Deep breaths agreed.

But how does Hammock look at his players, staff, fans, and school and expect them to believe that "he is doing everything he can to win" when you trot out a QB who had 2 pick sixes and 2 more interceptions.

Hampton just isn't aware enough, I was there on Saturday and could literally hear Rocky calling coverages and blitzes from the sideline, identifying MLB calls, etc. etc. etc.

If the excuse is he is young, then why leave him in when things had gone so poorly? That can only damage him more right? Especially when you have Lynch, Fletcher, Lomax on the sideline and dressed. If Rocky is coming back then why not let Lomax (who they bragged about all spring/summer) play for 3-4 games and keep his redshirt while getting him some experience.

Just doesn't seem to be good decisions being made here...

Final point is if one injury is going to "Hindenburg" us then we need better recruiting/prep for injuries, it's football and injuries will happen, you have to be prepared for it.

Great post/thread pvk75. A deep breath works fine with the O. Losing Rocky and Rudolph were major hits that we can’t expect to come close to replacing. I’m not giving up on Hampton. He had a bad game against Toledo. His struggling at times (before the Toledo game) seems consistent with his being a RS FR as opposed to a lack of talent. I keep reminding myself that while Chandler Harnish had some good games, he struggled at times as a FR and SO, and was not the Chandler Harnish we remember until his JR year. How we are using Lynch is frustrating. Either let him pass enough so that the D has to play the pass (which makes him and the RBs more effective running) or keep developing him, don’t burn his redshirt and let Fletcher be the running QB.

Taking a deep breath (even with oxygen) doesn’t help with the D. I’m not sure what can be done for the rest of the season to patch our D. I simply don’t believe that our D players are that bad. The scheme seems to be woefully lacking and the players don’t appear to know what to do. As far as I can see the D coaches don’t know how to adjust the D scheme and I’m not seeing them coaching up the players on the field. Basically, we have the same D players as last year (when the D was bad) to this year when the D is horrendous! The D should have gotten better not worse.

I usually have a few recruits from each class that I’m hopeful about and keep an eye on. One D recruit I have my eye on is Nick Alvardo, a safety from NJ. He looked good on paper with about 4 P5 offers and felt like he could be a good one. The coaches were talking him up before the season, so I wasn’t surprised to see him on the depth chart (I think it was against EIU). What surprised me was he was listed in the depth chart as a 205 pound linebacker. I know we have moved safeties to linebackers (and the Huskie position) before, but I have no idea why the D coaches would move a well-recruited safety to a linebacker at 205 pounds. Maybe there is a good reason that I or anyone else could know about since we are not at practice or is this an example of the D coaches don’t have a clue? Just a food for thought example.

(10-10-2022 01:00 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  Wow.

Some seem to be able to predict the future on top of the Alabama and T OSU like expectations. Even Michigan didn't fire Harbaugh after 11-8 over 2 seasons. Only 1 MACC in last 4 years, one being COVID!!!

Hammock's head was called for after 0-6. Won MACC. Now again it's his head, even a "a pattern" with a MACC.

From 2011, only 4 other teams won title. Only one had multiple, BGSU to not return since 2015 and become a doormat since 3 straight appearances. And no other team has reached the championship more that 2x in that span!

If you think MAC titles every 2/3 years, title game 3/4, 3/5 are the norm....titles 1/4,,,perhaps title came 2/5 are not acceptable I suggest you find a P5 team you loath to follow. That's what MAC grads in Michigan and Ohio did, do and will continue to do.

Wake me in 2 years when a sensible discussion can start of whether Hammock should be let go.

I just worry that last year was the exception and not the rule.

Northern Illinois HC:
Overall: 16–28
MAC: 11–19

Not great, any way you cut that.

(10-10-2022 02:22 PM)M4l4z4n Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 01:00 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  Wow.

Some seem to be able to predict the future on top of the Alabama and T OSU like expectations. Even Michigan didn't fire Harbaugh after 11-8 over 2 seasons. Only 1 MACC in last 4 years, one being COVID!!!

Hammock's head was called for after 0-6. Won MACC. Now again it's his head, even a "a pattern" with a MACC.

From 2011, only 4 other teams won title. Only one had multiple, BGSU to not return since 2015 and become a doormat since 3 straight appearances. And no other team has reached the championship more that 2x in that span!

If you think MAC titles every 2/3 years, title game 3/4, 3/5 are the norm....titles 1/4,,,perhaps title came 2/5 are not acceptable I suggest you find a P5 team you loath to follow. That's what MAC grads in Michigan and Ohio did, do and will continue to do.

Wake me in 2 years when a sensible discussion can start of whether Hammock should be let go.

I just worry that last year was the exception and not the rule.

Northern Illinois HC:
Overall: 16–28
MAC: 11–19

Not great, any way you cut that.

And it required a bad snap by CMU for NIU to win that game too.

And as pointed out by others, when you're bringing almost your whole defense back, how do they get WORSE? That's coaching.

(10-10-2022 03:22 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 02:22 PM)M4l4z4n Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 01:00 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  Wow.

Some seem to be able to predict the future on top of the Alabama and T OSU like expectations. Even Michigan didn't fire Harbaugh after 11-8 over 2 seasons. Only 1 MACC in last 4 years, one being COVID!!!

Hammock's head was called for after 0-6. Won MACC. Now again it's his head, even a "a pattern" with a MACC.

From 2011, only 4 other teams won title. Only one had multiple, BGSU to not return since 2015 and become a doormat since 3 straight appearances. And no other team has reached the championship more that 2x in that span!

If you think MAC titles every 2/3 years, title game 3/4, 3/5 are the norm....titles 1/4,,,perhaps title came 2/5 are not acceptable I suggest you find a P5 team you loath to follow. That's what MAC grads in Michigan and Ohio did, do and will continue to do.

Wake me in 2 years when a sensible discussion can start of whether Hammock should be let go.

I just worry that last year was the exception and not the rule.

Northern Illinois HC:
Overall: 16–28
MAC: 11–19

Not great, any way you cut that.

And it required a bad snap by CMU for NIU to win that game too.

And as pointed out by others, when you're bringing almost your whole defense back, how do they get WORSE? That's coaching.

Yep. And last year does not show we were a great team. We won some of those games by the skin of our teeth (like that CMU game). I thought our best performance was against Coastal Carolina in the bowl. Yes, we were lucky last year, but sometimes we made our own luck. This year, we are showing our true colors, and I think it's a shock to even Hammock.

(10-10-2022 03:22 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 02:22 PM)M4l4z4n Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 01:00 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  Wow.

Some seem to be able to predict the future on top of the Alabama and T OSU like expectations. Even Michigan didn't fire Harbaugh after 11-8 over 2 seasons. Only 1 MACC in last 4 years, one being COVID!!!

Hammock's head was called for after 0-6. Won MACC. Now again it's his head, even a "a pattern" with a MACC.

From 2011, only 4 other teams won title. Only one had multiple, BGSU to not return since 2015 and become a doormat since 3 straight appearances. And no other team has reached the championship more that 2x in that span!

If you think MAC titles every 2/3 years, title game 3/4, 3/5 are the norm....titles 1/4,,,perhaps title came 2/5 are not acceptable I suggest you find a P5 team you loath to follow. That's what MAC grads in Michigan and Ohio did, do and will continue to do.

Wake me in 2 years when a sensible discussion can start of whether Hammock should be let go.

I just worry that last year was the exception and not the rule.

Northern Illinois HC:
Overall: 16–28
MAC: 11–19

Not great, any way you cut that.

And it required a bad snap by CMU for NIU to win that game too.

And as pointed out by others, when you're bringing almost your whole defense back, how do they get WORSE? That's coaching.

I don't disagree with in game coaching, defense and countless other things that are wrong. But last year they won the MACC however you slice it. And win, no one cares about the 450+ yards and 33 points a game you gave up.

W/L, (avg 7.5 in regular season) occasional MACC wins, moreover appearances...clean program. That's how he should be measured. And I give it one more year to find the "pattern" that will cost him his job in 2025, because they aren't dumping him before that.

(10-10-2022 03:50 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 03:22 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 02:22 PM)M4l4z4n Wrote:  

(10-10-2022 01:00 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  Wow.

Some seem to be able to predict the future on top of the Alabama and T OSU like expectations. Even Michigan didn't fire Harbaugh after 11-8 over 2 seasons. Only 1 MACC in last 4 years, one being COVID!!!

Hammock's head was called for after 0-6. Won MACC. Now again it's his head, even a "a pattern" with a MACC.

From 2011, only 4 other teams won title. Only one had multiple, BGSU to not return since 2015 and become a doormat since 3 straight appearances. And no other team has reached the championship more that 2x in that span!

If you think MAC titles every 2/3 years, title game 3/4, 3/5 are the norm....titles 1/4,,,perhaps title came 2/5 are not acceptable I suggest you find a P5 team you loath to follow. That's what MAC grads in Michigan and Ohio did, do and will continue to do.

Wake me in 2 years when a sensible discussion can start of whether Hammock should be let go.

I just worry that last year was the exception and not the rule.

Northern Illinois HC:
Overall: 16–28
MAC: 11–19

Not great, any way you cut that.

And it required a bad snap by CMU for NIU to win that game too.

And as pointed out by others, when you're bringing almost your whole defense back, how do they get WORSE? That's coaching.

I don't disagree with in game coaching, defense and countless other things that are wrong. But last year they won the MACC however you slice it. And win, no one cares about the 450+ yards and 33 points a game you gave up.

W/L, (avg 7.5 in regular season) occasional MACC wins, moreover appearances...clean program. That's how he should be measured. And I give it one more year to find the "pattern" that will cost him his job in 2025, because they aren't dumping him before that.

It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to stand up and/or make noise on 3rd or 4th downs when NIU is on defense, because what's the point? 3rd and 5, 3rd and 10, 3rd and 15? Doesn't matter, the other team will convert. Really hard to watch. I left the game early in the 3rd quarter, and I haven't done that in over a decade.