Too Long in the Wasteland
Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 890
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 16
THE GOOD:
1.We won - This team really needed a W, and they deserved it. I could tell they were jacked up even during the pregame warmups. Much more energy than last week.
2.Coach Kill - Great to see him on the field. It is disturbing that he was having seizures well past Saturday, and I agree with Powers that the U was not exactly forthcoming on all this (although columnists do get pissy when news scoops aren't handed to them on a platter; Is Powers getting to be like Sid in his old age?). But it was nice to see Kill out there jawing at the refs (he had plenty of things to complain about)
3.Gray - He's definitely improving, especially on the running side. Credit Limegrover for designing and calling plays that exploit Gray's talents. Time will tell if Gray is the answer long term, and hopefully the coaches will figure out ways to get Shortell in there for more than just being a decoy, now that we've burned his redshirt.
4.A couple of really key defensive plays. The pick, the blocked punt, and the last play as time expired. Our run D was fairly solid all game, too.
5.Kirkwood - Our running game still leaves a lot to be desired, but it showed signs of life. Need more improvement here, as Gray won't last past October if he has to carry the rock as much as he did yesterday into BT season.
6.The pass rush - Again, it wasn't great, but at least we got some pressure on the QB, especially on key downs. I'm just putting this in the good category as it was an order of magnitude better than the previous 2 games. They still need to bring the QB down, and not just chase him in circles for 10 seconds (see below)
THE BAD
1.Our pass D. Still getting lit up on too many big plays. Part of it is still the lack of a consistent pass rush, but that TD throw when the QB was running for his life was inexcusable.
2.This team doesn't have a killer instinct. Yet. Right after that INT in the first half, if we drive for a TD, the game is over (we're up 20-3). Instead, we basically go 3 and out, and then Miami drives for a TD right before halftime
3.Gray's pocket presence. Like I said, Gray is getting better, but he's still woefully unaware of what's going on around him, particularly when the pocket's collapsing. He took a couple of avoidable sacks. I've yet to see him just throw the ball away. Hopefully that comes with time.
THE UGLY[/B]
1.The reffing. You'd think occasionally we would get home cooking in our own house. That first Miami TD was right in front of our seats (section 105). I haven't had a chance to watch the replay yet, but WTF wasn't that play reviewed??? It sure looked to me like the Miami player's knee was down before he reached the end zone. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but you'd think the refs would have wanted to review it. It appeared that the refs had a conference on the field, but was the guy up in the booth out getting a hot dog?
2.The Traffic -My wife is a Miami alum, so we were at the McNamara center for an alumni event (one could ask why we're allowing the visiting team to have an event there. I'm sorta OK with that for a MAC team, but I'd be pizzed if there were a bunch of pig farmers in there when we play Iowa). We parked in the ramp right next door on University, as that came with the alumni event tix. After the game we took one look at the gridlock and went to Village Wok for dinner (great food!). Even at 7PM, there was still a huge line to get out of that ramp, and it took us the better part of half an hour to get onto EB I-94. I usually park on University over by the M club lot, as we have friends there we tailgate with, and I should have just stayed on University back to St. Paul last night. Still, the traffic was stupefying. The U talks about improving the fan experience to generate ticket sales, and getting home after the game is part of the experience. Granted, given the game hardly anyone left before the final whistle, and there seemed to be a big tie-up with WB 94 which screwed everything else up.
1.We won - This team really needed a W, and they deserved it. I could tell they were jacked up even during the pregame warmups. Much more energy than last week.
2.Coach Kill - Great to see him on the field. It is disturbing that he was having seizures well past Saturday, and I agree with Powers that the U was not exactly forthcoming on all this (although columnists do get pissy when news scoops aren't handed to them on a platter; Is Powers getting to be like Sid in his old age?). But it was nice to see Kill out there jawing at the refs (he had plenty of things to complain about)
3.Gray - He's definitely improving, especially on the running side. Credit Limegrover for designing and calling plays that exploit Gray's talents. Time will tell if Gray is the answer long term, and hopefully the coaches will figure out ways to get Shortell in there for more than just being a decoy, now that we've burned his redshirt.
4.A couple of really key defensive plays. The pick, the blocked punt, and the last play as time expired. Our run D was fairly solid all game, too.
5.Kirkwood - Our running game still leaves a lot to be desired, but it showed signs of life. Need more improvement here, as Gray won't last past October if he has to carry the rock as much as he did yesterday into BT season.
6.The pass rush - Again, it wasn't great, but at least we got some pressure on the QB, especially on key downs. I'm just putting this in the good category as it was an order of magnitude better than the previous 2 games. They still need to bring the QB down, and not just chase him in circles for 10 seconds (see below)
THE BAD
1.Our pass D. Still getting lit up on too many big plays. Part of it is still the lack of a consistent pass rush, but that TD throw when the QB was running for his life was inexcusable.
2.This team doesn't have a killer instinct. Yet. Right after that INT in the first half, if we drive for a TD, the game is over (we're up 20-3). Instead, we basically go 3 and out, and then Miami drives for a TD right before halftime
3.Gray's pocket presence. Like I said, Gray is getting better, but he's still woefully unaware of what's going on around him, particularly when the pocket's collapsing. He took a couple of avoidable sacks. I've yet to see him just throw the ball away. Hopefully that comes with time.
THE UGLY[/B]
1.The reffing. You'd think occasionally we would get home cooking in our own house. That first Miami TD was right in front of our seats (section 105). I haven't had a chance to watch the replay yet, but WTF wasn't that play reviewed??? It sure looked to me like the Miami player's knee was down before he reached the end zone. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but you'd think the refs would have wanted to review it. It appeared that the refs had a conference on the field, but was the guy up in the booth out getting a hot dog?
2.The Traffic -My wife is a Miami alum, so we were at the McNamara center for an alumni event (one could ask why we're allowing the visiting team to have an event there. I'm sorta OK with that for a MAC team, but I'd be pizzed if there were a bunch of pig farmers in there when we play Iowa). We parked in the ramp right next door on University, as that came with the alumni event tix. After the game we took one look at the gridlock and went to Village Wok for dinner (great food!). Even at 7PM, there was still a huge line to get out of that ramp, and it took us the better part of half an hour to get onto EB I-94. I usually park on University over by the M club lot, as we have friends there we tailgate with, and I should have just stayed on University back to St. Paul last night. Still, the traffic was stupefying. The U talks about improving the fan experience to generate ticket sales, and getting home after the game is part of the experience. Granted, given the game hardly anyone left before the final whistle, and there seemed to be a big tie-up with WB 94 which screwed everything else up.
