Joe Novak called it quits after the 2-10 '07 season. They only won two games all year. One against a horrible Idaho team and the other vs Kent. Lowlights included a loss to SIU, a loss to EMU, and giving up 70 to Toledo.

I think this year's team is better than 2007.

It better be. There were a ton of injuries in 2007.

(09-21-2016 11:01 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  It better be. There were a ton of injuries in 2007.

it was probably the most injury riddled team we've ever had.

I think you guys will get a good idea of how good this team is after this weekend. Between playing a good FCS team in WIU and WYO playing EMU, it should be a decent barometer.

Meaningless comparison because of the injury situation in 2007.

(09-21-2016 11:57 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  Meaningless comparison because of the injury situation in 2007.

You are saying that the '07 team was thin. That is a mark against them.

(09-21-2016 12:14 PM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 11:57 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  Meaningless comparison because of the injury situation in 2007.

You are saying that the '07 team was thin. That is a mark against them.

No they weren't thin. They had way more injuries than I remember in any other year.

(09-21-2016 12:45 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 12:14 PM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 11:57 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  Meaningless comparison because of the injury situation in 2007.

You are saying that the '07 team was thin. That is a mark against them.

No they weren't thin. They had way more injuries than I remember in any other year.

Exactly. I doubt if any college football team has ever had more injuries in one season. From the weekly press conference after the EMU game (the Huskies third game of the season):

Quote:Coach Joe Novak: "We have been hit real hard at the tight end spot and the defensive tackle spot. We have lost five of our top six defensive tackles. We moved Dan Keller from offensive guard to defensive tackle, so that is one of the big switches we have made. He played defensive line a little bit as a freshman, but then we asked him to move back to guard, where he played in high school. The big problem with losing all of these tackles is four out of the five are out for the year. Adam Schroeder is done, Rusch is done, Antonacci is done, and Holycross is barely hanging in there. I don't know if he will play Saturday. He could be done because of some shoulder issues. It seems like we have had more injuries in 12 years than ever. Many of these knee injuries were non-contact and it's a freak of nature. I guess the football gods have not been our side. (Marcus) Perez has a sprain in his shoulder and should be back in another week."

From the Wisconsin game notes (the Huskies eighth game of the season):

Quote:The Huskies entered the game minus nine of their top 11 defensive linemen. "By the end of the game, we had a converted offensive guard (Dan Keller) and a 220-pound defensive end (Mike Lepper) playing at our two defensive tackle spots," said NIU Head Coach Joe Novak.

Are we done here?

(09-21-2016 01:16 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  Are we done here?

Definitely heard the mic drop. Well put huskiebob

(09-21-2016 01:16 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 12:45 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 12:14 PM)Huskie_Jon Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 11:57 AM)huskiebob Wrote:  Meaningless comparison because of the injury situation in 2007.

You are saying that the '07 team was thin. That is a mark against them.

No they weren't thin. They had way more injuries than I remember in any other year.

Exactly. I doubt if any college football team has ever had more injuries in one season. From the weekly press conference after the EMU game (the Huskies third game of the season):

Quote:Coach Joe Novak: "We have been hit real hard at the tight end spot and the defensive tackle spot. We have lost five of our top six defensive tackles. We moved Dan Keller from offensive guard to defensive tackle, so that is one of the big switches we have made. He played defensive line a little bit as a freshman, but then we asked him to move back to guard, where he played in high school. The big problem with losing all of these tackles is four out of the five are out for the year. Adam Schroeder is done, Rusch is done, Antonacci is done, and Holycross is barely hanging in there. I don't know if he will play Saturday. He could be done because of some shoulder issues. It seems like we have had more injuries in 12 years than ever. Many of these knee injuries were non-contact and it's a freak of nature. I guess the football gods have not been our side. (Marcus) Perez has a sprain in his shoulder and should be back in another week."

From the Wisconsin game notes (the Huskies eighth game of the season):

Quote:The Huskies entered the game minus nine of their top 11 defensive linemen. "By the end of the game, we had a converted offensive guard (Dan Keller) and a 220-pound defensive end (Mike Lepper) playing at our two defensive tackle spots," said NIU Head Coach Joe Novak.

Are we done here?

We lost a bunch of running backs that year too. We had to convert one of our LBs to finish out the season at RB. And we were down to a walk-on Ryan Morris at QB. It was bad.

At least we had Larry English that year. He single-handily destroyed Idaho in that game. He was a beast.

Yep anyone who says injuries shouldn't be an excuse either was not born in 2007 or was not a Huskie fan yet

Another thing worth mentioning is that coach Novak could have won more games in 2007 if he had burned some red shirts. A selfish coach would have done this but Joe wanted to leave his successor in as strong a position as possible. The guy way truly a class act.

(09-21-2016 07:06 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  Another thing worth mentioning is that coach Novak could have won more games in 2007 if he had burned some red shirts. A selfish coach would have done this but Joe wanted to leave his successor in as strong a position as possible. The guy way truly a class act.

This.

2007 was a horrible year for injuries. I saw the Idaho game and 20% of the names I did not recognize. That is how bad it was. This year, we only have 2 basic positions that are banged up. That being said, we should have a higher talent level then in 2007 as well. JN was a great coach who turned this program around. There is no denying it. The issues around this team are more than the QB situation. It is line play on both sides of the ball and play calling. It's not improving as the season goes on. The play on the lines has stayed inconsistent and we are not opening holes or getting any pass rush to speak of. Those 2 things contribute to how awful this team is performing right now. I hope we beat WIU. They are a good Div 2 team.

(09-21-2016 04:14 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Yep anyone who says injuries shouldn't be an excuse either was not born in 2007 or was not a Huskie fan yet

Injuries or not, there's still a ton more talent on this team than there was on our 2007 squad. Night and day imo.

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(09-22-2016 07:03 PM)Suptroop Wrote:  

(09-21-2016 04:14 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Yep anyone who says injuries shouldn't be an excuse either was not born in 2007 or was not a Huskie fan yet

Injuries or not, there's still a ton more talent on this team than there was on our 2007 squad. Night and day imo.

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I agree there is more talent on this v. our 2007 team, which makes things much more frustrating!

Dumb ass proposition. BTW, the 07 team had a 1st round draft pick.on it. Not sure I see top a 3 round pick. That 07 true FR class was the backbone on a couple Mac champ gamws and won 2011 title