Wall Street Husker
Oklahoma State 2007

I guess they didn’t try the ‘Opposite Rule’ this week…

The big news round these parts is the embattled Joe Torre and the beloved Yankees. Ownership of the Yankees stated before the loss to the Cleveland Indians, that if the Yankess lost, Joe would be fired. Pretty cut and dry. Yet, there is an overwhelming sense of sympathy and respect that Yankee fans have publicly stated for Joe. From the New York Times to ESPN radio, people are showing up in droves to support their beloved chief. Yet, this is professional baseball, a business. So a change is inevitable. When the CEO of an organization is not getting it done, the Board of Directors makes a change.

The reason I bring this up is that Callahan and Cos have mentioned in the past that coaching in college is also a “business.” Ok, you got it, it’s a business. I can understand that. Then being a leader in a business climate means that you have to make tough decisions, unpopular ones. There is one glaring difference between the two embattled chiefs. At this point, one has overwhelming public support, and one does not. Oh yeah, the other glaring difference, Joe has proven that he can win world championships.

I watched this game at the Nebraska Society for New York’s watch site here in the city. There were an overwhelming number of fans at the site, considering our recent play. We have become so used to watching the team fumble about in the first half, it seems like routine. I used to make fun of Rutgers fans for cheering for first downs. We now find ourselves clapping when we happen to squeeze one out.

Offense: Sam looked off again this week. He missed receivers all day, throwing behind, short, over, etc. Again, a few drops, but the majority of them were tough catches because of where they were put. Over the last couple of games, he never really sets his feet before throwing, probably leading to the misses. Our offensive line looks abysmal, considering the experience we have. Carl Nicks played a great game, always opening holes and seeming to be 10 yards down the field knocking guys around. Murtha has struggled. Every time we run to his side, it seems like we get beat by a 185 pound linebacker. His mental mistakes at the beginning of this ballgame eliminated our ability to counter OSU. This has been the norm over the last few weeks. We get beat out of the gate because we break down mentally, and then have no resolve to fight back. We go for it on 4th down instead of taking the 3 points and gaining positive momentum. Its not one player, it’s definitely a team issue. Our freshman backs (Castille/Helu) were a bright spot. Putting their head down and running INTO the defense with a passion I have not seen from our seniors.

Defense: Well, what is there to write? Fundamentally, we can never get off blocks. We are always blown off the ball 5 to 10 yards deep. We have no penetration into the backfield. We have a lack of speed to the ball in zone defensive sets. We have the worst defensive performance in the history of Nebraska Cornhusker football in Lincoln. Let’s call a spade a spade. OSU primarily let up on us in the second half. McKeon seems to always be out of position. He was a strong player last year so I wonder what happened. I loved towards the end of the game when we finally started to pump in some other players. Everyone wants Pelini back, but, hey, even he lost in Lexington.

The game was so bad, that a few fans at the watch site decided to turn the channel at the end, and watch the last few minutes of Ohio University winning against Eastern Michigan. As Frank Solich walked out onto the field after the game, a number of fans (sarcastically) started clapping for him and cheering his victory. My alma mater is Ohio University and getting Frank Solich was like Moses parting the Red Sea. It’s sad to see this little brain child of Pederson turn out like this.

So it’s a business, right? My biggest issue right now is that we have not made those tough decisions (which we have declared as a responsibility of CEOs in a business climate) with under-performance. I wonder why down 38-0 at halftime, our business leaders did nothing to make a statement to the organization. That seems like the best thing to do. For example, sit every starter for the rest of the game and put all of the freshman and sophomores in -- and make a statement. Show up and play with passion, or you will sit for the rest of the game. It feels like the entire organization lacks this intensity and fire. I felt our fate was sealed when BC decided not to lead the charge out the tunnel, and decided to step to the side as the players came out. I have never seen him do this before.

I remember playing baseball as a kid and having one of my coaches decide to sit the most talented kid on our team. The reason: he started to rely on his talent, and stopped showing any passion for winning the game. That subtle statement as a kid reverberates with me today. No matter how talented you are, you still have to be more passionate about the game than everyone else.

A true 'business' leader would have benched this group at halftime and made that same statement. The game was already decided by then. At least gain some valuable game time experience for our younger guys. I stand behind our team and players, but sometimes you have to shake things up…

Its clear that if TO and the 97 team can not motivate this group, then nobody can. This will be a long season; hopefully we can squeeze out a bowl appearance…

From the Big Apple – to the Big Red Country…

WallStreet Husker