Sept. 8, 2017
Bravo
In a masterful matinee performance last Saturday afternoon,
Northwestern Wildcat Junior QB Clayton Thorson, playing the part of
resident conductor emeritus fronting the Purple Pride Orchestra that is
the Wildcat Offense, exhibited fearless leadership and exacting
precision in what was the first of a three movement score constituting
NU’s out-of-conference slate of 2017 opponents. Thorson’s
brilliant quarterbacking of the ‘Cats’ passing attack wasn’t only
instrumental, but was an absolutely necessity to resuscitate a ‘Cat O
that was choking early & often throughout H-1 in its attempt to
execute OC Mick McCall’s original rush-centric game plan. And
thankfully, it didn’t take long before HC Past Fitzgerald and his OC
arrived at the undeniable realization that the ’Cats’ opening game
opponent, the Nevada Woof Pucks, had implemented an effective counter
game plan of their own geared specifically to shut-down NU’s overhyped
rushing attack by loading the box with defensive numbers that very
easily could have replicated the disastrous OOC failures of 2016.
The ‘Cats were getting beat to the punch incessantly in H-1, and with
2016 season’s Illinois State debacle still rattling around in their
memory banks, a “Come To Jesus” moment was warranted. When the
‘Cats trotted-out onto Dyche’s Ditch for H-2, it was abundantly clear
that Fitz and OL coach Adam Cushing had issued their offensive linemen
a clear and unambiguous message: “You Better Get Hot or Go Home.”
The Wildcat Big Uglies showed that a roaring fire was lit directly
under their collective nether regions.
But before I expand on Thorson’s career day as the Wildcats’ primary
aerial delivery vehicle, allow me to explain how in the hell the
Wildcats found themselves squarely behind an eight ball of their own
making for much of H-1 and headed into their halftime locker room after
having been unceremoniously thrown down a 17-7 hole by the thoroughly
prepared and fired-up Nevada D. In the weeks leading up to this
contest, it was no great secret that NU’s offensive brain had
established a well-advertised 2017 priority to showcase their prolific
rushing attack behind their marquee asset, Junior RB Justin Jackson The
Ball Carrier (from this point forward to be referenced via the acronym:
“JJTBC”), toting the bean into, around and through holes created by
NU’s newly revamped OL against whatever formation(s) their opponent’s D
might muster. However, it’s one thing to dream about rushing the
ball at will against one’s opposition and quite another to actually do
so. And against the supposed rush defense-challenged Pucks from
Reno, who in 2016, garnered the ignominious distinction of having been
ranked 117th among 128 FBS teams at season’s end, it appeared to most
casual observers, including NU’s coaching staff, that the rush D that
Nevada HC Jay Norvell and his defensive coaching staff trotted onto the
manicured lawn of Dyche’s Ditch couldn’t or wouldn’t offer much more
than similar token resistance when facing the impending juggernaut of
the Purple ground game in 2017. But as reality would have it, the
Pucks’ D was more than ready, willing and able to meet that on-paper
challenge and they did so with dogged determination, executing a
craftily conceived 3-3-5 base defensive formation – aided greatly by
very poor blocking techniques by the ‘Cat OL specifically throughout
H-1.
First, a brief Xs & Os explanation of Nevada’s base 3-3-5 defensive
set is necessary. Its fundamental objective is to create blocking
mismatches and/or confusion primarily by presenting a “plus-1”
defensive formation to an opposing offense. The intent of a
“plus-1” defense positions an extra defender “in the box” against the
current blocking formation (read: the offensive wall) it faces.
In its base form, a 3-3 defensive set, when fronting a standard 5-man
OL, provides that extra defender (6 on 5) just prior to the snap of the
ball. If a TE (read: NU’s superback), is positioned
originally at the end of the OL or if he motions from his initial slot
receiver location to a new position off the outside shoulder of an OT,
becoming a 6th potential blocker in the OL formation’s wall, then one
of the Puck’s 5 DBs originally positioned in the 3-3-5 defensive
secondary, would step-up into the defensive box as an extra LB before
the snap of the ball - maintaining the “plus-1” numerical advantage of
defenders-to-blockers (7 on 6). Bottom line: the “plus-1”
front is essentially a strategic over-commitment – a sell-out, if you
will – to counter an opponent’s superior rushing attack, in which the
relative physical/skill-level advantage(s) of the individual 1-on-1
defender-to-blocker matchups along the LOS have been predetermined to
rest with the O-lineman. Mind you, this “negative” assessment is
not necessarily an overt criticism of the competitive competency of
one’s defensive personnel; it’s merely an honest valuation by a
coaching staff that the individual defender has a physical or
skill-level disadvantage against the lineman he faces across the
LOS. If such a disadvantage is identified, then it becomes a
defensive priority to game-plan for that shortfall as a measure to
neutralize the recognized advantage. The “plus-1” 3-3-5 defensive
formation is one such neutralizing strategy. Nevada’s defensive
brain trust employed this “plus-1” D to near perfection against OC Mick
McCall’s O, confusing and/or neutralizing the bigger, stronger ‘Cat
linemen with numbers in the box. Throughout much of H-1 and
continuing into H-2, this strategy bottled-up JJTBC in the NU offensive
backfield, forcing him to search for the running play’s intended hole
or seam for a critical fraction of a second instead of driving into
& through that point-of-attack straightaway. In that moment’s
hesitation, when JJTBC danced or made a hop-cut behind his blocking
wall instead of blasting through a created seam, the pigskin was never
advanced with much authority more than a token yard or two beyond the
LOS. Consequently, Nevada’s “plus-1” defense routinely dictated
limited yardage production gains and compromised the ‘Cats’ expected
offensive field play control via their rush attack. In other
words, the “plus-1" worked like a charm.
Next, it must be stated that Nevada’s 3-3-5 D didn’t assume a passive
read-&-react profile at the snap of the ball, but attacked the LOS
with reckless abandon – underscoring the “all-or-nothing” sell-out
profile of this stuff-the-run defensive strategy. Even a cursive
viewing of BTN game replays verified that it was the Woof Puck
defensive brain trust’s intention to shoot a defender into either the
A-gap (between OC & OG) or the B-gap (between the OG-OT) – and
frequently into both – on virtually every down from game’s opening
whistle to its final gun. Regardless of whether it was a LB
blitz, DB red-dog or a DT slant-shooting into an assigned target gap in
the OL wall, the defensive objective remained the same: get penetration
into the NU backfield and disrupt offensive flow, especially on
expected rushing downs. When coupled with their “plus-1”
in-the-box defensive numbers tactic, Nevada’s aggressive “shoot-the-gap
first; ask-for-forgiveness later” profile consistently stymied the
Purple OL’s charge off the LOS and subsequently kept any RB who
attempted to lug the bean into the face of this sell-out D
second-guessing where to advance the pigskin when it was deposited
in-hand by QB Clayton Thorson. The frustrating thing was… Fitz
and OC McCall kept trying to utilize their ground-n-pound rushing
attack throughout H-1 despite witnessing the much less-than-expected
yardage gains allowed by the Woof Puck’s sell-out D, especially on 1st
& 2nd downs – which positioned the Purple O right into the
crosshairs of Nevada HC Norvell’s defensive game plan. If only
Norvell & his feisty D could capitalize on the reputed
arrogance/obstinacy of NU’s offensive brain trust to entice their home
team foe to continue exercising this rush attack-first offensive
mindset, the path would be paved for the Woof Pucks to deliver a
similar final game result that was laid on the Wildcats in their first
2 games from 2016.
Last but not least, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a 3rd major
factor that contributed heavily in how the Nevada Woof Pucks, a
24-point “on the road”’ dog, nearly pulled-off a monumental upset
against a “full of themselves” NU Wildcats squad. And that factor
was: the totally craptastic Wildcat OL’s initial charge technique off
the snap of the ball. To say that the technique was merely
“lacking” would be, at the very least, pointedly ignoring the obvious;
and at the worst, blatantly delusional. Speaking bluntly, they
S-U-C-K-E-D. As a matter of fact, the unit sucked eggs BIG TIME;
and provided an enormous assist in the efficacy of the combined
“plus-1” and “shoot-the-gap” strategy utilized by Nevada’s D.
Basically, the initial movement of every ‘Cat OL, to a man, at the
snap, was to come-out of his initial 2 or 3-point stance and lift his
head straight up – essentially to stand upright – which exposed his
chest & neck to the defender across from him on the LOS.
Conversely, every Nevada DL, to a man, was coached to shoot forward
“low-&-hard” across the LOS either into his designated
gap-responsibility area or straight into his target OL to neutralize
his opponent’s charge. A fundamental football mantra of “correct”
1-on-1, defender-on-blocker engagement that is drummed-into every
football player at any level by his coaches, from pee wee ball to the
pros: “The low man wins the one-on-one.” Period... End of
story. When NU’s OL initial stand up motion met the Nevada DL’s
shoot low-&-hard motion… guess who won the battle of the
trenches? Simply stated, the Wildcat OL got stuffed with
head-scratching regularity, and, with it, NU’s ground game was stuffed
summarily in the process. Observing this mystifying piss-poor
technique through my binoculars while seated in the West stands, all I
could do was ask myself: “Does any NU line coach teach correct “off the
ball” drive technique at Northwestern anymore?” From
watching NU football program videos like “The Foundation” I know for a
fact that Fitz and his coaching staff, indeed, do. Then a second,
related Q drifted into my head: “But was any of the Big Uglies
listening?” Given the OL’s overall field play that I witnessed
firsthand from the stands in H-1 and what was confirmed via viewing
multiple BTN game replays, the gut-wrenching answer was: “Not often
enough.”
And this dog-lay “off the ball” drive technique wasn’t limited to the
OL, but plagued every Wildcat DL as well. Emulating what their OL
teammates had done on their side of the LOS, Doc’s DL constantly stood
upright right out from their initial stance and likewise, got stuffed
by their lower-positioned Nevada blockers. Once again, when
viewing game replays, it wasn’t difficult to notice what was happening
(or not happening) with the DL’s so-called off-the-ball “drive.”
By standing straight up, ‘Cat DL failed to shed their blocker or to
merely take the fight to the Nevada side of the LOS with any
regularity. Consequently, they never were able to initiate much
of a push into the Nevada offensive backfield to either pursue the
visiting team’s ball carrier or pressure their QB. Virtually
every one of Doc’s “Big Dog” DL personnel (I refuse to mention
individual player names, but you can view replays and identify the
guilty parties on your own with ease) resembled a whooped puppy rather
than a starting B1G defensive linemen. Throughout most of H-1,
Nevada’s OL pushed ‘Cat DL off the LOS on rushing plays or locked horns
with the Purple linemen on passing downs and never allowed them to get
viable separation until the play was near over. It was painful to
observe. In particular on Nevada pass plays, after having stood
straight up on their own, Wildcat DL could be seen hand fighting and
belly-bumping their OL blockers instead of shedding them, giving Woof
Pack QB Ty Gangi all the time necessary to scan NU’s secondary for an
open WR target. Thankfully, Gangi’s passing acumen was relatively
piss-poor in its own right and, therefore, he never made ‘Cats’ D pay
the full price for their collective failure to get into his grill
whenever he dropped back to pass behind his pocket protection.
However, it must be noted that both of Gangi’s TD passes in H-1 were
completed with little to no pressure because the ‘Cat DL couldn’t get
their pass rush going specifically due to this horrible “off the ball”
initial drive. Video replay of the game does not belie this
fact.
Thank Gawd for halftime locker room “discussions” and adjustments…
How the ‘Cats Collared the Woof Pucks
“Jesus Is Just Alright”
As stated above, IMHO, a “Come To Jesus” moment was needed to rattle
the cage of the collective Wildcat O in order get their heads right
(read: out of their moons) and their competitive juices free flowing
again after a disturbingly mundane (or “less than average”) H-1
performance. Of course, I don’t know what was said during NU’s
halftime locker room respite, but it sure made one hellova impact, so
I’ll just describe it with the phrase: the ultimate spiritual revival
encounter. Whatever may or may not have happened or was said, one
thing was abundantly clear… the ‘Wildcat team, as a whole,
returned to the green grass of Dyche’s Ditch for the start of H-2 and
began to truly play “En Fuego” or as Fitz has been quoted in prior
post-game pressers, “Like Your Hair is On Fire.”
The result: On NU’s first two consecutive offensive possessions of Q3,
Clayton Thorson and Co. scored 10 points to even the score at 17
apiece. In addition, a similar competitive resolve was
reestablished on the ‘Cats’ defensive side of the LOS, with Doc
Hankwitz’ troops keeping the Woof Puck O at bay and forcing them to
turn the ball over on downs to the ‘Cat O on Nevada’s first 4
possessions in H-2, The only true scoring threat mounted by
Nevada in this 2nd stanza was the direct result of a hand-delivered
brainfart INT at the 11:31 mark of Q4 during which a badly miss-thrown
Thorson pass from deep in his own territory was picked-off, giving the
Puck offense starting field position at the Purple 17. Undaunted
by this turnover, the ’Cat D went right to work and administered a
3-&-out stoning of this crucial Nevada possession, limiting its
potential damage to a 26-yard FG that gave the Woof Pucks a brief 20-17
lead that lasted all of just under 5 minutes. With that chippie
FG registered on the scoreboard, Nevada’s point production was over for
the remainder of the contest.
Apparently, Fitz and his coaching staff got the full attention of their
entire team over the 20 minutes of that halftime locker room skull
session. ‘Nuf said.
Band of Brothers
Throughout the winter months and extending into the preseason,
collegiate pigskin pundits and amateur evaluators alike questioned who
would step-up to fill the graduated field play shoes of NU’s surprise
2016 All-B1G WR Austin Carr. Those Qs were answered with
definitive conviction during last Saturday’s grapple against the Nevada
Woof Pucks: the entire Wildcat receiving corps. Many a casual
observer most likely would have proffered that claim to fame to NU’s
Super Soph WR, Bennett Skoronek, owning to his 8 receptions that reaped
an admirable 123 yards to the Wildcat’s total pass yardage
production. However, Mr. Skowronek wasn’t flying solo on the WR
stat sheet, but was just one of many among the Purple receiving corps
who made substantial pass reception contributions over full 60 minutes
of the season opener. Macan Wilson’s 3 grabs for 77 yards & a
TD, coupled with Riley Lees’ 2 completions for 35 clicks & his own
TD, Flynn Nagel’s 29 yards off 4 receptions and Garrett Dickerson’s
additional 4 snatches for another 29 yards provided a pass receiving
conglomerate that was instrumental in NU’s effort to dispatch the very
game visiting team from Reno. Of course, none of this would have
been possible if not for QB Clayton Thorson’s vastly improved passing
game. The superior skillset of OC Mick McCall’s primary playmaker
sealed the deal, especially in H-2.
Maestro, Take A Bow…
To say that Clayton Thorson had a career best day is nothing less than
pure understatement. Combine his 28 pass completions off 38
attempts (just south of 75%), which collected 352 total yards and 2
TDs, with his 2 TDs off QB sneaks at the Nevada goal line, then one can
readily recognize Clayton’s highlight reel 4 TD afternoon. The
only other B1G offensive playmaker with comparable game stats during
the conference’s 2017 season opening weekend was Da BuckNuts Senior QB,
JT Barrett, who collected 304 passing yards & 3 TDs along with
another 61 rushing & a 4th TD. As a result, the media pundits
shunned Thorson’s epic offensive day and presented the B1G’s
Co-Offensive POW laurels to Mr. Barrett, along with State Penn RG
Shaquan Barkley. I guess one might expect such a pass-over when
your team is a 24-point home team favorite over your season opener
opponent. So be it. NU and Mr. Thorson have another 11
contests in 2017 to make the appropriate impression that will get
acknowledged by those usual suspect evaluators.
One factoid that might be overlooked among Thorson’s gaudy statistics
against Nevada is that he distributed the bean across 8 individual
receiver targets. In addition, his overall body language, his
recognizable composure under fire and his projected field play presence
of mind as he calmly scanned the Nevada secondary for open receiving
targets, either from behind his pocket protection or off a designed
roll-out motion (as seen through my binocs) showed that the Junior QB
was in complete control of himself and the Wildcat O as NU’s primary
ball handler for the entire game. It was downright impressive.
Although one might take the pragmatic perspective that it’s too early
for any definitive prognostication to be made following this opening
game performance, I’ll take a giant leap of faith to declare… In
2017, Clayton has raised his real time QB command-of-the-game to the
next level of collegiate competency. Usually, the most
substantial improvement in field play for either a football team or an
individual player during a single season is realized over the week from
game No. 1 to game No. 2. Hopefully, Mr. Thorson will continue
this upwardly mobile trajectory as this fall’s pigskin campaign
progresses. I can’t wait to see what the near future
holds.
Conclusion
Although one might have considered the 2017 Nevada Woof Puck team a
Twinkie primed & ready to be served-up for a thorough noshing, they
proved themselves a game and competitive opponent. Kudos must be
given to Nevada HC Jay Norvell and his coaching staff for their
outstanding work at getting this team prepared as well as it was for
the road test of battling Fitz and his ‘Cats in their inaugural season
as a newly installed coaching regime. In my mind’s eye, they
proved themselves worthy of further positive consideration from college
football media types and they most certainly were not a true 24-point
underdog. Make no mistake, Nevada WILL make some noise in their
Mountain West conference campaign this fall. Which means NU was
challenged and rose to the meet & defeat it, as opposed to what
happened in their opening game foibles of 2016. It’s all a very
good thing.
So now the ‘Cats hit the road to face the Dookie Blue Imps in a hot,
hostile and, most likely, rainy environment in Durham, NC. The
Blue Imps are currently full of themselves after having thoroughly
thumped a hapless and hopelessly over-matched North Carolina Central
team once again – this time by a 60-7 score, a margin of victory that
bested the Imps’ thrashings over these NCCU weak-sisters from the
previous 3-4 seasons by an average of 30 or more points on each
occasion. Over the last 2 seasons, Fitz’ Wildcats have taken the
measure of Dookie HC David Cutcliff’s Blue Imps in a 9-point roadie and
an 11-point home “W,” respectively, Now, in 2017, the Dookies
feel that they are as prepared as they could ever be for some
long-overdue payback. All I can say is: “Bring it on,
Dog!!!” Frankly, I truly don’t think that those “off the ball”
drive technique failures from last Saturday’s grapple against Nevada
will carry-over to this weekend and be evident in the field play of
either Wildcat OL or DL squad. This Saturday will tell the tale
for certain.
The Waterboy
“Win with Grace, Lose with Dignity”
He’s a Lumberjack
This week’s Lumberjack Trophy has been postponed because there wasn’t a
true notable slobber-knocker kiss laid on any Nevada player by a
Wildcat player at on any down last Saturday.
I had given some token thought towards giving this award to the
entire Wildcat receiving corps for their overall outstanding field play
in NU’s efficient passing attack against Nevada. But then again,
their job as WRs is to avoid the big hit, identify and sprint to the
open area in one of the zones in the opponent’s secondary and snag the
bean as it is delivered by QB Clayton Thorson. Theirs is a unique
and profoundly valuable skillset to be sure, but certainly it’s not one
of slobber-knocker variety. So no, the executive decision has
been made that ‘Cat WRs don’t get this week’s award.
|
The Waterboy is a former football player
and a Northwestern
alumnus. Aside from these facts, he has no affiliation with
Northwestern University. The commentary he posts here is his
own, and does not necessarily reflect the views of HailToPurple.com.
