Irish

What's worrysome is that Sheel shows no signs yet of playing out of his slump.

Before the break we had a veteran and salty defense, one of the best goalies in the country with a capable back-up, and the best goalie coach in the country. Now we have a save percentage around .820. What happened to cause us to go off the rails so fast - especially after a break that could be used to heal any nagging injuries.

Sadly, the defining characteristics of Berry's teams seem to be giving up a goal within a minute of scoring (I have never seen anything like this - we do it consistently), not being able to hold a 2 goal lead, and a total second half melt-down. How two big strengths - a studly defensive corp with 5 returners and a goalie that looked like the best in the land can turn around during a Christmas break is totally beyond me. We win a championship and begin wandering in the wilderness while Duluth just keeps coming. Time to get our crap together.

It's nice to win these games - however since Christmas break we have seen some of the same issues as last year - lack of focus. Our extremely talented defense gives up grade A chances early in the game - and our extremely talented goalie(s) don't bail us out. The big difference is that this year we have some guys who can put the puck in the net. This series had early scores from our opponents, inopportune penalties, a hot goalie, us giving up a goal immediately after we score, and a games in which we seriously out shot our opponents yet let them hang around. We must clean up our play and regain total game focus in order to compete with the best. We have the talent. We need to refocus. This is something Berry and Company need to correct. Why Christmas break (which should be a time to get healthy) caused us to regress is a mystery. We have the talent to do big things. Time to play for 60 minutes.

How do you go from the best goalie in the league to the worst over Christmas break?

Now this is the kind of reputation and program we need. Congratulation to the staff.

I'm not sure what you mean - are you implying that Bubba's in-game management is a strength and he has little to learn?

It wouldn't hurt for Bubba to observe how a first year coach handles the game either.

So ... you're saying we need a 3-4 because of our recruiting failures?

What did I say that wasn't true? At least the second year in a row that we have come out of Christmas sluggish and struggling. Last year it cost us a playoff berth.

In my opinion this is not so much that the 3-4 is a poor defense as it is a symbol of our hidebound coach. Don't have the personnel to run it this year? - "Do it anyway - that's what we do." Time for a new coordinator - "Who in house is most experienced at the 3-4?" You're a 37-32 coach at UND - what's your plan for improvement? "More of the same". It symbolizes 5 years of Rudy, all of the 4th down and short punts, the Idaho State games, and the Day By Day press conferences. If at the end of the day the 3-4 is the best option for our personnel - great. But please open up your mind a bit. Bubba is a dinosaur and the comet is approaching.

So did the team.

Once again a Berry team looks like crap after the Christmas Break - remember the pact?

On the plus side we haven't had a veer offense put up over 200 yards on us in years.

And we do the exact opposite.

It's like we are the McPoyles of college football.

I have to say I'm a bit surprised by this.

It isn't so much that the 3-4 is a bad defense (although not many schools use it and it was installed for an entirely different situation) - It's more that we insist on using only this regardless of personnel or situation and at times have difficulty recruiting for it. This also goes to the idea that Bubba is ultra old-school and very slow to change or adapt. Hopefully the success of our new OC will lead us to at least look at other options. If we have the personnel to make the 3-4 work great. If not, we need to be able to adjust.

Only if we had this year's results because we didn't have the personnel for the defense we were running.

Exactly

Sheer stuborness and reluctance to change seem to factor into many of Bubba's decisions

So - apparently having high end studs pays off.

I am not "Sioux Forever" but I will never wear anything that prominently displays the lame Fighting Hawks name or logo. I would get behind the Fighting Moose in a New York minute.

Merry Christmas to you too - I enjoy your posts greatly. And I'm not saying lobbying for Bubba was wrong in any way. I was slightly in the Deboer camp but thought Bubba was a good hire and brought some qualities we needed after Muss. Here's hoping everything falls into place next year. We have some nice things to build on.

You are correct in asserting that in general civilians and/or family should not be criticized on this board. You are also correct that Lowell has nothing to do with the day to day operations or recruiting for our football team. However, there is a perception that may be accurate that even though he was not on the selection committee, given his role on the Athletic Committee and UND contacts, his position in the Business community, and the network of older alumni in the area which he was part of that he had some impact on the selection of Bubba over Debor. There certainly was a group that pushed hard for Bubba because "this is his dream job", "he's one of us", and "he is a part of UND's past success". I personally witnessed lobbying for Bubba from this group (although not from Lowell). I'm not saying this is bad - everyone has the right to contact anyone and advocate for what they believe in. I am saying that I believe Lowell had much more influence than "the rest of us" in regards to the hiring.