ejd_5277
1st String

Posts: 1,118
Joined: Aug 2016
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I Root For: WMU
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RE: WMU at Northern Illinois
(11-20-2025 11:04 AM)CockyBronc3 Wrote: (11-20-2025 10:25 AM)sdsly Wrote: (11-19-2025 11:11 PM)CockyBronc3 Wrote: (11-19-2025 12:16 AM)ejd_5277 Wrote: (11-18-2025 10:56 PM)CockyBronc3 Wrote: At the risk of sounding like a downer... I'm glad we are winning, but this football is hard to watch. We had 59 carries and 5 completions, 1 of which was really a jet sweep. It is mind boggling how we can win games like that. Everyone knows we are going to run. 1st and 10? Run. 3rd and 7? Run. 3 and 10? Maybe a 4 yard pass. Or a Run. It's just hard to watch. It's like watch army or navy play when you know there is just never going to be any downfield plays. It's like rugby or something.
We better hope we win the MAC this year because we.might have to play lineman at WR next year. I can't see a single WRs or TEs staying here and definitely can't see any WRs or TEs coming here through the portal next year.
This is our shot, hope we make the best of it!
To each their own of course but I could not disagree with this more. In fact, in some ways I’m enjoying this season more than 2016.
If you had said “boring,” I would give you that. I get it… “chicks dig the long ball.” Downfield passing attacks and explosive plays are certainly fun to watch…. Call me old school, but for me personally it’s more fun to watch a team come together and gel over the course of a season like ours has.
That 2016 team had a bunch of DUDES. Blue chip talent outside and on the OL, and one of the highest IQ quarterbacks to ever play in the MAC, who also had an above-average arm.
This team has none of that, but what it has are a bunch of guys who know *exactly* what they can do and what they can’t do, and that’s what they do. No one out there is trying to be someone they’re not. Broc Lowry is easily the highest-IQ, most self-aware quarterback we’ve had since Zach Terrell. Sure, there’s an occasional misread on the RPO but that happens to Lamar Jackson once in awhile too. How often has he forced a pass downfield into double coverage or something that he shouldn’t have thrown? Once? All year?
Also, Buckley is finally healthy and that’s helped *immensely.*
The defense is a bit soft in the middle, but again, this coaching staff and these players know that so they run schemes specifically to shore that up. For what our interior linebackers/DL lack in physicality they make up for with great gap integrity and eye discipline.
I distinctly remember two hallmarks of Tim Lester defenses:
A.) poor fundamental tackling skills, and
B.) DB’s hanging with receivers, but then failing to get their heads around to look for the football, many times drawing a flag for interference.
Both those problems look like ancient history now. We tackle REALLY well, we are one of the least-penalized teams in the country, we win the turnover battle, and we play to our strengths and mitigate weaknesses through different schemes.
You’re confusing solid, fundamental football with “watchability,” but I’ll take this over being on the wrong side of the 42-35 shootouts of yesteryear any day of the week.
Yeah, I mean I guess it just depends on what you want. We can be competitive in the MAC for another year or 2 while Lowry is here with this totally 1 dimensional offense possibly, and just continue to get crushed by non-MAC teams. And I guess if thats where we are then we just have to be ok winning really boring football games, as long as our defense can keep playing like they have been.
But also, what happens if Lowry gets hurt, which is more and more likely as he contimues to carry the ball a TON. Or what happens if he thinks he killed it this year and decides to hit the portal? Or what happens when our defense loses guys to the portal or graduation and isn't as dominant as they are. Make no mistake we have been winning games because of our defense, in spite of our offense. So, it's cool now, because everything has fallen into place perfectly, But it's not sustainable. Like I said, you aren't going to get any WRs or TEs to stay and you definitely aren't going to get any to come over in the portal. So, what happens when there is no more Lowry in a year or 2 and whoever takes his spot isn't the runner Lowry is? Who is he going to throw to and how are we going to win games without the running attack we have now, and without developing or bring in any skill position talent?
If Lance Taylor wins the MAC this year does he become a hot property to move on to somewhere else? Given his past movements and his young age, I would think he would be looking to move up to a higher level. I would think that if he can pull off a championship in year 3 it would get him on the radar of Power 4 teams.
It's possible, but I'm not sure P4 schools are going to consider someone whose offense runs the 95% of the time. Realistically, I don't think just winning MAC games does a lot to bolster your resume with P4 schools unless you are doing it in a way they can see translate to their games. If he was putting out draft picks by retaining and developing players, I think they'd look at that as a win in the environment we are in, but that's not happening. If I'm a P4 school I don't know what his identity is, and he hasn't shown he can make the hires he would need to make to get a real shot at P4 - although O'Leary is proving to be the first of those I think. If he can hire a new OC in the office sesson and make another run next year in a more balanced offense (which i personally think is almost impossible, for all the reasons I've already mentioned) then I think he would have a real shot at some P4 looks.
Again, as I’ve said repeatedly, the offense is one-dimensional because that’s the scheme that fits the personnel that we have. It doesn’t mean that LT is not capable of developing a solid passing attack… we just don’t have the tools at quarterback and receiver this year to be that kind of team.
This seems awfully hard for you to understand for some reason.
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