(02-21-2023 02:04 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 01:58 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 12:21 PM)BDB5yp Wrote:  Did we can our marketing team? There’s almost no NIU content in social media compared to this time last year. No notes from the Fatty’s get together or anything.

Someone did say the lady who led it all left us recently. I looked her up and saw she left for Marshall.

So, the marketing team consisted of one lady who left? That makes sense and is about par for the course.

Lol, maybe, maybe not. But she did run the thing. Now without a boss, whose to give anyone direction on doing anything.

(02-21-2023 03:16 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 02:04 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 01:58 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 12:21 PM)BDB5yp Wrote:  Did we can our marketing team? There’s almost no NIU content in social media compared to this time last year. No notes from the Fatty’s get together or anything.

Someone did say the lady who led it all left us recently. I looked her up and saw she left for Marshall.

So, the marketing team consisted of one lady who left? That makes sense and is about par for the course.

Lol, maybe, maybe not. But she did run the thing. Now without a boss, whose to give anyone direction on doing anything.

I get constant new posts on my IG account from a number of NIU sports related accounts so, whoever is running the socials seems to be getting it done.

Squirrel,Pride and Chilla all pitched White at safety and did not mention anu other names. Names ( Brown & Hansen) who have a ton of snaps with us and Brown was All MAC.
I like White as well. More concerned with that OLine right now. Someone mentioned Z's injury, does anyone know what happened? We definitely need him back.
Thanks

(02-21-2023 07:58 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  Squirrel,Pride and Chilla all pitched White at safety and did not mention anu other names. Names ( Brown & Hansen) who have a ton of snaps with us and Brown was All MAC.
I like White as well. More concerned with that OLine right now. Someone mentioned Z's injury, does anyone know what happened? We definitely need him back.
Thanks

Brown is just too slow. You can protect him if you had a ton of speed out there…but we don’t. He’s hard to have start with a bunch of average speed guys. I like Hansen, I would have no issue with him starting. I would have no issue with any of the safeties stating. Let the best man win.

(02-21-2023 03:27 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 03:16 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 02:04 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 01:58 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-21-2023 12:21 PM)BDB5yp Wrote:  Did we can our marketing team? There’s almost no NIU content in social media compared to this time last year. No notes from the Fatty’s get together or anything.

Someone did say the lady who led it all left us recently. I looked her up and saw she left for Marshall.

So, the marketing team consisted of one lady who left? That makes sense and is about par for the course.

Lol, maybe, maybe not. But she did run the thing. Now without a boss, whose to give anyone direction on doing anything.

I get constant new posts on my IG account from a number of NIU sports related accounts so, whoever is running the socials seems to be getting it done.

I know this is apples to oranges because of the star power of Sanders, but here's a USA Today article about how Sanders' non-football playing son runs their social media and it's importance to their presence on the NCAA landscape -

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc...308788002/


*****for some stupid reason the direct link doesn't work but if you copy and paste it, it works fine******

After last season and transfer porta defections, I have low expectations. I thought last year was going to be great. Very disappointed.

(02-23-2023 01:28 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  After last season and transfer porta defections, I have low expectations. I thought last year was going to be great. Very disappointed.

You have to get over last season, its over and there is nothing we can do about it.

This year because of the portal, we have a better D combined with Rocky returning we are back in the game. Need the Oline to be coached up (from a decent base) and some production from the WRs. We definitely need more production from the TEs and I am banking on that.

(02-23-2023 03:11 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 01:28 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  After last season and transfer porta defections, I have low expectations. I thought last year was going to be great. Very disappointed.

You have to get over last season, its over and there is nothing we can do about it.

This year because of the portal, we have a better D combined with Rocky returning we are back in the game. Need the Oline to be coached up (from a decent base) and some production from the WRs. We definitely need more production from the TEs and I am banking on that.

I am a life long Cubs fan. Hand wringing is in my DNA

(02-23-2023 04:10 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 03:11 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 01:28 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  After last season and transfer porta defections, I have low expectations. I thought last year was going to be great. Very disappointed.

You have to get over last season, its over and there is nothing we can do about it.

This year because of the portal, we have a better D combined with Rocky returning we are back in the game. Need the Oline to be coached up (from a decent base) and some production from the WRs. We definitely need more production from the TEs and I am banking on that.

I am a life long Cubs fan. Hand wringing is in my DNA

If you wanna lemonade 2022 look at it like this - With that terrible defense, even with Rocky our chances of winning the West were 50%. That crap D was something we didn't see coming. At least not that crappy. That stupid-ass scheme and Pugh having nothing left. With Rocky going down our chances dropped to about 20%. And personally I still don't believe Rocky was ever 100% last year. He never ran. He wore that brace. Injured on a non-contact play. If his knee was bad coming into the season he probably wasn't 100% in a lot of areas including conditioning. Add Rudolph going down and our odds dropped to maybe 5%.

If Rocky and Rudolph are 100% healthy the offense is immeasurably better. Rudolph & Rutkieweicz are a great 1-2. On paper the TE position has been upgraded athletically. O-line solid. Rb's are gonna RB under Hammock. Defense? Not even going to predict other than it can't be worse. ** Isn't Hammock due to even just dumb luck his way into a stud D recruit? 4 classes so far, no difference makers. Year 5 you think someone has to pop.**


Last year was a disaster with big issues exposed in several places. Things were so sketchy that just one single disaster would have ruined the season. We had a few. So go ahead and get as many disasters out of the way as possible. Im not optimistic 2023 will be great, but I am optimistic that it can't be a disaster again.

(02-23-2023 01:28 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  After last season and transfer porta defections, I have low expectations. I thought last year was going to be great. Very disappointed.

Legit question, which player that left the LAST place squad even matters? Honestly? I liked cox as a player - he didn’t stand out to me other than times he seemed awkward out there. I just thought the guys who left were meh or worse. This team is likely to be better. The transfers filled holes. No stars, but the team will be better.

(02-23-2023 05:06 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 04:10 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 03:11 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 01:28 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  After last season and transfer porta defections, I have low expectations. I thought last year was going to be great. Very disappointed.

You have to get over last season, its over and there is nothing we can do about it.

This year because of the portal, we have a better D combined with Rocky returning we are back in the game. Need the Oline to be coached up (from a decent base) and some production from the WRs. We definitely need more production from the TEs and I am banking on that.

I am a life long Cubs fan. Hand wringing is in my DNA

If you wanna lemonade 2022 look at it like this - With that terrible defense, even with Rocky our chances of winning the West were 50%. That crap D was something we didn't see coming. At least not that crappy. That stupid-ass scheme and Pugh having nothing left. With Rocky going down our chances dropped to about 20%. And personally I still don't believe Rocky was ever 100% last year. He never ran. He wore that brace. Injured on a non-contact play. If his knee was bad coming into the season he probably wasn't 100% in a lot of areas including conditioning. Add Rudolph going down and our odds dropped to maybe 5%.

If Rocky and Rudolph are 100% healthy the offense is immeasurably better. Rudolph & Rutkieweicz are a great 1-2. On paper the TE position has been upgraded athletically. O-line solid. Rb's are gonna RB under Hammock. Defense? Not even going to predict other than it can't be worse. ** Isn't Hammock due to even just dumb luck his way into a stud D recruit? 4 classes so far, no difference makers. Year 5 you think someone has to pop.**


Last year was a disaster with big issues exposed in several places. Things were so sketchy that just one single disaster would have ruined the season. We had a few. So go ahead and get as many disasters out of the way as possible. Im not optimistic 2023 will be great, but I am optimistic that it can't be a disaster again.

I thought the O was fine…the defense was as bad as I have seen an NIU defense. That scheme was misguided. I was trying to find info on this, but the research was boring. Did any of the defensive coaches last season have experience in a 4-2-5?

(02-23-2023 05:54 PM)BigChilla Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 05:06 PM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 04:10 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 03:11 PM)NIU05 Wrote:  

(02-23-2023 01:28 PM)Klake1987 Wrote:  After last season and transfer porta defections, I have low expectations. I thought last year was going to be great. Very disappointed.

You have to get over last season, its over and there is nothing we can do about it.

This year because of the portal, we have a better D combined with Rocky returning we are back in the game. Need the Oline to be coached up (from a decent base) and some production from the WRs. We definitely need more production from the TEs and I am banking on that.

I am a life long Cubs fan. Hand wringing is in my DNA

If you wanna lemonade 2022 look at it like this - With that terrible defense, even with Rocky our chances of winning the West were 50%. That crap D was something we didn't see coming. At least not that crappy. That stupid-ass scheme and Pugh having nothing left. With Rocky going down our chances dropped to about 20%. And personally I still don't believe Rocky was ever 100% last year. He never ran. He wore that brace. Injured on a non-contact play. If his knee was bad coming into the season he probably wasn't 100% in a lot of areas including conditioning. Add Rudolph going down and our odds dropped to maybe 5%.

If Rocky and Rudolph are 100% healthy the offense is immeasurably better. Rudolph & Rutkieweicz are a great 1-2. On paper the TE position has been upgraded athletically. O-line solid. Rb's are gonna RB under Hammock. Defense? Not even going to predict other than it can't be worse. ** Isn't Hammock due to even just dumb luck his way into a stud D recruit? 4 classes so far, no difference makers. Year 5 you think someone has to pop.**


Last year was a disaster with big issues exposed in several places. Things were so sketchy that just one single disaster would have ruined the season. We had a few. So go ahead and get as many disasters out of the way as possible. Im not optimistic 2023 will be great, but I am optimistic that it can't be a disaster again.

I thought the O was fine…the defense was as bad as I have seen an NIU defense. That scheme was misguided. I was trying to find info on this, but the research was boring. Did any of the defensive coaches last season have experience in a 4-2-5?

They must not or else they should have just ran a 4-2-5 rather than that dog pile hybrid. To be fair it wasn’t just the scheme. No Husky-backer was going to help that secondary. I hope they can coach a 4-3 and just switch to nickel as needed. The offense was decent. But decent won’t be enough to carry the D. While you have a QB like Rocky you need to have a killer O. I’d like to see them up at around 34pts/game. That’s what they’ll need to win like they did in ‘21. I still think Brown is capable of a 1,500+ yd season and Rudolph 1,200.

Agree ... but ... has anyone heard for sure whether Benedetto or one of the new guys is going to be DC?

I am not sure how anyone at this point can actually make a credible prediction on what the football team will do next season. Since Hammock took over it has been three crap seasons and one really good one. Recent recruiting has largely been guys with almost no offers and/or walk-ons. Good luck trying to predict how any of these guys will actually translate to FBS football. NIU has been using the portal for years with mixed results so that is not really an indicator. The coaching staff has turned over a bit but based on the bios none of these additions really fly off the page as game changing. Also, Hammock does not really have the best track record of making high upside hires as almost none of the coaches that have left NIU since he took over have moved on to a better place.

I agree with others, there is no reason to be drinking the spring / preseason kool-aid right now.

(02-24-2023 03:02 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  I am not sure how anyone at this point can actually make a credible prediction on what the football team will do next season. Since Hammock took over it has been three crap seasons and one really good one. Recent recruiting has largely been guys with almost no offers and/or walk-ons. Good luck trying to predict how any of these guys will actually translate to FBS football. NIU has been using the portal for years with mixed results so that is not really an indicator. The coaching staff has turned over a bit but based on the bios none of these additions really fly off the page as game changing. Also, Hammock does not really have the best track record of making high upside hires as almost none of the coaches that have left NIU since he took over have moved on to a better place.

I agree with others, there is no reason to be drinking the spring / preseason kool-aid right now.

I completely agree. No matter what any players show before the season is basically worthless in terms of making any predictions. I will wait for the season to start before making any assessments and predictions. We heard reports last season of world beater players and sure future NFLers, and look what happened. Nope, I refuse to fall into the glass of Kool-Aid.

(02-24-2023 03:12 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-24-2023 03:02 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  I am not sure how anyone at this point can actually make a credible prediction on what the football team will do next season. Since Hammock took over it has been three crap seasons and one really good one. Recent recruiting has largely been guys with almost no offers and/or walk-ons. Good luck trying to predict how any of these guys will actually translate to FBS football. NIU has been using the portal for years with mixed results so that is not really an indicator. The coaching staff has turned over a bit but based on the bios none of these additions really fly off the page as game changing. Also, Hammock does not really have the best track record of making high upside hires as almost none of the coaches that have left NIU since he took over have moved on to a better place.

I agree with others, there is no reason to be drinking the spring / preseason kool-aid right now.

I completely agree. No matter what any players show before the season is basically worthless in terms of making any predictions. I will wait for the season to start before making any assessments and predictions. We heard reports last season of world beater players and sure future NFLers, and look what happened. Nope, I refuse to fall into the glass of Kool-Aid.

While I agree on the recruiting ambiguity we should acknowledge one thing Hammock has done well. Last years Offense was the highest scoring offense since 2013. He took over an offense averaging 20ppg in 2019 and proceeded to go seasonally 23ppg-25ppg-32ppg-27ppg. I expect to be at 33+ppg again this season with Rocky's return.

Am I optimistic about the team? No. Do I think having the best QB in the MAC gives NIU a chance to win the conference? Yes.

Hammock has been the exact opposite of Carey. He has a team full of average players and a great QB. Carey on the other hand had many great players EXCEPT at QB. I don't know which is worse, struggling through the Graham-Childers years thinking about the wasted talent around them, or having a QB like Rocky and knowing he is the only way we can win.

(02-24-2023 03:12 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-24-2023 03:02 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  I am not sure how anyone at this point can actually make a credible prediction on what the football team will do next season. Since Hammock took over it has been three crap seasons and one really good one. Recent recruiting has largely been guys with almost no offers and/or walk-ons. Good luck trying to predict how any of these guys will actually translate to FBS football. NIU has been using the portal for years with mixed results so that is not really an indicator. The coaching staff has turned over a bit but based on the bios none of these additions really fly off the page as game changing. Also, Hammock does not really have the best track record of making high upside hires as almost none of the coaches that have left NIU since he took over have moved on to a better place.

I agree with others, there is no reason to be drinking the spring / preseason kool-aid right now.

I completely agree. No matter what any players show before the season is basically worthless in terms of making any predictions. I will wait for the season to start before making any assessments and predictions. We heard reports last season of world beater players and sure future NFLers, and look what happened. Nope, I refuse to fall into the glass of Kool-Aid.

What happened was an unprecedented amount of injuries to key players. This is what derailed the season. Stay healthy and we will be champions again. Last Spring the optimism was built around expecting a few injuries, because this is football, but not what ultimately happened. The Spring optimistic stuff last year was likely warranted and not inaccurate.

(02-24-2023 04:31 PM)ChicagoHuskie Wrote:  

(02-24-2023 03:12 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-24-2023 03:02 PM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  I am not sure how anyone at this point can actually make a credible prediction on what the football team will do next season. Since Hammock took over it has been three crap seasons and one really good one. Recent recruiting has largely been guys with almost no offers and/or walk-ons. Good luck trying to predict how any of these guys will actually translate to FBS football. NIU has been using the portal for years with mixed results so that is not really an indicator. The coaching staff has turned over a bit but based on the bios none of these additions really fly off the page as game changing. Also, Hammock does not really have the best track record of making high upside hires as almost none of the coaches that have left NIU since he took over have moved on to a better place.

I agree with others, there is no reason to be drinking the spring / preseason kool-aid right now.

I completely agree. No matter what any players show before the season is basically worthless in terms of making any predictions. I will wait for the season to start before making any assessments and predictions. We heard reports last season of world beater players and sure future NFLers, and look what happened. Nope, I refuse to fall into the glass of Kool-Aid.

What happened was an unprecedented amount of injuries to key players. This is what derailed the season. Stay healthy and we will be champions again. Last Spring the optimism was built around expecting a few injuries, because this is football, but not what ultimately happened. The Spring optimistic stuff last year was likely warranted and not inaccurate.

Apparently, you may not be a Sox or Cubs fan. I root for the Sox. For the past couple years, pre-season was filled with optimism about how they have the greatest players in the universe and the World Series was in the bag. Then the season started and reality quickly set in. Look at the result.

While I have annual hopes for the Huskies, I no longer have any expectations and will not make a prediction that is not based on reality. Last season taught me a lesson. And injuries? We seem to have key injuries annually. I prefer to make my judgments after the season has begun and based on actual play on the field between real teams. They all look like superstars in practice, but the real games are not practice. I don't care who we get in the off season. They could turn out great or mediocre. Thus, I will no longer have any pre-season expectations, just the hope for a great season.

I absolutely agree. I used to be (in the olden days) one of those fans who bought up all of the pre-season mags (no internet then) and, once the season started, threw them in the trash because it didn't matter. Now we have all the website prognosticators ... and they turn out to be just as wrong. And we have this fan forum where in certain seasons there's nothing much else to talk about.

I always (as do we all) hope for the best for the Huskies, but I am tired of a sudden "oh s--t!" along the way every season that wrecks my pre-season dreams. Better to hope and support and let it play out.

Anyway, just regarding injuries, I am a little concerned with "non-contact" injuries and possibly inconsistent turf and drainage. Every game I watched after any kind of inclement weather showed dark splotches up and down the middle. I didn't see that when I watched road games. How old is that field/drainage? Injuries happen in football, but ...

I think that’s the fun of it. At best educated guesses, at worst just a good old fashioned prediction.

Off season is so important for these guys, you can go from the bench to a stater very quickly, especially on the defensive side, I would expect you see a lot of guys putting in work. That side of the ball is wide open outside of Ester and Thomas (whom really hasn’t had a great season yet.)