Does anybody have know of a source where I can find the number of snaps played by players? I know we had a bunch of injuries yesterday but I'm curious how many snaps in the 2nd half were played by back ups.

Another positive from the game: Rice blocked a punt

For those (esp those who work in Rice Athletics) who want to see the apathy for Rice FB in engagement #'s, go search for the prior game threads of prior years to look at views (game not post/pre). Of course Parliament views should not be the lone datapoint for fan interest/engagement but directionally it is good indicator.

For the Arkansas game thread, one would think the combo of a close game for 3.5 quarters, SEC opponent, first game/optimism, etc. would have lots of interest but that game thread only has 11K views.

Go back to DB's final year and see threads w/ 4x the viewership and consistently 2-2.5x against foes a long way from old-SWC foes like Old Dominion, UAB, etc.

And I don't think those DB 'bottom 10' teams in his final years are the pinnacle of interest...as 40-60K were regular #'s in the mid 2010's for C-USA games. People have left/abandon interest in droves. Nothing in sight to bring it back.

Just because people have left this site doesn't mean they've left Rice athletics. There is At the Roost now. And this site has gone tremendously downhill because of a lack of moderators to keep things on track.

(09-06-2021 02:22 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Just because people have left this site doesn't mean they've left Rice athletics. There is At the Roost now. And this site has gone tremendously downhill because of a lack of moderators to keep things on track.

I would also add, it is much easier to watch the owls via a streaming service than it was in DB days. I used follow the thread back in the day when I could not watch the game.

(09-06-2021 02:22 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Just because people have left this site doesn't mean they've left Rice athletics. There is At the Roost now. And this site has gone tremendously downhill because of a lack of moderators to keep things on track.

Lack of moderators? There are 4 listed, 2 of which post regularly.

(09-06-2021 03:18 PM)owler Wrote:  

(09-06-2021 02:22 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Just because people have left this site doesn't mean they've left Rice athletics. There is At the Roost now. And this site has gone tremendously downhill because of a lack of moderators to keep things on track.

I would also add, it is much easier to watch the owls via a streaming service than it was in DB days. I used follow the thread back in the day when I could not watch the game.

That is definitely a contributing factor - it's much easier to follow games now. I'm a recent alum, but even I remember relying on the Parliament for detailed play-by-plays when all I had was the lagging GameTracker to follow.

I also think a serious lack of quality of the revenue sports has had an effect.

Delayed postgame thoughts:

- As I feared we faded in the second half. This is a pattern of Bloomgren Rice teams. Well prepared early on - 3 and out right off the bat on defense, blocked punt, defense held up well for most of the game. But teams easily adjust to our offense every time. We need to be dominant, not good, on defense to win a game.

- As I feared, Bloomgren has again stumbled with the QB situation. Saw better ball handling from Green but nothing to make me think he's better than Jovoni. McCaffrey should be made the full time starter with Jovoni spelling him from time to time. Green should be #3. This we already suspected or knew on this message board, but again Bloomgren and his OC thought differently and it cost us.

- The offense is not inspiring. I was pleased with the OL's performance and we should have a decent run game, but why I keep hearing that this offense is so complex ("like learning Mandarin") is beyond me. It's predictable to say the least. We'll be wasting some of Luke's talents if he's limited by this scheme. He would benefit from spreading things out more often, imo.

- The conservative play calling - especially running it on 3rd and long in the redone is disappointing. The insistence on our short yardage power formation is also baffling. To still think we can overpower other teams, especially SEC front 7's with it isn't smart.

- Pitre III had been consistent though quiet prior to this game and now he's shown he's ready to take a bigger role, very pleased to see that, not surprised. Did I miss an injury to Rozner? Didn't see much of him after some early catches and we need his big play ability. And what is the status of Juma O?

- On the positive side, talent on the field, OL play, and defense looked pretty good. Best case scenario, this offense does better vs CUSA defenses and wears them down, but I suspect even in CUSA we'll see sharper and more dynamic offenses than what Arkansas showed, will need Luke (or another QB) to really find his groove to keep up.

(09-07-2021 08:26 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  Delayed postgame thoughts:

- As I feared we faded in the second half. This is a pattern of Bloomgren Rice teams. Well prepared early on - 3 and out right off the bat on defense, blocked punt, defense held up well for most of the game. But out-coached again. Other teams easily adjust to our offense every time. We need to be dominant, not good, on defense to win.

- As I feared, Bloomgren has again botched the QB situation thus far. Saw better ball handling from Green but nothing to make me think he's better than Jovoni. McCaffrey should be the full time starter with Jovoni spelling him from time to time. Green should be #3. This we already suspected or knew on this message board, but again Bloomgren and his OC thought differently and it cost us.

- The offense is not inspiring. I was pleased with the OL's performance and we should have a decent run game, but why I keep hearing that this offense is so complex ("like learning Mandarin") is beyond me. It's predictable to say the least. We'll be wasting some of Luke's talents if he's limited by this scheme. He deserved to have the field spread out more imo.

- The conservative play calling - especially running it on 3rd and long in the redone is disappointing. The insistence on our short yardage power formation is also baffling. It's incredibly predictable. To still think we can overpower other teams, especially SEC front 7's with it is ridiculous.

- Pitre III had been consistent prior to this game and now he's shown he's ready to take a bigger role. Did I miss an injury to Rozner? Didn't see much of him after some early catches and we need his big play ability. And what is the status of Juma O?

- Bottom line - handling of the QB position and offensive scheme will continue to haunt Rice during the Bloomgren era. Been consistently like that since day 1. On the positive side, talent on the field, OL play, and defense have improved. Best case scenario, this offense can do better vs CUSA defenses, but I suspect we'll see much better or more dynamic offenses than what Arkansas showed and will need Luke to really find his groove in what I hope will be a modified scheme in order to keep up.

Rozner went out in the second quarter and was in street clothes during the second half. Not sure what his injury is/was.

(09-07-2021 08:39 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(09-07-2021 08:26 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  Delayed postgame thoughts:

- As I feared we faded in the second half. This is a pattern of Bloomgren Rice teams. Well prepared early on - 3 and out right off the bat on defense, blocked punt, defense held up well for most of the game. But out-coached again. Other teams easily adjust to our offense every time. We need to be dominant, not good, on defense to win.

- As I feared, Bloomgren has again botched the QB situation thus far. Saw better ball handling from Green but nothing to make me think he's better than Jovoni. McCaffrey should be the full time starter with Jovoni spelling him from time to time. Green should be #3. This we already suspected or knew on this message board, but again Bloomgren and his OC thought differently and it cost us.

- The offense is not inspiring. I was pleased with the OL's performance and we should have a decent run game, but why I keep hearing that this offense is so complex ("like learning Mandarin") is beyond me. It's predictable to say the least. We'll be wasting some of Luke's talents if he's limited by this scheme. He deserved to have the field spread out more imo.

- The conservative play calling - especially running it on 3rd and long in the redone is disappointing. The insistence on our short yardage power formation is also baffling. It's incredibly predictable. To still think we can overpower other teams, especially SEC front 7's with it is ridiculous.

- Pitre III had been consistent prior to this game and now he's shown he's ready to take a bigger role. Did I miss an injury to Rozner? Didn't see much of him after some early catches and we need his big play ability. And what is the status of Juma O?

- Bottom line - handling of the QB position and offensive scheme will continue to haunt Rice during the Bloomgren era. Been consistently like that since day 1. On the positive side, talent on the field, OL play, and defense have improved. Best case scenario, this offense can do better vs CUSA defenses, but I suspect we'll see much better or more dynamic offenses than what Arkansas showed and will need Luke to really find his groove in what I hope will be a modified scheme in order to keep up.

Rozner went out in the second quarter and was in street clothes during the second half. Not sure what his injury is/was.

Is there news on Pitre's injury?

The number of injuries is a concern.

Some on this board advocate a "body bag" game each season. We've got two, and those, along with the obvious improvement of C-USA teams, could lead to a 3-9 type of season. That could limit the number of years on Bloomgren's extension.

(09-07-2021 09:33 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  The number of injuries is a concern.

Some on this board advocate a "body bag" game each season. We've got two, and those, along with the obvious improvement of C-USA teams, could lead to a 3-9 type of season. That could limit the number of years on Bloomgren's extension.

Without those "body bag" games we would have to further cut back athletic program budgets. Sad, but true. Those games also help in recruiting for as bad as CUSA is, it is those games against national prominent programs that are attractive to prospective recruits.

(09-07-2021 10:55 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(09-07-2021 09:33 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  The number of injuries is a concern.

Some on this board advocate a "body bag" game each season. We've got two, and those, along with the obvious improvement of C-USA teams, could lead to a 3-9 type of season. That could limit the number of years on Bloomgren's extension.

Without those "body bag" games we would have to further cut back athletic program budgets. Sad, but true. Those games also help in recruiting for as bad as CUSA is, it is those games against national prominent programs that are attractive to prospective recruits.

If we need two such games per year, I wonder if we could manage to budget through something like a yearly sequence of 3, 0, 3. Do two in September and one more in November during the 3-bodybag years, and then use the middle year to rack up a high win total and bowl game. It's still six money games over three years, and we'd have one or two relatively easy schedules to a bowl for every four-year player.

(09-07-2021 08:26 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  - The offense is not inspiring. I was pleased with the OL's performance and we should have a decent run game, but why I keep hearing that this offense is so complex ("like learning Mandarin") is beyond me. It's predictable to say the least. We'll be wasting some of Luke's talents if he's limited by this scheme. He deserved to have the field spread out more imo.

I suspect most of the complexity comments, esp. "like learning Mandarin" are sarcasm.

(09-07-2021 11:54 AM)ausowl Wrote:  

(09-07-2021 08:26 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  - The offense is not inspiring. I was pleased with the OL's performance and we should have a decent run game, but why I keep hearing that this offense is so complex ("like learning Mandarin") is beyond me. It's predictable to say the least. We'll be wasting some of Luke's talents if he's limited by this scheme. He deserved to have the field spread out more imo.

I suspect most of the complexity comments, esp. "like learning Mandarin" are sarcasm.

The SEC announcers during Saturday's game said that this is how Bloomgren described his offense to them when discussing how well Green knows the offense and how quickly McCaffrey is picking it up.

(09-07-2021 11:54 AM)ausowl Wrote:  

(09-07-2021 08:26 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  - The offense is not inspiring. I was pleased with the OL's performance and we should have a decent run game, but why I keep hearing that this offense is so complex ("like learning Mandarin") is beyond me. It's predictable to say the least. We'll be wasting some of Luke's talents if he's limited by this scheme. He deserved to have the field spread out more imo.

I suspect most of the complexity comments, esp. "like learning Mandarin" are sarcasm.

They’re not.

(09-05-2021 12:14 AM)owl40 Wrote:  IMO, the worst play/turning point of game was not the maddening alternating QB's and sticking w/ Green but Bloom's call on 4th and one to 'out-manhood' Arkansas in the box in the Arkansas red zone. Shocker that it was stuffed and Myers forced to bounce outside and turn over on downs in the red zone. Arkansas proceeds to march down field and took over-the-game after that stop. Perfect time for misdirection, play-action, etc. as Ray Charles saw what was coming. That was the mojo changer. Get the first down and score and it is completely different game.

Agreed with most of your post, but especially this. I'm glad he didn't kick. You aren't beating an SEC opponent by settling for 3... but this is where you need a guy who runs a 4.2, or can high/long jump or weighs 250+ pounds or just has that amazing balance and 'body lean' to always get every inch that is there.

We can hate on the coogs all we want, but they started with a good game plan, went for it on 4th more than once, executed an onside kick and succeeded, and then scored again (twice). YES, Tech figured them out quickly after that.... but they obviously were prepared to 'go for it'. I get that we want to pound the rock and we did that, but we ALSO were successful in going deep. There was an early deep route that Green had time to wait for, but seems he rushed a bit and overthrew... and then came back with another beauty later. You've got to do that. You've GOT to take some chances when you're outmatched on paper.

Although I didn't see the injuries, these don't seem (on paper) to me to be 'body bag' type injuries.... where a 180lb RB gets slammed by a 300lb DT.... or even a 180lb WR getting smoked by a 250lb linebacker. They seem to be the sort of injuries that happen when you're giving 110%.

(09-07-2021 12:42 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(09-07-2021 11:54 AM)ausowl Wrote:  

(09-07-2021 08:26 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  - The offense is not inspiring. I was pleased with the OL's performance and we should have a decent run game, but why I keep hearing that this offense is so complex ("like learning Mandarin") is beyond me. It's predictable to say the least. We'll be wasting some of Luke's talents if he's limited by this scheme. He deserved to have the field spread out more imo.

I suspect most of the complexity comments, esp. "like learning Mandarin" are sarcasm.

The SEC announcers during Saturday's game said that this is how Bloomgren described his offense to them when discussing how well Green knows the offense and how quickly McCaffrey is picking it up.

I think its more about huddling close so you can't say '24 trap on 2, ready, break'... so literally learning a language. I don't think the plays themselves are especially complex, but the 'calls' might be, including any calls (verbal or hand signals) adjustments to the defense. I think when we think about a complex offense, we think about 'unexpected' misdirection or formations or using players in unique ways.

I cant imagine that the turn and pitch is so mega complicated play call. I have a name for it that they can use, but they might not like it.