Just watched the WMU press conference. Perhaps I am overreacting but to me coach Hammock's body language looked awful. He began hunched over and often stared down at the table. His voice was weak and when he spoke he sounded totally defeated and worn down. These are not or should not be difficult events for him as they consist of friends of the program lobbing softballs to him for his response.

I hope that he is not projecting that image to the team and to recruits. It is hard to turn your attitude on and off like a switch. Thinking back to coach Novak's years win or lose he seemed to always project a positive attitude.

(11-06-2022 11:01 AM)bikechuck Wrote:  Just watched the WMU press conference. Perhaps I am overreacting but to me coach Hammock's body language looked awful. He began hunched over and often stared down at the table. His voice was weak and when he spoke he sounded totally defeated and worn down. These are not or should not be difficult events for him as they consist of friends of the program lobbing softballs to him for his response.

I hope that he is not projecting that image to the team and to recruits. It is hard to turn your attitude on and off like a switch. Thinking back to coach Novak's years win or lose he seemed to always project a positive attitude.

Sounds like Hammock is a realist. I think he realizes that he is way over his head and his team is hitting rock bottom. Does he have the tools to rebuild the ship? I don’t see the current roster having the ability for a quick turnaround. If it happens, it will take a few years - assuming Hammock even has the ability to do it. I would start with the coaching staff the day the season ends.

(11-06-2022 11:01 AM)bikechuck Wrote:  Just watched the WMU press conference. Perhaps I am overreacting but to me coach Hammock's body language looked awful. He began hunched over and often stared down at the table. His voice was weak and when he spoke he sounded totally defeated and worn down. These are not or should not be difficult events for him as they consist of friends of the program lobbing softballs to him for his response.

I hope that he is not projecting that image to the team and to recruits. It is hard to turn your attitude on and off like a switch. Thinking back to coach Novak's years win or lose he seemed to always project a positive attitude.

I really am not sure what you are talking about. For one, he doesn't start off looking awful or hunched over and staring down. At the onset of the video, he is smiling and even laughing at something someone said in the room. He definitely looks down from time to time as he's speaking but that's just him thinking about his words as he's speaking.

But yeah, he's not super pumped about the situation because everyone knows the situation and he has to address it accordingly.

As for Novak. Are we comparing Hammock's disposition during one of his lowest moments to Novak press conferences when he was in the midst of his 7-26 start to his NIU tenure?

And if so, where in the hell are or were you watching these press conferences? I'm sure none of them were recorded via video and if you could unearth a pre-game press conference from a mean-nothing game in late 1998, I'd love to see it to do a comparison.

"Over his head" statement comment is an outrageously ridiculous statement. He can coach and recruit. We will be back in the MAC title hunt soon with Hams driving the bus .

Everyone take a deep breath the world is not ending because we had a bad year. Our program is solid and b|tter days are ahead.

(11-06-2022 11:56 AM)NIU05 Wrote:  "Over his head" statement comment is an outrageously ridiculous statement. He can coach and recruit. We will be back in the MAC title hunt soon with Hams driving the bus .

Everyone take a deep breath the world is not ending because we had a bad year. Our program is solid and b|tter days are ahead.

I think there is more evidence refuting this statement than supporting it. Last year is more of the exception than the rule. Last season NIU got away with a lot of things on offense bc they had an NFL caliber QB & Fullback, bruising HB and a very good O-line. The game is much easier to coach when you pick up 6 yards on every first down. This year all we have is a fast HB and a sub par O-line. We have been in more 2nd and 8s or 9s than I care to count. His coaching in 20 and 22 was pretty bad. 21 it all worked for him bc he had absolute studs.

Im not saying Hammock is terrible. Im saying his recruiting and coaching have been suspect more often than impressive. Unless Ham absolutely crushes the transfer portal we are probably looking at 5-7 to 7-5 over the next few seasons.

(11-06-2022 11:56 AM)NIU05 Wrote:  "Over his head" statement comment is an outrageously ridiculous statement. He can coach and recruit. We will be back in the MAC title hunt soon with Hams driving the bus .

Everyone take a deep breath the world is not ending because we had a bad year. Our program is solid and b|tter days are ahead.

This is NOT one bad year. Years one, two, and four have all been bad years (7-20 in those years) That is three of four bad years.

Now 16-25.

He felt he had to rebuild and in year 3 won the title, most board members felt he had to rebuild and be did.

There obvious is a variant of Huskies Virus spreading where people are triggered if you mention CHAMPIONSHIPS and have become allergic to wanting more. Psychiatrists feel to is not a virus but a mental state and is an early sign of dementia.

(11-06-2022 12:56 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  He felt he had to rebuild and in year 3 won the title, most board members felt he had to rebuild and be did.

There obvious is a variant of Huskies Virus spreading where people are triggered if you mention CHAMPIONSHIPS and have become allergic to wanting more. Psychiatrists feel to is not a virus but a mental state and is an early sign of dementia.

If Hammock can secure an NFL caliber QB every other year in the portal, yes, he will be successful. I say it every year, the top QB in the conference will be in the championship game 9/10 times. The notion that this is a 4-8 team without Rocky but a MACC team with Rocky means that Rocky is winning games. Not the coach.

Do you know Hammock has created 3 of the worst 6 defenses in the history of the program? The only defense that wasn't absolutely rock bottom was the 2019 team which was all Carey players.

(11-06-2022 01:12 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 12:56 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  He felt he had to rebuild and in year 3 won the title, most board members felt he had to rebuild and be did.

There obvious is a variant of Huskies Virus spreading where people are triggered if you mention CHAMPIONSHIPS and have become allergic to wanting more. Psychiatrists feel to is not a virus but a mental state and is an early sign of dementia.

If Hammock can secure an NFL caliber QB every other year in the portal, yes, he will be successful. I say it every year, the top QB in the conference will be in the championship game 9/10 times. The notion that this is a 4-8 team without Rocky but a MACC team with Rocky means that Rocky is winning games. Not the coach.

Do you know Hammock has created 3 of the worst 6 defenses in the history of the program? The only defense that wasn't absolutely rock bottom was the 2019 team which was all Carey players.

My concern with hammock is his staff. He seems to have no connections to anyone who can come in and save him

(11-06-2022 02:25 PM)BigChilla Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 01:12 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 12:56 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  He felt he had to rebuild and in year 3 won the title, most board members felt he had to rebuild and be did.

There obvious is a variant of Huskies Virus spreading where people are triggered if you mention CHAMPIONSHIPS and have become allergic to wanting more. Psychiatrists feel to is not a virus but a mental state and is an early sign of dementia.

If Hammock can secure an NFL caliber QB every other year in the portal, yes, he will be successful. I say it every year, the top QB in the conference will be in the championship game 9/10 times. The notion that this is a 4-8 team without Rocky but a MACC team with Rocky means that Rocky is winning games. Not the coach.

Do you know Hammock has created 3 of the worst 6 defenses in the history of the program? The only defense that wasn't absolutely rock bottom was the 2019 team which was all Carey players.

My concern with hammock is his staff. He seems to have no connections to anyone who can come in and save him

I can live with Eidsness. Improve the o-line and get a couple TEs who can catch and I think what they do will be fine. Defense? Scrap it all. People wanna talk about a rebuild? The defense is a rebuild from staff to LBs, corners and safeties. I expect the defense to struggle for several more seasons.

(11-06-2022 01:12 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 12:56 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  He felt he had to rebuild and in year 3 won the title, most board members felt he had to rebuild and be did.

There obvious is a variant of Huskies Virus spreading where people are triggered if you mention CHAMPIONSHIPS and have become allergic to wanting more. Psychiatrists feel to is not a virus but a mental state and is an early sign of dementia.

If Hammock can secure an NFL caliber QB every other year in the portal, yes, he will be successful. I say it every year, the top QB in the conference will be in the championship game 9/10 times. The notion that this is a 4-8 team without Rocky but a MACC team with Rocky means that Rocky is winning games. Not the coach.

Do you know Hammock has created 3 of the worst 6 defenses in the history of the program? The only defense that wasn't absolutely rock bottom was the 2019 team which was all Carey players.

Hammock doesn’t need to worry about defense, recruiting, or coaches. He won a CHAMPIONSHIP last year, dammit!!!!

(11-06-2022 03:01 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 02:25 PM)BigChilla Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 01:12 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 12:56 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  He felt he had to rebuild and in year 3 won the title, most board members felt he had to rebuild and be did.

There obvious is a variant of Huskies Virus spreading where people are triggered if you mention CHAMPIONSHIPS and have become allergic to wanting more. Psychiatrists feel to is not a virus but a mental state and is an early sign of dementia.

If Hammock can secure an NFL caliber QB every other year in the portal, yes, he will be successful. I say it every year, the top QB in the conference will be in the championship game 9/10 times. The notion that this is a 4-8 team without Rocky but a MACC team with Rocky means that Rocky is winning games. Not the coach.

Do you know Hammock has created 3 of the worst 6 defenses in the history of the program? The only defense that wasn't absolutely rock bottom was the 2019 team which was all Carey players.

My concern with hammock is his staff. He seems to have no connections to anyone who can come in and save him

I can live with Eidsness. Improve the o-line and get a couple TEs who can catch and I think what they do will be fine. Defense? Scrap it all. People wanna talk about a rebuild? The defense is a rebuild from staff to LBs, corners and safeties. I expect the defense to struggle for several more seasons.

The scheme is the worst thing about the D. Can anyone tell us what it is? If you want to play aggressively- do it. Don’t chicken **** out of it. If you want to play coverage - donit. But don’t give up 7 yard outs all day.

If you want to pick on something bad about Hammocks press conferences or anytime he speaks its that he starts every sentence with “no”

(11-06-2022 11:19 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 11:01 AM)bikechuck Wrote:  Just watched the WMU press conference. Perhaps I am overreacting but to me coach Hammock's body language looked awful. He began hunched over and often stared down at the table. His voice was weak and when he spoke he sounded totally defeated and worn down. These are not or should not be difficult events for him as they consist of friends of the program lobbing softballs to him for his response.

I hope that he is not projecting that image to the team and to recruits. It is hard to turn your attitude on and off like a switch. Thinking back to coach Novak's years win or lose he seemed to always project a positive attitude.

I really am not sure what you are talking about. For one, he doesn't start off looking awful or hunched over and staring down. At the onset of the video, he is smiling and even laughing at something someone said in the room. He definitely looks down from time to time as he's speaking but that's just him thinking about his words as he's speaking.

Thanks for sharing your perspective Big Red ... I respect you as a poster. Perhaps you are right and I was "seeing" something that I feared was true.

Of course it is also possible that you are "seeing" something that you hope is true.

At any rate I do hope that you are right and I am wrong about this.

(11-07-2022 05:54 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 11:19 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 11:01 AM)bikechuck Wrote:  Just watched the WMU press conference. Perhaps I am overreacting but to me coach Hammock's body language looked awful. He began hunched over and often stared down at the table. His voice was weak and when he spoke he sounded totally defeated and worn down. These are not or should not be difficult events for him as they consist of friends of the program lobbing softballs to him for his response.

I hope that he is not projecting that image to the team and to recruits. It is hard to turn your attitude on and off like a switch. Thinking back to coach Novak's years win or lose he seemed to always project a positive attitude.

I really am not sure what you are talking about. For one, he doesn't start off looking awful or hunched over and staring down. At the onset of the video, he is smiling and even laughing at something someone said in the room. He definitely looks down from time to time as he's speaking but that's just him thinking about his words as he's speaking.

Thanks for sharing your perspective Big Red ... I respect you as a poster. Perhaps you are right and I was "seeing" something that I feared was true.

Of course it is also possible that you are "seeing" something that you hope is true.

At any rate I do hope that you are right and I am wrong about this.

Fair enough.

Sometimes I feel this board looks for confirmation bias and in areas that are extreme, ie: in over his head, scared to "fill in the blank", etc. And I got the feeling there was way too much read into his body language as it looked basically like what his body language always looks like.

But it's possible there's something there. I know he isn't oblivious to the state of the program but we all have to know he has to spin it in some positive way.

(11-07-2022 06:20 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-07-2022 05:54 PM)bikechuck Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 11:19 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(11-06-2022 11:01 AM)bikechuck Wrote:  Just watched the WMU press conference. Perhaps I am overreacting but to me coach Hammock's body language looked awful. He began hunched over and often stared down at the table. His voice was weak and when he spoke he sounded totally defeated and worn down. These are not or should not be difficult events for him as they consist of friends of the program lobbing softballs to him for his response.

I hope that he is not projecting that image to the team and to recruits. It is hard to turn your attitude on and off like a switch. Thinking back to coach Novak's years win or lose he seemed to always project a positive attitude.

I really am not sure what you are talking about. For one, he doesn't start off looking awful or hunched over and staring down. At the onset of the video, he is smiling and even laughing at something someone said in the room. He definitely looks down from time to time as he's speaking but that's just him thinking about his words as he's speaking.

Thanks for sharing your perspective Big Red ... I respect you as a poster. Perhaps you are right and I was "seeing" something that I feared was true.

Of course it is also possible that you are "seeing" something that you hope is true.

At any rate I do hope that you are right and I am wrong about this.

Fair enough.

Sometimes I feel this board looks for confirmation bias and in areas that are extreme, ie: in over his head, scared to "fill in the blank", etc. And I got the feeling there was way too much read into his body language as it looked basically like what his body language always looks like.

But it's possible there's something there. I know he isn't oblivious to the state of the program but we all have to know he has to spin it in some positive way.

I was going to say. Losing sucks.

It's literally making us scrutinize every detail down to the nth level.

Rumors spreading like wildfire. It's like everything Sean and Thomas do piss everyone off. The only cure to this madness is winning. Of which everyone seemed pretty happy to be champions in football and futbol in 2021. Let's hope the injury bug wears away next year, and we can get back to the NIU we know and love.