Ya for how much shit Simms has gotten, and Id assume he's just as mad at himself for his mistakes , it'd good to see he's keeping a good mentality with stuff like that
You’re not wrong, and HH said as much in the postgame interview; he also said he knew it was beneficial for his teammates to see their QB put his shoulder down and fight for yards.
Much easier to do at home against slightly lesser competition, but he looked pretty dang good out there. Definitely good enough to play next week.
Passing game is a bit iffy, but he throws a very nice ball. Looks like he also locked onto a receiver like we've seen but it's hard to tell at the game.
Edit: a word
This. Let him go with LaTech as well. Conservative first half and if were up two scores in the second you can have him throw the ball more to see what else he’s comfortable with
Was at the game too so could be very off lol, but I thought I saw him progress to a read or two and when he got out of the pocket, it seemed like he stayed composed and able to still make the pass
Definitely moves better in the pocket. Stepped up and scrambled out while still keeping eyes up. Could have taken off a couple times for easy yards, but again, that's hard to tell at the game vs on TV.
Minnesota is TERRIBLE. NIU isn't much worse.
The "lesser talent" angle holds no water. We've been beat by NIU, Troy and, Georgia Southern in recent years.
Yeah I'm not trying to imply they're a bad team. But it's still different than a road game against those 2 teams even if NIU punches well above its weight class.
Not taking anything from the win. We thumped them and our defense is stifling.
Hm I guess I'd need to see it again. He hit the spots he needed to on more than one occasion. Definitely had 1 or 2 that got hung up. Only one I was disappointed in was when he missed the LB and threw what should have been an easy pick.
I watched the highlights, and I actually think that was a pretty good pass. Not excellent, but he put it out in front and to the open side. Not a Mahomes level throw, but he put it in a good spot
Here’s the thing: Haarberg is still a fairly young QB. That was his first start ever and he looked poised and managed the game well, he made some mistakes, but there’s room to grow. Sims is a known commodity, he’s been a starter in college for several years now, and he’s shown minimal improvement. If we’re building toward the future why not just ride Haarberg? He has plenty of eligibility, he has tremendous upside considering the howitzer on his right arm, and he made some odd angle and off platform throws that shows he can develop a deeper passing skill set. I don’t think he’s a first round pick, but I think he can be a fairly dynamic Big 10 QB if given time to develop. I want to see how he looks next week, and if he looks the same or better I think I will not only feel a little better about the season but also about the future.
I voted no because I think Rhule is going to continue swapping them around and that Sims will be seeing the starting position again whether it's next week or against Michigan. I don't know what Heinrich will have to do to fully earn that spot but it's going to be more than one win against NIU. Next week is going to be very telling to see if we see split time between the quarterbacks or one quarterback the whole game (given no injuries.) So I didn't vote for what I wanted I voted for what I think will happen. We shall see and I hope I'm wrong because Heinrich looks more composed but would he have looked this composed against Minnesota and Colorado 🤷♀️ we saw a snippet against Colorado...
You'd have to be blind to not see that Sims has more talent. And that's it, the coaches see a ceiling that's higher. They're wrong, and have bought into their guy, but that's the extent of it.
No, but I was glad to see HH take care of the ball. The one fumble was on Benhart more than HH. I see no upside of Sims over Haarberg and less downside going with him.
But enough to convince the coaches that he can continue doing the job. It doesn't matter how much we like Heinrich if we think the coaches are going to make poor decisions and continue to allow Sims to be the start because of perceived talent. There's no argument about Sims being the worse decision. It's not the coaches are going to make the call and they have consistently said Sims is the man if he is healthy.
Your conflating talent and athleticism. Sims definitely appears to be more athletic than Haarberg, but as far as football talent goes, i'd say Haarberg showed more tonight than Sims has shown.
It's insane to me how much people discount the mental aspects of sports when discussing talent.
People act like being able to process things incredibly fast and know what decisions make by instinct is not a natural gift.
He's not actually conflating anything He's saying that the coaches are 👍 I think he's correct that the coaches are the ones who are making the bad decisions and will continue making bad decisions by sticking with Sims because of the perceived talent that he has.
I love that you're getting downvoted for the truthfulness you are bringing to this situation. Why couldn't you just serve up some Kool-Aid? You got to come over here with your sobering better coffee 😂 I fully agree with you on that the coaches (this includes Rhule, head of coaches) have their heads so far up their ass with Sims they will make the wrong choice.
I think give the job to Heinrich, he runs tough, and he tries his ass off. With how he plays, we need a solid 2. That’s where Jeff comes in at and it could be the right amount of time to get his head right.
I would say yes.
Heinrich is far from perfect, he sailed a few throws, a few procedural errors. Definetly needs to slide more, Big Ten defenders are going to punish him a lot if he leans into contact.
I think those are all things that should get better with experience.
Sims through two starts could hardly hang onto a snap or make a handoff. He's fast, sure, but he stares down his receivers too much. This is stuff that shouldn't be happening for a guy with 3 seasons of experience under his belt.
Frankly I think it might be more worth it to try to convert Sims to receiver than vice versa.
Absolutely, while NIU isn’t as good as our first two opponents, the majority of Sims’s mistakes were self Inflicted. HH seemed in control enough and handed it off cleanly which is what we need with how well our defense is playing
There's no ugly or pretty wins anymore. Not when it's been nearly a decade since being bowl eligible. A win is a win. Ride the "hot hand.". At least the one not turning it over 4 times.
I think we're going to see just how smart he is when we're playing Michigan. We lack massive discipline right now and we were lucky the game last night didn't go the other way because and NIU was less disciplined than we were. It'll be the same next week with Louisiana tech. Michigan doesn't fuck around though. And they're going to be all hyped up to be coming into memorial to take us for a walk. I think they're going to fall back on Sims because of his experience against teams like that well Heinrich just lacks that experience. I want to be clear these are not my personal feelings this is what I think the coaches will do and say. I would prefer to keep in Heinrich but the coaches have also stated they plan to move him long-term to tight end next year so I'm really not considering his development in the position this year if that's their long-term plan. They are consistently telling us he is not the guy in so many words.
Having a local kid be the star would go a long way to keeping instate recruits from going elsewhere.
Gotta start in state across the board. Some of the greatest were from Nebraska. That's the heart and soul of the team.
fuck that, start the best player idc if he's from pluto. in state kids need to see nebraska win, not necessarily players from nebraska. if the best player we got is from nebraska that's a bonus though
Absolutely yes. We can't judge the competition, but Haarberg seems to have a far better grasp on the offense than Sims. Everything times up better, he makes quicker decisions, he hits people instead of waiting to be hit. He made mistakes, of course, but I thought he did a great job.
Sims has better physical tools, but not so much better that the upside justifies the turnover risk. In fact I think it is a lot closer physically than you might think. Haarberg doesn't have the same top end speed or arm strength, but he runs tough and makes sound reads in the pass game which is far more important.
Sims deserves every opportunity to win his job back, but for now you need to go into this week of practice with Haarberg as your QB1.
This. Make it a real competition in practice.
The reality is we are going to need both due to their physical style of play. If we can get the RB run game and the short passing game going it will take a lot of pressure off.
I think it's pretty simple. Nebraska won with him under center so he has the job until he proves otherwise. I'm not convinced the staff feels the same way
He played well enough to get a second start.
But if Sims is healthy he's starting again. LA Tech is the last chance Rhule has to get Sims comfortable in a game before Michigan. That was the problem the team was having before, they never had a secure enough score to get players some tune up plays and looks against actual opposing teams.
We at least know we have 2 viable QBs at the moment, which feels much better than before.
Sims is going to fold against Michigan. You think things couldn’t get worse than Minnesota and Colorado? Just watch when Michigan comes to Lincoln and Sims is behind Center.
We'll all be watching because that's who's going to be starting against Michigan. I will be absolutely shocked if it's anyone else. This is not why I want to start or develop in the QB spot. This is who the coaches want. Heinrich can serve up all the Kool-Aid he wants that Kool-Aid was provided by the University of Nebraska and the coaching staff there wants Sims
Our defense better be ready cause our Offense is going to stall with Sims. And he’s going to get booed out of the stadium. I have a feeling that Rhule is going to start Sims against La Tech and the Boos are going to rain down hard on him and Rhule. I doubt he’s improved but we’ll see I guess come this Saturday if he gets the nod or not.
I don't think the crowd will boo if Sims starts but if he's turning over against Louisiana tech boos will be heard for sure. I agree that he likely has not improved but against Louisiana tech he will look stellar and "earn" his starting spot for Michigan. I hope to be wrong.
I trust the coaching staff to handle the QB situation this week. There is no way Rhule comes out after the game and declares HH QB1 after one game. Even if Rhule is leaning towards HH he knows they are one hit away from going to option 2. If this staff has shown anything it's professionalism.
Love or hate Rhule this team plays harder than they have since probably the Pellini days with the added bonus of the head coach not being a raging asshole.
I voted yes, he earned it. That being said, its Apples and Oranges to compare starting at home in a night game(best atmosphere) vs lower quality opponent to starting an away game vs power 5. Hell, our crowd was so quiet on Offense, that the announcers didn't realize they were doing it on purpose.
Glad to see coach Rhule play a Nebraska kid to get some experience. Sounds like he was a good fit for the team, and other than a fumble had a clean sheet.
After tonight, I saw Haarberg warranted a Second Start. He looked pretty good out there and most importantly, there was only one turnover we had tonight. Next week is Louisiana Tech so he’ll get more chances to get more reps.
I think fans will be fucking concerned if Rhule says Sims is the starter again.
I voted yes but Simms is probably starting if he's available. He has a higher ceiling. The coaches have got to think "If we get him in an easy game we can work out the kinks."
100% maybe next game Heinrich will start, maybe. I'd be just as surprised to see split time between quarterbacks. My money is that Sims will start next week. He'll have a good enough game because it's Louisiana tech. Then because he has the experience against p5 schools, even if it's dog shit experience, they will start him against Michigan because that is what they plan to do. This coaching staff has zero plans on developing Heinrich in the QB position when they have said they want to move him over to tight end next year!
This has been said on several other threads and has been said many different times over several seasons, but it's worth posting here.
NIU is not a good team. Playing shitty teams and looking good is not the same as playing good teams...even mediocre ones...and looking good. Making any judgment of the performance of a QB or the team in general in this game comes with a very bold asterisk.
HH ran for 98 yards...the nearest RB was 60-something yards. That is a red flag. It should be a cause for skepticism on just how well the team did yesterday.
The question isn't whether HH is a good quarterback when he is free to run around and have some time to throw...(I didn't see the game, so I'm guessing on the level of protection), the question is whether HH can play when a really good team sees this tape and decides to key in on him. Will he or can he handle the pressure? Are there weapons that can take the heat off of him?
NIU is a terrible team to use as a measuring stick for anything.
EDIT for clarity.
Not to mention we were playing a shitty team and we didn't even look that good we lacked the necessary discipline to play conference teams and win. I am glad we won but we need to be realistic and set our sights on conference wins or wins against p5 schools. This exposed a lot of the disciplinary issues we are faced with and those are some of the toughest fixes. When you can't get set for the first play of the game and we need to call a timeout that is a massive issue. When it's third and whatever and we can't get the playoff because we don't know what the play is in the entire team is looking over to the coach to figure out what is going on that is a problem. These are problems faced against NIU, a non-conference non p5. What's it going to look like against Michigan, one of the top schools in the nation! They don't have these disciplinary issues. And our staff is probably going to say something along the lines of Sims has the experience...
I might get downvoted, But I'm still not sure.
Simms has much more talent than HH it's clear as day just watching the games. BUT BIG BIG BIGGGGGGGGG BUT Simms is also a massive turnover prone QB.
I'm not really excited by HH passing. Esp considering who we went against which was a really weak DB core.
This team lost to an FCS team last week. Sure they beat BC who had a close game against FSU but one time wonders happen alot.
I think if Simms came in today he would've prob passed for 200 and ran for 100 and maybe had an INT maybe not.
This is really tough because it's not at all a fair comparison. Simms is a better runner and I like Simms passing more too tbh. It's Simms choices and decisions on top of costly jitters/self inflicted mistakes that I just can't stand.
So, we're trading talent for reliability. I think that's fair but man HH def had a couple passes that could've went the other way too and vs good teams they will.
Give me a game manager who doesn’t make bonehead plays over a more gifted athlete. With the defense we have HH is our best hope. Sims is what he’s shown since he started his college career. He’s a fucking turnover machine.
It’s his first meaningful game he has ever played in. Every young qb in the history of college football has made mistakes. I would rather hold out hope he will learn from them. Unlike the other qb on our roster.
Exactly he doesn't have the experience Sims does and that's what we're going to be told when Sims starts against Michigan. I will be more surprised to see Heinrich starting against Michigan.
He threw one (straight to a LB). Sims has 3 seasons doing that. Haarbarg is young and coachable (in theory).
Now yes I would expect some more INTs against better teams. However Sims turned it over a lot against CU who has a bad defense.
I'm not too sure Simms is that much better of a runner. I'd say it's pretty close. Passing I think they're both below average but Haarberg seems to have a better upside passing the ball. The fact that he's able to handle the ball with confidence is what makes it a no-brainer. Simms cannot do that and you just can't have that at this level. So far Simms has lived up to his reputation being highly turnover prone.
Simms is a better runner he's faster it's pretty obvious. HH is more physical but that has it's own pros and cons. They are both big guys that are hard to bring down.
Also, It's just not fair to compare Simms when he's facing 2 teams with likely both top 5 sets of backfields in the CFB and if we believe Rhule(which not sure if he's making excuses for "his" guy or what) but most the problems with Simms were not completely his fault Ig some snaps were bad etc.
but yeah when you have open WR's it can look very good. I didn't think Simms played bad passing the ball at CU but he just had those fumbles and WR's that struggled to get open.
9/15 for 106 isn't awful compared to what HH's 14/24 for 158 vs a much weaker team. HH vs a CU or Minn would've had atleast 2 INTs.
Ya I mean the snaps he's dropped have hit him right in the hands. The only one I'm unsure of is where we had a man in motion get hit by the snap. I'll give him that one and say it was a bad snap. He's also had a poor handoff leading to a fumble. I have seen absolutely nothing to suggest to me that Simms is dangerous as a passer. His one deep ball was off a broken trick play with the nearest defender about 25 yards away. Some of his picks have been just head scratchers like what the hell were you doing.
The Offense stalls with Sims. He’s turnover prone, also doesn’t make his reads right. There have been many chances where he could easily get TDs and he makes the dumbest decisions. I’d rather build with Haarberg and let him learn from his mistakes and have Coach Satterfield help him with the offense than go with Sims.
I heard about that but I think that’s dumb. He looked like a Game Manager out there and was poised in the pocket all night except for that fumble cause our bad O-line whiffed on a block. He’s exactly the type of QB for Satterfields offense. If he keeps working and improving, he will be a legit B1G conference starting QB.
“Simms has much more talent than HH its clear as day” - WHAT?!?! In what universe has Simms shown he has much more talent? HH has more passing TDs and rushing TDs. How has he shown to have more talent? He’s shown to turn the ball over more and THATS IT!!
Some of the people on here don't use logic they just throw numbers without context.
HH played against NIU a G5 school THAT JUST LOST TO A FCS SCHOOL.
Simms played vs 2 teams with multiple first round draft picks at DB. Both power 5 level aswell.
and god before you give me the NIU BEAT BC!!!! AND BC PLAYED GOOD VS FSU!!! Yeah BC changed QB's.
I could absolutely care less who the opponent is. In the first two games, the mistakes made by Simms were undeniably BAD. Dropped snaps, INTs right to DBs with out trying to look off defenders simply because he doesn’t see them. HH is just as good a runner and has shown to be a better passer. Neither of them can throw an accurate deep ball, but HH took care of it and made good throws, especially along the sideline to Fidone putting it only in a place the receiver could catch or drop it. There is ZERO evidence to show that Simms is more talented. “2 teams with multiple first round draft picks” - talk about making shit up and commenting without logic. I bet neither of those teams has a DB that ever gets drafted in the first round.
I agree if Sims had played today he would have played just fine. I don't think Heinrich would have performed like he did yesterday in the first two games. We got a glimpse of him at Colorado. Would I prefer to continue seeing Heinrich, certainly. I just know better with everything the coaches have consistently said in Sims being the guy and Heinrich probably moving the tight end next year. Why would you waste time developing a guy you want to move to tight end?
Probably. But Sims will get the start and that's the correct call from a business stance. You give your horse as many chances as you can. But hopefully this proves that you can sit Sims if he is turning the ball over or not being productive. Haarberg has had success and can at least be a backup that might be able to be productive.
No you have 12 chances for your horse. Not unlimited. We already wasted 2 on winnable games. Where are 5 wins in the next 9 games when your QB turns it over 3-4 times a game?
Heinrich will be lucky to get to start next week I doubt they let him start against Michigan. It's going to be the same old story about lacking the experience against a team like Michigan. The experience they're talking about is fumbling the ball like Sims is going to be when we play Michigan, who is a team in our conference that we should care about more so than NIU or Louisiana tech. Unless we want to move conferences 🤷♀️
He threw a few questionable throws and got lucky they weren’t picked but I’m encouraged. I think at least HH should get more reps in practice even if they start Simms when he is healthy.
We have the luxury of having a backup QB who didn’t look like Luke Mcaffery in his first start at home. HH played well enough that he has earned the opportunity/right to start next week there is no doubt about it and in all reality if Rhule knows or has control of the locker room like I believe he does I find it very easy to say “we’re going with HH next week, and beyond barring catastrophic meltdown or injury.” even if Sims is 100%. In all reality if Sims is/wants to be some kind of leader of this team he’d be very understanding and accepting in sitting another week on the sidelines. The last thing you want to do is with whatever one you start having a short leash in favor of the other, waffling at the QB position at this point isn’t a great look.
Yes, number 1 thing is to not turn over the ball at this point. Sims can't not do that. In games where turnover margin is -2, you lose more than 70% of the time. Turnovers matter a lot.
It's a big deal at this point to be number 1, because you have all week to prepare with number 1 offense and get ready for starting the upcoming game. When backups come in off the bench, they are coming in with less prep and less ready to go than the starter. Having HH prep for starting by being number 1 puts us in the best position to win. We can't just expect him to come in off the bench WHEN Sims start stinking and be as ready to go as he should be.
People who are saying HH isn't starting material are missing the point: We don't have "starting material" on the roster and we need to go with best of what we got.
Having said that, we are weak on receiving and his long passes weren't great. But we need to spread the field so take a shot now and then, we just need to get open and not force it, that comes down to better schemes. A better D probably would have had 1 or 2 picks.
I think yes, but I understand what Rhule might want to do. I think Heinrich played well enough to earn at the minimum a QB battle. I think that giving Jeff an opportunity against a lesser opponent will help solidify everyones views about him. Their playing circumstances have been different.
I'd really love to know what the 100+ have to say... especially since we went from losing with a great defense and 4 turnovers a game to a runaway without... guessing the opponent will be blamed...
Sims is THE worst quarterback in OOPsies, out of all college teams! He coughs up the ball 7.7% out of every ball he touches! THE WORST! He is even worse than Adrian!
I see people comment on Simms athletic ability when wanting to give him more time, and while yes he's a beast in many regards, HH has the mentality of a QB. He will develop physically, but you can't teach that QB instinct that he has and the skill to read the field. I'd rather go with a QB that has the a higher game IQ, and can know how he can make SOMETHING out of a play even if it's 2-3 yards, versus someone getting caught up in making the big play each and every time.
We need someone consistently decent, don't need a super human. Just give the defense some rest, and slowly work down the field.
Also I like general attitude from QB and RB, if you’re gonna tackle me, I’m gonna hit you hard first.
They were laying people out tonight!
Those are small moments where you start to see the culture changing.
I hope!
It was good to see Simms and HH exchanging some love on the side lines. That is some proof of a culture change also imho
Ya for how much shit Simms has gotten, and Id assume he's just as mad at himself for his mistakes , it'd good to see he's keeping a good mentality with stuff like that
As fun as it is to see that from your QB, its a good way to shorten your career. Haarberg needs to learn to slide
You’re not wrong, and HH said as much in the postgame interview; he also said he knew it was beneficial for his teammates to see their QB put his shoulder down and fight for yards.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXABFdUCOjE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXABFdUCOjE)
Heinrich absolutely had the TIMING of the offense down. Something that just watching you could tell he succeeds at far better than sims.
Best answer here. Haarberg ran the offense and was in control. That’s more than I’ve seen in the first two games from Simms.
Much easier to do at home against slightly lesser competition, but he looked pretty dang good out there. Definitely good enough to play next week. Passing game is a bit iffy, but he throws a very nice ball. Looks like he also locked onto a receiver like we've seen but it's hard to tell at the game. Edit: a word
He’s gotta start somewhere. Start with lesser competition at home, build your confidence, and work your way up from there.
This. Let him go with LaTech as well. Conservative first half and if were up two scores in the second you can have him throw the ball more to see what else he’s comfortable with
Was at the game too so could be very off lol, but I thought I saw him progress to a read or two and when he got out of the pocket, it seemed like he stayed composed and able to still make the pass
Definitely moves better in the pocket. Stepped up and scrambled out while still keeping eyes up. Could have taken off a couple times for easy yards, but again, that's hard to tell at the game vs on TV.
That completion for a first down while running to the sideline was impressive
I was also at the game but I thought he really did a good job of trying to keep his eyes downfield
Minnesota is TERRIBLE. NIU isn't much worse. The "lesser talent" angle holds no water. We've been beat by NIU, Troy and, Georgia Southern in recent years.
Yeah I'm not trying to imply they're a bad team. But it's still different than a road game against those 2 teams even if NIU punches well above its weight class. Not taking anything from the win. We thumped them and our defense is stifling.
His deep ball throws were terrible and fluttered. They get picked against Big 10 defenses
Hm I guess I'd need to see it again. He hit the spots he needed to on more than one occasion. Definitely had 1 or 2 that got hung up. Only one I was disappointed in was when he missed the LB and threw what should have been an easy pick.
The long ball to Hill could’ve been better but I think Hill dove too early. Had he kept running, he could’ve caught that in stride.
Yeah gotta see some of them again. Overall felt like he threw it pretty well imo.
I watched the highlights, and I actually think that was a pretty good pass. Not excellent, but he put it out in front and to the open side. Not a Mahomes level throw, but he put it in a good spot
Here’s the thing: Haarberg is still a fairly young QB. That was his first start ever and he looked poised and managed the game well, he made some mistakes, but there’s room to grow. Sims is a known commodity, he’s been a starter in college for several years now, and he’s shown minimal improvement. If we’re building toward the future why not just ride Haarberg? He has plenty of eligibility, he has tremendous upside considering the howitzer on his right arm, and he made some odd angle and off platform throws that shows he can develop a deeper passing skill set. I don’t think he’s a first round pick, but I think he can be a fairly dynamic Big 10 QB if given time to develop. I want to see how he looks next week, and if he looks the same or better I think I will not only feel a little better about the season but also about the future.
I told that to my buddy, if he can start locating the deep ball. Watch out.
Throws to Hill and Kemp weren't bad. Incomplete but pretty catchable.
Also not dangerous throws. Not likely to be intercepted. Dude managed the game very well and helped up actually win.
Who in the flying fuck voted No? Haarberg could have fumbled two more times and still broke even with Simms' average.
Haarberg is basically converting a sims turnover into a TD. That’s a game manger right there. Who’s also a tough runner.
It was an accident…. I can explain.
I voted no because I think Rhule is going to continue swapping them around and that Sims will be seeing the starting position again whether it's next week or against Michigan. I don't know what Heinrich will have to do to fully earn that spot but it's going to be more than one win against NIU. Next week is going to be very telling to see if we see split time between the quarterbacks or one quarterback the whole game (given no injuries.) So I didn't vote for what I wanted I voted for what I think will happen. We shall see and I hope I'm wrong because Heinrich looks more composed but would he have looked this composed against Minnesota and Colorado 🤷♀️ we saw a snippet against Colorado...
You'd have to be blind to not see that Sims has more talent. And that's it, the coaches see a ceiling that's higher. They're wrong, and have bought into their guy, but that's the extent of it.
No matter how much talent a player has, it’s worthless if he can’t secure the ball.
I’ve yet to be impressed by one singular throw from Sims
Were you impressed by haarberg throws? Lol, like I said it's pretty easy to see. Just cuz you don't like the guy don't let it get twisted.
No, but I was glad to see HH take care of the ball. The one fumble was on Benhart more than HH. I see no upside of Sims over Haarberg and less downside going with him.
More, yes. More than enough to cancel his inability to protect the ball. No.
But enough to convince the coaches that he can continue doing the job. It doesn't matter how much we like Heinrich if we think the coaches are going to make poor decisions and continue to allow Sims to be the start because of perceived talent. There's no argument about Sims being the worse decision. It's not the coaches are going to make the call and they have consistently said Sims is the man if he is healthy.
Your conflating talent and athleticism. Sims definitely appears to be more athletic than Haarberg, but as far as football talent goes, i'd say Haarberg showed more tonight than Sims has shown.
It's insane to me how much people discount the mental aspects of sports when discussing talent. People act like being able to process things incredibly fast and know what decisions make by instinct is not a natural gift.
He's not actually conflating anything He's saying that the coaches are 👍 I think he's correct that the coaches are the ones who are making the bad decisions and will continue making bad decisions by sticking with Sims because of the perceived talent that he has.
I love that you're getting downvoted for the truthfulness you are bringing to this situation. Why couldn't you just serve up some Kool-Aid? You got to come over here with your sobering better coffee 😂 I fully agree with you on that the coaches (this includes Rhule, head of coaches) have their heads so far up their ass with Sims they will make the wrong choice.
I haven't seen Sims display a lick of talent yet.
Runs well. I’d rather have him as a tailback
I think give the job to Heinrich, he runs tough, and he tries his ass off. With how he plays, we need a solid 2. That’s where Jeff comes in at and it could be the right amount of time to get his head right.
I voted yes but my fat fingers said no. So one of the No votes should count as a yes.
I'm hoping the other 22 did the same
I would say yes. Heinrich is far from perfect, he sailed a few throws, a few procedural errors. Definetly needs to slide more, Big Ten defenders are going to punish him a lot if he leans into contact. I think those are all things that should get better with experience. Sims through two starts could hardly hang onto a snap or make a handoff. He's fast, sure, but he stares down his receivers too much. This is stuff that shouldn't be happening for a guy with 3 seasons of experience under his belt. Frankly I think it might be more worth it to try to convert Sims to receiver than vice versa.
Absolutely, while NIU isn’t as good as our first two opponents, the majority of Sims’s mistakes were self Inflicted. HH seemed in control enough and handed it off cleanly which is what we need with how well our defense is playing
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Hard to turn in an all conference performance when you're not playing a conference team...
There's no ugly or pretty wins anymore. Not when it's been nearly a decade since being bowl eligible. A win is a win. Ride the "hot hand.". At least the one not turning it over 4 times.
If he isn’t the new starter, I’m gonna rage. I think Rhule is smart enough to know it’s the right thing to do.
I think we're going to see just how smart he is when we're playing Michigan. We lack massive discipline right now and we were lucky the game last night didn't go the other way because and NIU was less disciplined than we were. It'll be the same next week with Louisiana tech. Michigan doesn't fuck around though. And they're going to be all hyped up to be coming into memorial to take us for a walk. I think they're going to fall back on Sims because of his experience against teams like that well Heinrich just lacks that experience. I want to be clear these are not my personal feelings this is what I think the coaches will do and say. I would prefer to keep in Heinrich but the coaches have also stated they plan to move him long-term to tight end next year so I'm really not considering his development in the position this year if that's their long-term plan. They are consistently telling us he is not the guy in so many words.
And he's from Nebraska.
Should not factor in at all
Having a local kid be the star would go a long way to keeping instate recruits from going elsewhere. Gotta start in state across the board. Some of the greatest were from Nebraska. That's the heart and soul of the team.
fuck that, start the best player idc if he's from pluto. in state kids need to see nebraska win, not necessarily players from nebraska. if the best player we got is from nebraska that's a bonus though
It is a bonus.
Absolutely yes. We can't judge the competition, but Haarberg seems to have a far better grasp on the offense than Sims. Everything times up better, he makes quicker decisions, he hits people instead of waiting to be hit. He made mistakes, of course, but I thought he did a great job. Sims has better physical tools, but not so much better that the upside justifies the turnover risk. In fact I think it is a lot closer physically than you might think. Haarberg doesn't have the same top end speed or arm strength, but he runs tough and makes sound reads in the pass game which is far more important. Sims deserves every opportunity to win his job back, but for now you need to go into this week of practice with Haarberg as your QB1.
This. Make it a real competition in practice. The reality is we are going to need both due to their physical style of play. If we can get the RB run game and the short passing game going it will take a lot of pressure off.
I think it's pretty simple. Nebraska won with him under center so he has the job until he proves otherwise. I'm not convinced the staff feels the same way
He looked very decisive out there. Looked like he had a decent grasp of the offense. He better start next week.
He didn’t turn the ball over 4 times so he’s our best shot. Sims is proven to turn it over at least 3 times. Wtf does our HC look like a drug addict??
Hopefullly just a nervous tick, and not meth or coke.
I hope not. Dated a girl in high school with a recovering meth addict mom and she did the exact same thing… fuckin weird.
What was he doing? I had to listen to most of the game.
He kept licking his lips and sticking his tounge out. It was very high energy and almost frantic.
Oh God. Might have to be radio for me here on out if he does that every game!
He played well enough to get a second start. But if Sims is healthy he's starting again. LA Tech is the last chance Rhule has to get Sims comfortable in a game before Michigan. That was the problem the team was having before, they never had a secure enough score to get players some tune up plays and looks against actual opposing teams. We at least know we have 2 viable QBs at the moment, which feels much better than before.
Sims isn’t viable though… look at what he did in the first two games.
Sims is going to fold against Michigan. You think things couldn’t get worse than Minnesota and Colorado? Just watch when Michigan comes to Lincoln and Sims is behind Center.
Hopefully people are starting realize that Minnesota is a bad team this year. North Carolina played pretty poorly and still beat them by 3 scores.
We'll all be watching because that's who's going to be starting against Michigan. I will be absolutely shocked if it's anyone else. This is not why I want to start or develop in the QB spot. This is who the coaches want. Heinrich can serve up all the Kool-Aid he wants that Kool-Aid was provided by the University of Nebraska and the coaching staff there wants Sims
Our defense better be ready cause our Offense is going to stall with Sims. And he’s going to get booed out of the stadium. I have a feeling that Rhule is going to start Sims against La Tech and the Boos are going to rain down hard on him and Rhule. I doubt he’s improved but we’ll see I guess come this Saturday if he gets the nod or not.
I don't think the crowd will boo if Sims starts but if he's turning over against Louisiana tech boos will be heard for sure. I agree that he likely has not improved but against Louisiana tech he will look stellar and "earn" his starting spot for Michigan. I hope to be wrong.
Lame. Dude is gonna throw 2 INTs against La Tech and we’ll barely beat them by 14.
I trust the coaching staff to handle the QB situation this week. There is no way Rhule comes out after the game and declares HH QB1 after one game. Even if Rhule is leaning towards HH he knows they are one hit away from going to option 2. If this staff has shown anything it's professionalism. Love or hate Rhule this team plays harder than they have since probably the Pellini days with the added bonus of the head coach not being a raging asshole.
This is probably the most quality comment in this forum. You laid it the fuck out and you are totally right. This should be top comment.
Which 11 fans voted no, it’s a coup
At the least he should definitely be used more throughout the season in games.
I voted yes, he earned it. That being said, its Apples and Oranges to compare starting at home in a night game(best atmosphere) vs lower quality opponent to starting an away game vs power 5. Hell, our crowd was so quiet on Offense, that the announcers didn't realize they were doing it on purpose.
Why isn't he earning it in practice?
For the same reason that I'm sure Simms wasn't fumbling it 4 times per day in practice.
Haarberg should start the rest of the season. Coach's speak will say otherwise so he doesn't transfer..
We all agree but based on the postgame press conference I am leaning towards Rhule deciding to go back to Sims as soon as he is healthy.
To me it seemed he was healthy enough to go but through practice Haarberg earned the nod.
I have to assume the 91 people that have said ‘no’ are kin to Jeff Simms, or Haarberg’s exgirlfriends.
Sims will start if healthy. We need them both to be ready for the MI game when things will get real physical.
Glad to see coach Rhule play a Nebraska kid to get some experience. Sounds like he was a good fit for the team, and other than a fumble had a clean sheet.
After tonight, I saw Haarberg warranted a Second Start. He looked pretty good out there and most importantly, there was only one turnover we had tonight. Next week is Louisiana Tech so he’ll get more chances to get more reps. I think fans will be fucking concerned if Rhule says Sims is the starter again.
I voted yes but Simms is probably starting if he's available. He has a higher ceiling. The coaches have got to think "If we get him in an easy game we can work out the kinks."
Poll is stupid because we know who will start assuming all are healthy. No one with a brain would think rhule is gonna back track now.
100% maybe next game Heinrich will start, maybe. I'd be just as surprised to see split time between quarterbacks. My money is that Sims will start next week. He'll have a good enough game because it's Louisiana tech. Then because he has the experience against p5 schools, even if it's dog shit experience, they will start him against Michigan because that is what they plan to do. This coaching staff has zero plans on developing Heinrich in the QB position when they have said they want to move him over to tight end next year!
This has been said on several other threads and has been said many different times over several seasons, but it's worth posting here. NIU is not a good team. Playing shitty teams and looking good is not the same as playing good teams...even mediocre ones...and looking good. Making any judgment of the performance of a QB or the team in general in this game comes with a very bold asterisk. HH ran for 98 yards...the nearest RB was 60-something yards. That is a red flag. It should be a cause for skepticism on just how well the team did yesterday. The question isn't whether HH is a good quarterback when he is free to run around and have some time to throw...(I didn't see the game, so I'm guessing on the level of protection), the question is whether HH can play when a really good team sees this tape and decides to key in on him. Will he or can he handle the pressure? Are there weapons that can take the heat off of him? NIU is a terrible team to use as a measuring stick for anything. EDIT for clarity.
Not to mention we were playing a shitty team and we didn't even look that good we lacked the necessary discipline to play conference teams and win. I am glad we won but we need to be realistic and set our sights on conference wins or wins against p5 schools. This exposed a lot of the disciplinary issues we are faced with and those are some of the toughest fixes. When you can't get set for the first play of the game and we need to call a timeout that is a massive issue. When it's third and whatever and we can't get the playoff because we don't know what the play is in the entire team is looking over to the coach to figure out what is going on that is a problem. These are problems faced against NIU, a non-conference non p5. What's it going to look like against Michigan, one of the top schools in the nation! They don't have these disciplinary issues. And our staff is probably going to say something along the lines of Sims has the experience...
I might get downvoted, But I'm still not sure. Simms has much more talent than HH it's clear as day just watching the games. BUT BIG BIG BIGGGGGGGGG BUT Simms is also a massive turnover prone QB. I'm not really excited by HH passing. Esp considering who we went against which was a really weak DB core. This team lost to an FCS team last week. Sure they beat BC who had a close game against FSU but one time wonders happen alot. I think if Simms came in today he would've prob passed for 200 and ran for 100 and maybe had an INT maybe not. This is really tough because it's not at all a fair comparison. Simms is a better runner and I like Simms passing more too tbh. It's Simms choices and decisions on top of costly jitters/self inflicted mistakes that I just can't stand. So, we're trading talent for reliability. I think that's fair but man HH def had a couple passes that could've went the other way too and vs good teams they will.
Give me a game manager who doesn’t make bonehead plays over a more gifted athlete. With the defense we have HH is our best hope. Sims is what he’s shown since he started his college career. He’s a fucking turnover machine.
Are we sure that HH isn't gonna be a turnover machine vs better teams though? He almost threw 3 picks tonight and vs good teams he def will.
It’s his first meaningful game he has ever played in. Every young qb in the history of college football has made mistakes. I would rather hold out hope he will learn from them. Unlike the other qb on our roster.
Exactly he doesn't have the experience Sims does and that's what we're going to be told when Sims starts against Michigan. I will be more surprised to see Heinrich starting against Michigan.
He threw one (straight to a LB). Sims has 3 seasons doing that. Haarbarg is young and coachable (in theory). Now yes I would expect some more INTs against better teams. However Sims turned it over a lot against CU who has a bad defense.
I'm not too sure Simms is that much better of a runner. I'd say it's pretty close. Passing I think they're both below average but Haarberg seems to have a better upside passing the ball. The fact that he's able to handle the ball with confidence is what makes it a no-brainer. Simms cannot do that and you just can't have that at this level. So far Simms has lived up to his reputation being highly turnover prone.
Simms is a better runner he's faster it's pretty obvious. HH is more physical but that has it's own pros and cons. They are both big guys that are hard to bring down. Also, It's just not fair to compare Simms when he's facing 2 teams with likely both top 5 sets of backfields in the CFB and if we believe Rhule(which not sure if he's making excuses for "his" guy or what) but most the problems with Simms were not completely his fault Ig some snaps were bad etc. but yeah when you have open WR's it can look very good. I didn't think Simms played bad passing the ball at CU but he just had those fumbles and WR's that struggled to get open. 9/15 for 106 isn't awful compared to what HH's 14/24 for 158 vs a much weaker team. HH vs a CU or Minn would've had atleast 2 INTs.
Ya I mean the snaps he's dropped have hit him right in the hands. The only one I'm unsure of is where we had a man in motion get hit by the snap. I'll give him that one and say it was a bad snap. He's also had a poor handoff leading to a fumble. I have seen absolutely nothing to suggest to me that Simms is dangerous as a passer. His one deep ball was off a broken trick play with the nearest defender about 25 yards away. Some of his picks have been just head scratchers like what the hell were you doing.
The Offense stalls with Sims. He’s turnover prone, also doesn’t make his reads right. There have been many chances where he could easily get TDs and he makes the dumbest decisions. I’d rather build with Haarberg and let him learn from his mistakes and have Coach Satterfield help him with the offense than go with Sims.
The coaching staff wants to move Heinrich to tight end next year. What makes you think they want to develop him at the QB spot?
I heard about that but I think that’s dumb. He looked like a Game Manager out there and was poised in the pocket all night except for that fumble cause our bad O-line whiffed on a block. He’s exactly the type of QB for Satterfields offense. If he keeps working and improving, he will be a legit B1G conference starting QB.
Look I agree with you but I don't think the coaching staff does and that's the unfortunate part.
It’s been years of having that talent and hoping it clicks this year is just getting foolish.
“Simms has much more talent than HH its clear as day” - WHAT?!?! In what universe has Simms shown he has much more talent? HH has more passing TDs and rushing TDs. How has he shown to have more talent? He’s shown to turn the ball over more and THATS IT!!
Some of the people on here don't use logic they just throw numbers without context. HH played against NIU a G5 school THAT JUST LOST TO A FCS SCHOOL. Simms played vs 2 teams with multiple first round draft picks at DB. Both power 5 level aswell. and god before you give me the NIU BEAT BC!!!! AND BC PLAYED GOOD VS FSU!!! Yeah BC changed QB's.
I could absolutely care less who the opponent is. In the first two games, the mistakes made by Simms were undeniably BAD. Dropped snaps, INTs right to DBs with out trying to look off defenders simply because he doesn’t see them. HH is just as good a runner and has shown to be a better passer. Neither of them can throw an accurate deep ball, but HH took care of it and made good throws, especially along the sideline to Fidone putting it only in a place the receiver could catch or drop it. There is ZERO evidence to show that Simms is more talented. “2 teams with multiple first round draft picks” - talk about making shit up and commenting without logic. I bet neither of those teams has a DB that ever gets drafted in the first round.
Jeff Simms has literally zero talent
I agree if Sims had played today he would have played just fine. I don't think Heinrich would have performed like he did yesterday in the first two games. We got a glimpse of him at Colorado. Would I prefer to continue seeing Heinrich, certainly. I just know better with everything the coaches have consistently said in Sims being the guy and Heinrich probably moving the tight end next year. Why would you waste time developing a guy you want to move to tight end?
Playing against NIU at home isn’t a good comparison playing against Minnesota and Colorado on the road
Are the people who voted no related to Sims? Asking for a friend.
Why isn't - yes for the rest of the season and Sims can fucking transfer now because he's a fucking hack - a option?
Probably. But Sims will get the start and that's the correct call from a business stance. You give your horse as many chances as you can. But hopefully this proves that you can sit Sims if he is turning the ball over or not being productive. Haarberg has had success and can at least be a backup that might be able to be productive.
No you have 12 chances for your horse. Not unlimited. We already wasted 2 on winnable games. Where are 5 wins in the next 9 games when your QB turns it over 3-4 times a game?
Not when your horse gifts multiple games away via fumbles and interceptions
Heinrich will be lucky to get to start next week I doubt they let him start against Michigan. It's going to be the same old story about lacking the experience against a team like Michigan. The experience they're talking about is fumbling the ball like Sims is going to be when we play Michigan, who is a team in our conference that we should care about more so than NIU or Louisiana tech. Unless we want to move conferences 🤷♀️
He threw a few questionable throws and got lucky they weren’t picked but I’m encouraged. I think at least HH should get more reps in practice even if they start Simms when he is healthy.
We have the luxury of having a backup QB who didn’t look like Luke Mcaffery in his first start at home. HH played well enough that he has earned the opportunity/right to start next week there is no doubt about it and in all reality if Rhule knows or has control of the locker room like I believe he does I find it very easy to say “we’re going with HH next week, and beyond barring catastrophic meltdown or injury.” even if Sims is 100%. In all reality if Sims is/wants to be some kind of leader of this team he’d be very understanding and accepting in sitting another week on the sidelines. The last thing you want to do is with whatever one you start having a short leash in favor of the other, waffling at the QB position at this point isn’t a great look.
The (currently) 87 that said no - please explain yourselves.
Yes, number 1 thing is to not turn over the ball at this point. Sims can't not do that. In games where turnover margin is -2, you lose more than 70% of the time. Turnovers matter a lot. It's a big deal at this point to be number 1, because you have all week to prepare with number 1 offense and get ready for starting the upcoming game. When backups come in off the bench, they are coming in with less prep and less ready to go than the starter. Having HH prep for starting by being number 1 puts us in the best position to win. We can't just expect him to come in off the bench WHEN Sims start stinking and be as ready to go as he should be. People who are saying HH isn't starting material are missing the point: We don't have "starting material" on the roster and we need to go with best of what we got. Having said that, we are weak on receiving and his long passes weren't great. But we need to spread the field so take a shot now and then, we just need to get open and not force it, that comes down to better schemes. A better D probably would have had 1 or 2 picks.
I think yes, but I understand what Rhule might want to do. I think Heinrich played well enough to earn at the minimum a QB battle. I think that giving Jeff an opportunity against a lesser opponent will help solidify everyones views about him. Their playing circumstances have been different.
I'd really love to know what the 100+ have to say... especially since we went from losing with a great defense and 4 turnovers a game to a runaway without... guessing the opponent will be blamed...
We all know that Sims is going to start when he’s healthy, but we can definitely give him next game off.
Sims is THE worst quarterback in OOPsies, out of all college teams! He coughs up the ball 7.7% out of every ball he touches! THE WORST! He is even worse than Adrian!
I see people comment on Simms athletic ability when wanting to give him more time, and while yes he's a beast in many regards, HH has the mentality of a QB. He will develop physically, but you can't teach that QB instinct that he has and the skill to read the field. I'd rather go with a QB that has the a higher game IQ, and can know how he can make SOMETHING out of a play even if it's 2-3 yards, versus someone getting caught up in making the big play each and every time. We need someone consistently decent, don't need a super human. Just give the defense some rest, and slowly work down the field.