The 2nd worst thing about Hunt's injury

[Crusty]

I used to share the view of my buddy OttoinGrotto that rock fights had become the default SU offesnsive philosophy. We are so accustomed to crap offensive football at SU that it is hard to think that anything has changed. I do not share that view anymore.

Here is my thinking. Shafer burned 14 redshirts. That does not sound like a guy playing it close to the vest. No one was ecstatic about the improvement that Hunt had made, which means that we were going to do exactly what OIG suggests. However, Dungey changed all that. Lester planned to play Dungey in game one anyway. I really believe that they viewed it as an open competition between Hunt and Dungey for the whole season. Now they know that Dungey is not only our future, but our present as well. They will go as fast as he can take us.

We saw absolutely nothing of the Lester offense. 90% of the plays we lined up in a double wing formation. It looked to me like line blocking practice all the way. We ran outside the tackles almost every time - left one time, right the next. Shafer mentioned there would be wham blocking (nose tackle sucked in and then, wham - blocked by the RB or HB) and I didn't see that one time.

They ran just about every type of play (not every play in the playbook, but every type of play) - and Dungey handled them all well. (Please stop with the "it was only RI" - everyone knows this!)

What I did see was:

1. Dungey has a strong accurate arm.
2. Dungey can throw very well on the run.
3. Runners understood the plays and were patient behind their blockers.
4. Wide receivers actually held their blocks for more than a nanosecond.
5. Linemen did not jump!!!!
6. Dungey threw right, left, up the middle, long, short(for TD).
7. He ran play action very well. (Had Phillips turned he would have had another TD.)
8. Dungey didn't throw any long completions (AC dropped a TD that hit both hands) - BUT he did throw it where only our guy could catch it.
9. While Dungey did stare down receives and he did not see open guys (a lot) he did not throw into a crowd (as AJ is wont to do).

We have weapons for the first time in a great long while and I don't think the staff cares if they are freshmen or not - the best players are going to play. They recruited guys with the promise of early playing time if they earned it. Looks like they earned it. There is the added plus that they weren't here last for last year's debacle.

IF the O Line plays well, we are going to score a lot of points. We are going to be better in the red zone and on ST. We're headed upwards towards the magic 30+. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[Shenexon]

I used to share the view of my buddy OttoinGrotto that rock fights had become the default SU offesnsive philosophy. We are so accustomed to crap offensive football at SU that it is hard to think that anything has changed. I do not share that view anymore.

Here is my thinking. Shafer burned 14 redshirts. That does not sound like a guy playing it close to the vest. No one was ecstatic about the improvement that Hunt had made, which means that we were going to do exactly what OIG suggests. However, Dungey changed all that. Lester planned to play Dungey in game one anyway. I really believe that they viewed it as an open competition between Hunt and Dungey for the whole season. Now they know that Dungey is not only our future, but our present as well. They will go as fast as he can take us.

We saw absolutely nothing of the Lester offense. 90% of the plays we lined up in a double wing formation. It looked to me like line blocking practice all the way. We ran outside the tackles almost every time - left one time, right the next. Shafer mentioned there would be wham blocking (nose tackle sucked in and then, wham - blocked by the RB or HB) and I didn't see that one time.

They ran just about every type of play (not every play in the playbook, but every type of play) - and Dungey handled them all well. (Please stop with the "it was only RI" - everyone knows this!)

What I did see was:

1. Dungey has a strong accurate arm.
2. Dungey can throw very well on the run.
3. Runners understood the plays and were patient behind their blockers.
4. Wide receivers actually held their blocks for more than a nanosecond.
5. Linemen did not jump!!!!
6. Dungey threw right, left, up the middle, long, short(for TD).
7. He ran play action very well. (Had Phillips turned he would have had another TD.)
8. Dungey didn't throw any long completions (AC dropped a TD that hit both hands) - BUT he did throw it where only our guy could catch it.
9. While Dungey did stare down receives and he did not see open guys (a lot) he did not throw into a crowd (as AJ is wont to do).

We have weapons for the first time in a great long while and I don't think the staff cares if they are freshmen or not - the best players are going to play. They recruited guys with the promise of early playing time if they earned it. Looks like they earned it. There is the added plus that they weren't here last for last year's debacle.

IF the O Line plays well, we are going to score a lot of points. We are going to be better in the red zone and on ST. We're headed upwards towards the magic 30+. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Nice...I think the coaches want a lot of weapons available to keep the players fresh and active. We have some guys that will make some fun things happen this year. Erv, Jordan, Hill, Estime, etc. all put on some impressive moves and could break a few.

 

[CuseOnly]

I think, no matter what we had done, we would have moved the ball against that team.

Kind of a different way of looking at it - we think Ish is a pretty legit talent, right? He might be our best player on offense.

Does anybody think after 3 receptions for 29 yards that establishing Ish was the focus of this game? I have a hard time thinking that. So add it up - it's possible our best player was deemphasized against our weakest opponent. That could mean different things, some of which I'm not that enthusiastic about.

I don't think anything was de-emphasized on purpose in that game. I think that was a result of Lester purposely dialing back the offense to help a true freshman QB along with the fact that we were crushing them already so no need to pass the ball. Running shortens the game and was very successful so stick with what works and what the situation dictates.

 

[CusefanATL]

I think that was a result of Lester purposely dialing back the offense to help a true freshman QB along

which is exactly why you don't take Dungey out of the game after only 17 attempts and the main reason you don't want to shorten the game.

 

[CuseOnly]

which is exactly why you don't take Dungey out of the game after only 17 attempts and the main reason you don't want to shorten the game.

Sooo don't take your starter out of the game in mop up time when some cheap shots are usually taken? Smart, leave your most valuable asset in the game when you've already won. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

 

[CusefanATL]

Sooo don't take your starter out of the game in mop up time when some cheap shots are usually taken? Smart, leave your most valuable asset in the game when you've already won. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Eric Dungey is our most valuable asset?!

He is a true freshman who needs game experience.

 

[CuseOnly]

Eric Dungey is our most valuable asset?!

He is a true freshman who needs game experience.

Right now, yes he is and the absolute last thing this team needs is for him to go down. We already know Wilson can't win us games.

Anyone else on the team you can come up with that is more valuable right now?

 

[CusefanATL]

Right now, yes he is and the absolute last thing this team needs is for him to go down. We already know Wilson can't win us games.

Anyone else on the team you can come up with that is more valuable right now?

austin wilson play 2.5 games last year. We don't know what we have in Eric Dungey yet because he barely played 2 Q's and only threw 17 passes for some very odd reason.

Every defensive starter is more valuable.

 

[TheCusian]

Eric Dungey is our most valuable asset?! He is a true freshman who needs game experience.

YES. And it's not close. If AJ was healthy, I'd have played him the whole game for exp.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I used to share the view of my buddy OttoinGrotto that rock fights had become the default SU offesnsive philosophy. We are so accustomed to crap offensive football at SU that it is hard to think that anything has changed. I do not share that view anymore.

Here is my thinking. Shafer burned 14 redshirts. That does not sound like a guy playing it close to the vest. No one was ecstatic about the improvement that Hunt had made, which means that we were going to do exactly what OIG suggests. However, Dungey changed all that. Lester planned to play Dungey in game one anyway. I really believe that they viewed it as an open competition between Hunt and Dungey for the whole season. Now they know that Dungey is not only our future, but our present as well. They will go as fast as he can take us.

We saw absolutely nothing of the Lester offense. 90% of the plays we lined up in a double wing formation. It looked to me like line blocking practice all the way. We ran outside the tackles almost every time - left one time, right the next. Shafer mentioned there would be wham blocking (nose tackle sucked in and then, wham - blocked by the RB or HB) and I didn't see that one time.

They ran just about every type of play (not every play in the playbook, but every type of play) - and Dungey handled them all well. (Please stop with the "it was only RI" - everyone knows this!)

What I did see was:

1. Dungey has a strong accurate arm.
2. Dungey can throw very well on the run.
3. Runners understood the plays and were patient behind their blockers.
4. Wide receivers actually held their blocks for more than a nanosecond.
5. Linemen did not jump!!!!
6. Dungey threw right, left, up the middle, long, short(for TD).
7. He ran play action very well. (Had Phillips turned he would have had another TD.)
8. Dungey didn't throw any long completions (AC dropped a TD that hit both hands) - BUT he did throw it where only our guy could catch it.
9. While Dungey did stare down receives and he did not see open guys (a lot) he did not throw into a crowd (as AJ is wont to do).

We have weapons for the first time in a great long while and I don't think the staff cares if they are freshmen or not - the best players are going to play. They recruited guys with the promise of early playing time if they earned it. Looks like they earned it. There is the added plus that they weren't here last for last year's debacle.

IF the O Line plays well, we are going to score a lot of points. We are going to be better in the red zone and on ST. We're headed upwards towards the magic 30+. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I sure hope you're right. I'm really curious to see what Shafer decides to do when some situations come up where he could punt or try to extend the drive. Last year that just got way out of hand. If their tendencies are different this season, I believe we'll see them make different choices related to maintaining possession.

 

[TheCusian]

austin wilson play 2.5 games last year. We don't know what we have in Eric Dungey yet because he barely played 2 Q's and only threw 17 passes for some very odd reason. Every defensive starter is more valuable.

We know that he hopped a guy who played in 2.5 games and has more INT than TD - in one camp.

 

[TheCusian]

I sure hope you're right. I'm really curious to see what Shafer decides to do when some situations come up where he could punt or try to extend the drive. Last year that just got way out of hand. If their tendencies are different this season, I believe we'll see them make different choices related to maintaining possession.

Yep. My gut says he plays the odds as a guy who takes his offensive potential into the equation. Last year I think he had zero confidence.

 

[rrlbees]

I sure hope you're right. I'm really curious to see what Shafer decides to do when some situations come up where he could punt or try to extend the drive. Last year that just got way out of hand. If their tendencies are different this season, I believe we'll see them make different choices related to maintaining possession.

I wasn't happy when we punted from RI 45 on 4th and 4.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I wasn't happy when we punted from RI 45 on 4th and 4.

I'm giving that a pass for now.

 

[rrlbees]

I'm giving that a pass for now.

Hope it isn't an indicator. RI had gained about 5 yards in 4-5 possessions. Not making it shouldn't have been a concern for the defense.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Hope it isn't an indicator. RI had gained about 5 yards in 4-5 possessions. Not making it shouldn't have been a concern for the defense.

I completely agree.

 

[Crusty]

I sure hope you're right. I'm really curious to see what Shafer decides to do when some situations come up where he could punt or try to extend the drive. Last year that just got way out of hand. If their tendencies are different this season, I believe we'll see them make different choices related to maintaining possession.

Absolutely. If I had last year's offense I won have punted also. As the year progresses I think they will get more and more aggressive. HCSS is a realistic so he will need to have some confidence in the offense before he stops simply relying on the D to keep us in games.

 

[CuseOnly]

austin wilson play 2.5 games last year. We don't know what we have in Eric Dungey yet because he barely played 2 Q's and only threw 17 passes for some very odd reason.

Every defensive starter is more valuable.

We can easily afford to lose a few defensive starters and play with the second stringer instead of going down to our 3rd string QB who isn't very good.

There is a reason why he is ahead of Wilson on the depth chart, he can win games for us and with a little more experience is probably better than Hunt before season's end. Even if Hunt comes back with a 6th year, I would be willing to bet he doesn't start another game.

 

[Yegorange]

Also disagree. This opens things up, i believe. To the point CusefanATL is making: considering Eric wouldn't have seen more than 10-15 snaps, why force feed? He did well enough in the 17 attempts he had to evaluate film and move forward. And, considering circumstances he IS the MVP of the offense now. Not even close.

EDIT: MVP period.

 

[anomander]

I'm giving that a pass for now.

I thought there were 3 opportunities for Shafer to go for it only to have him punt twice, and kick a long FG the other time. I was hoping for a more aggressive mindset, and not to call the game like a DC, but I don't think he's changing.

 

[anomander]

Perfect example in the tOSU - VT game. First drive of the game tOSU has 4th and 5 from the 34. Meyer goes for it and picks up the 1st down. Next play TD. I have no doubt we would have punted.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I thought there were 3 opportunities for Shafer to go for it only to have him punt twice, and kick a long FG the other time. I was hoping for a more aggressive mindset, and not to call the game like a DC, but I don't think he's changing.

My hope is, they went in to this game with the mindset that they knew Rhode Island was outclassed, so they weren't going to rub it in.

Now that said - my preference would have been that they rubbed it in.

 

[Bayside44]

Now that it's confirmed that Hunt is out for the year (just awful after he worked to get back), I believe the situation is setting up for our staff to play ultra-conservative. I believe we've seen enough of what that style looks like to be pretty sure what the top end potential is for a team coached that way. It might be our best chance to claw our way in to a bowl game, but I think that's about the best result we can hope for. If we ever hope to move forward, I don't think we'll get there by favoring the defense.

That said, here's the mix:

1. Staff supposedly fighting for their jobs under a new AD
2. The defense played lights out against our first opponent, albeit an overmatched one
3. Our best option at QB is a true freshman
4. We seem to have some depth at running back/the position I refuse to call H-back or Express back
5. We took our foot off the gas against a lousy team that offered the best chance this season for our players to have easy in-game success, which seems odd after last season's offensive struggles, and worries me that the coaches started to feel content (OttoinGrotto maxim #2 - Once you are content in today's college football, you have fallen behind)

Therefore, my conclusion is they're going to coach games to be rock fights.

Now, I do think there are some reasons why this might not be the case, and/or there are some reasons why rock fights might be enough to get us in to a bowl:

1. We likely have some sure losses on the schedule, but after the 1st week it looks like the rest of our opponents have some limitations too
2. Specials appear to be much improved. That alone could swing things very positively
3. If it really is true that the staff expected Dungey to pass Hunt at some point in the year, that may mean Dungey's skill set permits the offense to open up in ways it never could under Hunt
4. Part of what made Boise State successful was their offensive ingenuity. If Coyle feels that might be part of what's a necessary part of our program's DNA, he may put pressure on the staff to not be content with low scoring affairs

We are going to know sooooo much about how this season plays out after Wake and CMU.

I stopped reading after the first sentence. Hunt's best play was a QB keeper, which is about as conservative as William . Buckley.

 

[orangencpolice]

Dungey could turn out to be a better option after a few games with experience. He is big for a freshmen and has the tools to make all the passes. The game will start to slow with game experience and extensive runs with the 1st. team offense in practice. Lots of unfounded securities going on now.

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but I like how the schedule slowly helps get Dungey acclimated. I know he would be worse off if we started with LSU/FSU and/or Clemson in the beginning of the year. I hope he gets all of the jitters out and feels comfortable after next week. Obviously he is going to make some mistakes, I just hope they are limited more in the middle of the schedule.

 

[SUFan44]

My hope is, they went in to this game with the mindset that they knew Rhode Island was outclassed, so they weren't going to rub it in.

Now that said - my preference would have been that they rubbed it in.

That's hoping for a lot.

If it's an inferior opponent, why not put the foot on the throat earlier and use subs even earlier?

As it was, the pick 6 and the punt return proved to be enough to put us in that range early in the 2nd half. But without those two plays (yes I know, but they happened) it's 17-0 at halftime.

Unfortunately, unless someone (*cough* AD *cough*) tells him he needs to change his ways it's not going to change. And the team will continue to white knuckle everything.