We're also focusing on stopping the run which...has worked to a crazy degree. I just looked through the play-by-play for MTSU and here's the breakdown for rushes (maybe be off by one or two, but should be accurate)
Sacks (including the reverse/interception, ruled a fumble): 5 for -26 yards
-3 to -1 yard loss: 7 for -14 yards
1 to 3 yard gain: 9 for 17 yards
4 to 9 yard gain: 5 for 30 yards

Looks like I'm missing 2 attempts for 5 total gained yards in my breakdown comparing to the stats, but the point holds. No gains over 9 yards. Only 2 over 5 yards. Even excluding sacks, a third of their rushes were for a loss, the median was 2 yards, and they had no breakout rushes. Yeah, it was a passing offense, but we completely blew them up.

We're #1 in rush defense and it's not close. We're averaging 8. #2 is Rutgers at 24. Minnesota is at 36.5. VT is at 44. Miami OH is at 45. I expect it will rise significantly against App, but I don't care who we're playing...to be averaging 8 yards after two games is nuts. Our secondary needs work, but our front line is absolutely dominant.

The inexperience/lack of previous PT of this year’s roster will be a huge blessing in the coming years. JMU will have a loaded and experienced roster as it exits the transition year and starts playing for postseason and the new playoff carrot each year.
We’ll take some lumps this year, but that is okay as it won’t have any consequences. Plus it may provide some great leverage to get revenge on teams in the coming years. Players and coaches don’t forget losses, ever.

You can learn a lot by watching the games again -- most of them are on youtube.

Against both MTSU and NoSt, we did a lot of 5-man rushes with a cover-1 man scheme behind it. Against the RPO-based offenses they run, that's not a big surprise. You pretty much dedicate 1 LB to the running back and if that guy doesn't go out, you rush the QB. But that means you're playing a lot of man, hoping you can get to the QB. NoSt's offensive line was so bad that at least one guy was just plain losing his block really fast every time, so they coudln't get anything going. (One could argue that against an OL that bad, you're better off rushing 3 or 4 and letting them terrorrize the QB on their own, and playing a 2-deep zone or Tampa 2 to keep anyone from getting too open.)

The cover-1 does expose you to deep passes, but the idea is that you can put enough pressure on the QB that they don't have time to find the guys. You could argue that it's worked, having given up a total of 14 points in blowouts all season, but that's not much of an indicator when you clearly outmatch your opponents both times - I don't think that's going to be the case in Boone.

I'm eager to watching the ASU/Troy game this weekend to get a sense of how Appalachian plays. I couldn't tell much from the 5-minute highlight package of the TAMU game, but I'll see if the whole game is available to stream somewhere. In any event, they're pretty good, so we'll have to see if we can find something that works. I'll watch a bunch of App games this weekend and see if I can come up with any ideas.

One of the super bowls where Peyton Manning was beaten had a clever idea: he's essentially his own offensive coordinator, and even if you shut him down in the first half, by the 2nd half, he'd have figured your defense out completely and pick you apart. Since there's 2 weeks off before the super bowl, their opponent (Rams? I forget who) had two separate defensive schemes, one for each half. So they came out in the 3rd qtr, and Manning was prepared to attack a defense that wasn't there anymore, and he was helpless.

I don't know how good the ASU coaching staff is at adjustments, or how good our defense is at learning multiple approaches given a week off, but that's an approach I'd love to take, since we haven't had much in the way of challenges yet this season.

(09-16-2022 12:37 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  You can learn a lot by watching the games again -- most of them are on youtube.

Against both MTSU and NoSt, we did a lot of 5-man rushes with a cover-1 man scheme behind it. Against the RPO-based offenses they run, that's not a big surprise. You pretty much dedicate 1 LB to the running back and if that guy doesn't go out, you rush the QB. But that means you're playing a lot of man, hoping you can get to the QB. NoSt's offensive line was so bad that at least one guy was just plain losing his block really fast every time, so they coudln't get anything going. (One could argue that against an OL that bad, you're better off rushing 3 or 4 and letting them terrorrize the QB on their own, and playing a 2-deep zone or Tampa 2 to keep anyone from getting too open.)

The cover-1 does expose you to deep passes, but the idea is that you can put enough pressure on the QB that they don't have time to find the guys. You could argue that it's worked, having given up a total of 14 points in blowouts all season, but that's not much of an indicator when you clearly outmatch your opponents both times - I don't think that's going to be the case in Boone.

I'm eager to watching the ASU/Troy game this weekend to get a sense of how Appalachian plays. I couldn't tell much from the 5-minute highlight package of the TAMU game, but I'll see if the whole game is available to stream somewhere. In any event, they're pretty good, so we'll have to see if we can find something that works. I'll watch a bunch of App games this weekend and see if I can come up with any ideas.

One of the super bowls where Peyton Manning was beaten had a clever idea: he's essentially his own offensive coordinator, and even if you shut him down in the first half, by the 2nd half, he'd have figured your defense out completely and pick you apart. Since there's 2 weeks off before the super bowl, their opponent (Rams? I forget who) had two separate defensive schemes, one for each half. So they came out in the 3rd qtr, and Manning was prepared to attack a defense that wasn't there anymore, and he was helpless.

I don't know how good the ASU coaching staff is at adjustments, or how good our defense is at learning multiple approaches given a week off, but that's an approach I'd love to take, since we haven't had much in the way of challenges yet this season.

Fantastic analysis! Thanks.

I think pressure defense is the answer to App. I believe we will limit their run game to the point that they become one-dimensional. Having Brice running for his life early and often will create the most havoc and potential for turnovers.

This is going to be a very memorable game, as all App/JMU games have been.

that was Seattle...destroyed the donkeys that superbowl

(09-12-2022 09:11 AM)jmufan2008 Wrote:  We're also focusing on stopping the run which...has worked to a crazy degree. I just looked through the play-by-play for MTSU and here's the breakdown for rushes (maybe be off by one or two, but should be accurate)
Sacks (including the reverse/interception, ruled a fumble): 5 for -26 yards
-3 to -1 yard loss: 7 for -14 yards
1 to 3 yard gain: 9 for 17 yards
4 to 9 yard gain: 5 for 30 yards

Looks like I'm missing 2 attempts for 5 total gained yards in my breakdown comparing to the stats, but the point holds. No gains over 9 yards. Only 2 over 5 yards. Even excluding sacks, a third of their rushes were for a loss, the median was 2 yards, and they had no breakout rushes. Yeah, it was a passing offense, but we completely blew them up.

We're #1 in rush defense and it's not close. We're averaging 8. #2 is Rutgers at 24. Minnesota is at 36.5. VT is at 44. Miami OH is at 45. I expect it will rise significantly against App, but I don't care who we're playing...to be averaging 8 yards after two games is nuts. Our secondary needs work, but our front line is absolutely dominant.

Exactly! That's what I have been saying. I pity the fools who line up against our D-line.

(09-16-2022 01:09 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 12:37 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  You can learn a lot by watching the games again -- most of them are on youtube.

Against both MTSU and NoSt, we did a lot of 5-man rushes with a cover-1 man scheme behind it. Against the RPO-based offenses they run, that's not a big surprise. You pretty much dedicate 1 LB to the running back and if that guy doesn't go out, you rush the QB. But that means you're playing a lot of man, hoping you can get to the QB. NoSt's offensive line was so bad that at least one guy was just plain losing his block really fast every time, so they coudln't get anything going. (One could argue that against an OL that bad, you're better off rushing 3 or 4 and letting them terrorrize the QB on their own, and playing a 2-deep zone or Tampa 2 to keep anyone from getting too open.)

The cover-1 does expose you to deep passes, but the idea is that you can put enough pressure on the QB that they don't have time to find the guys. You could argue that it's worked, having given up a total of 14 points in blowouts all season, but that's not much of an indicator when you clearly outmatch your opponents both times - I don't think that's going to be the case in Boone.

I'm eager to watching the ASU/Troy game this weekend to get a sense of how Appalachian plays. I couldn't tell much from the 5-minute highlight package of the TAMU game, but I'll see if the whole game is available to stream somewhere. In any event, they're pretty good, so we'll have to see if we can find something that works. I'll watch a bunch of App games this weekend and see if I can come up with any ideas.

One of the super bowls where Peyton Manning was beaten had a clever idea: he's essentially his own offensive coordinator, and even if you shut him down in the first half, by the 2nd half, he'd have figured your defense out completely and pick you apart. Since there's 2 weeks off before the super bowl, their opponent (Rams? I forget who) had two separate defensive schemes, one for each half. So they came out in the 3rd qtr, and Manning was prepared to attack a defense that wasn't there anymore, and he was helpless.

I don't know how good the ASU coaching staff is at adjustments, or how good our defense is at learning multiple approaches given a week off, but that's an approach I'd love to take, since we haven't had much in the way of challenges yet this season.

Fantastic analysis! Thanks.

I think pressure defense is the answer to App. I believe we will limit their run game to the point that they become one-dimensional. Having Brice running for his life early and often will create the most havoc and potential for turnovers.

This is going to be a very memorable game, as all App/JMU games have been.

I just watched the A&M game. The ASU QB doesn't have a particularly strong arm - he has to put a fair amount of air under the ball. I'd go with a Tampa 2 (4 underneath zones, 2 deep, and a safety playing kinda middle-middle to limit checkdowns, take away seam routes, and bring pressure and close in on runs.)

If our DL is powerful enough to defeat some blocks, and we're fast in the flat, we should be okay. We'll have to see.

(09-17-2022 12:04 AM)94computerguy Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 01:09 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 12:37 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  You can learn a lot by watching the games again -- most of them are on youtube.

Against both MTSU and NoSt, we did a lot of 5-man rushes with a cover-1 man scheme behind it. Against the RPO-based offenses they run, that's not a big surprise. You pretty much dedicate 1 LB to the running back and if that guy doesn't go out, you rush the QB. But that means you're playing a lot of man, hoping you can get to the QB. NoSt's offensive line was so bad that at least one guy was just plain losing his block really fast every time, so they coudln't get anything going. (One could argue that against an OL that bad, you're better off rushing 3 or 4 and letting them terrorrize the QB on their own, and playing a 2-deep zone or Tampa 2 to keep anyone from getting too open.)

The cover-1 does expose you to deep passes, but the idea is that you can put enough pressure on the QB that they don't have time to find the guys. You could argue that it's worked, having given up a total of 14 points in blowouts all season, but that's not much of an indicator when you clearly outmatch your opponents both times - I don't think that's going to be the case in Boone.

I'm eager to watching the ASU/Troy game this weekend to get a sense of how Appalachian plays. I couldn't tell much from the 5-minute highlight package of the TAMU game, but I'll see if the whole game is available to stream somewhere. In any event, they're pretty good, so we'll have to see if we can find something that works. I'll watch a bunch of App games this weekend and see if I can come up with any ideas.

One of the super bowls where Peyton Manning was beaten had a clever idea: he's essentially his own offensive coordinator, and even if you shut him down in the first half, by the 2nd half, he'd have figured your defense out completely and pick you apart. Since there's 2 weeks off before the super bowl, their opponent (Rams? I forget who) had two separate defensive schemes, one for each half. So they came out in the 3rd qtr, and Manning was prepared to attack a defense that wasn't there anymore, and he was helpless.

I don't know how good the ASU coaching staff is at adjustments, or how good our defense is at learning multiple approaches given a week off, but that's an approach I'd love to take, since we haven't had much in the way of challenges yet this season.

Fantastic analysis! Thanks.

I think pressure defense is the answer to App. I believe we will limit their run game to the point that they become one-dimensional. Having Brice running for his life early and often will create the most havoc and potential for turnovers.

This is going to be a very memorable game, as all App/JMU games have been.

I just watched the A&M game. The ASU QB doesn't have a particularly strong arm - he has to put a fair amount of air under the ball. I'd go with a Tampa 2 (4 underneath zones, 2 deep, and a safety playing kinda middle-middle to limit checkdowns, take away seam routes, and bring pressure and close in on runs.)

If our DL is powerful enough to defeat some blocks, and we're fast in the flat, we should be okay. We'll have to see.

Oh my.

#1. Questions about the ASU coaching staff? Really? The ASU coaching staff is excellent. I would not count on ASU’s staff not being able to make “adjustments”…they’ll have their team ready for whatever JMU brings. If there are questions about coaching adjustments in big games I think the burden of proof rests on JMU’s staff.

#2. ASU’s QB does not have a weak arm. Hell’s Bell’s…Chase Brice stands 6’3” 235#…he’s big and he’s strong. He’s also a graduate transfer, having played 2 years behind Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, started a single season at Duke, and then transferred to ASU. He’s also finished his undergrad and master’s degrees (much like JMU’s TC), all of which means he’s experienced and smart. Brice may very well be the best QB in the SBC East, which boasts several outstanding QBs with legit pro prospects. I can’t speak to what specific play you thought you saw against ASU’s passing attack against A&M that made you think Brice has a “weak arm” but goodness sake, Chase Brice is not an inexperienced weak-link at QB that will be stumped by whatever alignment JMU plays.


#3. The JMU/ASU game will come down to whichever team wins the battle between the big guys along the DL/OLs. That’s not a revelation of any import as almost all games are won or lost in the trenches.

Avoiding turnovers, if JMU’s OL can control the line of scrimmage, allowing TC to do his thing, giving Percy room to run and TC time to connect to Thornton, JMU wins. Reverse control of the line of scrimmage, ASU wins.

Playing its first SBC conference game on the road, against perhaps the best team in the SBC, JMU is easily a +10pt. dog. I won’t. be surprised if JMU wins, however, it won’t come about because ASU’s coaching makes blunders or Chase Brice doesn’t know how to recognize defenses.

(09-17-2022 02:09 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(09-17-2022 12:04 AM)94computerguy Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 01:09 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 12:37 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  You can learn a lot by watching the games again -- most of them are on youtube.

Against both MTSU and NoSt, we did a lot of 5-man rushes with a cover-1 man scheme behind it. Against the RPO-based offenses they run, that's not a big surprise. You pretty much dedicate 1 LB to the running back and if that guy doesn't go out, you rush the QB. But that means you're playing a lot of man, hoping you can get to the QB. NoSt's offensive line was so bad that at least one guy was just plain losing his block really fast every time, so they coudln't get anything going. (One could argue that against an OL that bad, you're better off rushing 3 or 4 and letting them terrorrize the QB on their own, and playing a 2-deep zone or Tampa 2 to keep anyone from getting too open.)

The cover-1 does expose you to deep passes, but the idea is that you can put enough pressure on the QB that they don't have time to find the guys. You could argue that it's worked, having given up a total of 14 points in blowouts all season, but that's not much of an indicator when you clearly outmatch your opponents both times - I don't think that's going to be the case in Boone.

I'm eager to watching the ASU/Troy game this weekend to get a sense of how Appalachian plays. I couldn't tell much from the 5-minute highlight package of the TAMU game, but I'll see if the whole game is available to stream somewhere. In any event, they're pretty good, so we'll have to see if we can find something that works. I'll watch a bunch of App games this weekend and see if I can come up with any ideas.

One of the super bowls where Peyton Manning was beaten had a clever idea: he's essentially his own offensive coordinator, and even if you shut him down in the first half, by the 2nd half, he'd have figured your defense out completely and pick you apart. Since there's 2 weeks off before the super bowl, their opponent (Rams? I forget who) had two separate defensive schemes, one for each half. So they came out in the 3rd qtr, and Manning was prepared to attack a defense that wasn't there anymore, and he was helpless.

I don't know how good the ASU coaching staff is at adjustments, or how good our defense is at learning multiple approaches given a week off, but that's an approach I'd love to take, since we haven't had much in the way of challenges yet this season.

Fantastic analysis! Thanks.

I think pressure defense is the answer to App. I believe we will limit their run game to the point that they become one-dimensional. Having Brice running for his life early and often will create the most havoc and potential for turnovers.

This is going to be a very memorable game, as all App/JMU games have been.

I just watched the A&M game. The ASU QB doesn't have a particularly strong arm - he has to put a fair amount of air under the ball. I'd go with a Tampa 2 (4 underneath zones, 2 deep, and a safety playing kinda middle-middle to limit checkdowns, take away seam routes, and bring pressure and close in on runs.)

If our DL is powerful enough to defeat some blocks, and we're fast in the flat, we should be okay. We'll have to see.

Oh my.

#1. Questions about the ASU coaching staff? Really? The ASU coaching staff is excellent. I would not count on ASU’s staff not being able to make “adjustments”…they’ll have their team ready for whatever JMU brings. If there are questions about coaching adjustments in big games I think the burden of proof rests on JMU’s staff.

#2. ASU’s QB does not have a weak arm. Hell’s Bell’s…Chase Brice stands 6’3” 235#…he’s big and he’s strong. He’s also a graduate transfer, having played 2 years behind Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, started a single season at Duke, and then transferred to ASU. He’s also finished his undergrad and master’s degrees (much like JMU’s TC), all of which means he’s experienced and smart. Brice may very well be the best QB in the SBC East, which boasts several outstanding QBs with legit pro prospects. I can’t speak to what specific play you thought you saw against ASU’s passing attack against A&M that made you think Brice has a “weak arm” but goodness sake, Chase Brice is not an inexperienced weak-link at QB that will be stumped by whatever alignment JMU plays.


#3. The JMU/ASU game will come down to whichever team wins the battle between the big guys along the DL/OLs. That’s not a revelation of any import as almost all games are won or lost in the trenches.

Avoiding turnovers, if JMU’s OL can control the line of scrimmage, allowing TC to do his thing, giving Percy room to run and TC time to connect to Thornton, JMU wins. Reverse control of the line of scrimmage, ASU wins.

Playing its first SBC conference game on the road, against perhaps the best team in the SBC, JMU is easily a +10pt. dog. I won’t. be surprised if JMU wins, however, it won’t come about because ASU’s coaching makes blunders or Chase Brice doesn’t know how to recognize defenses.

I guess you took my writeup as some kind of insult to ASU's coaching staff. I didn't mean it that way at all - do you have any experience seeing how they've changed their approaches at halftime and performed considerably better in the 2nd half than the first? I don't have any either way, but just to say "OMG APP IS SO GOOD" isn't really providing any insight.

as for their QB - you can cite whatever you want, but i saw him having to wind up and put a lot of air on deep balls. Compared to TC, whose passes are consdierably flatter in trajectory, that means the ball spends more time in the air, and gives defenses more time to get to them. As for being "stumped", I guess you think I'm trying to insult the guy? I'm pointing out the things I saw from various coverages, and how they, even in the NFL, have pluses and minuses.

I'm sorry, but this just seems like "HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST JMU HAS A CHANCE TO WIN BY INSULTING THE OTHER TEAM'S ABILITY.". If you want to watch the film and share different opinions, by all means have at it, but it's pretty rude to get all wound up over what I said. In fact, I was just stating my ignorance by saying "I don't know how good their staff is." I guess if we're on talk radio and the purpose is to shout uninformed opinions at each other, you can read that as a dig, but I was just saying "here's what I saw and here's what I don't know.".

More importantly, this game is going to have tons of uncertainty. ASU gave up 60+ ponits to a middling UNC team (though still flirting with a major upset), then accomplished a major upset against TAMU by completely thwarting their offense. On the other hand, JMU showed up and walloped MSTU, predictably thumped a non-competitive team, and has this week off. We're going off shreds of contradictory (and not especially revealing) evidence, and I'm doing my best to guess what might happen.

I guess doing a little homework and sharing an opinion is grounds for a rhetorical smackdown, but that's a bit of a surprise to me. Again, forgive me for trying to do a little research -- I'll try to keep my opinions away from your eyes going forward.

Anyway, enjoy the game. I'm sure your opinions won't be sullied by any facts as they may play out.

(09-17-2022 01:41 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  

(09-17-2022 02:09 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(09-17-2022 12:04 AM)94computerguy Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 01:09 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 12:37 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  You can learn a lot by watching the games again -- most of them are on youtube.

Against both MTSU and NoSt, we did a lot of 5-man rushes with a cover-1 man scheme behind it. Against the RPO-based offenses they run, that's not a big surprise. You pretty much dedicate 1 LB to the running back and if that guy doesn't go out, you rush the QB. But that means you're playing a lot of man, hoping you can get to the QB. NoSt's offensive line was so bad that at least one guy was just plain losing his block really fast every time, so they coudln't get anything going. (One could argue that against an OL that bad, you're better off rushing 3 or 4 and letting them terrorrize the QB on their own, and playing a 2-deep zone or Tampa 2 to keep anyone from getting too open.)

The cover-1 does expose you to deep passes, but the idea is that you can put enough pressure on the QB that they don't have time to find the guys. You could argue that it's worked, having given up a total of 14 points in blowouts all season, but that's not much of an indicator when you clearly outmatch your opponents both times - I don't think that's going to be the case in Boone.

I'm eager to watching the ASU/Troy game this weekend to get a sense of how Appalachian plays. I couldn't tell much from the 5-minute highlight package of the TAMU game, but I'll see if the whole game is available to stream somewhere. In any event, they're pretty good, so we'll have to see if we can find something that works. I'll watch a bunch of App games this weekend and see if I can come up with any ideas.

One of the super bowls where Peyton Manning was beaten had a clever idea: he's essentially his own offensive coordinator, and even if you shut him down in the first half, by the 2nd half, he'd have figured your defense out completely and pick you apart. Since there's 2 weeks off before the super bowl, their opponent (Rams? I forget who) had two separate defensive schemes, one for each half. So they came out in the 3rd qtr, and Manning was prepared to attack a defense that wasn't there anymore, and he was helpless.

I don't know how good the ASU coaching staff is at adjustments, or how good our defense is at learning multiple approaches given a week off, but that's an approach I'd love to take, since we haven't had much in the way of challenges yet this season.

Fantastic analysis! Thanks.

I think pressure defense is the answer to App. I believe we will limit their run game to the point that they become one-dimensional. Having Brice running for his life early and often will create the most havoc and potential for turnovers.

This is going to be a very memorable game, as all App/JMU games have been.

I just watched the A&M game. The ASU QB doesn't have a particularly strong arm - he has to put a fair amount of air under the ball. I'd go with a Tampa 2 (4 underneath zones, 2 deep, and a safety playing kinda middle-middle to limit checkdowns, take away seam routes, and bring pressure and close in on runs.)

If our DL is powerful enough to defeat some blocks, and we're fast in the flat, we should be okay. We'll have to see.

Oh my.

#1. Questions about the ASU coaching staff? Really? The ASU coaching staff is excellent. I would not count on ASU’s staff not being able to make “adjustments”…they’ll have their team ready for whatever JMU brings. If there are questions about coaching adjustments in big games I think the burden of proof rests on JMU’s staff.

#2. ASU’s QB does not have a weak arm. Hell’s Bell’s…Chase Brice stands 6’3” 235#…he’s big and he’s strong. He’s also a graduate transfer, having played 2 years behind Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, started a single season at Duke, and then transferred to ASU. He’s also finished his undergrad and master’s degrees (much like JMU’s TC), all of which means he’s experienced and smart. Brice may very well be the best QB in the SBC East, which boasts several outstanding QBs with legit pro prospects. I can’t speak to what specific play you thought you saw against ASU’s passing attack against A&M that made you think Brice has a “weak arm” but goodness sake, Chase Brice is not an inexperienced weak-link at QB that will be stumped by whatever alignment JMU plays.


#3. The JMU/ASU game will come down to whichever team wins the battle between the big guys along the DL/OLs. That’s not a revelation of any import as almost all games are won or lost in the trenches.

Avoiding turnovers, if JMU’s OL can control the line of scrimmage, allowing TC to do his thing, giving Percy room to run and TC time to connect to Thornton, JMU wins. Reverse control of the line of scrimmage, ASU wins.

Playing its first SBC conference game on the road, against perhaps the best team in the SBC, JMU is easily a +10pt. dog. I won’t. be surprised if JMU wins, however, it won’t come about because ASU’s coaching makes blunders or Chase Brice doesn’t know how to recognize defenses.

I guess you took my writeup as some kind of insult to ASU's coaching staff. I didn't mean it that way at all - do you have any experience seeing how they've changed their approaches at halftime and performed considerably better in the 2nd half than the first? I don't have any either way, but just to say "OMG APP IS SO GOOD" isn't really providing any insight.

as for their QB - you can cite whatever you want, but i saw him having to wind up and put a lot of air on deep balls. Compared to TC, whose passes are consdierably flatter in trajectory, that means the ball spends more time in the air, and gives defenses more time to get to them. As for being "stumped", I guess you think I'm trying to insult the guy? I'm pointing out the things I saw from various coverages, and how they, even in the NFL, have pluses and minuses.

I'm sorry, but this just seems like "HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST JMU HAS A CHANCE TO WIN BY INSULTING THE OTHER TEAM'S ABILITY.". If you want to watch the film and share different opinions, by all means have at it, but it's pretty rude to get all wound up over what I said. In fact, I was just stating my ignorance by saying "I don't know how good their staff is." I guess if we're on talk radio and the purpose is to shout uninformed opinions at each other, you can read that as a dig, but I was just saying "here's what I saw and here's what I don't know.".

More importantly, this game is going to have tons of uncertainty. ASU gave up 60+ ponits to a middling UNC team (though still flirting with a major upset), then accomplished a major upset against TAMU by completely thwarting their offense. On the other hand, JMU showed up and walloped MSTU, predictably thumped a non-competitive team, and has this week off. We're going off shreds of contradictory (and not especially revealing) evidence, and I'm doing my best to guess what might happen.

I guess doing a little homework and sharing an opinion is grounds for a rhetorical smackdown, but that's a bit of a surprise to me. Again, forgive me for trying to do a little research -- I'll try to keep my opinions away from your eyes going forward.

Anyway, enjoy the game. I'm sure your opinions won't be sullied by any facts as they may play out.

1. Please quote where I said “OMG APP IS SO GOOD” (in caps no less). I’ll wait.

2. Yes, I believe you were slighting App’s QB. Apparently you don’t want to consider the larger picture and take exception to my citing factual infornation about his background. Sorry, not sorry.

3. Again, (in all caps) starting with your screaming screed “HOW DARE YOU…” perhaps you should take a break from the keyboard.

This is a message board for expressing opinions about JMU sports. You’re entitled to express yours (which include “guesses”), and I’m entitled to express mine.

I think your “analysis” of ASU is flawed, both in your judgment about ASU’s QB and in your assumption about how to flummox ASU’s coaching staff. If your feel my counterpoint to your “guesses” is a “rhetorical smack-down” you really need to chill.

Oh, and I will enjoy the game, and root hard for the Dukes to win. As for your snide crack about my opinions I’ll do my best to give credit where credit is due, regardless of the outcome.

(09-17-2022 01:41 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  

(09-17-2022 02:09 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(09-17-2022 12:04 AM)94computerguy Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 01:09 PM)Purple Wrote:  

(09-16-2022 12:37 PM)94computerguy Wrote:  You can learn a lot by watching the games again -- most of them are on youtube.

Against both MTSU and NoSt, we did a lot of 5-man rushes with a cover-1 man scheme behind it. Against the RPO-based offenses they run, that's not a big surprise. You pretty much dedicate 1 LB to the running back and if that guy doesn't go out, you rush the QB. But that means you're playing a lot of man, hoping you can get to the QB. NoSt's offensive line was so bad that at least one guy was just plain losing his block really fast every time, so they coudln't get anything going. (One could argue that against an OL that bad, you're better off rushing 3 or 4 and letting them terrorrize the QB on their own, and playing a 2-deep zone or Tampa 2 to keep anyone from getting too open.)

The cover-1 does expose you to deep passes, but the idea is that you can put enough pressure on the QB that they don't have time to find the guys. You could argue that it's worked, having given up a total of 14 points in blowouts all season, but that's not much of an indicator when you clearly outmatch your opponents both times - I don't think that's going to be the case in Boone.

I'm eager to watching the ASU/Troy game this weekend to get a sense of how Appalachian plays. I couldn't tell much from the 5-minute highlight package of the TAMU game, but I'll see if the whole game is available to stream somewhere. In any event, they're pretty good, so we'll have to see if we can find something that works. I'll watch a bunch of App games this weekend and see if I can come up with any ideas.

One of the super bowls where Peyton Manning was beaten had a clever idea: he's essentially his own offensive coordinator, and even if you shut him down in the first half, by the 2nd half, he'd have figured your defense out completely and pick you apart. Since there's 2 weeks off before the super bowl, their opponent (Rams? I forget who) had two separate defensive schemes, one for each half. So they came out in the 3rd qtr, and Manning was prepared to attack a defense that wasn't there anymore, and he was helpless.

I don't know how good the ASU coaching staff is at adjustments, or how good our defense is at learning multiple approaches given a week off, but that's an approach I'd love to take, since we haven't had much in the way of challenges yet this season.

Fantastic analysis! Thanks.

I think pressure defense is the answer to App. I believe we will limit their run game to the point that they become one-dimensional. Having Brice running for his life early and often will create the most havoc and potential for turnovers.

This is going to be a very memorable game, as all App/JMU games have been.

I just watched the A&M game. The ASU QB doesn't have a particularly strong arm - he has to put a fair amount of air under the ball. I'd go with a Tampa 2 (4 underneath zones, 2 deep, and a safety playing kinda middle-middle to limit checkdowns, take away seam routes, and bring pressure and close in on runs.)

If our DL is powerful enough to defeat some blocks, and we're fast in the flat, we should be okay. We'll have to see.

Oh my.

#1. Questions about the ASU coaching staff? Really? The ASU coaching staff is excellent. I would not count on ASU’s staff not being able to make “adjustments”…they’ll have their team ready for whatever JMU brings. If there are questions about coaching adjustments in big games I think the burden of proof rests on JMU’s staff.

#2. ASU’s QB does not have a weak arm. Hell’s Bell’s…Chase Brice stands 6’3” 235#…he’s big and he’s strong. He’s also a graduate transfer, having played 2 years behind Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, started a single season at Duke, and then transferred to ASU. He’s also finished his undergrad and master’s degrees (much like JMU’s TC), all of which means he’s experienced and smart. Brice may very well be the best QB in the SBC East, which boasts several outstanding QBs with legit pro prospects. I can’t speak to what specific play you thought you saw against ASU’s passing attack against A&M that made you think Brice has a “weak arm” but goodness sake, Chase Brice is not an inexperienced weak-link at QB that will be stumped by whatever alignment JMU plays.


#3. The JMU/ASU game will come down to whichever team wins the battle between the big guys along the DL/OLs. That’s not a revelation of any import as almost all games are won or lost in the trenches.

Avoiding turnovers, if JMU’s OL can control the line of scrimmage, allowing TC to do his thing, giving Percy room to run and TC time to connect to Thornton, JMU wins. Reverse control of the line of scrimmage, ASU wins.

Playing its first SBC conference game on the road, against perhaps the best team in the SBC, JMU is easily a +10pt. dog. I won’t. be surprised if JMU wins, however, it won’t come about because ASU’s coaching makes blunders or Chase Brice doesn’t know how to recognize defenses.

I guess you took my writeup as some kind of insult to ASU's coaching staff. I didn't mean it that way at all - do you have any experience seeing how they've changed their approaches at halftime and performed considerably better in the 2nd half than the first? I don't have any either way, but just to say "OMG APP IS SO GOOD" isn't really providing any insight.

as for their QB - you can cite whatever you want, but i saw him having to wind up and put a lot of air on deep balls. Compared to TC, whose passes are consdierably flatter in trajectory, that means the ball spends more time in the air, and gives defenses more time to get to them. As for being "stumped", I guess you think I'm trying to insult the guy? I'm pointing out the things I saw from various coverages, and how they, even in the NFL, have pluses and minuses.

I'm sorry, but this just seems like "HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST JMU HAS A CHANCE TO WIN BY INSULTING THE OTHER TEAM'S ABILITY.". If you want to watch the film and share different opinions, by all means have at it, but it's pretty rude to get all wound up over what I said. In fact, I was just stating my ignorance by saying "I don't know how good their staff is." I guess if we're on talk radio and the purpose is to shout uninformed opinions at each other, you can read that as a dig, but I was just saying "here's what I saw and here's what I don't know.".

More importantly, this game is going to have tons of uncertainty. ASU gave up 60+ ponits to a middling UNC team (though still flirting with a major upset), then accomplished a major upset against TAMU by completely thwarting their offense. On the other hand, JMU showed up and walloped MSTU, predictably thumped a non-competitive team, and has this week off. We're going off shreds of contradictory (and not especially revealing) evidence, and I'm doing my best to guess what might happen.

I guess doing a little homework and sharing an opinion is grounds for a rhetorical smackdown, but that's a bit of a surprise to me. Again, forgive me for trying to do a little research -- I'll try to keep my opinions away from your eyes going forward.

Anyway, enjoy the game. I'm sure your opinions won't be sullied by any facts as they may play out.

I thought your analysis was terrific and spot-on. Thanks!