(10-05-2014 02:22 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  If it was a missed call by the officials, hard to fault our guys.

+1. There are cases where you can't count on the officials making (or not making) a certain call, e.g. holding or roughing the kicker, but they hardly ever miss offsides.

Looking at the low snap on the penultimate play, we were lucky that it was a straight and true snap. It went between Luke's legs, and he turned and covered it quickly. If it had instead hit one of his legs, no telling where the ball would have ended up.

Just learned the 261 yards we gave up to Hawaii was their lowest output of the season.

Against Washington, they had 424 yards, Oregon State 336, and Colorado, 405.

Well done, D.

(10-05-2014 11:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 10:28 AM)MemOwl Wrote:  I think we did make some adjustments.

I hope it comes down to last game. That would mean we have avoided losing to one or more inferior teams.

I'm not bailing on DJ. IMHO, we have gotten better QB play than in first 5 games last year. Have folks repressed memories of UH and FAU? And DJ has done it for the most part without Jordan Taylor and facing two top 10 teams, not just one.

the difference between my calling for DJ last year and those calling for Stehling this year comes down to one fact--we had seen DJ get it done against Air Force in a bowl game.

I'd look at it as a positive to get a win in a game where the QB played poorly.

I agree with you on Driphus. Yes, he had his worst game of the year last night, and appeared scared at times, but it was also apparent that he was injured and favoring his shoulder. He wasn't running the option with the same abandon we saw his first 3 1/2 games, before getting nicked up. That doesn't excuse his poor decision-making, but I give equal blame for that on the coaching staff as for some inexplicable reason, he looked totally unprepared for Hawaii's multiple blitzing packages (which even we had discussed on the Parliament earlier this week). Let's face reality guys-- our coaching staff is consistent in their woeful lack of preparation and game filming the opposition. That is really not debatable at this point.

You've also criticized the coaches for not making adjustments (ever). Yet most concede that it was "not debatable" that they DID make adjustments at half time today.

And in your own post above this one, you claim that they "never" see the obvious, but when it works (i.e. the passes you noted had correctly followed your advice for quick slants across the middle) they don't go back to it. If they "never" see the obvious, why do you concede in the same breath that the obvious did work when they took advantage of it?

Do these coaches ever do anything you think is correct?

(10-05-2014 02:55 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Just learned the 261 yards we gave up to Hawaii was their lowest output of the season.

Against Washington, they had 424 yards, Oregon State 336, and Colorado, 405.

Well done, D.

Great job indeed! I really like their running back #4 and their defensive ends.

(10-05-2014 11:05 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Why can't Bailiff and Edmondson see the obvious in what the defense is giving us? EVER. And when it works, they don't go back to it. Frustrating does not even describe it.

This is the post to which I'm referring. Seems contradictory.

(10-05-2014 04:26 PM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 11:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 10:28 AM)MemOwl Wrote:  I think we did make some adjustments.

I hope it comes down to last game. That would mean we have avoided losing to one or more inferior teams.

I'm not bailing on DJ. IMHO, we have gotten better QB play than in first 5 games last year. Have folks repressed memories of UH and FAU? And DJ has done it for the most part without Jordan Taylor and facing two top 10 teams, not just one.

the difference between my calling for DJ last year and those calling for Stehling this year comes down to one fact--we had seen DJ get it done against Air Force in a bowl game.

I'd look at it as a positive to get a win in a game where the QB played poorly.

I agree with you on Driphus. Yes, he had his worst game of the year last night, and appeared scared at times, but it was also apparent that he was injured and favoring his shoulder. He wasn't running the option with the same abandon we saw his first 3 1/2 games, before getting nicked up. That doesn't excuse his poor decision-making, but I give equal blame for that on the coaching staff as for some inexplicable reason, he looked totally unprepared for Hawaii's multiple blitzing packages (which even we had discussed on the Parliament earlier this week). Let's face reality guys-- our coaching staff is consistent in their woeful lack of preparation and game filming the opposition. That is really not debatable at this point.

You've also criticized the coaches for not making adjustments (ever). Yet most concede that it was "not debatable" that they DID make adjustments at half time today.

And in your own post above this one, you claim that they "never" see the obvious, but when it works (i.e. the passes you noted had correctly followed your advice for quick slants across the middle) they don't go back to it. If they "never" see the obvious, why do you concede in the same breath that the obvious did work when they took advantage of it?

Do these coaches ever do anything you think is correct?

Rick, do tell what adjustments were made at half time? Seriously. I certainly didn't see any. Contrary to Buddy's contention in one of his posts, Hawaii continued to put pressure on DJ until wearing down in the 4th quarter. What turned the game around was our bigger OL eventually wore down Hawaii's interior, coupled with an exceptional effort by Dillard. However, this didn't start to happen until very late in the 3Q. OUr first two possessions of the 3Q mirrored our futility throughout the first half.

They were giving us the underneath pass all day long, but our coaching staff seldom took it-- despite the fact that Driphus rarely had more than a couple seconds before the pocket crumbled. Terrific that it worked on the two occassions we went with it. Do tell why we only threw 2 - 3 such passes all game long??? And why were Wright and Cella each targetted only once the entire game?

But, Rick-- go ahead and keep defending the undefensable. We have grown to expect it of you.

(10-05-2014 05:24 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  But, Rick-- go ahead and keep defending the undefensable. We have grown to expect it of you.

We have?

(10-05-2014 06:04 PM)jh Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 05:24 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  But, Rick-- go ahead and keep defending the undefensable. We have grown to expect it of you.

We have?

Agree: as a long-term lurker, my sense is you (Walt) never give the coaching staff credit for anything.

How is going to Dillard as the key back not a half-time adjustment? A non-adjustment would have been continuing to run Davis as the feature back. They saw that Dillard was having success and fed him.

(10-05-2014 05:24 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 04:26 PM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 11:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 10:28 AM)MemOwl Wrote:  I think we did make some adjustments.

I hope it comes down to last game. That would mean we have avoided losing to one or more inferior teams.

I'm not bailing on DJ. IMHO, we have gotten better QB play than in first 5 games last year. Have folks repressed memories of UH and FAU? And DJ has done it for the most part without Jordan Taylor and facing two top 10 teams, not just one.

the difference between my calling for DJ last year and those calling for Stehling this year comes down to one fact--we had seen DJ get it done against Air Force in a bowl game.

I'd look at it as a positive to get a win in a game where the QB played poorly.

I agree with you on Driphus. Yes, he had his worst game of the year last night, and appeared scared at times, but it was also apparent that he was injured and favoring his shoulder. He wasn't running the option with the same abandon we saw his first 3 1/2 games, before getting nicked up. That doesn't excuse his poor decision-making, but I give equal blame for that on the coaching staff as for some inexplicable reason, he looked totally unprepared for Hawaii's multiple blitzing packages (which even we had discussed on the Parliament earlier this week). Let's face reality guys-- our coaching staff is consistent in their woeful lack of preparation and game filming the opposition. That is really not debatable at this point.

You've also criticized the coaches for not making adjustments (ever). Yet most concede that it was "not debatable" that they DID make adjustments at half time today.

And in your own post above this one, you claim that they "never" see the obvious, but when it works (i.e. the passes you noted had correctly followed your advice for quick slants across the middle) they don't go back to it. If they "never" see the obvious, why do you concede in the same breath that the obvious did work when they took advantage of it?

Do these coaches ever do anything you think is correct?

Rick, do tell what adjustments were made at half time? Seriously. I certainly didn't see any. Contrary to Buddy's contention in one of his posts, Hawaii continued to put pressure on DJ until wearing down in the 4th quarter. What turned the game around was our bigger OL eventually wore down Hawaii's interior, coupled with an exceptional effort by Dillard. However, this didn't start to happen until very late in the 3Q. OUr first two possessions of the 3Q mirrored our futility throughout the first half.

They were giving us the underneath pass all day long, but our coaching staff seldom took it-- despite the fact that Driphus rarely had more than a couple seconds before the pocket crumbled. Terrific that it worked on the two occassions we went with it. Do tell why we only threw 2 - 3 such passes all game long??? And why were Wright and Cella each targetted only once the entire game?

But, Rick-- go ahead and keep defending the undefensable. We have grown to expect it of you.

I asked Dillard in the postgamer whether it was a matter of making adjustments at halftime or during the game, or rather simply one of getting used to their schemes, and he replied that it was the latter.

(10-05-2014 06:25 PM)Ricefootballnet Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 05:24 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 04:26 PM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 11:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 10:28 AM)MemOwl Wrote:  I think we did make some adjustments.

I hope it comes down to last game. That would mean we have avoided losing to one or more inferior teams.

I'm not bailing on DJ. IMHO, we have gotten better QB play than in first 5 games last year. Have folks repressed memories of UH and FAU? And DJ has done it for the most part without Jordan Taylor and facing two top 10 teams, not just one.

the difference between my calling for DJ last year and those calling for Stehling this year comes down to one fact--we had seen DJ get it done against Air Force in a bowl game.

I'd look at it as a positive to get a win in a game where the QB played poorly.

I agree with you on Driphus. Yes, he had his worst game of the year last night, and appeared scared at times, but it was also apparent that he was injured and favoring his shoulder. He wasn't running the option with the same abandon we saw his first 3 1/2 games, before getting nicked up. That doesn't excuse his poor decision-making, but I give equal blame for that on the coaching staff as for some inexplicable reason, he looked totally unprepared for Hawaii's multiple blitzing packages (which even we had discussed on the Parliament earlier this week). Let's face reality guys-- our coaching staff is consistent in their woeful lack of preparation and game filming the opposition. That is really not debatable at this point.

You've also criticized the coaches for not making adjustments (ever). Yet most concede that it was "not debatable" that they DID make adjustments at half time today.

And in your own post above this one, you claim that they "never" see the obvious, but when it works (i.e. the passes you noted had correctly followed your advice for quick slants across the middle) they don't go back to it. If they "never" see the obvious, why do you concede in the same breath that the obvious did work when they took advantage of it?

Do these coaches ever do anything you think is correct?

Rick, do tell what adjustments were made at half time? Seriously. I certainly didn't see any. Contrary to Buddy's contention in one of his posts, Hawaii continued to put pressure on DJ until wearing down in the 4th quarter. What turned the game around was our bigger OL eventually wore down Hawaii's interior, coupled with an exceptional effort by Dillard. However, this didn't start to happen until very late in the 3Q. OUr first two possessions of the 3Q mirrored our futility throughout the first half.

They were giving us the underneath pass all day long, but our coaching staff seldom took it-- despite the fact that Driphus rarely had more than a couple seconds before the pocket crumbled. Terrific that it worked on the two occassions we went with it. Do tell why we only threw 2 - 3 such passes all game long??? And why were Wright and Cella each targetted only once the entire game?

But, Rick-- go ahead and keep defending the undefensable. We have grown to expect it of you.

I asked Dillard in the postgamer whether it was a matter of making adjustments at halftime or during the game, or rather simply one of getting used to their schemes, and he replied that it was the latter.

But.. . . .but . . . . that might also mean that the original game plan may have been correct all along . . . . . that we knew our plan would wear them down . . . . . that over the long haul our game plan was good enough to win . . . .

or that football games last 60 minutes, not 30 . . . . .

(feigned shock not directed at RiceFootballNet, just for clarification)

(10-05-2014 05:24 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 04:26 PM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 11:10 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 10:28 AM)MemOwl Wrote:  I think we did make some adjustments.

I hope it comes down to last game. That would mean we have avoided losing to one or more inferior teams.

I'm not bailing on DJ. IMHO, we have gotten better QB play than in first 5 games last year. Have folks repressed memories of UH and FAU? And DJ has done it for the most part without Jordan Taylor and facing two top 10 teams, not just one.

the difference between my calling for DJ last year and those calling for Stehling this year comes down to one fact--we had seen DJ get it done against Air Force in a bowl game.

I'd look at it as a positive to get a win in a game where the QB played poorly.

I agree with you on Driphus. Yes, he had his worst game of the year last night, and appeared scared at times, but it was also apparent that he was injured and favoring his shoulder. He wasn't running the option with the same abandon we saw his first 3 1/2 games, before getting nicked up. That doesn't excuse his poor decision-making, but I give equal blame for that on the coaching staff as for some inexplicable reason, he looked totally unprepared for Hawaii's multiple blitzing packages (which even we had discussed on the Parliament earlier this week). Let's face reality guys-- our coaching staff is consistent in their woeful lack of preparation and game filming the opposition. That is really not debatable at this point.

You've also criticized the coaches for not making adjustments (ever). Yet most concede that it was "not debatable" that they DID make adjustments at half time today.

And in your own post above this one, you claim that they "never" see the obvious, but when it works (i.e. the passes you noted had correctly followed your advice for quick slants across the middle) they don't go back to it. If they "never" see the obvious, why do you concede in the same breath that the obvious did work when they took advantage of it?

Do these coaches ever do anything you think is correct?

Rick, do tell what adjustments were made at half time? Seriously. I certainly didn't see any. Contrary to Buddy's contention in one of his posts, Hawaii continued to put pressure on DJ until wearing down in the 4th quarter. What turned the game around was our bigger OL eventually wore down Hawaii's interior, coupled with an exceptional effort by Dillard. However, this didn't start to happen until very late in the 3Q. OUr first two possessions of the 3Q mirrored our futility throughout the first half.

They were giving us the underneath pass all day long, but our coaching staff seldom took it-- despite the fact that Driphus rarely had more than a couple seconds before the pocket crumbled. Terrific that it worked on the two occassions we went with it. Do tell why we only threw 2 - 3 such passes all game long??? And why were Wright and Cella each targetted only once the entire game?

But, Rick-- go ahead and keep defending the undefensable. We have grown to expect it of you.

Walt, not being the expert in the discussion, I'll start by conceding your analysis that the underneath pass was open, and assume you didn't phone coach during the game. It might follow that you might credit the coaches for making the call.

Regarding the frequency of the plays? I've been under the impression that predictability is viewed as 'bad' on this board, including by you.

My gut feel is that when and if we run a play successfully several times, when the opponent adjusts and stops it later in the game, that is credited to the opposing coach's acumen, and our own staff's failure to do anything unpredictable.

Look, I have no doubt we didn't play a perfect game, or have a perfectly coached game. But the perception I get is that some folks think the coaches never make good calls. I doubt that's true, and my question to you was sincere.

(10-05-2014 04:26 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 02:55 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Just learned the 261 yards we gave up to Hawaii was their lowest output of the season.

Against Washington, they had 424 yards, Oregon State 336, and Colorado, 405.

Well done, D.

Great job indeed! I really like their running back #4 and their defensive ends.

I thought the QB was pretty good also

(10-05-2014 05:24 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Rick, do tell what adjustments were made at half time? Seriously. I certainly didn't see any. Contrary to Buddy's contention in one of his posts, Hawaii continued to put pressure on DJ until wearing down in the 4th quarter.

So, was wearing down the Hawaii D part of the game plan? If so, coaches, it worked. Congrats.

What I saw, to my noncoach's eyes, was 21 unanswered points in the second half. There could be a lot of reasons for this. No need to eliminate on principle all the ones that include the coaches.

Another thing I saw was a move from Davis to Dillard. Hard to imagine this was the players' decision.

Looked like JT was targeted more in the second half. Surely not on purpose.

So, we did exactly the same thing all game long but got different results in the second half. so much for that theory about insanity.

We were out TOPed in each of the first three quarters. That should make some people happy. We did dominate the fourth quarter. I think that is good. I want to dominate every fourth quarter.

We could have, should have done better. But we still can give the coaches a tip of the hat now and then. They didn't spend the game doing crosswords.

JMHO

Also important to note that Hawaii had extra week to prepare for Rice and in numerous articles it was quoted by Chow that they spent most of the bye week working on Rice's schemes. Combine that w/ DB's comments about the 'fire ants' on their exotic blitz packages..does not seem that surprising that it took us awhile to get into a groove. DJ and OL looked confused in 1H and they obviously settled-in..

They had a lot of defensive injuries occur, which may have factored in the sudden success of our offense.

(10-05-2014 06:51 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(10-05-2014 05:24 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Rick, do tell what adjustments were made at half time? Seriously. I certainly didn't see any. Contrary to Buddy's contention in one of his posts, Hawaii continued to put pressure on DJ until wearing down in the 4th quarter.

So, was wearing down the Hawaii D part of the game plan? If so, coaches, it worked. Congrats.

What I saw, to my noncoach's eyes, was 21 unanswered points in the second half. There could be a lot of reasons for this. No need to eliminate on principle all the ones that include the coaches.

Another thing I saw was a move from Davis to Dillard. Hard to imagine this was the players' decision.

Looked like JT was targeted more in the second half. Surely not on purpose.

So, we did exactly the same thing all game long but got different results in the second half. so much for that theory about insanity.

We were out TOPed in each of the first three quarters. That should make some people happy. We did dominate the fourth quarter. I think that is good. I want to dominate every fourth quarter.

We could have, should have done better. But we still can give the coaches a tip of the hat now and then. They didn't spend the game doing crosswords.

JMHO

1. The turnaround wasn't the entire second half; it was only a bit more than the 4Q. As mentioned in an earlier post, our first two possessions of the second half were 3 and outs, and Hawaii marched down the field on their first possession of the second half. So adjustments weren't made at half time. The wear down was in the 4Q, and had Hawaii not squandered away 6 - 13 points in the first half, the game might have been out of reach by that point. We were fortunate it was not.

2. I don't think it was a Davis vs. Dillard thing...and it wasn't this one game. Davis was much more effective in the first half than Dillard. For whatever reason, all season long the coaching staff has relied more heavily on Davis early and Dillard late...and it's worked for us. So kuddos to them all (coaches and players). It could be that Davis is more effective making something out of nothing; whereas Dillard excels when the OL starts to dominate.

Davis was basically pulled last night after his early 2nd half fumble. After the fumble, he only had one more carry while Dillard had 20 carries. In the first half, it was 8 carries for Davis and 3 for Dillard. It might just be a one game occurrence but hopefully the coaches aren't worried about Davis' ability to hold onto the ball.

That would be rough, he wasn't careless with the ball on the giveaway.

I don't think davis was benched for a mistake, I just think they felt the bigger back would do better at moving the pile. It was working, so why not continue with him?

Could be wrong. could be it was just Dillard's turn when the defense got tired.

JMO