Another worthless observations thread
Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2012 4:17 pm
No one has defended JJ more on these boards in the past ten months than myself (see my signature below). With that being said, yesterday truly sucked. I didn't know if we'd win the game going in, but I didn't think we'd end up getting thrashed by 35.
With that being said, I'd like to think the game was somewhat closer than the score would indicate- we KILLED ourselves on the defensive end with penalties early- that first drive, we should have had them stopped on two separate occasions, we get the ball back, and they don't have the momentum that comes along with a 7-0 lead. And of course the INT Gilbert threw in the 2nd quarter- if we make it 14-10 there, it's a completely different game. Our D had begun making stops- I think we'd forced three straight punts on BU possessions before that. From my vantage point, it looked like the receiver never saw it, and GG had to get rid of it quickly because the blitz was in his face. Whatever the problem, 21-3 as opposed to 14-10 was a tough hole for us to go into the half in.
HOPEFULLY this team can bounce back, and bounce back fast. The o-line was pleasantly surprising, at least in pass protection, and I'd like to think the D would've played better if the offense had put up some points after they forced those punts.
The secondary is a serious concern though- Baylor's WRs were getting separation all over the place- I mean some of those guys were just wide the hell open in the middle of the field. I'm afraid our pass rush is going to have to really generate consistent pressure on quarterbacks to negate the weaknesses behind them this year.
I didn't think GG looked terrible yesterday- he missed on a couple throws, but I thought our receivers couldn't convert on several passes they should have been able to make a play on. Hopefully, more practice time between GG and the WRs will enable them to get in sync. Keep in mind, he's only been in this offense with these WRs for what, three weeks?
I did hate the play call on 3rd and 2 on our opening drive- we have an All-American candidate at RB and needed two damn yards and we air it out downfield (incomplete) and then trot out our unproven kicker for a long field goal at an angle. I knew that thing was missed before it was snapped. I'd like to know JJ's thought process in the play calling there. That stuff infuriates me, and we seem to do it all the time.
Hopefully Baylor is a good team this year, and this loss won't look as bad in retrospect. I'll say this- Art Briles is a hell of a coach. But I don't think there are any fatal flaws on this team that can prevent us from possibly stealing a game from A&M or TCU and making another run in CUSA. For those of you wanting to storm the AD's office with torches and pitchforks- it's one game. Yes, it sucked and we looked like crap in the end. But it at the end of the day, it's one game. If we convert on that 2nd and Goal in the second quarter and make it 14-10 we might be having a completely different conversation right now. Or we might have lost by 14 instead of 35- either way, we're 0-1.
For those of you who think JJ is the problem right now- maybe you're right. I don't know him, I don't know if his heart is truly in it or not. I'd like to think it is, and that he can get this turned around and pull out a win when he needs one the most- he has a history of doing that since his tenure here, most recently TCU and Pitt last year. I do think he's an excellent coach who's done a lot for this program since taking the job five years ago, and I'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt after an admittedly underwhelming season opener. Again, it's one game. But this team does need to showed marked improvement over the next couple weeks- or the TCU and A&M games could be really, really ugly. A&M has two legitimate offensive tackles in Matthews and Joeckel, and if they can keep the pressure off their new QB, he might light up our secondary. But let's worry about SFA first- after our performance yesterday, we can't afford to take anyone lightly.
Pony Up
With that being said, I'd like to think the game was somewhat closer than the score would indicate- we KILLED ourselves on the defensive end with penalties early- that first drive, we should have had them stopped on two separate occasions, we get the ball back, and they don't have the momentum that comes along with a 7-0 lead. And of course the INT Gilbert threw in the 2nd quarter- if we make it 14-10 there, it's a completely different game. Our D had begun making stops- I think we'd forced three straight punts on BU possessions before that. From my vantage point, it looked like the receiver never saw it, and GG had to get rid of it quickly because the blitz was in his face. Whatever the problem, 21-3 as opposed to 14-10 was a tough hole for us to go into the half in.
HOPEFULLY this team can bounce back, and bounce back fast. The o-line was pleasantly surprising, at least in pass protection, and I'd like to think the D would've played better if the offense had put up some points after they forced those punts.
The secondary is a serious concern though- Baylor's WRs were getting separation all over the place- I mean some of those guys were just wide the hell open in the middle of the field. I'm afraid our pass rush is going to have to really generate consistent pressure on quarterbacks to negate the weaknesses behind them this year.
I didn't think GG looked terrible yesterday- he missed on a couple throws, but I thought our receivers couldn't convert on several passes they should have been able to make a play on. Hopefully, more practice time between GG and the WRs will enable them to get in sync. Keep in mind, he's only been in this offense with these WRs for what, three weeks?
I did hate the play call on 3rd and 2 on our opening drive- we have an All-American candidate at RB and needed two damn yards and we air it out downfield (incomplete) and then trot out our unproven kicker for a long field goal at an angle. I knew that thing was missed before it was snapped. I'd like to know JJ's thought process in the play calling there. That stuff infuriates me, and we seem to do it all the time.
Hopefully Baylor is a good team this year, and this loss won't look as bad in retrospect. I'll say this- Art Briles is a hell of a coach. But I don't think there are any fatal flaws on this team that can prevent us from possibly stealing a game from A&M or TCU and making another run in CUSA. For those of you wanting to storm the AD's office with torches and pitchforks- it's one game. Yes, it sucked and we looked like crap in the end. But it at the end of the day, it's one game. If we convert on that 2nd and Goal in the second quarter and make it 14-10 we might be having a completely different conversation right now. Or we might have lost by 14 instead of 35- either way, we're 0-1.
For those of you who think JJ is the problem right now- maybe you're right. I don't know him, I don't know if his heart is truly in it or not. I'd like to think it is, and that he can get this turned around and pull out a win when he needs one the most- he has a history of doing that since his tenure here, most recently TCU and Pitt last year. I do think he's an excellent coach who's done a lot for this program since taking the job five years ago, and I'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt after an admittedly underwhelming season opener. Again, it's one game. But this team does need to showed marked improvement over the next couple weeks- or the TCU and A&M games could be really, really ugly. A&M has two legitimate offensive tackles in Matthews and Joeckel, and if they can keep the pressure off their new QB, he might light up our secondary. But let's worry about SFA first- after our performance yesterday, we can't afford to take anyone lightly.
Pony Up