It's off to Westworld to face the Western Cockroaches. That's what I respectfully call them and I do mean respectfully, it's a compliment. You can pound and pound WIU until you're sure the team is dead and then they come back and beat you. Ask Youngstown St. The Penguins had the 'roaches down 35-7 in Youngstown and WIU came back to win 38-35.
You also have to respect the WIU QB Connor Sampson. There are different ways to deal with pass rush pressure. Sampson has ordinary feet but he has a very quick release and he's a great decision maker. He's built in the Dan Marino mold. We put a ton of pass rush pressure on him in the spring but he made very few mistakes. Sampson was sacked 3 times and the Redbirds also had 7 QB hurries. Under heavy pressure Sampson only completed only 22 of 42 attempts but none of the sacks were far from the line of scrimmage and he never threw an interception. With Sampson it's a quick read, quick release, and if the play isn't there he throws it away.
I expect our offense to remain as it has been. We'll pound the ball and wait for the big play. It could come from the passing game if a WIU defender misses a tackle but I'd be surprised if there's more than 1 or 2 deep balls even attempted. Jefferson did connect on a 58-yard pass play against Western in the spring but that was a blown coverage that left the receiver ridiculously wide open in the deep middle. Even then the receiver had to come back to get the ball and he was tackled. It fluttered coming out of Jefferson's hand suggesting he may have lost some grip.
I'm still basking in the win at SD but hopefully the team has moved on is prepared for 4 quarter cockroach crunching in Macomb.
Battle on 'Birds
You also have to respect the WIU QB Connor Sampson. There are different ways to deal with pass rush pressure. Sampson has ordinary feet but he has a very quick release and he's a great decision maker. He's built in the Dan Marino mold. We put a ton of pass rush pressure on him in the spring but he made very few mistakes. Sampson was sacked 3 times and the Redbirds also had 7 QB hurries. Under heavy pressure Sampson only completed only 22 of 42 attempts but none of the sacks were far from the line of scrimmage and he never threw an interception. With Sampson it's a quick read, quick release, and if the play isn't there he throws it away.
I expect our offense to remain as it has been. We'll pound the ball and wait for the big play. It could come from the passing game if a WIU defender misses a tackle but I'd be surprised if there's more than 1 or 2 deep balls even attempted. Jefferson did connect on a 58-yard pass play against Western in the spring but that was a blown coverage that left the receiver ridiculously wide open in the deep middle. Even then the receiver had to come back to get the ball and he was tackled. It fluttered coming out of Jefferson's hand suggesting he may have lost some grip.
I'm still basking in the win at SD but hopefully the team has moved on is prepared for 4 quarter cockroach crunching in Macomb.
Battle on 'Birds
