Why I'm optimistic

[wfschrec]

After watching the Ohio game I truly have optimism moving forward into the season. There were several things that I think should be considered in a 20 point victory, to be honest I would have felt better if they won by 40 but again a win is a win.

The pros:
- The tackling specifically by the corners was fantastic
- While I would love to see the middle of the field attacked more (they did complete three slants) they took what Ohio gave them
- Tucker has incredible vision and the line held up well
- Lutz is very underrated and does some great things when given the chance
- They kept Ohio out of the end zone and while the defensive line wasn't spectacular I feel they will be far better when Bear comes back
- Queeley and Johnson are going to have sneaky good seasons if they throw enough
- Ohio was very disciplined and didn't commit a penalty, this wasn't a factor and we didn't need penalties to extend drives
- 75% 3rd down conversions on offense
- Devito made great decisions with the ball, pulled it down and ran it perfectly on his reads
- We performed very well in short yardage situations without Elmore
- Ohio regularly ran the play clock down under 10 seconds which kept the game closer than it should have been
- Williams and Szmyt are very good on specials
- Their dual-threat QB didn't hurt us with his legs
- Held up and stopped Ohio when they had a first and goal at the 4

The cons:
- Harris has to lay out on the long ball, if he does he pulls it in
- On offense we only ran a shade over 60 plays, I wish tempo was used more
- Ohio had decent success on 3rd down and that needs to be cleaned up
- The completion percentage for Ohio was also higher than I would like but the tackling on the outside limited the quick throws
- There is no reason Ohio should have doubled us up in the air ... none
- Two bonehead penalties that in a close game could be catastrophic
- Shrader didn't look happy and I get it .. will it be an issue down the road or will we see more of him later?

With Bear and Rhino back and if this team can stay healthy and play with faster tempo they could win quite a few games, this wasn't a Wagner type team they beat ... I think Ohio will have a solid year. Seeing UW lose to Montana and #2 OU just getting by Tulane was enough for me to be satisfied with a 20 point win over a solid MAC team.

 

[upperdeck]

ohio had 3 long passes.. once you remove 3 plays they throw 30 times for 100 yds.. thats a real good number.. 1 was the QB pass , 1 was the WR pass, 1 was the backb QB who ran a nice fake run and drop back.. if thats the way teams are gonna beat us throwing 100 yds you can live with that as long as they dont end up as TDs

Same thing for running, 2 runs of 10 yds and then about 30 for 100.. 60 plays for 200 yds is solid D..
any game the longest run is 10-12 yds you have done a pretty good job

Su you remove Tuckers longest 2 runs and we still go 40 for 200 and 5yds a carry with that many carries is really good.

passing remove our top 3 and its 15 throws for 60 4 yds a throw. need to pick that up for sure.

you can flip it any not find much on the bone for Ohio throwing the pretty much maxed it out . Maybe a TD on an endzone pass with a better throw but also a pick we dropped

SU you can see 2 TDs that were not covered and about 75-100 yds on the 2 deep throws and the miss on the corner route to Taj.. You complete those and is 18 for 200 and 2 tds and a 500 yd night and thats pretty solid for 60 plays.

 

[wfschrec]

ohio had 3 long passes.. once you remove 3 plays they throw 30 times for 100 yds.. thats a real good number.. 1 was the QB pass , 1 was the WR pass, 1 was the backb QB who ran a nice fake run and drop back.. if thats the way teams are gonna beat us throwing 100 yds you can live with that as long as they dont end up as TDs

Same thing for running, 2 runs of 10 yds and then about 30 for 100.. 60 plays for 200 yds is solid D..
any game the longest run is 10-12 yds you have done a pretty good job

Su you remove Tuckers longest 2 runs and we still go 40 for 200 and 5yds a carry with that many carries is really good.

passing remove our top 3 and its 15 throws for 60 4 yds a throw. need to pick that up for sure.

you can flip it any not find much on the bone for Ohio throwing the pretty much maxed it out . Maybe a TD on an endzone pass with a better throw but also a pick we dropped

SU you can see 2 TDs that were not covered and about 75-100 yds on the 2 deep throws and the miss on the corner route to Taj.. You complete those and is 18 for 200 and 2 tds and a 500 yd night and thats pretty solid for 60 plays.

Valid points but we still have the results. You could literally "what if" every play and make it a totally different game if you choose. The thing is we need to shore up the passing game, I don't think that point is even debatable. Fortunately we ran the ball so well it didn't matter, we may not always have that luxury.

 

[OttosDad]

After watching the Ohio game I truly have optimism moving forward into the season. There were several things that I think should be considered in a 20 point victory, to be honest I would have felt better if they won by 40 but again a win is a win.

The pros:
- The tackling specifically by the corners was fantastic
- While I would love to see the middle of the field attacked more (they did complete three slants) they took what Ohio gave them
- Tucker has incredible vision and the line held up well
- Lutz is very underrated and does some great things when given the chance
- They kept Ohio out of the end zone and while the defensive line wasn't spectacular I feel they will be far better when Bear comes back
- Queeley and Johnson are going to have sneaky good seasons if they throw enough
- Ohio was very disciplined and didn't commit a penalty, this wasn't a factor and we didn't need penalties to extend drives
- 75% 3rd down conversions on offense
- Devito made great decisions with the ball, pulled it down and ran it perfectly on his reads
- We performed very well in short yardage situations without Elmore
- Ohio regularly ran the play clock down under 10 seconds which kept the game closer than it should have been
- Williams and Szmyt are very good on specials
- Their dual-threat QB didn't hurt us with his legs
- Held up and stopped Ohio when they had a first and goal at the 4

The cons:
- Harris has to lay out on the long ball, if he does he pulls it in
- On offense we only ran a shade over 60 plays, I wish tempo was used more
- Ohio had decent success on 3rd down and that needs to be cleaned up
- The completion percentage for Ohio was also higher than I would like but the tackling on the outside limited the quick throws
- There is no reason Ohio should have doubled us up in the air ... none
- Two bonehead penalties that in a close game could be catastrophic
- Shrader didn't look happy and I get it .. will it be an issue down the road or will we see more of him later?

With Bear and Rhino back and if this team can stay healthy and play with faster tempo they could win quite a few games, this wasn't a Wagner type team they beat ... I think Ohio will have a solid year. Seeing UW lose to Montana and #2 OU just getting by Tulane was enough for me to be satisfied with a 20 point win over a solid MAC team.

Agree with most of these but... I am still not sold on our WR's. I like Taj he's the guy, I think we all can recognize that. Queeley was solid yesterday as a possession receiver but this team is going to need another guy step up as a legitimate deep threat along with Taj. Whether its Jackson, Alford, or Gadsden. Need one to step up.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Agree with most of these but... I am still not sold on our WR's. I like Taj he's the guy, I think we all can recognize that. Queeley was solid yesterday as a possession receiver but this team is going to need another guy step up as a legitimate deep threat along with Taj. Whether its Jackson, Alford, or Gadsden. Need one to step up.

If your qb locks in on one guy, then does it matter if there is more than one receiver? There were players open deep who were ignored. One of my biggest frustrations with the Babers offense is the complete lack of diversity… the fact that it happens year after regardless of the players or the OC really makes me question whether it’s the system or the HC.

 

[orangencpolice]

We will definitely not win in ACC play if Harris and Queely are the only wide receivers with receptions. I hope one of the many wide receivers we have step up. Devito did seem too focused on Taj every pass play. He needs to find others to make plays when Taj is covered.

 

[orangenauburn]

If your qb locks in on one guy, then does it matter if there is more than one receiver? There were players open deep who were ignored. One of my biggest frustrations with the Babers offense is the complete lack of diversity… the fact that it happens year after regardless of the players or the OC really makes me question whether it’s the system or the HC.

Or the QB

 

[David332]

Not being called for any penalties and not committing any penalties are two different things. I didn’t think that Ohio was disciplined but rather the refs did a poor job on calling penalties. I agree with many of your points though and am too very optimistic.

 

[OrangeDW]

Agree with most of these but... I am still not sold on our WR's. I like Taj he's the guy, I think we all can recognize that. Queeley was solid yesterday as a possession receiver but this team is going to need another guy step up as a legitimate deep threat along with Taj. Whether its Jackson, Alford, or Gadsden. Need one to step up.

Yeah, I posted about Estime somewhere. He was never a star WR or the go to guy...he was our number 3 or 4 guy. But he was a threat to get behind the defense on a long pass at any given time, and could take advantage of a blown assignment or missed tackle and take it all the way. Not a star WR but had elite speed.

Going back further: Jamel Riddle, Maurice Jackson....do we have any burners like that? We need one.

 

[wfschrec]

Not being called for any penalties and not committing any penalties are two different things. I didn’t think that Ohio was disciplined but rather the refs did a poor job on calling penalties. I agree with many of your points though and am too very optimistic.

Thats fair enough ... I think they had one declined. However the fact that we didn't need penalties to extend drives is to me a big positive. In close games a lot of times a penalty can be such a huge difference maker.