[NU Sports] El Painful El Paso

Mon Jan 2 12:50:01 CST 2006

Roy said:

"Its just possible that RW has already addressed the kicking game with the commit
from s out in Phoenix."

He'll have addressed it when he fields a kicker who consistently puts the kick-off in the end zone, and makes a percentage of his extra points and field goals that would place the kicker in the upper 20% of Big-Ten and/or D-I kickers.  Commits are nice, but we have had a lot of highly touted commits.  If RW wants to play the 'tough-love' coach game with his players, MM should play it with him.  Place kicking, punting, kick coverage and kick returns MUST be at a level that places them in the top 20% or so of D-I, or RW has to answer why they are not.  He is making six figures annually, remember.

Additionally, 

"Right now, we may be a victim of our own success at coaching younger players - a
highly ranked DT would look at NU's D-Line and figure we're loaded with young
guys who will start for 2 or 4 years. Same thing with the linebackers, altho
they seem to want to come in and play for Fitz."

Our own success at defensive coaching ?  With consistently one of the nation's worst defenses ?  Players probably have 2 camps here - one group sees the embarrassing defense, and figures they'd have an excellent chance of breaking into such a lousy unit.  The bigger camp, however, looks at the train wreck that is annually the RW defense and says - 'play for that unit ?  The coaching is inept !  I would have to be 50% better than another guy just to catch an NFL scout's eye'.  Success at defensive coaching ?  Roy, for shame !

Finally,

"I'm working on an analysis of our recruiting so far, and possibly what the team
will look like in 2006. From my preliminary look at the recruiting chart, its
not that bad on both sides of the ball."

We have all seen the recruiting grades and the predicted org charts - again, 'tough-love' RW MUST perform on the field, not in projections.  Again, MM MUST tell him that the defense MUST be consistently top 20% in D-I, or his services are no longer needed.

We have heard for too long rosy projections and self-serving excuses ("But lets face it. NU is not the school of choice for most top HS defensive players.")  Then RW gets all folksy mid-season..."well, the injuries got us...we just didn't have the horses".  If we didn't have the horses, it is because you didn't get them.  If they got hurt - injuries strike everybody.  The best coaches solve the problem - ours gets all folksy and makes excuses.

Our University has taken some of it's money - dollars that could have gone to further the education of America's youth, do primary research in Medicine, etc. - and committed more than A MILLION DOLLARS of it to ensuring that RW and his descendants can live quite comfortably long after the rest of us poor working wretches are subsisting on social security and government cheese.  WE SHOULD AT MINIMUM expect him to do an extraordinary job at his task - not 6-7, 7-6, 2-9, etc.  For us to pay him like a media celebrity and expect (and accept) so little from him in return, is twisted.

If President Bienen consistently had one of the country's WORST medical schools, and frequently had a law school that was almost comically embarrassing (if it weren't so tragic), everyone on this list would (rightly) be calling for his head.  But RW consistently has one of the country's worst defenses, and frequently puts embarrassing special teams units on the field, and many say he's doing 'an OK job...he's the best we can hope for...

Northwestern University was neither founded nor made great with the intent of sticking with a guy because he's folksy and OK and may be 'the best we can get'.  The whole notion of Northwestern is a University 'of the highest order', and the football teams we have been seeing lately are clearly NOT of the highest order.

We should expect to be the best in all things that the University involves itself in.  If we are lacking in anything, it is our duty as members of the Northwestern family to insist that we become outstanding in that area.  Anything less is unfair to the University (and all of those who have gone before).

Time for some 'tough-love' for RW

Chuck Herron   Tech '85

-----Original Message-----
From: Roy Lamberton <rstetson at capps-assoc.com>
To: DPENDERG at aol.com; nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Sent: Mon, 2 Jan 2006 10:08:04 -0500
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] El Painful El Paso

DemoIts just possible that RW has already addressed the kicking game with the commit
from s out in Phoenix. I also thought Villareal showed a lot of poise
kicking at the end of the game.

[FWIW - David played on a college team that missed just about every kick one
year. The next year their kicker made all conference.]

Defense is another matter - in the past we'd always find 9 or 10 good defenders
but we had little or no depth. Folks point to the 95-96 defense as if that was
something we always had. But if you dig out your media guide and check our NFL
draftees, the older teams produced a lot of offensive draftees. Up until
recently, NU hasn't produced NFL defenders the way we've produced offensive
folks.

The Big 10 also didn't have to produce the cornerbacks and safeties back in the
"3 yards and a cloud of dust" days. 

Right now, we may be a victim of our own success at coaching younger players - a
highly ranked DT would look at NU's D-Line and figure we're loaded with young
guys who will start for 2 or 4 years. Same thing with the linebackers, altho
they seem to want to come in and play for Fitz. 

But lets face it. NU is not the school of choice for most top HS defensive
players.

Besides, I suspect that even with Barry and McG [and Hershell] gone, the D has
the "hosses" to continue to improve.

Our defenses seem to be able to come up with a scheme at the half that stop the
opposition. 

Even in the Sun Bowl, we saw the defense make the shifts that stopped the UCLA
run.  We started the game set up to shut down a passing attack, and we did - 22
points worth. They changed to a running game, over our freshman tackle. During
the season we had the depth to pull one guy, talk it over, and make the
adjustments. In the Sun Bowl, we had to leave our 2 top guys in because of
depth. 

I'm working on an analysis of our recruiting so far, and possibly what the team
will look like in 2006. From my preliminary look at the recruiting chart, its
not that bad on both sides of the ball.

rsl

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
Computer Applications & Support Associates
and Publisher of Purple Reign, 
The Scout.com Northwestern University Site
(http://www.purplewildcats.com)
AIM Handle: CoachRoy74
======== Go Cats -  Beat 'em All ===========
Every time I think I've got this Computer 
Biz handled 
            -- There's another upgrade.
============================================

, but the curse of the Walker era --  pathetic 
> kicking game and 
> defense -- just continue to haunt  us.  We need help in those 
> areas or we'll 
> never go beyond the 7-5  plateau. Period.  
>
> 

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