[NU Sports] At least one guy liked the game at Wrigley - Phillips

[Tom Maycock]

> I agree that on balance it was a good idea. 

I agree. It was a fantastic experience overall. Not a great venue for watching 
football, so I don't really want to see it done again anytime soon, but as a 
one-off deal I thought it turned out brilliantly. 

Frankly, our chances at winning were severely diminished by the loss of 
Persa. Watkins has a freakishly good arm--I'm not sure if that was obvious on 
TV, but some of his throws were eye-popping in person. He just wasn't ready to 
lead NU in a shootout type game, and unfortunately our D picked the wrong week 
to have their worst performance, against probably the most dangerous offense 
we've played. 

>  a horrible DL.  

While the DL certainly didn't look good, you can't blame it all on them. 

>From what I saw live, and particularly from a few key replays I've seen, we 
often had unblocked linebackers and/or safeties in position to make tackles -- 
i.e. pretty much the way you draw things up on D -- and they whiffed completely. 
Whether Leshoure is just that shifty and fast, or our guys just weren't making 
the plays, I don't know. Combination of both, I guess, as he's really, really 
good. But it most definitely wasn't just about the D-line. Plenty of blame to go 
around. 

I have to add that Illinois' attempted trick play was one of the dumbest 
coaching moves I've seen in years. All they had to do was keep handing off, with 
NU back on its heels, and that game was going to be over practically before it 
started. Then they attempt something like that. Dumb, dumb, dumb. 

I'll be eternally grateful though, because that INT return made for some lasting 
memories for all the students down in that much-maligned east endzone, and a 
hell of thrill for the rest of us. 

I have to give the Cats credit for fighting all the way back to get that game 
tied up despite the poor D and brutal turnovers. And it was nice to see Venric 
Mark finally pop the big return--you knew it was going to happen, it just took 
longer than I expected. 


Tom