anomander
Living Legend
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i took a couple days to digest that bad meal, and I still have a bad taste in my mouth, but here are some totally random thoughts/takeaways.
Shell-Shocked - What happened? I thought the 1st half of football was the best coaching job this staff has done in the last 2 seasons. Even though it didn’t work out, I absolutely loved it how they won the coin toss and elected to take the ball instead of the typical deferment to the 2H. I think it did 2 things. 1. - Inspired confidence in Mahoney, and 2. - let WF know we were coming out and weren’t going to change a thing when it came to aggressiveness.
That first half squeezed every single drop of talent out of Mahoney. For the most part the offensive plays calling was great. The staff as a whole also did a great job making adjustments. They went from down a TD and not being able to stop them, to up 17, and 5 straight defensive stops, with your back up RB and your back QB already over 300 yards.
Unfortunately, the game didn’t end at half. For as good as the staff was in planning and adjusting in 1H, they were equally bad, plus some in. 2H. Mahoney went from an all-league QB back to a walk-on JC QB. The defense went from 5 straight stops, to not getting half as many stops for the remainder of the game. It was brutal and really, really disappointing. It would have been 1 thing if WF ran them from the jump. You can point to needing to get his guys in. Or Clawson being in year 4 if a similar rebuild. But they proved in the 1H they were capable of overcoming all of that. That’s what frustrated me the most. I’m as big of a Babers supporter as you will find and that isn’t going to change because of 1 game, but man that was really, really disappointing.
Ok. Now that I got that off my chest here are some quick hitters.
- Really starting to see how badly Cordy and Martin are missed. I thought Willams was outstanding in the beginning of the year , but that’s when he is only called up For 12-15 snaps, hopefully in running situations. If he has to play the whole game and is expected to hold up in coverage all game , then they are going to be in trouble. Huge step down from Martin. They even tried Ellison back there, but that was equally bad, if not worse. Both are solid in run support, but both take terrible angles and have below average speed . And I hate to get on these 2 this much because they both can be really good with small roles, but these are the upper class men people reference that were left by Shafer. In other words there is a reason Babers went after Martin.
- WF OL was dominant. Robinson seemed to be on the verge of breaking out. Coleman returned from injury. Slayton was having an all-acc type of season, but WF’s OL absolutely doninTed this unit. A lot of blame was going at our DB’s, but Wolford has all day to sit in the pocket and scan the field. At least in other games we may not have been getting sacks, but we were hitting QB’s ( I believe at 1 point we knocked 3 straight starters out). Saturday they barely touched Wolford until he was well past the LOS. Big drop off for this group.
- LB’s were just as bad, maybe worse. Franklin and Bennett both may have had the worst games of their career. Poor Jonathan Thomas was running 5 yards behind Cam Serigne the whole game. I will say it is games like this where our relatively small group of LB’s will be upgraded next year in the size, speed, athleticism category. I know there is a lot of instinct, intelligence, and leadership that goes into the position and Zaire and Paris have that in abundance. But I also know that adding some athletes that are 6’2 and 225-240 with a little more speed might help make a difference.
- Mahoney is a good QB. But he showed why he is at best a back up QB. He had a 1H of a lifetime , but followed that up with an absolute egg, with a couple back breaking int’s to boot . Was he good enough to get the win? Probably . But having Dungey on the field is night and day difference . Mahoney’a arm has improved, and he throws a nice deep ball, but he still 1 hopped several balls and was off target on many , either throwing hospital balls like to Erv, or at Butlers ankles. It also takes away the threat on the ground. Not having Dingey is a big step down.
- Speaking of Butler... I think the kid has all the talent in the world just as long as he can catch the ball. Unlike most, I do think he could be the unquestioned #1 WR next season. My theory is that his confidence was hurt this year when he didn’t get named opening day starter. Has that forced him to lead the team in drops? I don’t know about that, but it definitely could have effected his performance. To his defense - the “drops” Saturday are probably catches he needs to make, but each was throw below his knees as he was going over the middle. If he has a full off season to prepare , knowing he was going to be the man, I think he can be counted on for a big season. Hecam consistently get open deep, and is electric with the ball in his hands. If he was given the opportunity as Ish I think we could see similar numbers. He needs to add some size in the off-season, as well as his hands, but he will give us that home run threat, both over the top and with the WR screen.
- ish continues to impress. I’m really happy for him that he is having an all-American type of season. He is the exact opposite of Butler, where he has turned into a big, strong WR. He uses his size to consistently win 50-50 balls, and has big strong hands. I expect that he will finish the season strong and really hope we make a Bowl Game for him and the seniors.
- OL has improved, which uncoincidentally has led to improvements from Strickland and Neal. Strickland was having a good game before he got hurt, and then Neal came in and showed that home run ability. I do think they either need to add a PG RB, or a JC RB, but I’m not as worried about the group as I once was after we add the FR coming in.
-Speaking of Freshman, I continue to be impressed by Nykiem Johnson. He is another one where all I think he needs is a chance to be featured. The kid can fly. He is going to add a dimension that we haven’t had here in a while . I was wat bing him after he ran that sweep and the next play they lined up and he had a LB covering him. I was hoping to Hell they went back to him again, and they should have because he made that defender look silly when he ran his route. Unfortunately, they didn’t , which is on the coaches. I don’t get how you can’t see that match up advantage from the booth and let Lewis know. If an amateur eye like mine recognized it, I thought it would be abundantly clear. Either way when he takes over for Erv in the slot I am going to go out on a limb and say, not only do we not have a drop off, but we improve. Erv has had an amazing career, and one hell of a surprise to boot, but he’s not a natural WR like Johnson will be. I also think Johnson has an extra gear that Erv doesn’t have, and hopefully a little better hands ( I would rate Erv’s hands as average at best).
- As for our chances to win these last 2 games I am not counting this team out. I think they play best with a chip on their shoulder. I think if. Babers had the opportunity to do over and handle the Clemson win differently he would. He may not say so, but he would be stupid not to. I think there was too much back slapping and they got a little soft. Being able to say we beat. clemson is nice, but they did not capitalize on it and all of the momentum the program was gaining from the win is gone. It can still be salvaged by winning these next 2 games, but if they don’t, I will count it as a huge blown opportunity . Back to Louisville. I do think this is a better match up for us then our previous road games. Jackson does seem to be really coming on, and he can beat you by himself, but I think as a team, they match up better against teams with poor defenses, which is something Louisville has. I don’t care who starts, we will be able to score points. The question is stopping them. Before last weekend I would have said our chances of winning a shootout were pretty good, but last week makes me question that. Lville doesn’t have the skill players they did last year, but again Jackson can put the team on his shoulders himself. I think our loss vs WF will allow Dino to refocus the guys and use this as a “nobody thinks we can win, but us” type of game. I think we can win in a mini shootout , say 48-42, and if we win this Saturday, there is no way the big old meathead himself is coming in with a bowl birth on the line and beating us. Obviously, I still have faith in this season , that we are good enough to win, and I certainly have absolute faith in Dino and this staff to bring us back to a winning program.
LGO
Shell-Shocked - What happened? I thought the 1st half of football was the best coaching job this staff has done in the last 2 seasons. Even though it didn’t work out, I absolutely loved it how they won the coin toss and elected to take the ball instead of the typical deferment to the 2H. I think it did 2 things. 1. - Inspired confidence in Mahoney, and 2. - let WF know we were coming out and weren’t going to change a thing when it came to aggressiveness.
That first half squeezed every single drop of talent out of Mahoney. For the most part the offensive plays calling was great. The staff as a whole also did a great job making adjustments. They went from down a TD and not being able to stop them, to up 17, and 5 straight defensive stops, with your back up RB and your back QB already over 300 yards.
Unfortunately, the game didn’t end at half. For as good as the staff was in planning and adjusting in 1H, they were equally bad, plus some in. 2H. Mahoney went from an all-league QB back to a walk-on JC QB. The defense went from 5 straight stops, to not getting half as many stops for the remainder of the game. It was brutal and really, really disappointing. It would have been 1 thing if WF ran them from the jump. You can point to needing to get his guys in. Or Clawson being in year 4 if a similar rebuild. But they proved in the 1H they were capable of overcoming all of that. That’s what frustrated me the most. I’m as big of a Babers supporter as you will find and that isn’t going to change because of 1 game, but man that was really, really disappointing.
Ok. Now that I got that off my chest here are some quick hitters.
- Really starting to see how badly Cordy and Martin are missed. I thought Willams was outstanding in the beginning of the year , but that’s when he is only called up For 12-15 snaps, hopefully in running situations. If he has to play the whole game and is expected to hold up in coverage all game , then they are going to be in trouble. Huge step down from Martin. They even tried Ellison back there, but that was equally bad, if not worse. Both are solid in run support, but both take terrible angles and have below average speed . And I hate to get on these 2 this much because they both can be really good with small roles, but these are the upper class men people reference that were left by Shafer. In other words there is a reason Babers went after Martin.
- WF OL was dominant. Robinson seemed to be on the verge of breaking out. Coleman returned from injury. Slayton was having an all-acc type of season, but WF’s OL absolutely doninTed this unit. A lot of blame was going at our DB’s, but Wolford has all day to sit in the pocket and scan the field. At least in other games we may not have been getting sacks, but we were hitting QB’s ( I believe at 1 point we knocked 3 straight starters out). Saturday they barely touched Wolford until he was well past the LOS. Big drop off for this group.
- LB’s were just as bad, maybe worse. Franklin and Bennett both may have had the worst games of their career. Poor Jonathan Thomas was running 5 yards behind Cam Serigne the whole game. I will say it is games like this where our relatively small group of LB’s will be upgraded next year in the size, speed, athleticism category. I know there is a lot of instinct, intelligence, and leadership that goes into the position and Zaire and Paris have that in abundance. But I also know that adding some athletes that are 6’2 and 225-240 with a little more speed might help make a difference.
- Mahoney is a good QB. But he showed why he is at best a back up QB. He had a 1H of a lifetime , but followed that up with an absolute egg, with a couple back breaking int’s to boot . Was he good enough to get the win? Probably . But having Dungey on the field is night and day difference . Mahoney’a arm has improved, and he throws a nice deep ball, but he still 1 hopped several balls and was off target on many , either throwing hospital balls like to Erv, or at Butlers ankles. It also takes away the threat on the ground. Not having Dingey is a big step down.
- Speaking of Butler... I think the kid has all the talent in the world just as long as he can catch the ball. Unlike most, I do think he could be the unquestioned #1 WR next season. My theory is that his confidence was hurt this year when he didn’t get named opening day starter. Has that forced him to lead the team in drops? I don’t know about that, but it definitely could have effected his performance. To his defense - the “drops” Saturday are probably catches he needs to make, but each was throw below his knees as he was going over the middle. If he has a full off season to prepare , knowing he was going to be the man, I think he can be counted on for a big season. Hecam consistently get open deep, and is electric with the ball in his hands. If he was given the opportunity as Ish I think we could see similar numbers. He needs to add some size in the off-season, as well as his hands, but he will give us that home run threat, both over the top and with the WR screen.
- ish continues to impress. I’m really happy for him that he is having an all-American type of season. He is the exact opposite of Butler, where he has turned into a big, strong WR. He uses his size to consistently win 50-50 balls, and has big strong hands. I expect that he will finish the season strong and really hope we make a Bowl Game for him and the seniors.
- OL has improved, which uncoincidentally has led to improvements from Strickland and Neal. Strickland was having a good game before he got hurt, and then Neal came in and showed that home run ability. I do think they either need to add a PG RB, or a JC RB, but I’m not as worried about the group as I once was after we add the FR coming in.
-Speaking of Freshman, I continue to be impressed by Nykiem Johnson. He is another one where all I think he needs is a chance to be featured. The kid can fly. He is going to add a dimension that we haven’t had here in a while . I was wat bing him after he ran that sweep and the next play they lined up and he had a LB covering him. I was hoping to Hell they went back to him again, and they should have because he made that defender look silly when he ran his route. Unfortunately, they didn’t , which is on the coaches. I don’t get how you can’t see that match up advantage from the booth and let Lewis know. If an amateur eye like mine recognized it, I thought it would be abundantly clear. Either way when he takes over for Erv in the slot I am going to go out on a limb and say, not only do we not have a drop off, but we improve. Erv has had an amazing career, and one hell of a surprise to boot, but he’s not a natural WR like Johnson will be. I also think Johnson has an extra gear that Erv doesn’t have, and hopefully a little better hands ( I would rate Erv’s hands as average at best).
- As for our chances to win these last 2 games I am not counting this team out. I think they play best with a chip on their shoulder. I think if. Babers had the opportunity to do over and handle the Clemson win differently he would. He may not say so, but he would be stupid not to. I think there was too much back slapping and they got a little soft. Being able to say we beat. clemson is nice, but they did not capitalize on it and all of the momentum the program was gaining from the win is gone. It can still be salvaged by winning these next 2 games, but if they don’t, I will count it as a huge blown opportunity . Back to Louisville. I do think this is a better match up for us then our previous road games. Jackson does seem to be really coming on, and he can beat you by himself, but I think as a team, they match up better against teams with poor defenses, which is something Louisville has. I don’t care who starts, we will be able to score points. The question is stopping them. Before last weekend I would have said our chances of winning a shootout were pretty good, but last week makes me question that. Lville doesn’t have the skill players they did last year, but again Jackson can put the team on his shoulders himself. I think our loss vs WF will allow Dino to refocus the guys and use this as a “nobody thinks we can win, but us” type of game. I think we can win in a mini shootout , say 48-42, and if we win this Saturday, there is no way the big old meathead himself is coming in with a bowl birth on the line and beating us. Obviously, I still have faith in this season , that we are good enough to win, and I certainly have absolute faith in Dino and this staff to bring us back to a winning program.
LGO
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