Boilernation

@Coach Nowlin @Bobref I heard a good segment on Carmen and Jurko today with Adam Jahns. They were both talking about being all in on Johnson and Carmen said he's worried he's back to where he was when Bears insiders were telling him how great they would be with Fox. He said insiders are now telling him that going after the most coveted offensive mind on the market AND paying him as his insiders believing Johnson and the people he's brought in with him are too good to flop. Jahns followed by saying he has noticed a distinct change in coaching style compared to what he's ever seen at Halas Hall. He said Johnson was constantly yelling at Fields to get through his checkdowns faster and stop holding the ball as well as yelling at Kmet to play better. Ding that to the 2 offensive players most in need of improving next year? In April? That's not normal for Halas Hall.

I'm very bullish on WC this year considering their new HC was the the OC at Brownsburg. He has a proven track record of knowing what to do with elite offensive weapons. Though he's definately taking a major step down in QB play this year.

I could believe he has some sort of connection to Merrillville. He's very intune when it comes to their roster. I get Buzea's comment (if it was him) as well as sentiment towards a long standing South Lake County rivalry game, but it's not benefiting either team at the moment.

Wow! Carmel Catholic is way up in Mundelein. No way he's making a daily commute from City.

I would agree. Back to back very good Senior classes. We know Buzea can coach and they have a great coaching staff. We don't know if they have the talent to get back to LOS, let alone Semi-State. I'll be at Zionsville vs. Pike in Week 1. I'm curious to see how Crown Point fairs against Pike after I see PIke in person one week earlier. I can say with confidence Pike will be a lot bigger and faster than the comp Crown Point will see in week 1. I know that CP vs. Lowell is one of the longest rivalries in the State; however, Crown Point needs to start considering other options, imo. Lowell may be thinking the same if it's another blowout.

I've heard that Hill is VERY good. Cody kept claiming all of last year that Merrillville's best QB wasn't eligible to play. Once in a while he's actually correct when it comes to the Pirates.

Have you seen the scores of the Noblesville and Homestead games the past 2 years?

Lake Central won 4A last year. I'm not selling CP short. Buzea is a great coach. Has a great staff and program. But a majority (if not all) of the HCC has all of those things. It doesn't help Crown Point to play in the DAC while the HCC is sharpening each other.

The Duneland is a Baseball conference. I'll embrace the Baseball State Titles and be OK with acknowledging Crown Point is a 2nd tier HCC School. Start poaching some of Merrillville's D1 skill talent and it's a different story.

Agreed. At the end of the day the 5A Title is a realistic goal for both Merrillville and Valpo. Outside of Cathedral, the Pirates and Vikings won't see anyone in the playoffs at the level of Loyola and possibly Brother Rice. The Crusaders are not as much of a powerhouse as Loyola. I get the sentimental value of an old rivalry like Merrillville/Hobart being renewed, but that game did nothing to prepare the Pirates. Valpo had been playing Andrean and Hammon Central in Week 2. A big stepup for them as well in scheduling.

We'll see. It'll be week 1 for Loyola, but this is likely another case of Merrillville taking on more than they can handle in the regular season (Chatard).

I agree with you regarding year two. They had a really good offense with Johnson, Lambert and Dickerson. But, that year can also be viewed as somewhat of an anomoly. Guys like Johnson are generational talents and I believe Dickerson was a portal transfer for his Sr. year. Going back on topic I noticed Merrillville has added Loyola Academy to their schedule. The Ramblers are consistently an 8A Title contender in Illinois.

Feels like this story confirms at least 2 things: The Beears were completely disfunctional last year Cowherd was correct from the beginning when he reported his sources said Caleb didn't want to go to Chicago.

Or possibly someone who understands what commitment to excellence looks can also understand when priorities such as health + safety are being compromised. And in this case they could have likely been compromised in areas we'll never know due to the lack of information provided.

Not a good look for Richards if Fred Joseph doesn't have your back. He's a 2 time State Champion wrestler at Portage who wrestled during an era when the Indians were a state powerhouse and extremely tough. The weak minded wouldn't last a day in that era. All they knew was how to train hard and be tougher than the opponent.

The Tribe are now onto their 4th HC since 2019. 25% of the enrollment is Hispanic and 60% of the enrollment is on free or reduced lunches. Tough combo to crack when your comp just at the Sectional level is more upscale communites like Crown Point, Lake Central and Penn.

Copy. I just noticed I was paywalled and could only read a slight blurb on the posted article.

Where are you reading it was due to his coaching style? Not much, if anything at all has been leaked as to why he was originally placed on paid administrative leave.

I believe Yorktown will have field turf by the time the football season starts.

Loveland and Burden fealt like Johnson picks to me. 2 guys that he'll want in his offense. I'm high on both of them. Burden should be electric in Johnson's offense. Trapilo and Turner appear to be solid picks as well. Hopefully immediate contributors. Especially Turner next to Dexter at DT. Trapilo could beat out Jones for LT. The only thing that really surprised me was they didn't address the DL more. That would lead me to believe they feel very good about Booker and Hardy providing depth for Sweat and Odeyingbo on the edges.

Agreed. Really surprised Maxen wasn't drafted. Roseman is possibly the best in the game right now. IMO, says a lot about Hook that the Eagles targeted him. Regarding the draft, I thought only Grant and Kiser were Indiana kids to go. Didn't recognize Alexander's name while looking at the draftracker. Love it when the MAC kids can break into the NFL.

I made the mistake of wasting about 2 hours of my life reading the nonsense on X regarding Sanders. The grifters who make a living off of race baiting are out in full force and it’s pretty blatant how clueless they are when they claim Sander’s was projected to be a top 5 pick. Or, you know, completely being unaware of Cam Ward.

That's awesome! I was shuttling my daughter across the state last night and listening to the Draft on ESPN Radio. It was Tannenbaum and 2 other guys on the coverage. All 3 thought Loveland was the best TE in the draft. One of them said Harbaugh would give up his left leg to get him back on his roster. He's likely a perfect fit for Chicago.

Yeah, once Banks was gone I had a feeling the Bears would move on from OT and go DE. I'm perfectly happy with Loveland though. Great work ethic. Great hands. And he's definitely faster than Warren. He'll be a complete mismatch whether lined up at TE or in the Slot with his speed and high catch point. Sounds like a lot of scouts and analysts thought he was TE#1 in the draft. Johnson got the TE he wants in his offense.

I listed to his initial interview on ESPN Chicago immediately after getting drafted. His work ethic was brought up and he mentioned growing up in a blue collar part of Idaho littered with ranches. He said where he comes from all everybody does is work hard on their farm and that's all he did before going to Michigan. Love the attitude.