O line needs work for sure, but if our defense was anywhere near comparable to our offense, we'd have won 3-4 more games this year.
Garner is the only player on D who knows how to wrap up a running back. Not sure why kids think they can torpedo or shoulder hit a 210-230 running back. Our kids looked like rag dolls out there. They really act like they are afraid to put their helmet in there and hit someone. Way to much finesse tackling and absolutely no heart for hitting.
The new D coordinator needs to make tackling his first point of emphasis.
(11-24-2018 04:08 PM)Mitzka Wrote: I wonder if this game wasn't predetermined before it even started. I didn't think much about games being rigged before but this feels like an obvious "team quit" to give Rice seniors a good senior day.
(11-24-2018 04:21 PM)Old Dominion Wrote: O line needs work for sure, but if our defense was anywhere near comparable to our offense, we'd have won 3-4 more games this year.
Garner is the only player on D who knows how to wrap up a running back. Not sure why kids think they can torpedo or shoulder hit a 210-230 running back. Our kids looked like rag dolls out there. They really act like they are afraid to put their helmet in there and hit someone. Way to much finesse tackling and absolutely no heart for hitting.
The new D coordinator needs to make tackling his first point of emphasis.
Just clicked the wrong thread, but Otavino is 189 lbs. Much smaller than he looks or plays.
Hope springs eternal. I'd like to give an early welcome to our new asst coaches and JUCO transfers. Looking forward to 2019 and playing in the new stadium.
(11-24-2018 03:50 PM)ODUBB35 Wrote: Ugh. What a fitting ending to this season. Gross underperformance pretty much all year. Next year should be interesting.
On Offense
Next season we are well set at RB. If we can adequately replace Nick Clarke, we should be at worst, just ok on the OL. At QB we still have LaRussa and Drayton Arnold. Word is that Jonah Fitzgerald shows tremendous promise, and Hayden Wolff may be our best QB recruit ever. I do not expect Steven Williams to be in the mix.
So, the real question is whether we can get the needed play from the WR position. We will need height, and Nigel Fitzgerald may be the key.
Defense is in complete chaos. Tackling needs to improve, and that is on the coaches.
We complained about soft coverage all season, but that seems to have been a compensation. IMHO, our real problem is a severe lack of team speed
Unless we get some JUCOs or huge Freshman surprises, next year's defense looks to be worse than this year's .
We also have a seriously underutilized giant tight end in Donta Anthony. Why he doesn't get more looks is beyond me.
Coaching issue.
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Or that we were busy throwing to 2 1000 yard WRs....but yeah, lets worry about how many catches a true freshman tight end had. Lol
Ive always been hard on Larussa, but he just finished a season as one of the top 3-4 QBs in CUSA despite missing most of 2 games and not having a great running game. Some of you guys are funny.
Don't blame the offense especially Larussa! He wasn't even our starting QB at the beginning of the year. I think he did an excellent job. You simply are not going to win games with a defensive effort (or lack of) that we showed since the beginning of football at ODU! Is BW to blame, ABSOLUTELY! He is responsible for the entire team. We simply do not have the players on defense to compete. Every time we got the ball on offense we have to score or fall behind even more due to the fact that we are unable to stop anybody on defense. We need to get rid of BW and bring somebody in that understands defense and coaches with that mentality. Remember, you are still in the game if the score is 0-0 at the end!
We won’t get one. Buyout for a man with 3 losing seasons in 4 years is too high. Buyout for a man who has never had a quality defense in 10 years as a head coach is way too high. Buyout for a man running the same tired offense for 10 years is way too high.
In hindsight losing this last game like this is a blessing in disguise. There can be no doubt that changes to both coordinators and many position coaches are imperative. If we had won, especially convincingly, then Wilder and staff could have tried to argue that they had a three game winning streak and they had righted the ship. Can't make those arguments after this debacle.
(11-24-2018 05:57 PM)CalODUFan Wrote: In hindsight losing this last game like this is a blessing in disguise. There can be no doubt that changes to both coordinators and many position coaches are imperative. If we had won, especially convincingly, then Wilder and staff could have tried to argue that they had a three game winning streak and they had righted the ship. Can't make those arguments after this debacle.
I dont think anyone gave a **** about a meaningless game against a 1 win team in Twxas, FWIW. Rightly or wrongly; how do you expect any of us (fans) or them (players) to care? They probably just didnt want to get injured.
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RE: ODU vs Rice 