Northwestern, 31, Iowa, 41, Post-Game Thread
by Rodger Sherman on Oct 15, 2011 9:17 PM CDT
in 2011 Northwestern Wildcats Football
Email
PrintPat Ward dickpunch GIF acceptable.
NU outgained Iowa and played very well and possessed the ball considerably longer than Iowa did. But the Cats screwed up in a lot of phenomenal ways that allowed Iowa to pull out the win and send Northwestern to an 0-3 Big Ten start.
Life is pretty terrible. On the plus side, Iowa fans are making it very clear that they are a better team and expected to beat Northwestern and are considerably better than us and just generally expect victory against a team that is so worse than them, so at least they're enjoying life.
We had a good thing going, but this team just isn't good enough to keep that thing going. Northwestern very easily could have won this game but we're just not that team this year.
In other news, NU lost by ten in a game Dan Persa threw a pick six on the opposing ten yard line. Yup.
79 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Hey, gotta let little brother have one every once in a while.
After all, they’re just Iowa.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 9:20 PM CDT reply actions
YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!!!!!
Seriously though, I was rather impressed by the Persa-Colter combination/swap on QBs. God knows that Colter sweep-option seem to work every, fucking time against us.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
Yeah, that Colter/Smith combo will be DEADLY going forward.
This year, though, looks, um . . . bleak.
Great game by your Hawks today, seriously. Even if you were playing the Northwestern defense, that offensive show was pretty outstanding.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:04 PM CDT up reply actions
The way
the play-action deep post worked, I think we should have run it about eleventy billion more times. We’re a flawed team, deeply so, and there is a lot of promise on your team. Just a question of how much of it is the Persa-Ebert senior combo. And yes, it does hurt so much to say nice things about jNW (sorry, couldn’t resist)
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
The jNW moniker is richly deserved on this evening.
The weird thing is that I am not worried about the offense at all in the next few years, even if the reigning First Team All-Big Ten quarterback and both of his go-to receivers (Ebert and Dunsmore) are graduating.
The defense? Holy CRAP, is the ‘Cat defense ever abysmal. And I don’t know how/if/when it’s going to get better.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:23 PM CDT up reply actions
But (see below)
hasn’t that been the issue for all of Fitz’s tenure?
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
With isolated exceptions, yes.
The defense was quite good in 2008 (when we went 9-3) and reasonably competent in 2009 (when we went 8-4). At the time, I thought that was just Mike Hankwitz working, in his first two years on the job, his magic on a squad that Greg Colby had no idea what to do with prior to that.
Then last year happened. Fellow SoP commenter Chadnudj will tell you that last year’s defense looked worse than it was because Persa’s injury meant that the defense never got off the field in the last three games (Illinois, Wisconsin, bowl vs. TTU), but I don’t think I buy that. That means that we now have back-to-back years of having the worst defense in the conference, where the two years prior to that, under the same coordinator, achieved MUCH greater things.
Maybe opposing offensive coordinators have just adjusted to the way Hankwitz does things, but that doesn’t seem a very satisfying explanation. I just don’t have a better one. It’s perplexing, and infuriating.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:30 PM CDT up reply actions
You know
Having been in disfunctional organizations in my professional life, I can actually see how this might happen. While we all have this mental image of coaches all communicating efficiently, and everyone being on the same page, in the real world that not always the case. Sometimes you have one person saying one thing and another hearing something else, you have petty jealousies, you have agendas, you have guys thinking they know better than the guy they report to. These aren’t always fixable without personnel change. With the complete fail we’ve seen on the part of the defense this season, I wonder if there’s not some of that going on here.
True, BUT
this seems, in my opinion, to be more of an issue with staffs that are jockeying for power/influence. See, eg, FSU the last few years of Bobby Bowden’s tenure when all of the assistants, who knew they were fucking fired if Jimbo Fisher took over, would undermine each other in the hopes that would save their own skin. That doesn’t seem to be the case with you, as Fitz isn’t going anywhere and can provide stability to the program.
What I was trying to get at below was the seeming incongruity of Fitz, a two-time Butkus Award winner, not having an appreciable affect, to date, on the defense. Early on as HC, having to take over in the manner in which he did, it was completely understandable, he was simply the new head coach of Randy Walker’s team (with all the pluses and minuses that entailed) and couldn’t put his imprint on the team. But y’all are five years into the Fitz Extravaganza at this point, and the thing that surprises me is that the defense remains your glaring Achilles Heel (no pun meant) while the offense remains rather the same (to good effect).
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
Sheesh, wadda crypt this thread is.
I’m leavin’.
There's something about orange soda that is deeply satisfying.
by Loosemeatsammich on Oct 15, 2011 10:32 PM CDT reply actions
We derp'd it up pretty good
and still had a chance. That’s no consolation, unfortunately. It’s just more annoying.
I’d be more bothered about the field goal false start converted into gutless punt, and the settle for a FG on 4th-and-1, but the bigger problem is the “oh hey, let’s not cover the guy running the post route” defense.
Congrats to Iowa, they are better than us this year.
ok what the hell
from teddy greenstein
Fitz and D Dugar acknowledged what’s clear — at times NU DBs don’t know if they are in man or zone coverage.
Fitz: "You’ve got guys coming off the field saying: ‘I’m playing this concept, (he’s) playing that concept.’ When those breakdowns in communication have happened this year, they have been disastrous. It starts with us as coaches. Why are they confused?"
I mean, we’re halfway through the season. This would be embarrassing in Week 1.
WHAT THE FUCK
If that’s really what’s going on, there is no excuse for that. None.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm still having trouble getting my mind around that
I mean, it’s not a new thing. It’s not like Iowa’s receivers were the first this season to roam around our secondary without a defender in the same metropolitan area. This has been a probel since week one; maybe we should try something novel like getting our defense in a huddle and telling them all “on this play we’re playing zone.” Radical, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
As an (hated) outsider
may I ask a real question? I think Fitz is the right coach for you, but at what point does his inability to field a sold defense start weighing against him?
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
Well
I think it has begun to weigh against him, although he continues to have the benefit of the doubt, due to both his background and the success he’s had earlier. The real question is when the inability to field a solid defense outweighs these other factors. We’re not there yet, but I think (especially after what I’m reading tonight about the defense not even knowing the play) there will be increasing pressure on him to focus on this area.
Fair enough
It’s just been curious to me that, given his background, that you haven’t become more a reflection of Fitz the player. Instead, it seems to be a more successful version of the Walker formula (a lot of O, just enough D) for the past five years. At first, that is completely understandable, but there are defensive issues that continue and have been there since day 1
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
it's curious to us too
maybe the answer is for Fitz to give up his special teams coaching responsibilities (something I’ve long advocated for, since our ST have been terrible under him) in order to take a more active role in the defense. Not sure that would help, but at least it would show he’s intersted in fixing it.
Thanks
God knows we needed it. I was going to be in total melt-down mode had we lost. You know, like EVERY FUCKING YEAR for the past 4
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
At a certain point,
it becomes unfair to try to wring more schadenfreude out of a single fan base.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:25 PM CDT up reply actions
In the game thread,
somebody wondered aloud if PSU beating Iowa and Iowa beating NU means that NU will get to beat PSU next week. On the one hand, that would seem to bring the universe back into some sort of karmic balance. On the other hand, HAHAHAHA ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME NO.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:31 PM CDT up reply actions
You beating NU
Would make us look better and worse at the same time. I mean, I think the universe would explode. Go for it.
You mean we're jNWU.
/self-trolling
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:38 PM CDT up reply actions
Nah
I never troll…on this blog. Everyone over here is a self respecting Northwestern fan. Can’t say much about fans at another one.
Oh, God.
I never even go over there anymore. The comments have devolved into an absolute shitshow. If one ever wanted proof that there is no justice in the universe, it is that LTP is by far the most-read NU blog on these here interwebz, while Bring Your Champions They’re Our Meat toils in almost complete obscurity.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:43 PM CDT up reply actions 4 recs
The difference...
I respect LTP in that he’s built that place up from obscurity to be the “go-to” NU blog. He’s done a terrific job getting fans to step up and buy season tickets, and has some great interviews with the “Purple Mafia.” At the same time, I can’t bear to go there anymore. To borrow a term from Loretta8 — it’s too “emo.”
This place has been my new go-to because while Rodger, Loretta8 and the gang are passionate (and very knowledgable), there’s also a healthy sense of ironic detachment. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism given the roller-coaster highs and lows of being a ‘Cats fan, but I can’t imagine following this team without it. To your point, Foxhole, BYCTOM captures this sensibility brilliantly.
Apologies if this post is too-meta, but I didn’t have much to offer outside of the usual chorus of: 1)I wish we had a bell-cow running back, 2)why does Hank use 3 man front, 3) who’s coaching the DBs? 4)Fitz is great except he’s still learning in-game, 5)toldjuh we should keep putting the ball in our playmakers’ hands.
Well, I guess I do have another thought — it seems like this year we’ve been exceptionally unlucky. Perhaps luck is the residue of design, and it’s a result of a poor schemes and execution and not a total excuse. But, when I thought about what needed to happen this year, the first two (from an offensive perspective) were a healthy Persa and the emergence of a dependable back . On the defensive side, we needed a better front 7, yet the bigger story is how terrible our back 4 are.
To borrow a phrase from a phenomenal, yet ratings challenged sitcom, “I wonder what’s happening on the other timelines.”
www.massivecreativity.com
you haven't seen
that 2002 alum guy. Pretty much everything sucks according to him.
But if you want to see some self-hating, wait til basketball season. If we’re lucky, AC will make an appearance.
by buckyor on Oct 15, 2011 11:50 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
No dog in this fight
All i know is that guy wants Fitz gone. And to me, that’s like Iowa wanting Kirk gone. It’s as simple as that. WTF?
agreed
Full disclosure, though: last December after the Packers loss to the Lions, where Aaron Rodgers got knocked out of the game (and wound up sitting out the next week against the Pats with a concussion), I called for Mike McCarthy’s head.
Derp.
No, you're NU.
It’s far more important to piss off Nebraska, er, I mean UN-L.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Oct 16, 2011 11:02 AM CDT up reply actions
on another matter
That should be ASU football. But they’re not gonna get this call; the refs fucked up, and won’t be able to make it right.
Maybe I'm alone in this.
But I find watching a game between two teams about which I have almost no feelings, one way or the other, to be a great form of therapy after a tough loss. Watching OU-ASU, I’ve finally stopped muttering obscenities in an empty house.
Then something like that Amateur Hour refereeing bullshit happens, and I get mad all over again.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:49 PM CDT up reply actions
UO, not OU.
Stupid Great Plains practice of reversing the letters. Impossible habit to break.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:49 PM CDT up reply actions
yeah, well
I do care, being an alum and former season ticket holder at ASU (when I lived in the Valley).
It must be nice to root for a good football team.
See, in addition to NU, I’m now in law school and have adopted that university’s team as my own.
Where do I go to law school? Why, the University of Colorado, of course. (Applied to, and came thiiiiiis close to going to, ASU, though.)
RAEG.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 15, 2011 11:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Didn't have a football team at law school
Loyola of Chicago. Fail on my part. Not even an on-campus hoops team.
On the bright side, at least no more Hawkins at CU.
by RotoJeff on Oct 15, 2011 11:57 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
no more Hawkins at CU
OH FRABJOUS DAY CALLOO CALLAY YES YES YES YES YES YES
Ahem. I mean, the Buffs are still going 1-12 this year. But at least they finally evicted the latest in the long string of asshats they hired to coach. (The first time I can ever recall my father saying “fuck” in front of me was in reference to Rick Neuheisel.)
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 16, 2011 12:03 AM CDT up reply actions
To bring it full circle
My law school roommate went to CU as an undergrad, during their McCartney glory days.
Good rule of thumb: if head coach installs his under-recruited son as the starting quarterback, fire immediately.
Poor Tyler Hansen.
He finally gets his shot to show what he can do, and he’s surrounded by what is very likely the worst supporting cast (Rodney Stewart excepted) in the BCS conferences.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 16, 2011 12:13 AM CDT up reply actions
my sympathies
ASU ain’t Yale- and it ain’t Alabama in football- but it had it’s advantages. I did my 3 years during the Larry Marmie era, who could be accurately compared to Danny Hope.
The scenery was damn nice though.
Which scenery do you mean?
or
Because either way, YAIS.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 16, 2011 12:01 AM CDT up reply actions
Evanston or Tempe?
Hard to tell the difference.
YES TO HAZ PLEAZ!
I mean on the natural scenery. Ain’t nothing natural in pic #2 (not that I’m complaining)
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
You would once the inflammation set in.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Oct 16, 2011 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
So you're following in Barnett's footsteps?
That said, met Gary once at Georgetown, his son was an undergrad at the same time and a friend of mine.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
Pretty much, actually, and that's no joke.
Grew up in Colorado (Barnett began his coaching career at Air Academy HS in Colorado Springs, then at Fort Lewis College in Durango, then as an assistant at CU), then went to Northwestern, then came to Boulder.
Hopefully the similarities end there, because otherwise in about a year and a half I’ll have to drop out of law school after a sex scandal and an allegation of witness tampering. And then be replaced by (OH GOD HE’S EVERYWHERE) Mike Hankwitz.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 16, 2011 2:39 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, don't have a dog in this game
Just want to see a close game with the refs not affecting the outcome. Still love watching some late night Pac-10, er, 12.
Meanwhile
KU is doing their damndest to achieve the backdoor non-cover.
Oof
Photographer on the sidelines at UO vs. ASU just bit it hard.
Looks like he hit his head on the running track.
HARD. Good to see him standing up and chatting, though.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 16, 2011 12:11 AM CDT up reply actions
Dubious FG attempt decision
Still down two scores for ASU, thinking that Oregon won’t put more points on the board when they’ve already scored 38.
BCS
Is there anything more pointless than analyzing projected BCS standings in October? Hey guys, maybe let it play out first?
HAHAHAHAHA
HEY GUYS, GUYS. BROCK OSWEILER IS REALLY TALL, HE PLAYED A LOT OF BASKETBALL BECAUSE HE’S REALLY TALL, HAHAHAHAHA.
Dennis Green won Big Ten Coach of the Year. Pat Fitzgerald hasn't. Therefore, D-Green > Fitz. QED, motherf***ers.
by Foxhole Atheist on Oct 16, 2011 12:25 AM CDT reply actions
yeah, well
#BrockTall needs to throw the ball down the field instead of those wr screens if ASU wants to get back in this
Bingo
Since when did Ron Zook take over at Arizona State? Horrible decision to punt!
You guys got away from what was working
Base offense was shredding Iowa. Then, for some inexplicable reason, you started trying gimmicks and trick plays. That’s when the game changed.
Though the difference in the game could also be attributed to turnovers… the pick six and the Persa sack/fumble led to 10 Iowa points.
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull." - W.C. Fields
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Sippin' On Purple
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
