It seems to me that a lot of people on this board think that the defense is going to be the nucleus of the team this season (including me). But does anyone else out there think that there will be games where the defense struggles and the offense surprisingly keeps us in the game? I remember last year everyone was talking about how strong our offense would be and how our defense would struggle, and there were some games where the defense kept us in the game while our offense struggled (the WMU game comes to mind).
JordanHuskie23 Wrote:It seems to me that a lot of people on this board think that the defense is going to be the nucleus of the team this season (including me). But does anyone else out there think that there will be games where the defense struggles and the offense surprisingly keeps us in the game? I remember last year everyone was talking about how strong our offense would be and how our defense would struggle, and there were some games where the defense kept us in the game while our offense struggled (the WMU game comes to mind).
Im sure there will be Jordan, especially given the brutal 3 game road stretch they have, and then they really tough 2 gamer @ UW and @ Toledo. The offense is going to have to do its share in order for NIU to have another winning season. I think Id be most worried about our defense in that Toledo Wisconsin stretch.
Early in the season I think we will depend on the defense but as we go through the season and Nicholson and whoever starts at RB become more comfortable I wouldn't be surprised to see NIU put up the points we are used to seeing on a weekly basis.
How many points do typical college teams need to average per game to be successful nowadays & win a majority of games scheduled? Have many good offenses surpassed many good Ds?
Number of points needed will vary against each opponent but on average, would 24 pts per game this season be enuff and a solid D holding opponents to 20 per game cause one to expect 7 or 8 NIU wins this season?
Do you see any opponents other than Wisky or Iowa capable of rolling up 37 or more points against the Dawgs?
Nicholson's going to open up the passing game, freeing up the next great running back, whoever that may be. Nicholson impressed me in 2005 when he stepped up for the CMU game and the championship against Akron.
cyberdawg Wrote:How many points do typical college teams need to average per game to be successful nowadays & win a majority of games scheduled? Have many good offenses surpassed many good Ds?
Number of points needed will vary against each opponent but on average, would 24 pts per game this season be enuff and a solid D holding opponents to 20 per game cause one to expect 7 or 8 NIU wins this season?
Dpo you see any opponent other than Wisky or Iowa capable of rolling up 37 or more points against the Dawgs?
Iowa is not capable of putting 37 or more up against the Huskies. They have a mediocre offense. I think Navy and Wisconsin are the two teams that could put up 35 or more pts vs NIU. Now if injuries ravage this team like they have seemingly every year, all bets are off.
MiamiHuskie Wrote:Nicholson's going to open up the passing game, freeing up the next great running back, whoever that may be. Nicholson impressed me in 2005 when he stepped up for the CMU game and the championship against Akron.
I'm still not convinced Nicholson is going to be a great QB. I have not seen enough of him in the starting role. I feel like in order for the offense to be successful, Nicholson is going to have to perform. Let's hope he does. Remember, we're not going to have a guy like Wolfe in the backfield to pick up the slack. Someone else is going to have to step up or this offense could get real ugly.
JordanHuskie23 Wrote:MiamiHuskie Wrote:Nicholson's going to open up the passing game, freeing up the next great running back, whoever that may be. Nicholson impressed me in 2005 when he stepped up for the CMU game and the championship against Akron.
I'm still not convinced Nicholson is going to be a great QB. I have not seen enough of him in the starting role. I feel like in order for the offense to be successful, Nicholson is going to have to perform. Let's hope he does. Remember, we're not going to have a guy like Wolfe in the backfield to pick up the slack. Someone else is going to have to step up or this offense could get real ugly.
The encouraging thing to me is that our offense was real ugly 2nd half of the season last year, and somehow they managed to have a good year. My hope is that not being so predictable on offense partially offsets the stars that were lost.
MaddDawgz02 Wrote:JordanHuskie23 Wrote:MiamiHuskie Wrote:Nicholson's going to open up the passing game, freeing up the next great running back, whoever that may be. Nicholson impressed me in 2005 when he stepped up for the CMU game and the championship against Akron.
I'm still not convinced Nicholson is going to be a great QB. I have not seen enough of him in the starting role. I feel like in order for the offense to be successful, Nicholson is going to have to perform. Let's hope he does. Remember, we're not going to have a guy like Wolfe in the backfield to pick up the slack. Someone else is going to have to step up or this offense could get real ugly.
The encouraging thing to me is that our offense was real ugly 2nd half of the season last year, and somehow they managed to have a good year. My hope is that not being so predictable on offense partially offsets the stars that were lost.
One positive of not having Wolfe this year is that our offense won't be able to rely on one guy to carry the load, which will make it harder for the defense. They will have to learn to put up points on the board as a team, unless somebody takes on a role like Wolfe did, which I don't think will happen.
Wolfe may have hurt the offense in the second half of last season. Without a Wolfe this season, we should possess more balance and be able to to move the ball more consistently. We may not have many 50+ yard td runs, but we also won't have games where we spend 3 quarters trying to run the ball with nothing to show for it.
what about the O will be less predictable?
Whichever running back is in lineup replacing wolfe is gonna run the same plays unless NIU inserts some unpredictability in the playbook. Only thing different there is how wolfe found holes, creases and read blocks plus often eventually not going where run was designed to flow.
I'm NOT suggesting abandoning the NIU /Novak run first - pass last philosophy or convert to run and gun nor to rely on gimmick plays too often.
After 10 years , ya think MAC coaches can prepare for what NIU is likely to do each week? Saying just try to stop us is not always effective . TCU/WMU
So were will the "surprise " element come from this year?
end around?
double reverse?
flea flicker?
half back option?
How are we gonna keep WMU D honest this year?
Does success or lack of it all rest soley with DanN and the receivers to make plays?
Can we please add a few other new wrinkles for opponents to prepare for this season?
I think that we will miss GW, but not the playcalling when we had GW.
The offense will be better from the predictability standpoint since GW is not here, but the production from that slot has to diminish. I think that Nicholson has a cannon arm that safeties are going to have to respect. If he has time to throw the ball, we are going to do very well this year.
This is a very interesting topic. Now that Garrett has moved on to the NFL, and is not the center of the opponent's defense attention anymore, we're not likely to see 8 or 9 stacked in the box like we saw last year. That leaves Joe a clean slate to put together some great offensive combinations which he is now forced to do. PJ should lend his experience well in this situation.
The defense will probably show improvement this year and will be a big part in carrying alot of the weight in this season. Look for aggressive plays, turnovers and sacks. I think our 2007 squad has alot of coaches guessing to what they are in for. They will not be taken lightly this year.
cyberdawg Wrote:what about the O will be less predictable?
Whichever running back is in lineup eplacing wolfe is gonna run the same plays unless NIU inserts some unpredictability in the playbook.
I'm NOT sugesting abandoning the NIU /Novak run first - pass last philosopy or convert to run and gun nor to frely on gimmick plays too often.
After 10 years , ya think MAC coaches can prepare for what NIU is likely to do each week?
So were will the "surprise " element come from this year?
end around?
double reverse?
flea flicker?
half back option?
How are we gonna keep WMU D honest this year?
Does success or lack of it all rest soley with DanN and the receivers to make plays?
Can we add a few other new wrinkles for opponents to prepare for this season?
There is no question a big part of the problem with NIU was the offensive play calling. In terms of predictability, this does not mean resorting to trick plays, it just means using all of your weapons on the field and not having the running game be merely just an extension of your passing game. Last year when NIU did pass they were usually short high percentage plays that had the same effect as a run play. The coaching staff has openly admitted things are going to open up this year, and they have to when your best play maker is a WR. Britt Davis was so underutilized last year, a tragedy that his skill did not benefit the team more. Luckily a big part of the problem is in Georgia now.
yikes.
here we go again.
Would most all here have been better off now without the GA & coaching reference?
In the spring game, the offense looked more fluid than I had seen in years for the Huskies.
We've still got Doogie Hauser as DBs coach and Doornob Doornbos controlling the D, so nothing has been proved yet defensively although we have some good personell.
fluid?
must have been the more than usual consumption of Gatorade.....I will agree for springball what we saw of a passing game was somewhat more Insync
MaddDawgz02 Wrote:cyberdawg Wrote:what about the O will be less predictable?
Whichever running back is in lineup eplacing wolfe is gonna run the same plays unless NIU inserts some unpredictability in the playbook.
I'm NOT sugesting abandoning the NIU /Novak run first - pass last philosopy or convert to run and gun nor to frely on gimmick plays too often.
After 10 years , ya think MAC coaches can prepare for what NIU is likely to do each week?
So were will the "surprise " element come from this year?
end around?
double reverse?
flea flicker?
half back option?
How are we gonna keep WMU D honest this year?
Does success or lack of it all rest soley with DanN and the receivers to make plays?
Can we add a few other new wrinkles for opponents to prepare for this season?
There is no question a big part of the problem with NIU was the offensive play calling. In terms of predictability, this does not mean resorting to trick plays, it just means using all of your weapons on the field and not having the running game be merely just an extension of your passing game. Last year when NIU did pass they were usually short high percentage plays that had the same effect as a run play. The coaching staff has openly admitted things are going to open up this year, and they have to when your best play maker is a WR. Britt Davis was so underutilized last year, a tragedy that his skill did not benefit the team more. Luckily a big part of the problem is in Georgia now.
Although I agree part of the problem last year was the offensive play calling, you have to remember that the coaches had a limited number of options to choose from. I remember last year there were times when they did try to open it up a little bit. However, the results were not very good as a result of Horvath's incapability to throw the ball down field which led the coaches to stay with a conservative passing game because that's the only thing that seemed to work. The rest of the time they handed the ball to Garrett and tried to give him the entire load which really hurt the offense and him towards the end of the season. Replace Horvath last year with a QB that could stretch the defense and we could've had a big season last year, big season.
What worries me is that last year many times we didn't have to march down the field and score, because GW would score from 50 yards out. Will we be able to not only march down to the red zone but then get the tough yards needed to get the TD, especially with a passing game that is still a question mark? We'll have to do a lot better job up front than last year so Nicholson has enough time to wait for the WRs to get open. Seems like the opposing QB always had more time to throw than ours.
If we still had Scott Shafer (sp?) as DC we would have a really good D this year. As it is, I'm not convinced our talent is being developed to its potential. I think that's the real reason we struggled many times last year on D.[/i]
I disagree.
I doubt any staff in MAC does a better job of developing individual talents of each player.
It's the lack of meshing of it together in a creative way which causes few opposing D coordinators very many sleepless nites.