Thursday Reads: Are You Afraid?

It's finally Thursday and it seems like forever since Nebraska played football, and then forever and an eon since Nebraska played good football. It's been soooo long that it seems like all Nebraska has played this year is bad football, horrid football, football not worthy of the state.

The negativity flows around us like a rising flood.

It's getting a bit old, eh? Well, really it got old a week ago.

Normally we'd see a lot of "I can't wait for Saturday" posts all over the internets, but now there's not so many. This leads me to ask - Are You Afraid?

Are you afraid of what's going to happen this Saturday? A Nebraska win would set most things right with the world. A Nebraska loss, however, and we're going to see people become unglued.

So.... Are you afraid?

Red Report: Kaczenski believes in Husker scheme : Latest Husker News

Nebraska linebackers coach Ross Els said redshirt freshman linebacker David Santos "will be a big part of what we do" Saturday when the Huskers defend Northwestern’s spread attack. "David has the ability to play out in the open field a little bit, and with Northwestern spreading us out, he’ll be able to do those kinds of things," Els said Wednesday. "So we’re excited to see David play."

Bottom line - we need linebackers with more speed. That was the beautiful thing about Lavonte David - NFL level on-the-field speed.

Pat Fitzgerald Intense-O-Meter: Nebraska - Sippin' On Purple

NU has had this game circled on our radar ever since the schedule came out: a chance at keeping a good season going against probably the best opponent NU has played yet. Now they have to try and keep them from getting their revenge. Let's hold on to that NU name, y'all. This is a really big game, and would probably end whatever hopes either team has of making the Big Ten Championship game with a loss. Oh, and NU would be ranked if they won.

Which NU is he talking about here?????

Lake The Posts :: Enemy Insights – Q&A With Omaha World Herald’s Tom Shatel

TS: Again, the feeling going into this game is less about Northwestern and more about Nebraska. How are the Huskers going to rebound from Ohio State debacle? Is their leadership? Can Bo motivate? Can they find a level of consistency they can keep the rest of the season? There are some nervous folks down here. But it has more to do with the home team, their home team. No offense to the Cats. Folks respect the heck out of Pat Fitzgerald. They know Northwestern will be well-coached.

SoP Q-and-A: @Cornnation talks Blackshirts, Skipping Rocks, and Nebraska Football - Sippin' On Purple
Several guys from Corn Nation come over here to discuss this week's Northwestern-Nebraska matchup, revenge, and the team's thus far lackluster defense.

Hail Varsity: Nebraska’s 5-year turnover problem

Quarterback Taylor Martinez forced a statewide facepalm on Monday in Nebraska with what could best be described as a laissez-faire attitude towards turnovers. Martinez has eight this year – four interceptions, four fumbles (and four more fumbles he didn’t lose) – but when given the opportunity to take responsibility for them, well, he didn’t.

The best answer to that line of questioning is the standard quarterback’s answer. "I’ve made some bad decisions and I’ve got to get it cleaned up going forward." Admit mistakes, resolve to improve. Do that and Martinez doesn’t ruffle any Nebraska fans’ feathers.But here’s the thing about that answer: It’s better, but it’s not good enough. While Martinez’s teammates did deliver the platitudes we’re used to – protect the ball, better focus, take responsibility etc. – none of those are good enough either.

Brandon Vogel is an excellent writer, and this is an excellent article, one I wish I'd thought of. But looking at the paragraph above is an example of what's wrong with us as fans. We don't really want him to speak his mind, but we don't want platitudes from him either.

One of the greatest fears people have is public speaking, a fear so strong that some people would rather die than do it. Yet here we are, demanding that a young man is not only the greatest quarterback in the history of Husker football (and don't give me this bullshit about "he could only be average and I'd still like him" you liar), but that he be an eloquent public speaker, a great politician, and what else - a world renowned researcher in cognitive psychology?

I am seriously asking - WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM THIS MARTINEZ GUY? WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU HAPPY WITH HIM?

Barley genetic code could produce better beer - Technology & science - Science | NBC News

An international consortium of scientists has published a high-resolution draft of the barley genome in a move that could not only improve yields and disease resistance but may also hold the key to better beer.

And this is just friggin' weird, no matter how you look at it....