(09-09-2019 08:14 AM)prosec34 Wrote:  Understanding they were playing a Division II team, VMI looked decent Saturday from what bits I saw. They'll likely give us a game, I think.

I watched the first half of the Mars Hill game and an extended cutup of their game at Marshall. I'm not sure we saw the same things, because I saw a team that needs two or three pieces on each side of the ball to be considered "good," and even that "good" is only relative to most SoCon teams.

I'll give you Javeon Lara. He's good. He's not great because no one who plays for VMI is great, but he can get open and he can make big plays. He's also the only serious deep threat in that offense, so if you can take Udinski's eyes off him early, it's easy to keep the rest of the team in front of you. Most of their offense is quick outs and hitch routes designed to gain 5-7 yards and roll down the field at a high tempo.

Their offensive line is not good overall. The guards do well enough, but the left tackle is below average and the right tackle is a turnstile. Both Marshall and Mars Hill picked on him for sacks (Mars Hill got a strip sack that turned into points). Move some guys around up front, blitz from different linebacker spots to confuse Udinski, and the line will fold up like a lawn chair. Put Udinski on the ground or flush him out of the pocket and it should be easy to get the offense behind schedule.

Defensively, their front seven doesn't inspire much. I guess their linebackers are decent moving laterally, but they're mostly just long bodies that look more imposing than they are. Their safeties are not good. One of them is a true freshman, and he's all over the place. If D2 receivers can gash your defense on a simple post route for 30+ yards, your backfield needs work. Neither of their corners would start for us, IMO. One guy racked up a couple of picks just by being in the right place when Mars Hill's starter missed and/or telegraphed his target.

ETSU is considerably better than VMI on paper and looks more athletic and more polished on extended viewing. This is a game we should expect to win by at least two scores, especially at home with a strong home atmosphere expected. If we disguise pressure well, stay sound in coverage, and get physical up front on offense (which is easy when your line is big and seasoned and your top tailback is 6'1" 216), we should do just that.