Lubbock Calling...

"He is an average runner in terms of speed. He is kind of nifty, like Joe Ganz." Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson, describing Cody Green's ability to run the football.

After personally witnessing the massacre against Texas Tech this week in Lincoln, PYB had no idea where to start. Finally, we decided on this quote, which may give some inkling of how completely clueless Watson really is. Is he supposing that none of NU's fans have seen Green run like a Gazelle in mop-up duty this season? Or is he just that stupid?

We may never know, but what we do know is that the two holdover coaches from the Callahan and Solich eras are the ones costing the Cornhuskers the most. Watson's playcalling is so bad, it reminds us of the days of 50 passes of three yards or less from the Air Callahan days. And Barney Cotton's line is so bad, that they cannot get inside the 20 yard line without having multiple holding or false start penalties.....not ONCE. Not EVER! Both need to be dismissed, and waiting until the season ends is too long.

In a chance postgame meeting with former Cornhusker LB Stewart Bradley, PYB & friends grilled him about what was wrong with NU. Fans can take heart that they do know something about the game (despite what coaches will say), when he mentioned the awful playcalling and the fact that NU NEVER throws downfield. Better to risk a couple three-and-outs, he said, just to stretch the field and keep defenses somewhat honest. When asked why we run the zone read play 15 times with the slow QB, and not ONCE with the fast QB, he just shook his head. Enough said. When you lose faith of former alumni, who have no hidden agenda, you are effectively done.

Anyway, let's get on to some unit-by-unit analysis, before we rant for another 500 words.

Quarterback
Obviously, first on everyone's mind. Zac Lee has not moved the ball against a decent team yet. The Mizzou game turned out to be what it was.....a fluke. NU racked up 27 points due to turnovers and one long bomb. The game-capping drive was nice, and came from..GASP....running the football and staying committed to it! In defense of Lee, I have not seen many (ie, NONE) receivers running wide open this year. But listening to coaches, it sounds like he's not seeing reads soon enough to hit passes against good teams, when the openings will be small and split-second decisions will be needed. He had his chance at this job, and couldn't take advantage.

On to Green: It was nice to see Watson set him up to fail on Saturday. Put him in, and not run him ONCE. Watson didn't roll Green out of the pocket once either, and tried to turn him into the next version of Tom Brady, sitting in the pocket. What a disgrace. Has Watson not seen the way this his gone with Vince Young, Michael Vick, etc.?

These guys can throw a bit but are the scary weapons they are a threat to run and convert first downs and gain yards in 20-30 yard chunks. The excuse will surely be, "We were behind in the game and felt we had to throw." Well, you can still run pass plays, but give him the option to run. Keep the defense off balance, and the yards will come....trust anyone who has played video games, since apparently you can't figure it out yourself. Truly sad. Maybe you can have the CU job earlier than we thought, Shawn.

Running Back
Not much analysis needed here. Roy Helu is a great RB, when healthy, but he hasn't been a factor the last two games. Actually, we should say he hasn't been used. If he's hurt, tell the fucking public and use one of NU's bigger freshmen backs in trying to establish a run game. Quit playing reindeer games with the injury report.....it seemed that Tom Osborne did just fine without shrouding every twisted ankle in secrecy.

Wide Receiver
This may be NU's worst position, as predicted in the preseason. Not one of the starters can get open on a consistent basis. Niles Paul effectively tanked the Texas Tech game with his lackadaisical, unfocused fumble that led to the Red Raiders' 14-0 lead. His big plays against bad teams, and fluke TDs against Mizzou have bought him a lot of goodwill with uneducated fans. But the truth is, he sucks.

NU's most consistent option is Chris Brooks, who seems to get open by using his big frame and four years of experience. Backups Antonio Bell, Bradon Kinnie and Khiry Cooper got more time, but without enough chance to learn the offense and practice tight route running, results will be sporadic at best. Too many drops for the whole unit.

Offensive Line
What can even be said here? Just a terrible performance by a terrible unit. Every key drive is stunted by multiple false start or holding penalties. We were even treated to a little dessert Saturday, when Ricky Henry ended NU's slim hopes of winning with a 15-yard personal foul that moved the ball from the four yard line to the 19. According to the OWH, in its three games against BCS teams, NU's offense has racked up 21 penalties for 154 yards. It was eight for 60 yards on Saturday.

Cotton's first stint in Lincoln was a disaster, both as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He should never have gotten a second chance. Programs like NU don't give second chances, shouldn't need to. Time to go Barney, the Real Big Red in Ames may need help...oh wait, they're 4-3.....maybe Ames High School has an opening.

Tight End
Watson does not attempt to get the TEs involved, unless it is against a shitty team where NU doesn't need them. Hence, we will forego analysis of this position until further notice.

Defense
For the most part, the defense played well Saturday. The first drive got them off to a bad start and put the Huskers in a 7-0 hole. The drive was extended by a couple flukish conversions by TT. But the one-game Blackshirts got over its flat start, and held the Raiders to 252 yards. Pretty darn good...much better than Texas did.

The two main weaknesses, however, come in the defensive backfield. Matt O'Hanlon is severely overmatched and should not play another down. After singlehandedly blowing the Virginia Tech game (well, actually Shawn Watson and the O Line helped, surprise), he added to that feat Saturday. On a long pass play where O'Hanlon was five yards out of position, Alfonzo Dennard had perfect coverage and was waiting to make a possible INT.....O' Hanlon then came in full speed and slammed into Dennard, knocking him out for the game and maybe longer. Get to Wesleyan, Matt.

This forced NU to play with Anthony West the rest of the game. He hadn't played a lick in the prior two games, and Texas Tech instantly picked on him the remainder of the time. His pass interference penalty set up TT inside the five for the game-losing touchdown. He can't cover.

The next weakness comes with Prince Amukamara. The guy has all the talent in the world and his right nearby every play. But when it comes to actually defending the pass, his skills are nonexistent. Every chance at an interception is dropped and every chance at a pass break up is missed. When he's out there with West, there are two weak links. When Dejon Gomes and Dennard are on the field, it can be hidden to a point. Hopefully, he can improve, but this is usually an innate skill, not taught. This is why he was a star RB in high school.

Punter
Alex Henery, as said many times before, is not the answer at punter. Please use the backup. It could not go worse. There is at least one shank per game and the net punting game is 93rd in the nation. FYI, that's out of 120 teams. He is a great PK, let him concentrate on that. He doesn't even look like he knows how to punt.

Coaching
The main concern here, is how good NU can be in certain areas and how truly awful it can be in others. The defensive improvement 1.5 seasons is amazing, and it is a legitimate top-15 unit nationally. The vaunted Longhorn defense allowed 414 to TT in Austin. However, the listed facets are a complete joke: game management, play calling, media relations, offensive coaching, and special teams.

Change is needed, and no it is not too early. Jettison Watson and Cotton. Osborne needs to set Pelini straight on his dealing with the media. The public deserves respect and deserves to know more about injuries. There is no benefit in secrecy, especially when what you're hiding is about a player of marginal talent, anyway. PYB backs Bo, but he has some severe shortcomings that he must address if he wants a long future at NU. The next few weeks it is on him to decide: Am I a career wizard defensive coordinator, or am I truly head coach material? It's on you, Mr. Pelini.

Crowd
The crowd and NU fans also must take ownership here. The aura and effort at this game was a total fucking embarrassment. Pre-game, there was ZERO energy outside the stadium and at the tailgates. PYB got the feeling that NU fans thought that they had reclaimed their rightful spot atop the football world (sadly, this when rated 15th) and could just cruise along to easy wins until the OU game. Well, when your talent is average at best, that doesn't happen. Hell, it doesn't even happen for Florida or Texas or Notre Dame (that was a joke) anymore.

Once TT went up 7-0. Actually, once TT converted a couple long third downs, NU fans went in to turtle mode. They have always been known for not being loud, but this was the worst we at PYB have witnessed. It was like they were refusing to cheer until something good happened. Well you know what? Sometimes that noise is needed to rev up a flat team, especially for the defense to create a turnover and perhaps some points that could have cut the lead to 14-7. This was against a team that pushed Texas for 3.5 quarters, and this is all you can muster?

Watching the people in the stadium, it's almost like they're too self conscious to really let go and scream their lungs out, for fear their neighbor or pastor or priest is watching. Let it go, Cornhusker fans, you won't have much to cheer for until next fall anyway. Well you could, but you know zilch about hoops and won't support Doc Sadler, forcing him to leave and making NU suck at hoops for another 20 years....but that's another column for another day....

So jump up in the 1989 Nikes, yank down those two-size-too-small Silver Tabs, and scream your fucking lungs out. You can do that, or have fun in Shreveport (the murder capital of the USA) at the Independence Bowl.

PS
In its impromptu interview with Stewart Bradley, his BFF Bo Ruud stood nearby---wasted, slamming a Bud Light Lime before they went out to apparently chase skirts. Not quite sure how a guy who was in NFL training camps this fall looks like he is 210 pounds, with man boobs and a boiler resembling Phil Mickelson's. His physique, or lack thereof, is all the evidence you need to see why he sucked at NU and got cut in the NFL more times than Eric Crouch. Plus, the way he was limp-wristedly sauntering through the Embassy Suites made him look like Lamar Latrell, seriously. We'd expect him on the cover of Out magazine before Huskers Illustrated.

Name of the day....TT kicker/punter Donnie Carona.....we were hoping his backup was Johnnie Pacifico. Good joke!

That's all for now, thanks for listening....I think we here at PYB needed it as therapy more than you, dear reader....