I now believe the silence...

[IGNORE2]

So it appears. We await positive news--are you jumping the gun on that?

Makes me more grateful for the balance team

 

[phatcat]

Makes me more grateful for the balance team

Wth is a balance team

 

[stpaulcat]

Wth is a balance team

Ignore may be talking about gymnastics, which he is good at (the mental kind).

 

[phatcat]

Ignore may be talking about gymnastics, which he is good at (the mental kind).

Didn't you say earlier he was mentally UNbalanced?

 

[stpaulcat]

Didn't you say earlier he was mentally UNbalanced?

I may have, and if so, it was meant lightheartedly.

 

[IGNORE2]

Wth is a balance team

Autocorrect

Meant basketball team

 

[Gladeskat]

I may have, and if so, it was meant lightheartedly.

He's unbalanced, alright. Like a washing machine in the spin cycle.

I often like the rhythm of that sound, though, and will even dance to it to entertain my dogs and cats.

 

[hdhntr1]

Hence the “late bloomer” aspect. We know for a fact his recruiting on the offensive side picked up rapidly during his senior season, during which he developed significantly, but he never even got to the point of accepting visits elsewhere because NU had got in at the right moment. Not every player is an obvious 4 star as a sophomore and junior in HS, some develop at a different time. Given that Ayeni very recently did the EXACT same thing in landing Hull, we should recognize it’s a strength of ours.

It was several years ago, The idea of having to rely on it year after year...

 

[hdhntr1]

If transfer candidates were not yet approved by Admissions, would it have been wise to have them visit? If you were a transfer candidate, would you visit a school where your admission was not guaranteed? If you were a HC or AD would you spend resources on prospects that might not receive approval from admissions? It’s not that hard to figure out.

Then how do you get them to get with the program?

 

[hdhntr1]

Right, like 54-51 in 2000, when we had a terrible defense. That was the Colby era, wasn't it? Defense is by no means NU's only problem now, it is simply now an excuse as to why we were not winning. Actually, with a JON defense and a decent offense, we could have won a lot more games in the past two years. Did Fitz fire the wrong coordinator, or is Fitz the problem, putting the clamps on Bajakian to the point of not being able to run a decent offense? In any case, I believe the silence is Fitz figuring this out and getting it properly on track. He needs to rejuvenate both sides the ball, and I hope that he is doing just that.

Sorry but the D gave up something like 35 pts per game over the last couple years, Pretty hard for a descent O to win under those circumstances as descent doesn't get you 40 per game. Now you could say that would be pretty hard to win with that O and even a HANK D

 

[hdhntr1]

Don’t understand the logic at all. Not enough people were fired. Jake still having a job after presiding over an offense that was even more inept than our defense (for which JON was rightfully fired) is a glaring problem. Anyone think we are going to score the 40 a game the real contenders are all capable of putting up with this offense?

The recapture of a 2 star RB with limited offers is not a sign of much that would point to much in terms of a quantum leap in recruiting that would produce a national contender.

The silence of not hiring anyone or bringing in any transfers when every other program is doing so promptly is not a good sign of anything nor does it suggest that Fitz is working to do anything that is necessary to right the program, rejuvenate the offense or defense, much less produce a national contender. I don’t believe he’s earning his $5m a year and am disappointed he didn’t take a Harbaugh pay cut that might have lit a fire under his underachieving ass. Money that could have been put to good use in bringing Jim Leonhardt or some other qualified DC to Evanston yesterday.

Sorry. I do not believe. I sadly no longer expect victory. Unfortunately, there is nothing going on with the program now that would compel me to do so. If there is and I’m missing it, please point it out. Nothing you’ve noted so far does so, but rather does the opposite.

Look, Jake was saddled with a lot of garbage from before he got here. A terrible QB room. Weakest WR corp around, TEs that cant stay healthy and so so performance of OL. JON inherited a descent D and wrecked it. There is a difference. That and hard to change both coordinators at the same time bought him another year

 

[hdhntr1]

I’d settle for Sullivan running a space-oriented RPO. I don’t even have to hear it called the spread.

And an OL to keep him upright

 

[hdhntr1]

I love a ball control offense, but as an aside, I never understood the "3 yards and a cloud of dust" in a literal sense, since it always results in being one yard short. Even as a little kid, I didn't get it. 3x3 is 9 yards, unless you go for it on 4th and 1 every time, you have to punt.

Anyway, Fitz offenses are more like 5 yard run, 2 yard loss, incomplete pass, punt.

Thought it was 4 yds and a cloud of dust. 4x3=12 and moved sticks

 

[EvanstonCat]

Hence the “late bloomer” aspect. We know for a fact his recruiting on the offensive side picked up rapidly during his senior season, during which he developed significantly, but he never even got to the point of accepting visits elsewhere because NU had got in at the right moment. Not every player is an obvious 4 star as a sophomore and junior in HS, some develop at a different time. Given that Ayeni very recently did the EXACT same thing in landing Hull, we should recognize it’s a strength of ours.

Sure, we can hope he is one of those diamonds in the rough that shine and star well beyond expectation, as opposed to being one of the many more unheralded unrecruited players who never see the field. I should say "should never see the field for a Power 5 school" because some of them end up playing for us, well, because we have to play 22, and we have to play what we've got.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Wth is a balance team

It's what we had last year. Equally bad on offense and on defense. Very complementary.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Look, Jake was saddled with a lot of garbage from before he got here. A terrible QB room. Weakest WR corp around, TEs that cant stay healthy and so so performance of OL. JON inherited a descent D and wrecked it. There is a difference. That and hard to change both coordinators at the same time bought him another year

I don't buy it. He's had 4 years to get his own guys in. Bielema comes in and you see progress in year 1 and then they had last year in year 2. Can't say that the cupboard was full for him, especially when Illinois still has not beat us out for a recruit in 20 years.

Look at what Sonny Dykes did at TCU. What Lance Leipold has done at Kansas. What Duke has done.

And just look at what Coach Prime is gonna do this fall at CU. Or what the Air Raid is going to do for Wisconsin and Nebraska.

And a lack of personnel doesn't mean you have to try to play smash mouth boring non-inspiring football. Actually, you would think that you'd go the other way. Get creative. Use some imagination with your scheme to counter the fact that you don't have the horses. You know, like what Walker and Kevin Wilson did back in the day. Spread the field. Make the opponent have to cover the entire field instead of stack the box on your ass because you have no downfield or horizontal threat and they know you're going to do short passes and runs up the guts all the effing time.

Meanwhile, Bama is going to change two coordinators this year (not by choice). This is complete BS that you can't change both coordinators at the same time. It happens all the time when you have new head coaches. If that's what it would have taken, then maybe we should have taken that route.

 

[phatcat]

I don't buy it. He's had 4 years to get his own guys in. Bielema comes in and you see progress in year 1 and then they had last year in year 2. Can't say that the cupboard was full for him, especially when Illinois still has not beat us out for a recruit in 20 years.

Look at what Sonny Dykes did at TCU. What Lance Leipold has done at Kansas. What Duke has done.

And just look at what Coach Prime is gonna do this fall at CU. Or what the Air Raid is going to do for Wisconsin and Nebraska.

And a lack of personnel doesn't mean you have to try to play smash mouth boring non-inspiring football. Actually, you would think that you'd go the other way. Get creative. Use some imagination with your scheme to counter the fact that you don't have the horses. You know, like what Walker and Kevin Wilson did back in the day. Spread the field. Make the opponent have to cover the entire field instead of stack the box on your ass because you have no downfield or horizontal threat and they know you're going to do short passes and runs up the guts all the effing time.

Meanwhile, Bama is going to change two coordinators this year (not by choice). This is complete BS that you can't change both coordinators at the same time. It happens all the time when you have new head coaches. If that's what it would have taken, then maybe we should have taken that route.

Agreed, I am no longer hopeless, because of the coaching changes and good recruiting, but I am far from hopeful.

Also, fingers crossed, because Dr Gragg took CCC to the woodshed, and that seems to have worked out. I believe the did the same thing with St. Patrick