Lee Barfknecht: "There's a virus still in the program"

[Jack_John_Mark]

Was just watching Big Red Wrapup and he was talking about how players are spatting with fans and what not.

He said there's this virus that's still with the program where players are brainwashed to think the fans are out to get them.

He's got a point. Seeing Alex Lewis with all his antics. And how do you become a captain of the team??? Last I knew you were voted in by the players.

So, my question is this........if other players voted Alex Lewis in as captain, how many players on this team are still stricken with the Bo Pelini virus?

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Just give Mike Riley a chance, folks.

 

[chucksker]

Seems about right too me

I feel like we are starting to see which ayers are "buying in" and which aren't

Tommy...clearly buying in

Westerkamp...bought in

Guys like Lewis, Davie, really most of the D (aside from a few) and lots of the offense have either clearly not bought in, or just are being exposed as below average players. As the year goes on I think it'll be easier to tell

 

[corn train]

When the comfort of 4 losses is reached everyone will feel much better, fans and player alike, you just can't beat that level of satisfaction, not even with 15 eggs

 

[corn train]

Seems about right too me

I feel like we are starting to see which ayers are "buying in" and which aren't

Tommy...clearly buying in

Westerkamp...bought in

Guys like Lewis, Davie, really most of the D (aside from a few) and lots of the offense have either clearly not bought in, or just are being exposed as below average players. As the year goes on I think it'll be easier to tell

We can put McMullen in the sell column as well, practicing without his blackshirt now, having him move inside to Tackle this weekend is somewhat of a misnomer

 

[huskers1217]

This is what happens when you go in polar opposites.

Could you imagine how Suh would have ate Riley up?

Hopefully, Riley will recruit well because as said before in other threads - Bo players are pretty much done here.

 

[Skerpokes]

Josh Peterson made a point last night on USC that was spot on I think. He basically said that Husker fans have become a lot like politics in the U.S. and voting for a president. Instead of EVERYBODY hoping that our president does well so that he can advance our country and make it better, the people who voted for the president are hoping he does well just so they can say they were right. On the flip side, the people who didn't vote for the president hope that he doesn't do well just so they can say they were right!

Put into a Nebraska context: rather than cheering for a coach to do well, to win games and make the program better, we have fans who cheer for a coach just so they can say they were right about him and the hire. On the flip side you have fans who cheer against a coach so they can say they were right about how the coach shouldn't have been hired in the first place.

Here is a link to the podcast. I think Peterson makes his point around the 6:25 mark

 

[huskers1217]

I wasn't real happy about the hire...but if he brings the natty to nebraska - I am all for him.

i just don't want to go down from the 9 win seasons. that to me is a failure..

 

[HuskerPower52]

I am kinda disappointed in myself for giving up so easily on my team. That's not the Nebraskan way. We can still win the big ten championship. So Iam going to keep hope alive

 

[Red_Alert]

Josh Peterson made a point last night on USC that was spot on I think. He basically said that Husker fans have become a lot like politics in the U.S. and voting for a president. Instead of EVERYBODY hoping that our president does well so that he can advance our country and make it better, the people who voted for the president are hoping he does well just so they can say they were right. On the flip side, the people who didn't vote for the president hope that he doesn't do well just so they can say they were right!

Put into a Nebraska context: rather than cheering for a coach to do well, to win games and make the program better, we have fans who cheer for a coach just so they can say they were right about him and the hire. On the flip side you have fans who cheer against a coach so they can say they were right about how the coach shouldn't have been hired in the first place.

Here is a link to the podcast. I think Peterson makes his point around the 6:25 mark

Josh Peterson posts here?

 

[chucksker]

I wasn't real happy about the hire...but if he brings the natty to nebraska - I am all for him.

i just don't want to go down from the 9 win seasons. that to me is a failure..

I am kinda disappointed in myself for giving up so easily on my team. That's not the Nebraskan way. We can still win the big ten championship. So Iam going to keep hope alive

i think, as shitty as it is, we just kinda have to accept that this is somewhat of a throwaway season. That doesn't mean I'm rooting against the skers. But i personally got way to excited and way overestimated what to expect in Riley's first year.

The fact of the matter is when you have half your starting players not buying in to you and your system fully...there aint much you can do. He is just gonna have to get more of his guys in before we can really see how he does

Pelini strangely was the opposite...he killed it (relatively) with HWSNBN's talent then once he got his guys he started getting worse

 

[Red_Alert]

I wasn't real happy about the hire...but if he brings the natty to nebraska - I am all for him.

i just don't want to go down from the 9 win seasons. that to me is a failure..

I assume you mean after the first season. IMO The only 'failure' this season would be not qualifying for a bowl game. I.E (5-7)(4-8) etc... It's going to be a long off-season if that happens.

The fans/media are just as much a part of that "virus" as some of the players. However, a lot of that can be pinned on the coaching staff for lying about what they were going to do.

Riley clearly stated that he'd adapt his offensive approach to the strengths of the players, particularly Armstrong. That gave fans a false set of expectations that are not being met. I pointed out months ago that new coaching staffs want to excite the fan-base. It's my opinion Riley and Co were being spoon fed what to say by the athletic department. The athletic department knew all of the bitches, gripes, and complaints that were associated with the Bopleeny staff over the last few years.

Riley and Co should have come straight out and said they were going to run the west coast passing offense and that things were likely to get uglier before they got better in every facet of the game. He could have referenced/reiterated that point in every presser after every ugly game. "We expected this. We'll get there".

Instead they opted to pour the Kool-Aid giving unrealistic expectations.

As difficult as it is to see our Huskers struggle through this, the fans/media need to put the pitchforks back in the shed for the season.

There are 3 fingers pointing back at me.

That doesn't mean I won't be putting up some stats (or what not) now and then. Stats and being analytical are in my nature. I continue to think this staff are losers and will always be losers. I continue to believe Riley is lining the pockets of long-time loyal friends. However, that is the last time you will see me write that until December 2016 at the earliest.

I'm simply going to do my part to eradicate my contribution to the "virus" by backing off. It's something I have control of.
Let these guys do what they're being paid to do (no matter how bad it looks) and let the players have some fun playing the game.
If it still looks like this come December 2016, (I.E. losing to teams they should beat) then I'll be pulling the pitchfork back out.

 

[huskers1217]

I assume you mean after the first season. IMO The only 'failure' this season would be not qualifying for a bowl game. I.E (5-7)(4-8) etc... It's going to be a long off-season if that happens.

The fans/media are just as much a part of that "virus" as some of the players. However, a lot of that can be pinned on the coaching staff for lying about what they were going to do.

Riley clearly stated that he'd adapt his offensive approach to the strengths of the players, particularly Armstrong. That gave fans a false set of expectations that are not being met. I pointed out months ago that new coaching staffs want to excite the fan-base. It's my opinion Riley and Co were being spoon fed what to say by the athletic department. The athletic department knew all of the bitches, gripes, and complaints that were associated with the Bopleeny staff over the last few years.

Riley and Co should have come straight out and said they were going to run the west coast passing offense and that things were likely to get uglier before they got better in every facet of the game. He could have referenced/reiterated that point in every presser after every ugly game. "We expected this. We'll get there".

Instead they opted to pour the Kool-Aid giving unrealistic expectations.

As difficult as it is to see our Huskers struggle through this, the fans/media need to put the pitchforks back in the shed for the season.

There are 3 fingers pointing back at me.

That doesn't mean I won't be putting up some stats (or what not) now and then. Stats and being analytical are in my nature. I continue to think this staff are losers and will always be losers. I continue to believe Riley is lining the pockets of long-time loyal friends. However, that is the last time you will see me write that until December 2016 at the earliest.

I'm simply going to do my part to eradicate my contribution to the "virus" by backing off. It's something I have control of.
Let these guys do what they're being paid to do (no matter how bad it looks) and let the players have some fun playing the game.
If it still looks like this come December 2016, (I.E. losing to teams they should beat) then I'll be pulling the pitchfork back out.

my concern is over the next 4 years winning 5-7 games a year.

None of us realized how empty this cupboard was with Bo and Riley has to be given this and next year to install his system and recruit guys for that system. I just would like to see improvement throughout the season and a jump in improvement each offseason without the smoke of "It's a process".

 

[Red_Alert]

my concern is over the next 4 years winning 5-7 games a year.

None of us realized how empty this cupboard was with Bo and Riley has to be given this and next year to install his system and recruit guys for that system. I just would like to see improvement throughout the season and a jump in improvement each offseason without the smoke of "It's a process".

LOL

I was calling Bopleeny recruits "the best of the mid-majors" or "the best of the rest" for at least the last 3 years. I was met with personal attacks in that I was not a coach and didn't have the ability to evaluate. That those players were actually "diamonds in the rough gems" that amazingly no other elite programs had the ability to see. They were "steals".

 

[Red_Alert]

As chucksker said.

This is a "throw away season".

So is next season IMO.

Two seasons should be enough to wash out the typical "new system" "players to fit the system" excuses associated with new coaching staffs and their defenders among the fan base.

 

[HuskerInSecLand]

I was kind of thinking along this line the other night.
You have Lewis making these tweets or facebook posts, whatever. OK, he's young and fans are fucking losers sometimes. SO not a big deal, let it go.

But then you have him taunting the fans on the field and it's WTF, this punk has absolutely no brains at all or else he has support for the way he feels on this team. What I mean by this is where is the peer pressure. If he didn't have players that felt the same way then he would have been shut down but I guess is that there are those there in the same camp as him.

And then add to that there is no one who is going to stand up and say this shit ain't going to happen on my team. Either march with us or get the hell out of our parade.

Gangwish, I love him and his heart. He said everything right in the presser, except one thing. That one thing was when he was asked if he had said anything to Lewis about his behavior and he said it wasn't his place.

Not your place?!!!! Well who the fucks place is it then. It's your team, it's your teammate, you are a captain and he is a captain. And most importantly it is your state! The state you grew up in, the team you grew up with. Their traditions and examples brought to you as a youngster. Yet it's not your place. Bullshit!!

This team has Bolievers on it still and it hasn't had any leadership for years. Until the cancerous players are gone and a culture of leadership is grown things will only get worse and if Riley let's Lewis stay a captain then in my mind he will never have a chance of leading this team into that culture.

 

[iruletheskool]

I am josh peterson

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

I assume you mean after the first season. IMO The only 'failure' this season would be not qualifying for a bowl game. I.E (5-7)(4-8) etc... It's going to be a long off-season if that happens.

The fans/media are just as much a part of that "virus" as some of the players. However, a lot of that can be pinned on the coaching staff for lying about what they were going to do.

Riley clearly stated that he'd adapt his offensive approach to the strengths of the players, particularly Armstrong. That gave fans a false set of expectations that are not being met. I pointed out months ago that new coaching staffs want to excite the fan-base. It's my opinion Riley and Co were being spoon fed what to say by the athletic department. The athletic department knew all of the bitches, gripes, and complaints that were associated with the Bopleeny staff over the last few years.

Riley and Co should have come straight out and said they were going to run the west coast passing offense and that things were likely to get uglier before they got better in every facet of the game. He could have referenced/reiterated that point in every presser after every ugly game. "We expected this. We'll get there".

Instead they opted to pour the Kool-Aid giving unrealistic expectations.

As difficult as it is to see our Huskers struggle through this, the fans/media need to put the pitchforks back in the shed for the season.

There are 3 fingers pointing back at me.

That doesn't mean I won't be putting up some stats (or what not) now and then. Stats and being analytical are in my nature. I continue to think this staff are losers and will always be losers. I continue to believe Riley is lining the pockets of long-time loyal friends. However, that is the last time you will see me write that until December 2016 at the earliest.

I'm simply going to do my part to eradicate my contribution to the "virus" by backing off. It's something I have control of.
Let these guys do what they're being paid to do (no matter how bad it looks) and let the players have some fun playing the game.
If it still looks like this come December 2016, (I.E. losing to teams they should beat) then I'll be pulling the pitchfork back out.

Basically the same plan I'm on.

After 2 full seasons if the shit is still hitting the fan, it's not going to get any better. He needs at least this full season to overcome the virus.

Then right the ship next season. If he's a miracle worker, maybe he can still do it this season and save face.

What other options do we have as fans? All we can do is hope for the best. It's too depressing not to.

 

[iruletheskool]

Tommy in the presser sayin he only plays for his team and coaches and nobody else was telling~

 

[Jack_John_Mark]

Tommy in the presser sayin he only plays for his team and coaches and nobody else was telling~

Wow.

If he of all people is saying that....