[NU Sports] At the end

Sat Oct 17 23:12:54 CDT 2009

I agree that the talent on the OL is still relatively young, and it's not
like they've had a lot of time to gel as a unit with Fitz & the coaching
staff rotating them so often within games (although it seemed like they did
that less so vs. MSU).  But, some of those guys were thrown into the fire
last year as redshirt freshmen (Netter, Burkett, and Bartels), while some of
them are seniors and have had plenty of time to develop (Taylor and
Mattes).  The only guy who has a "freshman" excuse that plays regularly is
probably Dieters - who is large but obviously inexperienced (he's been at RT
for the most part, which has seemingly been the weakest position on the
line).

Note that I think Adamle was injured at some point and that this is just his
redshirt freshman year and he hasn't seen the field yet, I don't think.
Boyle saw some playing time last year but has been used sparingly this
season.

Like you said, I think NU misses former OL coach Ingalls more than most may
realize.  The line had a respectable year last season and that was with
redshirt freshmen at LT, RG, & C, along with a converted DL and first time
starter at LG.

In any case, I think many of NU's offensive problems are rooted in the poor
OL performances so far this year.

It's obviously a developmental year for the offense and that's too bad with
Kafka looking pretty darn good.  Hopefully they'll be better prepared for
next year and NU can also hopefully have an RB to take advantage with Daniel
coming back from an injury, Trumpy in the fold, and the guys on the field
now with some more experience under their belts.

Jonathan

On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 6:53 PM, Roy Lamberton <rstetson at capps-assoc.com>wrote:

> The highly rated recruits on the OL are all still RS Sophs - Few linemen
> start to show what they
> can do until they are RS Juniors, when they are up around 300 lbs, and can
> bench a bunch.
>
> Our guys up front are still learning - we start 3 RS Sophs and 2 RS
> Seniors, maybe a Senior and
> a Junior. In O-Linemen, that is considered young and these guys are
> starting over older players
> who just don't measure up in the eyes of the coaches.
>
> We’ve got some older linemen, but they seem to be losing position battles -
> I started down the
> roster in alphabetical order, looking for linemen - In just the A's and
> B's, Adamle and Boyle,
> both letterwinners are absent from the 2 deep. Are they hurt, or are the
> younger guys playing
> that much better.
>
> It almost seems like this is actually being seen as a development year on
> offense, with the
> younger linemen getting more playing time so they can be ready when Persa
> starts. The O is built
> around Kafka but they really don't think that he is the final answer.
>
> Then again, maybe the older guys were playing like the old O-Line coach was
> still in charge and
> the new guy wants a different approach. We kinda went thru that when
> Patterson took over - the
> O-line took a year to work itself into playing well.
>
> Anyway, MSU got a couple of sacks while only rushing 3 - that should never
> happen.
>
> rsl
>
>
>
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate & Unix Guru.
> Computer Applications & Support Associates
> -------------------- Also ----------------------
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> ==========  Go Cats -  Beat 'em All  ===========
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>
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On
> Behalf Of Jonathan
> Hodges
> Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2009 5:12 PM
> To: SjT (Stephen J. Truog)
> Cc: Dennis W. Brandt; nwu-sports at tssi.com
> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] At the end
>
> I agree that the OL is the major problem this year, and that despite the
> fact that Fitz has brought in some pretty highly rated recruits at that
> position the past few years.
>
> The OL hasn't been able to open up anything in the running game.  NU must
> therefore resort to throwing almost exclusively, and they can't really go
> downfield because Kafka rarely has enough time, thanks again to that line.
>
> NU will never have as much talent at the other guys, especially when NU is
> wearing thin thanks to some injuries (Smith, Johnson, and McNaul on
> defense).
>
> For NU to have a great season like last year, things really need to line
> up,
> and it's pretty apparent that it's not happening this year.  But, NU still
> has a winning record and can make an impact down the stretch if they can
> put
> something together.
>
> Jonathan
>
> On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 3:17 PM, SjT (Stephen J. Truog)
> <sjtruog at yahoo.com>wrote:
>
> > > We just don't have it this year, and
> > > that disappoints me.  The offense is anemic.  We
> >
> > Well, I think we expected the offense to be a bit sluggish with all the
> new
> > people at receiver and in the backfield ... however, Kafka's actually
> been
> > pretty solid. The O-line is the biggest disappointment for me -- and they
> > got shredded by MSU in the second half (and have been largely responsible
> > for the lack of running game, which hurts everything else down the line).
> >
> > On defense, I think it's the injuries that have killed us this year. When
> > they were running down the list during the game, it was long and had some
> > big names on it. McManis out early, Wootton out late, our safeties
> playing
> > hurt, our linebackers thinned out.
> >
> > We had a chance to have a special defense this year, but we had to stay
> > healthy and we just got decimated by injuries. It happens to everyone,
> but
> > NU is just never going to have the consistent depth to overcome it.
> >
> > And as we've discussed on the list, the play calling on offense has been
> > unimaginative and won't make anyone scared on defense -- their interview
> > with the MSU coach said it all, pretty much. Just do a "rope a dope"
> > strategy, let NU complete all the 3-yard outs they want and sooner or
> later
> > they make a mistake or drop a pass or make a penalty and you get a longer
> > distance down where they can't convert. I was pleased to see us go
> downfield
> > ONCE in the game (before the final minutes when we had to), but we need
> to
> > find ways to make our offense work given our situation (more rollouts and
> > bootlegs to ease pressure on the O-line, more QB runs - especially in the
> > red zone, etc.).
> >
> > We have our work cut out for us in terms of bowling. I do think we'll get
> > two BCS teams because I think PSU will win out (unlike us, they're
> starting
> > to GET healthy with Lee back today). That would mean we need to beat
> > Illinois and Indiana (no easy task).
> >
> > If we can't double dip in the BCS, the path becomes much more difficult.
> > The pollsters don't show the league much respect yet, but we should have
> > five top 25 teams right now, with Wisconsin and Michigan ranked (how is
> ND
> > in when they lost to Michigan???) -- we play three of those top 25 teams
> in
> > our home stretch, and by the end of the day, the Hawkeyes, Nittany Lions
> and
> > Badgers should be 18-3. It's tough to see where we break through there
> ...
> > but then again, no one outside of Jim saw Purdue's win today either.
> >
> > Gotta take care of business and beat IU for homecoming.
> >
> > GO CATS!!!
> > -SjT
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> >
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