catdaddyp

Overall, I thought it was the best game we’ve played and took another step in the right direction. Offense: - Some self-inflicted injuries with the drops again. - Irons seemed to press too much at times and was responsible for some of the sacks that could have been avoided by getting rid of the ball sooner. - The OL majorly struggled against the stunts from Liberty’s DL. In particular Daniels, Banes, and Williams. No doubt opponents will test us with those in the future. - I thought Wiley had his best game and ran hard, but I’m disappointed in the lack of opportunities for Norrils. - We still struggle to create opportunities in the run game in the traditional sense and are having to make up for that with sweeps and screens. - Ka’Marii Landers saw his first action filling in when Daniels went out. His potential and athleticism was exciting to see. - JoeMo called some great plays that didn’t get executed for whatever reasons. Defense: - Johnson may not have many stats, but he seemed to be everywhere Saturday. Johnson was dropped into coverage from the edge position, rushed the passer, and was moved inside to DT on obvious passing downs (along with Morton). He also took on some crucial blocks in the run game so others could make the play. - Bubba had another monster game. - Outside of the two coverage busts, this was by far the best game our secondary has played as a whole. I don’t think Hence was fully responsible for that first bust as it looked like we were in cover 3 and the S should have rotated over. - Speaking of safeties, the trio of Thompson, Martin, and JKP were excellent tackling in the open field and helping in the run game this week. Sure there were a handful of mistakes, but overall well done. - Thomas started at defensive tackle beside Harper and did a really nice job. - McCoy got the start at LB, but it was Boateng who saw the most action at LB with Bubba. - A lot of players saw PT on defense Saturday and every one of them did something good at some point. - Both Terry and Golden-Nelson were MIA this week. Not sure what’s going on there. Special teams played well in all areas. Missed the long FG, but Perez doesn’t seem to have the leg strength for that….yet. I feel great about going into MAC play after this game. Liberty exposed some of our weaknesses, but player development is clearly happening.

You might get lucky and find a YouTube link, but usually those try to link you to other sites.

That would definitely make things interesting. Tackling in space could still be an issue which would allow short gains to turn into explosive plays. Maybe this will be the game our defense collectively puts it together. Freeze is as good as they come offensively, so I hope in our case he does not have the players to execute his system on Saturday.

Saw that. Pretty sad if true. That’s why it’s so important for the head coach to have full control over who’s on his staff.

I hope I’m dead wrong, but I said Liberty by 2-3 scores. If it was a home game I think it would be closer. I suspect we’ll see our best offensive showing to date, but my concern is with our defense. And that’s not taking a shot at our defense, but more out of respect for Liberty’s offense. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to slow them down enough to give ourselves a chance. I know someone said they will be using a backup QB, but their starting RB has 215 yards out of their total of 604 rushing yards. Even if Liberty’s passing game is subdued, will we be able to stop the run? As for the passing game, will we consistently tackle in space? If Liberty is using a backup QB, I bet we see an abundance of screens and other short throws. This is another game where I want to see a step in the right direction. We’ve yet to see either side of the ball put together a full game. I know that’s coming, but I doubt it’s Saturday. A game I’d be satisfied with is a competitive showing where we build more depth and can feel good about heading into conference play.

Take this for what it’s worth regarding the improvement and who is now playing on our OL. Here are the snaps and ratings from 2021. Chambers = 8 games - 347 snaps - 29.6 Gray = 7 games - 344 snaps - 42.1 Murphy = 11 games - 692 snaps - 50.1 Williams = 6 games - 326 snaps - 59.9 Daniels = 9 games - 327 snaps - 49.7 Beckman = 12 games - 780 snaps - 48.4 Robarge = 10 games - 613 snaps - 56.1 Georges = 10 games - 608 snaps - 44.3

I think there were a number of different issues going on against SFU. Despite some of the players having extensive PT last year, they were all new to each other in a game environment - meaning the person next to them was not someone they played beside previously in a game. Cohesion and understanding what the person next to you is doing, or is going to do, is invaluable on the OL. SFU threw a number of slants, twists, and blitzes at us that caused some confusion. In the long run that helps with our OL’s development, but it’s difficult to watch during the game itself. The scout team had no way of simulating the actual speed and efficiency that SFU’s defense was doing to play with. As the season goes on, that part of it is not as big of a deal because the players have adjusted, have experience, and it starts to shift more on the side of what we do best vs what the opponent is going to do. I’m not saying it’s not important what the opponent does, just in the way that our OL has already seen a variety of looks so it will not be their first time experiencing it. If I recall correctly, SFU also played with a nose the majority of the game which can wreak havoc on the interior of the OL. If that defender can fire off quickly at the snap, it causes the interior OL (especially the Center) to be on their heels. Daniels moves much better than Gray. Gray has what I call “heavy feet.” He’s massive, but just doesn’t move well enough at this stage. Hopefully, he’ll work hard and improve to give us a viable option down the line.

I’m assuming Terry was injured against MSU because he did not play at Tennessee. Boateng and JKP were injured against Tenn, but I don’t know their status. Of course the Irons situation. Seems like Bubba missed some game time at some point too. Overall, that’s nothing out of the ordinary.

The interior of our DL has progressed each game. Harper and Wilson are playing well, while Hawkins, Sy, and Thomas have had their moments. If Robinson can continue to develop along with the addition of Holt, we should have a really solid interior DL corps.

- Joe continues to hammer home the point we were outmatched or “out gunned” against MSU and Tenn. - Said we left 21 points out there with the missed scoring opportunities and turnovers. - Said Nate Thompson had his best game yet. He was decent in week 1, struggled in week 2, and had his best game in week 3. - Thompson is playing the boundary safety since he’s a larger guy at 6’3” 210 and is needed more for run fits. - Said Whigan has been the most consistent OL. Nate Williams has done a good job at RT. Daniels at LT has helped but he still needs to get stronger. - Blake Hester has done a nice job on special teams. - 3 Running Back rotation with Wiley, Price, Norrils. - Clearly happy with Noah Perez calling him “my guy.” - Mentioned obvious players from last game like Shockey-Louis, Adams, Grimes, Bubba. - Intentionally held off on designed run plays for Irons against Tenn.

I counted 14 seniors. Is that right? Assuming I didn’t miscount I’m guessing we are close to done with the freshmen in the 2023 class, despite so many offers still outstanding. Although I could see another 10-15 guys transferring out after this year, which would open up a few more spots. If that is the case I’d also guess the staff would look to bring in another 5-10 transfers.

3 star WR Mason Humphrey to Lehigh.

I hope we land him. Curious to know why he decommitted. I would like to think he saw our passing game and thought “wow, I want to be in that system” but probably just wishful thinking.

4 game stretch absolutely. Kent is going to be stomped and the scoring won’t stop until UGA decides to take their foot off the gas.

Added to the list. Thank you!

The only team I’d say that has played a more difficult schedule is South Carolina. Vs Georgia State in week one (hasn’t lived up to their potential), at Arkansas in week 2, vs Georgia in week 3. Granted Carolina is further ahead in their rebuild than Akron, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell from this past Saturday. Not only did Carolina lay an egg, but Georgia looks to be legitimate. I thought Alabama was the clear cut favorite before the season started, but it looks like Georgia is right up there with them…again. Stetson Bennett at QB - wow. He made me a believer.

You are absolutely correct, it was Marshall that beat ND last week I was thinking about. Ask my wife and she’ll tell you I constantly make mistakes. Haha. But I’ll also argue ND is overrated and will have more losses coming their way. I didn’t take your comments as being rude and it’s 100% ok if we disagree and see something differently. I also appreciate the compliment as we have some excellent posters here. Don’t get me wrong, getting our tails handed to us by the scores we’ve seen is not ok. I’m not going to get into the scheduling debate about who made the schedule and why, but this three game stretch (not including week 1) would be difficult for any of the first year head coaches at non-P5 schools. I try to watch the action and ignore the score (especially when watching these types of games) starting with the line of scrimmage and moving out. I’m encouraged by the progress we see each week and can also say we have some players who are better than anyone we saw last year playing on our OL and DL. For example, Banes and Whigan have been solid additions to the OL, while Harper and Jones have been solid on the DL. We are also witnessing returning guys like Lewis take advantage of the coaching change and new scheme. Positives are happening. It’s just not easy to see with the schedule we’ve played and the issue of depth/talent still not quite up to par at certain positions - at least not to give us any type of upset potential against top 25 teams. That’ll change over the coming years, but we still have an opportunity to make a statement when MAC play arrives. While some mistakes are being made, I’m not seeing nearly as many egregious ones as we saw last year.

Have to disagree with you there. Irons was able to throw the ball for 241 yards even with Tennessee knowing he’d have to throw the ball. He finished with an overall rating of 118.7 and a PFF rating of 77. There can be standout players even in losses. Marshall and Notre Dame aren’t on the same level as Tennessee. Maybe in year’s past, but not in 2022. Notre Dame lost to an unranked Cal team this past weekend, FYI. The first game we played shouldn’t have been that close, I will give you that. But we were overmatched against MSU and against an even better Tennessee team. Liberty is also further ahead of us but I expect to see a more competitive game this Saturday than the previous two weeks. MAC play will be the true test. This team is already more fundamentally sound than Arth’s teams in just about every area. I also think I’ve been pretty forthcoming about our weaknesses and where we need to improve.

He doesn’t lack in the physical ability department, but for whatever reason(s) he just isn’t getting the job done. All 3 teams we’ve played have made him their primary target in the passing game. Sooner or later Hooks will either step it up or he’ll need to be replaced. I say replaced, but to be honest I don’t know who on the roster we have to replace him. Unfortunately, we seem to be lacking at viable options at the CB spot this year.

I imagine every team will go after Hooks until he gives them a reason not to.

Frustrating drops by Adams and Banks for sure. On the bright side, they were able to get open against a solid secondary and without the threat of any run game. You’re right, neither Threatt nor Robinson have panned out so far. Threatt missed a tackle in open space that led to a TD and I don’t think he got in the game again after that. The good news is Robinson made a few productive plays, so while he’s not anywhere close to what we hoped, he’s at least starting to contribute. Threatt is listed as a redshirt freshman so he still has plenty of time to develop in the coming years. Although, we could certainly use him this year. We have so many new faces and a lot of inexperience, I feel some things we’ve seen in the past few games will get corrected over time. I expect to see our pass rush pick up when we hit MAC play which would help our secondary. I’d think our run fits would be better too. It’d be nice to get Amankwaa and Richardson back sooner than later though.

Guess he changed his mind. No commitment yesterday.

I don’t think we are there yet, but I like the strides we’ve made in most areas.