1) We absolutely must shake up the DL. I would move Orland Mccord (6' 3" 306 lbs) to starting DT. Our current DTs are too small. Plus i would nove Derrien Terrel (6' 4" 340 lbs)to DT. These two guys could plug gaps and keep the OL off our LBs.
2)I dont buy that Phil Snow is not a good DC because he did a nice job last year. It comes down to players and we just do not have them on defense. That is my only complaint with Snow and Enggish-they have not brought enough defensive talent in and this should not be the situation for a 4th year HC.
3) We may need to change strategy and try to outscore the other team like Genyk. This is not my preference but our defense is not physical enough.

4)i Coaching change? I dont think so. RE has publi cly stated his philososphy: Be able to run the ball and be able to stop the run consistently. This style is a proven winner.
5) RE must find a way to finish 5-3 in MAC play. This is his only way to demonstrate that his program is on the way up. Not impossible but need to change DTs.

6) We need everyone on this board to support RE and team this season. We have to swallow and understand we are going to start out 0-4. However, our offense will get
better and maybe just maybe we finish 5-3 for the rest of MAC play

(09-08-2012 08:53 PM)luckeyone1 Wrote:  1) We absolutely must shake up the DL. I would move Orland Mccord (6' 3" 306 lbs) to starting DT. Our current DTs are too small. Plus i would nove Derrien Terrel (6' 4" 340 lbs)to DT. These two guys could plug gaps and keep the OL off our LBs.
2)I dont buy that Phil Snow is not a good DC because he did a nice job last year. It comes down to players and we just do not have them on defense. That is my only complaint with Snow and Enggish-they have not brought enough defensive talent in and this should not be the situation for a 4th year HC.
3) We may need to change strategy and try to outscore the other team like Genyk. This is not my preference but our defense is not physical enough.

4)i Coaching change? I dont think so. RE has publi cly stated his philososphy: Be able to run the ball and be able to stop the run consistently. This style is a proven winner.
5) RE must find a way to finish 5-3 in MAC play. This is his only way to demonstrate that his program is on the way up. Not impossible but need to change DTs.

6) We need everyone on this board to support RE and team this season. We have to swallow and understand we are going to start out 0-4. However, our offense will get
better and maybe just maybe we finish 5-3 for the rest of MAC play

I wish I could agree but what 5 MAC teams are we beating?

(09-08-2012 08:53 PM)luckeyone1 Wrote:  1) We absolutely must shake up the DL. I would move Orland Mccord (6' 3" 306 lbs) to starting DT. Our current DTs are too small. Plus i would nove Derrien Terrel (6' 4" 340 lbs)to DT. These two guys could plug gaps and keep the OL off our LBs.
2)I dont buy that Phil Snow is not a good DC because he did a nice job last year. It comes down to players and we just do not have them on defense. That is my only complaint with Snow and Enggish-they have not brought enough defensive talent in and this should not be the situation for a 4th year HC.
3) We may need to change strategy and try to outscore the other team like Genyk. This is not my preference but our defense is not physical enough.

4)i Coaching change? I dont think so. RE has publi cly stated his philososphy: Be able to run the ball and be able to stop the run consistently. This style is a proven winner.
5) RE must find a way to finish 5-3 in MAC play. This is his only way to demonstrate that his program is on the way up. Not impossible but need to change DTs.

6) We need everyone on this board to support RE and team this season. We have to swallow and understand we are going to start out 0-4. However, our offense will get
better and maybe just maybe we finish 5-3 for the rest of MAC play

Dude, there is much more wrong with the defense then just the DT’s. It is the ENTIRE defense. They don’t generate much of a rush nor do they cover very well. This is an atrocious defense at every level.

How can you open it up if you can’t pass block? You seemingly forget that Eastern has major issues protecting the passer. They had the same issues last year as well.

WHo cares what he says his philosophy? What he says does not matter as much as what he DOES. Thus far he is failing miserable.

What is most damning about English is that his area of expertise--defense--has been the worst part of the team. As bad the offense has looked it still has had moments. The defense has had no such moments. Then there is the disaster that is the special teams.

(09-08-2012 08:53 PM)luckeyone1 Wrote:  1) We absolutely must shake up the DL. I would move Orland Mccord (6' 3" 306 lbs) to starting DT. Our current DTs are too small. Plus i would nove Derrien Terrel (6' 4" 340 lbs)to DT. These two guys could plug gaps and keep the OL off our LBs.
2)I dont buy that Phil Snow is not a good DC because he did a nice job last year. It comes down to players and we just do not have them on defense. That is my only complaint with Snow and Enggish-they have not brought enough defensive talent in and this should not be the situation for a 4th year HC.
3) We may need to change strategy and try to outscore the other team like Genyk. This is not my preference but our defense is not physical enough.

4)i Coaching change? I dont think so. RE has publi cly stated his philososphy: Be able to run the ball and be able to stop the run consistently. This style is a proven winner.
5) RE must find a way to finish 5-3 in MAC play. This is his only way to demonstrate that his program is on the way up. Not impossible but need to change DTs.

6) We need everyone on this board to support RE and team this season. We have to swallow and understand we are going to start out 0-4. However, our offense will get
better and maybe just maybe we finish 5-3 for the rest of MAC play

We are not winning 5 MAC games. Not with these players. Not with these coaches. Not with this philosophy.

Let me ask you something: How many non-BCS schools have made a name for themselves by emphasizing running and stopping the run? Boise State is probably the school that comes closest, but their offense is multiple-dimensional and their defense was never particularly stout against the run. No, English's philosophy is best saved for NFL and tier one BCS schools that can recruit the type of physical athletes needed to execute such schemes. Not for EMU. The only way we'll ever be successful is by thinking out of the box, and by trying to gain schematic advantages that compensate for our athletic/physical limitations.

And to answer your original question, the way to avoid a disastrous season was to at least split the first two games. That's it. Nothing more.

Offense is predictable still. I have never been a fan of the offensive play calling in the RE era. At least tailgating was fun today......

I almost drove 4 1/2 hours for this game, I would had been pissed if I had... Either the HC must leave or the OC must leave.. Period...

I believe we need to change our direction of with the defense and offense .. We are always hearing English talk about passing the ball more but we are not sucessful doing it because either the QB situations or because of the crew who are catching it...

I know what happened to our defense, we have no DL and this allow the other team OL to get to our linebackers to block them.

The other problem is we can not stop the run with only the DL.. We need to put 7 or 8 in the box on 1st & 2nd downs. Our defense is seeing too many 2nd down and 4 yards to go.

while watching the game on TV, I was shocked at a statement that the TV crew said.. They said.. "ISU OL is completely new because their OL from last year all were seniors last year"
This was a kick in the gut.

I am not sure what happened to our OL. There are lack of communications amoung themselves because the blocking allow for too much pressure on Gillett..

Yesterday, three special teams errors (personal foul which led to an ISU TD, fumble which led to an ISU FG, short field goal attempt which could have been made for EMU) accounted for 13 points of the 17 point deficit; if those three plays had been executed right AND NOTHING ELSE WAS DIFFERENT, it would have been a 21-17 loss. Still disappointing, but not the embarrassment that yesterday actually was.

Aside from special teams errors, the OL is really off their game right now. I'm not sure what's going on there, but they're not opening running lanes like they were last year, and they're still not giving Gillett any kind of pass protection. He's got receivers who can make the catches -- Garrett Hoskins and Bronson Hill both made nice plays yesterday -- but he really didn't have time to make the throws, and they've got RBs who can make plays but yesterday they weren't getting any openings. The offensive play-calling was also frustrating (nothing new there!), but compared to the o-line execution yesterday, that's a small thing.

As for the defense, no worries. I thought they showed enormous improvement over week 1, and when you consider the bad spots the special teams and offense kept putting them in, I thought the defense played reasonably well -- nothing to get excited about, but not worth worrying about either.

Something else to consider is maybe giving Bronson Hill an opportunity at runningback. I'm not seeing much explosiveness from Greene and Sherrer, neither have broken many tackles. Hill is more powerfully built and I'd like to see if he can be a little tougher between the tackles than what we've seen so far out of Sherrer and Greene.