[NU Sports] Cat Season Report Card

[Dennis W. Brandt]

OFFENSE
QB - A  What more is there to say?  Baz may have a shot at the NFL in a West 
Coast-type offense.
RB - A-  He'll only get bigger, stronger, and smarter.  While the freshman 
came out in the Michigan and Ohio State games, something tells me those 
experiences were lessons not lost on the bright and unusually mature Mr. 
Sutton.
WR - B-  No studs here but good quality, good depth, and more speed than is 
traditional at NU.  The minus comes by virtue of way too many dropped 
passes, especially at key moments in games.
TE -  I    Not enough action to rate, but he did score a time or two
OL -  B-  Did a generally credible job on pass blocking, but Baz's 
scrambling made them look better statistically than they actually were. 
They failed to handle the Michigan and OSU defenses and were, as usual for 
NU, weak near the goal line.  Run blocking was adequate with Sutton's 
ability to find holes quickly, but they cannot move the big boys, which 
means they are not yet ranked among the big boys.  Must get bigger, 
stronger, quicker, and deeper.  Given their youth, that is a real 
possibility, and they'll grow up with Tyrell Sutton.

DEFENSE
DL -  F  Even with Barry Cofield, this was the single biggest reason we were 
among the worst defenses in the country.  A quick count reveals but 7 sacks 
the entire season by the DL (out of a miserable 11) and only 16 tackles for 
loss (out of 36).  They were no better on run defense.  Too small, too weak, 
too slow, too young, and too untalented.  Three of the four can be changed. 
The fourth can only improve through what for NU would be unprecendented 
recruiting.
LB -  B-  Good but not devistating.  McGarigle was a workhorse and will be 
missed.  Roach may be the future star, but we must hear his name more often 
next year.  What we couldn't do with an A. J. Hawk type who attends classes 
and studies hard.
DB -  C-  Less than average but an improvement over last season.  With all 
the injuries that hit them, any improvement was a miracle, especially with a 
terrible DL putting enormous pressure on them.  Still short on speed, size, 
and talent but getting better.

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK -  D  Field goals are still an adventure, and kickoffs rarely go into the 
endzone sans tailwind.  At least we made extra points.
P    -  D  No one could boom long ones or place punts inside the 20 with 
consistency.  But see below for part of the explanation.
Kick coverage - F  Our kick coverage was so dreadful that Randy Walker 
called for pooch kicks all season knowing special teams could stop no decent 
returner.  We may as well have kicked-off out of bounds every time.  (I 
didn't figure this out, but I'd be willing to bet opponents' average 
starting field position would have been little or no better if we had. 
Maybe worse!)
Kick returns - C  There were some good returns, but no one feared kicking to 
our receivers.

COACHING
B- -  Randy Walker squeezed 7 wins from a team that played almost every game 
against more talented opposition.  That should deserve an A.  Problem is, he 
has created a string of mono-faceted teams.  While the spread has given us 
an offense to be feared, he has never recruited talented kickers, special 
teams, or defenses.  We will not compete with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn 
State until we do.  Beat them on occasion, yes, but not compete regularly.

INTANGIBLES
B+ - These guys may be short on skill compared to their opposition, but they 
have heart, brains, and balls.  They didn't get down when after big loses 
and, unlike their fans (see Iowa game), never gave up until the final gun. 
The drop to a "B" comes from all those dropped passes, crucial penalties, 
and that loss to Michigan that could (should!) have been an NU victory that 
would have hung a bright star over Evanston on national TV.

Comments
We need defense and special teams.  They killed us all year.  They killed us 
all last year, the year before, the year before that, etc.  Recruiting a few 
top quality athletes turned Penn State around.  Let's see the same for NU 
next season.

GO CATS!