The most bizarre thing to me about last year was that there was not a single lead change all year. The team that scored first never trailed and always won the game. That made for a huge amount of boring football, and numerous blow outs.
Why the Wildcats will be better in 2022!
- Thread starter NUDefense
- Start date
Enough football talk!
Let’s talk more about WW2. I’ve watched “Band of Brothers” but not more than the first couple of episodes of “The Pacific”. Has anyone seen both?
I just don’t want to talk about last season anymore. It’s flushed like a bad bowl of chili.
It’s been a while, but I thought it was very good. Not as good as BoB, but definitely worth your time.
Being old I can tell you that sometimes when my memory slips, I offer a prayer of thanksgiving.
Definitely been jonesing for the rant board lately - so much good ammunition. Can you imagine how crazy it would have been over there...
We do have a Newsome level talent. His have is Pete Skoronski and he's likely to get drafted higher than Newsome.
Is that the general consensus that Skoronski is first-round talent? That's great, if so.
Agree with this assessment. I recall the Pacific had a lot more intense battle scenes than Band of Brothers, but the stories from BOB were just better.
The Pacific is also when I first noticed Rami Malek - he played Snafu and definitely felt like someone who was a more talented actor than the rest of the cast. I mean, Jon Seda and the kid from Jurassic Park aren't exactly big-time thespians.
Oh, and as long as we're talking about the RB room being really good, I'm looking forward to seeing Himon play. He'll have to leapfrog a lot of returning talent to get on the field though.
How to balance the offense. Run Cam Porter behind Skoronski. Run Evan Hull behind Skoronski. Run Andrew Clair behind Skoronski. Run Anthony Tyus behind Skoronski. Balanced offense.
There's an entire thread around here somewhere dedicated to him being top 15 in basically every mock draft in the world that's come out since this year's draft. The NFL THIRSTS for ManBearPete.
Obviously I was inferring on the defensive secondary side of things but I can see if you didn't get it.
"Defense is not everythinhg, it is the only thihg" We seem to have lost that thought.
Cam Mitchell is very good. Has a real chance to be a second day pick. The key will be finding someone to play opposite him. Hearing Theran has a bright future.
I figured that might be the case, but I thought I’d do a small pivot pointing out we do have too 20 talent once again.
We can't be Iowa without a Norm Parker/Hank level of defense. JON ain't that. If some help comes from the other side of the ball, specifically the guy that touches the ball nearly every play, that could balance out some porosity on defense.
Norm Parker was a friend and mentor. He has been deceased since 2014. Hank is honored and retired. Get over the JON bs and work mentally to help get the 'Cats back as a contender. You have to coach 'em up and go rumble. Stop living in the past.
Rebel, I agree with you about living in the present, but I simply have no reason to believe that JON will succeed, because, well, he never has. I didn't really pay attention when he was hired - 'oh he has a pro pedigree and I trust Fitz, it should be ok' (until it wasn't, which was the first play of the first game). Here are some things that I hope we may agree:
- In retrospect, hindsight being 20/20, as usual, JON was a questionable hire. He has a checkered career, and, other than a so-called NFL Pedigree, there is nothing in his record to indicate he would succeed. Unless, of course, Fitz provided some direction and oversight, the equivalent of "thou shalt not screw up a top rated defense with unnecessary gadgetry". To me, he looks like the defensive version of Mick McCall. Nobody knew what to do. Some of it was loss of personnel, otherwise, it looked like people that didn't know how to play football, and it didn't improve all year.
- Fitz will often (some say always) double down if something doesn't work and he gets even a whiff of pressure to change something. We shower him with praise when the team succeeds "he does more with less! he has such restrictions! His teams play smart!", but when we suk, he doesn't want to hear about it. When asked about what he would say to people that asked about his 2019 "never again" comment, his defensive answer was something about we won 2 of 3 B1G West titles "Right? RIGHT?" Change the 5th year senior kicker who was worst in the B1G? No way.
- Other schools make tough decisions, we do not. Duke fired Cuticliffe, TCU fired PATTERSON!! Michigan gave Harbaugh a pay cut and he fired 2 coordinators (news flash, it worked). Frost took a pay cut. ICR who, but one team fired their DC after like 2-3 games. NU/Fitz do not do this. McCall was here long after it was clear that his system wasn't working.
I can understand your frustrations with both sports and have had some questions as well about coaching pedigrees and assignments. I just have a real thing about "self fulfilling prophecies". Control what you can control and make every effort to win. Highlight our successes:
1. JON appears to be an excellent recruiter. Hank was not much of a factor. JON will get some great kids to play defense for NU.
2. New CB coach can really recruit and he is already had an impact.
3. Coach Anderson is finally going to have alot of his people healthy along with a really good RB room.
4. QB situation is going to be much better than in our 3 win seasons. Huge +.
5. Fitz, like all coaches, has his faults and quirks. But he is in possession of a great desire to win and is an excellent leader of men.
I put my confidence in Fitz and really believe we have a very bright future. Recruiting strategy is much better and will provide successes. GO 'CATS!
Why is the QB situation gonna be much better? I mean it couldn’t get much worse I guess. Genuinely curious why you think this, not trying to be snarky.
My thoughts exactly. Hoping that Sullivan is the answer. Or that Hilinski has improved significantly.
Nice post. It is ok to be optimistic and focus on the positives sometimes. I struggle with this a lot. You don't want to seem polyannish or unrealistic, but being positive doesn't mean you are ignoring the negative realities. It just means you don't focus on them exclusively. This program still has a lot going for it, despite the negatives. It is ok to talk about them every once in a while!
Here’s an idea. Why don’t we just find four more Skoronskis?
Hilinski's mobility is so bad that it is too limiting. He's a statue of limitations (yuk yuk). I never get tired of that joke, sorry if you all do.
Aren't those generally the betting sites that are available locally? But doesn't IL have some law against being able to bet on in state college teams?
Last year had ntohing good for me. Lost father beginning of the year and better half the end and NU FB/BB offered very little (no) escape
I’m truly sorry for you, hdhntr. I recall you had mentioned your spouse’s illness in the Rant Board days. I am thinking of you in your grief.
May something in purple give you joy this year. (Go softball Cats!!)
Yeah, loss a bunch of games by less than touchdown, finish 4-8 and then you become Nebraska, sounds fun.
Betonline opened us at 4.5 wins
