Any one else get the sense that there are few things Bo Pelini likes less than talking about football? We've now had three press conferences with the new head coach and in each of them his uneasiness with explaining himself, his strategy, his procedure, etc. has been palpable. The guy's not an orator he's a coach and you can just sense his readiness to stop theorizing and start terrorizing out on the practice field.
Thankfully, for us and for him, today's presser marked the unofficial start of the spring practice/semi-real news season. I'll stick with the term "semi-real" because as we learned today practices will once again be closed to the media for the most part. Pelini's answer to that very question was probably the best of the day:
"I just don’t want distractions. I don’t like the media making their determinations based on who’s doing what. That’s the part I don’t like. I want the message to get out, but I want to make sure the correct things are getting out there."
Read: I want MY message to get out, but that's fine with me. It's probably the best approach in most cases but especially in a football-mad state such as Nebraska. It's hard to envision a scenario where, say, QB snaps were counted could be a positive thing for anyone so we'll just continue feasting on whatever morsels we're given. Same as it ever was.
Beyond that, it was a pretty mundane press conference. Pelini said all the right things--"doing the right thing" is high on his list as well as is building a foundation and getting what you earn in terms of playing time--but it did herald the start of one very good thing: we are one day away from some semblance of football.
While that probably means Pelini can stop talking about it, it also means the various media and blog outlets can start talking about it in earnest. Thank God for that.
Other assorted press conference thoughts:
--When Pelini used the phrase "good football player" to describe Cody Glenn it absolutely sent chills up my spine. Shouldn't somebody have briefed Bo about the dangers of that phrase? Don't do that to me.
--Bo Pelini is not Phil Jackson. No "psychological books" here. I like that but there's something to be said for "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Look what it did for Scottie Pippen. He's a Top 50 all-time player and fabulously wealthy...or maybe just a Top 50 all-time player.
--Everyone's excited about Joe Ganz based on his performance last year but after listening to him speak, I think the bigger factor might be the freedom given to him as "QB1." Sounds like it's a pretty big weight off his shoulders knowing that he's earned his shot now.
--I don't care what anyone says, having a QB with a Chicago accent can't be a bad thing. Da Bears! If Callahan had spoken with Ganz accent I would've liked him 200% more.
--If you had to bet on who is going to become the star of Pelini's first Blackshirts defense, is anyone taking somebody other than Larry Asante? He's been the source of a lot of the pre-spring season media coverage and it certainly seems like he's all in at this point.
--And while we're here why not interpret a quote as one last shot at Callahan? Said Asante:
"I think every football team takes the attitude of the head coach. I think that's what we're doing. Like I said, our head coach is an intense guy. And he wants to win. Players take the attitude of their coach and that's what we're doing."
It all sounds good to me. Let's get started...
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