epasnoopy Wrote:

Huskie97 Wrote:

epasnoopy Wrote:We aren't a bad team, we're losing close games. Two games by 5 points. It's not like we're getting blown out. But we are getting outcoached and finding ways to lose the game in the end with things like two holding penalties and a botched FG kick.

We aren't a bad team? We just lost at home to Eastern FRIGGIN' Michigan!

Eastern Michigan isn't a pushover anymore like they used to be. They have some nice little playmakers now. If you don't think EMU has improved since last season then you are mistaken. Give them some credit.

You're right. Before today, they were averaging 9.5 points a game. That's an awesome number. In fact, it's good enough 115th in 1A football.
Also, they were 115th in yards per game. That is really good.
Let's not forget they were 117th in first downs per game.
I will give them credit. They wanted it. They were prepared. We weren't. Season over.

Now we know why NIU has not sent them out.
They knew we would be bad and we would want to unload them.
Good thing they took the orders before the season.

A bit of perspective:

We are losing close games, but for the most part they are close games against I-AA and bottom-tier I-A teams. Iowa is an exception but that game wasn't as close as the score made it seem. Could have easily been 23-3.

Some of this is due to injuries on defense but that doesn't explain bonehead offensive mistakes.

We aren't getting outcoached -- at least not in the strategic sense. I do lay a good bit of the blame for the penalties and dumb mistakes on the coaching staff, so if that's what you mean by being outcoached then I will agree.

The coach really isn't the one to get the team fired up. Good players have it in them already. There's not a lot the coach can do about that.

I am new to this message board.......

I think we need to be realistic and understand this is a young team. While I agree we should have found a way to win the last 2 weeks that is all part of having a young team. Plus remember young teams get better as the season moves forward so lets see what happens.

The news about DJ is awesome but we need to develop the players around him.

While I agree it is a young team, there should be plays that you can point to and say "he is going to be a good one". There aren't.

The coaches are doing a poor job of coaching up the talent on the team. That includes telling them over and over that they ARE a good team and they will show the other team on Saturday that they are a a good team. That message is obviously not getting delivered. When you allow uncertainty and doubt to enter the player's psych, it is all over. The players need to understand that they ARE better than the other team and only a lot of bad breaks will keep the game close for the other team. I see no evidence whatsoever that the message has been delivered and if anything, the second half collapses confirm my theory.

I disagree about the young talent. I think Chad Spann shows a lot of promise for a true freshman. The offensive line is getting better with the run blocking.

I agree 100% about the coaches getting them to believe in this team. I hate when we go into the Big Ten games and Joe acts as though he is not expecting to win.

Anderson, Spann both look good, The defense looks good especially early in games before the offense ruins their day. Just need a couple WR's and maybe a little help at the O-Line and this team would be fine. Maybe Landon Cox can be that guy ?

HuskieFan84 Wrote:Anderson, Spann both look good, The defense looks good especially early in games before the offense ruins their day. Just need a couple WR's and maybe a little help at the O-Line and this team would be fine. Maybe Landon Cox can be that guy ?

Anderson looks very good. Spann has shifty hips and could be good. The defense is not good. Coaches have sacrificed this year to play freshmen and sophomores over the upper classmen. Wide receivers don't get open and the Oline allows blind side hits on the QB. Tackle the defensive player for a 10-yard holding call but don't give up blind side hits. The Oline is not find.

Will we win a game this year? I am not so sure. We better be looking at Junior College talent for some defensive tackles and offer a dozen or so of them. Maybe we get 2 of them to accept and we can start to hold our own in games. We are in serious trouble with the defensive line we have right now and it would be reasonable to say that with this defensive line that can't stop the run and can't rush the passer that we won't win a game this season.

NIUJDK Wrote:

HuskieFan84 Wrote:Anderson, Spann both look good, The defense looks good especially early in games before the offense ruins their day. Just need a couple WR's and maybe a little help at the O-Line and this team would be fine. Maybe Landon Cox can be that guy ?

Anderson looks very good. Spann has shifty hips and could be good. The defense is not good. Coaches have sacrificed this year to play freshmen and sophomores over the upper classmen. Wide receivers don't get open and the Oline allows blind side hits on the QB. Tackle the defensive player for a 10-yard holding call but don't give up blind side hits. The Oline is not find.

Will we win a game this year? I am not so sure. We better be looking at Junior College talent for some defensive tackles and offer a dozen or so of them. Maybe we get 2 of them to accept and we can start to hold our own in games. We are in serious trouble with the defensive line we have right now and it would be reasonable to say that with this defensive line that can't stop the run and can't rush the passer that we won't win a game this season.

I think there was a period (during the long nap we all took during the third and first five minutes of the fourth QTR) where the O-Line let down and let the EMU front take over the game, but I thought we also had success moving the ball in first half and the last seven minutes, I remain optimistic about the O-Line. A work in progress, perhaps, but the talent is there.

Wide receiver is trouble. We saw a nine man front yesterday and really didn't do much to make EMU pay. Yeah, Davis dropped a ball, and I certainly thought about the balls that he dropped a year ago when it happened. However, that's about the first mistake he's made all year. I just don't see anybody else at WR that can make an impact. TE would be an answer, but right now, we're playing about 5 different guys, none of whom are the complete package. Koronkiewicz looks limited, Brandon Davis looks lazy, Brandon Beal looks athletic but doesn't block all that well. Cunningham can catch the ball better than anyone, but can't block. Beckner has shown me more blocking than anyone else, but they've never thrown to him. He may have stone hands. Vernon Sims looks great in his uniform, but I haven't seen him since the Spring Game.

What concerns me most is our defense. We have to readjust our expectations of this defensive team in light of the injuries. We've lost our 3 technique and our middle linebacker. How would the Bears do without Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher? The middle of the D is a huge hole right now and we saw EMU just pound it down our throats on simple Wing-T counters play after play. I'm not even going to comment on our pass rush or our breaks on the ball in the secondary. We don't do either, unfortunately.

Our hopes for a stifling defense could be out the window, I'm afraid. I think we did have the makings of one, but we've gotten hurt at the most critical points.

I think we'll beat Temple.

All this talk about not winning a game this season is ridiculous. If we had been blown out 50-0 in the first three games, there may be reason to believe we won't win any games this year.

How many games have we lost by more than 2 TDs? ZERO.
How many games were lost in the last minute of the game? TWO
How many games did we have a chance to win in the last minute of the game? TWO - we easily could be 2-1.

We are too talented to be blown out in most our remaining games. That means we'll have close games and a chance to win, starting next Saturday. I see a W for the Huskies this Saturday.

cawoo22 Wrote:Brandon Davis looks lazy

From what i understand Brandon is still recovering from a knee injury.

epasnoopy Wrote:

cawoo22 Wrote:Brandon Davis looks lazy

From what i understand Brandon is still recovering from a knee injury.

That may be, and I apologize if that's the case, but he's not head-and-shoulders better than our other TE options, anyway. At least, I don't believe he is. This is one case where if he's playing at 75%, he needs to get off the field and get healthy, because we've got some intriguing options at TE. Certain other spots we're woefully thin, and a 75% starter is still preferable to the backup.

We'll probably win one that we shouldn't win...

While it looks very dark from here in Cawooland right now, I think this team will improve as the year goes on. We're not going to win the MAC. I'd be shocked if we even got to .500. However, I fully expect that at some point in the future this season, we'll jump up and bite somebody that we're not expected to.

We really should have a poster here get pre-approval for the sarcastic, snarky "Where the hell was that in September when it would have made a difference?" post after we ruin some team's season. (I want it to be Toledo's, by the way)

I don't know how we'll do this, because this is totally against the way football teams prepare, but we need to get ourselves 4-5 wins this year. I don't care who they're against, I don't care how they look. Teams learn how to lose just like they learn how to win. If we want '08 to be special, we can't have a 1-11 or 2-10 type season this year. Teams just don't turn it around that much from one year to the next. This team needs to learn how to win games, they need to stop making foolish mistakes or long periods of low focus that cost games. If we eliminate that, if we can say to ourselves in November, "Look how far they've come," even if the record is nothing too impressive, we'll be ready to go into '08.

I didn't see the game live but I just finished watching the tape. It looked to me like the better team won. EMU made more plays, fewer mistakes and controlled both lines of scrimmage for most of the second half. It was pretty much an EMU beatdown after the first quarter. Watch how Acevedo gets beat for a sack on the play after Britt's drop, not pretty. Considering their kicker missed two chip shots we were lucky to even be in the game at the end. EMU is not a bad team at all. If they had better skill guys they would be downright scary. The Huskies are the gang that couldn't shoot straight right now with mistakes in every phase of the game. On top of the mistakes they have a few glaring problems that need to get fixed or they won't see a "W" for awhile. First, the loss of several defensive tackles along with Tim McCarthy has made them soft up the middle. I love Tranchitella but he's ineffective in the middle, as is Zach Larsen (at least so far). They need to try Phil Brown or Cruikshank or I don't know who, but somebody who's stouter against the run or they'll get it shoved right down their throats the rest of the season. The other big problem is the inability of receivers to get open downfield, as is discussed all over the board. I notice Marcus Lewis is playing some now, maybe he can help or MPZ will be back soon. How about Chad Spann at flanker? Just a thought. Remember Dan Sheldon was also a running back in high school. Props to Justin Anderson on a great game.

cawoo22 Wrote:

epasnoopy Wrote:

cawoo22 Wrote:Brandon Davis looks lazy

From what i understand Brandon is still recovering from a knee injury.

That may be, and I apologize if that's the case, but he's not head-and-shoulders better than our other TE options, anyway. At least, I don't believe he is. This is one case where if he's playing at 75%, he needs to get off the field and get healthy, because we've got some intriguing options at TE. Certain other spots we're woefully thin, and a 75% starter is still preferable to the backup.

Who are the intriguing options at TE? Our top 3 guys are hurt. Brandon Davis is the best TE on the roster. Yes, he was hurt this week, and I'm sure he only tried to give it a go because of the other injuries. He caught a TD, and was wide open on the 2 point conversion try.

Rock Bottom Wrote:I think we'll beat Temple.

I don't think so. I do not see us winning another game this year.

Cheer up, guys. Basketball is only 2 months away. I will go on record as guaranteeing that we will have at least one BB win this year. Something to look forward to and celebrate!

I disagreed with Vandelay for predicting that NIU would really struggle this year, but somehow they would compete for the MAC Championship next year, when all the juniors become seniors.

Well, so far, Vandelay has been right about NIU struggling, but if the Huskies are going to somehow be competitive next year, they are going to have to show some spark this year. Since EMU has already lost a MAC game, NIU is still in the hunt for the division title.

rocketfootball:

In an ironic role reversal, I have to tell you that Toledo's chances of beating NIU may be better than you think they are. Toledo just seems to have NIU's number. They should not have beat the Huskies last year, but they managed to do it.