Questions have arisen about Dan Persa’s health now that the media has noticed him limping on the sidelines and Kain Colter practicing with the first team offense. Fitz added fuel to the fire by referring to Colter as “1B” in an interview. The reality is that on the field, Persa has looked sharp – although has yet to be hit by anyone. But the team needs to be prepared for a Boston College defense that should be a top 20 defense in the country this year – despite the recent dismissal of starting safety Okechukwu Okoroha.
Now, there are two things at play here. First, obviously, the team needs to be prepared in the event that there is a setback in Persa’s recovery. Colter needs to be able to step up against a big time opponent. If the Cats can get through BC, Persa will not be as necessary in the EIU and Army games, and with the bye week after, would essentially buy another month of rehab. But also, as the media alludes to, this is a cat and mouse game between the coaches and the media. The fact that NU has the ability to hide their gameplan behind Persa’s injury is a major strategic advantage, and the staff and players are milking it right now. EVR fully expects Persa to start and take most of the snaps at BC next Saturday. Read the drama here, here, here, here, here, and here.The running back situation has also developed into a news item out of camp, as (at least publically) Jacob Schmidt has risen to the level of starting running back. Unfortunately, this appears to be the result of Fitz not being happy with the performance of Mike Trumpy or Adonis Smith – as opposed to the performance of Schmidt, a former walk-on. All three continue to take snaps with the first team, in rotation. And given the Cats’ offense, it is likely that Cat fans will see a good amount of all three regardless of who is named the starter. In the meantime, fans are left to speculate. It does appear that regardless of who is named the starter between Trumpy and Schmidt, that Smith may be relegated to #3 on the depth chart. But again, this “news” may simply be the mind game being played out among Fitz, the media, and the coaching staff in Chestnut Hill. Either way, Schmidt has a great story – check it out here and here.
The Cats closed Camp Kenosha on Saturday with its annual scrimmage and, as usual, kept 15 starters in grey shirts, off the practice field. But the rest of the guys impressed the media who were able to see the match. The offense was proficient and the defense put themselves in position to make plays, but dropped a few interceptions. Venric Mark and Drew Moulton caught TD passes, and Tyris Jones ran one in. Davon Custis lead the team with 6.5 tackles and Anthony Battle recorded the games only sack. Read Skip’s take on the scrimmage here.Monday, the Cats took the practice field at the Great Lakes Naval base. This is obviously a special opportunity for both the team and our troops. Sadly, because of recruiting abuses around the country, Fitz actually needs to get a special waiver from the NCAA in order to field a practice here, as teams are only permitted one off-site practice facility. Either way, the practice seemed to go well. Check out the Big Ten Network’s (now, officially BTN) NU preview show tomorrow night at 8 CST. BTN reported directly from the Great Lakes practice. The studio crew was apparently very impressed by the NU secondary, who should be one of the strengths of the team.
The first injury report of August has been reported as David Arnold has been sitting out, although his injury, and its severity has thus far been undisclosed. This has allowed redshirt frosh Ibraheim Campbell to get some playing time with the first team defense. Fitz has spoken very highly of Campbell all throughout August, so this may be a great opportunity for him to step up. Campbell will also see some time returning kicks. EVR will keep an eye on news about Arnold’s injury.Offensive Line
EVR admittedly does not know much about evaluating an offensive line – but for four things: experience is important; left tackle is very important; rushing yards are good; and sacks are bad.The NU offensive line is experienced and relatively deep. Four starters return, all of them for their 3rd season as a starter: All Netter, Patrick Ward, Doug Bartels, and Ben Burkett. Burkett, despite having 39 starts at center has been moved to guard and redshirt frosh Brandon Vitabile will start the season at center. There is depth on the interior line as Neal Deiters and Brian Mulroe have both started games at guard, along with Burkett’s ability to switch back to center.
Netter is the star of the bunch and will be primarily in charge of keeping Dan Persa upright this season. While the “blind side” is a little less important in a shotgun offense, where the QB has a better chance of seeing the blitz, Netter will need to use his experience to protect Dan. The Wildcat O-Line gave up way to many sacks last season, and if Dan is even the least bit immobilized by his injury, the line will need to improve significantly.And then there is the running game. This is a chicken-or-the-egg type question, is the running game poor because of the backs or the line. Early last season, it was easy to blame the line as Arby Fields seemingly defaulted to bouncing it outside – leading observers to believe that there were not holes open for him. But as Mike Trumpy and Adonis Smith got more carries, they demonstrated a better propensity run inside – which suggests that the early troubles were more the result of Fields’ lack of desire to run inside. Either way, this facet of the game will need to improve if the Cats want to be playing significant games in November.
And speaking of November…Nebraska – November 5, 2011 – Lincoln, NE. The Cats make their first trip to Lincoln to begin a critical stretch run. By this time, Big Ten fans will know what they are getting out of Nebraska. Are they a team that has benefitted over the past two years by beating a very soft Big 12 North schedule into submission? Or are they a bona fide Big Ten title contender based on their experience in games against Oklahoma and Texas over the years.
On offense, it is all about sophomore quarterback Taylor Martinez. Martinez was as great of a sensation as Denard Robinson during the first six weeks of last season – until both were overshadowed by the play of Cam Newton. But Martinez will join the ever-increasing crop of dynamic Big Ten QBs (Persa, Robinson, Marquise Gray, Scheelhaase). The face-off between he and Dan Persa will be fun to watch. Alongside Martinez will be running back Rex Burkhead, who is smaller and less punishing than his name would suggest, this is more of a speed guy. Martinez’ favorite target should be Brandon Kinnie, who is missing some camp with a thumb injury.The key to the Nebraska team is the defense, however, where they have All-America Candidates at all three levels. At defensive tackle is Jared Crick, who may be the best defensive player in the country. At linebacker is Lavonte David, who aside from BC’s Luke Kuechly will be the best LB the Cats will see all season. And at corner will be Afonzo Dennard, who had four interceptions last season. This unit is all seniors and juniors and will be a tough nut to crack. The Wildcat defense will need to play its best game in Lincoln, because points are going to be hard to come by for Persa and Co.
Rice – November 12, 2011 – Ryan Field. While it was a non-conference game against an inferior opponent, last year’s game at Rice was probably the most complete game the Cats played on both sides of the ball (remember the Cats were dead to rights against Iowa until a 4th quarter interception). The offense was sharp and efficient and would have scored more but for a pair of red-zone turnovers. And the defense played with purpose, putting up a score of their own on a Quentin Davie pick six. As long as the Cats are healthy, we can expect more when the Owls come to Evanston.On offense it looks like sophomore Taylor McHarque will replace Nick Fanuzzi at quarterback. McHarque played in four games last season, and had his most impressive performance against East Carolina. Running back will once again be Michigan transfer Sam McGuffie, who is more well-known for his youtube performances than his actual on-field production. The offensive line does have four seniors and should provide more stability in 2011.
Defensively, the defensive line is pretty solid with returning players at each slot. But there are holes in the linebacking corps and secondary where sophomores Cameron Nwosu (yes his last name is NW-OSU) and Paul Porras and frosh Bryce Callahan will need to grow up quick. Rice starts the season against Texas, Purdue, and Baylor, so they will have already seen some decent offenses. But this is team that gave up 30 points 11 times and 40 points 5 times. So there will need to be vast improvement for this game to be competitive.Go Cats!
http://expectvictoryright.blogspot.comjohnknublog@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment