08-31-2026, 08:37 PM
A few more comments, because hey it's football season!
msqueri makes great points (as always) on our run blocking, and I now see that I gave our OL too much credit (and maybe our RBs too little). Let's hope we get some starters back, at least by the Duke game. It's really depressing to lose most of our OL every year before the season even starts.
Goose, thanks for the analysis of the blocked kick. I didn't see all the extra points, but the last two would have missed from 30 or 35 yards. Kenney has been decent in the past, so I hope this was just an off night. We can't afford to be afraid to kick field goals.
Timmy Chang's decision to give up with 1:12 to play and one or two timeouts was really bizarre. He pulled the starters and ran out the clock! If Tavita had done this, I would have been furious. William & Mary pulled this exact comeback off a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OF_soE4E0_g
How I will define success on Friday:
1. I'd like to see our OL give Warren a chance to throw the ball, and I'd like to see Ford & Co. have the opportunity to run the ball without being met in the backfield every time. I don't mean 5 yards a carry, I mean gaining yards most plays. This alone would be significant progress over last year. If we completely abandon the run early, it's not a good sign.
2. A DL that can stop the run occasionally and apply some amount of pressure. I'm sure we will give up some big plays. I'm more interested in our physicality.
3. Acceptable FG/XP operation (hopefully we get a few attempts!).
I have no illusions of winning this game. To me, the eye test is more important than the final score. Do we look like a tackle football team, or do we look like a flag football team on offense doing whatever we can to misdirect and avoid physical confrontation? If we have to resort to contrived playcalling to keep the big boys away from us, we're farther than I hoped.
msqueri makes great points (as always) on our run blocking, and I now see that I gave our OL too much credit (and maybe our RBs too little). Let's hope we get some starters back, at least by the Duke game. It's really depressing to lose most of our OL every year before the season even starts.
Goose, thanks for the analysis of the blocked kick. I didn't see all the extra points, but the last two would have missed from 30 or 35 yards. Kenney has been decent in the past, so I hope this was just an off night. We can't afford to be afraid to kick field goals.
Timmy Chang's decision to give up with 1:12 to play and one or two timeouts was really bizarre. He pulled the starters and ran out the clock! If Tavita had done this, I would have been furious. William & Mary pulled this exact comeback off a few days ago: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OF_soE4E0_g
How I will define success on Friday:
1. I'd like to see our OL give Warren a chance to throw the ball, and I'd like to see Ford & Co. have the opportunity to run the ball without being met in the backfield every time. I don't mean 5 yards a carry, I mean gaining yards most plays. This alone would be significant progress over last year. If we completely abandon the run early, it's not a good sign.
2. A DL that can stop the run occasionally and apply some amount of pressure. I'm sure we will give up some big plays. I'm more interested in our physicality.
3. Acceptable FG/XP operation (hopefully we get a few attempts!).
I have no illusions of winning this game. To me, the eye test is more important than the final score. Do we look like a tackle football team, or do we look like a flag football team on offense doing whatever we can to misdirect and avoid physical confrontation? If we have to resort to contrived playcalling to keep the big boys away from us, we're farther than I hoped.