evolution

[Schnoodler]

It was nice to see a glimpse of a scheme today even if maybe we were exposed a little/lot on the run game. Also nice to see some new/young guys starting to appear.

Hayo looked fast albeit tentative, gray contributed, cooper looked good. Cedric ones again had some nice contributions. Oh, and Allen effed up a bit but I'll give him the bennie since he was probably discombobulated, but it was still good to see him in getting exposure.

Oh, and since it probably won't get mentioned, our special teams looked great compared to Cal.

Anybody else?

 

[RedPoo]

It was nice to see a glimpse of a scheme today even if maybe we were exposed a little/lot on the run game. Also nice to see some new/young guys starting to appear.

Hayo looked fast albeit tentative, gray contributed, cooper looked good. Cedric ones again had some nice contributions. Oh, and Allen effed up a bit but I'll give him the bennie since he was probably discombobulated, but it was still good to see him in getting exposure.

Oh, and since it probably won't get mentioned, our special teams looked great compared to Cal.

Anybody else?

I'm not an expert in these matters by any measure, but I thought Cooper looked great. Was this his first extended time out there with the defense? He was all over the place early in the game.

 

[caliGopher]

Cal Special Teams

It was nice to see a glimpse of a scheme today even if maybe we were exposed a little/lot on the run game. Also nice to see some new/young guys starting to appear.

Hayo looked fast albeit tentative, gray contributed, cooper looked good. Cedric ones again had some nice contributions. Oh, and Allen effed up a bit but I'll give him the bennie since he was probably discombobulated, but it was still good to see him in getting exposure.

Oh, and since it probably won't get mentioned, our special teams looked great compared to Cal.

Anybody else?

Totally agree with you on this. For a top 10 team, Cal's kicking and return games are pathetic. Some of that may be similar to our kick return philosophy circa 2003. Just catch the ball. Best (or in our case Asad, Tapeh, Barber and Maroney) will take care of the rest.

Our return game is excellent this season, and provided nearly as many yards as the offense in the first half.

 

[Gdizzle]

nm

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels.

Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round.

I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.

Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.

When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc., Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A., along with a 3x5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes."

This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money." I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion.

There can be only one.

 

[JackiO]

I'm not an expert in these matters by any measure, but I thought Cooper looked great. Was this his first extended time out there with the defense? He was all over the place early in the game.

Honestly, I thought Cooper looked like our most athletic defender yesterday and showed why he gave triplet a run for his money earlier during the season. He's going to be a beast.

 

[tikited]

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels.

Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round.

I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior. I have hypothesized that the blue M&Ms as a race cannot survive long in the intense theater of competition that is the modern candy and snack-food world.

Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen, or pointier, or flatter than the rest. Almost invariably this proves to be a weakness, but on very rare occasions it gives the candy extra strength. In this way, the species continues to adapt to its environment.

When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc., Hackettstown, NJ 17840-1503 U.S.A., along with a 3x5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes."

This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money." I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion.

There can be only one.

And that is exactly why our special teams are performing well this season.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

The younger guys were definitely making a difference - a sign of good things to come. I'd like to see Gray get some snaps to see how good his arm is and to see if he can scramble. Maybe next year we'll have a big, fast running back, too - a true freshman.

 

[BBShopGo4]

Heading in the right direction

I think this is a great, and IMHO right, way to look at things. I saw a number of things both during and after the game that tell me that things are moving in the right direction. Brew is evolving this team into a much better product. We saw yesterday that there is still a ways to go in some areas, there is much to be excited about.

- First and foremost, I love the heart on this team. Many teams would have folded up an gone home after the two quick TDs. These guys came back out swinging and really played well for a major portion of the game. Holding Best down in the second half (yard-wise, 13 for 17 yards?). Are you kidding me? This guy is a legit Heisman candidate on a top 10 team. That's some good football. Now they have to learn how to make more plays and finish. Cal was just too talented across the board and it showed.

- There are definitely more play makers on the squad then in years past. Look at the youngsters working their way into rotation. Cooper has been highlighted and I agree. Tinsley had some nice plays. Stoudamire, Green, Gray, Kirksey, Edwards and Carter look like players. They need to get some experience, but the talent level has definitely increased and with additional similar recruiting classes, I don't see how anyone can doubt that the direction is good.

- Significantly improved Special Teams with more improvement expected. We've got a kicker that we trust, 1 punter that looks like he'll be special and a very servicable backup. We have a kicker recruit who appears to have a crazy-strong leg. And our return game has been very dangerous with sophomores and freshmen back there. The future looks bright here!

- No one within the program is willing to accept the Moral Victory. All the quotes I've heard are saying that they know that they needed to make the plays that were out there for them. Brewster is looking to win these games, not just be competitive. That's the attitude I want from my coach and players.

This team just needs more play makers at all spots on the field. You can't get them all in one recruiting class. On D, the LBs and DTs are playing much better this year. We still need some more play makers in the secondary and at DE. On O, it's obviously OL and RB. I like what I see in the future at WR and QB. Just gotta keep recruiting and raising the talent level. We don't have enough talent to beat the big boys regularly...yet. But I like where this is going.

Go Gophers!