Looking Farther Ahead - Jackrabbits

[cpacmel]

Question for Timmy and others:

3:28 left in the game. ISU scores a TD to make 38-20.

What’s the point of kicking the XP?

Math was never my best subject but doesn’t a 2 Pt conversion make much more sense?

 

[bb fan]

Very, very bad last 5 minutes of the second quarter.

 

[vbird]

Question for Timmy and others:

3:28 left in the game. ISU scores a TD to make 38-20.

What’s the point of kicking the XP?

Math was never my best subject but doesn’t a 2 Pt conversion make much more sense?

Wow. That’s awful. What the hell are they thinking on the sideline?

 

[fourthandshort]

Very, very bad last 5 minutes of the second quarter.

yep .. and in those 5 minutes, this game turned into rout on 3 plays .. 2 uncharacteristic fumbles (Schnell, Davis) in red zone (5 and 19 yard lines), and then 3rd TD coming when our DB tripped on that 80+ yard post pattern ... hard to say our DB would have broken it up, but it looked like he was stride for stride when he went down.

But even ignoring that 5 mins to finish the qst half, our field position sucked all game. In 15 drives, we never started a single drive beyond our 25 .. in fact, 6 were inside our 20. SDSU only started 5 drives from their own 25 or less.

So on average over 15 drives for each team, their avg drive started on the 44 yard line, compared to ISU avg on our 20 ... so SDSU averaged 24 yard advantage on each of 15 drives ... that's 360 yards of field position advantage for the game.

With our run game completely stuffed, and sporatic pass game ... it is kind of hard to move chains to improve field position.

 

[ekeyfanclub]

I don't think Davis has looked that good, but he hasn't been put in great situations. When we run twice and then have 3rd and long. It leads to difficult passing situations. If you switched him with Kolbe, I don't think it switches our record. The only game that is debatable is MSU.

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[fourthandshort]

I don't think Davis has looked that good, but he hasn't been put in great situations. When we run twice and then have 3rd and long. It leads to difficult passing situations. If you switched him with Kolbe, I don't think it switches our record. The only game that is debatable is MSU.

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i think a higher % short to intermediate pass game keeps defenses from stacking the box against our run game.

 

[ekeyfanclub]

I agree! Maybe we should call those on 1st and 2nd down. Instead of running twice for no yardage. I loved the swing pass to Robinson at the beginning of the game. We don't do that enough. Robinson is great in space but we don't hardly throw the ball to him.

We need to try to throw more from run formations and run more in passing formations. Spread the field out and run more play action. You can almost always tell if we are running or throwing based on the formation we are in.

I don't think Davis has looked that good, but he hasn't been put in great situations. When we run twice and then have 3rd and long. It leads to difficult passing situations. If you switched him with Kolbe, I don't think it switches our record. The only game that is debatable is MSU.

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i think a higher % short to intermediate pass game keeps defenses from stacking the box against our run game.

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[ChiRedbirdfan]

Question for Timmy and others:

3:28 left in the game. ISU scores a TD to make 38-20.

What’s the point of kicking the XP?

Math was never my best subject but doesn’t a 2 Pt conversion make much more sense?

I agree with you assessment. With that little amount of time remaining better to be down 2td's and need both two point conversions to tie (2 possessions total for 16 points) than to be down 2td's with traditional xps plus also needing an additional field goal to the tie the game (3 total possessions for 17 points). Odds of obtaining two more possessions to score and tie is slim with 3:28 remaining let alone needing 3 possessions to score to tie. I would say that is a poor critical thinking by the ISU staff.

 

[Birdswin]

We should be looking for a new AD anyways, but if they don't make the playoffs because of the St. X game, Larry should be given his walking papers immediately.

Spack doesn’t schedule who he wants to schedule? Pretty sure Dan does most of his own scheduling.

RedbirdSoxFan - this was already discussed extensively before and right after the St. X game. This was 100% scheduled by AD Lyons period. In fact, Spack has little input into the schedule - 8 conference games, 1 non-con vs EIU, usually one FBS - that leaves only one other game. Lyons wanted 6 home games no matter what - end of discussion.

 

[Hamdonger]

Question for Timmy and others:

3:28 left in the game. ISU scores a TD to make 38-20.

What’s the point of kicking the XP?

Math was never my best subject but doesn’t a 2 Pt conversion make much more sense?

Only explanation is they collectively said screw it, game's over. Bad mojo and kinda seems inexcusable either way. ESPECIALLY considering we scored again.

I'm sitting here trying to make sense of it and nothing about it makes sense. Man.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Question for Timmy and others:

3:28 left in the game. ISU scores a TD to make 38-20.

What’s the point of kicking the XP?

Math was never my best subject but doesn’t a 2 Pt conversion make much more sense?

I agree with you assessment. With that little amount of time remaining better to be down 2td's and need both two point conversions to tie (2 possessions total for 16 points) than to be down 2td's with traditional xps plus also needing an additional field goal to the tie the game (3 total possessions for 17 points). Odds of obtaining two more possessions to score and tie is slim with 3:28 remaining let alone needing 3 possessions to score to tie. I would say that is a poor critical thinking by the ISU staff.

 

[MadBird]

Well, after 24 hours to mull it over, still doesn't feel good and still hard to figger . . . . .

The initial kick in the groin of the long TD pass by the Rabbits on the 3rd play of the game was quickly erased by our long TD play. Okay, we're back in this.

Then, both defenses ruled for most of the first half, and it looked like a standoff.

Then, the crap hit the fan and for three minutes we looked like junior HS kids playing the varsity. After that, it never seemed like our guys had the fire to get the job done.

Fourthandshort, I thought of you when Kolbe came in and seemed to get things back on track, had no clue about the injury to Davis at that point. So nice to see Kolbe get a chance and play well. Radio post-game, it sounded like Kolbe was Ted Schmitz's son-in-law or something, he had nothing but praise. Well deserved. Spack too, recognized Kolbe's leadership. Not sure that gets him a start or even more PT.

The biggest puzzle to me was the run game - how in the heck did they shut down JRob like that? Who schemes the run game, the OL coach or the OC?? I mean, come up with some plays for crissakes. Same old dive plays for the most part, poor blocking, etc. Due credit to SDSU, but come on, shouldn't be that hard to come up with a few plays that work.

I really thought, and sort of still think, our OL is big and tough and solid. But they've had some games where they just didn't get the job done. Poor preparation, game planning, or poor performance???

Well then, there's Markel and his penalty. Spack never mentioned his name on the post game, but it was clear he was PO'd at Smith. Too bad Birch did what he did, he might be up the depth chart at this point.

From the "liars figure and figures lie" department, you know, the team rushing stats weren't all that far apart - they end up with 96 and us with 81. But you had the feeling that SOB Mikey was hosing us every carry, while we couldn't get back to the line of scrimmage.

Andrew Edgar staked his claim, at WR, no question. But there's no one else, really (other than Schnell). Maybe Spack is playing the new redshirt game with our freshman receivers, holding them out to gain the RS year, but very hard to believe they can't find some PT in there somewhere. Special mention to all involved, coaches and players, JRob got 5 receptions. At least they were trying to get him the ball in a position where he could do something with it.

I really enjoy our "front seven" D rotation. Podkulski played plenty and pretty well, Jake Powell is getting plenty of PT, Ridgeway is a beast, Lewan, McKnight, Swaine, Harris all showed well. Ryan Guhl and Dylan Draka got their names called a couple times each. Not mentioning the LB's, love them all. Lots of solid hard nosed kids there.

Hard to try to get up off the floor in Cedar Falls. Tall order for our boys. And the Panthers got their kick in the groin in Macomb and will be PO'd too.

Still planning on making it to Hancock for Senior Day and hopefully seeing that miserable sourpuss Bo Pelini get worked over. Hopefully we'll be playing for a spot in the playoffs. Still time to get it pulled together.

 

[Chi-bird]

I think the jumbo formation works just fine ... but mainly against weaker run defenses, like we we were playing up until WIU, NDSU, and SDSU. So agree we need to disguise our run game much better than we did.

Our problem is we (coaches and fans) annointed Davis too fast. He was unproven and hadn't taken meaningful live games snaps since HS. He got off to a good start against weaker competition. But teams scout and learn tendencies about players and offenses. They figured us out ... Davis is too inaccurate and doesn't run like anyone hoped he would. He needed to be brought along more slowly. OC Beathard can't lean on his occassional deep ball capabilities .. that won't move the chains.

We have great RBs .. all we need is a QB who can keep defenses honest and spread out. Kolbe does that, Davis does not. Coaches are responsible for annointing Davis too soon. I hated the comparisons to Roberson ... he was a proven player at Indiana who saw meaningful game reps in Big 10. He was worth the gamble ... and even as he struggled his first 8 games in 2014, he could run and throw a deep ball .. plus we had a very talented senior oriented WR/TE group. I love Schnell (one bone headed play does not discourage me in the least), and love the upside on Edgar and Haley ... but they are all small with small catch radius Betting on an inaccurate QB because he "looks" more comfortable in the pocket was a risky bet. Good defenses were bound to cause us problems. And now our run game is suffering because we are playing much better defenses who have had a chance to scout us.

By the way, I didn't think Kolbe looked at all in sync yesterday. He gutted out some impressive runs, and made some throws. But he was not hitting people in stride and he threw to no one twice ... so someone missed a route adjustment (Kolbe or WR ?). Give him a full week of reps with the 1's .. and he'll start to get his accuracy back. And yes, he will "look" more uncomfortable than Davis in the pocket. But he will gut it out and he will hit open receivers in stride in short to intermediate pass game .. this will take pressure off OL and run game.

Going to platoon now would look foolish as a program. After SIU, I stopped talking about platooning Kolbe because I do agree we need to pick one. Now I don't know what the answer is. I do know Davis needs more time to figure this all out.

Even if Kolbe becomes the starter it does not mean that the coaches made the wrong decision in starting Davis. Players play their way in and out of the lineup.

I hoped that Davis would have played better by now, but he still gives us the best chance to make it to Frisco this year. His best is better than Kolbe’s best. Unfortunately, we might not see his best often enough.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

I think the jumbo formation works just fine ... but mainly against weaker run defenses, like we we were playing up until WIU, NDSU, and SDSU. So agree we need to disguise our run game much better than we did.

Our problem is we (coaches and fans) annointed Davis too fast. He was unproven and hadn't taken meaningful live games snaps since HS. He got off to a good start against weaker competition. But teams scout and learn tendencies about players and offenses. They figured us out ... Davis is too inaccurate and doesn't run like anyone hoped he would. He needed to be brought along more slowly. OC Beathard can't lean on his occassional deep ball capabilities .. that won't move the chains.

We have great RBs .. all we need is a QB who can keep defenses honest and spread out. Kolbe does that, Davis does not. Coaches are responsible for annointing Davis too soon. I hated the comparisons to Roberson ... he was a proven player at Indiana who saw meaningful game reps in Big 10. He was worth the gamble ... and even as he struggled his first 8 games in 2014, he could run and throw a deep ball .. plus we had a very talented senior oriented WR/TE group. I love Schnell (one bone headed play does not discourage me in the least), and love the upside on Edgar and Haley ... but they are all small with small catch radius Betting on an inaccurate QB because he "looks" more comfortable in the pocket was a risky bet. Good defenses were bound to cause us problems. And now our run game is suffering because we are playing much better defenses who have had a chance to scout us.

By the way, I didn't think Kolbe looked at all in sync yesterday. He gutted out some impressive runs, and made some throws. But he was not hitting people in stride and he threw to no one twice ... so someone missed a route adjustment (Kolbe or WR ?). Give him a full week of reps with the 1's .. and he'll start to get his accuracy back. And yes, he will "look" more uncomfortable than Davis in the pocket. But he will gut it out and he will hit open receivers in stride in short to intermediate pass game .. this will take pressure off OL and run game.

Going to platoon now would look foolish as a program. After SIU, I stopped talking about platooning Kolbe because I do agree we need to pick one. Now I don't know what the answer is. I do know Davis needs more time to figure this all out.

Even if Kolbe becomes the starter it does not mean that the coaches made the wrong decision in starting Davis. Players play their way in and out of the lineup.

I hoped that Davis would have played better by now, but he still gives us the best chance to make it to Frisco this year. His best is better than Kolbe’s best. Unfortunately, we might not see his best often enough.

Frisco? Really??

 

[JKL2]

Any word on injuries?

 

[JHBird]

We should be looking for a new AD anyways, but if they don't make the playoffs because of the St. X game, Larry should be given his walking papers immediately.

Spack doesn’t schedule who he wants to schedule? Pretty sure Dan does most of his own scheduling.

RedbirdSoxFan - this was already discussed extensively before and right after the St. X game. This was 100% scheduled by AD Lyons period. In fact, Spack has little input into the schedule - 8 conference games, 1 non-con vs EIU, usually one FBS - that leaves only one other game. Lyons wanted 6 home games no matter what - end of discussion.

I guess if it's a choice between 5 home games, versus 6 home games with St. X then it makes sense. The game sucked for the fans, but at least the weather was nice. Buffalomeat even got to play some.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

This is not hindsight, Davis lack of consistency in his accuracy throwing the ball has been apparent all season long. He hits some on target but even with some completed passes, they were more great catches than accurate throws. The beginning of the schedule was soft...very, very soft. The NDSU game was close on the scoreboard but it looked to me that the Bison took their foot off the pedal in the second half and were just cruising to another win over the Birds. The schedule is into the tougher teams now and it is showing. They stack the box and shut down the run. They seem to be comfortable facing the Redbirds passing game and you can't really blame them. A couple big plays but if you are essentially a running team you have to be able to move the chains and take some pressure off the run game and OL with some consistency or the opponent will just fill the box. I don't care how good you are, if they are putting 8 men in the box it will be hard for the OL to open holes and for the RB's to find open space. I am not saying Kolbe is the answer but the love fest some had with Davis early on was looking through rose-colored glasses. He has some real strengths but consistent accuracy is not one of them. These last two losses were to top-ranked teams but I fear the MoState and StX games may well have done in the Birds chances for a playoff spot this year. I definitely think they have to win out to have any chance of a playoff bid.

 

[StLRedbird]

The biggest puzzle to me was the run game - how in the heck did they shut down JRob like that? Who schemes the run game, the OL coach or the OC?? I mean, come up with some plays for crissakes. Same old dive plays for the most part, poor blocking, etc. Due credit to SDSU, but come on, shouldn't be that hard to come up with a few plays that work.

I really thought, and sort of still think, our OL is big and tough and solid. But they've had some games where they just didn't get the job done. Poor preparation, game planning, or poor performance???

This is not hindsight, Davis lack of consistency in his accuracy throwing the ball has been apparent all season long. He hits some on target but even with some completed passes, they were more great catches than accurate throws. The beginning of the schedule was soft...very, very soft. The NDSU game was close on the scoreboard but it looked to me that the Bison took their foot off the pedal in the second half and were just cruising to another win over the Birds. The schedule is into the tougher teams now and it is showing. They stack the box and shut down the run. They seem to be comfortable facing the Redbirds passing game and you can't really blame them. A couple big plays but if you are essentially a running team you have to be able to move the chains and take some pressure off the run game and OL with some consistency or the opponent will just fill the box. I don't care how good you are, if they are putting 8 men in the box it will be hard for the OL to open holes and for the RB's to find open space. I am not saying Kolbe is the answer but the love fest some had with Davis early on was looking through rose-colored glasses. He has some real strengths but consistent accuracy is not one of them. These last two losses were to top-ranked teams but I fear the MoState and StX games may well have done in the Birds chances for a playoff spot this year. I definitely think they have to win out to have any chance of a playoff bid.

These two comments sum it up for me. Even if you subtract the three mistakes and 21 pts that came with them, the remarks stand as typed. We are vulnerable to having box stacked on us. Roberson made up for the lack of a consistent short/medium passing game with a huge RO threat. Early comments lead us to believe Davis might pose a similar threat. Looks like our O has serious vulnerabilities, particularly against smaller/faster front sevens.

 

[TIMMY]

Question for Timmy and others:

3:28 left in the game. ISU scores a TD to make 38-20.

What’s the point of kicking the XP?

Math was never my best subject but doesn’t a 2 Pt conversion make much more sense?

I didn't see any of the game. Went to Happy Valley. If you've never been...GO.

My pocket chart says go for 2. Kicking makes it a 3 score game. Sounds like throwing in the towel. Did they onside kick? I would guess not.
My pocket chart is 40 this year. Got it from Frank Chiodo. It's kind of a keepsake.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Most teams would kill to have a running game like we have. Even if you stack the box, the running game should be able to get three yards per play. Either the line is not as good as some indicated or the rb’s are not that great.
Once again, I fear I have overdosed on the off-season Kool Aid (like I do for basketball every year).
We’re a middle of the road team in a great conference.
Take away the Roberson season and we’re so mediocre over the last 10 years, it’s laughable...just like basketball.