SIU 10/1

Virginia Redbird

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
2,581
Location
Chesapeake, Virginia
The offense was extremely stagnant in the first half. It felt like last year all over again with the play calling and all. I felt the play calling hand cuffed the offense in the first half and then we opened it up in the second half and played well. Not sure if anyone else felt that way.
Yep, in the second half, the up-tempo offensive helped and they started to throw the ball more downfield. Taula made some nice catches on passes that looked to be behind him. I thought Annexstad made some good decisions and took advantage of open space when the play was breaking down and ended up the leading rusher for ISU. Frankly, that shows how bad the running game was overall when the QB ends up being your leading rusher by 36 yards! (ISU stats, Annexstad 55 yards rushing (not counting lost yardage on sacks) and White next with 19 yards) Little brother Brock Annexstad was the leading receiver for the team with Taula a close second.
The Defense gave up a few big plays and that made the first half look worse than it was I thought. When you consider that SIU has routinely put up 30 points the past couple of games (if the announcers were correct) then keeping them to only 19 points, and all those points scored in one quarter, well not too bad. If the offense had ANY production at all in the first half then I think they win this game. Truthfully, they should have won it anyway. That last series inside the red zone was not very impressive for the Birds. I thought it may have been pass interference on the 4th down play but you cant rely on the referees to win games for you.
 

TIMMY

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
5,437
Location
1050 W Addison
Watching on TV I couldn't understand the play calling down the stretch. But if 3 Oline and a TE are out you have to do something to help out the Oline. Running the ball and play action did that. They were in a position to win the game at the end so I'm not going to complain about that.

I don't like to complain about Refs. It's a pretty thankless job and as a retired AD/coach I don't understand why anyone would do it. But that said I sure as hell see why Spack went off. Brutal.

And to that point, if you think officiating is bad now, it's only going to get worse. There are huge shortages of Refs at the lower levels. Refs are aging out. My 69-year-old brother-in-law is doing 4 football games a week. Go to a high school game. A varsity ref under 50 is the exception, not the rule. Was that chick bad yesterday? Sure, maybe. But she was out there because she's the best the conference could get. And at least she's out there.
 
Last edited:

Total Red

Well-known member
Staff member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
3,143
Location
One mile west of Hancock
Did not realize that 3 offensive lineman were out and TE Deming left early in game.
All 3 of the offensive linemen that were replaced were present and in uniform. Bussone started the game at G and he was replaced by Rios. Pope played the entire game at T in place of Asche. Gudaitis started at G in place of Mueller. Zach Mueller was the only one showing signs of an injury. He was wearing a soft cast on his right wrist. Mueller was enthusiastically warming up after halftime as if he had hopes of playing but Gudaitis continued to play in his place.
 

Total Red

Well-known member
Staff member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
3,143
Location
One mile west of Hancock
In the first half our receivers were not getting separation and Annexstad was throwing into coverage. It's a miracle that he made it through the game without an interception. We cannot expect that to continue. Our rushing attack was rather ineffective. The line did open some holes but they closed quickly. Lampkin and Brown were unable to exploit the brief openings. Nigel White looked the best. The 2nd half was better and I thought Annexstad played extremely well. He continued to take chances throwing the ball but he had no choice at that point. I was really pleased with his quick decisions. He got rid of the ball under pressure and he tucked and ran at opportune times. Zack led the fight back and we had a chance to win towards the end. Like Virginia, I didn't like the non-call on Sobkowicz in the endzone, but we shouldn't have let it come down to that.

Defensively there was some poor coverage, and we had some missed tackles in the first half. Again, obvious improvement in the 2nd half with guys really flying around. Vandenburgh, Okolo, Jordan looked good along the front. You have to credit Baker and the SIU offense. They executed very well in the early scoring drives.
 

Seven

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
532
She told a friend of mine, prior to the game, she had VERY, VERY little experience reffing college or HS fball, but she had reffed a lot of HS bball.
Ted mentioned that the 3 most impactful calls/no calls were her. He also mentioned she had very little experience and blasted the conference for bringing someone up before they were ready.

Tbh, he went a bit overboard and added, “the Salukis didn’t win this game, [insert female ref’s name] won this game”. Leagues are generally coming down on that stuff nowadays.
 

TBS_20

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
1,554
I guess the endzone was too dark in the first half
 

MadBird

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
4,729
Location
Madison, Wisconsin
I've found Ms. Bender listed as a MVFC ref back as far as 2019, and also Pioneer League. A few times, when you google her name, no telling how many other games might be there. Or not. It's possible we've even had her ref our games before,

So, not sure how many games she really has experience with, but she has at least 3+ years of college experience. Can't speak to the HS experience, or how much weight should be given.
 

Redbird15

Active member
Joined
Aug 10, 2019
Messages
325
In the first half our receivers were not getting separation and Annexstad was throwing into coverage. It's a miracle that he made it through the game without an interception. We cannot expect that to continue. Our rushing attack was rather ineffective. The line did open some holes but they closed quickly. Lampkin and Brown were unable to exploit the brief openings. Nigel White looked the best. The 2nd half was better and I thought Annexstad played extremely well. He continued to take chances throwing the ball but he had no choice at that point. I was really pleased with his quick decisions. He got rid of the ball under pressure and he tucked and ran at opportune times. Zack led the fight back and we had a chance to win towards the end. Like Virginia, I didn't like the non-call on Sobkowicz in the endzone, but we shouldn't have let it come down to that.

Defensively there was some poor coverage, and we had some missed tackles in the first half. Again, obvious improvement in the 2nd half with guys really flying around. Vandenburgh, Okolo, Jordan looked good along the front. You have to credit Baker and the SIU offense. They executed very well in the early scoring drives.
In the 1st half receiver we’re getting separation we did not have that much time to release the ball even when they came off edges he could not step up in pocket. Don’t understand sometime the we rotation.Got to give WR and QB feel for game. QB was off even when he pass to #11 he save us adjusting to ball throw high or behind him. We got Buck and Carr why not group them together on field with those guys speed you can’t double on both sides of u do it’s going to leave big TE or WR like #12 open .. with White/Wright in backfield in spread that give opponent’s a lot to think about and would open up running game as well as mismatch with LB if they pass to RB. I saw a few times #0 and #12 wide open tv did not show it
 

Total Red

Well-known member
Staff member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
3,143
Location
One mile west of Hancock
In the 1st half receiver we’re getting separation we did not have that much time to release the ball even when they came off edges he could not step up in pocket. Don’t understand sometime the we rotation.Got to give WR and QB feel for game. QB was off even when he pass to #11 he save us adjusting to ball throw high or behind him.
QB (Annexstad) put a TD pass in the hands of #0 and he couldn't hold on. 0 better hope that Annexstad is the forgiving type. A lot of QBs won't go back to you for a loooong time after dropping a six pointer.

I thought the pass protection was pretty good, especially when you consider that SIU knew we had to throw a lot in the second half. The Redbirds got 2 sacks and 3 QB hurries against Baker/SIU in 19 passing attempts. That means more than 1 in 4 passes were under heavy pressure. SIU got 3 sacks and 6 QB hurries against Annexstad/ISU in 47 passing attempts. Less than 1 in 5 passes were under heavy pressure.
 

Redbird15

Active member
Joined
Aug 10, 2019
Messages
325
QB (Annexstad) put a TD pass in the hands of #0 and he couldn't hold on. 0 better hope that Annexstad is the forgiving type. A lot of QBs won't go back to you for a loooong time after dropping a six pointer.

I thought the pass protection was pretty good, especially when you consider that SIU knew we had to throw a lot in the second half. The Redbirds got 2 sacks and 3 QB hurries against Baker/SIU in 19 passing attempts. That means more than 1 in 4 passes were under heavy pressure. SIU got 3 sacks and 6 QB hurries against Annexstad/ISU in 47 passing attempts. Less than 1 in 5 passes were under heavy pressure.
Second half 1st half not that good. Fact OC recognized to up tempo 2nd half was a plus. The entire 1st 3 quarters was weird for a crowd that big did not seem like a big conference game from stand or players until 4 th quarter we need the 12 man to step up ! We can win the next two games! Small adjustments and no injuries !
 

Bird Friend

Well-known member
Staff member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
12,509
Second half 1st half not that good. Fact OC recognized to up tempo 2nd half was a plus. The entire 1st 3 quarters was weird for a crowd that big did not seem like a big conference game from stand or players until 4 th quarter we need the 12 man to step up ! We can win the next two games! Small adjustments and no injuries !
TBH, the fans had nothing to cheer about until the 2nd half . . . which means they were no longer that into the game.
 

DBird

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
1,173
Watching on TV I couldn't understand the play calling down the stretch. But if 3 Oline and a TE are out you have to do something to help out the Oline. Running the ball and play action did that. They were in a position to win the game at the end so I'm not going to complain about that.

I don't like to complain about Refs. It's a pretty thankless job and as a retired AD/coach I don't understand why anyone would do it. But that said I sure as hell see why Spack went off. Brutal.

And to that point, if you think officiating is bad now, it's only going to get worse. There are huge shortages of Refs at the lower levels. Refs are aging out. My 69-year-old brother-in-law is doing 4 football games a week. Go to a high school game. A varsity ref under 50 is the exception, not the rule. Was that chick bad yesterday? Sure, maybe. But she was out there because she's the best the conference could get. And at least she's out there.
Now thats a true blue response from a former AD. Agree 100%
Dont blame her, she wants to do it and doing her best!! Blame the system and circumatance!!
 

isuquinndog

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
7,235
Location
Redbird Country
A million percent. You think refs are bad now? If parents/coaches don't change attitudes at lower levels those refs aren't going to be there to move up to college/pro.

Think this is hyperbole? Normal vs Normal West varsity baseball this part March had to be cancelled because they couldn't find two umpires. Two of the biggest teams in a 25 mile radius in a 100k person town(s) and they couldn't find two umpires.

It's getting bad, folks. Real bad.
 

gobirds85

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
3,245
A million percent. You think refs are bad now? If parents/coaches don't change attitudes at lower levels those refs aren't going to be there to move up to college/pro.

Think this is hyperbole? Normal vs Normal West varsity baseball this part March had to be cancelled because they couldn't find two umpires. Two of the biggest teams in a 25 mile radius in a 100k person town(s) and they couldn't find two umpires.

It's getting bad, folks. Real bad.

Agree and it's not just officiating. I am quoting out for new insurance for the home, autos and updating my umbrella policy. One of the items listed as " a reason to have an umbrella policy" is if you coach youth sports. People are getting crazy. I have never officiated, but I have coached softball, soccer and bball. It was insane and this was years ago, and it was just much younger kids. People need to understand that not every child is going to make it big and rake in millions. That's just not how it works.

I feel bad for today's coaches and officials.
 

Virginia Redbird

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
2,581
Location
Chesapeake, Virginia
Agree and it's not just officiating. I am quoting out for new insurance for the home, autos and updating my umbrella policy. One of the items listed as " a reason to have an umbrella policy" is if you coach youth sports. People are getting crazy. I have never officiated, but I have coached softball, soccer and bball. It was insane and this was years ago, and it was just much younger kids. People need to understand that not every child is going to make it big and rake in millions. That's just not how it works.

I feel bad for today's coaches and officials.
About 15 years ago both my sons took classes to referee for youth soccer. I thought it was a good idea. They make a few bucks and they both played and knew the game pretty well. Without any doubt, they knew the game better than the majority of the parents! The league was struggling to get enough refs and I took the course as well and began to referee youth soccer games. Within one year all three of us had stopped. I stopped because I would not let my sons referee unless I was on the sideline watching. My eleven-year-old son was refereeing an Under 6 game. The losing coach became so abusive, yelling and cursing at my eleven-year-old that I walked out to the middle of the field and stopped the game myself. A league official removed the coach from the complex and he was eventually banned from coaching.

My own personal theory, with nothing to support it, is that instant replay has caused much of this. There is a maniacal focus to slow things down to such a microsecond to "get it right" and then many times they don't "get it right" anyway. I think this creates a belief that it all should be perfect and it never will be perfect. We now have an expectation that refs will be perfect, and they never will. I hate instant replay and have hated it since it began. It slows down the game and does not always get it right. It also takes the joy and excitement out of the game. Your team scores and everyone jumps and yells and celebrates until we hear those despised, hated, and emotion-killing words, "the play is under further review". There has always been yelling at the ref of course, but I think this perfection expectation has created this hostile environment to some extent. That is my Psychology 101 course coming back to me I guess!
 

Humdinger

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
6,436
Excellent insight by all.

Instant replay, that's very interesting Virginia. You want to shock yourself, watch the replay when they slow it down to 1/10th of live speed, then immediately watch the replay in real time. And we expect these men and women to be perfect. I've been guilty of this, having 4 kids go through athletics. It's hard.

Sports really isn't the problem, it's a societal problem. A big one. Figure out what really matters, folks. Little hint for ya. It ain't sports. (as I type my comments on a fan board for peter's sake)🤦‍♂️
 

fourthandshort

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
9,698
Excellent insight by all.

Instant replay, that's very interesting Virginia. You want to shock yourself, watch the replay when they slow it down to 1/10th of live speed, then immediately watch the replay in real time. And we expect these men and women to be perfect. I've been guilty of this, having 4 kids go through athletics. It's hard.

Sports really isn't the problem, it's a societal problem. A big one. Figure out what really matters, folks. Little hint for ya. It ain't sports. (as I type my comments on a fan board for peter's sake)🤦‍♂️
It doesn't just happen on playing field with parents and refs. It is now very prevalent in our schools with parents and teachers.

It used to be you had a few students you had to deal with, and most parents would work with the teacher to resolve it. Now you have many more difficult students to deal with and most of the parents reflexively defend their kid. Or if it involves bad grades, parents won't pay attention until the quarter is just about over and then suddenly challenge the teacher for their teaching/testing methods, or blame the teacher for not communicating .. even while the parent had 24/7 access to all their kids testing and home work grades the whole time .. and now they expect the teacher to respond to flurry of email and defend their teaching reputation .. or demand som emakeup work to prevent the kid from failing ... all during the last week of the quarter when finals are taken and grades come out,

It is widespread thing ... too many parents won't let themselves or their kids be held accountable. It was happening and slipping before the pandemic. The pandemic understandably stressed everyone to various degrees .. but now it's worse.

So not just losing control of athletic fields and refs, but also the class room anfd teachers .. and they are leaving or retiring early as a result.

p.s. my daughter went ISU for teaching degree, currently teaching in one of the stronger and bigger school districts in the state.
 
Last edited:

TIMMY

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2017
Messages
5,437
Location
1050 W Addison
This fall I've seen a 4 person crew do a varsity football game and a 2 person crew do varsity football soccer. You can kinda get by with 4 in football but they're going to miss stuff. The mechanics of 2 in soccer are terrible. Especially if you've got an old timer. Virginia, I can tell you my biggest headaches were with girls' soccer parents. They didn't know a damn thing about soccer but they sure thought they did!
 
Top Bottom