ADVERTISEMENT

Fitz goes deep on the problems at quarterback

It was not an exhaustive review. I can mine 36 instances over the past four years for other examples if you're interested including record-setting performances. Maybe having a skilled QB who knows the offense thoroughly is important. Or a WR with great hands and a knack for finding gaps in the defense helps. Or a record-setting RB who can consistently make something out of nothing. Jimmy's and Joe's...

I think people tend to forget just how bad Thorson was in his first year in the system. He threw for 177 yards against Nebraska, but otherwise didn’t top 150 in conference and threw for less than 100 in three of the final four games of the season. Overall 51.6% completion rate with 7 TDs and 7 INTs.

Obviously he had talent. Yes he was raw as a QB but that’s what the redshirt was for.

Why is it acceptable for NU to run an offense that seems to require years and years and years of studying in order to master, while other teams are capable of running successful offenses with true freshmen QBs?

I agree with you that you need to have the players to win... but there are surely things that can be done from the coaches to make things easier, rather than throw your hands up and say “this QB room didn’t prepare enough in the off-season, we’re screwed!”
 
So we need
It was not an exhaustive review. I can mine 36 instances over the past four years for other examples if you're interested including record-setting performances. Maybe having a skilled QB who knows the offense thoroughly is important. Or a WR with great hands and a knack for finding gaps in the defense helps. Or a record-setting RB who can consistently make something out of nothing. Jimmy's and Joe's...
So we need record setting players to have a below average offense? Put another way, what would Lincoln Riley do with thorson, Jackson, Carr, Dickerson etc
 
I think people tend to forget just how bad Thorson was in his first year in the system. He threw for 177 yards against Nebraska, but otherwise didn’t top 150 in conference and threw for less than 100 in three of the final four games of the season. Overall 51.6% completion rate with 7 TDs and 7 INTs.

Obviously he had talent. Yes he was raw as a QB but that’s what the redshirt was for.

Why is it acceptable for NU to run an offense that seems to require years and years and years of studying in order to master, while other teams are capable of running successful offenses with true freshmen QBs?

I agree with you that you need to have the players to win... but there are surely things that can be done from the coaches to make things easier, rather than throw your hands up and say “this QB room didn’t prepare enough in the off-season, we’re screwed!”
The Dean of Students requires stringent academic standards for QBs?
 
  • Like
Reactions: IGNORE
So we need

So we need record setting players to have a below average offense? Put another way, what would Lincoln Riley do with thorson, Jackson, Carr, Dickerson etc
Yes a good offense depends on a good QB, but not solely.
 
So we need

So we need record setting players to have a below average offense? Put another way, what would Lincoln Riley do with thorson, Jackson, Carr, Dickerson etc

The "below-average" offense with a weak OL that produced record-setting efforts and 36 wins?

I haven't watched Oklahoma in years so I cannot offer an opinion here. They don't play in the more defense-minded Big Ten.
 
  • Like
Reactions: corbi296
Teddy Greenstein has apparently jumped on the bandwagon to can McCall. I like McCall a lot - both as a person and as an OC. I think Fitz does too. The article confirms that which I have heard since July: other than Green, our QBs are not doing their homework. McCall's system is not easy to run - it depends to a very large degree on the QB making reads and calling assignments for the OL, WRs, and RBs. It takes a great deal of preparation. Our guys are not doing it. Johnson may have an excuse. I recognize that families seem much closer these days and some college-aged young men are still little boys - much moreso than 40 years ago. I think Hunter will be OK once he starts putting in the time - IF he can win back the clubhouse. Changing OCs is just playing to the disgruntled and shifting blame. When NU does well, it is because of great chemistry; when it does not, it indicates bad chemistry. The last time we looked this bad was during the Cain Colter union organizing fiasco. Simien took over the clubhouse after that. We need someone to step up in the off season. I'd love it to be Johnson, but my guess is on Green, who is coming back for a fifth year. Then, in 2021, I think Adkinson starts as a RS frosh.

Good coaches adjust based on the players they have. I guess McCall would prefer to have a complicated system and go 2-8.
 
I just find it Boomer.

He gave me snark, I gave it back. Clearly I touched a nerve, with you anyway.

I’ll refrain from perfectly placed posts pulled directly from the internet zeitgeist in the future.

You touched a nerve because you tried to ridicule another poster’s opinion because of his age. That’s bush league.
 
I think we need another board or forum called Mean Girls or WWF...or Junior High School or Mano y Mano.....
anyway I think it is difficult to try and figure out what is wrong with the offense...recruiting,development, scheme, injuries, play calling etc....and I tend to like people in general and Mick McCall seems like a nice guy....but I think at the Purdue game I came to this conclusion the Purdue people (the combo responsible for their offense) were better than the Northwestern People responsible for ours. I think scheme and strategy will always be key for us as I dont see us being an Alabama who could probably do whatever they want because of the advantage in personnel.... SO I decided we have to at least have better people than Purdue responsible for the offense....This is what I thought I saw at Purdue.....After the first series the BMs figured out they could not run the ball against us.....so they went wide, wide wide forcing our lbs to cover a ton....then they saw Ruiz as the weak deer in the herd and went after him...and then on some key 3rd down plays they had some great calls....two I specifically remember was a simple throw to their blocking fullback in the flat....and on a 3rd and 13 in the red zone......a trap to the weak side where Mr. Ruiz took the bait hook , line and sinker...........The other side of the coin was on our last drive..as we ran the ball time after time...PU went to 8, then 9. then 10 and looked like 11 in the box....and we never even tried a play action...I will admit here that I thought that could be under Fitzs direction...He is a stubborn guy...loves a situation like this..where we out macho them.....But either through replacement or improvement (optimist gene) we need to be WAY better at offense........Also perception now plays a part...if people (mainly recruits) think we have a bad offensive coaching group it will snowball down hill.
 
You touched a nerve because you tried to ridicule another poster’s opinion because of his age. That’s bush league.

And that same poster ridiculed a player because of a stupid stereotype about “kids these days” and how “men used to be.”

It was an uncalled for — and, yes, Boomer — thing to say.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IGNORE and NUCat320
I think we need another board or forum called Mean Girls or WWF...or Junior High School or Mano y Mano.....
anyway I think it is difficult to try and figure out what is wrong with the offense...recruiting,development, scheme, injuries, play calling etc....and I tend to like people in general and Mick McCall seems like a nice guy....but I think at the Purdue game I came to this conclusion the Purdue people (the combo responsible for their offense) were better than the Northwestern People responsible for ours. I think scheme and strategy will always be key for us as I dont see us being an Alabama who could probably do whatever they want because of the advantage in personnel.... SO I decided we have to at least have better people than Purdue responsible for the offense....This is what I thought I saw at Purdue.....After the first series the BMs figured out they could not run the ball against us.....so they went wide, wide wide forcing our lbs to cover a ton....then they saw Ruiz as the weak deer in the herd and went after him...and then on some key 3rd down plays they had some great calls....two I specifically remember was a simple throw to their blocking fullback in the flat....and on a 3rd and 13 in the red zone......a trap to the weak side where Mr. Ruiz took the bait hook , line and sinker...........The other side of the coin was on our last drive..as we ran the ball time after time...PU went to 8, then 9. then 10 and looked like 11 in the box....and we never even tried a play action...I will admit here that I thought that could be under Fitzs direction...He is a stubborn guy...loves a situation like this..where we out macho them.....But either through replacement or improvement (optimist gene) we need to be WAY better at offense........Also perception now plays a part...if people (mainly recruits) think we have a bad offensive coaching group it will snowball down hill.
You pretty much described every game NU has played this year against a P5 opponent.
 
And that same poster ridiculed a player because of a stupid stereotype about “kids these days” and how “men used to be.”

It was an uncalled for — and, yes, Boomer — thing to say.

He did no such thing. Which player did he ridicule?
 
You would make a great CEO. Hey, the company made money this year! Who cares about that business unit that lost $100 mill missing revenue projections the last 5 years, the company bottom line is all that matters! Let's hope the other business units keep picking up the slack.

He’s an educator. Those that can do, those that can’t teach and support McCall.
 
It is not a below-average offense when you win 9 or 10 games. Stats do not tell the entire story, in fact they are frequently capable of distorting the important picture. Winning is all that matters, and we have done that with McCall. I promise you, he is not going anywhere anytime soon.

This is what we refer to in industry as "results over process," and it is a recipe for occasional success mixed with catastrophic failure. Stats do not distort anything; quite the opposite, they shine light on cracks in the foundation of success. Winning despite one of your three units being below average (2018) to abysmal (2019), and pretending that the problem will fix itself when what you're really hoping for is better turnover luck is not a methodology preached by winners.
 
I think people tend to forget just how bad Thorson was in his first year in the system. He threw for 177 yards against Nebraska, but otherwise didn’t top 150 in conference and threw for less than 100 in three of the final four games of the season. Overall 51.6% completion rate with 7 TDs and 7 INTs.

Obviously he had talent. Yes he was raw as a QB but that’s what the redshirt was for.

Why is it acceptable for NU to run an offense that seems to require years and years and years of studying in order to master, while other teams are capable of running successful offenses with true freshmen QBs?

I agree with you that you need to have the players to win... but there are surely things that can be done from the coaches to make things easier, rather than throw your hands up and say “this QB room didn’t prepare enough in the off-season, we’re screwed!”
It is not that it requires years of studying. But it does require reps.
 
This is what we refer to in industry as "results over process," and it is a recipe for occasional success mixed with catastrophic failure. Stats do not distort anything; quite the opposite, they shine light on cracks in the foundation of success. Winning despite one of your three units being below average (2018) to abysmal (2019), and pretending that the problem will fix itself when what you're really hoping for is better turnover luck is not a methodology preached by winners.

I think you nailed it. The data shows that the under-performing unit has been that way for years, not only 2018 and 2019. And like you said, the problem is not going to fix itself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drewjin
This is what we refer to in industry as "results over process," and it is a recipe for occasional success mixed with catastrophic failure. Stats do not distort anything; quite the opposite, they shine light on cracks in the foundation of success. Winning despite one of your three units being below average (2018) to abysmal (2019), and pretending that the problem will fix itself when what you're really hoping for is better turnover luck is not a methodology preached by winners.

Just beautifully stated.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT