pelini's mantra of "compete every day to be accountable and to be a man."Again, I know it’s a happy time of the year and that the realities of the regular season are not here. I know the Kool-Aid is flowing abundantly but it’s also good to see that healthy mindset.
I think Dillard should be given a lot of credit. Dillard fell out of favor with the coaching staff for what most believe were weight and work ethic issues in spring football practices. With fall practices here, it appears that Dillard will be given every opportunity to earn his starting job back.
I don't know if it is Dillard's personality or the staff's approach to handling the situation or (probably) both, but I am very impressed with his reaction to the spring ball demotion.I hope he is able to make it back; I think he will contribute in some valuable ways this year. He may not start, but a great backup at that position is important, as is another good special teams player.
Maybe this group of coaches found a way to challenge and motivate him, or maybe the light just went on. I wasn't sure what to expect myself. Count me in the impressed category. If he's dropped that much weight and gained flexibility and speed as a result, he could be a surprise out of fall camp and have a great senior season.
At the worst, this gives us 3 viable options at the MIKE position in Colton Koehler, Will Compton, and Dillard. Compton's the future, so you get him the experience, but you don't want to beat him up too much if you don't have to and (knock on wood) we've had more than our share of injuries at the LB position over the course of the past few seasons. We need all the depth we can build and maintain. In a situation like we have with an inexperienced group to begin with, any injuries hurt that much more.
The 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers are no different entering head coach Bo Pelini’s second season. The buzzwords in a recent Lincoln Journal Star story were accountability, intensity, and team unity. The 2008 Huskers took a step in the right direction in Pelini’s first season, improving from 5-7 in 2007 under Bill Callahan to 9-4 last season. As fans, we all expect to see this theme carry over to the field. These qualities were desperately in the Callahan years.
We should see that attitude continue to pay off in 2009. The question is how much will it translate from a win-loss perspective? Just reading a few player sound bites are very telling:
“The other word we used all the time was “dominate,” Nebraska tight end Mike McNeill said. “And we did a good job of dominating our tasks this summer.”The Huskers had accountability for poor effort or tardiness, too. Senior safety Larry Asante said players who fell short of expectations, or were late, had to admit those mistakes in front of the whole team.Then the team would decide a punishment for the player. It was the kind of player accountability, Asante and wide receiver Menelik Holt agreed, that members of NU’s national championship teams in the 1990s had talked to them about in the spring. “Sometimes we’d make them stand there and watch us run,” said Asante, a member of the 2009 Unity Council. “It was kind of a mental thing, to make them sit on the side and watch us run. Because we are a team.”Holt, also on the Unity Council, said Pelini stressed that each Husker “learn how to be a man.”“Part of being a man is being accountable for your actions,” Holt said. “We hear that all the time. Pelini’s always teaching us about those characteristics like a father would. And I think you’ve seen our team change in our leaders and how they act. You saw the team also change. We hear that from the 95 team when those guys come in.
I like what I am hearing. If the seniors like Phillip Dillard, Ricky Thenarse, Asante and others buy into this and play up to their potential, this could be a special year. We have seniors with a ton of talent. I hope we get the quality senior leadership that has been absent for a long time in this program.
Listening to the players and reading what they say, it sounds to me like the players think they can improve on last year and that their coaches know how to get them there. They also sound like they've bought into Pelini's mantra of "compete every day to be accountable and to be a man."Again, I know it’s a happy time of the year and that the realities of the regular season are not here. I know the Kool-Aid is flowing abundantly but it’s also good to see that healthy mindset.
I think Dillard should be given a lot of credit. Dillard fell out of favor with the coaching staff for what most believe were weight and work ethic issues in spring football practices. With fall practices here, it appears that Dillard will be given every opportunity to earn his starting job back.
I don't know if it is Dillard's personality or the staff's approach to handling the situation or (probably) both, but I am very impressed with his reaction to the spring ball demotion.I hope he is able to make it back; I think he will contribute in some valuable ways this year. He may not start, but a great backup at that position is important, as is another good special teams player.
Maybe this group of coaches found a way to challenge and motivate him, or maybe the light just went on. I wasn't sure what to expect myself. Count me in the impressed category. If he's dropped that much weight and gained flexibility and speed as a result, he could be a surprise out of fall camp and have a great senior season.
At the worst, this gives us 3 viable options at the MIKE position in Colton Koehler, Will Compton, and Dillard. Compton's the future, so you get him the experience, but you don't want to beat him up too much if you don't have to and (knock on wood) we've had more than our share of injuries at the LB position over the course of the past few seasons. We need all the depth we can build and maintain. In a situation like we have with an inexperienced group to begin with, any injuries hurt that much more.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Sizing up position battles
Competition or controversy?
If a football team has two good quarterbacks, it’s a controversy. If the team has two good middle linebackers, it’s a competition.
As fall camp enters for the Nebraska football team, as with any season, there are position battles that bear watching.
The No. 2 quarterback position will especially bear watching as Zac Lee is the odds-on favorite to replace the graduated Joe Ganz. After Lee, the race for No. 2 includes Kody Spano, LaTravis Washington, Cody Green and potentially Taylor Martinez. I remain very adamant that Green and Martinez should redshirt. For starters, it’s going to be very rare that head coach Bo Pelini does not redshirt a true freshman.
In an ideal world, Washington would redshirt too given that the junior is a converted linebacker. However, I kind of made the same argument last year when Cody Glenn moved from running back to linebacker but not redshirting Glenn seemed to work just fine. Redshirting Washington now, however, would logjam the position for the future.
Spano, who is a redshirt freshman, would be the No. 2 man ideally but is he fully recovered physically and mentally from a torn ACL injury? I say, plan on making Lee the main guy and find a role for Washington. Perhaps the Wildcat role.
Wide receiver and right guard will also be a compelling thing to watch. At the former, Menelik Holt and Niles Paul are likely to be the starters for the season opener. Both had meaningful snaps last year behind Nate Swift and Todd Peterson but being the lead guy is a whole different deal. Behind Holt and Paul, you have Chris Brooks, Will Henry, Curenski Gilleylen, Brandon Kinnie and Marcus Mendoza, Antonio Bell, Tim Marlowe and Khiry Cooper.
For right guard, the wild card is backup center Mike Caputo, who could possibly be the start and move Jacob Hickman to right guard. Or keeping Hickman at center and having Ricky Henry and Caputo battle it out at right guard. It’s really a battle to see whether sophomore backup center Mike Caputo progresses enough to surpass junior Ricky Henry at his position, right guard. Obviously the possibility has been brought up, because current center/former right guard Jacob Hickman talked about it at length at Big 12 Media Days.Middle linebacker will also bear watching. Linebacker was an area of weakness for much of the year but senior walk-on Colton Koehler was a bright spot.
The wild card is what happens to Phillip Dillard, who has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff (specifically position coach Mike Ekeler). Dillard has enough talent to be an asset but will his mind be in the right place?
Then there is also redshirt freshman Will Compton, who is highly touted but young players also come with a learning curve.
You also have five guys battling for two cornerback positions -- Anthony West, Prince Amukamara, Dejon Gomes, and Alfonzo Dennard and Anthony Blue. For now, West and Amukamara are the favorites but if he’s healthy, Blue might be the best corner.
If a football team has two good quarterbacks, it’s a controversy. If the team has two good middle linebackers, it’s a competition.
As fall camp enters for the Nebraska football team, as with any season, there are position battles that bear watching.
The No. 2 quarterback position will especially bear watching as Zac Lee is the odds-on favorite to replace the graduated Joe Ganz. After Lee, the race for No. 2 includes Kody Spano, LaTravis Washington, Cody Green and potentially Taylor Martinez. I remain very adamant that Green and Martinez should redshirt. For starters, it’s going to be very rare that head coach Bo Pelini does not redshirt a true freshman.
In an ideal world, Washington would redshirt too given that the junior is a converted linebacker. However, I kind of made the same argument last year when Cody Glenn moved from running back to linebacker but not redshirting Glenn seemed to work just fine. Redshirting Washington now, however, would logjam the position for the future.
Spano, who is a redshirt freshman, would be the No. 2 man ideally but is he fully recovered physically and mentally from a torn ACL injury? I say, plan on making Lee the main guy and find a role for Washington. Perhaps the Wildcat role.
Wide receiver and right guard will also be a compelling thing to watch. At the former, Menelik Holt and Niles Paul are likely to be the starters for the season opener. Both had meaningful snaps last year behind Nate Swift and Todd Peterson but being the lead guy is a whole different deal. Behind Holt and Paul, you have Chris Brooks, Will Henry, Curenski Gilleylen, Brandon Kinnie and Marcus Mendoza, Antonio Bell, Tim Marlowe and Khiry Cooper.
For right guard, the wild card is backup center Mike Caputo, who could possibly be the start and move Jacob Hickman to right guard. Or keeping Hickman at center and having Ricky Henry and Caputo battle it out at right guard. It’s really a battle to see whether sophomore backup center Mike Caputo progresses enough to surpass junior Ricky Henry at his position, right guard. Obviously the possibility has been brought up, because current center/former right guard Jacob Hickman talked about it at length at Big 12 Media Days.Middle linebacker will also bear watching. Linebacker was an area of weakness for much of the year but senior walk-on Colton Koehler was a bright spot.
The wild card is what happens to Phillip Dillard, who has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff (specifically position coach Mike Ekeler). Dillard has enough talent to be an asset but will his mind be in the right place?
Then there is also redshirt freshman Will Compton, who is highly touted but young players also come with a learning curve.
You also have five guys battling for two cornerback positions -- Anthony West, Prince Amukamara, Dejon Gomes, and Alfonzo Dennard and Anthony Blue. For now, West and Amukamara are the favorites but if he’s healthy, Blue might be the best corner.
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