Wistrom Disciple

Agreed, though if they’re hoping for a medical redshirt, it makes sense to keep him off in this game and save him for a different one later on.

Haarberg seems to be good runner once he gets into gear, but he looks like a terrible ball carrier and is slow to kick it into gear. Really wish we didn’t have as many QB rush attempts because he absorbs a lot of punishment on these runs and doesn’t seem to protect himself very well.

It’s ok, @knapplc is just sensitive when others ask if he came. It’s a private matter

*Deshaun Watson has entered the chat*

He might be the best of the options available though. I believe Tommi Hill is more athletic and a bigger corner, but often got caught taking a risky gamble or looking into the backfield. I haven't seen enough of Lynum to make a reasonable argument, but Hartzog does have some pretty good wheels and agility to him.

While it is most important that we are winning games, I do think it is important to objectively look at Haarberg's play and not let the ends justify the means. Yes, he is 4-1 as the starter with the lone loss against Michigan. However, it must be taken into account that the four wins were against arguably the easiest opponents on our schedule. The problem I see is that HH does not seem to be improving and instead gives me the impression that he's our version of a more mobile Spencer Petras. The sidearm throwing is especially frustrating as he throws like a much smaller QB and his indecisiveness is not allowing him to utilize his athleticism as often. I hope Rhule's comments about him yesterday regarding being in a phase are accurate and that he will grow out of it. With the offense down several starters, we will need him to step up soon.

Not necessarily learned, but today confirmed that offensive line is not nearly as bad as many posters had expressed previously. The group is not filled with all-conference caliber talent, but they appear to be doing enough to give us a good shot at winning. The QB play behind them has been pitiful, but I've seen progress up front at least. Also impressed to see some of the backups step in and seem to maintain relative consistency. Extra practices from a bowl season could do wonders in moving the line from average to good/great. I used to think they were overrated practices, but after not having them for 5+ years, it's becoming painful obvious how the extra work could help improve a lot of the younger guys.

That’s a fair question and would make a lot of sense if they wanted to pursue that route. Totally agree that Sims had a tough draw to start. Credit to HH for capitalizing, but man does it look like he is regressing and becoming even less decisive. Very disappointing to come out of the bye week and look like that today.

I don’t think what we are seeing with Heinrich is really any better than what we saw with Sims, HH has simply benefited by playing against teams with less talent and the outcomes have thankfully gone in our favor. Thankfully the defense has bailed us out over and over so far.

It doesn’t inspire confidence in the team if they know that the QB doesn’t sit regardless of how poor they play though. Even if it’s just a series here and there, the coaches need to figure out a way to mix in QBs if HH is playing as poorly as he has been for +80% of each game.

They did… he couldn’t hit the open receiver. Not sure HH would start at Kearney Catholic at this stage of the season. Coaches need to give Sims a shot, teammates have no reason to have faith in #10 right now.

Three straight bad passes to the drive, receivers got open and line protected. At some point hopefully the coaches will realize the problem starts and ends with HH

Spot on. No fear of failure is fine, but zero accountability is disturbing. HH is not the guy right now in his career, needs to sit.we are very lucky Northwestern has been bad.

Sure, but you know what they say about people who assume...

Add to it a revolving door of OCs to the mix as well. With our drastic change in offensive scheme/philosophy from last year to this year, I think more fans should have patience with Raiola. We're seeing improvement despite the injuries, just have to trust that the coaches will figure it out together. Reminds me a little of fans whining about Pelini back in the day... the assumption that the next guy would be better.

So your complaint is that the offensive line coach is bad, but you can't name one realistic replacement option that would better? I'd suggest we pump the brakes on calling for people to be fired for now as we're trending in the right direction. Raiola has helped in adding some young talent in his year and a half on the staff(s) and if he's able to help reel in Brix, that would be quite the snag. We need to give him and the rest of the staff time to put it all together. FWIW, we're 17th in the country in rushing offense at 200.5 ypg and doing so without two of three upperclassmen running backs, three starting receivers, and a mobile QB. If we maintain that number, we should remain in the top 20 of rushing offenses in the country which would be our best finish since 2014. It's not a world-beating sign of improvement, but it is certainly a step in the right direction in one area at least.

One key factor for the success on defense this year is that we have offensive coaches who are intentionally controlling possession and eating the clock when possible. Through six games, we average Time of Possession (TOP) at 31:04 minutes per game (versus last year's average of 26:44). This has lead to reduction in opponent's total plays from 75.6 plays per game last year down to 67.8 plays per game this year. That is the equivalent of a couple fewer series per game that the defense has to face. With the rest of our opponents this season having lower TOP averages and thus controlling the ball less than we do, the averages are likely to improve and make the changes more drastic compared to previous seasons.Although not an absolute indicator of success, keeping the ball away from an opponent can be especially helpful for teams without an explosive or highly efficient offense. Note: It is still astonishing how Purdue called 101 plays against us last season and we were in it until the very end. Quite impressive between Thompson & Palmer TLDR version: The offense holding the ball longer is allowing our defense to not get burned as often this year.

This seems to be lost on the group of fans hemming and hawing for coaching changes six games into this season. Unfortunately, people see what other coaches do in their first year and assume that the success is sustainable and that every year they'll be plucking five stars out of the portal. What they often overlook is that many of the best programs in the country have a continuity within their coaching staff which has allowed them to develop into perennial powers.

The focus should always be on sustained success and improvement. Many coaches have benefited from inheriting talented rosters or finding splash recruits early to earn them praise. Numerous examples including: Mel Tucker, any Florida coach since Urban Meyer, Auburn, Texas A&M, etc. The challenge is building the program into a sustainable model that can be replicated year after year. Those are harder to find: Ryan Day, Harburgh, Saban, Smart with a few others in the conversation. Our key is to find continuity with the coaching staff and players that focuses on development and sound game strategy with excellent fundamentals. As @ColoradoHusk mentioned, coaches being on the same page and a consistent message and strategy could go a long ways. However, that may take a year or two to sink in to where every player on the team is working in unison. Hopefully we can continue building this year and see more success as the year goes on. For a local example: it is unquestionable that Pelini inherited a lot of talent from Callahan's staff. The key that made Pelini a really good coach was that he was able to maintain success with his own recruits and developed many into professional players. -- I still think his success is underrated as he did so while switching conferences and recruiting footprints.

Haarberg is a decent athlete and can help the team. Am I convinced that his best spot is at QB? Absolutely not. However, we have three scholarship QBs right now with the most experienced of the three working back from an injury. IMO Sims presents the best chance for success later in the year, but I understand the argument against him right now. While I understand the rush to judgment of the coaches, I think the requests to replace are ill-advised at this stage. Rhule is heavy on development and we're seeing improvements, even in the O-line... as much as some would make you believe otherwise. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. However, had we been told that we would average rushing 200 yards per game (avg. 5 yards per attempt) through the first six games, most would be pumped with those numbers. Add in the fact that we lost Sims, Ervin, & Johnson, the accomplishment becomes a little more impressive. The sky isn't falling, the rest of the schedule has flaws so we're doing alright. Should be a fun rest of the year.

… Sims had the long TD run against Colorado. Hard to call HH equally “good” after the past two weeks. Coin toss at best

We watched the same game? Haarberg had poor judgment for nearly the entire second half. He was very lucky to not have more turnovers. Joe Ganz had better situational awareness and didn’t try to overextend himself very often. HH lacks the former and constantly does the latter, should just slide or fall down instead of turtling when he has nowhere to go at the line of scrimmage.

- Illinois might be in the coaching search business sooner than later. Bert doesn’t look happy and his team looks bad in all phases. - the Bye week comes at the absolutely perfect time. We need to heal up a whole host of players - Haarberg survives another week as the starter. I cannot tell if he’s improving or simply improvising. Each step forward seems to be followed by a step or two backwards. Ultimately we are winning which is most important, but man are we getting lucky.

HIP HIP

Haarberg dropping the snap on the first play put us behind the chains. I understand the frustration with Sims, but HH does not look like he's ready to be the starter and finish games. Plenty of opportunities today and has looked largely unimpressive.