NIU game thread

[Redbird15]

Brutal to watch easy to fix. Maybe. You throw a football with your feet. If your feet are right everything else follows. There were two problems I saw.

His wrist fires early and the ball sails when he throws off his back foot.

The ball goes low when he doesn't fully extend his arm because he's not setting either foot. Happy feet leads to short arming the ball.

He's gotta crush pebbles with the balls of both feet. His arm will follow and he'll get full extension. He's got it in him. The throws he made with his mechanics right he threw pretty well. He just didn't do it nearly enough.

Totally agree this was my post yesterday ! Brady Davis QB mechanics were all over the place he was throwing using just arm the 1st half and most of the game. Throwing with no foot movement. NIU Defense map out how to stop Robinson hit gaps before he can turn up field. Proctor and the other back have quicker 1st two steps. Why was Offensive Coordinator not going with a 2 man back field even after 1st quarter either with proctor and robinison or with the younger backs ? Why travel with edgar if he was not ready to play ? Redbirds net to utilize bigger target receivers with the faster slots. I rather see two fast slots on the field. It give defense more things to comptemplate . If you travel with 8/9 receivers only use 5.... to much talent on sidelines not to utilize these kids. Winning organizations keeps fresh talent rotating. A tired #1 is not better in an important situation play when you can have a #2 coming in fresh and focus ! PS if Brady throws like this against Morehead they will have a few picks. The 15 yard out pass were weak no zip/speed and inaccurate. Put the 6'6 Baltz in he is more of a pro style QB.

 

[fourthandshort]

I thought there were a couple plays early that there were guys around his feet. That's the worst. Stepping into a throw, planting the ball of your foot and crushing gravel with a 300 lb. fat kid headed for your shin/knee. It can screw up anybody.That and my pus arm is the reason I never played that position.
I think he'll be OK. I thought the end of the game was much better. All QB's go through stuff like this.

No argument but isn't that what Spring Ball and Fall camp and offseason is for? To get the mechanics right? When does it start to show on the field? Most of the comments on this board after the NIU game were out of frustration and in some part because we have all seen this before last season. I agree, all QBs go through stuff like this but some don't ever pull out of it. Problem with Brady right now is he talks really cocky and really big. His play does not back it up yet. If you are going to swagger you better be a Pirate.

I get what you're saying about the cocky stuff. I'll sure take that over withdrawn and mopey. But I get what all y'all are saying and I'll bet the kid gets it too. I've gotta stay positive. Especially this early.

normally would agree about staying positive, especially this early. But I see this situation differently ... we've got 3 games and a bye week to figure this out before MVFC opener .. which just happens to be 7 time champ NDSU. I don't want to be sitting here in middle of October thinking, damn, we should have started getting Jefferson ready sooner.

This roster is loaded, especially on defense and next year it won't be as loaded. So looking at our next 2 years, this year is our better chance for a playoff run .... so while I'm normally a patient guy, I don't want to watch another window close on such a potent roster because we can't figure out pass game and QB position.

Davis is perfectly capable of leading this team, but at some point the walk has to match the talk. We literally have a perfect progress of OOC games coming up .. in ascending order of competion, .. Morehead St, EIU on road, then NAU at home, then a bye week to prepare for NDSU. Very well aligned for a pass offense that needs to work out the kinks. But let's start getting Jefferson more reps, just in case. I doubt Baltz is ready to throw in there ... he's 6'5" and just 190 lbs .. I doubt he is ready to take hits at this level.

BTW .. Edgar was listed as participating in NIU game. My stream was bad and I couldn't tell when he was out there. But we need him back and paired with Grimes ... they should be very potent together once we get this ship righted.

 

[Redbird28]

10 year old daughter's assessment: Kinda boring stadium, bad hot dog. (She also asked several questions to try to understand the game better. She watched the entire game and never tried to get her phone out.)

Wife's assessment: Defense was on the field too long, Quarterback was not good.

My assessment: Their indoor practice facility is nice. It's a nice touch that they line their halls with their MAC title trophies. Gives it a sense of program perspective, that they have an expectation to win. The stadium felt like a larger version of Hancock. Nothing special. I agree with the kid - their hot dogs were not good.

On to the actual game play: I saw Timmy mention it previously, but my insta-reaction during the first half was Davis has happy feet. If he doesn't fix it, he will continue to struggle the rest of the way. It was also probably no coincidence that the rain stopped on the 1 good throw he made for the TD. It was also no coincidence that he stepped up in the pocket and delivered. He wasn't dancing. We were rewarded. We need to see more of that. NIU Run D was legit. They shut us down, and Brady's inability to loosen it up cost us.

Someone asked if Edgar was there. Yes, he was there. In full uniform. Just never saw the field.

Haley needs to catch the ball. Yes, he had a sliding catch, but he also dropped a critical catch on 3rd down that was a nice find by Davis.

Perhaps when Edgar gets back full force, he and Grimes will stabilize the pass catchers.

The East side stands were 85% NIU fans. Most of the students around us took off for Fatty's as the rains continued and they struggled to pull away from us. Right up until the pick 6, it felt tense around us from the student standpoint. As soon as that pick 6 happened they let loose about how much ISU sucks and how we should go back to Bloomington. I just shook my head and laughed, because you could tell throughout that they knew they were in a game.

 

[Jon99]

Given ISU is FCS fan support has been good and as good as it will ever be , IMO. There is no upside with fcs

Its an absolute joke that we are still FCS, we should be embarassed that a directional school is FBS and we are not.

Agree....

Ohio STATE
Washington STATE
Oregon STATE
Arizona STATE
Penn STATE
Michigan STATE
Oklahoma STATE
Mississippi STATE
Louisiana STATE
Iowa STATE
Utah STATE
Kansas STATE

etc...

ISU is doing a great job keeping enrollment where it is, taking football to FCS will only help that effort out even more, although as was shown Sat the actual difference between MVFC and MAC football is very small.. If NIU can do it, we can do it bigger and better, they had 14K people there for their biggest home game of the year, but they someone figure it out.

 

[fourthandshort]

10 year old daughter's assessment: Kinda boring stadium, bad hot dog. (She also asked several questions to try to understand the game better. She watched the entire game and never tried to get her phone out.)

Wife's assessment: Defense was on the field too long, Quarterback was not good.

My assessment: Their indoor practice facility is nice. It's a nice touch that they line their halls with their MAC title trophies. Gives it a sense of program perspective, that they have an expectation to win. The stadium felt like a larger version of Hancock. Nothing special. I agree with the kid - their hot dogs were not good.

On to the actual game play: I saw Timmy mention it previously, but my insta-reaction during the first half was Davis has happy feet. If he doesn't fix it, he will continue to struggle the rest of the way. It was also probably no coincidence that the rain stopped on the 1 good throw he made for the TD. It was also no coincidence that he stepped up in the pocket and delivered. He wasn't dancing. We were rewarded. We need to see more of that. NIU Run D was legit. They shut us down, and Brady's inability to loosen it up cost us.

Someone asked if Edgar was there. Yes, he was there. In full uniform. Just never saw the field.

Haley needs to catch the ball. Yes, he had a sliding catch, but he also dropped a critical catch on 3rd down that was a nice find by Davis.

Perhaps when Edgar gets back full force, he and Grimes will stabilize the pass catchers.

The East side stands were 85% NIU fans. Most of the students around us took off for Fatty's as the rains continued and they struggled to pull away from us. Right up until the pick 6, it felt tense around us from the student standpoint. As soon as that pick 6 happened they let loose about how much ISU sucks and how we should go back to Bloomington. I just shook my head and laughed, because you could tell throughout that they knew they were in a game.

Thanks for insights ... i can well imagine how uptight their fans were as game progressed and it was still tied going into Q4 before 2 fluke plays allowed them to finally relax. If our QB does just adequate job throwing, we're probably up 10 going into Q4.

And your daughter should start her own post game blog of insights .. frankly, t sounds like your just riding her coattails.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

I thought there were a couple plays early that there were guys around his feet. That's the worst. Stepping into a throw, planting the ball of your foot and crushing gravel with a 300 lb. fat kid headed for your shin/knee. It can screw up anybody.That and my pus arm is the reason I never played that position.
I think he'll be OK. I thought the end of the game was much better. All QB's go through stuff like this.

No argument but isn't that what Spring Ball and Fall camp and offseason is for? To get the mechanics right? When does it start to show on the field? Most of the comments on this board after the NIU game were out of frustration and in some part because we have all seen this before last season. I agree, all QBs go through stuff like this but some don't ever pull out of it. Problem with Brady right now is he talks really cocky and really big. His play does not back it up yet. If you are going to swagger you better be a Pirate.

I get what you're saying about the cocky stuff. I'll sure take that over withdrawn and mopey. But I get what all y'all are saying and I'll bet the kid gets it too. I've gotta stay positive. Especially this early.

There is just a lot of frustration at this point. There is a long way to go in this season but I felt that it was just such a waste of a solid defensive performance. Except for the punt muff, the special teams played very well too. The O-line had a very rough night but that is probably one of, if not the best front seven the Birds will see all year. Robinson will pick up his yardage production in the weeks ahead. After the last two dissapointing seasons this team looks to be solid everwhere except one position. Unfortunately it happens to be the most important position QB. I am hoping Brady shows the "it" over the next couple games. I am not saying he should be pulled out of the lineup at all. I am wondering if he does not get it together how long do you wait? ISU has Morehead State, Eastern Illinois and Northern Arizona coming up. Two home games and away to the Panthers. Then the bye week and NDSU to open the MVC. If Brady continues to struggle what move does the coaching staff make? All speculation of course and I sincerely hope Brady starts to get on target and this is a non-issue. If he does not though, how long do you wait to make a QB change. After the EIU game? I don't think you would want to wait until the bye week and toss some new QB to the wolves in the NDSU game. From a coaches perspective Timmy, how long do you wait if Brady continues to struggle? When does the team begin to lose confidence in him if he does not deliver?
I am hoping Brady destroys Morehead State and puts on an aeiral showcase. My Saturday stress levels and blood pressure would go way down if he does!

 

[Redbird28]

10 year old daughter's assessment: Kinda boring stadium, bad hot dog. (She also asked several questions to try to understand the game better. She watched the entire game and never tried to get her phone out.)

Wife's assessment: Defense was on the field too long, Quarterback was not good.

My assessment: Their indoor practice facility is nice. It's a nice touch that they line their halls with their MAC title trophies. Gives it a sense of program perspective, that they have an expectation to win. The stadium felt like a larger version of Hancock. Nothing special. I agree with the kid - their hot dogs were not good.

On to the actual game play: I saw Timmy mention it previously, but my insta-reaction during the first half was Davis has happy feet. If he doesn't fix it, he will continue to struggle the rest of the way. It was also probably no coincidence that the rain stopped on the 1 good throw he made for the TD. It was also no coincidence that he stepped up in the pocket and delivered. He wasn't dancing. We were rewarded. We need to see more of that. NIU Run D was legit. They shut us down, and Brady's inability to loosen it up cost us.

Someone asked if Edgar was there. Yes, he was there. In full uniform. Just never saw the field.

Haley needs to catch the ball. Yes, he had a sliding catch, but he also dropped a critical catch on 3rd down that was a nice find by Davis.

Perhaps when Edgar gets back full force, he and Grimes will stabilize the pass catchers.

The East side stands were 85% NIU fans. Most of the students around us took off for Fatty's as the rains continued and they struggled to pull away from us. Right up until the pick 6, it felt tense around us from the student standpoint. As soon as that pick 6 happened they let loose about how much ISU sucks and how we should go back to Bloomington. I just shook my head and laughed, because you could tell throughout that they knew they were in a game.

Thanks for insights ... i can well imagine how uptight their fans were as game progressed and it was still tied going into Q4 before 2 fluke plays allowed them to finally relax. If our QB does just adequate job throwing, we're probably up 10 going into Q4.

And your daughter should start her own post game blog of insights .. frankly, t sounds like your just riding her coattails.

C'mon man, kids don't blog. They Vlog. So, I'll suggest to her that she starts recording some stuff for her Youtube channel. Who knows, maybe I really could ride her coattails then and retire if she becomes a multimillionaire from ripping in to stadium's hot dogs.

 

[fourthandshort]

10 year old daughter's assessment: Kinda boring stadium, bad hot dog. (She also asked several questions to try to understand the game better. She watched the entire game and never tried to get her phone out.)

Wife's assessment: Defense was on the field too long, Quarterback was not good.

My assessment: Their indoor practice facility is nice. It's a nice touch that they line their halls with their MAC title trophies. Gives it a sense of program perspective, that they have an expectation to win. The stadium felt like a larger version of Hancock. Nothing special. I agree with the kid - their hot dogs were not good.

On to the actual game play: I saw Timmy mention it previously, but my insta-reaction during the first half was Davis has happy feet. If he doesn't fix it, he will continue to struggle the rest of the way. It was also probably no coincidence that the rain stopped on the 1 good throw he made for the TD. It was also no coincidence that he stepped up in the pocket and delivered. He wasn't dancing. We were rewarded. We need to see more of that. NIU Run D was legit. They shut us down, and Brady's inability to loosen it up cost us.

Someone asked if Edgar was there. Yes, he was there. In full uniform. Just never saw the field.

Haley needs to catch the ball. Yes, he had a sliding catch, but he also dropped a critical catch on 3rd down that was a nice find by Davis.

Perhaps when Edgar gets back full force, he and Grimes will stabilize the pass catchers.

The East side stands were 85% NIU fans. Most of the students around us took off for Fatty's as the rains continued and they struggled to pull away from us. Right up until the pick 6, it felt tense around us from the student standpoint. As soon as that pick 6 happened they let loose about how much ISU sucks and how we should go back to Bloomington. I just shook my head and laughed, because you could tell throughout that they knew they were in a game.

Thanks for insights ... i can well imagine how uptight their fans were as game progressed and it was still tied going into Q4 before 2 fluke plays allowed them to finally relax. If our QB does just adequate job throwing, we're probably up 10 going into Q4.

And your daughter should start her own post game blog of insights .. frankly, t sounds like your just riding her coattails.

C'mon man, kids don't blog. They Vlog. So, I'll suggest to her that she starts recording some stuff for her Youtube channel. Who knows, maybe I really could ride her coattails then and retire if she becomes a multimillionaire from ripping in to stadium's hot dogs.

vlog .. crap, that's a new one for me .. anyways, enjoyed your entire family's observations of game. I've been getting a little too engaged lately, so your post was a pleasant diversion for me .... feeling the early season pressure from high expectations .. just like Davis apparently !!!

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

Davis sucked last year, and doesn’t appear he’s gotten any better.