GophersInIowa
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2008
- Messages
- 44,056
- Reaction score
- 26,537
- Points
- 113
After sleeping on it last night, here's my take on everything right now:
1. I think one area we have seen a lot of improvement this year is special teams. Orseske has looked very good this year so far. I'll take a 48 yard punt with no return any day. The coverage teams have done a very good job as well.
2. It's amazing to me how different NDSU played defensively when Shortell came into the game. When Gray was in, they were selling out to the run with 8 and 9 guys in the box. When Shortell was in, the defense backed off and we saw what happened with the run game in the 95 yard drive. I don't know if Shortell starts right now but they should probably share time early in the game next week, and if one seems to be playing better than the other, play him the rest of the way. Gray has to see progress in his decisions and the passing game soon or Shortell should be starting.
3. I don't think our offense was that bad yesterday. We just didn't have the ball the much. We had 8 total offensive possessions. In the first three games of the season, we averaged just under 12 possessions per game. And of the 8 possessions yesterday, just 5 were "regular" possessions. We had the one at the end of the half and the two right at the end of the game where we were in hurry up. Of the 5 "regular" possessions, we scored on four of them.
4. With that said, the short possession at the end of the half was atrocious for many reasons. Calling two run plays with under 25 seconds left shows how little confidence the coaches have in Gray right now. I understand we had a ton of success running the ball the previous drive, so one run wouldn't have been so bad, but not two. McKnight's false start is inexcusable (one was bad enough, but he had another one later in the game, shouldn't happen at all for a WR). I don't know what that Hail Mary pass attempt was.
5. Our defense is just bad everywhere right now. No one played well yesterday. Our D-line still can't get any pressure on the QB. They have no discipline. There were some plays it looked like they just let the OL of NDSU take them wherever they wanted. Our LBs, especially Tinsley played well against USC, but haven't played very well since then in my opinion. And the secondary is just awful. They can't cover anyone. Missed tackles, blown assignments, and just not playing aggressive are the biggest problems right now.
6. I disagree with some who think NDSU was just more talented than us yesterday. I believe we have some good talent, it's just a matter of fundamentals and not making so many mistakes. We saw what our OL could do in the 95 yard drive. Kirkwood and Bennett ran well, but the OL was creating some major holes. Even on defense, there were four or five running plays where our DL just blew up their OL. The talent is there IMO. Not great talent but certainly enough to beat NDSU at home.
7. Either way, there is no excuse for what happened. I don't care how good NDSU is, we should be able to beat them at home. The coach in me is still trying to look at the positives in everything, but it's getting tough right now.
1. I think one area we have seen a lot of improvement this year is special teams. Orseske has looked very good this year so far. I'll take a 48 yard punt with no return any day. The coverage teams have done a very good job as well.
2. It's amazing to me how different NDSU played defensively when Shortell came into the game. When Gray was in, they were selling out to the run with 8 and 9 guys in the box. When Shortell was in, the defense backed off and we saw what happened with the run game in the 95 yard drive. I don't know if Shortell starts right now but they should probably share time early in the game next week, and if one seems to be playing better than the other, play him the rest of the way. Gray has to see progress in his decisions and the passing game soon or Shortell should be starting.
3. I don't think our offense was that bad yesterday. We just didn't have the ball the much. We had 8 total offensive possessions. In the first three games of the season, we averaged just under 12 possessions per game. And of the 8 possessions yesterday, just 5 were "regular" possessions. We had the one at the end of the half and the two right at the end of the game where we were in hurry up. Of the 5 "regular" possessions, we scored on four of them.
4. With that said, the short possession at the end of the half was atrocious for many reasons. Calling two run plays with under 25 seconds left shows how little confidence the coaches have in Gray right now. I understand we had a ton of success running the ball the previous drive, so one run wouldn't have been so bad, but not two. McKnight's false start is inexcusable (one was bad enough, but he had another one later in the game, shouldn't happen at all for a WR). I don't know what that Hail Mary pass attempt was.
5. Our defense is just bad everywhere right now. No one played well yesterday. Our D-line still can't get any pressure on the QB. They have no discipline. There were some plays it looked like they just let the OL of NDSU take them wherever they wanted. Our LBs, especially Tinsley played well against USC, but haven't played very well since then in my opinion. And the secondary is just awful. They can't cover anyone. Missed tackles, blown assignments, and just not playing aggressive are the biggest problems right now.
6. I disagree with some who think NDSU was just more talented than us yesterday. I believe we have some good talent, it's just a matter of fundamentals and not making so many mistakes. We saw what our OL could do in the 95 yard drive. Kirkwood and Bennett ran well, but the OL was creating some major holes. Even on defense, there were four or five running plays where our DL just blew up their OL. The talent is there IMO. Not great talent but certainly enough to beat NDSU at home.
7. Either way, there is no excuse for what happened. I don't care how good NDSU is, we should be able to beat them at home. The coach in me is still trying to look at the positives in everything, but it's getting tough right now.
