Oct. 10, 2017
Surprise, Surprise!!!
I truly don’t know what’s the appropriate font to use when a blogger
like myself attempts sarcasm within a written piece, so I’ll assume the
target words be set in underscored italics with a several exclamation
points following. So be it, at least in this commentary.
Of all the pre-game analytics, the most poignant was Wisky’s reputed
superiority in personnel, per position, as compared with those same
positions on Fitz’ 2017 Wildcat team. Of particular note was the
Drunkard’s much better regarded OL, DL and RB positions, all of whom
proved their individual worth over the course of the hard fought
contest. However, it must be noted that in H-1, NU more than held
their own with these positional players, maintaining competitive
opposition that led directly to the ‘Cats capturing a very well earned
10-7 lead going into the halftime locker rooms. That small
3-point lead hinted of a possible, if not improbable upset of the No.
10 ranked Drunkards in the making, if NU could just keep that
competitive profile alive & kicking in the second
half.
● Surprise No. 1: H-1 Turn Overs
Three atypical home team turnovers in the first half will do wonders
for bolstering the fragile psyche of a prohibitive underdog like the
visiting ‘Cats when facing the Big Bad Wisky Drunkards and their rabid,
out-for-blood fanbase of 81K seated in the stands of Camp
Randall. In essence, the recovered fumble on the game’s first
play, augmented by 2 INTs in H-1 leveled the playing field, if only by
punishing the Drunkard O to endure 3 virtual quiet time-out sessions –
forcing them to ride pine on their sidelines while providing the ‘Cat O
an additional 3 possessions. Those TOs had the potential, in
fact, to become monumental game-changers. Unfortunately, Clayton
Thorson & the Purple O never capitalized completely on these
surprising French pastry turnovers, served-up hot & flaky by their
motivated Purple D counterparts, by converting them into crucially
valuable points on the scoreboard. In fact, one could easily
conclude that the paltry 3 points delivered by the Wildcat O from those
3extra offensive series proffered Wisky’s O a sense of self-confidence
at having dodged a trio of kill-shot bullets whizzing by their
cheese-heads from the sniper rifles of the fired-up Wildcat D
Badger-hunters. All Wisky QB Alex Hornibrook and his resilient O
needed to do was to put those 3 gaffes in the rearview mirror, respond
with appropriate resolve to convert upon their scoreboard tallied good
fortune provided by the Drunkard D then focus on performing to their
usual yardage production standards. And they did so in H-2 with a
vengeance.
● Surprise No. 2: ‘Cat Stuffed Badger
Wisky’s standard paradigm for victory on the gridiron has been
virtually the same over its last 3 consecutive coaching regimes – first
conceived & employed under the HC scrutiny of Barry Alvarez, who
now holds UofW’s AD reins; then used next under Bret Bielema, who in
2012 inexplicably switched residence from MadTown to Fayetteville,
Arkansas assuming the HC of UofArk after a stellar HC stint for the
Drunkards leading them to 3 Rose Bowl bids; and finally executed under
current mad scientist HC Paul Chryst, who is building the perfect
pigskin beast of his own. That model for consistent excellence is
simple: control the time of possession via a superior, clock-consuming
ground game, thereby shortening the match to an approximate 30-45
minute arm wrestle; strangle the opponent’s offense by controlling the
LOS; then score on at least 33% of your total offensive series.
And over the last dozen or more campaigns, that game plan has worked
like a charm, allowing Wisky to win multiple B1G titles in the
process. To his credit, Pat Fitzgerald (and his coaching staff)
has recognized the intrinsic value of this effective paradigm and has
tried to emulate it as best he can throughout his tenure as Wildcat HC,
albeit with relatively “lesser talent” across his 2-deep roster.
However, in one of the most welcome surprises of all last Saturday, the
‘Cats’ defensive front 7, under the mentorship of former Wisky DC, now
current Northwestern DC, Doc Hankwitz, stood toe-to-toe with the
Drunkard’s formidable ground-n-pound O, and, for the most part, were
winning many of the individual 1-on-1 grapples with their Wisky
combatants across the LOS throughout H-1. The consequence of
these “singular 1-on1 match-play victories,” when summed together into
one massive effort, was that Doc’s heat-seeking missile defensive front
7 run-stoppers stuffed the Wisky O’s rushing attack at the LOS,
strangling the red-clad team’s capacity to keep the bean in hand and
control the game clock. In other words, NU was executing the
Wisky victory paradigm better than the Drunkards did. The ‘Cats
won the TOP (time of possession) battle, 17 minutes to 13 minutes;
restricted Wisky’s prolific ground-n-pound rushing attack to 66 net
yards, with 2 TFLs and a forced fumble & recovery; sacked Drunkard
QB Hornibrook twice while consistently harassing him, all of which
limited his characteristically unstoppable yardage production to 48
total yards off 5-for-11 pass completions with an additional sweet 2
INTs to boot. SURPRISE!!!, Doc’s D played lights-out and gagged
the usually raucous Drunkard fans in attendance into an eerie silence
at the conclusion of H-1. If only the game had ended after those
opening 30 minutes… But it didn’t.
● Surprise No. 3: Burnin’ Desire
A quote from the 1999 comedic science fiction film Galaxy Quest: “Don’t Give Up; Never Give Up.”
True to form, Wisky stormed out of their halftime locker room and
played like their hair was on fire, scoring an astonishing 24
consecutive points off their first 4 offensive possessions in
H-2. Needless to say, the ‘Cats were shell shocked and reeling in
its aftermath. After having been summarily thrown face-first down
this deep 31-10 hole with a little less than 10 minutes left in the
contest, the daunting deficit faced by the somnolent Clayton Thorson
& Co. offense appeared more than dire, it seemed downright
insurmountable. Upon returning to the gridiron after their
halftime respite in H-2, the ‘Cat O was stoned on 5 sequential series,
gaining an embarrassingly ignominious 10 total yards; and there was
little, if any indication that this scenario would change much in the
final 10 clicks. Exposed to such overwhelming odds, most any
other Purple O in prior seasons would have folded their tents, cinched
them to the backs of their camels and limped back to the soothing
waters of their Evanston oasis to lick their wounds and reflect upon
the steamrolling by the Drunkard D that had rendered them into roadkill
sail-cats (read: what a run-over kitty looks like after being squished
into something resembling a pancake on I-94 then baked to a hardened
Frisbee-like state under a whole day of scorching 98 degree
sunshine).
Then, SURPRISE!!!, something remarkable happened as the downtrodden
‘Cats gathered their wits enough to pull their collective heads out
from their moons in time to mount an utterly unbelievable
comeback. On NU’s 6th possession of H-2, Wildcat OC Mick McCall
shelved his Wisky-styled ball-hawking offensive game plan and dialed-up
his vertical passing attack that had laid dormant for most of the
previous 50 minutes. Finally permitted to flex his aerial acumen,
QB Clayton Thorson responded to this long overdue change in game plan
and piloted the Purple O to TD paydirt via a 13-play, 75 yard drive
that burned over half of the remaining 10 minutes off the scoreboard
clock and cut the ‘Cat deficit to 14 points. Inspired by this
swift turn of events from the ‘Cats’ offense, Doc’s D stoned the Wisky
O into a rare but equally critical 3-n-out series, forcing a
change-in-possession punt within the shadow of the Drunkard’s goal line
at their own 3 yard line – a boot that afforded NU’s O its first true
short field starting position of H-2, at the ‘Cat 45. In the
ensuing possession, Mr. Thorson went into aerial overdrive to
efficiently push the bean those 55 yards in 7 plays via the vertical
pass to score a 2nd amazing TD – accomplished in a miniscule 88
seconds. NU’s 2 TDs in 7 minutes made it a 7-point game with
approximately 3 minutes left on the game clock – just enough time for
McCall’s QB to wave his aerial magic wand to concoct a highlight reel,
game-clinching scoring drive… if Doc’s D could come through in the
clutch once more following a recovery of the expected on-side kick
attempt. When Wisky’s “good hands” kick return unit grabbed the
pill off the on-side kick at the ‘Cat 43, the game’s outcome seemed
relegated to its logical fait accompli. But as fate would have
it… SURPRISE!!!. The Purple D delivered a 2nd consecutive 3-n-out
stoning of the Wisky O, once again forcing the Drunkards to punt the
bean over to the ‘Cat O and its white hot QB, Clayton Thorson, with
1:09 remaining. Suddenly, the match’s intensity meter, flat-lined
a mere 9 minutes before, now was pegged dead red. My heart raced
with in anticipation of relishing what just might be a fantastic
finishing kick by the thoroughbred Cardiac ‘Cats offense as it rounded
the far turn and sprinted into its final furlong stretch run to the “W”
wire. Just then, a crazy thought popped into my head… “What
shoulda, woulda, coulda been had OC-turned-jockey Mick McCall loosened
his tight-fisted game plan reins to allow this Thorson-led aerial
circus racehorse to run wild at the start of Q4?” The reply to
this rhetorical question came to me just as quickly: “Better late than
never, Mick!”
How Wisky Turned NU Into Sail-Cats
Lips Knocked Off
In his post-game media session, HC Pat Fitz used this damning phrase to
aptly describe just how poorly his OL played for the 1st 50 minutes of
the game. Simply stated, NU’s offensive line was horrible beyond
imagination, even during the desperation TD drives of NU’s monumental
comeback bid in mid Q4. To be perfectly clear, allow me to
emphatically state that message once more… The Wildcat OL was
absolutely horrible. The most effective strategy to blow-up the
blocking schemes of the 2017 Wildcat OL was demonstrated during the
’Cats’ season opener bug tussle against the Nevada Woof Pucks – unleash
your defensive front 7 war hounds to attack the LOS with reckless
abandon from the opening whistle to the final gun. And never,
ever let up. By either driving straight into the chicklets of the
individual NU OL’s grill or shooting the A-gap (between OC & OG) or
the B-Gap (between the OG & OT), the players populating OL coach
Adam Cushing’s unit cannot or will not pick-up and block these opposing
players on a consistent basis as they execute pile-drive, bull rush
attack techniques across the LOS and into the NU offensive
backfield. In doing so, the collective blocking capabilities of
NU’s OL can and will be neutralized. This red letter deficiency
was exposed and exploited by the Nevada defensive brain trust and
obviously was identified and mimicked first by the Dookies in their
blowout “W” against the ‘Cats, and again last Saturday by Wisky’s
defensive coaching staff.
Examples of the Purple OL’s exceedingly craptastic field play blocking can be viewed everywhere on the BTN game video.
● On the ‘Cats’ first possession following the forced
fumble recovery on the Drunkards very 1st play from scrimmage, Thorson
& Co. faced a 3rd-n-1 at the Wisky 15. Of course, McCall’s
mindset was to stick to his original offensive game plan of ball
control & clock management, so he called for a quick snap dive into
the LOS with JJTBC toting the bean and the OL utilizing stretch
blocking to the short side of the field (the right side of the
LOS). The Wisky D set 9 in the box: 5 DL, 2 LBs & both
safeties pulled-in at the LB level. This defensive set screamed
for Thorson to audible to a short controlled pass of any kind, but
instead, he ran the called play. I swear that UW’s defensive
brain trust knew full well the play-calling tendency of Fitz and McCall
in this down-distance scenario. The LOT got stuffed by the Wisky
DT & pushed 2 yards into the NU backfield, straight in the grill of
JJTBC, stopping him before he took a 2nd step towards the LOS with ball
in hand. Meanwhile, the right DE crashed to the inside of the
LOS, and with NU’s LOT getting his butt blasted backwards, he had a
free, unblocked line to JJTBC and hit Jackson flush & hard, driving
him to the turf for a 2 yard TFL. Talk about getting your lips knocked
off… First, the called play was totally wrong for the defensive
formation it faced; second, the blocking scheme (stretch blocking to
the right side of LOS) was absolutely inappropriate for a dive play
when attacking 9 defenders in the box; thirdly, the LOT got his azz
handed to him halting JJTBC in his tracks; and lastly, the crashing DE
was left unblocked by the NU SB across from him (which actually
appeared to be an influence block intended to let the DE overshoot the
ball carrier, which he didn’t do). The wrong play coupled with
categorically piss poor blocking by the OL killed any momentum the
‘Cats had garnered via the remarkable forced fumble recovery deep in
Wisky’s territory. This one play set an ominous “Red D vs Purple
O” precedent for the majority of the game.
● On the ‘Cats’ second possession following a booming
48 yard punt that was fair-caught by PR Flynn Nagel at the ‘Cat 7,
Thorson & Co. faced a 3rd-n-9 down. When Thorson grabbed the
snap from center standing in shotgun positon behind his “wall” of OL
blockers, the same LOT mentioned in the bullet point above got his azz
handed to him for the 2nd time in consecutive offensive series when his
blocking target, a stunting-blitzing LB, bull rushed him flush into his
grill, lifted the overwhelmed LOT clear off his feet then pancaked him
flat on his derrière a yard in front of the feet of
Thorson. (I always assumed that a pancake was when an offensive
player, usually an OL, rudely deposited his defensive blocking target
on his behind. My bad, I guess). Meanwhile, the Wisky DE, a
true frosh starting in his first career B1G game, in a designed stunt,
slanted to his right across the LOS & flush into the chicklets of
NU’s Senior SB, blasted him straight backwards and into Thorson chest
in approximately 2 seconds time then planted the QB for what was to be
the first sack by the Drunkard D for the day. Can you say: “Lips
Knocked off?”
● 10 sacks given up by the Purple OL – an NU and B1G
record. Craptastic “Lips Knocked off” blocking confirmed.
● NU rushing statistics for the game: 67 total yards
rushing off 20 attempts (this total does not include Thorson’s plus 15
yards rushing and his minus 51 yards from the 10 sacks added into the
mix). Craptastic blocking re-confirmed… Most
definitely. ‘Nuff said.
My stomach is turning over with the recollection of this whole sorted
mess; so I’ll stop here for an overdue Maalox moment.
Lack of Discipline
To beat the No. 10 ranked team in Division 1A, a team must play a near
perfect game over the full 60 minutes. Unfortunately, NU’s
defensive secondary didn’t – and that unit’s collective multiple
brainfarts cost the ‘Cats dearly. True, this unit played very
well in H-1, limiting Wisky’s media darling QB Alex Hornibrook to 48
total yards on 5-for-11 pass attempts with a forced fumble and 2 INTs
to boot, all of which contributed mightily towards NU holding a
tentative 10-7 scoring edge going into halftime. However, I truly
cannot say with any certainty what exactly occurred in H-2, but there
were coverage breakdowns across many of these same players to fuel the
imagination of interested onlookers such as myself. Perhaps the
members comprising this unit just ran out of gas or their individual
coverage deficiencies basically got exposed (e.g.: getting suckered
into run support mode reacting to a Wisky play-action pass play,
instead of preserving discipline for their original pass coverage
responsibilities), but the personnel from this unit didn’t play to the
lofty playmaking reputation that earmarked them as a definite strength
of the Wildcat D in several preseason evaluations.
On the 3rd play from scrimmage in H-2, Hornibrook connected with
favorite WR, Quintez Cephus for a 61-yard explosion pitch-n-catch with
the veteran but oft injured Wildcat DB, Kyle Quero, in coverage,
setting the table for an 11 yard TD scamper by Wisky’s feature RB,
Frosh Phenom Jonathan Taylor on the very next play that erased NU’s
short-lived lead and handed the home team a 14-10 scoreboard
advantage. On Wisky’s 2nd offensive series of the 2nd half,
Hornibrook connected with fav WR #2, Danny Davis, for a 32-yard
explosion pitch-n-catch with Montre Hartage covering, giving the
Drunkards a 1st down at the NU 6. 2 plays later, the Wisky QB
found Davis again for TD No.2 in as many H-2 possessions, expanding the
Drunkard’s lead to 21-10, having burned a measly 3:50 off the
scoreboard clock between scores. Clearly, Wisky’s offensive brain
trust uncovered an exploitable chink in the coverage armor of the
Purple team’s secondary. And the route was apparently on. A
3rd explosion pitch-n-catch completion, that gained 33-yards and
relocated the LOS at the ‘Cat 11, set-up a Wisky FG that added another
3 points, pushing the Drunkard lead to 24-10. At this juncture, I
felt that the Wildcat defensive secondary was breaking down and gassed
simply because Mick McCall’s offense was mired in the muck of their 4
sequential 3-n-out series that spanned all of Q3 and into Q4. The
fatigued ‘Cat DBs failed to maintain their collective pass coverage
disciplines and were falling victim to Wisky’s typical ball control
formula for victory. Ugh!!!
Shaken, Rattled & Rolled
To beat the No. 10 ranked team in Division 1A, a team must play a near
perfect game over the full 60 minutes. Unfortunately,
NU’s ballyhooed, “NFL-Ready!!!” QB didn’t – and he hurt his team when
it mattered most. Upon multiple review sessions of BTN replay
video, I’ve come the conclusion that Clayton Thorson did not (or wasn’t
permitted to) audible when NU’s O faced a Wisky defensive set that was
designed to stone that specific play cold – a restriction that was over
and above the defense recognition factor. I could be wrong, but
IMHO, Mr. Thorson was apparently handcuffed by some irrevocable
dictum that mandated him to execute the exact play called by NU’s
offensive brain trust (read: OC Mick McCall), because, when it was an
absolute necessity to steer the Wildcat attack away from the Wisky D’s
pre-set area of strength, he never did so. Then again, perhaps he
couldn’t switch to a more potentially successful play choice owning to
the cumulative effects sustained from the incessant physical beat down
that 10 sacks, multiple hurries and frequent post-release hits are
bound to deliver on the Senior QB’s body, to say nothing regarding the
associated mental beating he endured over the first 50 minutes of the
contest. As the beat down continued into Q4, it became painfully
obvious that Thorson was pressing hard to make a significant play, or
any positive play for that matter, that could reverse NU’s somnolent
offense back to its proactive, competitive self. I believe that
his competitive mental state to make such a play was the major
contributing factor that led Thorson to lose his sense of QB composure
and throw a desperation pass on a 3rd-n-8 down from the NU 27 during
the ‘Cats’ first possession of Q4 with the Wisky pass rush flush in his
face. That ill-advised pass attempt resulted in a Pick-6 INT by
the Wisky secondary and handed the Drunkards a gift-wrapped defensive
TD that increased the Wildcat deficit to 21 point (setting the score at
31-10). I also believe that this impactful gaffe shook
Thorson from his painful funk to reboot his mental computer to call
& complete the play(s) that he is/was capable of making.
However, the lasting damage had been done because those critical 7
points off that Pick-6 represented Wisky’s margin for victory as the
final gun sounded to end NU’s comeback bid.
Still, despite all the negatives regarding the ‘Cats’ prior offensive
field play breakdowns, Clayton & Co. had ball in hand with 69
clicks left on the game clock to deliver some miracle ESPN Top Ten
highlight drive to tie the score at 31 all. That pipe dream
proved itself to be as short-lived as it was a fanciful fabrication
when the ‘Cats stared at the formidable playmaking challenges of
pushing the bean 97 yards to score that crazy equalizer TD in the
game’s final minute. The fact that Thorson held onto the pill
much too long while scrambling around his own end zone scanning the
Wisky secondary for an open WR target only to get sacked one final time
for a game-ending safety, was no great surprise. It was simply
the last reality check in a series of previous reality checks shoved
down the throats of the Wildcat O at the hands of the well-coached
Drunkard D. It’s what the 10th ranked team within the pantheon of
2017 Division 1A football programs is supposed to do when battling a
pesky, weaker conference foe that will not surrender
meekly.
Vanilla Is Still… Well, Vanilla
Silly me… I must admit that I played the ultimate fool after last
weekend’s blowout “W” against the ‘Cats’ previous opponent,
BuGS-U. That was the game in which NU’s offensive brain trust
rolled-out a game plan that included a heavy dose of their vertical
passing attack. So naturally, I assumed that the yardage
production success that Thorson & his WR corps had garnered against
the Gnats the previous Saturday would be reprised against the No. 10
ranked Wisky Drunkards, if only to set-up the Purple’s rushing attack
and loosen-up an opposing D whose first priority was to keep a lid on
the ‘Cats’ elusive feature back, JJTBC. Boy, was I ever wrong on
that supposition.
I’ve repeatedly harped on the dubious play calling of Fitz and his OC
Mick McCall in comments above, so I won’t belabor the point(s) by
restating them here. Suffice it to say that if a team’s offensive
play callers insist on rolling-out and executing plays from the same
section of the offensive playbook week in and week out, like holding
fast to a game plan with a hefty emphasis on the rushing attack, if
that plan doesn’t produce expected results, then it’s incumbent upon
those same play callers to switch to other playbook chapters in which
their O has demonstrated success in prior game time situations.
It took Fitz & McCall 50 minutes to reach that change point, and
when they did, their QB, their WR corps and their much maligned OL
responded with some of their best offensive field play of the contest
via the vertical passing game. Again… If only that change point
had arrived 10 minutes earlier and allowed the Purple D enough time to
catch their collective breaths and, perhaps, had given Thorson pause to
reconsider the consequences of his frenetic attempt to pull a scoring
rabbit out of his Purple helmet. Yes, this ka-vitching is all
shoulda, woulda, coulda; but it’s a substantial item of note. The
deep scar from that damn avoidable Pick-6 is gonna smart for quite a
long time.
Conclusion
So after losing their B1G conference opener against the reigning West
Division champion Wisky Drunkards, the Wildcats’ preseason goal of
competing for that elusive B1G Division championship is nothing more
than a painful distant memory. If that train ever reappears, it
will be the direct result of another West Division team having their
way with the Big, Bad Badgers if/when they deliver the goods off their
own successful upset bid. Frankly, those trump cards ain’t in the
hand that the ‘Cats have dealt themselves. The only thing left to
do from this point forward is flush the past and exercise the
appropriate due diligence to control the challenges that are currently
visible in your sniper scope – and the immediate target in the
Wildcats’ crosshairs is the 4th ranked Division 1A State Penn Inmates,
NU’s homecoming foe this coming Saturday. If the ‘Cats play the
entire 60 minutes of that grudge match with the same ultra-competitive
passion, heart and intelligence demonstrated over those final 10
minutes from last Saturday’s come-from-behind effort against the
Drunkards, they can and will acquit themselves with the pride of
knowing that they played their very best ball of the 2017 season thus
far, regardless of the final scoreboard tally.
I fully expect the ‘Cats to do just that.
The Waterboy
“Win with Grace, Lose with Dignity”
|
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.
