Less Cooks in the kitchen

Sounds like Kerry Cooks is going to leave Bret Bielema's coaching staff to take a job at Notre Dame. Apparently a former college teammate of Cooks' will be the defensive coordinator for Brian Kelly.

While Cooks was a member of Bielema's original staff, this doesn't seem like a mammoth loss. Our defensive backs haven't been a particularly strong unit for the past three seasons after a stellar 2006. On the other hand, he's coached up guys like Allen Langford and Chris Maragos, and his unit was hit by dismissals and an overreliance on youth.

With most assistant coaches, the bigger issue is their value recruiting. Cooks recruited Texas, Iowa and Maryland for us. Texas hasn't netted us much recently beyond Jay Valai and Devin Smith. Florida is the better southern state for us. We haven't gotten many kids from Maryland, although that's changed with Frank Tamakloe and Robbie Havenstein in this year's class. Top kids from Iowa go to ... Iowa.

So without doing a deep dive through the roster and checking every guy Cooks was responsible for, it doesn't appear we'll take a big step back here.

I see this as an opportunity for an upgrade both in position coaching and recruiting. Also, word is this is Bielema is being strongly urged to get someone else to coach special teams. Hey, great idea. If only 100,000 Badger fans hadn't suggested it a year ago.

Academic All-Big Ten Badgers

Let's step away from the field for a moment and give credit to to the Badger football players who earned academic All-Big Ten honors:

Zach Brown, Gabe Carimi, Nate Emanuel, Bradie Ewing, Antonio Fenelus, Matthew Groff, Will Hartmann, Jordan Hein, Aaron Henry, Tyler Holland, Peter Konz, Andrew Lukasko, Prince Moody, Brad Nortman, Chukwuma Offor, Curt Phillips, Devin Smith, Blake Sorensen, Scott Tolzien, Mickey Turner, J.J. Watt, Drew Woodward.

That's eight starters, five key reserves, and a smattering of special teams contributors. Nice work in the classroom, fellas!

UW-Northwestern box score

Reviewing the box score from our loss in Evanston, there still wasn't much to like.

-Wayne Larrivee and Chris Martin (who I probably came down on too hard on Saturday) kept talking about how Northwestern pushes tempo and shoots for 80 offensive plays. Turns out they ran 66 and we ran 65.

-They had nine penalties. If they had played a clean second half, the final score probably wouldn't have been that close.

-Same with third down conversions. The finals were 6-of-14 for them, 4-of-13 for us, but they were converting over 50% until near the end. This is an area in which we've really improved this year, on both sides of the ball, but Saturday we weren't good on third down.

-Have we run that end around to Lance Kendricks since he gained almost 100 yards on it during the Purdue game? Why not?

-Who was our defensive star of the game? Blake Sorensen led in tackles but didn't seem to make any big plays. Devin Smith broke up two passes and had seven tackles, but seemed to get burned in coverage on a regular basis. Jae McFadden had a tackle for loss and fumble recovery, but also had a blatant facemask penalty.

Chris Borland had a quiet game, credited with a forced fumble but seeing the replay I question that. O'Brien Schofield and J.J. Watt were effectively neutralized. Niles Brinkley had a big hit on Northwestern's last real possession to break up a third down pass.

How about Jeff Stehle, who tipped a pass and had a sack?

UW-Michigan thoughts

That was exactly the second half we were looking for! I could not be more pleased with the win -- defense played well enough, offense was in control when the game mattered, lots of guys got involved. Always good to beat Michigan, which will probably be back at some point in the near future. They've got some good playmakers, but a lot of holes on defense and in the running game.

Most points ever against Michigan? I'll take that.

-I was hard on Scott Tolzien for his first half performance. He was brilliant in the second half. Helped, of course, by the fact that he had all day to throw and his receivers were wide open. Nick Toon had another career day, Isaac Anderson was open time and again, and Garrett Graham delivered the performance we expect from him. Lance Kendricks made a really nice, athletic play on his touchdown reception. We'll give the passing game a B, but an A+ for the second half.

-John Clay won't go down as the top star of this game, but had another very good day. As I Tweeted late in the game, who is a better candidate for Big Ten offensive player of the year than him? Montee Ball got a lot of good reps, and Zach Brown had one very nice run. Reassuring to see the running back depth that our offensive needs. A- for the run game.

-So let's give props to the offensive line for the job they did protecting Tolzien in the second half and for run blocking, excellent job fellas. Jake Bscherer must have done a good job replacing Josh Oglesby. Gabe Carimi was called for two holds, one of which was a terrible call in which he had whipped his guy and the guy just twisted and fell.

-Hard to pick one guy on defense, but a lot of guys were solid. Niles Brinkley made a nice pick that should help his confidence. Devin Smith's coverage improved as the game went on. Jae McFadden had some nice player early in the second half. The Big Ten Network crew named O'Brien Schofield the defensive player of the game, he did most of his damage early.

-It's sort of incredible that we haven't allowed a Big Ten opponent to rush for 100 yards this year. Coming into the season that figured to be a weakness, with two new defensive tackles and two new linebackers. But that unit has obviously been excellent, and our success has stemmed from there.

One more Big Ten team to go, and Northwestern is always tricky. But we've guaranteed a winning conference record in a rebuilding year. The senior class that played its last home game today deserves a lot of credit for that.

Last year the Michigan game was the lowest of lows for the Badgers and their fans. This year the Michigan game is a reason for us to smile and enjoy life in red.

UW-Indiana box score

Thoughts from the Wisconsin-Indiana box score:

-As much as Indiana shredded our pass defense, here's an interesting stat: we averaged 17.6 yards per completion to Indiana's 12.6. On 11 attempts, that's a pretty good day for Scott Tolzien.

-If we get through a game with a roughly 5:2 run-pass ratio, we're usually going to win.

-Time of possession advantage for Badgers: 33:45 to 26:15.

-Interesting punter comparison: Brad Nortman's gross average was 44.2 to Chris Hagerup's 37.8, but Hagerup's net average was 37.0 yards to Nortman's 32.5. Touchbacks will do that to a guy. Nortman's solid, I'm not complaining, but he can work on his coffin corner touch.

-Just one end around called today, a week after Lance Kendricks ran it so well and a year after David Gilreath ran it so well against Indiana. The fake end around was employed regularly.

-No surprise that Chris Borland led the team in tackles with nine, including one for loss and his incredible interception. But Devin Smith was second with eight, an indication of how often Indiana passed. Interestingly enough I don't remember a single play Smith was involved in.

-Will Patterson led Indiana with 10 tackles, but Montee Ball flat run over him on his second touchdown run. That's a true freshman running over a senior thought to be one of the best linebackers in the conference. The future is bright for that one.

-Indiana's defense is not good, and most of their key players are seniors. Besides Patterson, there's Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew, who were rendered non-factors by Gabe Carimi, Josh Oglesby and Jake Bscherer. It's hard to see the Hoosiers getting considerably better any time soon.

-Jay Valai had a tackle for loss and pass breakup, and was generally more noticeable today than in most other games this year. Which got me thinking: he's making less highlight reel plays, but he's also whiffing on tackles less often. Overall, his play has been solid, as has that of Chris Maragos, which has helped as our young cornerbacks have had their ups and downs finding their way on the edge.

UW-Purdue thoughts

Twenty-one years ago, my dad took me to my first Badger game at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin lost to Michigan 62-14. We walked up to the ticket office five minutes before kickoff and got tickets on the 45-yard-line. The stadium was about half full.

Today, I took my son to his first Badger game at Camp Randall. Wisconsin beat Purdue 37-0. We were lucky to get tickets because Purdue returned some of its allotment. The stadium was full, save for a few students who couldn't drag themselves to the game.

What a pleasant difference two decades makes. Today was the best kind of game: a laugher, decided in the Badgers' favor early, yet still some drama late as the defense tried to preserve a shutout. I was nervous coming in, given how well Purdue had played lately and how we had played in our last two games.

We played a pretty good game today, but PU just stunk. Joey Elliott wasn't accurate, and when he was his receivers dropped the ball. They couldn't stop the run. They couldn't hang onto the ball. And we did what we needed to do, with pleasing results.

-Let's start with the special teams. David Gilbert's play was amazing, and another piece of evidence in the case against that ridiculous method of punt protection. I have been surprised not to see Gilbert in more for more snaps at defensive end, but he, like Chris Borland, has proven to be a real playmaker on special teams. And good for Aaron Henry getting a score, hopefully that will help his confidence.

-Speaking of confidence, let's not overlook Philip Welch making all three of his field goal attempts. This week the talk was of his inconsistency, his groin injury, of Alec Lerner maybe getting some attempts. But he looked sharp on his field goals, and booted a couple touchbacks. I thought Brad Nortman looked good, too. Only blot on the special teams was David Gilreath fielding a punt at his own 5, then almost running himself into a safety. He did have a couple nice returns.

-Purdue helped our defense pitch the shutout, but the boys played pretty darn well, too. J.J. Watt sticks out in my mind, with some nice penetration and knocking down the pass at the end to preserve the goose egg. His new haircut is brutal, though. Dan Moore and Jeff Stehle got in on tackles for loss, as did Jae McFadden, who led us with nine tackles and was around the ball a lot. Brendan Kelly made a good play at the line of scrimmage and knocked down a pass.

-And what about my favorite rookie, Chris Borland? One TFL and two fumble recoveries, including one in which he forced the fumble. Assuming Mike Taylor comes back healthy next year, that's an awesome plamaking duo at linebacker for the next three years.

-It was Devin Smith and Niles Brinkley at corner the whole game, as suspected, and they played well enough. Nice pick by Devin, showed some good footwork to stay inbounds.

-Purdue was 2 of 16 on third down, awesome.

-Offensively, didn't you want to see Lance Kendricks get to 100 yards rushing? Has a tight end run for 100 yards ... ever? In the past 50 years? Great play to start the game, and they never figured out how to stop it. What a weapon.

-Also loved the first drive: 80 yards, all rushing. John Clay did nothing spectacular today, but racked up 123 yards rushing like he should have. Montee Ball's first run was nice, but after that there didn't seem to be anything there and he was repeatedly stuffed. Was it the blocking or was he misreading things?

-First catches for Kraig Appleton, glad to see his burnt redshirt won't go for naught. The best play he made was actually on a catch rule incomplete because his foot was just out of bounds. He sure looks the part physically, every bit as built as Nick Toon.

-Sort of a nothing game for Scott Tolzien, who made some decent passes and some not-so-great passes; at least none of them were picked. He had Toon open for a touchdown but overthrew it a bit, Toon made a great play to make the catch. He may have held on to the ball a bit long on a couple occassions, resulting in sacks, but that's debatable.

-Time of possession edge for Bucky: 36:45 to 23:15.

-Well-officiated game, only six penalties, gave things a nice flow.

-Listening to the postgame radio show, heard this gem from Van Stoutt interviewing Watt:
Stoutt: J.J., Indiana beat Iowa today. How does it feel to control your own destiny?
Watt: Um, I think Iowa came back and won that game. I think it was 42-24.

Nice one, Van. Even if Iowa had lost, how would that mean the Badgers controlled their own destiny?

Who's next, Indiana? They're spunkier than expected. But I like where we're at.

UW-Iowa box score thoughts

Unsurprisingly, not much to like in reviewing the box score from the Iowa game. Here are a few things:

-We held them to 1.7 yards per rush.

-We only had two penalties.

And ... that's it. Scoreboard.

-We averaged 44.6 yards per punt, but only 38.6 yards net. I've been pretty happy with Brad Nortman this year, but his work pinning punts inside the 10 could improve.

-Chris Borland led the Badgers with 10 tackles. Won't be the last time. Added a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. I can't remember the last time a true freshman made such an impact on such a consistent basis on defense.

-J.J. Watt had eight tackles, and a whopping four for loss.

-That was a nicely timed blitz by Devin Smith that resulted in his sack. Would like to see more corner blitzes.

-Two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, and a quarterback hurry for O'Brien Schofield. Louis Nzegwu had a hurry too.

Wisconsin-Wofford thoughts

I missed the first five minutes of the Badger game yesterday. Every year my family participates in the Memory Walk, which raises funds for the Alzheimer's Association in its efforts to fight the disease. My grandfather had Alzheimer's, and it was heartbreaking to watch what the disease did to him at the end of his life. It's always good to get together with family and remember him.

So as we pulled into the parking lot of the sports bar where we would watch the game, the refs were confirming John Clay's first fumble. Then, two plays after we forced and recovered a Wofford fumble, Zach Brown coughs it up. My relatives were amused by the figurative steam coming out of my ears after those fumbles and the stupid penalties on our first scoring drive.

Of course, the second quarter made it a laugher, and everyone was giggling about how relaxed I looked. Glad my emotional torment could provide entertainment for the family.

Put the fumbles aside, good game. I was legitimately worried about Wofford's option, but this one was a complete mismatch. Reading the Journal Sentinel's recap today, I almost thought the Badgers lost. Yeah, there was sloppiness, but let's focus on the positives.

-The defense played well, especially the linebackers. Culmer St. Jean had the best game of his career, 15 tackles, two for loss, and a fumble recovery. Mike Taylor had nine tackles, two for loss, and a sack. Jae McFadden had eight tackles, one for loss. It didn't seem like the play ever reached the secondary, the front seven really maintained their individual responsibilities against the option.

-The receiving corps is really looking like the strongest unit on the team. Lance Kendricks emerged from hibernation to have a really nice game, and Garrett Graham had a touchdown. Throw in Mickey Turner's blocking and I can't see how anyone else in the country has a better group of tight ends than us. Nick Toon had another solid game, he has been playing really well this year. And Scott Tolzien is finding them.

-What more can I say about Chris Borland? First he forces a fumble. Then he makes a super-athletic play to block that punt. For the time being, we have a special teams star in the making. Bigger picture, he's going to make plays in the base defense.

Two things on that punt block: I don't think David Gilbert necessarily recovered it in bounds, or at least it was close enough that it should have been reviewed. Nice to see another true freshman making a big play. Also, the fact that Borland could get close enough to jump over the "personal protector" and block the punt shows that formation's limitations. I prefer to see the blockers engage the rushers at the line of scrimmage, rather than letting them build up a head of steam.

-Good for Erik Smith capitalizing on his playing time by running well. He hit holes well, showed power and quickness. Just as nice was that on the drive of Smith's touchdown run, John Moffitt and Bill Nagy made their season debuts. We should be operating with a full deck on the offensive line heading into the Big Ten season.

-Curt Phillips' time was productive. In my mind I compare him to Michigan's Denard Robinson, who is an electric runner at quarterback, very quick and fast. Phillips isn't as quick as Robinson, but is effective running because he's powerful. It wil be interesting to see how and when Phillips will get playing time in tighter conference games. We may go games without seeing him.

-O'Brien Schofield wasn't around the ball as much as the first two games, but he still had a big sack/forced fumble and a pressure that led to Devin Smith's interception. He's playing at an all-conference level.

-Even though he had a fumble, Zach Brown ran reasonably well.

-Lots of guys got in on defense: Kevin Rouse, Shelton Johnson, Kevin Claxton, Tony Megna, Jordan Hein, Brendan Kelly, Leonard Hubbard, Jake Current, Rob Korslin, Ricky Wagner.

Now for the not-so-good parts:

-The game wasn't a sellout, broke a fairly long streak for us. Have to imagine this is a minor protest for UW scheduling another Division I-AA team. It looked, however, like the bulk of the protesters were likely UW students, who have shifted their efforts from Tibet.

-David Gilreath had a bad game with a big negative run, and he should have caught the ball from Tolzien that was ruled a fumble. Isaac Anderson dropped a perfect pass and was called for holding on a Brown touchdown run. Maurice Moore picked up a penalty. Wideouts other than Toon have to clean it up.

-Our defensive tackles are just not making many plays, although you could say that they are occupying blockers and letting the rest of the guys make plays. But they certainly aren't disruptive forces.

-Philip Welch missed an extra point. He's been more inconsistent than anyone thought he'd be.

-Lastly, there are these fumbles, specifically Clay's. What do you make of them? I watched each of them over and over, hoping to be able to give him the benefit of the doubt, that maybe each was the result of an incredible Wofford hit. But while you have to give the Wofford defenders credit for making things happen, all three were plays in which a Division I running back needs to hold onto the ball. You can't really blame the coaches for it. You think John Settle emphasizes ball security less than other running back coaches?

The bigger issue is that through three non-conference games against teams with defenses inferior to what we'll see in the Big Ten, we have not run the ball well at all. Not to be a broken record, but Moffitt and Nagy's absences had to play a role in that, as did opposing defenses stacking up against the run. But screw that -- we're Wisconsin, and it shouldn't matter what Northern Illinois or Fresno State throw at us defensively, we should still be able to pound the rock.

We won, it wasn't as close a game as I'd feared. We made it through the non-conference season without being upset, as Michigan State, Purdue, and Northwestern were. (How about Northern Illinois?) But while I'm happy, it's still really hard to tell what type of team we had heading into the real part of the schedule.

Wisconsin-Fresno State box score

Sifting through the box score from the Fresno game, some random thoughts:

-Lost the time of possession battle again, by a lot -- seven minutes. In the fourth quarter, Fresno had the ball for more than 13 minutes! Of course, Clay's long touchdown run and our last drive before Fresno's tying field goal made for two short possessions. Next week I'd like to see us really pound the rock and put together some long, sustained drives against Wofford.

-Fresno converted 11-of-18 third down tries. Unlike last week, though, we seemed to get better later in this game. There were a couple times when, at least judging by the yellow line on the TV broadcast, it appeared Fresno got very favorable spots.

-I did notice this as it happened, but did you see Erik Smith carried the ball once for a loss of four yards? If I recall the announcers attributed the run to John Clay. Wonder what prompted Smith's insertion in that situation, rather than sticking to the Clay-Zach Brown tandem.

-Didn't talk about it yesterday, but how big was Isaac Anderson's long catch at the end of the first half that set up Philip Welch's long field goal? That was a really nice play, and a gutsy call by Paul Chryst -- the kind Badger fans would probably like to see more of at the end of halves.

-Also meant to make note of the really nice catch Mickey Turner made early in the second half. It was a low throw, he seemed to use his fingertips.

-Chris Borland is just so athletic, isn't he? It ended up being a nothing play, but on the last kickoff of regulation, he jumped up and nabbed the kickoff over his head. Didn't look like a typical linebacker's hands. Sure, he should have let David Gilreath catch the ball, or should have lateraled it to him, but it showed the explosiveness and skill the true freshman brings to the table. He also made a great play to down a punt at the 1-yard-line.

-O'Brien Schofield had four tackles for loss and led the team with 11 tackles. How often do you see a defensive end lead a team in tackles? Like I said yesterday, love what he's done thus far.

-Jae McFadden just continues to rack up tackles, 10 yesterday, including a sack.

-Niles Brinkley, nice to see you again! With the emergence of Devin Smith and Antonio Fenelus, Brinkley seemed to get lost in the cornerback shuffle, and while his play was certainly not flawless, his pick was really important for momentum. Fenelus had a pick, too, but the corners' play overall was not strong. They did, however, show much improvement in the second half.

-Hypothetical question: Would Shane Carter or Aubrey Pleasant have made a significant difference in the pass defense against Fresno? Sounds like there's no way they're coming back, too bad.

-Wofford got killed by South Florida in its opener, although it sounds like the game was closer than the 33-point margin. Wofford ran the ball 50 times, threw it 11. Fared much better against Charleston Southern. Should be interesting to see how we cope with the option.

Wisconsin-Fresno State halftime thoughts

First thought is that I'm grateful we're only down four points at halftime. It seems much, much worse than that.

If you're Fresno, why wouldn't you throw the ball every single play? Even if your quarterback is throwing jump balls straight up in the air, there's a 50-50 chance there won't be a Badger within five yards. Then again, we're not tackling all that well on running plays, so pick your poison.

Not much to be encouraged about here.

-Chris Borland showed nice athleticism early, he's a keeper. Blake Sorensen made a nice play behind the line of scrimmage. O'Brien Schofield's been active again.

-And that's about it for kind words about our defense. Devin Smith just got flat toasted by Wylie on that touchdown. Antonio Fenelus bit hard on a mediocre move on Fresno's third touchdown. That followed marshmallow-soft coverage on the first drive.

-Thank God Philip Welch finally made a field goal. My initial thought was lining him up for a 55-yarder that he'd probably miss would hurt his confidence even further, but maybe this will get him going in the right direction.

-Bob Griese sounds drunk. Maybe just old. Twice he talked about Chris Maragos being here for five years. Crack open a media guide, Grease. Also, Dave Pasch, didn't realize Travis Beckum left early for the NFL.

-Liked how Chris Spielman pointed out the excellent blocking on our two touchdown runs. On Zach Brown's, Lance Kendricks, Kevin Zeitler, and Kyle Jefferson executed well. On David Gilreath's end around, Garrett Graham blocked two guys on the same play. Well done.

-On the other hand, it's concerning that thus far this season the only success we've had running the ball has come wide outside the tackles. Again, some of this is probably attributable to Bill Nagy and John Moffitt being out, and Jake Bscherer being new. But it's troubling nonetheless, and has to improve.

-Scott Tolzien's passes thus far have not appeared tight. Passing game has been OK, though.

-Kevin Claxton has a block in the back on a punt that is not fielded. Delay of game coming out of a change of possession. (Another one preceding the first play of the second half!) Ugh.

Please, Badgers, pull out this win because I really, REALLY don't want to hear any more about what a bad-ass Pat "Anyone, Anywhere" Hill is. It's really getting on my nerves.

Wisconsin-Northern Illinois box score

During the tail end of a fantasy football draft this morning I had a chance to look at last night's box score. Some things that stood out:

-We only punted twice for a 33-yard average, but both were downed inside the 20.

-Northern held the time of possession advantage, although it was only 28 seconds.

-Forgot that Maurice Moore had a 21-yard reception in the game, he ran a nice route to get open and Tolzien hit him.

-Chris Maragos had a better game than I thought -- led the team with nine tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, and of course the game-clinching breakup. They showed him getting the team pumped up in the pregame, and it looked a tad unnatural for him, but he's off to a great start as a captain.

-O'Brien Schofield is still my player of the game with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. I really liked how Dave Doeren changed up OB's positioning and stance, he looks natural without his hand on the ground, on foot in front of the other.

-Great start for J.J. Watt, six tackles, half a sack, a hurry and a tip. He and Schofield were great, but I'm a little concerned that the tackles didn't even seem to be on the field. Then again, Northern didn't exactly run all over us, so maybe they just did a good job occupying blockers.

-Culmer St. Jean was credited with a couple hurries, he had his moments, as did Blake Sorensen. Devin Smith was active with six tackles.

Wisconsin-Northern Illinois thoughts

Phew. That was a lot closer than it had to be. Was it just me, or were you all having flashbacks to last year after Schofield's forced fumble was not allowed to be reviewed? The sequence of events that followed seemed straight out of last year's script -- penalty keeps drive alive for other team, special teams breakdown ... thank goodness for another nice Schofield play and Chris Maragos closing things out.

Northern's OK, but I'm guessing they're not as good as they were last year when they almost beat Minnesota and Tennessee. Hopefully they'll get to a bowl and make our win look better.

-We dominated the game for three quarters. The third quarter was just about perfect. Then we didn't finish. It might get overlooked, but here's a cause for concern: Philip Welch missed both his field goal attempts. The first one was rather long, but the second was one he should make. He makes that second on and it's not so tense at the end.

-Tolzien will get the headlines, but for my money Schofield was the player of the game for us. He was always around the ball, in Northern's backfield, in coverage. The final defensive stats will be kind to him. Great start for a captain.

-Tolzien showed the starting job should be his. His first pick wasn't really his fault, although the second one was. Otherwise I thought he played really well, much better than I'd expected. Liked how he stood in against blitzes. Showed decisiveness that was missing from our QBs last year.

The nice thing is, Phillips showed he deserves playing time, too, and it wasn't because Tolzien was struggling. Phillips showed what we thought he'd show, nice mobility. The threat of him running several possessions out of the Spread every game is great because it forces our opponents to spend time preparing for it. If they don't, Curt can break some big gains.

-Thought the running game was pretty blah. Maybe Northern will prove to have a really good run defense. Maybe we were missing Moffitt and Nagy. Brown looked sharp early but couldn't sustain it. Clay looked sluggish early but showed a nice nose for the end zone. Neither one got to 50 yards or 4 yards per carry, a concern.

-Nice game by Garrett Graham, as expected. No passes thrown to Lance Kendricks, unexpected.

-We hit hard tonight, lot of times when our kids blew up a Northern player, sometimes knocking off their helmets. Devin Smith had a nice one on a kickoff return.

-Chris Martin of the Big Ten Network is still trying too hard. He made some UPS-related Brown quip after NIU's running back had a nice run, and tried to tie in Zach Brown, and it made little sense. You could tell he'd been working on it for about a month, and it was lame. Still talking about "linear" receivers.

-Did you notice the new uniform wrinkle, the little Motion W on the back above the name? It's not awful, but I'd rather it not be there, it's not necessary.

-What in the world was Ron Dayne wearing during his interview with Charissa Thompson? One really bad leisure athletic jacket, one that my mom hopefully won't get me for Christmas.

-A key to us building that lead was the defense's ability to get off the field on third down. The inability to do so at the end is what let Northern back in. Obvious, I know, but doing a better job closing the deal is a must, whether it's a whole game or a single drive.

-Saw Mike Taylor back in the game, that was good. Chris Borland played a lot and was definitely a factor, awesome for a true freshman to step up like that.

-Our kids really did a poor job on the onside kick. Northern's kicker hit it perfectly, but it seemed like we only had one guy step forward to try to grab it, while Northern had three or four right there. Add that to the two missed field goals and another game of mostly lackluster returns, and the special teams remain anything but.

After the third quarter, I was really hoping for a 35-6 final score, or something like that, to show that we're a team capable of tossing around a bowl team (even if it's from the MAC). The final score is not a perfect reflection of how this game went, but hey, a win's a win. There are things to work on, but there are a lot of things to like. I'll sleep easy tonight.

Blogger roundtable: Defense

OK, this is about a month overdue, and some of the responses might seem a little dated, but ... thanks to Adam Hoge for putting this together.

Can you believe it has been five years since that great defensive line of 2004? Depth is once again an issue this year, but there seems to be some promise in J.J. Watt among others. Do you see any newcomers stepping up on the D-line to provide some depth?

On Wisconsin: Yeah, 5 years since Anttaj and Erasmus, but harder to believe for me is that Chapman and Shaughnessy never became true beasts on the line. They had so much promise early. Schofield is solid (led the team in sacks last season) and everyone is excited about Watt, but it's all based on practice so far. I want to believe in him, but I'm a little nervous. I'm concerned about our size everywhere and Moore really should be an end (where he would probably be very good), but we should have speed on the edges. I don't know who the solid tackles-to-be are, but with Nzegwu, Mains, and Westphal, there is plenty of young talent ready to step up on the ends. We'll need it.

BadgerCentric: It's funny, because when you mentioned 2004, the first thing I thought was "I thought 2005 would be a down year, and we ended up winning 10 games, great year." But that was in spite of the defensive line! Even so, while injuries killed that unit (remember Beckum playing end?), but guys like Shaughnessy, Hayden, and Chapman showed promise. I don't see those guys on this unit. O'Brien Schofield is a solid starter. Watt seems to have a Hayden-like ceiling. But are there difference-makers? Doesn't look like it. I'll be happy if these guys can keep offensive linemen off our linebackers.

Hoops Marinara: It's a shame Erasmus and Co. flamed out in the NFL. Maybe they weren't that great after all. In 2009, the Badgers look weak up the middle and that spells trouble. I like O'Brien Schofield, who seems like he should be the emotional leader on the unit. Again, I like the younger guys UW has backing up the end positions, but inside is a question mark.

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: You have to be careful from what comes out of Camp Randall in the off-season because a lot of it can be propaganda. But I must say I am a little more optimistic about the defensive line than I was in the spring. After talking with O’Brien Schofield, I must say he seems like a solid leader and he’s determined to have a good year. If J.J. Watt blossoms like he is supposed to, I think Brendan Kelly and Louis Nzegwu do enough to make this a solid line.

Speaking of a lack of depth, the linebacking corp. seems to be scrambling to replace Jonathan Casillas and DeAndre Levy. Blake Sorensen didn't have a great spring, but he is still listed ahead of Mike Taylor on the depth chart. Are you worried about the linebackers?

On Wisconsin: I think the linebackers are the scariest group. First, Sorenson looked S-L-O-W in the spring. I'm pulling for Taylor if only because Sorenson either isn't fast enough or didn't care enough to try harder. I think St. Jean played pretty well when he had his chances last season, so we have two solid starters, but who's backing them up? That's where the loss of Hodge as a solid, contributing second-stringer really hurt. We've heard some positives about Megna, Rouse, and Hubbard, but we haven't seen it yet. Bottom line: I'm worried. Really worried.

BadgerCentric: Yes, very. Don't want to join the chorus questioning Sorensen, but I've never seen it with him. Saw Taylor play in high school and he was a stud, but we certainly can't count on him to be a standout this year. McFadden and St. Jean are average at best. And there is no one else. Wh

Hoops Marinara: Sorensen certainly has a lot of expectations to fulfill, but I think along with Culmer St. Jean and J. McFadden they can form a decent group. No one will accuse them of being as athletic as last year's group -- Casillas and Levy were two of the best athletes at that position that Wisconsin has seen. But what the Badgers really need is simply a group that knows how to tackle well. I don't want every draw play that gets past the line going for 6 ... can we get another Donnel Thompson in this bunch, please?!

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: I’m excited about McFadden in the middle, but very worried about the other two spots. Culmer St. Jean has never really put it all together and Sorensen didn’t exactly take advantage of his opportunities in the spring. It should be interesting to see what Mike Taylor can do. If he has a good camp, this will be the most fun defensive position battle over the next month.

Is it safe to say (and a little scary to say) that the secondary is the strength of the Badger defense? It seems like every guy listed on two-deep has shown flashes of brilliance at some point in the last few seasons, but they also have had their hardships. And will Aaron Henry really be as good as he looked like he would be before the knee injury?

On Wisconsin: I think they are a strength, but that's relative to the near total unknown of the front 7. Especially at safety, I worry about making that critical tackle. As much as Valai can lay the wood (needs to watch the head-to-head stuff, though), he missed his fair share of tackles last season. That's been Carter's problem all along, which is why Maragos will probably start at free safety. At corner Henry will be fine. I'm glad they decided to keep him out all of last season to truly let him heal. Niles Brinkley played fine last season, and I'm hoping Fenelus and Smith are coming along as well as advertised. But hope is not a method.

BadgerCentric: It is scary, and I'd even question the "flashes of brilliance" assertion. We've seen flashes of competence from these guys, and I'd settled for sustained competence. But every one of the starters has question marks: Henry with the knee, Maragos still learning the position, Valai and his pure hitter MO, and Brinkley giving up big plays. But I'm actually optimistic about these guys and the young guys too.

Hoops Marinara: There's no question that the secondary looks good by comparison. But I think they actually will be good. Henry should be ready to go -- he's one of the elite talents on the team. I'm really excited to see him grow up. The entire makeup of the secondary is intriguing. You have knock-out artist in Valai, an overachiever in Maragos. Niles Brinkley is probably the weak link.

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: Remember when Shane Carter led the Big Ten in interceptions two years ago? And Niles Brinkley picked off four passes last season? Why don’t I remember all of this? Oh, because when they weren’t grabbing turnovers they were getting beat for touchdowns and committing crucial penalties. Every member of the starting secondary has a good amount of experience, but how much talent do they have? We’ll find out soon.

What are your thoughts on the defensive coaching staff? Toughness seemed to be an issue at times last season. How will this unit overcome the mental and physical shortcomings that were apparent in 2008?

On Wisconsin: Bottom line is the heat should be squarely on Doeren. After what Hankwitz did to turn around the Northwestern defense, Bielema's choice to go with Dave over Mike hasn't looked so hot. Maybe it was just breaking everything in the first year with guys who were more used to Hankwitz's way of doing things? That's no excuse this year. On top of making tackles, the defense needs to improve its conditioning. The losses to Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State all lay at the defense's tired feet (Bielema's too, of course). The idea that a Barry Alvarez legacy team (as long as he's the AD, he's a part of it) could be 9th in scoring defense in the Big Ten is unfathomable. That can't happen again.

BadgerCentric: I don't know about toughness, it's hard to get to be a guy who plays a lot on a Big Ten defense and not be at least somewhat tough. Remember, there were a lot of injuries on that side of the ball last year: Casillas, Levy, Chapman, Henry, and that hurt productivity. What sticks with me are comments made on my blog after the Iowa game. I forget who said it, but the point was made that our defense had finally adapted to deal with the Spread, but when we go against a power line and back like Iowa had, we get run over. That probably won't always happen, but there's a lot of truth there.

So by making the seemingly necessary adaptation to deal with the Spread, we have lost our identity as being a stout, stop-the-run defense, and become just another defense with a bunch of undersized guys running around in space. If these undersized guys were racking up sacks and interceptions, that would be one thing, but the unit seems mediocre at best, and it's not like next year looks any more promising. Some of that's on X's and O's coaching, but it's also recruiting and player development.

Hoops Marinara: It starts at the top with BB. I can't stress enough how much I want the coach to relinquish the Special Teams duties. He needs to set the example being focused and knowing where to be at all times. The good news is if the secondary can be everything I want it to be, that makes the job of pressuring the QB a little easier. I think the offense can be better this year too, which should (hopefully) alleviate the problems the defense had being worn out all the time in tight games.

Bucky’s 5th Quarter: The good news is that fixing these problems was item No. 1 in the off-season. Improving the defense’s mental and physical toughness – and committing fewer mistakes – will give this team an extra win or two this season. And if the problems continue then it will be a major problem for the defensive coaching staff.

I'm back

To paraphrase the words of my favorite Onion columnist, Jim Anchower:

Hola, amigos. How's by you? I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya ... but travel, work, kids, Webinz, Weeds, blah blah blah. In short, the motivation to update this blog during the offseason has been missing.

But, as has been pointed out to me several times in the past week, it's time to get my butt back on the keyboard and talking Badgers. The season's less than a week away now, and even though my expectations are as low as they've been in about five years, that's no reason to stay silent.

Lots to talk about before Saturday's opener, but I'm going to focus my thouhts on the initial depth chart.

Quarterback
Scott Tolzien and Curt Phillips are co-#1, and Tolzien is going to start against Northern Illinois. Although it was more exciting when midway through camp it seemed Phillips would emerge as the starter, I can live with this setup. Hopefully Phillips impresses enough in his snaps to earn the majority of the playing time -- or Tolzien plays so well that he claims the job outright. Bottom line: didn't expect much out of this position coming into fall camp, still don't.

Running back
So Zach Brown is going to start ahead of John Clay? Interesting. In this instance, I see it as a positive: Brown picking up his game rather than Clay disappointing. Clay's still going to get his carries and make an impact, and maybe less carries will lessen his injury risk.

Outside linebacker
Very excited to see Mike Taylor out on the field. When is the last time we had a freshman starting at linebacker? The adjectives used to describe this kid are the right ones. No offense to Blake Sorensen, but he doesn't seem to be a big-play type of guy; neither does Culmer St. Jean. Jae McFadden is solid, but also isn't a turnover-forcing, sack-creating force. Let's hope Taylor brings some of that.

Cornerback
Devin Smith has earned raves all offseason, and it wasn't a big surprise that he beat out Niles Brinkley. Which, like at running back, is more a reflection on the improvement of the new starter than regression of the new backup. Brinkley struggled a lot last year, but he also made some plays, and I would have been perfectly happy with him starting again this year. Smith and Aaron Henry should be a solid pair.

Here's what excites me about this depth chart overall: seven senior starters, and only three more senior backups. Few of these guys are among our best players. We may struggle this year -- I'm fully expecting it -- but a lot of freshmen and sophomores are going to get significant experience this year, which should really pay off in the next couple years.

Spring game thoughts

Made it to the spring game today, and was glad I did. It was the first one I've been to in 11 years, if memory serves, and it's always great to watch live football in April.

Hard to tell too much, because a. It's the spring game, a glorified scrimmage, and b. I had Will with me, and if you've met him, he's a handful. We had a great time.

Overall, I was pleased with how efficiently the first team offense played. Granted, playing against third- and fourth-stringers they should put up good numbers, but for some reason it seems that the first string never looks that sharp in this contest. They looked as good as could be expected today.

No defensive players really stood out, although it's tough to judge the pass rush because plays were whistled dead before sacks could be finalized. In the secondary, Chris Maragos and Devin Smith both made nice plays on the ball, and Aaron Henry seemed to be moving around well.

At quarterback, Dustin Sherer was solid. It was clear his throwing motion has been improved (photos forthcoming), but he doesn't look entirely comfortable with it. Curt Phillips got in and made some plays, and while his arm wasn't as weak as I feared, it wasn't that bad. Scott Tolzien showed some shaky mechanics, throwing off his back foot. Jon Budmayr didn't look overwhelmed, but didn't create much; both he and Tolzien were probably held back by playing with the deep reserves.

As could be expected, the tight ends got themselves open and were a big part of the offense. Lance Kendricks had a nice touchdown catch, as did Garrett Graham. Mickey Turner did a lot of motioning into a fullback spot.

John Clay ran well, shedding tacklers left and right. Zach Brown ran hard inside. But Erik Smith was the biggest revelation. He showed nice lateral movement, in particular a nice jump cut, and some separation speed. He could play some this fall.

Notables seen in passing: Keaton Nankivil, Cecil Martin, UW band tuba legend Zack Dachel, and hockey/online video guru Todd Milewski.

Today did little to alleviate my main concerns heading into the 2009 season -- pass rush, defensive tackle, linebacker depth, offensive line newcomers -- but I didn't expect it to. It's fun to see all the new guys who get a shot to make a name for themselves as Badgers, and we'll be pulling for them all this fall.