It sounds refreshing that the defense had some moments, until you realize this was the same team that managed 3 whopping pts. in the first half vs. Furman. Anyone know where Furman is? Anyone know they had a football team?
Maybe we were just out-coached...who knows. But I'm very far from giving this defense any kudos.
Consider that the defense last year was one of the worst in the nation. Now that defense had Grixby, McKeon, Jones, Turner, Octavian and several DL that are gone this year. The replacements for the guys who are gone, as a group, are certainly no better (and likely, given their less experience to date, less developed) than the guys who are gone. That is to say, we had a really low talent level defense last year (poorly coached too, and one that gave up as well) --- and this year, the defense is, talent-wise no better than last year (and maybe worse).
So.... what do you guys expect? We have probably not a single defensive guy (or if so, several, at best) who could start on any top 25 team. With this dearth of talent, what do you expect to see out there?
That the defense showed grit, tenacity and never gave up is awesome. I was very impressed with the resolve and grit of the defense. Everyone knows they are a talent limited group. All you can expect is for them to play hard and hope upon hope that they can hold the opposition to a managable number of points so that our offense gives us a chance.
Do not be surprised if Missouri, TTech and Oklahoma all score 50 points or more on our defense. given the talent level (and the level of the offensive systems) at these programs versus that on the NU defense, then if we hold any of those guys under 50 it will be on grit and determination alone. This is how it is at the moment.
It strikes me that defense is well coached and playing very hard. That my friends is encouraging and is fun to watch. They are out-manned and playing up. But they have no quit in them.
Who has quit in them? The fans who are whining and calling them out. Show the tenacity and heart of the NU defense and root them on w/o ever quitting --- no matter how it goes. For our part, and fan appreciation is important, that is what we should do.
Be patient. Many points will be scored against us these next few weeks. It is to be expected. But if they (the NU defense) continues to play with heart and grit, then they will still deserve to hear our cheers.
For those of you old enough to connect with this, there was a boxer named Gerry Quarry (spelling may be wrong) who fought in the late 60's and 70's. He lost almost all the time. He was over-matched continually and was simply nowhere near the caliber (talent wise) of his competition. But he had amazing heart and fought so hard that he occasionally won. And even when he did not, he won the respect of the opponent and fans every time. He was a blast to watch (even if he was pummeled). That is what I hope the NU defense is like. Never give up and play hard even if, talent-wise, they are wildly over-matched. That we can respect. In due course the talent will come and then, if the grit remains, we'll have something special.
Wait it out folks, the right staff is in place.