[NU Sports] Annual Cat Report Card

[WildElk2 at aol.com]

Dennis's assessment(s) was right on, but the white elephant in the  living 
room is this: What effect of RW's passing effected our W-L record?  
  First of all, most of us agree that our defense was improved from  the 2005 
edition. That kept us in every game except OSU, and the melt-down vs.  Sparty.
  Second of all this is NOT a knock against Fitz.  This team  found it's way 
out of the wilderness after Bacher was inserted, and it was  patently obvious 
that we got better as the season went along, starting with  MSU.
  But as trite as this sounds, I really missed Coach on the sidelines,  
although Fitz's trial by fire will benefit us down the road.  I believe  McGee 
would have had more of a mentor, and Coach McGee has learned much, the  hard way, 
this season.  The Nevada game was Grade A Randy Walker.  He  would have pulled 
that one out, Kafka and all.  I bet he would have started  Bacher against 
Purdue, as every report we read suggested that while not 100%,  Bacher could have 
played.
   And the Michigan State game? He would have NEVER let...the Cat  out if the 
bag . (boooooooo!)  
  I would have liked his odds vs. UNH, as we struggled to adjust to  what UNH 
was throwing at us.  That wouldn't have happened with RW.   All this is going 
somewhere...
 
   With Bacher, I think our team is now as good as we were last  year, when 
we finished 7-4.  Our coaches have endured much; both personally  and 
professionally.   With all that happened, we were STILL getting  better at the end of 
the season.   This points to stability; stability  is what RW brought to our 
program, and after 4 months out of control, we have  gained our equilibrium.
  Next year looks promising.  We'll be discussing which bowl  we'll attend 
this time next year...  Trust the Plan,   GO  CATS!!!             Eric