[NU Sports] Re: REGARDLESS

[CHerron604 at aol.com]

Just got back from the Alamodome.  
 
We out-attendanced them.  Hopefully future Bowl committees will  remember 
that, but it's doubtful.
 
We out-statisticed them, even won the turnover battle.  That's what  made it 
so painful.  
 
We need to RECRUIT a legitimate kicking game.  No knock on our  current guys, 
they did their best in the roles that they were asked to  perform.  But we 
need outstanding kickers, not converted rugby  players.  Extra points have to be 
automatic, punts have to be high arching  things with plenty of hang-time.  
Kick coverage has to limit returns of all  kinds.  Kick-offs have to sail 
through the end zone or result in  touchbacks.  Other schools do these things - we 
have to do these  things.  This year had far too many missed PAT's, some punts 
were wonderful  but one punt tonight cost us dearly.  Too many short kickoffs 
and squibbed  punts cost us in giving them good field position.
 
Play calling on the first and goal at the 6 (leading to the field goal) was  
brutal.  We even got an extra shot with the offsides, but all we got was  3.
 
The field goal try on 4th and 2 from the 29 (46 yards) was troubling.   If 
your guy is automatic (or nearly so) from 46 yards, then it's fine.  
 
The officiating crew, and the referee especially, were total  incompetents.  
The series of holding calls when we were deep in our side of  the field were 
brutal (and not shown on the Alamodome screens).  The  complete lack of 
holding/facemask calls on our opponent was laughable.  Our  guys were tackled in 
front of the referee, and he looked on witlessly.
 
Any time our O-line wants to start blocking for Bacher would be fine.   
Knowing this, and knowing that our opponent would blitz like mad, our play calls  
in overtime seemed troubling.
 
Coach Hank acquitted himself well with this game...shut down the great  Tiger 
Offense.  Some of our other coaches, not so much.
 
Can we keep our DC ?  
 
Chuck Herron   Tech '85
 
 
 
 
 
 
In a message dated 12/30/2008 12:17:42 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
nolan at romaine.tssi.com writes:

>  Well put - thank you seniors for an enjoyable year.

I'll go beyond that  and give my thanks to all the players and coaches for 
a season that  offered plenty of thrills and outperformed my expectations 
even if it  missed out on one of the team's stated goals tonight.  

But even  if they didn't quite pull it off, this may have been the
best game of the  bowl season, and with a national TV audience watching.

I thought the  play-calling on offense was odd at times, especially given
Mizzou's inept  pass defense most of the season.  The running game really 
wasn't  working well, yet that's what they went with on first down most of
the  second half and increasingly so late in the game and in OT.   

Maybe CJ's ankle was bothering him more than it appeared, but not  quite 
enough to put in Kafka?  

Mike's got big shoes to fill  next fall, assuming someone doesn't beat him 
out for the job.  We're  really going to miss those senior receivers.  

What really  bothered me was not so much the punt return TD but the fact
that the ESPN  crew kept patting themselves on the back for predicting
it the rest of the  game.  We need a better kick coverage game next year.

As for going  for the long FG, I didn't mind the call.
--
Mike  Nolan

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