A couple of thousand milligrams of vicodin with the Varnsens

Cal Varnsen · Sep 10, 2017

Now that I'm good and relaxed, a few thoughts from yesterday:

Obviously that wasn't a good outing. One of the hallmarks of young people is that they are inconsistent. I don't think we're going to see a lot of consistency this season. That is not a good thing for a team with a schedule that has only one clear "gimme" on it. I think we are going to see a lot of frustratingly close games this season and my guess is we will lose a game to a team that we don't expect to beat us.

I was as upset with (and mystified about) Speight as anyone yesterday. But I do think there is something to be said for the lack of chemistry between Wilt and all of his (new) receivers except Perry and, to a lesser extent, Crawford. I hark back to when Iowa cast-off Jake Rudock couldn't complete a pass more than 12 yards into the middle of the season's schedule. That wasn't the guy who, later in the season, made Chesson look like a poor man's Braylon Edwards. Point being, we could all be delighted with Wilt by the time PSU rolls around. We could also be charter members of the "2018 or Bust" club. We'll see.

Potentially even more concerning is the continue schizoid play-calling and architecture of the offense. Ty Isaac has two good runs in a row so now's the time to have our QB air it out? Was Fisch/Drev just a pre-cursor to Pep/Drev? This needs to get resolved.

I watched the first half over and focused on the interior. I thought Kugler does a good job of consistently getting a hat on his guy and staying engaged. He's not moving people out (not much anyway) but he hold his own and gets his hips around to the hole so he shields his guy from the ballcarrier. He does a good job in pass pro. Mike O has already been addressed by more capable commentators. I'll just say that I have not seen him climb up to a LB yet. Hill is being asked to carry a big load in the run game and he's inconsistent. I haven't seen him whiff and there are times when he's devastating. But there are times when he's blocking DLs and they get underneath him and spill the ball-carrier. I expect Hill and the coaches to get this worked out.

Overall, I think this team could still win the conference championship. I don't think there's a single team on the schedule we can't beat. I also think there are very few that can't beat us. I think that, perhaps more than any season I can remember for a very long time, the tale of this season will rise and fall on coaching. Every position group has talent, every position group is depending on young players, and every position group has some real issues that need to be resolved in order for us to win.

This is one of those pivotal moments when the deck of cards gets re-shuffled. The opportunity for a championship is out there. But it will take a terrific job of coaching to realize that ambition.

Finally, I have it on good authority that -- despite his calm countenance in the press conference -- Coach Harbaugh got after the team yesterday. As a result of my connections with the program, I was able to lay my hands on bootleg footage of the ass-chewing:

bluego1 · Sep 10, 2017