The time for talking is over ... let the games begin!

[Virginia Redbird]

It is always interesting to read and particiapte in this forum. We have all expressed our opinons on a variety of topics but now ... finally ... the time for talking is over and it is time to play the games! I have made some comments on Brady Davis about being inconsistent last year but I am excited to see him this year and am pulling for him to have a great season leading the Redbird attack. Robinson, can you believe he is a senior already? He should be a domnate force for the Birds. The defense and O-line look to be solid. The receiving corps and special teams have some questions but we will find out the answers in a short time now. The thing I am most hoping for this season is consistent performance and not have the mid season slump or losing that game they should win. We have seen that all too often the past few seasons. I am hoping for some extra games in the playoffs this season. We will all see how the 2019 Redbirds will fare over the next several weeks.
For now it is almost opening day, go beat the Huskies in Dekalb, make some noise in the MVFC and earn a playoff berth! Win this game!
Go Redbirds!

 

[fourthandshort]

nice post virginia

After another season of showing so much promise, but then falling short ... and 3 straight seasons of similar promising highs laced with a couple deflating lows .. and now coming into this season having that same sense of optimism ... I don't think it is much of an exaggeration to say this has been a very long offseason. I l kidded about it a lot, but it was partly true.

Now ... dare I say the planets seem to be aligning and look very favorable again .. but none of this optimism matters unless it shows up on field .. consistently, especially as we grind thru the season. Our SOS this year is going to be tougher than a year ago .. NIU is clearly better than CSU, EIU shoul be better than a year ago plus we play there, add a 12th game against playoff contender NAU (think we owe them one, their QB is back and healthy), and then the MVFC conference looks to be stronger/deeper this year than it was a year ago as well.

But so are we, and that should be the difference this year .. some maturity, more familiarity, lot coming back, couple new pieces to shore up the 2 deep. BUt think back to one year ago ... we were debating who should be QB .. which inevitably probably caused some uncertainty and instability with Davis and Kolbe splitting reps equally. 2 different QB skill sets and leadership styles. It probably set us back a bit while they tried to figure out if summer transfer Davis would be ready. It certainly changed and narrowed the playbook some taking over for a 2 year starter.

Now fast forward to now ... seeing the Next Step videos and how clearly it shows Davis taking over this team. That's not just important in season or during fall camp. It is just as important in offseason with OTAs. ... those reps instill familiarity and eventually confidence. Not just for each player, but collectively. That was missing a year ago.

Davis leadership thru thick and thin ... and there will be thin, so deal with it .... is critical to upcoming season. Competition at every position is always a good thing. But while 100% necessary, it might have been too disruptive last August. Season started, we came out fast and confident on offense, but faded just as quickly .. and we struggled to overcome it.

This is Davis's team .. Robinson is our best player, the defense is our strength .. and we need to lead with that. Our 2 deep looks the strongest it has been since 2014 ... I think our 2nd string looks more potents in 2019 than it was in 2014. But this is Davis's team .. his leadership thru the ups and downs will be critical. He will have off days, but he still needs to lead this group .. especially the young WRs.

Right now, this year feels different .. hope I'm right this time.

 

[TIMMY]

I'm with you 4th. This year feels different!

X's and O's or Bobby's and Joe's.

While I love the X's and O's football come down to the guys you have out there. I'm most interested in how we try to match up with NIU. It'll tell me a lot about how we're going to attack this season. Will Robinson and Proctor be on the field at the same time? Proctor could be a tough match-up. Do you cover him with a LB or DB? I expect we'll see the normal 10, 11, and 21 personnel packages with a smattering of 2 RB, 2 TE sets (22 personnel). Who's going to catch the ball? We lost a fine receiver and that position worries me the most. Will Davis be better? I think he will be. If we have to worry about him It'll be a long year.

On defense who comes out this year in nickel? Will it be the nose or the end. Who goes in? Special pass rushers? I'd like to see McKnight and Fehrmann out there at the same time when we go nickel.
Who will the nickel and dime backs be? There's a pretty good chance our nickel will be out there most of the game.

Can we kick a field goal this year?

Well there are no end zone seats in DeKalb and they don't seem to have an option to stand under the goal post like I do at home games so I'll have to stand in the last row of the east stands. My wife hates me.

It's gonna be great to see ISU football get started. I was able to see 3 H.S. games last week. We start early up here. Let's get the college thing going.

Grab a win fellas. It's there for the taking. Take it.

 

[Redbird28]

I'm with you 4th. This year feels different!

X's and O's or Bobby's and Joe's.

While I love the X's and O's football come down to the guys you have out there. I'm most interested in how we try to match up with NIU. It'll tell me a lot about how we're going to attack this season.

Heard NIU new head coach reference more than once that we are built like a Big Ten team. He said he expects us to get off the bus looking the part from a size standpoint. He also said he expects a full 4 quarter game that is very physical. Long story short, they aren't taking us lightly, at least from a coach speak standpoint.

What I also think is that his giddiness over having no film and thus no tendencies on said film isn't really that big of an advantage. We know about his OC from his SDSU days. All we have to do is watch Jackrabbit tape and we are going to know what his tendencies are from his past. The only potential advantage would be possible wrinkles that the HC might force him to toss in there, but if NIU operates like most other FBS schools they will try to stay as vanilla as possible so they don't tip their hand for the rest of their games vs other FBS schools.

They also lost a LB this week that will not play against us.

I hope we come out firing on all cylinders. If we do, I like our chances.

 

[Sanantoniobird]

18' Colorado St-W (6-5)
16' Northwestern-W (6-6)
I think in the recent-term, it hasn't really mattered if we pulled out an FBS win. It sure feels good to win, but does not lead to, or prove that we are ready for the MVFC grind.

15' Iowa-L (10-3)
Yes, this was probably a top 10 team, but they put us in our place with a chip on our shoulder.
Point that I'm making is that, not sure I really care on the outcome. Just as I long we are on the road to Frisco by November.

 

[ISUBU]

18' Colorado St-W (6-5)
16' Northwestern-W (6-6)
I think in the recent-term, it hasn't really mattered if we pulled out an FBS win. It sure feels good to win, but does not lead to, or prove that we are ready for the MVFC grind.

15' Iowa-L (10-3)
Yes, this was probably a top 10 team, but they put us in our place with a chip on our shoulder.
Point that I'm making is that, not sure I really care on the outcome. Just as I long we are on the road to Frisco by November.

A loss doesn't really hurt you, but that 2016 win over NU put us in the playoffs. It was the difference between getting in and staying home. Of course we then lost a very winnable playoff game on the road at Central Arkansas. But in general, I agree with you.

 

[Redbird28]

18' Colorado St-W (6-5)
16' Northwestern-W (6-6)
I think in the recent-term, it hasn't really mattered if we pulled out an FBS win. It sure feels good to win, but does not lead to, or prove that we are ready for the MVFC grind.

15' Iowa-L (10-3)
Yes, this was probably a top 10 team, but they put us in our place with a chip on our shoulder.
Point that I'm making is that, not sure I really care on the outcome. Just as I long we are on the road to Frisco by November.

I want to win them all, including every game on the road to Frisco and in Frisco, but I understand where you're coming from.

 

[Sanantoniobird]

18' Colorado St-W (6-5)
16' Northwestern-W (6-6)
I think in the recent-term, it hasn't really mattered if we pulled out an FBS win. It sure feels good to win, but does not lead to, or prove that we are ready for the MVFC grind.

15' Iowa-L (10-3)
Yes, this was probably a top 10 team, but they put us in our place with a chip on our shoulder.
Point that I'm making is that, not sure I really care on the outcome. Just as I long we are on the road to Frisco by November.

I want to win them all, including every game on the road to Frisco and in Frisco, but I understand where you're coming from.

Even with that said above, I still think we owe them a beating from 2000, when they stole ol’ Red Boot’s playbook [emoji38]