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(12-16-2020 07:02 PM)flushtheherd Wrote:  

(12-16-2020 06:48 PM)Stampede your face!! Wrote:  

(12-16-2020 06:45 PM)RunningGame Wrote:  It will be interesting to see once they score the unrated guys for each team.

Personally, I usually like playing the stars and ratings game. Those services are pretty good at it. However, this year, none of that matters...most kids weren't even able to be seen enough.

I agree here and I also think that the difference between 6 and 1 in the classes is negligible... every one of these teams is going to have players that never really make it, players that transfer and a few that might grow into a star.

Its what these coaches and staff do WITH these players that determines the success they will have while with their respective teams. This is where Lester gives me very little confidence.

We should have some nice weapons for Eleby going forward... We also have a really nice get with the kid out of River Rouge.... Mareyohn Hrabowski.... I think he might be a surprise down the road.

I actually think they are doing fine with individual development. Fayad, Holley, Tyler, Eleby, Moore, Eskeridge, Hayward, Moment and Lupro they developed quite well. Really the coaching staff's problem is game management, game calling, preparation and discipline, not player procurement or development.

Those are obviously important things and why I think this staff led by Tim Lester will not win a MAC championship while he is here. There are too many good coaches in this league better at this than him, even if they don't have the talent we do.

(12-16-2020 10:29 PM)Stampede your face!! Wrote:  I actually think they are doing fine with individual development. Fayad, Holley, Tyler, Eleby, Moore, Eskeridge, Hayward, Moment and Lupro they developed quite well. Really the coaching staff's problem is game management, game calling, preparation and discipline, not player procurement or development.

Those are obviously important things and why I think this staff led by Tim Lester will not win a MAC championship while he is here. There are too many good coaches in this league better at this than him, even if they don't have the talent we do.

I lost track of the tackles broken against Lupro in the open field this season. There were definitely some third downs when we could've gotten off the field and couldn't because he either whiffed or because the receiver got loose. I don't like singling college athletes out, but I think he kind of earned it. His disallowed interception against Toledo took the wind out of his sails, I think.

If this team can figure out defense, this team could be special next year.

Our O-line coming back, our WR core minus Dee, plus our 3 headed monster RB.

Our team is stacked. We are positioned to do some great things in 2021 and beyond. Let's fix the Defense!

(12-17-2020 10:44 AM)WMU2013 Wrote:  Our team is stacked. We are positioned to do some great things in 2021 and beyond. Let's fix the Defense!

I think one of the things that will be very interesting next year is to see how Eleby continues to develop. He has still only played in 10 games. He doesn't even have a full season under his belt in traditional terms.

(12-17-2020 10:44 AM)WMU2013 Wrote:  Our team is stacked. We are positioned to do some great things in 2021 and beyond. Let's fix the Defense!

X2 - EXACTLY CORRECT

Hey, there's some optimism :)

That's true. Our offense has an abundance of talent and Eleby is at the head of it. I think he's the best QB in the MAC. He's patient, he doesn't make mistakes, he's got a huge arm and can really push the ball down the field. And like you guys mentioned, he hasn't even played 12 games yet.

Let's just hope Lester continues to learn and improve upon his game management skills. Still can't believe he didn't try to get points at the end of the first half against EMU, down by 9 points. Best QB and WR corps in the MAC, 40 seconds, 3 timeouts...and you just head to the locker room? Inconceivable!

As far as the thread topic, Lester seems to continue stockpiling offensive talent, which isn't surprising considering his background. Cubit and Fleck did the same thing. Defense has taken a backseat for a long time at WMU. It's exciting, but also heart-attack-inducing, football.

(12-17-2020 10:27 AM)Broncodan Wrote:  If this team can figure out defense, this team could be special next year.

Our O-line coming back, our WR core minus Dee, plus our 3 headed monster RB.

Another Franklin-Bogan-Bellamy type of tandem sounds good to me.

We need to keep our DL and our RB room healthy next season. We need to continue to build quality depth and hope the defense turns itself around.

I have seen Big Lou in action in the locker room and can tell you that he brings MAJOR intensity... What is wrong with our defense stems from a just plain lack of discipline... both in scheme and with penalties... our defensive backfield was recovering from the loss of some back end talent and filled gaps with a couple transfers (one of which never played due to injury). Linebackers are going to need to step up their game... but what we saw on defense has been more a function of being so thin at DE for huge stretches... If we can't protect the edges we have to play wide... one thing leads to another... and then you have three more guys take bad angles.... and make bad tackles... and BOOM... gotta clean it up.

When I think of 2020 recruiting, I turn to the idiom, "leave no stone unturned". We are in the digital age of recruiting and it's becoming more difficult to find that gem. If there has been anything that Lester has been relatively good at is finding that gem. I trust in the class he chose and I hope they can turn this class into the next MAC champions.

I'm not sure I agree that defensive recruiting was neglected under Fleck or Cubit for that matter. Both produced plenty of NFL talent and top MAC talent on defense.. Biggers, Delmas, Nowak, Toler, Spillane, Brown, Phillips, Adams, Brown, Beal, I'm sure I missed some. Problem seems to be playing as a cohesive unit, plus as some have pointed out I think CFB fans have outsized expectations of their defenses in general as college offenses have become so hard to stop.

(12-18-2020 12:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  I'm not sure I agree that defensive recruiting was neglected under Fleck or Cubit for that matter. Both produced plenty of NFL talent and top MAC talent on defense.. Biggers, Delmas, Nowak, Toler, Spillane, Brown, Phillips, Adams, Brown, Beal, I'm sure I missed some. Problem seems to be playing as a cohesive unit, plus as some have pointed out I think CFB fans have outsized expectations of their defenses in general as college offenses have become so hard to stop.

Good point! Unless it’s army vs navy.

I went back to see if they've filled in the zero star recruits, but not yet. It did give a list of our top-10 all-time rated recruits (in the last few years of course).

Of the 10, only pre-injuries Tranquill and Eleby deserve to be there. Wilson had one great season, then fell apart out of the system. Julien was a good slot receiver, Falcon's knees were ransacked, Jakevin Jackson was a two-deep guy. Several guys who never played a snap, never showed up on campus, or transferred.

Ratings may hit the mark overall, but man, is it an inexact science!

The reality is we'll see a few more guys choose to transfer and/or recruits decommit. It's just the nature of the beast. It won't be anything to panic over (unless it's Eleby of course, & I highly doubt he leaves)

(12-18-2020 12:48 AM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  I'm not sure I agree that defensive recruiting was neglected under Fleck or Cubit for that matter. Both produced plenty of NFL talent and top MAC talent on defense.. Biggers, Delmas, Nowak, Toler, Spillane, Brown, Phillips, Adams, Brown, Beal, I'm sure I missed some. Problem seems to be playing as a cohesive unit, plus as some have pointed out I think CFB fans have outsized expectations of their defenses in general as college offenses have become so hard to stop.

Agreed. And I seem to remember a pretty good PJ defense led by Robert Spillane.