- Patterson is very good. Goes through his reads. Good pocket presence and escapability. Good speed when given space. Pretty accurate thrower. The one pick he threw wasn't great (although he wasn't helped by McKeon), but other than that, he had a great game. Have to keep him healthy.
- Why don't we have a power back? It was nice to see Mason get some carries. I suspect he will get more touches as season continues (perhaps even some passes). It looked to me like Evans pulled his hamstring on that last run. Evans' pass blocking stinks. Wilson may be a walkon but is more physical (running and blocking) than Evans. Samuels looks like he has good feet and quickness but I suspect he is not very good pass blocking either.
- O Line remains a problem. We should have dominated SMU in the trenches - we didn't. I'm not an expert on these things but linemen appear to be Bredeson and Ruiz. Onwenu is good if he gets his hands on you . . . but he can't move. I question the long term viability of him at guard. I almost wonder if we should move someone else to center and move Ruiz to guard.
- Gentry reminds me of Jay Riemersma (another guy who converted from QB to TE). He showed good feet yesterday - I think he'll be a favorite target for Patterson.
- Was Nordin's last FG actually good? It almost looked wide to me but it was so far above the uprights, it was hard to tell. He seemed to strike the ball better after making that one. For all the fears about our kicking game, our kickoffs and punts have been great.
- DPJ reminds me of David Terrell. He's not super elusive with the ball in his hands but he he's got good/strong hands and has very good body control.
- I still have my concerns about Harbaugh. I just don't see/feel the energy from him. He's obviously in pain (I'm guessing from his back/hips) and always is leaned over with his hands on his legs. I just don't see the same guy from several years ago . . . and I wonder if that is hurting the overall energy of the program.
- The officiating was terrible yesterday. Bad calls went against both teams (although I think we got more of them).
- The defense has definitely taken a step back . . . but there have been signs of this in the past where the D has failed at key moments or seemingly taken drives off. It seems like teams have Brown's D scouted and know how to attack it . . . and it also seems like a memo has gone out to the refs to not allow our coverage guys to be physical. As many others have said, I would like to see us mix in more zone defense. Do more things to confuse the opponent/their QB's. We have great athletes on defense but it's tough on our secondary guys to always have to play with their backs to the ball. It leads to big plays, PI calls and makes it tougher to get turnovers (its easier to pick passes when you actually see the pass thrown). I hope Brown is not too stubborn and will make some adjustments.
- I thought our defensive tackles actually played a bit better yesterday - Mone made some plays, Kemp made some plays.
- Winovich had a great game. I will join in with others and say that while Gary is very good, he's not a difference maker right now. If the issue is that he is being double teamed or held, maybe Brown needs to figure out some other ways to create some space for him.
- Bush is great. But I hope he stays healthy. He takes a beating out there and is not the biggest guy.
- Ross seems kind of undersized to me . . . good speed, but undersized. He missed badly on at least one tackle.
- Proche for SMU had over 80% of SMU's receiving yards . . . that shouldn't happen. Brown has to make some adjustments.
Overall, this team has a long way to go. I see talent but I don't see it all coming together on the field.
- Why don't we have a power back? It was nice to see Mason get some carries. I suspect he will get more touches as season continues (perhaps even some passes). It looked to me like Evans pulled his hamstring on that last run. Evans' pass blocking stinks. Wilson may be a walkon but is more physical (running and blocking) than Evans. Samuels looks like he has good feet and quickness but I suspect he is not very good pass blocking either.
- O Line remains a problem. We should have dominated SMU in the trenches - we didn't. I'm not an expert on these things but linemen appear to be Bredeson and Ruiz. Onwenu is good if he gets his hands on you . . . but he can't move. I question the long term viability of him at guard. I almost wonder if we should move someone else to center and move Ruiz to guard.
- Gentry reminds me of Jay Riemersma (another guy who converted from QB to TE). He showed good feet yesterday - I think he'll be a favorite target for Patterson.
- Was Nordin's last FG actually good? It almost looked wide to me but it was so far above the uprights, it was hard to tell. He seemed to strike the ball better after making that one. For all the fears about our kicking game, our kickoffs and punts have been great.
- DPJ reminds me of David Terrell. He's not super elusive with the ball in his hands but he he's got good/strong hands and has very good body control.
- I still have my concerns about Harbaugh. I just don't see/feel the energy from him. He's obviously in pain (I'm guessing from his back/hips) and always is leaned over with his hands on his legs. I just don't see the same guy from several years ago . . . and I wonder if that is hurting the overall energy of the program.
- The officiating was terrible yesterday. Bad calls went against both teams (although I think we got more of them).
- The defense has definitely taken a step back . . . but there have been signs of this in the past where the D has failed at key moments or seemingly taken drives off. It seems like teams have Brown's D scouted and know how to attack it . . . and it also seems like a memo has gone out to the refs to not allow our coverage guys to be physical. As many others have said, I would like to see us mix in more zone defense. Do more things to confuse the opponent/their QB's. We have great athletes on defense but it's tough on our secondary guys to always have to play with their backs to the ball. It leads to big plays, PI calls and makes it tougher to get turnovers (its easier to pick passes when you actually see the pass thrown). I hope Brown is not too stubborn and will make some adjustments.
- I thought our defensive tackles actually played a bit better yesterday - Mone made some plays, Kemp made some plays.
- Winovich had a great game. I will join in with others and say that while Gary is very good, he's not a difference maker right now. If the issue is that he is being double teamed or held, maybe Brown needs to figure out some other ways to create some space for him.
- Bush is great. But I hope he stays healthy. He takes a beating out there and is not the biggest guy.
- Ross seems kind of undersized to me . . . good speed, but undersized. He missed badly on at least one tackle.
- Proche for SMU had over 80% of SMU's receiving yards . . . that shouldn't happen. Brown has to make some adjustments.
Overall, this team has a long way to go. I see talent but I don't see it all coming together on the field.
