[NU Sports] perspective and sutton

Mon Sep 18 09:31:54 CDT 2006

> Where is it written that aspiring OC's get a pass in their first year of 
> play-calling?

Probably not anywhere.  And I don't particularly give a rip about what the 
conventional wisdom of the Lee Corso-loving Notre Dame-adoring football 
masses is, either, since the conventional wisdom says we're a perennial 
crap team who doesn't deserve to be in the Big Ten.  This calls the 
conventional wisdom into question, hence me not giving a rip.

In this case, our OC left last year, causing McGee to be presented with 
this opportunity.  I'm sure there was some sort of a plan to have an 
offensive-minded coach with more experience teach the secrets/nuances of 
playcalling our stellar offense to the new OC.  Someone to step in when 
tough calls were needed, when cover was required to make the difficult 
decision...

I can't imagine what could've happened in the ensuing off-season to make 
it *much* harder for McGee to be successful as a play-caller this season.

Also, you've utterly mischaracterized my "gets a pass from me" comment. 
It specifically narrowed the pass down to "any playcalling issues."

On Sun, 17 Sep 2006, cherron604 at aol.com wrote:

> It seems a little too easy to give McGee a pass as OC - is it because 
> it's his first year ?  Or he is breaking in a new QB ?  He was promoted 
> to replace the departing OC, so I have to assume that somebody somewhere 
> saw evidence that he was emminently qualified to do the job.  Where is 
> it written that aspiring OC's get a pass in their first year of 
> play-calling ?  They certainly don't get a pass everywhere.
>
> Chuck Herron   Tech '85
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: spiritu at northwestern.edu
> To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
> Sent: Sun, 17 Sep 2006 2:57 PM
> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] perspective and sutton
>
>
> Hear, hear! McGee gets a pass from me all year for any playcalling issues, so I'll just say that I hope that he feels comfortable enough with his QBs to call some down-the-field passes in the upcoming games. We'll need them to open up the other facets of our game.
>
> Jonathan
>
> On Sun, 17 Sep 2006, Jonathan Hodges wrote:
>
>> Sutton was the key guy in the 'Cats' 3rd quarter scoring drive,
>> ripping off multiple runs of 10+ yards. If he doesn't have 8+ guys on
>> him at the line of scrimmage, then he can do nice things. I'm not
>> sure what strategy the coaching staff is planning on going with for
>> the rest of the season, but this extremely conservative play calling
>> (runs from RB and QB and some passes shorter than 5 yards only) will
>> lead us nowhere. These QBs will eventually have to prove themselves,
>> and severely limiting their options will not help in that regard.
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
>> On 9/17/06, Brad Wilson <bwdolphin146 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> OK, yes, the offense was horrible versus Eastern
>>> Michigan. Dull, plodding, predictable.
>>>>> But what should we expect, realistically?
>>>>> 1) We lost one of the best QBs to ever play at NU to
>>> graduation, plus a decent o-lineman and two talented
>>> receivers. The leadership lost may well have been
>>> worse than the talent.
>>>>> 2) Then we lose Coach Walker, one of most innovative
>>> offensive minds of his generation, and the offensive
>>> coordinator who directed the show.
>>>>> 3) Then the only QB who had a smidgen of experience
>>> and who was the no. 1 QB in the spring goes down with
>>> a nagging injury, along with a top receiver.
>>>>> 4) That leaves 2 inexperienced redshirt freshmen to
>>> play QB and a gap at wideout.
>>>>> 5) Since the playcalling is designed (in my view
>>> correctly, for now) to protect the young QBs and limit
>>> their mistakes, we're almost never throwing down the
>>> field (how many times did we do this Saturday? Five?
>>> Maybe?)
>>>>> So the result is a offense lacking experience and
>>> confidence, led by green QBs that has one strength:
>>> running the ball. Unfortunately, everyone else knows
>>> this, and the result is (and will be) eight-man
>>> fronts. While the offensive line is talented and
>>> experienced, it cannot open holes against eight- and
>>> nine-man fronts on a consistent basis. Last season,
>>> the respect for Basanez, Philmore, Fields, etc.,
>>> opened up lanes in the running game. Remember Coach
>>> Walker said he used the spread to run the ball first?
>>> It's harder to do when there's no downfield passing
>>> game.
>>>>> So I wouldn't quite blame the offensive line totally,
>>> not yet. Frankly, given what the offense has gone
>>> through, the struggles are very predictable.
>>>>> I do have a question: why wasn't Sutton getting the
>>> ball in the fourth quarter? You wonder if he's somehow
>>> in the doghouse. I hope not. While Jordan is a nice
>>> back, Sutton is special. He needs to have the ball.
>>>>> Brad Wilson
>>>>>>> "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that >> accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due >> process of law.
>>>>> "We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear >> into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, >> and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who >> feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for >> the moment unpopular." -- Edward R. Murrow, 1954.
>>>>> "Quis ipsos custodes custodiet?" -- Juvenal
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>>>>
>>
>>
>
> -- Jonathan Michael Hawkins
> spiritu at northwestern.edu
> Northwestern University
> WCAS '03, Law '09
>
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-- 
Jonathan Michael Hawkins
spiritu at northwestern.edu
Northwestern University
WCAS '03,  Law '09