Pat Fitzgerald calls Gophers '1 of best-coached teams in country'

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I guess all the Brewster haters will have to recognize that he isnt the only coach throwing around hyperbole.
 


I need to get me some of that Thai stick they have rolling around Evanston.... :)
 




Here's the text

chicagotribune.com
Despite Minnesota's record, NU coach offers high praise
Fitzgerald calls Brewster's Gophers '1 of best-coached teams in country'
By Teddy Greenstein, Tribune reporter

7:44 PM CDT, September 27, 2010

The numbers say Minnesota is lousy. So, apparently, do the majority of Golden Gophers fans.

Under the headline "[Tim] Brewster's in all-out survival mode," a Monday Minneapolis Star Tribune story reported that "a sizable portion of Gopher Nation … is demanding a drastic change."

Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald could not see it more differently, and his acclaim for Brewster goes well beyond the typical blind praise that college coaches reserve for embattled colleagues.

Fitzgerald called Minnesota "one of the best-coached teams in the country."

He said the 1-3 Gophers, who will play host to Northwestern on Saturday for homecoming, are "two or three plays away" from being 4-0 like the Wildcats. (That's debatable, at best.)

He affectionately calls Brewster, the former Illinois tight end, "Brew" and "Timmy" and said that anyone can "pop in the tape" and see how good the Gophers really are.

"Schematically, they do an outstanding job in all three phases," he said. "They have great athletes all over the place. Timmy has recruited outstanding … this is the best team we will have played."

OK, but it's also a team allowing 31.0 points per game — eight more than any Big Ten foe — and a whopping 6.4 yards per carry. That is dead last in the nation.

Northern Illinois tailback Chad Spann torched the Gophers for 223 yards on just 15 carries Saturday, and that number was not lost on NU tailbacks such as Jacob Schmidt.

"We're excited," he said. "The Northern Illinois guy proved they can be run on. So that's our goal — to shove it down their throat."

That would be novel for a Northwestern team averaging 3.2 yards per carry — and with a quarterback who leads the nation in completion percentage (80.2) and is tied for second in QB rating. (Utah's Terrance Cain ranks first despite completing 37 passes to Dan Persa's 85.)

Fitzgerald couldn't say who will start at tailback Saturday, telling a reporter only that it won't be "you or me."

"The way the guys practice and compete will determine where things will go," he said.

Schmidt and Mike Trumpy are listed as "or" above Arby Fields, who has fumbled in consecutive games, and Stephen Simmons.

Schmidt averaged 5.3 yards per carry against Central Michigan and was named NU's offensive player of the game.

Trumpy, a redshirt freshman from Wheaton North and nephew of broadcaster Bob Trumpy, was so effective Saturday in his first meaningful work, he seemed to answer NU's perennial chicken-or-egg question: Has NU's rushing game sputtered because of A) the offensive line, or B) the tailbacks?

The answer: B.

"Mike ran with an attitude, and he was decisive," Fitzgerald said. "Some of the previous games, the looks were similar, and we had either a zero gain or a negative gain. There were a couple of runs where Mike got a 1- or 2-yard gain (to make it) 2nd-and-8 instead of 2nd-and-12. Those four yards are huge."

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Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
 

That's what opposing coaches say when they want somebody to stay in their current job.
 

While reading that, suddenly Foreigner's 'Head Games' started playing in the background of my mind. Hmm. Weird.

Talk about the inverse of bulletin board material.
 




This is my favorite part. The coach lets his players say what they are really thinking. Ha ha! Busted.

GoldenRose said:
Northern Illinois tailback Chad Spann torched the Gophers for 223 yards on just 15 carries Saturday, and that number was not lost on NU tailbacks such as Jacob Schmidt.

"We're excited," he said. "The Northern Illinois guy proved they can be run on. So that's our goal — to shove it down their throat."




Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
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C'mon-there's not a shred of sincerity in his statement. I totally understand the logic behind the mind game he's playing in talking up the opponent. There is no incentive to talk down the Gophers or Brewster.
 

How much did Fitzgerald win on his bet for being able to say that with a straight face?
 



In other news: Ferentz and Bielema have issued a joint statement also affirming that Brew is a tremendous coach and should be given at least 10 years to build his program.
 

RickJamesCocaine.jpg
 

I've never heard of another coach ripping the opposing coach. They are usually very complimentary. Bill Belichick complimented Brad Childress a few years ago right before putting a whopping on them on MNF.

Its coach-speak.

Plus he probably wants him around forever so they can have another team to beat.
 


Rosemountian said:
I guess all the Brewster haters will have to recognize that he isnt the only coach throwing around hyperbole.
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Perhaps he is trying to win the Common Man's Preposterous Statement of the Year tournament
 


Coach Speak 101.

"Billy Cockerham may be the most athletic QB I've ever seen." Joe Paterno, November 1999

"The University of the Navy has one of the finest football teams in the country."-Lou Holtz
 

FireDaveLee said:
Coach Speak 101.

"Billy Cockerham may be the most athletic QB I've ever seen." Joe Paterno, November 1999

"The University of the Navy has one of the finest football teams in the country."-Lou Holtz
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+1. You rarely hear a coach run down another coach. One of the only times in my memory is when Jerry Glanville put a verbal beating on Jack Pardee.
 


Coach Fitz is an awesome coach. You have to credit Northwestern in getting three good coaches in a row in Barnett, Walker, and Fitzgerald. Their AD's were doing something right. Ever since Barnett's first break out year this team has been five hundred in the the Big Ten. We don't stand a chance on Saturday. Northwestern might be the darkhorse in the Big Ten this year.
 

gold04 said:
Coach Fitz is an awesome coach. You have to credit Northwestern in getting three good coaches in a row in Barnett, Walker, and Fitzgerald. Their AD's were doing something right. Ever since Barnett's first break out year this team has been five hundred in the the Big Ten. We don't stand a chance on Saturday. Northwestern might be the darkhorse in the Big Ten this year.
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I just wish Fitzgerald wasn't a Northwestern alum and coaching at Miami of Ohio instead, this guy would be the ideal hire.
 

Northwestern found the ideal situation. A guy who is an alumni and is a great coach. He is someone who may stay there the rest of his life. When Walker was alive he said Fitzgerald needed to be the next coach at Northwestern. He saw huge potential in Fitzgerald.

Dungy would be great but that is not going to happen. I think Trestman might be a good possibility. He's been in Canada for the last couple of years and had great success. Being a former student, he might want to stay here for awhile. He'd be better than Brewster, I can guarantee you that.
 

One thing impressive about coach Fitz is his ability to get his team to win close games. If Northwestern is in a close game, they think they will win. They have lost some close games but they have won a bunch. Last year I wanted to beat Northwestern more than any other Big Ten team. I got sick to my stomach seeing that team dance around the field when they beat us in some very close games.
 

dpodoll68 said:
He did not really say "University of the Navy". Did he?
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I'm trying to find the direct quote......I'll toss it in if I can. I believe the exact quote is "The University of the Navy scares me to death."

Only thing found was from Ivan Maisel last December:

"The Outback Bowl has had an affiliation with the Big Ten for 17 years and has never before invited Northwestern. I know this without looking it up because the media release Sunday announced that the bowl had invited the University of Northwestern to play Auburn University. It has been Northwestern University since 1851. Perhaps it’s a tribute to my colleague Lou Holtz, who, while at Notre Dame, once discussed playing the University of the Navy."
 

FireDaveLee said:
I'm trying to find the direct quote......I'll toss it in if I can. I believe the exact quote is "The University of the Navy scares me to death."

Only thing found was from Ivan Maisel last December:

"The Outback Bowl has had an affiliation with the Big Ten for 17 years and has never before invited Northwestern. I know this without looking it up because the media release Sunday announced that the bowl had invited the University of Northwestern to play Auburn University. It has been Northwestern University since 1851. Perhaps it’s a tribute to my colleague Lou Holtz, who, while at Notre Dame, once discussed playing the University of the Navy."
Click to expand...

I guess the descriptor "idiot savant" would be most fitting for Dr. Lou.
 

This might not be the ideal time to offer a wholehearted endorsement of The New York Times computer ranking, not after the records of Notre Dame's opponents -- including the one Holtz referred to at the pep rally as "the University of Navy" -- kept the Irish a relatively distant third in the latest Top 25 despite their victory over the Seminoles.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/15/s...l-a-heavyweight-bout-that-just-won-t-end.html
 

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