[NU Sports] The defense ...

Sun Nov 16 17:17:50 CST 2008

 IMHO, all that the "Hankster" (let's give him a good nickname) has to do is coach his butt off, which he certainly can do.? Fitz is so dynamic, and such a naturally charismatic salesman for NU, that the recruiting should take care of itself, without substantial input from Hankwitz (although if he is good in living rooms, that would be a plus).? If we can go 9-3, and then win our bowl game, Fitz with a big year and Hall of Fame credentials, will be a magnet for stud athletes with brains.? Suddenly, NU could be a "hot" place to go, especially if Wooten ends up in a year as a high first-round pick.? Sort of what N** D** has had for an eternity, but without all of the excess baggage at that other institution down the Lake.? Fitz has managed to take the best of GB and RW and infuse it into his own persona.? He has that same "presence" and telegenic quality on the sideline that Gary had, and his enthusiasm and intensity is palpable..? Plus, you can see he is both a "Player's Coach
 " and also a taskmaster, which is a great combination.?? I have been worrying all year about a big drop-off next year, when our fantastic Senior Class graduates, but with Kafka's emergence, and the type of season we are enjoying, and a relatively easy 2009 schedule, I am now starting to believe that Fitz can keep us competitive and maintain? a winning record both in and out of conference? (as RW did) on a regular or at least semi-regular basis, with an occasional "big up" year like 2008.? I, for one, would find that a very acceptable scenario.? Oh, if we had only beaten the Hoosiers, we really would be flying.? Let's hope Tyrell's wrist heals quickly, so he can play one last time in our bowl game.? And I'd like my Achilles to get well, so maybe if the game is in Orlando or Tampa, I can finally get to meet some of you guys and gals.

Paul Levinson

-----Original Message-----
From: Beamsley, Jeff <Jeff.Beamsley at covisint.com>
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Sent: Sun, 16 Nov 2008 4:10 pm
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] The defense ...

As I've said before, we are starting to see Fitz's vision of what NU football 
should be.  IMHO it is much closer to the teams he played on versus the teams 
when he was an assistant. 

I agree with everything that everyone else has posted about Hankwitz.  One more 
kudo for him is that we have had significant injuries on the defensive side of 
the ball too, but our second and third stringers seem to do a better job picking 
up the slack than our second and third stringers on offense.

BTW, in past years we've had a steady drum beat calling for Jerry Brown's head.  
Amazing how much better the secondary can be when we can stuff the run AND 
pressure the QB.  

Jeff 

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From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com on behalf of SjT (Stephen J. Truog)
Sent: Sun 11/16/2008 3:48 PM
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Subject: [NU Sports] The defense ...

>    Hankwitz for President:  great job by the defense. 

I'll echo that.:) It's not just the adjustments (which have a higher success 
rate than any NU DC since Vandy), but he's really helping our players maximize 
their talent. Wootton has become a stud that has NFL scouts drooling. Our LBs 
are as strong as ever with Prince and Arrington. Even our safeties are stepping 
up to make fine plays.

And as many times as we groan for McManis getting overaggressive and burned, his 
3rd down knockdown on Michigan's late drive yesterday was amazing - he stopped 
on a dime, closed the gap in a flash and didn't interfere as he reached in to 
bat down the pass.

Hopefully he can recruit as well as he coaches to start bridging the talent gap, 
but his coaching work this year has been a thing of beauty. Like I said, our 
four wins on the road this year are directly attributed to defensive stands (and 
that one loss was more offensive mistakes than D).

As for bowls ...

> If NU does it job, it will make 100% certain that bowl
> officials  know that
> the typical NU fan is as likely to go to a bowl game as he
> (or she) is  to fly

I think that is something that a lot of people miss with NU - we're not a local 
school and our fan base is spread out across the country. We have done quite 
well at bowl game travel - but unfortunately all they seem to see are the games 
at Dyche.

>   If we win, and if "The Corn" gets picked over
> us,  that would  be a crime. 

It's unfortunate, but I don't see any way around it. They have the big win down 
the stretch (heck, look what that did last year for the Illini - it propelled 
them from unranked team to Pasadena!), close losses early and a lot of momentum. 
We really have no one to blame but ourselves there - a win at Indiana puts us 
two games ahead overall.

>   Rose:  PSU vs. Oregon St.
>   Capital One:Ohio St. vs. Georgia

Yup - I think we'd actually be favored in both. Though UGa could finally wake up 
and start to play. Funny how the Rose wanted to avoid the USC-OSU rematch at the 
start of the year but now they may get another rematch and it's not as big a 
ratings grab.

>   Outback:  Michigan St .vs. LSU

I think LSU's headed to Dallas. The SEC really is overrated this year after the 
Big Two and it's gonna be hard for them to fill slots. Vandy or SC probably head 
to Tampa ... maybe Ole Miss.

>   Alamo:  NU/Iowa vs. Missouri/Ok. St.  (most  likely:Iowa)

I don't think the Alamo is as scary as everyone thinks. They just don't have any 
defense in the Big XII. Yes, Mizzou would score on us, but we could score on 
them if healthy. Okie State would be a bit tougher.

>   Champs:NU/Iowa/Wisc. vs. ACC selection; so many 6-4,7-3

If it's Miami or FSU, it's a tough draw for us. If it's anyone else, it could be 
a good game. GaTech, Wake, the Terps -- all well coached but beatable if we play 
a good game.

>   Insight Iowa/Wisconsin/Minn. vs. Big 12 (Kansas,Nebraska,
>  Colorado) 

There's a big gap between the Big XII's top four to Mizzou, and with Kansas' 
decline, a big gap between the Tigers and the other 7 in the league. I think 
Nebraska's headed out here to Zona and a Husker-Badger game could be a throwback 
to those days of running the football in a traditional offense. But there'd be 
far too many people dressed in red with yellow foam food on their heads for my 
taste. Still wish we were coming to the Valley.

>   Motor City: Minn/Wisc. vs. MAC champion (WMU or CMU?) 
> Minnesota goes here.

This could be one of the more entertaining bowls with CMU, WMU or Ball State 
lighting it up from the MAC and a healthy Gophers or Illini with their big 
offensive threats.

>   Raise your hand if you believe Peterman is an integral
> part of the 

<hand raised> He's the spark to get it going, but Ross Lane is the closer.

>   Thanks for reading my long-winded post.  Its nice to
> talking  about bowl
> scenarios instead heading into a lonnnnng off-season.  Time
> to  settle a score
> vs. Illinois.

Definitely! Not only is it big for our bowl position (plus ... NINE wins!?!?!) 
... it would knock our hated in-state rival out of the bowl picture.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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