Last night was a great win and a relief. We just needed a win in the worst way and found a way to do it.
The Defense. This D and Wink take a lot of heat on this board, but aside from the Texas game, I think they have been pretty good. For most of the year, they have been put in bad field position by the offense and have done okay. Not great, but better than a lot give them credit for. The main issue for this D is twofold.
1. Tackling
2. 3rd and long.
Tackling needs to be emphasized in practice, and technique needs to be insisted on. Much of the poor tackling is because our players overrun the play and end up out of position.
On the 3rd and long, our DBs need to move up and make their WRs cut their routes short. It would also help if it's run play. Perhaps Wink is afraid the DB cover skills are not great, and he's scared of getting beaten over the top. We're almost to November, let them play tighter.
In the last two weeks, we have seen teams getting their ground game going against us; we need to shore that up.
Special teams. There is good and bad here. Punting is the worst, and it's bleeding over into his holds on pats and fgs. I'm amazed that nobody else has been given a shot.
If the hold is good, FGs are golden. What a weapon.
Last night, we actually ran a few punts back and had some success.
The Offense. Last night, MSU decided that we wouldn't run the ball on them. They did a good job of that, but we still don't know how to use Mullings. The play calls are so obvious when KM is in the game.
Still, the O-line underperformed in the run game last night. As bad as they were in the run game, the pass pro was good. Davis left the pocket early a couple of times early in the game but settled down and trusted the line. It paid off.
The entire season, the common refrain has been we don't have a QB, none of them are any good. Last night, we had a good QB and a good running QB. Alex played his role to perfection; you couldn't ask for more. Davis looked like he belonged out there. He completed ten passes in a row at one point, and most were downfield. He got players besides Loveland involved; Morgan had his best game. We had no turnovers and no penalties. If we can continue this kind of play and get the run game back on track, we can be pretty good going forward.
Game balls:
Davis Warren
Alex Orgi
Kenneth Grand
Josaiah Stewart
Loveland
Edwards
Kirk Campbell
Lastly, MSU. Their new coach seems like he knows what he's doing. They put a great game plan together; they stopped the run, but he wasn't counting on us being able to throw the ball. They beat us in every statistic but the one that counts. They lost the game on penalties, a turnover, and an onside kick that didn't work. Fortunately, it wasn't worse after the first quarter, but let's give our guys some credit. A lot of people picked MSU to win this game, and we found a way. Let's hope that carries over to the rest of the season.
We saw a spark last night; let's hope it turns into a fire going forward.
Go Blue!
The Defense. This D and Wink take a lot of heat on this board, but aside from the Texas game, I think they have been pretty good. For most of the year, they have been put in bad field position by the offense and have done okay. Not great, but better than a lot give them credit for. The main issue for this D is twofold.
1. Tackling
2. 3rd and long.
Tackling needs to be emphasized in practice, and technique needs to be insisted on. Much of the poor tackling is because our players overrun the play and end up out of position.
On the 3rd and long, our DBs need to move up and make their WRs cut their routes short. It would also help if it's run play. Perhaps Wink is afraid the DB cover skills are not great, and he's scared of getting beaten over the top. We're almost to November, let them play tighter.
In the last two weeks, we have seen teams getting their ground game going against us; we need to shore that up.
Special teams. There is good and bad here. Punting is the worst, and it's bleeding over into his holds on pats and fgs. I'm amazed that nobody else has been given a shot.
If the hold is good, FGs are golden. What a weapon.
Last night, we actually ran a few punts back and had some success.
The Offense. Last night, MSU decided that we wouldn't run the ball on them. They did a good job of that, but we still don't know how to use Mullings. The play calls are so obvious when KM is in the game.
Still, the O-line underperformed in the run game last night. As bad as they were in the run game, the pass pro was good. Davis left the pocket early a couple of times early in the game but settled down and trusted the line. It paid off.
The entire season, the common refrain has been we don't have a QB, none of them are any good. Last night, we had a good QB and a good running QB. Alex played his role to perfection; you couldn't ask for more. Davis looked like he belonged out there. He completed ten passes in a row at one point, and most were downfield. He got players besides Loveland involved; Morgan had his best game. We had no turnovers and no penalties. If we can continue this kind of play and get the run game back on track, we can be pretty good going forward.
Game balls:
Davis Warren
Alex Orgi
Kenneth Grand
Josaiah Stewart
Loveland
Edwards
Kirk Campbell
Lastly, MSU. Their new coach seems like he knows what he's doing. They put a great game plan together; they stopped the run, but he wasn't counting on us being able to throw the ball. They beat us in every statistic but the one that counts. They lost the game on penalties, a turnover, and an onside kick that didn't work. Fortunately, it wasn't worse after the first quarter, but let's give our guys some credit. A lot of people picked MSU to win this game, and we found a way. Let's hope that carries over to the rest of the season.
We saw a spark last night; let's hope it turns into a fire going forward.
Go Blue!
