(09-18-2021 05:54 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  People need to learn to stop taking losses so seriously. It's one game. Yes, we were thoroughly beat. This team is not far off from being 2-1 with a team of 87 freshmen.

Relax a little. And look around at the rest of the MAC. NIU is going to be very competitive in the MAC where we aren't playing a team loaded with 4 and 5 star recruits and no one has stepped up and shown they're the clear MAC leader. NIU has half of the conferences FBS wins.

Exactly! It was a bad loss but it’s just one game. Michigan seems good this year. We played really poorly. Bad combination for sure. Our team is trending up. Defense needs some work still. I am more concerned about our fan base honestly. Too many are fair weather and don’t support the team when it counts. Program will never go to the next level but it’s not because of the team.

(09-19-2021 08:27 AM)BigChilla Wrote:  

(09-19-2021 08:04 AM)epasnoopy Wrote:  

(09-19-2021 07:42 AM)JB04 Wrote:  we are not Iowa, Michigan, Norte Dame, or any relevant P5 team. We may sneak up on a Northwestern or struggling P5 program occasionally...but this game shows the disparity between us and “them”.

It's pretty much impossible. Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, etc. outspend us by a ton and have far better facilities, more support staff, better tv deals, etc. Their head coaches alone make more than we spend on our entire football program. There's no shame in beating all the mid-level and low-level P5s that only spend $50-70 million on their athletic department. This is essentially like MLB, where you can far outspend other teams and there is no salary cap. Hence why the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, etc buy their way into the playoffs almost every year.

Besides just all that, we are fielding a defensive two deep with one senior and 16 freshmen.

I agree with everything except this. These aren’t “kids” some of them have played 3 years in the system. This is the year they MUST make a step. Some haven’t.

I went back and watched…we do seriously weird things on defense.

One play in particular, I wish I had written down when, we run what looks like a 3-3-5, then Rayner steps up to the end…yes a vaunted 205 lbs end. The safety is a single high…brown…and the corners are playing press (Rodgers) and way off (Gandy). Hanson walks up near the LBs (now it’s a 4-3…with a 205lbs end and a 190ish LB). At the snap the corners bail, including the 3rd corner) Hanson drops…Rattin & Lance just read (surprise it’s a run to the outside) - Brown was crashing at the snap.

So to review we have 4 guys dropping hard, brown crashing, and undersized LBs and DEs. My guess is this is a bastardized quarters coverage - against a run team.

In general, when a team is a running team you don’t have 4 guys bailing hard, especially if the run is to the outside. Once they get around your DE and the 2 LBs who are reading and no doubt going to get caught in the wash of the DLine getting blown back, all the back has to do is hit the seam created by the blocking WR. Simple stalk block, just read it. The only guy who could make the tackle…by ******* design, is Brown.

What in the hell type D is that? They literally schemed it so it would be your single high safety came and made a play. If it worked to perfection you are scheming for what? A 7 yard gain? WTF.

The biggest issue with this team is their schemes and the staff has been able to hide that flaw using youth as an alibi. There’s a difference between youth and inexperience. Almost the entire defense has two or three seasons of fall camp and 9 games under their belt. They are not seasoned veterans but they also are not shell shocked true freshman. I’d expect them to blow a few assignments here and there, but not to just disappear entirely. Those running lanes were ridiculous for Michigan. You could line up blocking sleds better and make those holes smaller.

(09-19-2021 08:55 AM)Dtownboys Wrote:  

(09-18-2021 05:54 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  People need to learn to stop taking losses so seriously. It's one game. Yes, we were thoroughly beat. This team is not far off from being 2-1 with a team of 87 freshmen.

Relax a little. And look around at the rest of the MAC. NIU is going to be very competitive in the MAC where we aren't playing a team loaded with 4 and 5 star recruits and no one has stepped up and shown they're the clear MAC leader. NIU has half of the conferences FBS wins.

Exactly! It was a bad loss but it’s just one game. Michigan seems good this year. We played really poorly. Bad combination for sure. Our team is trending up. Defense needs some work still. I am more concerned about our fan base honestly. Too many are fair weather and don’t support the team when it counts. Program will never go to the next level but it’s not because of the team.

The concern is not one loss. The concern is a team being totally unprepared two weeks in a row. The concern is maybe Hammock is the “youth” on the team we should be worrying about. A lot of the concern is that feeling many have of - WTH is this team doing right now, this is crazy?