By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
A MATTER OF MATURITY: Last Saturday, shortly after his 'Cats defeated No. 21 Stanford, Pat Fitzgerald said, "As I told the guys in the locker room, this is stop one on the train. Let's not act like we haven't been here before. I look forward to watching the way we mature through the course of the week. We've just beaten a very good football team. Now how are we going to handle preparing for a team (Eastern Illinois) coming in next week that has a lot of young men from Chicagoland and a lot of young men who will be stoked up to play a Big Ten opponent?"
Wednesday, after that morning's practice, he was asked just how they were handling that?
"To this point, it's been really good," he said. "I thought yesterday was a practice back to the standards that we've had. Terrific attitude, great work ethic. Not perfect, but that's practice, that's why you do it. And we put them in real hard situations Tuesday and Wednesday, then we pare things down and clean it up on Thursday. Two days in, I like where we're at. We've got a good football team. We've just got to keep working."
FLASHBACK: Last Monday, at his weekly presser, Fitzgerald's passion was particularly palpable on a pair of occasions. The first came when he said, "I'm tired of being average." The other came when he said, "You can see what we can potentially be, (but) I'm done with potential. I want to see production."
Now, on Wednesday, he has acknowledged that his 'Cats are good, and together all this makes us wonder if that is why he is pushing them so ardently, to make sure they maximize their talents and take full advantage of their opportunity?
"There's part of that, yes," he says. "And I also think we've got competitive depth, and I think there's some guys whose play, albeit we won, was not consistent enough for us to consistently win. That's the message. Like I've said, there were times last year where I felt handcuffed (by a roster that had been depleted by injuries). I didn't have the number one motivator, which is the bench. Now I've got it, and the guys know that, and they don't want that.
"They want to be great, and they're working to get there and embracing that improvement philosophy, working to get better. You hope by that process, as we move forward, we get better. That eliminates inconsistency, that eliminates steps back, that eliminates caring about who you play, and all that. Hopefully, it'll continue down the road."
'N SYNC: The 'Cats had toppled a top-ranked opponent, had held that opponent without a touchdown, had out-muscled an opponent known for its brand of smash-mouth football, and had felt pretty good about themselves on that Saturday evening. But then, on Sunday, they watched the film of that Stanford game, and on Monday Fitzgerald critiqued the flaws in their performance. They were OK with that. "If we're talking about being the best in the nation, those are the things we need in order to take ourselves to that level we want to be at," explained one of them, the safety Kyle Queiro.
"(Defensive backs) Coach (Jerry) Brown talks about it all the time, that the great players want to hear that. Then when we were freshmen, Ibraheim (Campbell, a former safety), obviously a great player who's now doing it in The Show, he would know the defense down pat, but he would still be taking notes, would still be trying to get better. So there's always room for improvement, no matter who you are."
"Coach Fitz, he's a great coach," said another of them, the middle linebacker Anthony Walker. "He knows once you have a pretty good game, the way we played, it's easy to get big-headed and to get complacent. But that's not what we're trying to do. We're not focused on a one-game goal, or one week, or two weeks. The big goal is to be in Indianapolis in December (in the Big Ten title game), and we know that's not going to happen after one week. We have to keep getting better each week, each day.
"You have to be consistent. The great players are consistent. That's why the Stanford game, I wanted to come out and play well. But that's not the end of the world right there. We have to come back and be prepared this week and the week after and all the way through to December, and be ready to go. Every day we have to prepare like this is the last time."
WE ARE FAMILY: Throughout fall camp, and certainly in the Stanford game, there was a synergy about this year's 'Cats, who appear far more bonded than in the recent past. Fitzgerald himself has mentioned this, has credited the team's leadership for this, and so here one example of how that covenant was nurtured and formed. During the off-season safety Traveon Henry, one of those leaders, organized a scavenger hunt. "It was just a way to get guys who may not know each other, to get them around each other and working toward a common goal," he said, explaining this move.
"I felt it would definitely be a way for guys to meet each other, to get to know each other. During the season, there are a lot of opportunities when we come together as a position group. But during the offseason, it's a great time for the (whole) team to come together. We wanted to do it so guys from different position groups were all together, guys from different areas were together, guys from different backgrounds were together."
And did it bring them closer?
"Definitely," said corner Matthew Harris. "After that day-- you have to go out of your way to talk to each other and get things done, just like you have to on the field. That really brought us together. Even after, we had a cookout planned. Sadly, it rained. But after that I feel everybody trusted each other. We had a lot of fun doing it, especially the freshmen. They're incoming and they don't really have a feel for the team. But it's a brotherhood, and that helped them feel that."
TRANSLATION: Way back on media day, Harris explained just why that is so important. "It's all about trust," he said then. "Honestly, if I don't know the guy that's playing next to me giving me the calls, I'm not going to trust what he's saying. I'm going to do my own thing. So if I trust, if I built trust off the field and I know he has my best interest in mind, that'll go a long way with me. And on the team, seeing one person down, picking each other up goes a long way too. That's what will have the most impact.
"We know it's not all going to be peaches and cream. We know that sometimes a big play may happen, that sometimes thing might not go our way. But if we're able to be resilient-- that's where the camaraderie comes in."
AND FINALLY, QUICKLY NOTED: Eastern Illinois opened the year No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll, but fell out of the rankings after falling to Western Illinois, 33-5, in its opener. . . The Panthers not only blocked three punts in that game. They also blocked a PAT attempt that was returned for a score (two points). . . Twenty players from the Chicagoland area are on the Eastern roster, which also includes 14 transfers from FBS schools. . . Among the Panthers famous alums are Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo; Patriot quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo; Saints' coach Sean Payton; former Viking coach Brad Childress; and former Raiders/Broncos/Redskins coach Mike Shanahan.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and check us out on Instagram. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
NUsports.com Special Contributor
A MATTER OF MATURITY: Last Saturday, shortly after his 'Cats defeated No. 21 Stanford, Pat Fitzgerald said, "As I told the guys in the locker room, this is stop one on the train. Let's not act like we haven't been here before. I look forward to watching the way we mature through the course of the week. We've just beaten a very good football team. Now how are we going to handle preparing for a team (Eastern Illinois) coming in next week that has a lot of young men from Chicagoland and a lot of young men who will be stoked up to play a Big Ten opponent?"
Wednesday, after that morning's practice, he was asked just how they were handling that?
"To this point, it's been really good," he said. "I thought yesterday was a practice back to the standards that we've had. Terrific attitude, great work ethic. Not perfect, but that's practice, that's why you do it. And we put them in real hard situations Tuesday and Wednesday, then we pare things down and clean it up on Thursday. Two days in, I like where we're at. We've got a good football team. We've just got to keep working."
FLASHBACK: Last Monday, at his weekly presser, Fitzgerald's passion was particularly palpable on a pair of occasions. The first came when he said, "I'm tired of being average." The other came when he said, "You can see what we can potentially be, (but) I'm done with potential. I want to see production."
Now, on Wednesday, he has acknowledged that his 'Cats are good, and together all this makes us wonder if that is why he is pushing them so ardently, to make sure they maximize their talents and take full advantage of their opportunity?
"There's part of that, yes," he says. "And I also think we've got competitive depth, and I think there's some guys whose play, albeit we won, was not consistent enough for us to consistently win. That's the message. Like I've said, there were times last year where I felt handcuffed (by a roster that had been depleted by injuries). I didn't have the number one motivator, which is the bench. Now I've got it, and the guys know that, and they don't want that.
"They want to be great, and they're working to get there and embracing that improvement philosophy, working to get better. You hope by that process, as we move forward, we get better. That eliminates inconsistency, that eliminates steps back, that eliminates caring about who you play, and all that. Hopefully, it'll continue down the road."
'N SYNC: The 'Cats had toppled a top-ranked opponent, had held that opponent without a touchdown, had out-muscled an opponent known for its brand of smash-mouth football, and had felt pretty good about themselves on that Saturday evening. But then, on Sunday, they watched the film of that Stanford game, and on Monday Fitzgerald critiqued the flaws in their performance. They were OK with that. "If we're talking about being the best in the nation, those are the things we need in order to take ourselves to that level we want to be at," explained one of them, the safety Kyle Queiro.
"(Defensive backs) Coach (Jerry) Brown talks about it all the time, that the great players want to hear that. Then when we were freshmen, Ibraheim (Campbell, a former safety), obviously a great player who's now doing it in The Show, he would know the defense down pat, but he would still be taking notes, would still be trying to get better. So there's always room for improvement, no matter who you are."
"Coach Fitz, he's a great coach," said another of them, the middle linebacker Anthony Walker. "He knows once you have a pretty good game, the way we played, it's easy to get big-headed and to get complacent. But that's not what we're trying to do. We're not focused on a one-game goal, or one week, or two weeks. The big goal is to be in Indianapolis in December (in the Big Ten title game), and we know that's not going to happen after one week. We have to keep getting better each week, each day.
"You have to be consistent. The great players are consistent. That's why the Stanford game, I wanted to come out and play well. But that's not the end of the world right there. We have to come back and be prepared this week and the week after and all the way through to December, and be ready to go. Every day we have to prepare like this is the last time."
WE ARE FAMILY: Throughout fall camp, and certainly in the Stanford game, there was a synergy about this year's 'Cats, who appear far more bonded than in the recent past. Fitzgerald himself has mentioned this, has credited the team's leadership for this, and so here one example of how that covenant was nurtured and formed. During the off-season safety Traveon Henry, one of those leaders, organized a scavenger hunt. "It was just a way to get guys who may not know each other, to get them around each other and working toward a common goal," he said, explaining this move.
"I felt it would definitely be a way for guys to meet each other, to get to know each other. During the season, there are a lot of opportunities when we come together as a position group. But during the offseason, it's a great time for the (whole) team to come together. We wanted to do it so guys from different position groups were all together, guys from different areas were together, guys from different backgrounds were together."
And did it bring them closer?
"Definitely," said corner Matthew Harris. "After that day-- you have to go out of your way to talk to each other and get things done, just like you have to on the field. That really brought us together. Even after, we had a cookout planned. Sadly, it rained. But after that I feel everybody trusted each other. We had a lot of fun doing it, especially the freshmen. They're incoming and they don't really have a feel for the team. But it's a brotherhood, and that helped them feel that."
TRANSLATION: Way back on media day, Harris explained just why that is so important. "It's all about trust," he said then. "Honestly, if I don't know the guy that's playing next to me giving me the calls, I'm not going to trust what he's saying. I'm going to do my own thing. So if I trust, if I built trust off the field and I know he has my best interest in mind, that'll go a long way with me. And on the team, seeing one person down, picking each other up goes a long way too. That's what will have the most impact.
"We know it's not all going to be peaches and cream. We know that sometimes a big play may happen, that sometimes thing might not go our way. But if we're able to be resilient-- that's where the camaraderie comes in."
AND FINALLY, QUICKLY NOTED: Eastern Illinois opened the year No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll, but fell out of the rankings after falling to Western Illinois, 33-5, in its opener. . . The Panthers not only blocked three punts in that game. They also blocked a PAT attempt that was returned for a score (two points). . . Twenty players from the Chicagoland area are on the Eastern roster, which also includes 14 transfers from FBS schools. . . Among the Panthers famous alums are Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo; Patriot quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo; Saints' coach Sean Payton; former Viking coach Brad Childress; and former Raiders/Broncos/Redskins coach Mike Shanahan.
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and check us out on Instagram. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!