2019 Wish List and Expectations

[saxman210]

Our disappointing, yet winning, season ended a couple of hours ago. A season that started with a lot of hype and promise, including a top 10 national ranking, disintegrated amongst a 4 game losing streak. So, let’s talk about what we need for 2019.

Offense:
The offense is presumably in “good” hands with Brady Davis at QB and James Robinson running the ball. A solid supporting cast of Andrew Edgar and Braxton Haley on the outside will take some pressure off the run. We lose some starters and experience on the OL and that will be something to watch. In my opinion, the key to next year, similar to this year, will be how much pressure Brady Davis’ play can take off the run game.

Defense:
We lose little on the defensive side of the ball but losing Mitchell Brees, Zachary Mathews and Matt Swaine will hurt. Having Romeo McKnight back along with strong back end play by Luther Kirk and Devan Taylor will be a positive. As with every year, I hope that we can add a strong edge pass rusher (Brent Hawkins mold) to the mix.

Special Teams:
We need a reliable field goal kicker. Our league is too tough to be leaving points on the field. Bohlken can handle the punting but I’d love to see either a solid true freshman or a transfer placekicker.

Coaching:
Playcalling on both sides of the ball seemed “vanilla” to me. I don’t expect bells, whistles and gimmicks, but we were a standard offense of run, run, pass. Or even run, run, run. And that worked against lesser opponents but our play calling needs more wrinkles against the upper tier of the MVFC.

Final thought: 2019 could be a solid year. The pieces are there for a strong showing, but I feel like we’re still missing one of those special pieces on the defensive side before we’re there for a battle with NDSU for the auto-bid and a deep playoff run.

Just my opinion, would love to hear the opinions of total red and fourthandshort who are much more the experts at Redbird football.

 

[SteveO]

Great synopsis. I was wondering what the thoughts were on whether there was a talent/experience issue this year leading to the losing streak or was it that the team was out-coached by our MVC opponents?

 

[Reggie Redbird]

It would be interesting to see who is responsible for the S-T woes we had. For example, is that on the kicker, the S-T coord, or both?

I think some of our play calling and game/clock management had a direct impact on losing some games we shouldn’t have.

We seemed to play pretty decent on 1st and 2nd down, defensively. Then on 3rd down, we’d give up a long pass, a long run, etc. This is not something new for this team though. What do we need to improve on to win those key downs? Is it better schemes and play calls? Or is it better personnel executing the plays? On the defensive end, I really hope we can bolster the DL to enhance our pressure.

In terms of our offense, we just couldn’t put it all together. We will have one of the most talented RBs in the FCS next year. Let’s bolster our OL he runs behind and improve our passing game to balance with the run by completing a higher percentage of our passes. There seemed to be times we couldn’t pass and our opponents would stack the box against JR.

My wish list:
Transfer OL. Perhaps Davis or Megginson know some guys wanting to find a better situation than at Memphis or Illinois. Perhaps our coaches from FBS schools have connections to guys. It would be great if someone on the team stepped up or is currently RS, but big blockers are huge for JR to run behind.

New/Transfer Kicker: this may be my biggest. We left a lot of points on the field (or short, WL, or WR of the goalpost).

DL - Pass Rush and DT - Space Eater. We just weren’t very big up front. Having someone who can help clog the middle will help force runners outside to deal with tough pass rushers. Whether it’s a Hawkins or Perkins, we need guys who can get pressure and then take down the QB or an RB in the backfield.

 

[rdt99]

I agree about our vanilla play. We need to jazz some things up and yes we need a predictable kicker. That was a huge weakness. There are some good players returning, but we need some good transfers to fill in next year.

 

[TreRoberson4Heisman]

Where was Rod Barajas all season? Big ND transfer. Hoping he sniffs the field next year was a huge High School prospect.

 

[Reggie Redbird]

Where was Rod Barajas all season? Big ND transfer. Hoping he sniffs the field next year was a huge High School prospect.

Perhaps his season-ending injury from last year was one either taking at least a year to heal from or (hopefully not) worse?

 

[Virginia Redbird]

His name is Josh Barajas and I did not see him listed on the current roster. This was the last I heard of him. Nice article from the Pantagraph in August of this year.

https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/isu-linebacker-barajas-making-strides-in-comeback-from-injury/article_ca93bbbd-cbdd-52cf-b8d9-481486994b5f.html

Anybody know what happened to him?

 

[MadBird]

Would like to contribute more to this thread, will try to get my thoughts together. But first, a couple of "hindsights":

One thing that strikes me -- Markel Smith sits out due to "behavioral Issues" (that's how it was described in the paper this morning). Will he be back next year? He seems to have some issues. One of which is named James Robinson, another Brock Spack.

And a second thing, Jordan Birch, what were you thinking? Your table was ready, but you got tired of waiting to be seated.

I'm pretty confident Jeff Kolbe could have led the team to 6-5. Maybe not. Not grousing, really, but Davis was more of a work in progress than many wanted to believe.

Many of us were so damn happy to have OC Beathard back. Turned out to also be a work in progress. Wondering with his wife's fight if he'll be back?

Funny season. Odd funny, not humorous funny.

 

[Total Red]

Josh Barajas was definitely in uniform for the game yesterday and I'm fairly certain I saw him in on special teams.

 

[TIMMY]

I'd like to see a Y receiver who can run after the catch. We're gonna lose that. Maybe a role for Brown. He showed some twitch yesterday and could be on the field with Robinson. Jet sweeps, bubble screens, and stretch the middle of opposing 2 shells.

 

[MadBird]

Josh Barajas was definitely in uniform for the game yesterday and I'm fairly certain I saw him in on special teams.

Not listed in yesterday's box score/participation report. Team stats show Barajas playing in 5 games - EIU, CSU, NDSU, UNI and InSU. Total 1 unassisted tackle for the year. I hope there's a "back story" there. His pedigree is too damn good to end up with nada.

 

[TIMMY]

I think we're going to need a slot. I would like to see a guy who runs like a running back. It might be a good spot for Brown if he can catch it. He showed some twitch and broke a few tackles. Jet sweep, bubble, RPO's shovel pass. I'd like to see him out there with Robinson. It would put me on my heels as a DC.

 

[Crabby]

It would be interesting to see who is responsible for the S-T woes we had. For example, is that on the kicker, the S-T coord, or both?

I think some of our play calling and game/clock management had a direct impact on losing some games we shouldn’t have.

We seemed to play pretty decent on 1st and 2nd down, defensively. Then on 3rd down, we’d give up a long pass, a long run, etc. This is not something new for this team though. What do we need to improve on to win those key downs? Is it better schemes and play calls? Or is it better personnel executing the plays? On the defensive end, I really hope we can bolster the DL to enhance our pressure.

In terms of our offense, we just couldn’t put it all together. We will have one of the most talented RBs in the FCS next year. Let’s bolster our OL he runs behind and improve our passing game to balance with the run by completing a higher percentage of our passes. There seemed to be times we couldn’t pass and our opponents would stack the box against JR.

My wish list:
Transfer OL. Perhaps Davis or Megginson know some guys wanting to find a better situation than at Memphis or Illinois. Perhaps our coaches from FBS schools have connections to guys. It would be great if someone on the team stepped up or is currently RS, but big blockers are huge for JR to run behind.

New/Transfer Kicker: this may be my biggest. We left a lot of points on the field (or short, WL, or WR of the goalpost).

DL - Pass Rush and DT - Space Eater. We just weren’t very big up front. Having someone who can help clog the middle will help force runners outside to deal with tough pass rushers. Whether it’s a Hawkins or Perkins, we need guys who can get pressure and then take down the QB or an RB in the backfield.

Couldn't agree more regarding the DL. We don't get a whole lot of pressure on the QB from the D-line, and we certainly don't rack up a lot of sacks. A big part of that is the fact that most QB's get rid of the ball so quickly. Spack likes to recruit "long" players at the DT/DE positions. Presumably so they can get their hands up and knock down a few passes. We did have some balls tipped at the line, but not enough to make a difference. Problem is that most of those long guys aren't very big coming in, and most are not that strong. They need to get some more size (weight) at the DT/DE positions and keep them on the field as much as possible.

Bringing in the nickel pass rushers usually results in the QB taking off and running because there are so many openings created when the pass rushers are getting pushed outside. It happened way too much this year and the result is that we can't get off the field on third downs as often as we should. We need to have big guys that can get push up the middle quickly and get in the QB's face. Your blitzers can come from anywhere, but you have to clog it up between the tackles and not let the QB scoot through the huge holes up front. I would rather take my chances with most QB's running outside the tackles than right up the middle untouched.

 

[Reggie Redbird]

DL - Pass Rush and DT - Space Eater. We just weren’t very big up front. Having someone who can help clog the middle will help force runners outside to deal with tough pass rushers. Whether it’s a Hawkins or Perkins, we need guys who can get pressure and then take down the QB or an RB in the backfield.

Couldn't agree more regarding the DL. We don't get a whole lot of pressure on the QB from the D-line, and we certainly don't rack up a lot of sacks. A big part of that is the fact that most QB's get rid of the ball so quickly. Spack likes to recruit "long" players at the DT/DE positions. Presumably so they can get their hands up and knock down a few passes. We did have some balls tipped at the line, but not enough to make a difference. Problem is that most of those long guys aren't very big coming in, and most are not that strong. They need to get some more size (weight) at the DT/DE positions and keep them on the field as much as possible.

Bringing in the nickel pass rushers usually results in the QB taking off and running because there are so many openings created when the pass rushers are getting pushed outside. It happened way too much this year and the result is that we can't get off the field on third downs as often as we should. We need to have big guys that can get push up the middle quickly and get in the QB's face. Your blitzers can come from anywhere, but you have to clog it up between the tackles and not let the QB scoot through the huge holes up front. I would rather take my chances with most QB's running outside the tackles than right up the middle untouched.

We would have Ridgeway out there in some situations, and at 6'6", 325, he has a lot of size. However, he's not someone who is going to be a stout 5'10" to 6'2" run stopper that just clogs up space. Besides Ridgeway, we had a lot of slimmer guys like you mentioned. Hopefully Ridgeway will earn more time out there, as he has talent, but most teams have DL that seem to go all 4 downs. We were constantly mixing guys in this year. This team really seemed like it needed a Dalton Keene.

We had one DL with 2 sacks - Swaine. Besides Romeo McKnight (3 sacks), nobody had more. Our run defense seemed to net a lot of TFLs on 1st and 2nd down, but we just weren't as good on 3rd down.

 

[Adunk33]

I like the youth of the team and think they have established a good core. The most general wish list would be to bring in as many FBS WR's and DB's as possible. I wouldn't hate having another QB competition either. So, be open an FBS QB transfer. I know Spack likes Davis and I do too, but I also like competition. I want to see what Jefferson can do too.

 

[TIMMY]

DL - Pass Rush and DT - Space Eater. We just weren’t very big up front. Having someone who can help clog the middle will help force runners outside to deal with tough pass rushers. Whether it’s a Hawkins or Perkins, we need guys who can get pressure and then take down the QB or an RB in the backfield.

Couldn't agree more regarding the DL. We don't get a whole lot of pressure on the QB from the D-line, and we certainly don't rack up a lot of sacks. A big part of that is the fact that most QB's get rid of the ball so quickly. Spack likes to recruit "long" players at the DT/DE positions. Presumably so they can get their hands up and knock down a few passes. We did have some balls tipped at the line, but not enough to make a difference. Problem is that most of those long guys aren't very big coming in, and most are not that strong. They need to get some more size (weight) at the DT/DE positions and keep them on the field as much as possible.

Bringing in the nickel pass rushers usually results in the QB taking off and running because there are so many openings created when the pass rushers are getting pushed outside. It happened way too much this year and the result is that we can't get off the field on third downs as often as we should. We need to have big guys that can get push up the middle quickly and get in the QB's face. Your blitzers can come from anywhere, but you have to clog it up between the tackles and not let the QB scoot through the huge holes up front. I would rather take my chances with most QB's running outside the tackles than right up the middle untouched.

We would have Ridgeway out there in some situations, and at 6'6", 325, he has a lot of size. However, he's not someone who is going to be a stout 5'10" to 6'2" run stopper that just clogs up space. Besides Ridgeway, we had a lot of slimmer guys like you mentioned. Hopefully Ridgeway will earn more time out there, as he has talent, but most teams have DL that seem to go all 4 downs. We were constantly mixing guys in this year. This team really seemed like it needed a Dalton Keene.

We had one DL with 2 sacks - Swaine. Besides Romeo McKnight (3 sacks), nobody had more. Our run defense seemed to net a lot of TFLs on 1st and 2nd down, but we just weren't as good on 3rd down.

Our edge pass rushers tend to push or get ridden too far up field leaving lanes for QB's to take off.
I thought Ridgeway did a good job getting some push and 2 gapping the A gaps. But he is limited as a pass rusher and like most 3-4 nose tackles comes out in nickel. That sure does leave us undersized up front. I like our edge guys, but would like our DE's to beef up.

 

[MadBird]

To some degree, I wonder how much the new redshirt rule changed anything? We had some needs and he took the shirt off a few guys, and I don't know that there's anyone who didn't get 4 games that we should count on. But you know, Ridgeway kind of came out of nowhere, so maybe there's someone else out there like that (Zach Mathews maybe counts in that category too, late blooming upper classman).

I think I'm okay with our DB's. Assuming Broadnax stays and learns well in spring and next summer. So, we'd have juniors Devin Taylor, Broadnax, Uphoff, and Srs. Luther Kirk and Willie Edwards. And sophs Charles Woods (started 3 games), and Luke Bennyhoff, got some PT as freshmen this year. Iverson Brown only played in 2 games so would be a RS fresh next year. So I think we come back with a decent group there.

WR, I agree we need some help there. Hard to believe they held anyone back this year who could have helped. Eric Rogers from E.St.Louis has some size, but kept his RS. Freshmen Grimes and Nagel got some PT. Edgar and Haley are back. Edgar showed some good promise, but we're short there.

I'm good with our LB corps, in fact the whole D front seven. You can always use good players, but this group is pretty decent I'd say. Ridgeway, Podkulski, Lewan, Powell, McKnight, Harris, Georgie, Kelly-Martin, Guhl, Deforest, Draka, Vandenburgh, Clark all return and played quite a bit, along with a couple who didn't play so much.

OL, kind of a mystery. Will have 5 guys returning who started - Hirsch, Reints, Himmelman, Bones, Megginson. Cole Anderson played in every game. Otherwise a little thin/untested. Could use some more help here, or good springs for some youngsters.

QB, I'm not sure what to think. Davis should be a solid returnee, having beaten out a 2 year starter for the job. But I don't think any of us is totally confident. Some promising talent on the sideline.

RB, also not sure how we end up the season. If JRob is healthy, or let's say, as long as JRob is healthy, we're in good shape. Brown showed some promise Saturday for a walk on, and I thought Hatfield looked pretty decent in his handful of chances. Brian Adams got a little PT in one game and keeps his RS. Markel Smith?? Is he back, does his head get screwed on straight? We could be sitting very pretty here, or needing some help.

TE looks okay to me.

So, expectations - DB's all come back and improve. OL all come back and improve. D front seven+ maintains and gets stronger and faster. Davis grows into starting role.

Wish list - OC Beathard comes back and has better tools to work with. WR's get some talent infusion from somewhere. RB corps pulls together, maybe gets a transfer. Another O lineman comes in from FBS.

 

[DannyCooksey]

i would like to see the team play better for an entire season. I would like the team to coach better for the entire season.

I have never seen a season derail like this one that wasn't due to injury or some other ridiculous occurrence.

most frustrating football season in many, many years.

 

[fourthandshort]

QB .. jury is still out .. got to work on tiing and accuracy. 50% completion rates kills drives !! Full offseason with Davis should help.

RB .. obviously our best offensive player; but wish Smith were not in and out of doghouse. Hatfield might be decent.

WR ... i think we're going to be ok, going to miss Schnell; Edgar was very nice addition, Haley was bit inconsistent; think we got some young guys that could develop.

TE .. should be ok

OL .. should be good enough.

Defense .. I think we are set at all 3 levels; love our young DL, but just need another pass rusher to help take pressure of McKnight; I like our LBer depth and upside, I love our secondary. Both the run and the pass defense was very good this year, especially considering how few sacks we got. We lost 9 starters from a very tough defense a year ago, and the defense was statistically better this year .. except for sacks .... 33 down to 15 .. everything else was same or slightly better - picks were up from 9 to 15. We are set here ... got enough depth to keep starters honest.

Special teams: KR Uphoff is VERY good, PR is going to miss Schnell, Punter has nice leg ... 1st in MVFC in Gross Punt Avg, and last in Punt Coverage ... also first in KR, but in bottom third in KR cover.

Also, we were last in 3rd conversion on offense ... how can that be with our run game ??

Lastly .. every game we lost (except MoST), we got killed in field position ... need to address the issues that put us in that position. Giving up 200 yards in field position against good teams .... you can bet we will lose 80% or more of those games. Think abou tit, we would need 200 more yards of offense just to get to where the opponent STARTED their drive.

Still love this roster.

 

[Total Red]

I see WR as our biggest need. Schnell will leave a void and there was a drop off after him. Edgar is a building block and Haley will likely stay ahead of a crop of promising freshmen but I think we need to bring in someone that can play right away (FBS or Juco). He needs to be hard to cover and he needs to get open Fast.


After that we need a FG kicker and LB'er could use a boost. We'll lose our leading tackler in Matthews. I had tabbed the Sam LB'er position as a position of strength before the season and it did produce an impressive 13 TFL's (Clark & Kelly-Martin) but I'm greedy and I'd like even more. We have some good young products so we may or may not need immediate help at LB'er. Matthews burst on the scene seemingly out of nowhere but if you watched closely you did see him being very active on special teams in '17. Draka had a good year on special teams this year.


Otherwise I like the players we have. We're losing more depth on the OL than I expected. We knew O'Day and Kanugh were leaving but Baker and Mikkelson were a surprise. I was really counting on Mik for guard depth. Maybe we're getting some help there and freshman Mueller won some scout team honors at G so perhaps that's the future. QB looks to be Davis and then a battle between Smith and Jefferson. Jefferson sure has filled out since HS. Looks like a LB'er All you RPO fans - Jefferson is your guy.

As noted in another thread Running Back is a position known for sudden and dramatic changes. We'll see who returns. Definitely want Markel back and producing. He was born to do this.

I liked the D-Line and the secondary and I like who we have coming back. They performed very well especially when you consider the youth.