This fall will be the 20th anniversary of our run to the Roses. My goodness, where has the time gone.
Looking for the hoops win highlights over UM (and failing to find them put up yet), I strolled over to the Football 1995 archives.
And watched every video.
Brought a tear to the eye.
Some observations:
1) Our Defense was AWESOME. They were #1 ranked in the nation for a reason. We had major weapons on offense, but the majority of highlights were defensive plays.
2) Our DL was ridiculous. Watch the Penn State video. We just mauled their OL. Ran over them. And the announcers even pointed out that we were doing it against one of the best OL's in the country.
3) That Penn State video also showcases Fitz at his finest. He was a hell of a backer. How was he so damn slow in the 40 but always in that backfield so fast?
4) The DB's were special - we put them on islands. And our nickel back was blitzing all day and played in the backfield more than anything else.
5) And I was reminded of something which makes me crazy today. In none of these defensive highlights, where teams were going 4th and long or 3rd and long (lots of 4th and longs, with teams trying to come back on us), did we ever rush 3 or even 4. We brought the house. And we killed teams. FITZ DO YOU NOT REMEMBER WHAT MADE US GREAT?????
6) We killed it on turnovers. Every game, but the Wisconsin game was ridiculous. We had what 7 or 8 TO's.
7) Watching Darnell again made me reappreciate him. I always liked Damien better for his 2000 yards and speed, but boy, I don't know now, watching DA1 again. He ran with power. Justin Jackson reminds me a lot of him.
8) Darren Fricking Drexler - here's a guy I completely forgot about. But, he was a beast of a TE. If it were up to me, I'd go back to a TE system and play a TE every down. What a weapon.
9) Bates was smooth. Christian Jones reminds me a little of him, hope he can have a big year this year. And watching Bates on the double pass - why didn't we do that more with Colter.
10) Musso was a shifty SOB. Put a move on Tim Dwight in the Iowa video that was just awesome, and was gone.
11) We had two great kickers that year - Valensizi went down, and Gowins didn't skip a beat. Paul Burton was a beast of a punter
12) We looked great in Black. Why we do not go back to the black jerseys and purple pants for every home game, I will never know. We won 3 titles with those uniforms. They define NU football when were our best. They were the colors of champions. And what kills me is that Fitz was a part of those teams, and he won't restore the tradition. People will laugh and be dismissive. I'm convinced we will never be champions again, until we go back to our rightful colors. That was NU football. Not the crap football we played before we wore the black, and not the mediocrity that we've seen since. BRING BACK THE BLACK
Watching this really made me tear up - this is what NU football is to me, and what we need to get back to. Not the 10-3 Outback bowl season. That was fun, but that wasn't enough. No rings. It's been 14 years since we won a ring. Much too long.
They say the players and coaches sometimes read these boards. If so, I encourage them to click through and see how NU football was played at it's best.
Get rid of the 3 man rushes and bring the house.
Do whatever we did to return us to defensive dominance (Fitz you were there, you ought to know!!!)
Ron Vanderlinden is too damn good a coach to be stuck as a position coach at Air Force Academy. I am pretty happy with the defensive staff right now, but if someone leaves and if especially Hank retires, we should find a way to bring him back
AND BRING BACK THE BLACK
This post was edited on 3/4 10:21 AM by EvanstonCat
We were Champions
Looking for the hoops win highlights over UM (and failing to find them put up yet), I strolled over to the Football 1995 archives.
And watched every video.
Brought a tear to the eye.
Some observations:
1) Our Defense was AWESOME. They were #1 ranked in the nation for a reason. We had major weapons on offense, but the majority of highlights were defensive plays.
2) Our DL was ridiculous. Watch the Penn State video. We just mauled their OL. Ran over them. And the announcers even pointed out that we were doing it against one of the best OL's in the country.
3) That Penn State video also showcases Fitz at his finest. He was a hell of a backer. How was he so damn slow in the 40 but always in that backfield so fast?
4) The DB's were special - we put them on islands. And our nickel back was blitzing all day and played in the backfield more than anything else.
5) And I was reminded of something which makes me crazy today. In none of these defensive highlights, where teams were going 4th and long or 3rd and long (lots of 4th and longs, with teams trying to come back on us), did we ever rush 3 or even 4. We brought the house. And we killed teams. FITZ DO YOU NOT REMEMBER WHAT MADE US GREAT?????
6) We killed it on turnovers. Every game, but the Wisconsin game was ridiculous. We had what 7 or 8 TO's.
7) Watching Darnell again made me reappreciate him. I always liked Damien better for his 2000 yards and speed, but boy, I don't know now, watching DA1 again. He ran with power. Justin Jackson reminds me a lot of him.
8) Darren Fricking Drexler - here's a guy I completely forgot about. But, he was a beast of a TE. If it were up to me, I'd go back to a TE system and play a TE every down. What a weapon.
9) Bates was smooth. Christian Jones reminds me a little of him, hope he can have a big year this year. And watching Bates on the double pass - why didn't we do that more with Colter.
10) Musso was a shifty SOB. Put a move on Tim Dwight in the Iowa video that was just awesome, and was gone.
11) We had two great kickers that year - Valensizi went down, and Gowins didn't skip a beat. Paul Burton was a beast of a punter
12) We looked great in Black. Why we do not go back to the black jerseys and purple pants for every home game, I will never know. We won 3 titles with those uniforms. They define NU football when were our best. They were the colors of champions. And what kills me is that Fitz was a part of those teams, and he won't restore the tradition. People will laugh and be dismissive. I'm convinced we will never be champions again, until we go back to our rightful colors. That was NU football. Not the crap football we played before we wore the black, and not the mediocrity that we've seen since. BRING BACK THE BLACK
Watching this really made me tear up - this is what NU football is to me, and what we need to get back to. Not the 10-3 Outback bowl season. That was fun, but that wasn't enough. No rings. It's been 14 years since we won a ring. Much too long.
They say the players and coaches sometimes read these boards. If so, I encourage them to click through and see how NU football was played at it's best.
Get rid of the 3 man rushes and bring the house.
Do whatever we did to return us to defensive dominance (Fitz you were there, you ought to know!!!)
Ron Vanderlinden is too damn good a coach to be stuck as a position coach at Air Force Academy. I am pretty happy with the defensive staff right now, but if someone leaves and if especially Hank retires, we should find a way to bring him back
AND BRING BACK THE BLACK
This post was edited on 3/4 10:21 AM by EvanstonCat
We were Champions
