Did anybody outside of OP actually listen to the Softy/Cleeland/Millen interview? I gave it a listen today on the way to the STD clinic, and I didn't get any of the vitriol that was claimed. Millen watched the second or third practice of spring. He said the defense dominated and the passing game couldn't complete anything more than 10 yards downfield. It's not like that's something that's subjective, and one of our own who was apparently there confirmed it. He even couched it in terms of (paraphrasing), "It's the old cliche that the defense is always ahead of the offense at this point."
He said the defense was throwing everything at the offense, corner blitzes and all, and doing that sort of thing in the first couple of days of spring is indicative of having a defensive minded head coach vs. one that came from the offensive side of the ball, implying that the offense is playing with the board tilted against them at this early juncture. I'm trying to remember if he said it in a way that was overtly critical, but I don't remember it being that way.
He didn't even bring up the quarterbacks, he was asked. He had nothing bad[/i] to say about any of them. He said Morris has "the most live arm" and complimented him on a 10 yard out from the far hash that the CB thought he could jump but the ball got there too quick. He said that he'd have to scout the transfer more to see if he could make that throw, but at this point he'd say Morris has the strongest arm, then the other guy, then Huard. When asked specifically about Huard, he said he's a high school quarterback that's still adjusting to the college game. Yeah, no shit. That's not a put-down, and it seems to follow along with other reports. Also, he never said anything about any of the quarterback's inability to evade the rush. He said not to sleep on the transfer from CSU. Said he was recruited to Nebraska by Reilly, but Frost came in and wanted a running quarterback, and that's not this guy's game. Which brought up the question of running quarterbacks. Millen's take on it is that if you're a guy who does "quarterbacking" perfectly, which he described as manipulating the defense with your eyes, making quick reads and decisions, throwing with great timing and anticipation, you don't necessarily have to be some freak running athlete, but in the modern game, the ability to pull the ball down and run when the play breaks down is how to work around not having the rare quarterback who excels at all of those things. He said he puts all three of the quarterbacks in about the 4.9 speed range, so not exactly Michael Vick, so the rest of their game will have to be really good for them to exceed.
When asked what his biggest concern on the team is, he said by far he's concerned with the receiver group. He said that of the five aspects of football (passing offense, rushing offense, passing defense, rushing defense, kicking), the passing offense is the furthest behind. You know, like it's been for the last three or four years, so why's he wrong? He even agreed when it was pointed out that this is the most inexperienced facet of the team.
That was pretty much it. If anything, Millen really didn't say a whole hell of a lot and seemed to be going out of his way to not commit to a real opinion or put anybody specific down. I haven't watched a practice this spring, but I watched four games a few months ago, and I didn't hear a single thing he said in that interview that I disagreed with or found surprising or overly antagonistic. He may or may not be butthurt about his son, but I'd look elsewhere for evidence of that. "A kid two weeks removed from high school ball looks like a freshman" isn't that smoking gun...
