[NU Sports] Annual Cat Football Report Card

[Dennis W. Brandt]

Offense

QB - B-  Baz is heady running the two-minute drill and mobile enough to 
concern defenses.  He had a solid year but must become more consistent and a 
more accurate passer.  We can live with the absence of a rifle arm, but he 
must improve passing efficiency (9thin the conference, 53% completions). 
Who is his backup?


RB - B  Noah Herron was a powerful runner who found - and made - holes even 
though he lacks NFL-caliber speed.  (But his pass-catching skill should get 
him on the field Sundays.)  Terrell Jordan provided a good changeup and 
probably will be the man next year barring some freshman phenom.

WR - B-  Depth is their strength; lack of a consistent deep threat and 
slippery hands are weaknesses.  None is a  "horse," but Fields and Thompson 
may develop defense-stretching ability.


TE - C  We actually used one this year but not enough to fairly grade him 
more than average.

OL - B-  They had some fine games (e.g., Penn State) but never became the 
dominant force their size and experience suggested they should.  This is 
reflected in our so-so red zone offense (8th in the conference) even with 
Hoffman running behind them.


CONCLUSION:  The offense was good enough to win the Big 10 but inconsistent 
and too stoppable, not to mention self-stoppable.  Too often we had 
2nd-and-3 only to end up punting.  We were last in the conference in 
time-of-possession on a team ranked second in both passing and rushing, and 
it wasn't because we were hitting 80-yarders all the time.


Defense

DL - C-  Improved from the past few years, especially against the run, but 
that is faint praise.  Pass rushing improved after Loren Howard returned but 
was not good enough to bail out that secondary.  A full season of healthy 
Howard and a two-armed Luis Castillo should have raised this grade, but 
questions remain about the other positions and depth.


LB - C+  Tim McGarigle is the next Pat Fitzgerald but hardly Lavar 
Arrington.  As in years past, this position is the defense's strongest but 
not good enough to make up for other deficiencies.

DB - D-  Improved, but after the Hawaii debacle, I was tempted to flunk them 
again.  They were at the mercy of every decent pass offense.  (Don't say 
Purdue;  Orton's head was on cockeyed that day.) Ohio's "Mr. Football" had 
one interception in two years and was burned more often than Grandma's 
woodpile.  The entire secondary missed many one-on-one tackles that turned 
quick-outs into big gainers.


CONCLUSION:  Too many yards, too many points, too little skill.  We'll 
struggle to win with another defense like this year's version unless we get 
the Philadelphia Eagles to play offense.

Special Teams

PK - F  Yes, we got better the last two games, but it was so awful 
throughout the season that no better grade is possible.  Not only could we 
not kick field goals, Hoffman had more kickoffs out-of-bounds (5) than 
touchbacks (3).


P - C  We punted about average and had too much practice at it.

KR - C-  We didn't start outside the 30-yard-line nearly as often as the 
opposition, but at least we didn't fumble much.

PR - C+  Jeff Backes is a solid punt returner, and we missed him when he was 
out.  The rest, however, were not so good.



Kick coverage - We covered opposing kick returners like drunken matadors and 
ranked last in the conference.

CONCLUSION:  Except for Backes's punt returns and average punting, special 
teams play was a virtual disaster and the cause of several losses.

OVERALL:  The team rebounded after a difficult start and came through in the 
clutch in three overtime games (TCU, too, except for Mr. Hoffman. With 
instant replay to review that terrible game-closing interception call in the 
Hawaii game, they might have played a fifth OT game.)  The Ohio State game 
was a JOY!  On the down side, penalties were an enormous problem; so was 
playing to the level of their opponent.  I believe this team may have had 
more overall physical talent than the '95 team, but they didn't show it. 
That spells c-o-a-c-h-i-n-g, which remains a question mark that only winning 
will convert to an exclamation point.

Can't wait until next season.