Badgers Football 2019

[JosephC]

To no one's surprise, Tyler Biadasz is leaving early for the NFL Draft.

 

Aron Cruickshank to transfer. Did not see that one coming. Probably didn't have much of a future as a pass-catcher, but this will be a huge special teams loss and possibly a "gadget" loss for the offense.

[MrTPlush]

Cruickshank probably in search of transferring somewhere that will use him more as a wildcat type player. Badgers offense is about as vanilla as humanly possible which doesn't exactly maximize Cruickshank as a player. I think the Badgers had a useful offensive player they rarely used.

[tmwiese55]

I'd also guess Cruickshank would fit better in a spread quick short passing system in a slot type role. Our traditional NFL system doesn't bode great for a tiny guy like him, and of course we value run blocking from WRs and that's going to be tough for him.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Imagine seeing that speed and elusiveness in practice everyday and not finding a use for him.

[PeaveyFury]

I'm sure ending up at Rutgers or non-power 5 State will be a nice way to play out his career....

[nate82]

Badgers finish the year ranked 11th. A few thoughts this wasn't a bad year for the Badgers with all things considered. The offensive line was a big let down this year considering how good or hyped they were coming in to the year. Going into next season I am kind of intrigued on who is going to be the starting QB and what the offense is going to look like.

 

Defensively I think the Badgers need to improve on the defensive line. The defensive line is still getting basically manhandled in both the running and passing game. There is very little push by the defensive tackles on running plays and the same on passing plays.

[Samurai Bucky]

They lost four times -- twice to Ohio State. The Illinois loss was a bit of a perfect storm, but the turnovers cost them the game. The Badgers dominated #5 Oregon, but the turnovers cost them the game. It is a better year than I thought it would be, but they need to take better care of the ball.

 

It will be interesting to see who steps in now that a lot of players are declaring or entering the portal.

[LouisEly]

Defensively I think the Badgers need to improve on the defensive line. The defensive line is still getting basically manhandled in both the running and passing game. There is very little push by the defensive tackles on running plays and the same on passing plays.

I disagree with this. The scheme is built on the defensive linemen occupying the blockers so that the linebackers can make the plays. It literally is the d-line's primary job to occupy more than one blocker and draw a double-team.

 

The only games I recall the line being dominated were late in the 3rd quarter and beyond in the Ohio State games because the offense couldn't stay on the field and sustain drives, and maybe Illinois but that is still in question as to whether it was the gameplan or the linebackers. They owned Oregon and their four seniors + Outland trophy winner. Hennigsen, Loudermilk, Rand, and Benton combined for 10 sacks on the year, which is pretty good for a 3-4 scheme (especially considering that it's usually a 2-4-5 against 3-WR spread teams, which is at least half of them).

[tmwiese55]

I would agree the DL was good this year and did their jobs. In 2018 it was a trainwreck with injuries and that killed the D. But with everyone back and generally healthy this year they did well, and they don't lose anyone (I think, could be wrong).

[homer]

The defensive line gets everyone back...plus a couple of good guys that redshirted. Should be the strength of the defense.

[patrickgpe]

David Aranda did get the Baylor job. I was very impressed by him during his time here and think he will do an excellent job, but one would think bigger things are in store for him than Baylor.

[tmwiese55]

I was surprised to see him take that one. It's better than a UNLV type gig, I grant that but I still think it's a tough spot to win long term. And I guess the team is solid now so you don't have to deal with a rebuild. So I do get that it could be fine. But with how much he was making as a DC already I thought he could really wait for a big time spot. Off the top of my head I don't know what that would be, but say an FSU a couple years down the line or an SEC East job like TN. On the other hand, Burrow is gone so might be best to lock in a big contract now just in case the team doesn't do so hot going forward.

 

Speaking of D Coordinators. Anyone notice the slobberfest by Kirk's ESPN crew about Bret Venables during these last two games. His name was mentioned more than Dabo and probably got as much screen time as Dabo. Meanwhile, the D coordinator for LSU who's shutting down Clemson drive after drive never has his name mentioned once and is never shown on TV. If you'd have played a drinking game on how many times they said the name Venables during those two games you wouldn't have remembered the end of each game.

 

Also, being a local Madison person I heard absolutely nothing but good things about him and his family from people who did know them. Seems like a genuine good guy.

[patrickgpe]

It’s a head coaching job in a power 5 school of a team that should be good next season. Tough to turn down. Win for a few seasons there and get a much better job.

[PeaveyFury]

I'm sure ending up at Rutgers or non-power 5 State will be a nice way to play out his career....

 

Apparently my snark wasn't that snarky, as Cruickshank visited Rutgers this week.

 

Which, of course, begs the question as to why he would make this move...

[LouisEly]

I'm sure ending up at Rutgers or non-power 5 State will be a nice way to play out his career....

 

Apparently my snark wasn't that snarky, as Cruickshank visited Rutgers this week.

 

Which, of course, begs the question as to why he would make this move...

He's from New York - gets to play closer to home.

[PeaveyFury]

And lose a lot of football games. But closer to home can be important for some, which is understandable.

[stalton]

I'm sure ending up at Rutgers or non-power 5 State will be a nice way to play out his career....

 

Apparently my snark wasn't that snarky, as Cruickshank visited Rutgers this week.

 

Which, of course, begs the question as to why he would make this move...

 

You forgot the [sarcasm]blue[/sarcasm]

[PeaveyFury]

Apparently the Badgers obtained a yet-to-be named commitment yesterday... the only 2020 recruit they were still in on is monster RB Kevontre Bradford out of Texas, so that would be a huge get, but there is speculation that it's someone in the transfer portal.

[JosephC]

Baylor is probably going to be really good the next few years. They will be the only team in the conference that actually has an interest in playing defense.

[JosephC]

I'm sure ending up at Rutgers or non-power 5 State will be a nice way to play out his career....

 

Apparently my snark wasn't that snarky, as Cruickshank visited Rutgers this week.

 

Which, of course, begs the question as to why he would make this move...

He's from New York - gets to play closer to home.

 

Probably wants the opportunity to play in a more traditional WR role and that wasn't going to happen at Wisconsin. Coaching staff gave him every opportunity to beat out Jack Dunn and Adam Krumholz for the #5 spot on the depth chart during the fall and Cruickshank couldn't unseat either of them. Great kick returner...nice gadget player on offense...not a Big 10 quality player when it comes to playing a traditional WR role.

 

Or else he just wants to go for kickoff return yardage records. He would have plenty of opportunities for that at Rutgers because their opponents generally kick off A LOT!

[MrTPlush]

Not everyone is about being on a winning team. Some guys actually want to go somewhere that will utilize the talents they have and have a chance to play more. Probably would not mind be closer to home too.

[Samurai Bucky]

It’s a head coaching job in a power 5 school of a team that should be good next season. Tough to turn down. Win for a few seasons there and get a much better job.

Hey -- that sounds like a good idea.

 

Signed,

Nick Saban

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I don't know if this has come up but I watched the Aaron Hernandez doc on Netflix and Chris Borland had some pretty unflattering yet not exactly surprising observations of the UW program. Basically made it sound like a painkiller depot. Sure it's the norm at D1 programs but UW tends to have a bit of a holier than thou moral compass. I encourage watching anyway, I thought it was quite good.

[PeaveyFury]

Forgive my ignorance, but why was Chris Borland interviewed for a peice on Aaron Hernandez? What was their connection to each other?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

None. CTE is a big part of the doc. They give many reasons for why Hernandez turned the way he did, just one of which is his extremely advanced CTE; the doctor that tested his brain reported it was by far the most extreme case in someone so young. Borland retired due to concussion concerns, but several ex players are interviewed about head trauma.