Game Rewatch Thoughts

[NUCat320]

I think the lack of trick plays on Saturdays has as much (or more) to do with Fitz than it does McCall.

"Trick plays aren't footbawwwl. Trick plays are chicken sh*t. Line 'em up! Again! Hat on a hat!"

(This is not Fitz. Just, you know, football coaches.)

Trick plays are great football and should be part of the game plan.

NU won at least two games larger due to the "Speedball" fumble-rooskie play under Walk, but couldn't properly execute it in the Outback Bowl 2009. I only hope that failure - a great and courageous play call - hasn't moved Fitz against trickery since then. (I have no idea if 2006-08 teams had more trickery. I do know it's been very limited over the past 5ish years.)

 

[DaCat]

Walker had a sense of when to call trick plays, to me it's something that really good game managers seem to have. Dantonio is another coach who uses trick plays at opportune times to surprise opponents, in many cases resulting in a reversal of momentum in a game. Fitz doesn't seem to have that gambler mentality, preferring to play the odds and sometimes playing not to lose rather than keeping the foot on the pedal to win. He's getting better at it, but hasn't quite gotten to the level of a Walker or Dantonio.

 

[YesterdaysCat]

Fitz [... is] getting better at it, but hasn't quite gotten to the level of a Walker or Dantonio.

Getting better at game managing and when to gamble? Are you sure we are talking about the same coach? The coach that foolishly went for it on 4th down last Saturday? The coach who calls timeouts to benefit the opposition?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Getting better at game managing and when to gamble? Are you sure we are talking about the same coach? The coach that foolishly went for it on 4th down last Saturday? The coach who calls timeouts to benefit the opposition?

1) Fitz isn't going to win with everyone on going for it on 4th down. Whereas you bitch about going for it, there would have been just as much (if not more) bellyaching if he had punted from inside the opponent's 50.

2) The timeout with about 1:30 left in the first half was due to getting caught with our 3-man front personnel in the game and WMU was running it down our throats. Credit to Fleck and his staff for using one of the oldest tricks in the no-huddle spread against us, but Fitz decided that the benefit of getting better run personnel on the field outweighed stopping the clock.