Gerry DiNardo (not exactly a fan of NU football) said Duke was the "best managed game since Fitz has been at Northwestern". Kudos to Pat.
DiNardo: Best Managed Game
- Thread starter NJCat83588
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Right, and I agree a huge compliment to Fitz given DiNardo's history relative to not complimenting NU. All as part of at most at most a minute segment devoted to NU towards the end of the program. I got upset waiting around for the very brief discussion of a game where we beat our second Power 5 team and ended up 17th, or whatever, third best in the Big Ten, in the polling. BTN is all about Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Penn State. Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska get their time on occasion. NU nada. All a function of fan base size.
It's very easy to give a coach a compliment in a win. It's very easy to say something negative after a loss or a game that was way too close.
What was the real difference in the way Fitz managed this game vs some of the close losses we had in the past? We finished the game on a 5:44 second 10 play drive (10 runs). They stop us on a 3 and out and get the ball back with 4 minutes and get a quick TD then we're screaming Fitz can't manage things.
What was the real difference in the way Fitz managed this game vs some of the close losses we had in the past? We finished the game on a 5:44 second 10 play drive (10 runs). They stop us on a 3 and out and get the ball back with 4 minutes and get a quick TD then we're screaming Fitz can't manage things.
Not that simple. Fitz had an inexperienced QB and an O-Line that is still coming together. These facts were not hidden and Cutcliffe knew about them. Fitz accepted what he had and did not get frustrated with the lack of offensive production. He relied on his strength (defense) and did not force the offense to try and do something they were not ready to do. He stayed with our strengths and gambled that the defense or special teams would give us the lift we needed.
It was the only way we were going to win that one and it paid off.
He also played all but 3 players on his 70-man traveling squad which helped keep everyone fresh in the heat and showed the players he has trust in everyone to perform their roles.
Having said all that, howard griffith gave our defense some real props going into the weekend. He did a dedicated segment on our defense, highlighting the awesome play of walker, and all but called for a win in durham because of the strong and compelling defensive play this season. Unexpected, but a a very thoughtful analysis and commitment of airtime to a team not based in ohio, michigan or pennsylvania.
It was hotter than hell Saturday. Nice to pull out a win against a team that had three wins over ranked teams in last few years alone.
I never find Dinardo to be anything but straight forward when it comes to NU. He has said many times when NU plays with emotion it usually means good tings for our program because that emotion makes up for the lack of talent and depth we sometimes have. When we are playing poor like the last 2 years do we we really want the B1G networks top analyst saying everything is fine???
Heard a new phrase from Greenie today, speaking of props. He said we won the academic trifecta...TSISB, Stanford, and Duke. Never heard it stated that way before. Good to have an alumnus on the national stage who IS a homer, and proud of it.
I tend to agree. I think JD calls it like he sees it. Gives praise when we do well, criticizes when we screw up. Glenn Mason, on the other hand, always stuck me as someone who had a bug up his @$$ about NU that he carried from his coaching days.
Agree and I'm not happy that we are often an afterthought. t wonder what the payout is to the channel from each school. If we pay proportionally less, I'm fine with it. If we all pay in equally, then I'm not. Will have to ask Jim Phillips about it.
The sports media is terrible at coming up with catch phrases and generalizations after the fact to explain wins and losses. My favorite example is when Skip Bayless claimed that Lebron James and the heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder because Lebron wanted it more than Kevin Durant. Mark Cuban went on ESPN First Take and berated Skip Bayless for stupid comments like that.
Do you we tend to play better when we play with emotion? I don't know. That's a generalized statement that can't be proven. I'll argue that you have the cause and effect backwards. When we're getting our ass kicked by Iowa last year or Wisconsin in 2013, it kills the team's emotion.
Dinardo made a generalized statement at camp last year that we didn't have a physical camp, and too many guys were taking rest days. That's BS. He didn't discuss the number of injuries we had or what Fitz was trying to do to limit more injuries or trying to get the injured guys well. Now that the 2014 season is over, Fitz even said that camp was a joke due to injuries. It wasn't due to Fitz coaching soft as Dinardo implicated. It was a coaching adjustment Fitz made due to the situation. Now that we're winning and the defense is playing great, Dinardo gets to generalize how great the team's emotion is and how NU's defense is flying to the ball and a bunch of other cliches.
I think it is the other way around. They pay each team the same. THe teams do not pay BTN. Therefore, BTN can do whatever they think will bring in the most add revenue and like it or not, that does not include NU unless we have a magical season. If it were not for the BTN, we likely get no props at all most years.
If you want an example, look no further than the Chicago Tribune coverage of NU vs ND.
Great point. The only guys we did not play were the backup QBs and backup Kicker. Quality depth and trusting it makes it easier to do a good ob managing a game.
Maybe it's not completely justified, but I have always disliked DiNardo. I feel like most of the older coaches view Northwestern from a pre-Barnett perspective. I still feel like if all things are even between NU and a more traditional football power, he is always going to choose the other team. And his take on the union issues was just ridiculous. He didn't actually consider any of the points raised by Colter and concluded that Colter must have had an ax to grind with NU. When he played at Notre Dame, they had everything they needed. And look at the facilities at Oregon and Ohio State. Those players certainly have nothing to complain about. Apparently, if we had only completed the lakefront facility, Colter never would have pushed for the union. He couldn't have been more uninformed and out of touch.
Thanks for the clarification (!) - I'll admit I didn't hear Dinardo's take on the unionization issue. However, a lot of people inside and outside of the program said that at least part of Colter's impetus was that he had an axe to grind, so its not that far-fetched to make that statement. FWIW.
I doubt he watched much of the game. I did not like the play calling in the first half, and I think Vaults return made life a lot easier by giving us a lead. Kudos to Hank for staying aggressive and getting after Sirk.
The talking heads get in front of many monitors and watch the games. They take notes and discuss the games as they go on with each other. The debates they have in game, become the debates they use on the shows. I saw a piece that had Lou Holtz and Mark May watching games with a few others. It was impressive to see these guys watch that many games at once. There's no question in my mind that Dinardo watched the game.... but since there were several games on at the same time, it wouldn't shock me if Dinardo was paying more attention to Michigan or another game.
I know they "watch" 3-4 games at a time. I doubt NU gets much of their attention, especially Dinardo's. Given that the B1G was pretty underwhelming last week, the Cats' performance was probably the most noteworthy (in a positive light).
I assume Colter may have had some personal issues as well, but he clearly raised some important issues that had nothing to do with the quality of our facilities. DiNardo couldn't grasp any of the issues Colter raised. He said it was probably an individual school issue and that he was confident players at Oregon and Ohio State didn't want for anything. He stopped just short of saying get off my lawn.
Did Dinardo's nephew, Jack, who started at DT for us, have a bad experience at NU?
Good question. I don't know. Maybe he complained about our facilities to his uncle.
No way...he did a great job for us and started a bunch of games, played in bowl games too. People are just being sensitive to Dinardo, he is critical when he feels he needs to be and kisses our rear at other times. I find him refreshing even if I do not always agree with him.
I have no bone to pick with DiNardo. Liked him as Vandy's coach. I get frustrated with the lack of air time that a successful NU team gets compared against other teams.
I guess the bright side is that NU being 3-0 against solid competition is not the big story it once was.
I guess the bright side is that NU being 3-0 against solid competition is not the big story it once was.
I don't think DiNardo treats NU unfairly. His nephew did play for us and he followed him closely. He calls it like he sees it and is objective and is right that it is probably the best managed game for Fitz. I noticed that the media surrounding the NU program has been slow to recognize how good the Cats are this year and I think it is from years of being disappointed. The way some of those on BTN who thought Illinois would win and NU would lose on Saturday made up their minds showed real ignorance. Strangely, the national media has caught on, having us ranked so early, and it seems that other B1G fans have noticed. When reading comments the last two weeks in the BTN Power Rankings, fans from around the B1G are chastising the writer for not recognizing the Cats program. I mean when you have Iowa fans questioning why Iowa is ranked higher, you know things are crazy. BTN seems to have a built-in bias and will not get rid of it until we get a few games into the league schedule.
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