[NU Sports] Fitz' future (fwd)

[Mike Nolan]

> I would venture to guess that ninety percent of the "conclusions" offered  on 
> this list are offered without hard evidence. As a matter of fact they are  
> offered with precious little evidence. To my eyes the opinions voiced are  just 
> that -- opinions. Very insightful opinions

I think you are correct that very few conclusions have been offered, just
unsubstantiated opinions.  Opinions are like belly buttons:  everybody 
has one and they have little analytical value outside of Zen contemplation.

It seems to me that an unsubstantiated opinion is only considered 
insightful if:

A.  You agree with it.
or
B.  It stands the test of time.

Last August, very few people were of the opinion that NU could win 
7 games, so in retrospect there weren't very many insightful opinions 
offered about that subject, with or without analysis.

Regarding analysis, a good statistical case can be made for the poor 
performance of NU defenses under Walker. 

Why is that significant?  It seems likely that the defense is going to
have to play a bigger part in winning games next year than it did this
year.  So far, RW's track record (or that of his DC) has not demonstrated
the ability to produce an above-average devense (based on 117 1-A teams).

I don't think that's a fatal flaw, at least not yet.  But the one or two 
people who get to make decisions about RW's future probably don't read 
this list.   
--
Mike Nolan