[NU Sports] Rueful Realist

[Abrahamson, Alan]

 Joe (and everyone else),
 Glad to see life there in the Twin Cities is still being filtered through purple-colored (or gopher-colored, as is the case) glasses. I salute your Wildcat-related optimism.
 And let me also say here near the outset: I will be rooting passionately for the Cats. I remain hopeful NU can pull out some wins.
 But let's be realistic. Take Wisconsin, for instance, whom some of our colleagues on this list have marked down as a possible NU win. Uh, Wisconsin just beat Michigan. So maybe Michigan isn't the Michigan of yore. But it took 'til almost the last play of the game, playing at home, for Wisconsin to win. Methinks Wisconsin is maybe very good. 
 So perhaps the Wildcats catch the Badgers in an emotional lull ... perhaps. I rather think that's unlikely.
 The Northwestern problem is easy to identify but apparently has proven difficult to solve. 
 The issue is not the linebackers. They are more than fine. Frankly, I even have reason for optimism there; I see -- for the first time in many seasons -- depth among the linebacking corps. It seems that Pat Fitzgerald is perhaps as good a coach as he was a player and, when the time comes, I hope he is considered as a replacement for Randy Walker. (Not saying that time is now. Just saying when the time comes ...) 
 The problem, as I wrote after the ASU game, is that the Cats 1) rarely get pressure up front on the opposing QB and 2) are a sieve in the secondary. The PSU game just underscored the issue and led me to conclude that any further wins this year could well be elusive.
 For you and others who say, oh, well, McGarigle ALMOST tipped that ball on the decisive 4th-down play. Come on, everyone. A good defense doesn't have to rely on ALMOST tips on 4th and 15 with the game on the line. A good defense brings the hammer down. 
 Candidly, a good defense would have brought the hammer down in the first half -- after the Cat offense raced to a 23-7 lead.
 It is a complete mystery to me why the Wildcats suffer year after year from this particular issue -- strong linebackers, weak up front and in the secondary.  Really, a complete mystery. There must be four guys like Hudaifa Ismaili available and willing somewhere in this great country of ours ... 
 Yes, losing Brian Heinz and Jeff Backes hurt. So why don't the Wildcats have depth there to match the linebackers? 
 It's an off week so I hope we can all have an intelligent discussion about why NU suffers from this recurring problem.
 Thanks, Joe (and everyone else) -- Alan
   

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Thiegs
To: 'Abrahamson, Alan'; nwu-sports at tssi.com
Sent: 9/26/2005 8:57 AM
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] Rueful Realist

I'll offer some optimism, Alan.

I didn't get to see the game live because I was in the Metrodome for
Minnesota's history-defying, double-overtime, heart-stopping win over
Purdue.  I watched the NU game on tape early Sunday morning before
heading
out to church even though I already knew the general story line and end
result.  As others have observed, our defense is not that great.
However,
I'm not yet convinced the season will be a disaster.  I was disappointed
with the way this game turned out, but not at the same level of distress
I
felt at the end of the TCU and Hawaii games last year or the Air Force
game
the year before that.  In the first set of downs on that game-winning
PSU
drive, we had a couple of tremendous defensive plays--including two
tackles
for loss--to get to 4th-and-15.  From the replay of the fourth-down
play, it
looked like McGarigle's hand was just inches from blocking or tipping
Robinson's pass.  Sometimes those desperation plays go your way, and
sometimes they go the opponents' way (I do agree that the receiver
should
have been covered).  If that pass isn't right on the money, it's game
over
and while I'm sure there would remain some well-earned criticism of the
defense, the tone on the board would be a lot different.  I expect
things to
get better as our safeties get more experienced--losing Bryan Heinz
really
hurt.

Penn State's offense isn't that hot but their defense is, and the
league's
only got a handful of offenses I would consider really powerful:  MSU,
Minnesota, Northwestern, and Purdue.  Of those, we only have to play
two.
(I'm not yet a Badger or Buckeye believer regarding offense.)  Against
most
of the teams other than MSU and Purdue I think we can probably hold them
in
check just enough for our offense to show up theirs.  Ohio State's
defense
looks so good that I don't have high expectations for our O against
them.

I see us going 5-6 now with wins over Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois.
Plus,
I think we've got a decent chance at knocking off Michigan on Homecoming
(the Wolverines' second consecutive road game on the heels of what could
reasonably be expected to be a fairly physical game at Iowa).  That
would
put us at 6-5 and into a bowl game.  Sure, this isn't exactly shooting
for
the stars but would be a pretty impressive accomplishment in light of
our
pre-season losses, IMHO.

Of course, I won't be too surprised if I'm shown to be wrong, but I'm
keeping the purple-colored glasses on for at least another couple of
games!

-Joe


-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com]
On
Behalf Of Abrahamson, Alan
Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2005 4:07 PM
To: 'nwu-sports at tssi.com'
Subject: [NU Sports] Rueful Realist


 Having watched this team two weeks in a row from the stands, it pains
me to
say this but it must be said: they very well could go 2-9. 
 I will continue to search for any sliver of defensive sunshine. So far,
however, I see little but gloom. 
 Anyone wishing to chime in w/a different viewpoint, I would love to be
told
why you have any reasonable expectation for optimism. This season. Not
2006.
Or 2007. 
 Regrettably, Alan

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