I confess, I haven't read many posts on the board last night or today, so I do not know what has already been covered. I wanted to consolidate my discussion in one thread instead of jumping in on several others. I will kick start some discussion with a few initial items and then come back here to add to it. If there are questions or subjects you would like for me to chime in on, then place list them here.
OVERVIEW: There is no question that the team played merely 'average' in their road opener. The environment was less than desirable, and don't even get me started on the Thursday night stuff. That said, I saw far more positives in that game than negatives. Going in, I thought OSU would win by about 17-21 points. Had Ben Grogan not pulled 2 field goal attempts, the game would have fallen right into that range. As a result, I am not feeling the angst that many fans evidently are experiencing today.
Before jumping into this discussion, please bear in mind that without any game film on the Chippewas under the current staff, the team wasn't really able to prep the same way they will for every other game. This is a big part of the reason that the tenor of the game totally changed in the second half as the game was never really in doubt for the final 25 minutes. The defense came in expecting a lot of power football, and they essentially shut down that part of their offense. The Chippewas added several spread pass game concepts that were not on film (4 verts; stick-option routes, etc.), so the defense played soft to keep things in front and force CMU to drive the length of the field, not fearing the YAC threat. Although that approach may have frustrated fans a bit, it worked.
MAJOR POSITIVES:
1) The team played a pretty clean game with only a handful of penalties and no turnovers.
2) Mason Rudolph played under control, showed poise, leadership, and made plays when needed.
3) Eleven different receivers caught a pass, and Washington, Ateman, and Glidden all made big plays when needed.
4) Zach Sinor had a fantastic debut as the new punter, dropping 2 (and almost 3) inside the 20 while averaging 46.8 yards per punt.
5) The initial return at DT was very positive with all four major players showing up well at times.
6) Chris Carson flashed some individual play-making ability that gives hope for the future of the run game.
7) Win with no injuries.
AREAS OF NEEDED IMPROVEMENT:
1) Once again, the defense (in spite of obvious efforts to strip the ball) could not separate ball carriers/receivers from the football. This defense has the collision speed to believe those fumbles will eventually come around, but the dismal fumble statistics from last year must be changed. It is simply unacceptable to take on a strategy of stand up & strip and come up empty.
2) Wide receiver blocking must improve, both on the edge and in the run game.
3) Safety play was inconsistent and it still remains a weakness of this team. Flowers was involved in a lot of plays with mixed results. He was targeted repeatedly. Hopefully he continues to get better.
4) The offense needs to do a better job adjusting to run blitzes, particularly from guys lined up over the slot. (In case you weren't watching, the Chippewas made several stops at the line of scrimmage when the safety lined up over Glidden blitzed the guard tackle gap and took away the weak side zone cut back. The OL got a lot of blame for those plays, but they appeared to hit their assignments.)
5) The interior of the offensive line has to get more physical push and not settle for position and sealing.
A FEW NOTES ON SPECIFIC PLAYS:
1) On the second drive of the 3rd quarter, Yurcich called a jet sweep for McCleskey. The linemen all hit their blocks, the Cowboy back came around the edge, passed up the corner and leveled the linebacker behind him. Rennie Childs ran full speed and dove for the corner, but whiffed the block. The corner then made the play for a loss. That play would have gone for a TD. The best news is that despite whiffing the block, on the very next play, Rennie busted his long 26 yard run. That's the type of thing that jumps off film to me about effort and resilience.
2) To stay on that line of thought, on the next possession, it was 3rd and 18. The snap sailed wide of Rudolph. He picked up the ball and rifled a beautiful ball on a deep out route on the sideline to Washington. That was the play of the game for me. It showed the poise/talent of Rudolph as well as the skill of Washington.
3) On the big scramble by the CMU quarterback, Ryan Simmons blitzed from left to right, but got caught up inside and pinned down, allowing the QB to break outside contain.
4) For all of the complaints about the interior offensive line, especially Paul Lewis, he made the key block that sprung Rudolph's TD run.
OVERVIEW: There is no question that the team played merely 'average' in their road opener. The environment was less than desirable, and don't even get me started on the Thursday night stuff. That said, I saw far more positives in that game than negatives. Going in, I thought OSU would win by about 17-21 points. Had Ben Grogan not pulled 2 field goal attempts, the game would have fallen right into that range. As a result, I am not feeling the angst that many fans evidently are experiencing today.
Before jumping into this discussion, please bear in mind that without any game film on the Chippewas under the current staff, the team wasn't really able to prep the same way they will for every other game. This is a big part of the reason that the tenor of the game totally changed in the second half as the game was never really in doubt for the final 25 minutes. The defense came in expecting a lot of power football, and they essentially shut down that part of their offense. The Chippewas added several spread pass game concepts that were not on film (4 verts; stick-option routes, etc.), so the defense played soft to keep things in front and force CMU to drive the length of the field, not fearing the YAC threat. Although that approach may have frustrated fans a bit, it worked.
MAJOR POSITIVES:
1) The team played a pretty clean game with only a handful of penalties and no turnovers.
2) Mason Rudolph played under control, showed poise, leadership, and made plays when needed.
3) Eleven different receivers caught a pass, and Washington, Ateman, and Glidden all made big plays when needed.
4) Zach Sinor had a fantastic debut as the new punter, dropping 2 (and almost 3) inside the 20 while averaging 46.8 yards per punt.
5) The initial return at DT was very positive with all four major players showing up well at times.
6) Chris Carson flashed some individual play-making ability that gives hope for the future of the run game.
7) Win with no injuries.
AREAS OF NEEDED IMPROVEMENT:
1) Once again, the defense (in spite of obvious efforts to strip the ball) could not separate ball carriers/receivers from the football. This defense has the collision speed to believe those fumbles will eventually come around, but the dismal fumble statistics from last year must be changed. It is simply unacceptable to take on a strategy of stand up & strip and come up empty.
2) Wide receiver blocking must improve, both on the edge and in the run game.
3) Safety play was inconsistent and it still remains a weakness of this team. Flowers was involved in a lot of plays with mixed results. He was targeted repeatedly. Hopefully he continues to get better.
4) The offense needs to do a better job adjusting to run blitzes, particularly from guys lined up over the slot. (In case you weren't watching, the Chippewas made several stops at the line of scrimmage when the safety lined up over Glidden blitzed the guard tackle gap and took away the weak side zone cut back. The OL got a lot of blame for those plays, but they appeared to hit their assignments.)
5) The interior of the offensive line has to get more physical push and not settle for position and sealing.
A FEW NOTES ON SPECIFIC PLAYS:
1) On the second drive of the 3rd quarter, Yurcich called a jet sweep for McCleskey. The linemen all hit their blocks, the Cowboy back came around the edge, passed up the corner and leveled the linebacker behind him. Rennie Childs ran full speed and dove for the corner, but whiffed the block. The corner then made the play for a loss. That play would have gone for a TD. The best news is that despite whiffing the block, on the very next play, Rennie busted his long 26 yard run. That's the type of thing that jumps off film to me about effort and resilience.
2) To stay on that line of thought, on the next possession, it was 3rd and 18. The snap sailed wide of Rudolph. He picked up the ball and rifled a beautiful ball on a deep out route on the sideline to Washington. That was the play of the game for me. It showed the poise/talent of Rudolph as well as the skill of Washington.
3) On the big scramble by the CMU quarterback, Ryan Simmons blitzed from left to right, but got caught up inside and pinned down, allowing the QB to break outside contain.
4) For all of the complaints about the interior offensive line, especially Paul Lewis, he made the key block that sprung Rudolph's TD run.
