RonzNotes Husker Ramblings

This Ain't No Applebee's

One of the things I disliked most of the last regime was how we stopped being unique.  We stopped being corn-fed, smash mouth, run this "antique offense" that you can't stop type of offense.  We stopped being the local diner where everyone knew the menu by heart and where the waitress was there them first time you didn't order off the "little truckers" menu and got what your dad ordered.

Milt has a quote "we ran this line up and smash the ball down their throat offense... and ya know, a lot of kids bought into that".  We weren't flashy, we didn't have a marketing budget, we just did our thing.  We were unique - really unique.  Some said it was a weakness, can't get the good recruits to come run the option, etc.  It was our greatest strength.  It was what I loved about our team.  We did it our way (ignore the Frank Sinatra lyrics) and it didn't always work, but it was our way.  Harry S Truman described an American that got in trouble in a foreign country this way "yes, he's an SOB, but he's our SOB".  We didn't always win but they were always my huskers.  When we lost, more often than not, we are as state, were sad.  When we went away from being Nebraska football, when we became an AppleBees (one in every city serving the same thing to everyone) and stopped being the local diner -- we started getting mad when we lost -- just like everyone else does.

I don't care how bad things got, how much the Orange bowl losses hurt, there was Tom.  No throat slashing, not hillbilly comments, just a humble man horribly disappointed because we didn't play well.

I am thrilled to be back on track toward a coach that speaks his mind and has a moral compass.  I look forward to shutting down the Applebees and being something unique again.  Something distinct from all the other programs.  I'm just glad to have something to be proud of again.  And that has nothing to do with wins and losses.

Great Article

http://www.huskerpedia.com/stryker/ts2008_06_25.html

Overheard at a recruiting breakfast

Supposedly Jamrog was cornered by a well intentioned Callahan assistant that told Jamrog (keep in mind Jamrog was on the 2003 staff) "you don't understand how much MORE talent the 2003 team had on defense than this group".

Initially that sends shivers, but keep in mind this was the starting line-up on the 2003 Defense:

Titus Brothers, Willie Amos, Stu Bradley, Titus Adams, Bullocks (2), Carriker, Ira Cooper, Tierre Green, TJ Hollowell, Lanny Hopkins, LeKevin Smith, Patrick Kabongo, Jason Lohr, McPherson, Jay Moore, Wali Mohammed, Pippens, Barrett Ruud, Shanle, Bernard, Fabian, and Demorrio.

It was a defense that ended up as a top 15 unit.  A lot of those guys signed NFL contracts.  Then again a lot of the 2007 class cashed NFL checks.  2003 Got blown out too, but mostly because offense was unable to keep up and had to stop running ball control.  We need at least a top 40 defense - keep in mind, the Big Twelve has some powerful offenses.

Pelini has his hands full - well, in many cases, hands empty -- lack of depth will haunt us.

I made a promise

There has been much speculation over the last 6 months on what should have happened in 2003 - Pelini says the job should never have been open for him to accept.  Others say the right answer was BO.  Others have brought up that Osborne should have never retired in 1997.

All Dr Osborne (by the way, his family pronounces it Osburn - not the long O sound of born - but in his humbleness he's never made more than a couple public statements about it) has ever said was that he made a promise to someone to retire.  My Money has always been that the promise was to Nancy.  Some sources will say that Nancy almost left Tom in the mid-90s.  Left him as in died.  It seems she may have had a battle with a life threatening illness and it sent the message to Tom to spend some time with her.  I think his bouts with health issues probably (despite his excellent heath today) sealed the deal - his touch with mortality motivated him to want to spend more time with Nancy. 

Tom is practical - he knew his staff was aging and he knew the cupboards were stocked -- it was a good time to leave.  Although, it was as hard of an act to follow as he had - following a National Championship coach.

We will never know who he meant when he said "I made a promise"....  but I bet it was a chick thing.

4-0 to 6-6?

Looking ahead to the season and expectations.  Already you can sense on the street, on the message boards, on the radio....  everyone is talking patience and measured success.  Talk of "playing hard" and staying in all the games and getting back to a bowl.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, that is about as believable as when I say to my two year old daughter "now this is the last time I'm throwing you on the bed" and she agrees and before the bed stops bouncing she is giggling and saying "again".  Yeah, if we open up 3-0 the fans will become greedy and say "again" -- now let's say is happens and we beat V-tech and start 4-0.  The "AGAIN" will be heard across the nation.  The letters BCS will be said, and some idiot will even use the acronym BTCG and an even bigger idiot will be talking about the no-hitter (undefeated).  Those idiots will be all around you - at lunch, at work, posting on ronznotes, maybe looking you in the mirror.

Can our fans handle a perceived "meltdown" when we run out of awesome schemes to hide the fact our starting Linebackers are a walk-on, a true freshmen, and a converted runningback?   Depth at LB is when one of our guys trots off the field and turns his jersey inside out and returns with a different number.  The final eight games are against 3 teams that won 10+ games last year, a sleeper 9 win T-tech, a very much on the rise Buff team, and three most likely beatables (assuming the trip to Manhattan turns into a Prince farewell Prince tour).  For those that think KU will be less formidable and our defense will be better - remember this.  KU scored enough in the first half to beat us despite us "coming back" in the second half.

Be prepared to send a lot of husker fans to "time-out" for being bossy or pouting or crying when Bo, like Daddy, finally can't pull off another "again".