[NU Sports] Rueful Realist

[Kaplan, Neil]

Following up on Alan's missive, there are a few key issues that we keep
stepping into the rake on:

Offense
1.  Why, oh why, do we never throw the ball downfield?  Memo:  On the first
play of every game, throw as far as you can.  It's ok if we throw an INT,
let's keep them honest.  How long has it been since we have done this more
than once every third game.
2.  Playcalling predictability.  On my living room couch, I called 8
consecutive plays in the second quarter, much to the delight of my 12 year
old who now thinks I am the second coming of Don Coryell.  Wide receiver
screen 8 times per game does not do it.  How about the Bates slant?  How
about an occasional give to the fullback?  Tight end more than 1x every
other week?  How about see #1?

In any case 29 points should be enough to win.

Defense
1.  Ok, we have great depth and linebacker and no pass rush.  Sound
familiar.  Why then don't we employ the 3-4 and use our depth to our
advantage.   I've been on this theme for 5 years.

 Rush one every play if you want, cross it up.  God forbid, we do a corner
blitz more than 1x per month and drop a LB back.  We have to make up for a
lack of DL talent with some unpredictability and imagination.  On 4 th and
15 rush one and drop back all 10 - we never sack the QB anyway and rarely
pressure anyway.


Other overriding themes - 
I totally echo Alan's call re: Pat Fitzgerald.  In my mind, the one
overriding factor in Walker's legacy will be his ability to move Fitz to the
DC role and the Asst Head coach role over the next three years.  Fitz has
huge potential and, this is critical, WILL CONSIDER OUR JOB A DESTINATION,
not a way station.

Let's not forget the last successful coach we had in here.  Walker keeps us
competitive, graduates his players, kicks off the bad apples, and has given
us a greater % of exciting games in the last 5 years than any other DI
school that I can think of.   He is the right fit for our program - that
said the continual same problems year after year call for more innovation
than I am seeing.

Neil

-----Original Message-----
From: Abrahamson, Alan [mailto:Alan.Abrahamson at latimes.com]
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 10:42 AM
To: 'Joe Thiegs '
Cc: 'nwu-sports at tssi.com'
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] Rueful Realist


 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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