crazzymark
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2017
- Messages
- 1,908
To bad Zeke didn't come back for a grad year but I like the QB ISU got in the portal. He will do great next season for the Redbirds. Alright!!!
Do you mean Zack?To bad Zeke didn't come back for a grad year but I like the QB ISU got in the portal. He will do great next season for the Redbirds. Alright!!!
When have they sent WR on a fly route and who has the speed for separation. Um we see that maybe 4x a yearKid has a strong arm just open up the fly route and let it fly
But, am I wrong?
When have they sent WR on a fly route and who has the speed for separation. Um we see that maybe 4x a year
Dan is adept at fade passes to the endzone, not deep fly patterns.Dan had more than 4 that went for TDs on his own
I guess we'll find out next season, right ?But, am I wrong?
Exaggerated but do agree somewhat with your point. I love spreading the field wide in the pass game. But do feel like we did it too much last year .. yet I loved the progress in our pass game, and will admit I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, relative to the last 7 seasons, since 2016, Kolbe's fist year starting. But still, I wished we used middle/deep ball more than we did with our WRs. Did very well with TE over the middle. But just need more balls middle/deep to our WRs.When have they sent WR on a fly route and who has the speed for separation. Um we see that maybe 4x a year
This is just my opinion, but I think people underestimate how badly the program was staggered in '20'21. Dial the clock back to Aug '20. 'Birds are #9 pre-season, but the season isn't played that fall. In Sep, Beathard is fired. The roster erodes until they finally play the FCS schedule in the spring of '21. Spack went into the season depleted, suffered injuries in both lines, and abruptly pulled the plug after a demoralizing 1-3 season. The roster erosion continued. Then the portal doors swung open.SDSU may be the only game in town but they win with out-of-state talent. 79 out-of-state kids on that roster. 11 from Illinois. To me, that's looney tunes. I live in Wisconsin and there's no way I'd spend a winter up there.
Spack was on his way toward building that kind of culture. Frisco was on the brink of getting there. What happened? Beats me. I'll tell you this though. SDSU isn't great because of their wide-open "modern" offense that's passed Spack by. They are a run-first team by a wide margin.
Agreed and good add'l points made about headwinds since the 2019 season. Though many will say it is just bad excuses .. whatever you call it, it was a lot to overcome.This is just my opinion, but I think people underestimate how badly the program was staggered in '20'21. Dial the clock back to Aug '20. 'Birds are #9 pre-season, but the season isn't played that fall. In Sep, Beathard is fired. The roster erodes until they finally play the FCS schedule in the spring of '21. Spack went into the season depleted, suffered injuries in both lines, and abruptly pulled the plug after a demoralizing 1-3 season. The roster erosion continued. Then the portal doors swung open.
I don't think Spack handled this series of unfortunate events as well as he could have, and I purposely chose that word over should. But in retrospect I think it's harsh to criticize a string of 3 6-5s as the program recovered from it, which is an albatross some are hanging from his head. I'm a cup half full kinda guy. Still, I think the future looks as bright as it has in a while in our two primary sports.
I think the word is "should" have. He is the Head Coach after all. He is solely responsible. It is easy to lead when things are rosy, we find out how good a leader is when the times are tough. That is when your leaders need to step up. Add in the two failed Co-Offensive Coordinator experiments and Spack did not distinguish himself at all during that time. If the fallout of those years led to the multiple 6-5 seasons he owns that as well. The injuries of course are not a factor a coach can control and Covid was a difficult time but a lot of other coaches saw their programs through the Covid situation. I give the most credit for the resurgence of the offense to Peterson. Good hire by Spack but I think Peterson's impact on the offense is obvious.This is just my opinion, but I think people underestimate how badly the program was staggered in '20'21. Dial the clock back to Aug '20. 'Birds are #9 pre-season, but the season isn't played that fall. In Sep, Beathard is fired. The roster erodes until they finally play the FCS schedule in the spring of '21. Spack went into the season depleted, suffered injuries in both lines, and abruptly pulled the plug after a demoralizing 1-3 season. The roster erosion continued. Then the portal doors swung open.
I don't think Spack handled this series of unfortunate events as well as he could have, and I purposely chose that word over should. But in retrospect I think it's harsh to criticize a string of 3 6-5s as the program recovered from it, which is an albatross some are hanging from his head. I'm a cup half full kinda guy. Still, I think the future looks as bright as it has in a while in our two primary sports.
How much is Beathard missed?I think the word is "should" have. He is the Head Coach after all. He is solely responsible. It is easy to lead when things are rosy, we find out how good a leader is when the times are tough. That is when your leaders need to step up. Add in the two failed Co-Offensive Coordinator experiments and Spack did not distinguish himself at all during that time. If the fallout of those years led to the multiple 6-5 seasons he owns that as well. The injuries of course are not a factor a coach can control and Covid was a difficult time but a lot of other coaches saw their programs through the Covid situation. I give the most credit for the resurgence of the offense to Peterson. Good hire by Spack but I think Peterson's impact on the offense is obvious.
I am not trying to hammer Spack, He has done great things for Redbird football. I am not in the fire Spack camp either. I also will not ignore his short comings. I talked in another post about building a winning program culture. I am not convinced that Spack has the ability to do that. He has been in Normal a long time now. In my view he is a carbon copy (carbon copy...dating myself) of Lovie Smith. A great defensive coach but could not find an offense to save his soul. A solid football coach that will give mostly winning seasons but overall turns out mediocre teams. Not bad teams by any stretch but not great either. Every now and then he may have that magical season where things go great and the fan base uses those memories to hope the next magical season is just around the corner. It has been almost a decade since the Redbirds were the FCS runner up. Since that championship game the Birds opponent, NDSU, has won four more national titles (2017, 2018, 2019, & 2021). NDSU was the national runner up in 2022. They made the semi-finals in 2016 and the quarterfinals in 2020 (if you want to count that year).
A little perspective, Spack's record since that National Championship appearance and 10-3 record the following year in 2015 is:
2016 - 6-6
2017 - 6-5
2018 - 6-5
2019 - 10-5
2020 - 1-3*
2021 - 4-7
2022 - 6-5
2023 - 6-5
I took the records off the GoRedbirds.com site. I am not a Spack hater but how could anyone look at this record and not see it as just mediocre? Maybe next year is the next magical season, maybe not. We will all find out next fall.
Hey, wasn't that Redbird run in 2014/15 great? How about those '85 Bears, huh? Being a football fan in Illinois is NOT for the weak!
Will you put this in Crosscountry terms Timmy so we can understand?Fly, seam, go, fade. Haven't heard fly in a while but I get what he's saying. Mostly fade or seam depending. If you're going to the sideline it's a fade. If you are splitting a zone it's a seam. The kid runs a helluva fade. He really does. Bob Hayes ran a fly because he ummm could.
Pre ran fades. Hayes ran flys.Will you put this in Crosscountry terms Timmy so we can understand?
FYI I get Bob Hayes!!
Got it!!Pre ran fades. Hayes ran flys.