Welcome to the Big Red Roundtable Post-Spring Game "There Ain't No Football for Just About Forever" Depression Edition.
Here we have a bunch of questions we've thrown out there to be answered by a gob of Husker bloggers, and a gob there is. Look at this list!
- Midwest Coast Bias - they have a podcast and a blog. They're technically advanced.
- Big Red Network - They have a podcast, a blog, and they give out gameday guides. They're technically advanced too.
Sigh. Husker football is so far away, we'll most likely never see it played again. I don't intend to be depressing, but this is being written under the influence of allergy medication. No matter what it is, it tends to leave me in a fog, unable to focus, wandering through life, going through the motions like a clockwork orange. Kind of like the entire off-season.
1. Keller or Ganz. Pick one, then give three reasons.
Keller. He's bigger, stronger, faster. He has a bionic eye and arm. Most people don't know that but he does. Evidence can clearly be seen in the damage he caused throwing a plastic cup at a car.
He has experience. He has a NFL body - 6'5", 230 lbs. He has a release that reminds me of Scott Frost and I remember how much everyone was down on Frost because of his throwing motion. People said Frost looked like he was throwing a shot put, so no one wanted him playing quarterback in the NFL. Keller comes along and everyone is talking about his NFL-level talents. Go figure.
BTW, they both looked like hell in green. Why green? Why not hot pink 'safety' jerseys? Green sucks.
2. The most impressive guy at the Spring Game.
Bill Callahan in the booth rattling off play names and talking about football like he was discussing foreign policy with Henry Kissinger. (I'm dating myself with that one, aren't I?) Callahan is as close as you can get to a football nerd and I mean that in the nicest possible way. I got shivers listening to him call plays - "Zebra personnel, play 33, Tre right, wide left, 99 willie". Ooooeeee! I think one of his play calls included the word 'spaceheater'. If young recruits aren't impressed by that, what do they want?
You do realize that by the time Bill Callahan has called a single game he's already spoken more than Frank Solich did in his entire career at Nebraska, right?
3. If you were the Athletic Director, what would you do with the proceeds (from the Spring Game)?
What were the proceeds? 54,000 times $8 bucks a head? That's around $432,000, minus them paying the NFL Network to broadcast the game. The smart thing to do would be to put it towards the stadium expansion project, but I would hope that they would do something to increase the security around the athletic department because I worry about the safety of the Husker female athletes.
4. Do 54,000 people show up at Nebraska's Spring Game because there is really nothing else to do in Nebraska OR because we're more in love with our Huskers than anyone else is with their team.
This whole idea that there isn't anything else to do in Nebraska is a pile of horse puckey. There are several seasons beyond just football. Plantin', irrigatin', and harvestin' to name three. The beauty of the spring game is that it falls between these - it's probably a little too early for plantin', and way too early for irrigatin'. Given that it doesn't conflict with these seasons, Husker fans are going to flock to the spring game.
The other reason that people drive clear across the state whenever they get the excuse is that Lincoln and Omaha are the only two cities left that haven't been taken over by Walmart, and the missus wants to shop someplace that resembles a mall once in a while. So, while the men are going to the Spring Game, the women are off shopping at some place that isn't Walmart. Think I'm kidding? What's in Sidney? Cabelas and Walmart. Lexington? Walmart. McCook? Walmart. Hell, since they put in that Walmart Distribution Center - half of North Platte IS Walmart.
If you want to escape Walmart in Nebraska, get to Memorial Stadium, plain and simple as that.
5. When you heard or saw Marlon Lucky was injured, your first thought was?
It wasn't so much of a thought as it was a noise - mostly like "Arrrggaghagagagggggghhhhhhh!". I'd made the noise earlier in the night when Lydon Murtha was assisted off the field, but it wasn't nearly as loud. My second thought (since you asked) was - who do we blame. Someone must be sacrificed to appease the football gods so that we don't have any more injuries going into next season. I vote we sacrifice Steve Pederson. We blame him for everything anyway. Besides, it's in his contract, isn't it?
6. Were you at all concerned by the fairly modest rushing performance overall by the Red team or is that a sign there's some depth on the defensive front seven?
We have 43 experienced receivers, and only two healthy running backs. We damn well better be throwing the ball more than running it during a spring game. Otherwise, it might be a sign that we have a good deal of average linemen on both sides of the ball. I hope I'm completely wrong about that. All Husker fans hope I'm wrong. Except for the evil ones.
7. Callahan called the receiving corps the strength of the team. Would you tend to agree with that or would you choose another aspect (e.g. linebackers)?
Callahan is an offensive-minded guy. Ask Kevin Cosgrove what he thinks the strength of the team is. He'd say linebackers. Callahan says receivers. I don't give a damn what either of them say - I'd like for the offensive line and defensive line to be the strength of the team. There's something wrong with having the strength of your team be some guys who could just as well be playing basketball.
Still, having a boatload of good receivers isn't so bad, especially with the group we have. Just think what might happen when USC comes to town. Our 43 receivers against their 10 Blue-Chip, top of the line running backs. You know we'll have an offensive set that includes a center, a quarterback and nine receivers. Due to a rule loophole, all nine will be eligible. We'll do that and kick USC's buttocks all over the place. Then people will complain that Nebraska has gotten away from our roots - that we're no longer capable of playing physical football and there will be a general unhappiness throughout Corn Nation.
Man, I can't wait 'til Fall!