Puzzling decisions show that Braun is still learning on the job
And that's okay. But Northwestern's head coach had better accelerate his learning curve.
My column: Puzzling decisions show that Braun is still learning on the job
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
I believe you stole this idea from my thread title, I will be awaiting my check in the mail, Lou (very nice article, thanks)
According to NUSports.com, Glover has played in four games: the opener, and then the last three weeks. He hasn’t recorded any statistics.
Lots of topics in the piece, @lou v.
Maybe I’m naive, but I really hope NU doesn’t go portal-hopping for a QB. On the offense, WR and OL have to be the peak priorities in the portal. (Is it ten catches between non-Kirtz, non-Henning WRs?)
If NU has the ball inside their own ten inside of a minute left in the half, I really hope the lesson has finally been learned.
Maybe I’m naive, but I really hope NU doesn’t go portal-hopping for a QB. On the offense, WR and OL have to be the peak priorities in the portal. (Is it ten catches between non-Kirtz, non-Henning WRs?)
If NU has the ball inside their own ten inside of a minute left in the half, I really hope the lesson has finally been learned.
Every position on offense is a priority in the portal.
Agreed on portal priorities. Plenty of good WRs you can “plug and play” but not sure it’s that easy for OL since it is much more of a unit. So maybe poach multiple players from the same OL? Idk
He definitely had at least one PBU last week when the ball doinked off his face. I think he had another as well.
Not going to ever recruit a great QB if NU keeps relying on the portal. Bryant has been the only portal QB to be worth a damn, and it wasn't like he was lights out either. Ramsey was good, but he was more of a game manager than a QB.
I’d take Ramsey or Bryant in a heartbeat over what I’m seeing on the field this year.
Yeah, but you also got Johnson and Hilinski out of the portal as well. Wouldn't you like to land a very good QB and have him stay around longer than a year? Who is the best QB we have had the last decade? Oh, yeah, a recruit. Our new HC and OC better get their heads screwed back on and get the new offense on track. NU football isn't looking very attractive to top respective QB recruits.
Lausch still hasn’t shown he’s the answer. I think they go portaling for a QB with experience like IU did. Also, need better run blocking OL, especially at guard
Just make a plan to target every good MAC QB who has good grades. It isn’t a bad plan of action.
You want to poach a MAC QB? Funny stuff!!!!!! There are a few good MAC qbs, but if they were good enough to compete in the B1G, they would have been recruited by a B1G team in the first place. With Fitz gone, NU football has to rebuild the brand. It is too bad we did not get Cignetti or someone of his caliber from another FCB school. I was all in and excited over the Braun hire. A guy who won a title and was hungry to take it to the next level, but he might be in over his head. We need to give him 2 more years to try and get something going. Lujan might not be the answer at OC either.
Cignetti seems to be doing OK with a MAC QB though......
Not true. These kids in lower tiered divisions are able to develop into good QBs and even better QBs than the guys recruited out of high school directly into Big ten programs. Experience can do a lot!
What everyone said below is correct. Obviously, they weren’t ready for the B1G out of HS but guys evolve. An “old” QB like Rourke and Bryant has the game move a lot more slowly in his later years which can close the raw talent (e.g. arm strength) gap.
Braun was an interesting pick as DC and may have worked out. But as a head coach of a BIG team, he is clearly in over his head. And why wouldn't he be? It was almost unfair to put him in this position. But emotions won out over rationality last year.
What the hell were NU’s other options? Bronco Mendenhal? They ride Braun this year and next and revisit when the stadium is finished.
I’m more concerned that they whiffed on the OC. He really seems like he’s in over his head
Ramsey and Bryant are both quality, P4 caliber QBs. Neither is the most talented on earth but both play the mental side of QB well and make throws. Ramsey also had a little wiggle with his legs.
You’d have to be an idiot to think anybody else since Thorson was a remotely P4 caliber QB. Lausch at least has time to develop, but no weapons doesn’t help.
I think this very much may be it. From everything we know from braun he basically just let Bajakian do his thing on offense. And that makes sense bc while we may have been disappointed with Jake, the administrative part of what the job entails was very fluent for him. Hiring a guys that force your top 3 coaches all into positions they’ve never had before is questionable.
I thought the reading
-between-the-lines interpretation of the coaching search last year was that none of the other candidates were seriously interested. And why would they be with our AD at the time, the scandal and no stadium for a couple years. On top of the usual limitations to recruiting both from HS and the portal. I think it’s going to be verrrry much harder to get a top coach these days if they don’t think they can easily get at least 10-12 guys from the portal (or more).
Wait, a job in a professionalizing sports league where our admissions department still thinks anybody gives a **** about their opinion isn’t good?
Yeah, but Indiana has Cignetti. Lujan is a moron. My uncle could have worked with a mid to upper tier MAC qb and made it work as well, because he had great OCs. The scary part is that Braun was the top candidate for the job. Barnett was a higher tier FCB coach when NU hired him. The NU administration will have to offer a ton of $$$$$$$ if they want top FBS HC talent. The FCS experiment is off to a rather rocky start. Give Braun two more seasons to right the ship, but my money right now is nothing really is going to improve a whole lot. I was initially excited with Braun coming aboard. A young successful HC, that wanted to prove himself at the next level was more attractive than our ex coach who seemed to have been in coast mode. I still am hopeful, but it seems like he has taken a step back from his "rookie" year.
