[NU Sports] No one talking basketball

Tue Jan 5 11:59:41 CST 2010

Chuck,

I agree with most of your sentiments, especially about this being a journey
and the fact that NU went to bowl games in half of the years this past
decade (and was 6-6 two other years) is a huge leap for the program.  Win or
lose, bowl games are great for the reasons you mentioned, and although NU
has lost the 7 they have gone to in the modern era, they have held their own
in 5 of them and used that to help build the program's reputation (in
addition to the nice destinations, additional practices, media exposure,
etc.).

I have to respond to some of your comments on the kicking game, though.

We need a guy kicking off who can put the ball in or through the end zone
> often.  Auburn had that, we didn't.
>

That statement is incorrect.  Stefan Demos had 5 kickoffs for an average of
61 yards per kick with no touchbacks (plus one onside attempt not included
in that number).  Auburn's Wes Byrum had 6 kickoffs for an average of 66
yards per kick with one touchback.  Kicking the ball, on average, 5 yards
deeper and yielding one more touchback is hardly leaps and bounds better
than NU.

While it would be nice to have a kicker who can get a touchback on every
kickoff, remember that a few years ago the rules were changed moving
kickoffs to the 30, which is the same as in the NFL.  There are very few NFL
kickers who can routinely put kickoffs in the end zone.  Just be realistic
on what to expect from collegiate (amateur) kickers.

We need a punter who can consistently kick them high and long, and drop them
> near the coffin corner to limit the return guys options
>

Yes, Demos' punting hasn't been great, but there are, again, very few
punters who can get the "coffin corner" results for which you're asking.  In
fact, when punters purposely try to kick out of bounds you're apt to get
more shanked punts that go for less yardage; Demos had two such punts in the
game (one that can be attributed to a high snap and him trying to get the
punt off in time).

Also, don't discount the fact that Fitz has blatantly over-utilized Demos
this year with ALL punts, kickoffs, and placekicking minus one XP and
kickoff against Towson (handled by Flaherty).  It may not seem like a lot,
but adding up all of the practice time and game time spent kicking in
various styles (regular kickoffs, onside kickoffs, pooch kickoffs,
placekicking, regular punting, rugby-style punting) equals a significant
amount.  And Demos sustained injuries a few years back as well (including
his redshirt year).

We need a backup kicker who has at least kicked field goals or extra points,
> so that if something happens to our starter, we have a believable option
> coming off the bench.  Against Auburn, nobody believed that our backup was
> even a legitimate kicker.
>

This is a luxury that few, if any, teams have.  Most teams do not give a
scholarship to kickers initially (NU's Demos was an exception to that rule,
he was a highly touted recruit) and it is often hard to find kickers who can
be consistently good since it has so many mental aspects.  Plus, with NCAA
limits, there isn't a ton of practice time to give multiple kickers and
punters reps with special teams, so few teams have multiple guys on which
they can rely come crunch time.  Even in the NFL teams carry only one kicker
and one punter and in cases of injury have to find a free agent to take
over.

Go 'Cats!!!
Jonathan

> I do wish we would win another bowl game someday, but that is mostly
> selfishness.  As a group, what do we think of the 'Bowl game win drought',
> other than the fact that it is an easily quoted number on ESPN, and allows
> anchors and analysts short on insight and/or analysis to quote something
> that makes them sound clever ?
>
> a) I don't think any potential recruits care - the fact that we have been
> to 7 bowls in the last 14 years (5 of them very competitive, exciting games)
> is or should be far more important to them than the fact
>  that we have ended up on the short end of them lately.
>
> b) We care as fans because we have watched or attended the 7 bowls, and we
> naturally prefer winning to losing, but the value of bowls (it seems to me)
> consists of added practices, greater program visibility (recruiting and
> attendance), a treat for the players, and a chance to go someplace warm for
> the fans, and we are (it seems to me) reaping these benefits.  Have we lost
> any recruits due to losing Bowl games ?
>
> c) This whole thing we have been doing is a journey.  First we had to learn
> to look respectable in games, then we had to start winning games.  Then we
> had to start winning conference games.  Finally we had to start putting
> together winning seasons, then winning conference titles (our three titles
> since 95 are still the moments that give me gooseflesh).  From that we have
> moved to playing in bowls.  Soon we will learn to win most of them (like
> Penn State does), then it will be time to learn how to compete for National
> Championships.  It's a difficult journey, and not everybody can complete
> that journey, but we need a special kind of coach, special assistants, and
> very special kids.  It would appear that we are progressing well in this
> journey, but we are not 100% there yet.
>
> Anyone who understands facts would see clearly that the '61 year bowl game
> win drought' is fairly meaningless, since for 26 of those years (49 to 75),
> only 1 team, the conference champion, got to play in a bowl.  And for 8 of
> those years (73-80, very conservatively), we weren't even attempting to win
> football games, much less bowl games.  So a more meaningful stat is that we
> have gone to bowls in 4 of the last seven seasons, losing those games, on
> average, by 6.5 points.
>
> I am already looking forward to fall 2010, and seeing what we can manage
> next season.
>
> Chuck Herron   Tech '85
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bwdolphin146 at yahoo.com
> To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
> Sent: Sun, Jan 3, 2010 1:30 am
> Subject: [NU Sports] No one talking basketball
>
>
> ... Thank goodness.
> I was at a 2003 (I think) game against Wisconsin when the fumblerooski Fg
> worked
> or a key score and the Bucky fan I was with was yelling "Fake!" from the
> outset
> not that that helped any) so perhaps it is easy to spot.
> I still agree with going for the win, though.
> To my mind the biggest thing about next year is eliminating the need this
> year's
> eam had to get (at the least) 10-14 points behind before starting to play
> (PSU
> nd Wisky the exceptions). We were exceedingly fortunate to beat Purdue,
> ndiana, and Iowa after double-digit deficits and we lost to Syracuse and
> Auburn
> ecause we fell behind early. That has to stop.
> My second worry is special teams and no one who watched the Outback Bowl
> could
> isagree.
> Third is who replaces McManis, to my mind the biggest defensive playmaker
> at NU
> ince Fitz.
> Brad Wilson
> ent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
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-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
1237 Emerson St Apt 2
Evanston, IL  60201-3577
(847) 736-2449
jonathanwhodges at gmail.com