Here are our five takeaways from today's Northwestern football press conference.
Fitz confident the Cats 'will be back'
Fitz confident the Cats 'will be back'
Fitz confident Cats will be back: Five takeaways from today's presser
- Thread starter lou v
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I’m not sure he said it. Someone asked him the question and I believe he just referred to him as Tommy.
I just saw that, sorry! Wow this is just an unvelievable season.
I watched the video. Fitz is very honest, and I liked his philosophy about looking at things holistically and not overreacting. He was the non-snarky Fitz today. Did a good job.
No doubt - and with all of his assistants with him. The second best thing about the 'Cats' revitalization next year will be the absence of all the Nellie Negatives from this board. I cannot wait.
I share your optimism about the team but not about the Negative Nellies or “Haters” as Fitz has appropriately coined them. The last four years suggest they’ll still be around and find something else to complain about even after Fitz leads the team back to contention for a Big Ten Championship.
It's not like the problems suddenly became apparent on 8/31/19. There is a difference between nattering negative nabobery (fire someone every time we lose) and justified criticism (don't kill the offense that laid the golden football). Certainly the Cats will be back. The question is by what means?
The alleged Negative Nellies are balanced out on this Board by the Program/Fitz Syncophants whose heads are so far up Fitz's ass that they cannot appreciate the concerns expressed over not only the utter debacle that is the current season, but the pattern of piss-poor offense that has peaked this year. But we are all fans hoping for the Cats' success, or as was more correctly labeled above, "revitalization".
Why are people always classified as either negative nellies or Pollyanna’s? Isn’t it possible to be positive about the program overall, but not satisfied with some aspects?
No kidding. Give a coach 20 years and he's bound to stumble into some luck in the Big Ten west. Imagine if we were in the east. Fitz better hope they never realign.
Yeah, this is the exactly right response. I am a huge Fitz proponent but think he is incredibly flawed. The fact that there is a chance McCall comes back next year is exhibit A
Fitz's track record of accomplishment has earned him the benefit of the doubt from anybody who is looking at this from a rational point of view. The reality is that the folks that are now running around this board like chickens with their heads cut off are the same folks who were finding something to complain about even during the record breaking four year run that NU football has had under Fitz's leadership. NU football under Fitz is a developmental program that has consistently gotten the most out of its talent while strictly following the letter of the rules and outperforming everyone in D1 football off the field. Given all the limitations that NU has as a program (many of them self imposed), we are NEVER going to be a program like Ohio State that reloads every year and competes for conference titles and national championships on an annual basis. If that's what any of you are expecting from this program, then you will continue to be disappointed. I, for one, would never want to see NU make the compromises necessary to try and become an OSU or even an ND on a consistent basis because it would mean fundamentally compromising the values as a program that truly make us unique in college football. The results on the field this year are surprising and certainly disappointing but it's the type of season that was bound to happen sooner or later given how small a margin for error NU football is operating with. A few mistakes on the recruiting front at key positions, a tough schedule and a bunch of unfortunate injuries can lead to the type of season we are experiencing. I am confident that Fitz will have us back in on the path towards a Big Ten title but I also realize that a program like NU, even when the program is running on all cylinders, will experience a losing season every so often. Few programs are immune from that. This year is our turn and it sucks but it does not mean that the program is on the wrong path.
Corbi: "even when the program is running on all cylinders." When has the program run on all cylinders, since 1995? I will agree we have done really well running on 4 or 5 (assuming 6) since then, but isn't is reasonable to want a smoothly operating 6, especially given our program is overall a Mercedes compared to OSU's Buick? They just happen to have a LaCrosse and we have an A-class sedan
When has the program run on all cylinders? I would argue the last 4 years, especially last year, we accomplished as much as what could possibly be accomplished. I don’t think people realize how good of a team we beat when we on our bowl game against Utah. I don’t think people realize that for three quarters we hung with a top 2-3 team in the country when we played OSU in the Big Ten Championship game. I think there is more we can accomplish but that won’t happen until we take the next step on the recruiting front. The staff for the most part gets the most out of the talent we have but the talent gap between NU and teams like OSU is still too big for us to beat them even on a semi regular basis.
That is ridiculous. We haven't really won anything in the last four years. We won the conference title before Fitz. Under him, no conference titles.
You posited the statement--"even when the program has run on all cylinders, will experience a losing season every so often." Yes, true, but again, when has the program run on all cylinders since 1995? This year has not been a losing season, it has been a complete breakdown based on several factors which have been apparent for at least 6 years. Who is going to reverse that? Fitz? McCall? I bet Fitz, but if he retains McCall, it will take him a lot longer.
What’s ridiculous is thinking that the only measure of success for NU football is a Big Ten title. How many teams besides OSU have won more than one Big Ten title in the last decade? How man teams besides OSU have even won one?
This year is the result of not having a QB ready to take over for Thorson and a continued deficiency on the OL. That’s it. We have other weaknesses but the difference between this year and last year is the combination of those two things.
We’ve had a lot of success the previous four years, but the offense was already showing signs of “cracking.”
To continue the flawed metaphor, the floodgates have broken open this year but it is more symptom of a slow decline rather than a sudden decline.
Agreed, and I would add WR not quite up to the task. Been going on too long, and that is the issue. Still not good enough. Time to change business as usual.
While I get what you’re saying (and I really do), “we won conference titles before Fitz and nothing since” is an oversimplification and pet peeve of mine.
Yes 1995 was a magical year and we won the B1G outright before playing USC tight in the Rose Bowl (damn you Keyshawn Johnson and Musso still didn’t fumble!). Nobody can or should take that from us.
1996 was a shared title (which is now impossible) and we got completely smoked by Peyton Manning and Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl.
2000 was a three-way shared title (again now impossible) and we again got absolutely smoked by Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl.
1995 is unarguable, but 1996 and 2000 are much closer to “haven’t won anything” than proponents of this argument want to admit.
<Steps off soap box>
Haven’t really won anything in the last four years? The Big Ten West, three bowls and 36 games don’t count?
15-3 in conference over a two year span would make quite a few Power 5 programs jealous...
Hear! Hear!
We can all acknowledge the unmitigated disaster that 2019 has turned out to be, but in this process of reflection, do we really need to discredit the excellent run the ‘Cats had in seasons prior?
It seems as though some posters are using this unfortunate downturn to shoehorn certain narratives...
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2000 was a strange year in the Big Ten. A 6-2 record got the Cats a share of the Big Ten title with Michigan and Purdue. As comparisons, they went 8-0 in ‘95, 7-1 in ‘96 and 8-1 last year. The 2000 team was prolific but flawed, with a historically explosive offense and a horrendous defense that couldn’t stop anyone. They scored an unbelievable (especially right now) 36.8 ppg and allowed an equally unbelievable 33.3. Their SP+ rankings would be fun to see — much like this year’s team’s, with wild fluctuations between offensive and defensive rankings.
The 1995 miracle season was amazing but since then the bottom teams in the Big ten have gotten a lot better. Everybody has BTN money. Lots more parity below Ohio State who we did not play in '95 or '96. We have just completed the BEST FOUR YEAR cycle in school history, even matching the 15-1 BIG record of the 1995-96 teams. To say Fitz hasn't had major success here is ludicrous. I'm hopeful he'll be looking at changes after this disastrous offensive performance, but seriously, some fans think he should have fired McCall after his run with Thorson, who came here very raw, and won 36 games in his four years here, really? McCall is supposedly a big reason Atkinson is coming here, so be careful what you wish for because he looks like a big time get.
Even good programs have down year(s). Alabama was 3-8 in 2000 and 4-9 in 2003 under two different coaches. Clemson was 6-7 in 2010. Oklahoma did not have a winning season from 1994 through 1998. Some of these poor years were a long time ago, but we repeatedly cling on to memories of 1995, so I don't feel that bad going so far back in history.
So many posters on this board revive the name of Gary Barnett, and he certainly deserves a heckuva lot of credit for ending the "Dark Ages". Assuredly, 1995 and 1996 were great years for the Cats, but if Barnett were coach today and compelled consecutive seasons of 5-7 and 3-9 (as he did in 1997 and 1998 when he left for Colorado), most of us would be shouting for more than the OC to be sacked. There's still a decent chance that we can get to three wins -- and possibly four -- this year.
So, while I am pretty much writing off what the team may accomplish yet this season, I say let's see if Fitz makes any changes in the off-season and then examine what happens on the field next year. We would have had two full recruiting classes to have seen Taj Fitz as a reality. Like I said, all programs have an occasional down year, maybe two or three.
No matter what anyone says or thinks, Fitz ain't going anywhere unless he chooses to do so. I personally am comfortable with that.
However, I still reserve the right to grumble, bitch and moan about this season's offense!
So many posters on this board revive the name of Gary Barnett, and he certainly deserves a heckuva lot of credit for ending the "Dark Ages". Assuredly, 1995 and 1996 were great years for the Cats, but if Barnett were coach today and compelled consecutive seasons of 5-7 and 3-9 (as he did in 1997 and 1998 when he left for Colorado), most of us would be shouting for more than the OC to be sacked. There's still a decent chance that we can get to three wins -- and possibly four -- this year.
So, while I am pretty much writing off what the team may accomplish yet this season, I say let's see if Fitz makes any changes in the off-season and then examine what happens on the field next year. We would have had two full recruiting classes to have seen Taj Fitz as a reality. Like I said, all programs have an occasional down year, maybe two or three.
No matter what anyone says or thinks, Fitz ain't going anywhere unless he chooses to do so. I personally am comfortable with that.
However, I still reserve the right to grumble, bitch and moan about this season's offense!
I guess that's the crux of the question. What you just expressed is an opinion that I happen to disagree with. In my opinion our offense has never performed at its optimal potential because of a significant deficiency on the OL. This year that issue has been compounded by a glaring hole in our QB depth chart that was the result of recruiting failures by Fitz and McCall. I think the OL issue has been addressed with the hiring of Anderson and in time that will become a strength of the team. We'll see if HJ can be the answer at QB with more time in the system. If not, we may have a true freshmen starting at QB next year. Regardless, my belief is that the problems with the offense are circumstantial, not systemic, and getting rid of McCall at this point would be the equivalent of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. We'll see very soon what Fitz's opinion on the issue is because ultimately his is the only opinion that counts.
Do you think that McCall has any responsibility for the deficiency on the OL? I mean, shouldn't he have been beating down Fitz's door every year, demanding a new OL coach so he can run his plays? Maybe he did; I have no idea.
None. That was all Fitz. I am sure there were many conversations during Cushing’s tenure about the OL problems. They knew they had a problem and it was an annual challenge to figure out how to scheme around it.
Sure, if we have an awesome OL that was the strength of our team, we can just dominate the LOS and establish the run, do some play-action, etc. I could be a good offensive coordinator with that talent. Obviously not every team has that. There are many teams out there with way less offensive talent than us, that are creative enough, and make the proper adjustments to win games with their offense and not be the 130th team in FBS scoring. I want an offensive coordinator that can construct an effective game plan given the talent they have. Sure we all want more playmakers, but I see teams on TV every Saturday without much athleticism on offense, that are running mis-direction, or enough variety to keep the D off-balance, and actually moving the ball and scoring TDs.
I know its your opinion, and I wish I held your optimism. But frankly, I respect Cam Quiero's and these other players opinion more, who have strapped it on.
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