- Coach: Tommy Tuberville is the first-year coach of Texas Tech. He got the position following Texas Tech's firing of Mike Leach after a strange controversy over the alleged mistreatment of a player. Anyways, Tuberville has been a very successful coach throughout his career, during which he previously also coached Ole Miss and Auburn, holding a 117-65 record, with a 6-3 record in bowl games. Despite going 7-5, this season was most likely a disappointment for Tuberville,but I expect him to shine in the future as he continues to transition the pass-heavy Red Raiders into a more balanced team, the type of style he has used in the past.
- Pass Offense: Texas Tech under Mike Leach was a pass-heavy team, to say the least. In 2007, TT averaged an insane 470.3 pass yrds/game, subsequently averaging 413.2 and 386.8 in '08 and '09 respectively. Tommy Tuberville, despite running a less pass-heavy offense than Leach, still has a team averaging an impressive 314.8 yrds/game, 8th best in the country. The quarterback of this passing attack is the senior quarterback Taylor Potts, who has thrown 31 TDs this season (6th in the country) while completing 66.0% of his passes (18th) and has thrown 8 or 9 interceptions depending on where you look (how there can be a discrepancy on interception stats, I have no idea). Particularly scary about the Texas Tech pass offense is their ability to spread the ball to a number of receivers. 8 TT players have 25+ receptions this season. Compare this to the 'Cats who only have 3 players in this category. The primary threat, however, is Lyle Leong, a senior who has pulled in a frightening 17 TDs (2nd in the country), with 64 recoveries and 808 yrds. The second greatest threat is Detron Lewis, a senior with 79 catches, 803 yards, and 6 TDs. One other interesting point is that no one listed as a tight end shows up on Texas Tech's reception stat sheet. In fact, it seems they don't even have any on the roster. Expect Texas Tech to have 4-5 WRs on the field for just about every play. The question is, how does this look for the 'Cats? The answer: not great. NU's pass defense has been pretty lousy, letting up 230.5 yards/game (85th), and they haven't seen any teams who run an offense even remotely like the Red Raiders. I don't think the corners will have much success keeping up with TT's receivers, so our safeties will have to step it up big time. Also, the 'Cats will most likely have to play a lot in the nickel to guarantee they can cover every receiver, so expect Hunter Bates to see lots of playing time.
- Rush Offense: TT has not traditionally been a running team, and while they can by no means be seen as a smashmouth running team this year, the backs are seeing a few more carries. The Red Raiders average 137.8 yards per game on the ground (81st), with the plurality of these yards coming from senior Baron Batch. Batch has picked up 805 yards and 5 TDs on 172 carries. Most of the rest of the running burden has fallen on sophomore Eric Stephens, who has 542 yards and 5 TDs on 113 carries. Don't expect Potts to be a threat in the running game. He has -15 yards on 31 carries. All of this bodes fairly well for the 'Cats, especially Potts's apparent inability to run. QB runs, or the threat of QB runs, have been the death of the 'Cats this year (see Purdue and Illinois). And while the 'Cats cannot completely ignore the Red Raider running backs, it seems they can thankfully put the majority of their focus into defending the passing game.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
TicketCity Bowl Preview
I have received many requests to preview our bowl game, so I will waste no more time and comply. First a little background info. The TicketCity bowl is in its inaugural season and will be played at noon eastern time in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. It will be shown on ESPN U and will feature the Texas Tech Red Raiders and, of course, our Northwestern Wildcats. Now that the basics our taken care of, let's take a point-by-point look at our opponent, the Red Raiders.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Northwestern vs. St. John's Recap
Well, the 'Cats finally lost. NU was defended well by an athletic St. John's team using a man-to-man defense, and the 'Cats' zone could not keep the Red Storm out of the post. Northwestern particularly struggled in the second half, being outscored 48-29. Luka looked completely overmatched, despite 12 rebounds, scoring only 2 points. St. John's shot 60.8% from the field and 50.0% from the arc, while Northwestern was at only 41.0 and 37.0. St. John's is clearly a very good, highly athletic team who has simply underachieved up to this point; however, the 'Cats will no doubt face tougher tests in the Big 10 and absolutely must improve.
NU vs St. John's Game Thread
I will be using the comment space of this post to write about the game in real time, and anyone else can feel free to write comments or observations. Go 'Cats!
Monday, December 20, 2010
NU Basketball Thus Far
Northwestern is 7-0, and with our next game being played tonight, it seems as good a time as ever to break my long hiatus from blogging. So let's take a look at the 'Cat's season thus far.
NU has only played 7 games up to this point, well below the national average, so it is a bit hard to make definitive claims, but it still appears Northwestern is a very good team, particularly on the offensive front. So far, the 'Cats have put up 80.0 points per game, good for 24th nationally (out of 346 teams) and first in the Big Ten. They have also shot .507 from the field, good for 5th in the country, and they are third in the country in adjusted field goal percentage (a measure that weights the value of 3-point shots) with a .595, behind only Kansas and Georgetown. It can be argued that these outstanding statistics are due only to the defensive weakness of Northwestern's opponents, but the Wildcats put up 91 against Georgia Tech, whose defense has otherwise been fairly solid. And even if these numbers are bolstered by weak competition, they are still rather remarkable. So the 'Cats are clearly having a good offensive year, but what factors have led them to be just as good as they are?
Northwestern tonight will be playing the Terriers of St. Francis, a private, 2,300-person school from New York. The Terriers have an RPI of 172, compared to Northwestern's of 51. They are a 6-3 team averaging 65.3 ppg, while allowing 61.7 ppg. Their shooting has been well below Northwestern standards at .420 from the floor and .341 from behind the arc, but they have slightly outrebounded the 'Cats with 31.2 per game. The Terriers have a lousy .74 assist to turnover ratio but have a pretty decent 8.2 steals per game. By all accounts, this should be an easy Wildcat victory, and I would expect Northwestern to win by 20.
One final note: I have gotten way behind on blogging. There are a lot of things I want to cover that I just haven't gotten around to and likely may not. If there is anything any of y'all want me to discuss, let me know in the comments, and I'll try to get to it. I'm curious what you all want to read about.
NU has only played 7 games up to this point, well below the national average, so it is a bit hard to make definitive claims, but it still appears Northwestern is a very good team, particularly on the offensive front. So far, the 'Cats have put up 80.0 points per game, good for 24th nationally (out of 346 teams) and first in the Big Ten. They have also shot .507 from the field, good for 5th in the country, and they are third in the country in adjusted field goal percentage (a measure that weights the value of 3-point shots) with a .595, behind only Kansas and Georgetown. It can be argued that these outstanding statistics are due only to the defensive weakness of Northwestern's opponents, but the Wildcats put up 91 against Georgia Tech, whose defense has otherwise been fairly solid. And even if these numbers are bolstered by weak competition, they are still rather remarkable. So the 'Cats are clearly having a good offensive year, but what factors have led them to be just as good as they are?
- John Shurna: Shurna has been All-American quality good so far this season. It is difficult to explain just how much he has contributed to the team. He has dropped 23.7 points per game, 9th best in the country, despite having fewer shot attempts per game than anyone else in the top 35 in scoring. This is due in large part to an unreal shooting percentage. Shurna has knocked down an almost unbelievable 64.3% of his shots. The only other perimeter players with even remotely comparable shooting percentages are Kyle Cassity of St. Louis and Ayron Hardy of Jacksonville with .627 and .622 shooting percentages respectively. He also holds an insane .622 3-pointer percentage, 4th best in the country, while averaging more attempts per game than anyone else in the top 20. Add his 3.1 assists per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, 1.4 steals per game, and 1 block per game, and it begins to become clear just how valuable this guy is.
- Michael "Juice" Thompson: The other half of "John and Juice" and the 'Cats' only senior starter, Juice is an extremely important part of the team. By far the best ball handler on the team, Juice has started driving to the basket more this year, making him an increasingly dangerous part of the offense. While his perimeter shooting is down a bit this year (.396 behind the arc), he still can be extremely dangerous if left open, and his overall shooting percentage is at a career high of .494. His 16.3 ppg and 4.6 apg are also at career highs.
- Drew Crawford: Crawford has been somewhat off and on this season, and seems to still be trying to figure out his role, but when he is good, he is very good. He sometimes seems to take too many outside shots and is averaging only .313 behind the arc, so he should probably back off many of these. He has otherwise been very solid with a .457 FG% and 13.9 ppg.
- Luka Mirkovic: I really don't know whether to say Luka has been good or bad this year. He frequently looks very sloppy, but his production has to be evaluated as being at least decent. He is averaging only 6.9 ppg, but he is shooting .500 and turning the ball over rarely, with a very good 2.43 assists per turnover. His 7.0 rebounds per game are also well over his career average. While the center position will not be Northwestern's strong suit, and Luka may not be the Wildcats' greatest asset, he has not been a liability.
- Ball Movement/Control: The 'Cats this year have played smart, safe basketball, picking up loads of assists while protecting the ball. Northwestern's 17.6 assists per game is 12th best in the country, while their 10.6 turnovers per game is 8th best in the country. This leaves their assist to turnover ratio at 1.66, 3rd best in the nation.
- Rebounds: Northwestern's 31 rebounds per game leaves them at 320th in the nation and dead last in the Big 10. This clearly is a bad stat, and no matter how I spin it, it is not good. However, I can come to the 'Cats' defense a bit. Northwestern is actually outrebounding their opponents, who are average 30.9 rebounds per game. To put it simply, there are not many rebounds to get in 'Cats games due to a lack of missed shots. Because the 'Cats don't miss many shots, they average only 8 offensive rebounds per game.
- Opponent Field Goal Percentage: Opponents have shot .436 against Northwestern, leaving the NU defense 210th in this category. Fortunately, coverage behind the arc has been somewhat better, as opponents have shot .323 for threes, leaving NU 125th in this category.
- Steals: Northwestern has 8 steals per game, which is by no means a bad number, but Northwestern runs primarily a 1-3-1 defense. This is a defense predicated around forcing turnovers, so you know the 'Cats want this number to improve.
- Free Throws: The 'Cats are shooting .694 from the line, which, again, is not a terrible number, but you would expect better from such a good shooting team.
Northwestern tonight will be playing the Terriers of St. Francis, a private, 2,300-person school from New York. The Terriers have an RPI of 172, compared to Northwestern's of 51. They are a 6-3 team averaging 65.3 ppg, while allowing 61.7 ppg. Their shooting has been well below Northwestern standards at .420 from the floor and .341 from behind the arc, but they have slightly outrebounded the 'Cats with 31.2 per game. The Terriers have a lousy .74 assist to turnover ratio but have a pretty decent 8.2 steals per game. By all accounts, this should be an easy Wildcat victory, and I would expect Northwestern to win by 20.
One final note: I have gotten way behind on blogging. There are a lot of things I want to cover that I just haven't gotten around to and likely may not. If there is anything any of y'all want me to discuss, let me know in the comments, and I'll try to get to it. I'm curious what you all want to read about.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Northwestern Bowl Selection
As you no doubt have noticed, I haven't posted in a while. Moral of the story: Finals are time-consuming. I will pick up posting again soon, but for now I just want to report Northwestern's bowl is now official. We will be playing Texas Tech on New Year's Day in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas. Not the best bowl ever, but hopefully it will give us an opportunity to end our bowl drought.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Iowa Recap and Illinois Preview
I just got back from the Wildcats' Men's Basketball home opener where they had an easy 71-45 victory over AR-Pine Bluff. Not the best test of our team's ability, but I think we'll have a good team this season. Now on to football.
Quarterbacks: What can be said about Dan Persa? He was great. Big Ten player of the week great. He went 32-43 with 2 touchdowns, along with 50 yards rushing on 18 carries. His one interception and at least 3 incompletions were due to solely bad drops by his receivers. Most astounding about Persa's game was the game winning drive he orchestrated, running the game at just the right tempo and always making the best decisions. And then, just our luck, he went down with a season-ending injury. Replacing him will be Evan Watkins, and no one knows with certainty what type of quarterback he will be, but we know this much: He is a 6-6, 240lb+ beast of a human being with a cannon of an arm (that may not be the most accurate) and above-average running ability. I expect him to be a Mike Kafka-type, but whether they use him as running-Kafka or passing-Kafka is beyond me.
Running Backs: Mike Trumpy was the running back against the Hawkeyes getting 15 of 19 non-Persa runs, picking up 51 yards in the process. I expect him to remain the feature back against the Illini, and he should have a good game due to Illinois's below-average run defense. However, I expect Adonis Smith to play more of a role in this game.
Defense: Overall, the run defense was outstanding. I have never seen a 'Cats defense make that many plays in the backfield. This was due in large part to Nate Williams's stellar game, and Quentin Davie certainly contributed. This rush defense will need to show up at Wrigley to stop Illinois top-notch running game.
Punting: Wow, teams simply cannot return punts against Northwestern. Obviously, credit needs to be given to the punter, Brandon Williams, but I give most of the credit to our outstanding gunners, particularly Jeravin Matthews. Wow, wow, wow.
Officiating: I have been regularly checking both Hawkeye and NU blogs since the game, and ridiculous claims have been made on both sides. Iowa fans have said NU only one because they held on every play. To this I would respond that I saw some extremely blatant holds by Iowa linemen that did not get called either. The refs apparently just decided holding would not be a penalty for the game. On the flip side, NU fans are up in arms about 3 different intentional grounding calls/no-calls. To this I would respond: watch the tape. At least one, maybe two of these were the right call, and the other call(s) were at least borderline. Chill out, everyone.
Fans: I have a lot to say on this topic. First, I was a little disappointed by the NU student section showing. That being said, the fans who were at the game were very loud and very supportive, and this was well-backed by the stadium DJ's music choices near the end of the game. As for the Iowa fans there, I know they do not represent all Hawkeye fans, but I was extremely disappointed. These were far-and-away the most classless fans I have ever had to deal with. I now see why so many people around Northwestern hate the Hawkeyes so much (the fact that they threw batteries at the band a few years back probably doesn't help). Again, I know enough good, classy Hawks fans and have lived in Iowa City long enough to know that this is not what all of the University of Iowa is like, but people seeing these drunken idiots have no choice but to use that as their image of Iowa City. Hawks fans, please represent our city with more class.
Overall this was a thrilling, albeit not entirely unexpected victory for the Wildcats. It was by far the best game NU has played yet, and hopefully they will bring that momentum into the end of the season. Now for the highlights:
And tomorrow, we play a highly-anticipated but unfortunately gimmicky game in Wrigley Field. While some recent decisions, including the goofy one-endzone decision, have ruined some people's perception of the game, the on-field action should still be exciting.
My prediction: Northwestern 28-Illinois 24
Quarterbacks: What can be said about Dan Persa? He was great. Big Ten player of the week great. He went 32-43 with 2 touchdowns, along with 50 yards rushing on 18 carries. His one interception and at least 3 incompletions were due to solely bad drops by his receivers. Most astounding about Persa's game was the game winning drive he orchestrated, running the game at just the right tempo and always making the best decisions. And then, just our luck, he went down with a season-ending injury. Replacing him will be Evan Watkins, and no one knows with certainty what type of quarterback he will be, but we know this much: He is a 6-6, 240lb+ beast of a human being with a cannon of an arm (that may not be the most accurate) and above-average running ability. I expect him to be a Mike Kafka-type, but whether they use him as running-Kafka or passing-Kafka is beyond me.
Running Backs: Mike Trumpy was the running back against the Hawkeyes getting 15 of 19 non-Persa runs, picking up 51 yards in the process. I expect him to remain the feature back against the Illini, and he should have a good game due to Illinois's below-average run defense. However, I expect Adonis Smith to play more of a role in this game.
Defense: Overall, the run defense was outstanding. I have never seen a 'Cats defense make that many plays in the backfield. This was due in large part to Nate Williams's stellar game, and Quentin Davie certainly contributed. This rush defense will need to show up at Wrigley to stop Illinois top-notch running game.
Punting: Wow, teams simply cannot return punts against Northwestern. Obviously, credit needs to be given to the punter, Brandon Williams, but I give most of the credit to our outstanding gunners, particularly Jeravin Matthews. Wow, wow, wow.
Officiating: I have been regularly checking both Hawkeye and NU blogs since the game, and ridiculous claims have been made on both sides. Iowa fans have said NU only one because they held on every play. To this I would respond that I saw some extremely blatant holds by Iowa linemen that did not get called either. The refs apparently just decided holding would not be a penalty for the game. On the flip side, NU fans are up in arms about 3 different intentional grounding calls/no-calls. To this I would respond: watch the tape. At least one, maybe two of these were the right call, and the other call(s) were at least borderline. Chill out, everyone.
Fans: I have a lot to say on this topic. First, I was a little disappointed by the NU student section showing. That being said, the fans who were at the game were very loud and very supportive, and this was well-backed by the stadium DJ's music choices near the end of the game. As for the Iowa fans there, I know they do not represent all Hawkeye fans, but I was extremely disappointed. These were far-and-away the most classless fans I have ever had to deal with. I now see why so many people around Northwestern hate the Hawkeyes so much (the fact that they threw batteries at the band a few years back probably doesn't help). Again, I know enough good, classy Hawks fans and have lived in Iowa City long enough to know that this is not what all of the University of Iowa is like, but people seeing these drunken idiots have no choice but to use that as their image of Iowa City. Hawks fans, please represent our city with more class.
Overall this was a thrilling, albeit not entirely unexpected victory for the Wildcats. It was by far the best game NU has played yet, and hopefully they will bring that momentum into the end of the season. Now for the highlights:
And tomorrow, we play a highly-anticipated but unfortunately gimmicky game in Wrigley Field. While some recent decisions, including the goofy one-endzone decision, have ruined some people's perception of the game, the on-field action should still be exciting.
My prediction: Northwestern 28-Illinois 24
Friday, November 12, 2010
Iowa @ NU Preview
Let me start by saying that I don't really hate Iowa the way I know many 'Cats fans do. I'm from Iowa City, and have a number of friends attending the U of I (take note, people from Illinois, U of I=Iowa). So, all else being equal, I don't tend to root against Iowa unless I'm feeling especially sadistic. That being said, there is little I enjoy more than beating the Hawkeyes, and I know many of our players feel the same. Hawks fans and bloggers tend to undervalue NU and their fans, which creates an extraordinarily frustrating situation. Fitz too has a well-known distaste for Iowa dating back to his playing days, and you know he has instilled this feeling in his players. It is largely for these reasons that NU has completely owned UI in recent years (or maybe it's because we intentionally injure their players /sarcasm), and it is for these reason that I think NU will win tomorrow. Now, I'm a realist. I know there are few, if any, statistical advantages the Wildcats have over the Hawkeyes, but sometimes the stats don't tell the whole story, especially with these two teams.
We all know by now that the 'Cats have been dreadful at finishing so far this year, but if their embarrassment last week isn't enough to get them inspired, playing their biggest rival in front of a full house better be. I have trouble expressing just how important this game is. I have been saying all year that anything less than 8-4 will be a disappointment for this team. A victory hear will put them in outstanding placement to reach that record. If they lose, I'm not sure they will win again, and Detroit may be waiting. Let me stress this again: If the 'Cats aren't fired up by this situation, I don't know what could possibly get them going.
Of course, Iowa is a big obstacle. They are a very good team (at least at times) with an extraordinary defense, and I think they finally realize Northwestern is a legitimate threat. They will not be looking past this game. Ultimately, this will be a hard-fought, emotional game, but I think it will go NU's way.
My Prediction: NU 38-UI 31
We all know by now that the 'Cats have been dreadful at finishing so far this year, but if their embarrassment last week isn't enough to get them inspired, playing their biggest rival in front of a full house better be. I have trouble expressing just how important this game is. I have been saying all year that anything less than 8-4 will be a disappointment for this team. A victory hear will put them in outstanding placement to reach that record. If they lose, I'm not sure they will win again, and Detroit may be waiting. Let me stress this again: If the 'Cats aren't fired up by this situation, I don't know what could possibly get them going.
Of course, Iowa is a big obstacle. They are a very good team (at least at times) with an extraordinary defense, and I think they finally realize Northwestern is a legitimate threat. They will not be looking past this game. Ultimately, this will be a hard-fought, emotional game, but I think it will go NU's way.
My Prediction: NU 38-UI 31
Penn State Recap
I really don't want to write about this game, but I basically promised people I wouldn't go another week without giving a recap, so I'll give it a try.
There is little that is more frustrating than rooting for a team that simply can't finish a football game. And that frustration is only magnified when you consider the fact that Northwestern would be 9-0 if only they could finish games. The fact is the team just has not shown the will to win that we've come to expect from Fitz-coached teams. Due to the fact that the 'Cats' biggest problem is evidently a mental one, a position-by-position breakdown may not tell the whole story, but we'll give it a shot.
Dan Persa: By this point in the season, I'm fairly confident everyone knows what to expect from Persa. Despite the fact that his numbers are not living up to the standard he set at the beginning of the season, he still is indescribably valuable to the team. He seemed to be the only player who was really fired up in the second half. Now he just needs to figure out how to use that emotion and will to inspire the rest of the players on the team. But he was really the only NU player who looked like a true leader in this game, especially during the third quarter. And don't get me wrong, his stats weren't bad, not even close. He ran for 109 yards (139, I believe, if you exclude sacks) and 2 touchdowns and passed for a decent 201 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough.
Jeremy Ebert: As always, no real complaints with Ebert either. 6 catches for 111 yards and made it look easy. No other receiver had much of a consistent presence throughout this game. It's great having Ebert out there.
Drake Dunsmore: Despite the fact that he hasn't been the consistent presence I expected him to be, he has proven to be the source of many exciting plays, and his catch in this game was the single greatest catch I've seen this year, bar none. And he's far from done with doing the incredible.
Running Back Situation: We finally found our running backs, as we only used Trumpy and Smith against PSU. Strangely, however, we barely used them. Trumpy got a reasonable 14 carries for 43 yards, but Smith got only 3 carries, and busted open a 15-yarder. I'd like to see him more.
Defense: One sentence should some up their day: Penn St. scored touchdowns on 5 consecutive possessions. The secondary looked awful, letting McGloin pick up 4 touchdowns through the air, and the rush defense may have been even worse as they let two different guys get 130+ rush yards. I really don't want to say any more about the defense, except this: I have full confidence they will never play a game that poorly again.
The Coaching: I think it's fitting that on the game we gave Joe Paterno his 400th victory, we simply got outcoached. The coaches simply must do a better job inspiring their players and making halftime adjustments. While Fitz may take some blame for the former issue, I'm looking primarily at position coaches.The fact is, their opponents just learned how to exploit their team's weaknesses and they did not adjust.
All in all, the game was awful, but we cannot dwell on it. Coming up is Iowa, and you know everyone wants that one.
There is little that is more frustrating than rooting for a team that simply can't finish a football game. And that frustration is only magnified when you consider the fact that Northwestern would be 9-0 if only they could finish games. The fact is the team just has not shown the will to win that we've come to expect from Fitz-coached teams. Due to the fact that the 'Cats' biggest problem is evidently a mental one, a position-by-position breakdown may not tell the whole story, but we'll give it a shot.
Dan Persa: By this point in the season, I'm fairly confident everyone knows what to expect from Persa. Despite the fact that his numbers are not living up to the standard he set at the beginning of the season, he still is indescribably valuable to the team. He seemed to be the only player who was really fired up in the second half. Now he just needs to figure out how to use that emotion and will to inspire the rest of the players on the team. But he was really the only NU player who looked like a true leader in this game, especially during the third quarter. And don't get me wrong, his stats weren't bad, not even close. He ran for 109 yards (139, I believe, if you exclude sacks) and 2 touchdowns and passed for a decent 201 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough.
Jeremy Ebert: As always, no real complaints with Ebert either. 6 catches for 111 yards and made it look easy. No other receiver had much of a consistent presence throughout this game. It's great having Ebert out there.
Drake Dunsmore: Despite the fact that he hasn't been the consistent presence I expected him to be, he has proven to be the source of many exciting plays, and his catch in this game was the single greatest catch I've seen this year, bar none. And he's far from done with doing the incredible.
Running Back Situation: We finally found our running backs, as we only used Trumpy and Smith against PSU. Strangely, however, we barely used them. Trumpy got a reasonable 14 carries for 43 yards, but Smith got only 3 carries, and busted open a 15-yarder. I'd like to see him more.
Defense: One sentence should some up their day: Penn St. scored touchdowns on 5 consecutive possessions. The secondary looked awful, letting McGloin pick up 4 touchdowns through the air, and the rush defense may have been even worse as they let two different guys get 130+ rush yards. I really don't want to say any more about the defense, except this: I have full confidence they will never play a game that poorly again.
The Coaching: I think it's fitting that on the game we gave Joe Paterno his 400th victory, we simply got outcoached. The coaches simply must do a better job inspiring their players and making halftime adjustments. While Fitz may take some blame for the former issue, I'm looking primarily at position coaches.The fact is, their opponents just learned how to exploit their team's weaknesses and they did not adjust.
All in all, the game was awful, but we cannot dwell on it. Coming up is Iowa, and you know everyone wants that one.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Indiana Recap
Guess who's back. Back again...
Sorry guys. I'll try to never take that big a hiatus ever again. I've just been trying really hard not to fail my midterms, but I'm basically done with them now, and I think it's mission accomplished.
Now before I get to a point-by-point breakdown, let me say something about the game: it was weird. For some reason, I found the game very discouraging, and, with a few exceptions, I have no idea why. Almost every unit played fairly well, but as a team, I felt we looked significantly worse than we did against Michigan State, a game we lost. Again, I can't explain it, but let's take a look at the breakdown to see if we can get some idea.
Dan Persa: Despite not being at his best, Dan Persa had a very good game. He showed his characteristic elusiveness,which seemed to be gone a bit against Michigan State due to injury, and showed an incredible ability to throw on the run. His run game was not at its best: 11 rushes for 19 yards (2 of those carries being sacks), but an 18-28, 212 yard, two touchdown game through the air is not too shabby. The one worrying incident was his concussion. He has been cleared to play against Penn St., however, and he shouldn't be suffering any noticeable consequences.
Mike Trumpy: I don't want to say he's the solution to our running woes, but he certainly is a start. He consistently looked good, spinning out of tackles, fighting for extra yards, and moving the pile. In other words, he looked the way a running back should, fighting for 110 yards on 21 carries, becoming our first 100 yard rusher since 2008. He also looked good in the passing game 54 yards on 3 catches, while running very smart routes.
Jeremy Ebert: Mr. clutch. 5 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, all on third downs. Those numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
Venric Mark: He finally has sole returner duties, and, boy does he look good doing it. The guy makes a 32 yard return look easy. I would be willing to bet quite a bit of money he'll bust open a return for a touchdown by the end of the year.
The Defense: I don't really have any individuals to point out on the defensive side of the ball, but the defense as a whole looked quite good. Ben Chappell did break break 300 yards, but it took him 54 attempts to do so, and the Indiana rushing attack was completely shut down for only 65 yards. My one real criticism is in regards to Indiana's last touchdown. Indiana was clearly going for the deep ball. They really had no other shot. How the safeties let a guy behind them is beyond me.
Stefan Demos: For the last two games, Demos has looked good. Everything has been dead-center and he nailed a 45 yarder against Indiana. There is reason to be optimistic.
Indiana Gameday Atmosphere: Boy was it depressing. The student section was almost empty (we have a much larger one, and we have a quarter as many undergrads) and many left by half. The stadium was almost empty by the time the Hoosiers scored their last touchdown, bringing the game within three. Not only that, but they really have no original traditions. It was seriously kind of sad. But I can now happily say with confidence Northwestern does not have the worst gameday atmosphere in the Big Ten. Not even close.
In other news, check out this picture of Wrigley Field from Lake the Posts:
Sorry guys. I'll try to never take that big a hiatus ever again. I've just been trying really hard not to fail my midterms, but I'm basically done with them now, and I think it's mission accomplished.
Now before I get to a point-by-point breakdown, let me say something about the game: it was weird. For some reason, I found the game very discouraging, and, with a few exceptions, I have no idea why. Almost every unit played fairly well, but as a team, I felt we looked significantly worse than we did against Michigan State, a game we lost. Again, I can't explain it, but let's take a look at the breakdown to see if we can get some idea.
Dan Persa: Despite not being at his best, Dan Persa had a very good game. He showed his characteristic elusiveness,which seemed to be gone a bit against Michigan State due to injury, and showed an incredible ability to throw on the run. His run game was not at its best: 11 rushes for 19 yards (2 of those carries being sacks), but an 18-28, 212 yard, two touchdown game through the air is not too shabby. The one worrying incident was his concussion. He has been cleared to play against Penn St., however, and he shouldn't be suffering any noticeable consequences.
Mike Trumpy: I don't want to say he's the solution to our running woes, but he certainly is a start. He consistently looked good, spinning out of tackles, fighting for extra yards, and moving the pile. In other words, he looked the way a running back should, fighting for 110 yards on 21 carries, becoming our first 100 yard rusher since 2008. He also looked good in the passing game 54 yards on 3 catches, while running very smart routes.
Jeremy Ebert: Mr. clutch. 5 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns, all on third downs. Those numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
Venric Mark: He finally has sole returner duties, and, boy does he look good doing it. The guy makes a 32 yard return look easy. I would be willing to bet quite a bit of money he'll bust open a return for a touchdown by the end of the year.
The Defense: I don't really have any individuals to point out on the defensive side of the ball, but the defense as a whole looked quite good. Ben Chappell did break break 300 yards, but it took him 54 attempts to do so, and the Indiana rushing attack was completely shut down for only 65 yards. My one real criticism is in regards to Indiana's last touchdown. Indiana was clearly going for the deep ball. They really had no other shot. How the safeties let a guy behind them is beyond me.
Stefan Demos: For the last two games, Demos has looked good. Everything has been dead-center and he nailed a 45 yarder against Indiana. There is reason to be optimistic.
Indiana Gameday Atmosphere: Boy was it depressing. The student section was almost empty (we have a much larger one, and we have a quarter as many undergrads) and many left by half. The stadium was almost empty by the time the Hoosiers scored their last touchdown, bringing the game within three. Not only that, but they really have no original traditions. It was seriously kind of sad. But I can now happily say with confidence Northwestern does not have the worst gameday atmosphere in the Big Ten. Not even close.
In other news, check out this picture of Wrigley Field from Lake the Posts:
If that doesn't get you excited for the Wrigley game, I don't know what will.
And of course, the highlight reel:
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The super-duper late Purdue recap
People have kept asking me if I have neglected to put up a recap of this game because the game was too depressing. The truth is that midterms are very time-consuming at this university, so I put a blog post low on my priorities. Well, that, and the game really was just darn depressing. However, all this time has allowed me to cool off enough to write a fairly objective recap. So let's get down to it.
Stefan Demos: I start with Demos because he is by far the most talked about player after the game, and I have commonly heard two frankly ridiculous evaluations of his performance on both ends of the spectrum: that he should receive no fault for the loss, and that the loss falls entirely on him. Those who say he should not be faulted point to the fact that he has been a good kicker in the past, and that if one of our other players (say, Dan Persa) made a mistake, we would not be so hard on them. While Demos has been good in the past, he is honestly having a terrible year. I have no confidence in him and am always pessimistic when he's on the field. He's clearly in a funk, but I blame the coaching staff more than I blame him. I would not mind seeing one of our other kickers get a shot and I definitely didn't want to see Demos (or any kicker) out there on that last field goal attempt. Look, I know the conventional wisdom: take the points and go to overtime. But forget the conventional wisdom.
a) We have terrible special teams
b) We have one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the nation
c) We were driving successfully for the first time all game (before the holding call)
d) This was a long field goal
e) For once, just this once, we should have showed some guts in an attempt to actually win, not simply to not lose
In a game full of conservative decisions no one but Fitz or Jon Forman would defend, this was the one that frustrated me the most. That being said, Demos and the decisions around him were not even the largest contributing factors in our loss. More on that later in the blog.
Dan Persa: Persa still looked good, and put up great numbers, but this was his worst game yet. He looked very flustered facing Purdue's outstanding pass rush at times and made several uncharacteristically bad throws. He also only picked up 24 yards rushing on 20 carries. In his defense, however, he still completed 30 of 41 passes for 305 yards and looked very sharp at the end of the game, not throwing an incompletion in the 4th quarter (SO WHY DIDN'T WE GO FOR IT? Ugh.) and without him our offense would best be described as an incompetent molasses-like lump.
Jeremy Ebert: The bright point of the day. 11 catches for 124 yards. The guy looks great week-in and week-out. I have no complaints at all about his performance. He's about alone in that regard.
Drake Dunsmore: He looked ok. 4 catches for 50 yards and still incapable of being tackled by a single defender. However, he still looked a bit shaken up by his injury. Thank goodness for the bye week.
Running Game: Believe it or not (I can hardly believe it) this was worse than usual. Even without Arby seeing playing time, no one can perform. Trumpy looked disappointingly weak, and Schmidt still only picks up 2 yard runs (although to be fair, he looked quite good in the passing game). Adonis Smith got one rush for a good-looking 5 yard gain. He never carried the ball again. I can't even begin to explain why that is. Something desperately has to change in the running game. I would prefer if this change was just accepting that we have no run game and letting Persa go to work.
Return Game: Watching this game, i could have sworn I was back in 2009. Hunter Bates dropped 2 punts (and still came back out for another return) and Simmons dropped a kick. I know the fact that this was a night game was a contributing factor, but dropped kicks are inexcusable. Also inexcusable is the fact that Fitz sent Bates back after he muffed two already. I know you want to show confidence in your guys, but you have a game to win.
Brandon Williams: Early in the game, Williams tried a couple Demos-style rugby punts. And in true Demos fashion, they were both awful. He returned to conventional hang-time punts later, and they were vastly superior. Williams, please stick to what works.
Defense: While pass coverage looked good (they were after all playing a quarterback who previously rarely saw playing time), the defense got completely gashed by the run. The defense looked throughly befuddled by Purdue's zone-read all day, and I cannot claim I know how to fix this problem, but something must be done. Half the time half the players on our team had no clue where the ball was.
Rob Henry: Normally, I do not analyze specific players on the opposing team, but I must give Rob henry a special mention. Purdue accepted early that he would not pass the ball successfully, and they let him do what he did best--run. He ran the zone-read better than most veteran spread quarterbacks and did an exceptional job hiding the ball. He was often 10 yards downfield before anyone realized he was the ballcarrier. Most of the credit to be given to Purdue goes to this guy.
Mick McCall: Remember when I said there were factors I blame more than Demos? Well, here you go. I haven't talked about McCall in any of my post yet, but it is well past due. McCall is our offensive coordinator, and his play-calling has been terrible. We have shown an exceptional ability to complete mid-range passes while showing no ability to run the ball. Nonetheless, McCall McCall likes to kill drives by running our slow backs to the outside of the field. I know we can't pass the ball every play, but in this game our run-to-pass ratio was greater than 1:1. It should be no higher than 1:2. McCall, you have a very special quarterback. Use him.
The Game Day Atmosphere: Let me end on a good note. The stadium was electric, the student section was packed, and it was crazy loud. And "The Put Your Hands Up" tradition seems it will live strong. We even forced Purdue to take a few (I want to say 3?) timeouts because they couldn't hear on the field. That is big. But let me say this: Y'all better not just be bandwagon jumpers. The game was frustrating, and it's fair to criticize the team, but we stick with our 'Cats no matter what. Let's be good fans, support our team, and get ourselves to a heck of a bowl.
Stefan Demos: I start with Demos because he is by far the most talked about player after the game, and I have commonly heard two frankly ridiculous evaluations of his performance on both ends of the spectrum: that he should receive no fault for the loss, and that the loss falls entirely on him. Those who say he should not be faulted point to the fact that he has been a good kicker in the past, and that if one of our other players (say, Dan Persa) made a mistake, we would not be so hard on them. While Demos has been good in the past, he is honestly having a terrible year. I have no confidence in him and am always pessimistic when he's on the field. He's clearly in a funk, but I blame the coaching staff more than I blame him. I would not mind seeing one of our other kickers get a shot and I definitely didn't want to see Demos (or any kicker) out there on that last field goal attempt. Look, I know the conventional wisdom: take the points and go to overtime. But forget the conventional wisdom.
a) We have terrible special teams
b) We have one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the nation
c) We were driving successfully for the first time all game (before the holding call)
d) This was a long field goal
e) For once, just this once, we should have showed some guts in an attempt to actually win, not simply to not lose
In a game full of conservative decisions no one but Fitz or Jon Forman would defend, this was the one that frustrated me the most. That being said, Demos and the decisions around him were not even the largest contributing factors in our loss. More on that later in the blog.
Dan Persa: Persa still looked good, and put up great numbers, but this was his worst game yet. He looked very flustered facing Purdue's outstanding pass rush at times and made several uncharacteristically bad throws. He also only picked up 24 yards rushing on 20 carries. In his defense, however, he still completed 30 of 41 passes for 305 yards and looked very sharp at the end of the game, not throwing an incompletion in the 4th quarter (SO WHY DIDN'T WE GO FOR IT? Ugh.) and without him our offense would best be described as an incompetent molasses-like lump.
Jeremy Ebert: The bright point of the day. 11 catches for 124 yards. The guy looks great week-in and week-out. I have no complaints at all about his performance. He's about alone in that regard.
Drake Dunsmore: He looked ok. 4 catches for 50 yards and still incapable of being tackled by a single defender. However, he still looked a bit shaken up by his injury. Thank goodness for the bye week.
Running Game: Believe it or not (I can hardly believe it) this was worse than usual. Even without Arby seeing playing time, no one can perform. Trumpy looked disappointingly weak, and Schmidt still only picks up 2 yard runs (although to be fair, he looked quite good in the passing game). Adonis Smith got one rush for a good-looking 5 yard gain. He never carried the ball again. I can't even begin to explain why that is. Something desperately has to change in the running game. I would prefer if this change was just accepting that we have no run game and letting Persa go to work.
Return Game: Watching this game, i could have sworn I was back in 2009. Hunter Bates dropped 2 punts (and still came back out for another return) and Simmons dropped a kick. I know the fact that this was a night game was a contributing factor, but dropped kicks are inexcusable. Also inexcusable is the fact that Fitz sent Bates back after he muffed two already. I know you want to show confidence in your guys, but you have a game to win.
Brandon Williams: Early in the game, Williams tried a couple Demos-style rugby punts. And in true Demos fashion, they were both awful. He returned to conventional hang-time punts later, and they were vastly superior. Williams, please stick to what works.
Defense: While pass coverage looked good (they were after all playing a quarterback who previously rarely saw playing time), the defense got completely gashed by the run. The defense looked throughly befuddled by Purdue's zone-read all day, and I cannot claim I know how to fix this problem, but something must be done. Half the time half the players on our team had no clue where the ball was.
Rob Henry: Normally, I do not analyze specific players on the opposing team, but I must give Rob henry a special mention. Purdue accepted early that he would not pass the ball successfully, and they let him do what he did best--run. He ran the zone-read better than most veteran spread quarterbacks and did an exceptional job hiding the ball. He was often 10 yards downfield before anyone realized he was the ballcarrier. Most of the credit to be given to Purdue goes to this guy.
Mick McCall: Remember when I said there were factors I blame more than Demos? Well, here you go. I haven't talked about McCall in any of my post yet, but it is well past due. McCall is our offensive coordinator, and his play-calling has been terrible. We have shown an exceptional ability to complete mid-range passes while showing no ability to run the ball. Nonetheless, McCall McCall likes to kill drives by running our slow backs to the outside of the field. I know we can't pass the ball every play, but in this game our run-to-pass ratio was greater than 1:1. It should be no higher than 1:2. McCall, you have a very special quarterback. Use him.
The Game Day Atmosphere: Let me end on a good note. The stadium was electric, the student section was packed, and it was crazy loud. And "The Put Your Hands Up" tradition seems it will live strong. We even forced Purdue to take a few (I want to say 3?) timeouts because they couldn't hear on the field. That is big. But let me say this: Y'all better not just be bandwagon jumpers. The game was frustrating, and it's fair to criticize the team, but we stick with our 'Cats no matter what. Let's be good fans, support our team, and get ourselves to a heck of a bowl.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Preview: NU vs. Purdue
First, sorry I never got a recap up from our last game. I found myself significantly more busy than I though possible, but I'll offer up a brevity-recap here.
-Persa was really quite good with 300+ passing yards and almost 100 yards rushing. However he had a couple crucial mistakes, particularly a fumble and a bad interception.
-We had an interesting runningback situation. Arby never got a carry. Trumpy had a good game, but didn't get enough carries. And we burned Adonis Smith's redshirt, which was odd.
-Ebert is a total beast. He made a great game-saving catch.
Ok, now for the Purdue preview. I know my optimism almost didn't pay off for me last week, but I'm optimistic again. This is because Purdue has had substantial injury problems. Their injured players include their star quarterback, their star wide receiver, another wide receiver, and four runningbacks. Expect Purdue to have lots of trouble moving the ball. Purdue's defense. however, is not at all bad. Nonetheless, Northwestern's offense will still most likely be what it's been all year: a struggling run game and domination by Persa and Ebert.
Prediction: I'm probably going to regret this, but NU by 20.
-Persa was really quite good with 300+ passing yards and almost 100 yards rushing. However he had a couple crucial mistakes, particularly a fumble and a bad interception.
-We had an interesting runningback situation. Arby never got a carry. Trumpy had a good game, but didn't get enough carries. And we burned Adonis Smith's redshirt, which was odd.
-Ebert is a total beast. He made a great game-saving catch.
Ok, now for the Purdue preview. I know my optimism almost didn't pay off for me last week, but I'm optimistic again. This is because Purdue has had substantial injury problems. Their injured players include their star quarterback, their star wide receiver, another wide receiver, and four runningbacks. Expect Purdue to have lots of trouble moving the ball. Purdue's defense. however, is not at all bad. Nonetheless, Northwestern's offense will still most likely be what it's been all year: a struggling run game and domination by Persa and Ebert.
Prediction: I'm probably going to regret this, but NU by 20.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Preview: NU @ Minnesota
The Good News: Statistically-speaking, Minnesota should be about as easy a team as Northwestern will face.
The Bad News: See above
The fact is, all rationality and logic need to be thrown out the window when discussing the Cardiac 'Cats. It is precisely this type of "gimme" game that worries me the most. Nonetheless, for the sake of this preview, we'll pretend the 'Cats live in the rational world we are familiar with, rather than the surreal twilight zone they actually inhabit.
The biggest statistic pointing to a 'Cats victory is Minnesota's yrds/carry against average. Minnesota is allowing 6.4 yards per rush, twice what our team has picked up per carry. This weak rush defense is especially a bonus for Northwestern when you consider that for the first time, they are starting a rusher who instills confidence. Mike Trumpy will get the starting role with Jacob Schmidt, and I expect Trumpy to have a big game, perhaps even eclipsing the 100 yard mark. However, if Trumpy doesn't succeed, I don't know what other options we have. Fitz, I'm ready and willing to try out. Minnesota's pass efficiency defense is also quite poor, and, of course, NU's has been in the top three in the nation all year. Expect lots of yards for Northwestern.
Minnesota's offense, on the other hand, has been pretty good. Carpenter and Arnold (who are both off the injury list this week) need to play and play well to shut down the Minnesota passing attack.
My prediction: I'll be optimistic. Northwestern by 17. Over the last two games, my predictions have been off by an average of only .5 points per game. We'll hope that trend continues.
One last note: My blog now has over 1000 pageviews! I never expected nearly that many looks at this site, but it's pretty cool. Thank you to all my readers!
The Bad News: See above
The fact is, all rationality and logic need to be thrown out the window when discussing the Cardiac 'Cats. It is precisely this type of "gimme" game that worries me the most. Nonetheless, for the sake of this preview, we'll pretend the 'Cats live in the rational world we are familiar with, rather than the surreal twilight zone they actually inhabit.
The biggest statistic pointing to a 'Cats victory is Minnesota's yrds/carry against average. Minnesota is allowing 6.4 yards per rush, twice what our team has picked up per carry. This weak rush defense is especially a bonus for Northwestern when you consider that for the first time, they are starting a rusher who instills confidence. Mike Trumpy will get the starting role with Jacob Schmidt, and I expect Trumpy to have a big game, perhaps even eclipsing the 100 yard mark. However, if Trumpy doesn't succeed, I don't know what other options we have. Fitz, I'm ready and willing to try out. Minnesota's pass efficiency defense is also quite poor, and, of course, NU's has been in the top three in the nation all year. Expect lots of yards for Northwestern.
Minnesota's offense, on the other hand, has been pretty good. Carpenter and Arnold (who are both off the injury list this week) need to play and play well to shut down the Minnesota passing attack.
My prediction: I'll be optimistic. Northwestern by 17. Over the last two games, my predictions have been off by an average of only .5 points per game. We'll hope that trend continues.
One last note: My blog now has over 1000 pageviews! I never expected nearly that many looks at this site, but it's pretty cool. Thank you to all my readers!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Northwestern vs. Central Michigan Recap
I haven't posted on the blog in a while, but that is not because i have been completely neglecting it. The only reason I didn't post a preview is because i had wi-fi issues Friday night. In fact, I actually had some stuff written up that I just couldn't post. In short, here was my prediction: NU would win in a tough, nerve-racking four-point game. Well, I was close on the score as the 'Cats won by 5, but the game never made me as nervous as I anticipated. Despite the fact that the game was tied at halftime, and the 'Cats never ran away with the game, I never felt terribly nervous. I always had a feeling the game was well-in hand. Now, let's take our point-by-point look at the game.
- The Attendance: Again, I was very pleased. We drew a solid 30,000+ for a non-conference game. Granted, we were a long way from a sellout, but we could only dream about having the stands so full in any of our non-conference games last year. Looks like the marketing campaign might actually be working.
- The Officiating: Oh boy this was bad. Penalty flags were flying all over the place, many of which were for illegal substitutions. I'm all for calling this penalty in obvious situations, such as 12 men in the huddle, but on multiple occasions yesterday, the referees called penalties for seemingly innocuous situations such as a player entering the field and leaving without participating. Players do this frequently and are very rarely penalized for it. This really should not be a penalty. Furthermore, the refs missed innumerable obvious calls that had to be overturned by official reviews. This interrupted the flow of the game, and was completely inexcusable. One of my favorite moments of the game involved a situation where the refs spotted Jeremy Ebert a couple yards short of where the ball should, in fact, have been spotted and short of the first down. The offense, shocked at the call, did not leave the field, and Sidney Stewart came over to the sideline to encourage the fans to chant "bulls***" even louder than they already were (which, believe me, was pretty loud).
- Persa: Persa had another very good, maybe even great, game but for the first time looked human. He threw an ugly interception and often looked flustered in the pocket. That being said, his upside was much better than his downside, completing 23 of 30 passes for 280 yards and 2 TDs, without once throwing the ball in the fourth quarter. On top of that he rushed the ball 17 times (4 were sacks) for 43 yards. Persa is again on top of the QB rating leader board, tied with Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State with a 186.3, and he remains the best in completion percentage, completing 80.2% of his passes.
- Running Backs: Again, Arby disappointed. He put up only 16 yards on 7 carries, while his longest run of the day went for a measly 5 yards. He also had a key fumble on a drive that looked as if it would put us up 37-13. But due to this mess, the redshirt freshman Mike Trumpy got to see playing time. He performed well, putting up 53 yards on 12 carries and generally looking the way a running back should look. I would expect to see him start against Minnesota on Saturday. Jacob Schmidt also played fairly well, putting up 32 yards on 6 carries with two touchdowns.
- The Receiving Corp: Minus a couple drops by Dunsmore and Fields, our receivers again had very good performances. The passes were spread out quite well, with Ebert and Stewart each getting 5 catches, Fields getting 4, and Dunsmore getting 3. Schmidt also had a successful role in the passing game, making 4 catches out of the backfield. Both of our passing touchdowns went to Ebert.
- The Offensive Line: This continues to be a weak point of the offense. I have to blame some of the lack of success in the running game to the guys up front, and a guy as agile as Persa should not get sacked 4 times in a game.
- The Defensive Line: This line, on the other hand, has been one of the strongest units on the team. The defensive line consistently got good pushes up front and both Quentin Williams and Corbin Bryant got sacks. Williams also added an interception, our second interception by a lineman this season.
- The Linebackers: Quentin Davie was not as dominant Saturday, but nonetheless looked good. He only had two tackles, but one was a huge sack, and he covered the field well, disrupting the Chippewa running game. Ben Johnson also played a smaller-than-average role, making only two tackles. Nate Williams had arguably the best game of all our linebackers, with 6 tackles. Bryce McNaul also contributed with 3 tackles, as did David Nwabuisi, who had two tackles and an interception.
- The Secondary: There were some problems here. Cornerback remains our worst position, from my point of view. And there are injury problems at safety. Jared Carpenter is injured, and David Arnold remains out, forcing Hunter Bates to step into the full-time safety role with Peters. It was obvious the Chippewas were picking on Bates, as they kept throwing to his side of the field, and he was beat early and often. If Carpenter or Arnold is not back soon, we may be in serious trouble, as we faced 347 passing yards against us. Don't read too much into my criticism of Bates though. I like him a lot if he's playing his standard special teams or nickelback role, but he simply is not cut out to be a strong safety.
- Special Teams: Well, there were continued issues with Demos, but we've heard all that before, so let's focus on the positives. Minus one shanked punt early, Williams again looked good, and best of all, we blocked two kicks. That is not something I'm used to from the 'Cats.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Northwestern @ Rice Recap
Good news, 'Cat fans! We are half way to bowl eligibility. Of course, our competition has not been great, but 3-0 is never a bad thing, and there was a lot to like about this week's performance. So let's break down the game.
- The Feed: Well, this was an unmitigated disaster. Our only means of watching the game was a crappy feed of the Owls' jumbotron that spent more time buffering than actually working. And our means of listening to the game was WGN radio, which was way behind the video and also prone to failure. I didn't even attempt to watch the second half (instead traveling to Six Flags). So disclaimer for the rest of my recap: My analysis is based primarily on radio, highlights, and statistics, and thus should be taken with a grain of salt.
- The Attendance: Ouch. Rice has a 70,000+ person stadium. However, many seats are covered; so it holds around 40,000. Even with this modification, the stadium looked just about empty. The official attendance was 15,562 fans, a large percentage of which were 'Cats fans. Again, Rice, ouch.
- Dan Persa: Continues to impress. A career-high 24 completions on 32 attempts for a career-high 307 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 9 times for 34 yards including a big 18 yard touchdown run. His second half was especially great: 9-10 for 159 yards. While he dropped to number 3 in the country in QB rating, his completion percentage remains number 1. Persa is looking like the ideal spread offense quarterback.
- Running Backs: Still bad. Our best performance was a mere 55 yards on 17 carries for Arby, and he never got a carry that went for more than 9 yards. I really don't know what else I can say.
- Drake Dunsmore: A solid game for him. 6 catches for 87 yards. He also had a play reminiscent of his famous play in the Outback Bowl, looking completely untacklable.
- Jeremy Ebert: Same ol' Ebert. It seems any catch he makes goes for a lot of yards. In this game, he had 4 grabs for 82 yards and a touchdown. His 20.7 yards per catch on the year is 18th best in the nation.
- Rush Defense: Here was the rush defense I expected from NU. The Owls picked up only 86 yards on the ground, and were forced to pass more than I am sure they hoped. And while the Rice pass game did manage 291 yards, they never seemed terribly threatening.
- Quentin Davie: What a beast. 10 tackles, a sack, and an interception returned for a TD (his third pick of the year). He is really, really good.
- Special Teams: The punt game continues to be good, Bates looked very good on returns, and, best of all, Demos finally had a perfect game. Much of this, I believe can be attributed to the fact that we have supposedly switched long snappers, although I am not sure who now has the duties.
And with that I will leave you with the highlight video. Props to NUBears for making a great reel out a crappy feed.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Northwestern @ Rice Preview
It's gameday! And luckily it's not a home game because this weather sucks. This game, all-in-all, is very much in our favor. Rice, quite frankly, is not a good team. People often point to the fact that they held tight with Texas at the beginning of their week 1 game as evidence that they are a much improved team. That, however can easily be attributed to week 1 jitters. It took only until the second quarter for Texas to start running away. Then the Owls only managed to beat North Texas by a point last week. Both Rice's pass and rush offenses have been weak, and teams have not had much difficulty passing against the Owls. Expect Persa to have a big game. Another player to watch is Alex Daniel. He is making a return from suspension and could potentially be a factor in tonight's game.
My prediction: Northwestern by 17
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Recap: Illinois State @ Northwestern
Sorry I haven't written a blog post in a while. My soul has been possessed by band camp. Anyways, there's a lot I've wanted to write about, but I have no idea if I'll remember it all or if I'll be able to keep interest long enough to cover it all. We'll see.
There wasn't a whole lot to complain about in Saturday's game. Almost every part of Northwestern's game was clicking, and they took care of business. Granted, NU was expected to win by a substantial margin, but run-away wins are so rare for the Wildcats, I will go ahead and be excited. I'll again take a point-by-point look at the game.
There wasn't a whole lot to complain about in Saturday's game. Almost every part of Northwestern's game was clicking, and they took care of business. Granted, NU was expected to win by a substantial margin, but run-away wins are so rare for the Wildcats, I will go ahead and be excited. I'll again take a point-by-point look at the game.
- Pregame Excitement: Northwestern has introduced some new routines for the team's pregame entrance, including a new tunnel, a new video, and coolest of all, some pyrotechnics. A video of it all can be seen here. I'm a fan.
- The Weather: The day started out with a monsoon, but the precipitation thankfully was mostly stopped by kickoff. The field, however, remained basically a swamp. It was fairly unclear how much this affected the players' performance.
- The Crowd: I am not sure about the official numbers, but I am fairly certain we beat last years' average attendance. Against an FCS opponent. In a downpour. Before classes even start. Let's keep that up.
- The Marching Band: It is fairly obligatory that I mention this, this being our first performance and all. I promise I'll get to real football analysis after this. But I need to give my fellow NUMBers their props. The conditions were terrible. The field was about as slippery as an ice rink, and my sax was so waterlogged I could only play a couple notes, but despite this, everyone did a pretty good job, especially the newcomers. Great job guys!
- Dan Persa: Persa continued to be a beast, going 19-23 for 240 yards, 2 TDs, and no interceptions in just over 2 quarters of play. On the year he has the single best qb rating in the country with a 212.1. To put that in perspective, the best qb rating at the end of the '09 season was Tim Tebow's with a 164.2, and the single season record belongs to Colt Brennan with a 186.0. I'm not saying Persa will break that record or anything, don't get me wrong, but it does show that he is off to an extremely good start. Persa is also leading the nation in completion percentage with an 86.4. The next closest is Nick Foles of Arizona with an 83.1, and beyond that, there is a big jump down to Blaine Gabbert of Missouri with a 75.9. Absolutely no complaints about Persa's performance this week.
- Arby: Arby reminded me why I still occasionally have faith in him. When he could hit holes, he made good moves and looked like a very good running back. He managed 96 yards, almost ending our drought without a 100 yard rushing performance dating back to Tyrell Sutton's performance in the Alamo Bowl of the '08-'09 bowl season.
- Receivers: Ebert again looked very good, pulling in 3 catches for 67 yards. He is averaging over 20 yards per reception on the year. Stewart looked like the same old Stewart. He dropped a sure touchdown pass, but he also brought in an insanely acrobatic grab. He can make the impossible look easy. Drake Dunsmore is establishing himself as a sure-fire short yardage threat. He is a big target who will go low over the middle to make a catch, and he scored two touchdowns in this manner. I'm not sure how teams can defend him. He'll outrun linebackers and beat up on corners. Rashad Lawrence got his first catch of the year, a beautiful 50-yarder.
- Venric Mark: I'm listing him separately from the receivers because he contributed in many different ways. He seemed to be able to beat corners at will, he was an effective decoy, a pretty good gunner in the punting game, and he had a surprisingly exciting 7-yard punt return. The more I see of this guy, the more I like him. I hope the coaching staff continues to use him and that they find inventive ways to do so. I fully believe he could play a role similar to that of Percy Harvin for the '06 Gators.
- The Cornerbacks: This was the one area that scared me a bit. Our guys often got beat by the ISU receivers, something that simply should not happen against a team like this. The linebackers and safeties did a good job covering, however.
- Brian Peters: HOLY CRAP HOW DID YOU NOT KILL THAT GUY!!?? Allow me to clarify: On one play, Peters essentially picked up a guy and threw him so he landed on his head. What a beast.
- Punting: Continues to be awesome. Brandon Williams is doing a good job, and the coverage has been great. Thank our speedy gunners.
- Kicking Game: Seriously, get better. I don't know whose fault it is, but missed extra points are unacceptable. Seriously.
- Everybody Else: We played a ridiculous number of players in this game, and almost all of them successfully contributed. It's great to see such depth on the team. It was also a good opportunity to glimpse into the future of the team.
There's a lot more I could say about the game, but, quite frankly, I'm tired, and this wasn't a terribly interesting game to write about. So I will leave it at that and end with a link to a highlight video of the game.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Analysis: NU @ Vandy
If I were to say one thing about this game, it would be this: the 'Cats looked like the same old 'Cats. By this I mean they played at more or less exactly the level of their opponent. The fact is, we should have won this game by a lot more, but there was some good to be found. Let's break it down.
Persa: Overall, he was very good. He completed 19 of 21 passes for 222 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also carried the ball 17 times for 82 yards, and if you exclude his 3 sacks, he was even better. He threw the ball accurately, and he showed a good ability to work outside of the pocket. However, I have one complaint: He generally looked very uncomfortable within the pocket. Because of this fact, the 'Cats rarely used a conventional pocket in the second half, instead opting for moving pockets or bootlegs. It is fairly clear Persa will be a different type of quarterback than Kafka, running more option plays and spending far less time in the pocket.
The Running Backs: No improvement from last year. None. If anything, it was a regression; although I have trouble believing that's possible. Arby was awful, just mind-numbingly awful. I still have hope for him this year, but this kind of performance won't even come close to cutting it. He tended to try to make too much happen. If he could not find a hole, he attempted to reverse field, but, consequently, he lost yards. To his credit, I saw one play that displayed his potential. He made a couple moves to pull a six yard run out of seemingly nowhere, but that kind of play needs to be the norm. Schmidt was ok, but far from spectacular, carrying the ball 13 times for 44 yards. He never did anything great, but he at least consistently got positive yards. Simmons only got 3 carries for 14 yards, so he had too small a sample size to really analyze.
Ebert: Jeremy Ebert was the go-to receiver, and he was awesome. He made 5 catches for 99 yards, and a couple of those catches were not easy. On top of that he showed very good route running ability. He also had a 12 yard rush on a reverse. No complaints at all with his performance.
The Defense: Remember when I said that teams wouldn't be able to run against NU? Apparently I was very, very wrong. Vandy got 192 yards on the ground, 5.1 yards per play. They are not a bad running team, but 192 yards is unacceptable. Our defensive line and linebackers were simply dominated by their offensive line. However, even more discouraging is the fact that we allowed 240 passing yards. Vandy only managed 146.3 yrds/game last year. Our defense simply must improve.
Brandon Williams: In terms of punting, he appears to be a big step up from Demos, averaging 42.4 yards per punt, and showing at least some ability to place the ball in the red zone effectively. He even boomed a 59 yarder. However, he failed in his holding role, fumbling the snap on a crucial PAT.
The Crowd: This may seem like an odd point of analysis, but I needed to make note of the extensive Northwestern support at the game. 3 sections of the stadium were more purple than gold, and these masses of purple did an exceptional job of cheering on their team. As one Vandy fan said about some of the Northwestern faithful, "They're damn vocal." Good job guys, but can you all please show up for home games?
The Stadium: Seriously Vandy, can't you keep your stuff working? The instant replay system broke in the first quarter, thus making official reviews impossible. Then later, the air horn they sound after scores and turnovers would not turn off for several minutes. One of the less pleasant sounds I've ever had to endure.
The Personal Foul at the End of the Game: This was a serious point of contention. During Northwestern's final drive, Persa scrambled on third down and was stopped short of a first down. A Vandy player, however, was called for a personal foul helmet to helmet, giving the 'Cats the first down and the ability to down the ball to run down the clock. Vandy fans thought this was a bad call and were, to say the least, furious. However, after watching the replay 20-30 times, I believe the correct call was made. You can view the following screenshot and this video to decide for yourself.
Persa: Overall, he was very good. He completed 19 of 21 passes for 222 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also carried the ball 17 times for 82 yards, and if you exclude his 3 sacks, he was even better. He threw the ball accurately, and he showed a good ability to work outside of the pocket. However, I have one complaint: He generally looked very uncomfortable within the pocket. Because of this fact, the 'Cats rarely used a conventional pocket in the second half, instead opting for moving pockets or bootlegs. It is fairly clear Persa will be a different type of quarterback than Kafka, running more option plays and spending far less time in the pocket.
The Running Backs: No improvement from last year. None. If anything, it was a regression; although I have trouble believing that's possible. Arby was awful, just mind-numbingly awful. I still have hope for him this year, but this kind of performance won't even come close to cutting it. He tended to try to make too much happen. If he could not find a hole, he attempted to reverse field, but, consequently, he lost yards. To his credit, I saw one play that displayed his potential. He made a couple moves to pull a six yard run out of seemingly nowhere, but that kind of play needs to be the norm. Schmidt was ok, but far from spectacular, carrying the ball 13 times for 44 yards. He never did anything great, but he at least consistently got positive yards. Simmons only got 3 carries for 14 yards, so he had too small a sample size to really analyze.
Ebert: Jeremy Ebert was the go-to receiver, and he was awesome. He made 5 catches for 99 yards, and a couple of those catches were not easy. On top of that he showed very good route running ability. He also had a 12 yard rush on a reverse. No complaints at all with his performance.
The Defense: Remember when I said that teams wouldn't be able to run against NU? Apparently I was very, very wrong. Vandy got 192 yards on the ground, 5.1 yards per play. They are not a bad running team, but 192 yards is unacceptable. Our defensive line and linebackers were simply dominated by their offensive line. However, even more discouraging is the fact that we allowed 240 passing yards. Vandy only managed 146.3 yrds/game last year. Our defense simply must improve.
Brandon Williams: In terms of punting, he appears to be a big step up from Demos, averaging 42.4 yards per punt, and showing at least some ability to place the ball in the red zone effectively. He even boomed a 59 yarder. However, he failed in his holding role, fumbling the snap on a crucial PAT.
The Crowd: This may seem like an odd point of analysis, but I needed to make note of the extensive Northwestern support at the game. 3 sections of the stadium were more purple than gold, and these masses of purple did an exceptional job of cheering on their team. As one Vandy fan said about some of the Northwestern faithful, "They're damn vocal." Good job guys, but can you all please show up for home games?
The Stadium: Seriously Vandy, can't you keep your stuff working? The instant replay system broke in the first quarter, thus making official reviews impossible. Then later, the air horn they sound after scores and turnovers would not turn off for several minutes. One of the less pleasant sounds I've ever had to endure.
The Personal Foul at the End of the Game: This was a serious point of contention. During Northwestern's final drive, Persa scrambled on third down and was stopped short of a first down. A Vandy player, however, was called for a personal foul helmet to helmet, giving the 'Cats the first down and the ability to down the ball to run down the clock. Vandy fans thought this was a bad call and were, to say the least, furious. However, after watching the replay 20-30 times, I believe the correct call was made. You can view the following screenshot and this video to decide for yourself.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Vanderbilt Preview
I am currently spending the night just outside of St. Louis before heading over to Nashville tomorrow for Northwestern's opening game! This game has a great deal of personal importance for me because, during my college application process, I could not decide between Northwestern and Vanderbilt, before deciding on NU at the last possible moment. A win here would further solidify my decision as the correct one. I would like to be able to provide a detailed preview of the game, but, the fact is, I don't know enough about Vandy's team to do so. Here's what I do know:
- Vandy is the NU of the SEC--a small, private institution in a conference full of large, state schools. Like us, they generally have to get by with players who are less-recruited than those of their competition.
- Vandy is typically near the bottom of their conference, and last year was no exception, as they went 2-10. They won a bowl in '08, however, so they are capable of having a good season.
- They have a new coach. Bobby Johnson retired from the position unexpectedly during the offseason. He was replaced by former offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The Special Teams
 |
| Stephan J. Carrera |
Punting: Stefan Demos had punting duties last year and was absolutely dreadful. He averaged a pitiful 35.0 yrds/punt, worst amongst qualifying punters. Much of the problem was that Demos was responsible for everything: punting, place kicking, and kickoff starting. Fortunately, Demos no longer has punting duties. The redshirt freshman Brandon Williams instead gets the job. He averaged 41.9 yrds/punt in high school. We'll see how that carries over.
Kicking: Demos had this job, as well, and did much better in this position. He had a very good year, with the exception of the Outback Bowl and the game against Illinois, making a pretty solid 72% of his kicks. He will be returning as kicker this year and is being named a Lou Groza Award candidate by some.
Kickoff Starting: Demos had this job as well, and I had no problem with his performance. He will hold the starting position again this year.
Long Snapper: This job will go to last year's starter, senior John Henry Pace, or redshirt freshman Pat hickey.
Holder: The holder on placekicks will be punter Brandon Williams.
Punt Return: Northwestern was pretty lousy on punt returns last year. Andrew Brewer and Brendan Smith usually got the job. Neither was very good, and I was often happy if they just managed to catch the ball. They averaged 6.3 yards per return, 93rd in the country. This year, the job will go to either Hunter Bates or true freshman Venric Mark. My vote is for Mark. The guy is a tiny (5'8) speedster (4.4 40-meter dash!) who seems proficient at making guys miss. From what I have seen of him, he looks a bit like a poor man's Percy Harvin. That is never a bad comparison, in less you are referring to injury resistance. It will no doubt be a pretty big adjustment to return punts in the Big 10, but I'm still excited. I have never seen anyone run like that in the purple and white.
Kick Return: We were pretty awful at this, too. Again, I often had no idea if our guys would even manage to catch the ball. Stephen Simmons got the most returns, and averaged an admittedly good 25.3 yards per return (39th best in the country). Everyone else failed in the role though. As a team, we averaged 20.6 yards per return (62nd). Simmons, thankfully is listed as the starter for this year, with Scott Concannon behind him. Both these people should be pretty good, but I would like to see Mark get an opportunity, as well.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Defensive Secondary
 |
| Chris O'Meara- AP |
In my linebacker analysis I said I didn't expect teams to have much success running the ball against Northwestern. The obvious implication is that teams will be passing a lot against Northwestern, and I fear that may not be a great thing. Both the cornerback and safety position could take a big step back this year.
At the cornerback position, we lose Sherrick McManis, who, in my opinion, was the best player on the team last year. Our other corner was Jordan Mabin, who fortunately is returning. Unfortunately, however, he failed to impress in pass defense last year. While he got an impressive number of tackles, he failed to defend many passes that went his way, with the notable exception of the interception that wrapped up the game against Wisconsin. The other corner this year will be Justan Vaughn, a senior. He has some experience starting but has suffered several injuries throughout his career. Jeravin Matthews, a junior former running back will be one backup. The other will be Demetrius Dugar, a sophomore who got one start last year replacing an injured McManis. Overall, this position does not look very good. These guys, particularly Mabin, really have to step up if we don't want our opponents to throw all over the place against us.
At safety, we lose last years' starters Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith. Nonetheless, I'm less concerned about this position than the corners. Brian Peters, a junior, will be one of this year's starters, and he will be just fine. He actually started 5 games last year subbing for an injured Smith. Despite being a backup on the depth chart he managed to be fifth on the team in tackles and second in interceptions (67 and 3 respectively). If you have any questions about his ability, just look at the picture at the top of this post. Yes, he made the grab, and, for the record, he had a cast on the other hand. The other safety will be the sophomore Jared Carpenter. He played a bit last year, but not enough for me to formulate much of an analysis. Hunter Bates, the sophomore special teams specialist, is one backup, and Mike Bolden, who is strangely listed as a corner on his bio, is listed as the other backup. David Arnold, the converted linebacker, is not on the depth chart due to injury. If he returns, do not be surprised to see him start. While this unit may not be an improvement from last year, it should not be terrible. I would however be more comfortable if Arnold could return.
The Linebackers
 |
| Getty Images |
2-Deep Depth Chart Released!
It appears the starting lineups have been finalized. So let's take a look to see if my offensive predictions were right.
QB: No surprises here. Persa, followed by Watkins.
RB: I'm a bit disappointed. The depth chart is listed as Fields or Schmidt or Simmons. I was hoping to see a starter named by now. Perhaps we will be started with running-back-by committee again, but I certainly hope not.
WR: I still cannot say who will fill which role, but the starters are Ebert, Stewart, and Demetrius Fields. Their backups will be Moulton, and two people I didn't mention previously: Charles Brown and Venric Mark. Charles Brown is a junior slot receiver, and Mark is a tiny true freshman speedster who I am very excited about. Much more about him if I ever get a special teams post up.
SB: Dunsmore is listed as starter with Rooks as the backup. This doesn't mean a whole lot as Nagel will see playing time, just filling a different role.
OL: I was right on the tackle positions and center. Left guard will be Mulroe. Right Guard will be Bartels. The backups, from left to right, will be: Brian Smith, Evan Luxenburg, Colin Armstrong, Keegan Grant, and Neal Deiters.
Edit: I suppose I could have just made it easy for you all and myself by providing a link.
QB: No surprises here. Persa, followed by Watkins.
RB: I'm a bit disappointed. The depth chart is listed as Fields or Schmidt or Simmons. I was hoping to see a starter named by now. Perhaps we will be started with running-back-by committee again, but I certainly hope not.
WR: I still cannot say who will fill which role, but the starters are Ebert, Stewart, and Demetrius Fields. Their backups will be Moulton, and two people I didn't mention previously: Charles Brown and Venric Mark. Charles Brown is a junior slot receiver, and Mark is a tiny true freshman speedster who I am very excited about. Much more about him if I ever get a special teams post up.
SB: Dunsmore is listed as starter with Rooks as the backup. This doesn't mean a whole lot as Nagel will see playing time, just filling a different role.
OL: I was right on the tackle positions and center. Left guard will be Mulroe. Right Guard will be Bartels. The backups, from left to right, will be: Brian Smith, Evan Luxenburg, Colin Armstrong, Keegan Grant, and Neal Deiters.
Edit: I suppose I could have just made it easy for you all and myself by providing a link.
The Defensive Line
 |
| AP Photo/ Nam Y. Huh |
Many Northwestern fans' first thought when thinking about the defensive line is probably, "Oh crap! We lost Wootton! We're freaking screwed!" Well, if this is you, you are somewhat justified in your opinion. It is easy to make a case for a healthy Wootton as the greatest player in Northwestern history. However, the fact is Wootton was anything but healthy last year. He did win us the Iowa game, (sorry, Stanzi) but, overall, he was merely a shadow of his former self. He only managed half the tackles he got in 2008 (21 to 42) and only 4 sacks compared to 10. That being said, it was still nice to have him on the line, as he scared the other team, and he frequently was double teamed, meaning fewer blockers left for the other members of the line. Vince Browne played the other defensive end position as a sophomore. He did a very good job racking up 39 tackles, 8 for loss, and 5 sacks. Fortunately, he is returning next year. Kevin Watt, the junior, figures to fill Wootton's shoes, and has experience doing so, as he filled in for Wootton when he was unable to play due to injury. He did a decent job with 10 tackles and 2 sacks. The sophomore Quentin Williams also figures to see playing time. He managed 14 tackles and an interception last year, so he knows how to play the position. All things considered, the defensive end position looks pretty good, but I have trouble calling it an improvement simply because losing Wootton is a blow.
One starting defensive tackle last year was the junior Corbin Bryant. He did a good job in the position with 30 tackles, and he will be returning for the role this season. The other defensive tackle position was just a mess, mostly due to injuries. So many people played it that I don't even know who to call a starter.. For this year, however, the starter will be Jack DiNardo, a junior. He saw some playing time last year but was badly slowed by injury. Overall I'm happy with how the DTs look, especially when compared to last year. They were probably the team's worst position last year, but simply having someone, anyone healthy next to Bryant should be a big improvement.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
I'm Lazy
I must confess that I have not nearly kept up with the pace I was hoping to maintain for this blog. I was hoping to be most of the way through introducing the defense at this point, and yet, I haven't started. Because of this I decided to go with a different post style for the defense. I'll be putting up shorter, "what to watch for style posts" rather than the 2009 vs. 2010 posts. They will probably have less analysis and will probably be slightly less interesting, but it's the only way I can keep myself motivated to post at the rate I need to. I'm lazy, and these posts take way longer than I expected. Sorry.
2009 vs. 2010: The Superbacks
 |
| From Zimbio.com |
Unless you a regular watcher of Northwestern football, you are probably asking, "What the heck is a superback?" And you are certainly justified in asking that because absolutely no one else has a position by that name. Basically, the term encompasses the fullback, tight end, and H-back positions.
Last Year: We basically had four superbacks last year: Mark Woodsum, Brendan Mitchell, Josh Rooks, and Drake Dunsmore. Because these people filled very different roles, I will break it down player-by-player.
Mark Woodsum was essentially a fullback. Because Northwestern runs a spread offense, they rarely use a fullback, except in occasional short-yardage situations. Because of this, Woodsum did not accumulate many stats and got most of his plays on special teams. That being said, he was responsible for one of the most exciting plays of the year when he caught a pass from Demos on a broken punt for a first down against Penn St. I also must mention that I once got to play tackle football against him in the annual Bonehead Bowl (a marching band tradition). Story time: I forced a fumble against him for a touchdown, (well, technically I just deflected a backwards lateral and dove on it in the endzone, but "forced fumble" sounds way more awesome) and we ended up winning. Anyways, thanks for playing, Mark. That was awesome.
Brendan Mitchell was a senior who played tight end primarily. He did not see a ton of playing time, but was on the receiving end of the game-tying, wide receiver reverse pass in the Outback Bowl.
Josh Rooks played the other tight end position as a junior. He did not do a whole lot statistically, but he did quite well as a blocker and on special teams.
Drake Dunsmore was the most exciting superback last year, as well as the youngest, a sophomore. His position is also the most difficult to describe. He is usually considered a tight end, but he also plays as a slot receiver. It's kind of a Dallas Clark-esque role. He played in all 13 games pulling in 47 receptions for 523 yards (second best amongst Big 10 tight ends) and 3 touchdowns. Furthermore, he was on the receiving end of probably the most exciting play of the year, a long run-after-catch for a touchdown in the Outback Bowl where he broke several seemingly easy tackles.
This Year: Woodsum and Mitchell both graduated, but Rooks and Dunsmore are returning and most likely reprising their respective roles. Dunsmore has received a great deal of national attention, being named one of the top 10 tight ends in the country by Rivals.com. He is definitely a player to watch. Woodsum's fullback role will be filled by Aaron Nagel, a junior transfer from Notre Dame who converted from linebacker. I have no idea whether anyone will fill Mitchell's spot, but if so, my best guess is that it will be filled by redshirt freshman John Plasencia.
Improvement?: I will say yes, simply because Dunsmore figures to play an expanded role in the offense, and, quite frankly, he is my favorite player on the team.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
2009 vs. 2010: The Offensive Line
 |
| From the North by Northwestern website |
Last Year: I will break down the line from left to right. At left tackle, we had Al Netter. Netter is entering his junior year and started all 13 games last year, as well as all 13 games his redshirt freshman year in '08. Furthermore, he was an honorable mention for All-Big 10 last year.
We saw multiple people in the left guard position. Desmond Taylor was a senior who opened the season in the starting position and started five games, but he struggled with injuries and illnesses throughout the season. Junior Keegan Grant played some, and redshirt freshman Brian Mulroe started the Outback Bowl after returning from injury.
Ben Burkett started all 13 games, and has, in fact, started all 26 games for which he's been eligible, beginning with his redshirt freshman season in '08.
Starting every game at right guard was Doug Bartels. He is a former walk-on who has started 21 consecutive games.
Finally, we saw some competition at right tackle. Kurt Mattes was a senior who started six games but occasionally had problems with injuries. The freshman Neal Dieters started the other seven games and won NU's offensive newcomer award.
Well, then, how did the line perform throughout the season? Overall, I would say pretty average. Their pass protection, overall, was pretty good. Kafka was only sacked once for every 18.2 pass attempts, a pretty good number when you consider how long Kafka often sat in the pocket. However, I cannot help but fault the line for some of our running difficulties. I rarely saw big, gaping holes for our backs to run through. But in the line's defense, often they did create holes, and the backs simply failed to find them.
Next Year: I will again break down the line left to right. Barring injury, Netter should reclaim the left tackle spot. Various publications have listed him as a preseason All-Big 10 nominee, usually second or third team.
Left guard could either be Grant or Mulroe. I expect a competition. Mulroe is projected to start at one guard position, according to his bio, so it's merely a question of which one.
Center: This should definitely be Burkett. He was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list for the second year in a row. Definitely a player to watch.
Right Guard: There is a lot of competition here. Bartels is an obvious contender for the position, as is Mulroe. Dieters also figures to move into this position and compete for the job.
Right Tackle: Patrick Ward seems to have this position locked up. He was a true freshman last year who saw little playing time, but Fitz seems to like him.
Improvement: I think this is a definitive yes. This unit has a lot of experience, which is a very good thing. The level of competition also indicates that there is a great deal of depth, meaning the team does not need to live in fear of injury. I expect a good year from the O-line.
Friday, August 27, 2010
2009 vs 2010: The Wide Receivers
 |
| From Dailyme.com |
I need to start with a bit of a disclaimer. The wide receiver position is incredibly difficult to predict for Northwestern. It seems every year excellent wide receivers rise out of nowhere only to then graduate, leaving the position in apparent shambles. But, in phoenix-like fashion, new wide receivers rise from the ashes to perfectly fill the rolls of their predecessors. It's a cool cycle, and I'm not going to complain, but it makes my job of predicting the upcoming year difficult. You might actually be better off ignoring everything I'm about to write. That being said, I'd appreciate if you didn't.
Last Year: We saw outstanding performances out of two receivers: Andrew Brewer and Zeke Markshausen. Brewer entered NU as a quarterback, but did fairly miserably at the position his freshman year. He was then transferred to wide receiver, but put up no stats in '07. He played a small role in '08, but didn't break through until '09. Finally living up to his potential, Brewer was Northwestern's go-to deep threat, ending the season with 925 yards (39th best in the country/4th Big 10). He also averaged a very good 16.2 yards per catch, a notably good number considering Northwestern's favorite pass was a short route into the flat. That 16.2 was the 51st best in the country and 5th best in the Big 10 (stupid Iowa had to take 2 of the top 5 spots...). Markshausen is a former walk-on engineering major who had exactly 1 catch before last season. How many did he have last season? 91. 91! That's a 9000% improvement! He went from total anonymity to the best receiver in the Big 10 in terms of receptions (number 10 in the country). However his yardage and touchdown numbers were not as nearly as impressive as Brewer's simply because the two played very different roles. While Brewer beat guys deep and made occasionally beautiful catches, Markshausen was simply the epitome of consistency, running short routes that drove other teams, and fans, crazy (just ask my friends at Iowa). While these two were certainly the primary targets in the passing game, three other receivers made notable contributions. Sidney Stewart looked very good at times, showing excellent athleticism. He really broke out at the end of the year with 94 and 97 yards, against Wisconsin and Auburn, respectively. Jeremy Ebert played a fairly small role but generally looked good. He also broke out at the end of the year, albeit to a lesser degree. Demetrius Fields was a freshman who put up numbers very similar to Ebert's, although he put up most of his stats at the beginning of the year. Generally, I felt fairly confident with the ball going to him. All-in-all, the entire receiver corps looked very good last year. They were by far the most pleasant surprise on the team .
This Year: This is where it gets difficult. The top targets will apparently be Ebert and Stewart, and they will almost certainly fill roles very similar to Zeke and Brewer, but I have no idea which receiver will fit which role. My inclination would be Ebert fills Brewer's role, because I believe he has better speed than Stewart, but I don't think I'd even bet a penny on that guess (except I hate having pennies so I might just want to get rid of it). I would expect Demetrius to have an impact as well, but I'm not sure what role he'll play either. My tentative guess is that he'll run a lot of routes across the middle. I also expect a few throws to Drew Moulton, who will be playing his first season after redshirting last year. I know little about him, but he looked decent in the spring game.
Improvement?: Psh, I don't know, but I would guess yes. And if that is true, then that is a very, very good thing. I have few complaints about our receivers last year, so any improvement would be outstanding. I expect an improvement simply because our incoming top-targets have more experience than the top receivers had entering previous years. Again, though, I won't pretend I know more than I do. I'm just as curious about how this position will turn out as any of you are.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
2009 vs. 2010: The Running Backs
 |
| From the North by Northwestern website |
Last Year: If you read my recap of the 2009 offense, you probably got a pretty good idea of how I felt about our running backs. Let's just say my opinion was less than favorable. No one on the team who carried the ball more than 10 times averaged even 4.0 yards per carry; the quarterback was second on the team in rushing yards and first in rushing touchdowns; and no 'Cats player managed a 100 yard rushing games. Arguably, one of the reasons for this failure of the running game was Northwestern's strategy of running back by committee. The 'Cats did not have a feature back, instead having Arby Fields, Scott Concannon, Stephen Simmons, and Jacob Schmidt split the workload. Arby was a true freshman who looked good at times, but often showed a frustrating inability to find holes in the line. Concannon was actually the running back who filled me with the most confidence, but I cannot say with certainty why. His stats weren't terribly impressive, with the exception of his solid 73 yards in our comeback against Indiana. He simply showed an ability to pick up extra yards I did not see in our other guys, making him our best short yardage threat. Simmons showed some serious promise, particularly in the first two games. He then, unfortunately, suffered an injury and played a much more limited role in the offense. Finally, we have Jacob Schmidt. I hate to admit it, but I don't even remember his performance enough to give a good comment. He simply failed to leave an impression. However, if memory serves, he was a primarily short-yardage back who ran like a fullback. The misfortunes at running back obviously did not go unnoticed by the Northwestern coaching staff. The Wildcats used running back increasingly little toward the end of the season, a fact clearly seen in the Outback Bowl when Northwestern ran their running backs 15 times while throwing 78 times.
This Year: Each of the aforementioned running backs is returning, so expect more of the same. However there will be one major difference: Fitz hopes to have a feature running back. This feature back figures to be Arby Fields. Hopefully with a year under his belt and with more responsibility, he'll be able to live up to his potential. With the other backs, I don't expect much difference from last year's performance; although hopefully a more experienced O-line will improve their numbers. There's also another guy on the depth chart by the name of Tyris Jones. I know absolutely nothing about him other than the fact that he used to be a linebacker, so please don't ask.
Improvement?: I think I can confidently say yes. While I wouldn't expect huge numbers from our running backs, they have nowhere to go but up. A year of experience will surely help, and hopefully the guys will be luckier in terms of health. We really are relying on an improvement as I anticipate the offense being more focused on the run game than they were in '09.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
2009 vs 2010: The Offense
 |
| From Offtackleempire.com |
Quarterbacks
Last Year: Mike Kafka was the man at quarterback last year, with a lot riding on his performance. He threw the ball 492 times, good for 7th most in the country, and 1st in the Big 10. All things considered, he did an admirable job in the role. Many had questions about his passing ability entering the year, remembering his 217 rushing yards against Minnesota in 2008, a Big 10 record for a QB in a single game. However, Kafka underwent a metamorphosis, becoming primarily a pocket passer. He met his trial early, as the running game failed to back him up. After much contemplation, my judgment is that he succeeded in his new role. He threw for 3430 yards, 14th in the country, despite being out for much of the games against Penn St and Iowa. He was only 61st in QB rating, however, almost certainly because of the lack of TDs, as analyzed yesterday. He did not completely ignore his history as a rusher though, putting up 295 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns, the latter stat being the best on the team. All that Kafka did well and all he did poorly is perhaps best displayed by the Outback Bowl. On the plus side, he managed to throw the ball 78 times for 532 yards and 4 touchdowns while rushing for 34 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, I also need to offer a description of his struggles: In this one game, he threw 31 incompletions and 5 interceptions, almost half of the interceptions he threw all year. Nonetheless, through all the good and bad, he was fun to watch, one of the most interesting QBs in America. (P.S. Can you find all the Kafka puns? Hint: there are 6)
This Year: Kafka has graduated and is now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. His position will be taken over by the junior, Dan Persa. Persa faces many of the same questions Kafka did entering the starting role. No one questions his ability to run, but we have yet to see an excellent passing performance. In limited time last year, Persa ran for 167 yards and threw for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns. His passing numbers are highly inflated, however, due to his sole 72 yard completion against Towson. Despite the lack of numbers, I am highly optimistic about Persa in the role. He is a hard working individual who has won the "Top Cat" conditioning award two years running. I have heard nothing but good things about his progression as a passer. Nonetheless, I expect more option-style running than we saw last year. If Persa goes down, filling the position will be Evan Watkins, a redshirt freshman pocket passer. He failed to impress in the spring game, but the scrimmage generally does not accurately represent how the players will look by the first game.
Improvement?: Probably not, but probably not a big step down either. Kafka was often very good, and I was generally confident when he entered the game. 'Cat fans need to remember, however, that his passing game was fairly poor before his senior year; in many ways, he looked like Persa did last year. Dan is a hard-working individual and a heck of a leader. I have little doubt he will be able to do all that is asked of him, or that he will work hard until he can.
Wow, this post is getting far longer than expected, so I think I will end it here. My next post will start with the running backs.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
A Look at the 2009 Wildcats' Offense
The 'Cats offense was very up-and-down last season. Overall, they were a fairly solid 34th in the country in total offense (4th in the Big 10) in terms of yards, but when looking at points, the Wildcats were a much weaker 71st (7th in the Big 10). Why, then, did the Wildcats fail to turn their yards into points? One possible answer is the breakdown of those yards. Northwestern threw for a very solid 3725 yards last year, good for 12th in the country, and 1st in the Big 10. However, for all the yards Northwestern picked up through the air, they had a disappointing number of touchdowns, with 20 (50th/4th). I must admit I'm somewhat at a loss as to why this phenomenon occurred, but I have a couple possible explanations. First, Northwestern's offense is a spread. For those who do not know, this is essentially an offense that spreads wide receivers all the way across the field in an attempt to create space. When a team is in the red zone (and thus in a good position to potentially score a touchdown), there is less space to open up, thereby making the spread less effective. This theory is supported by the fact that Northwestern ranked only 94th in the country in red zone offense last year (a dreadful 10th out of 11 in the Big 10).
Another possible explanation for the lack of passing TDs and total points is that the 'Cats ran the ball more in red zone situations, a less than ideal situation when looking at the running last year's running game. Oh, the dreadful, woeful running game. Where do I even begin? We finished 89th (9th) in rush yards last year while averaging only 3.0 yrds/carry (111th!/10th). The latter fact is even more embarrassing when considering we ran the ball 34th most (3rd) last year. While I'm throwing out embarrassing statistics, let me point out our longest rush went for 25 yards, the worst longest rush of any team in the FBS. All of these statistics simply must improve for next season, since Wildcat offenses are typically built around the running game. When a team throws the ball 78 times in a game, as NU did in the Outback Bowl, it says something about the running game, and what it says isn't pretty.
Of course, I've been fairly negative in this post. There was a lot to like about the Northwestern offense at times. The passing game, for instance, was often very sharp. And the running game showed some improvement throughout the year. Obviously, for a team to finish 8-4 in the regular season, something about the offense must be good. However, the problems were frequently much more obvious, and hopefully, they will be fixed for the upcoming season.
For my next post I will be examining the 2010 offense and trying to answer whether it will be an improvement over the 2009 offense.
Another possible explanation for the lack of passing TDs and total points is that the 'Cats ran the ball more in red zone situations, a less than ideal situation when looking at the running last year's running game. Oh, the dreadful, woeful running game. Where do I even begin? We finished 89th (9th) in rush yards last year while averaging only 3.0 yrds/carry (111th!/10th). The latter fact is even more embarrassing when considering we ran the ball 34th most (3rd) last year. While I'm throwing out embarrassing statistics, let me point out our longest rush went for 25 yards, the worst longest rush of any team in the FBS. All of these statistics simply must improve for next season, since Wildcat offenses are typically built around the running game. When a team throws the ball 78 times in a game, as NU did in the Outback Bowl, it says something about the running game, and what it says isn't pretty.
Of course, I've been fairly negative in this post. There was a lot to like about the Northwestern offense at times. The passing game, for instance, was often very sharp. And the running game showed some improvement throughout the year. Obviously, for a team to finish 8-4 in the regular season, something about the offense must be good. However, the problems were frequently much more obvious, and hopefully, they will be fixed for the upcoming season.
For my next post I will be examining the 2010 offense and trying to answer whether it will be an improvement over the 2009 offense.
Purple Storm: An Introduction
Hello, and welcome to Purple Storm, a Northwestern sports blog having no affiliation with the controversial military operation against Panama or the Hong Kong action film. My name is John Michael Kelly, a Northwestern sophomore and marching band member who has an unhealthy infatuation with college sports (particularly my beloved 'Cats). My hope for this blog is that it will provide interesting analysis of Northwestern sports.
Coming soon: An introduction to the Wildcats' offense for the 2011 season.
Coming soon: An introduction to the Wildcats' offense for the 2011 season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)