New Look LTP Mirrors ‘Cats
By Lake The Posts on
The new look Lake The Posts is very much like the 2010 ‘Cats. We both have new looks – uniforms and personnel if you will – but the on-field performance is very familiar. For LTP, that means the same in-depth consistent coverage on a daily basis. MORE AFTER YOU MAKE THE CLICK…
The new look Lake The Posts is very much like the 2010 ‘Cats. We both have new looks – uniforms and personnel if you will – but the on-field performance is very familiar. For LTP, that means the same in-depth consistent coverage on a daily basis. For NU, that means continued heart-racing wins that don’t necessarily need to be as close as they are. Before we get in to all of the breakdowns for the Illinois State home opener this Saturday, I figured I’d give you a quick tour and the back story on the new LTP.
The Improvements:
- Easier to navigate: There are all sorts of improvements here. Multiple and recent posts are visible on the home page so you can “catch-up” on older posts easier. We’ve installed a navigation bar that enables you to instantly access the LTP Flag Project, Game Highlights from every win from this year back through 2008 (more coming soon!), and the NU Bar network which is a work-in-progress way for you to share TV viewing pleasure on Saturdays regardless of where you are in the US. We’ve added a “Ryan Field Renovations” section which is geared towards stadium improvement suggestions and a dedicated Purple Mafia Profiles section to catch-up on some great interviews with ‘Cats fans/alums/former players. The “History” section is an easier to navigate page that has a drop-down menu to help you get to “Did (N)U Know?” tidbits, Welsh-Ryan Arena History and other goodies. Please be patient as each sub-page will be upgraded in the coming weeks.
- Back-end fun – You don’t get to see the guts of this site, but I can tell you from a publishing experience it is 100X better. That is the crux of the switch. Easier to import photos, update standings, add/subtract sub-pages, text boxes and a host of other things behind the curtain that make my life easier and more efficient.
- Work In Progress – NU has its running game woes and fumbling issues, LTP has its issues as well. The Google RSS feeds seem to have taken a hit, there are a host of spam commenters, and I’m having trouble with the placement of the new post headlines and text being placed too low. Please continue to send me other tidbits/issues/likes and dislikes of the new site so we can address them and make the LTP experience that much better.
Now, let’s get on to the real stuff. The Northwestern 2010 home opener against FCS opponent Illinois State on Saturday. Skip Myslenski confirmed what I had deduced simply from watching on TV – the ‘Cats were flat on the sidelines (Fitz included). I’m amazed that both Dan Persa and Nate Williams actually admitted it (but thankful they were honest about it). Here’s what Nate said to Skip:
I think there was some lack of enthusiasm on the sidelines. It has to really come from within and sometimes you’ve got to bring someone else with you. So we’ve got to get on the younger guys this week and definitely get them prepared to be excited.”
Wow. I never thought I’d see a Pat Fitzgerald team struggling to find energy and excitement on the sidelines – especially in a season-opening night game. I’m not sure I know what to say other than the fact Fitz also admitted he believes he might have over-prepared his team and had too much “on their plates” or as he said “paralysis by analysis”. Teddy Greenstein took this same angle on Monday (I realized this after I finished this post) as he took Dan Persa’s post-game comment of:
“Passion. We definitely have to have more passion.”
Huh? What in the good name of Darnell Autry is going on here? Fitz is the single most passionate coach in all of college football. His halftime interviews to reporters make you think they’ll follow him in the lockerroom and don a ‘Cats uni. Yet, we’re lacking passion from the players? Perhaps he needs to rewind to last year’s Wisconsin game and bottle that energy. I’ve never seen a sideline having more fun. Players dancing, bouncing and chest bumping to the music out of the PA system that was seemingly wired with a tin can and rope (note: the new PA system will be in full effect THIS Saturday). If you can’t get up for a season-opening game in front of a near packed house in SEC territory – at NIGHT – what is it going to be like at 11 am against an FCS team in front of a sparse golf crowd this Saturday? THAT concerns me.
There are a myriad of commenters and emailers claiming a lot of reasons for the lack of ground game. All I know is that we’re going to rinse, lather, repeat this weekend as Fitz and McCall are going to use this game to try and prove – once again – “no, really we CAN run the ball”. Personally, we’d better start figuring out ways to put the ball in playmakers hands. Drake Dunsmore getting two touches? Really? Jeremy Ebert getting five passes thrown his way (all of which he caught)? I’ll be ticked if we don’t put up at least 30 passes in this game. Ideally 35 passes with 35 rush attempts and most of those rushes being north-south and not east-west. I get it. You need to mix it up on offense with the combination of QB runs on blitzes, RB options and passing, but let’s not kid ourselves. This is a two-step deal that involves the OL opening up some holes and moving the line while our RBs find seams and their timing. Even if we finally crack the code against ISU that isn’t a fair barometer of translating how we’ll rush in Big Ten play.
I know I speak for all of us when I say 17 carries a game by Dan Persa is a recipe for the Evan Watkins experiment to begin. Persa’s moxie – which is Zak Kustok-esque – will for certain put him in harm’s way at some point this season if he plays as spirited as he did on Saturday. Don’t get me wrong – I love the “passion” – but he took some licks and will continue to as the season progresses.
STATS TO STEW ON
Kudos to The Daily Herald’s Lindsey Willhite for offering up the stats I was seeking late Saturday night. They involve Dan Persa’s performance. Consider this:
- Persa’s 1st career start and his 90.5 cmp % (19/21) set an all-time record for NU QB completion percentage with 20 or more attempts.
- Persa ranks #1 in the nation in pass efficiency (226.42) for QBs who faced FBS opponents. If you include all games – including QBs who faced FCS opponents, he ranks 8th in the nation.
We’ll check back later today with more fodder for Saturday – that is, if I can muster up the passion.
Maybe the reason they got off to a hot start was because they were focused and business-like on the sidelines, and not hopping around like a bunch of fools. Maybe part of the problem of poor starts for the ‘Cats is that Fitz gets the guys a little too worked up on the sidelines, instead of saving it for the field. Just a thought.
@alvious – fair. Perhaps you’re right. I’m not sure how it’s a good thing though when the players themselves admit they were “flat”.
Is it possible the first game being at night contributed? We’re used to practicing and playing at 11am. Perhaps the traveling, late start, etc along with first game jitters led to less passion.
On the offensive line for the run game, is it scheme or is it execution?
I’d be very surprised if Adam Cushing and Mick McCall didn’t get their charges fired up this week for the ISU game. Expect to see gaping holes this week, and NU RBs (Ar-by) flowing through them like water.
New Design Notes:
- Can we use HTML in the comments?
- Is there any way we can flag spam for you to delete?
- Can you get the twitter automatic updates back? I use twitter to keep track of new content so it really helps me to get new posts on there.
Intensity/Preparation:
I think over-preparation was a real possibility in this game. Especially so on the defensive side of the ball where over-thinking can lead to tentative play, something we saw almost routinely during the Colby era. At some point extra preparation hits the point of diminishing returns since the other team has the same chances to prepare. You can see that when Vandy almost routinely had success against the NU blitz, despite the blitz coming from various places (including safety blitzes by both Peters & Carpenter). In any case as the season goes on I think you’ll see improvement as the team gels and acts more on instinct than thought.
Despite the problems, the team looked very solid. Given that in the past our team is prone to early season woes playing on the road, we earned a valuable win. All of the issues that we saw can be worked on by the coaching staff. That said, I am still a little worried about the Rice game.
PS: the new site looks great.
The may teams view Vanderbilt is the same way most teams are used to looking at Northwestern. They can’t get up for them. Iowa is flat every time they play us and lose and get even more pissed off. No matter how many times it happens they just can’t take NU seriously and nobody takes Vandy seriously either. I think the conservative NU gameplan and quiet bench demeaner is indicative of the view that all they had to do to win this one was show up and minimize the mistakes. And that’s how it came out. Vandy played them even but made some critical mistakes that were the difference allowing NU to win.
Overall, I like the new site design, but I’d like to see the read more/read less links eliminated. I think they actually make reading/navigation more difficult.
Agreed on the read more/less links. I really really dislike them on blogs. But, if you must have them. Don’t restart from the beginning paragraph again. Let them start from a fresh paragraph.
I like the new look, but that purpley football helmet thing next to the articles has to go.