gilbert and other thoughts

[JasonB]

Gilbert was the one player who actually showed up tonight. He put the team on his back and somehow lead us to victory. Despite major drops, he completes 72% of his passes for 317 yards. Ran for a first down on first and 26 or something? That dude won this football game tonight.

It was shocking to see how badly we played on both sides of the line. Our defensive line was absolutely dominated, and their running backs bounced off of 3 or 4 tacklers on every play. Shocking performance from the front 7. Except Wright, who was just a beast in the second half.

Really hard to watch Sanders in pass coverage. When he blitzed, they would hit that tall white receiver wherever Sanders came from. When he stayed home, there was a huge gap between him and the safety and they ate that up all night long.

The offensive line is a disaster right now as well. They seemed to fix a little bit in the second half by putting ashcraft in and sliding Gott inside, but wow that was really tough. We are in a lot of trouble against any team with a good defensive line. A&M and TCU will be hard to watch, unless massive improvements are made in the next two weeks.

The reason why the offensive and defensive line performance (as well as the penalties) are so impactfull is that right now we just don't have any playmakers on the team. Nobody on defense makes a great play or forces a turnover, they are just reacting. Same thing on offense - we can make a catch (usually), but we can't make a great play and bust something small into something big.

That is why Nlemchi stands out so much - his quickness is shocking, and the reaction is that this guy can actually make a play. We need those people on the field. We need playmakers. Because this isn't a team that is going to go through and not make mistakes, and be able to get away with 5 yard gains. We are going to make penalties and give up negative plays. And we desperately need playmakers to make up for those mistakes. Who cares if Nlemchi can't block (he actually did BTW and looked good). Others are going to mess up too, but he can make up for those mistakes.

I suspect that we will see a lot more of Nlemchi and Taylor and maybe Gaines after the bye. Because right now the only playmaker on the entire team is Gilbert. And one person out there is only good enough to squeak by a division 2 team.

[sbsmith]

But but we have so much depth and the players are so much bigger and faster and stronger. This just can't be can it?

[LakeHighlandsPony]

My Longhorn buddies laugh at Gilbert but how is David Ash looking? He sucks!

Gilbert is playing very well!

[ALEX LIFESON]

I've been screaming for KC to get a shot, and he blocked pretty decent on the final drive too. Oline is terrible. And it's a Chinese firedrill, trying to get substitutions on and off the field. Penalties out the wazoo in both games. Defense can't stop the run, pass coverage is horrible, tackling is poor, with very little emotion to boot. Going to be a long season.

[SMU21TCU10]

Gilbert is the best player on the team this year

[Big Hoss]

My Longhorn buddies laugh at Gilbert but how is David Ash looking? He sucks!

Gilbert is playing very well!

Exactly. Longhorn fans can't stand Gilbert, yet their QB situation is much, much worse than ours.

[gostangs]

they were fools to let him go. when he gets time he is very effective.

the issue is in the trenches on both sides. i dont see it changing. i think we end up with 5 wins.

[sbsmith]

they were fools to let him go. when he gets time he is very effective.

the issue is in the trenches on both sides. i dont see it changing. i think we end up with 5 wins.

They were fools to bet the farm on him in the first place. Really horrendous QB recruiting for Bevo of late.

[HarvCrimYaleBlue]

I heart Gilbert. He is looking really good. He is trying to make something out of nothing. Staying calm and looking for the pass even when his line crumbles in front of him. ZERO turnovers in two games (botched call aside) against good opponents. Say what you will about FCS this and that but MState is a legitimately good team. Folks on this board get real emotional and want to burn everything in sight after a loss or squeak from a 'lesser' opponent.

The team is hanging in there and did not give up tonight. Continued the score first and win trend - 15-0 - when scoring first I believe. Lets not talk about 0-13 when not scoring first.

Once again, happy to have ole' GG in there and looking good in my opinion.

[gostangs]

Montana st is a good team. but they are D-II. when a D-II team manhandles both your lines, than something is broken.

[Rayburn]

GG looks excellent so far. Even getting sacked on the first play of the winning drive didn't faze him. Kudos to him.

[skurtn]

I will say, I feel a bit miffed. Last year (particularly the first half) while playing under JJ, there were so many people bashing the hell out of him for the interceptions. From what I understand, SMU's scheme was new to him, yet, no one gave a damn.

Now, for some reason, we like him because he's playing better.

Tough crowd huh

[PSCA]

Not that it changes the fact that our performance overall was disappointing ... although there are some good points and takeaways from the "Positives Post", GG being one of them .... M-State is 1AA not DII ... and ranked 3rd nationally at that.

[CalallenStang]

Gilbert overthrew receivers at times (some made great catches to save him) but he got the job done when it counted

[mrydel]

Gilbert Played a great game under extreme pressure. Most passes were right on target. He threw one to the end zone that was perfect except the receiver was slowed by the defender holding his jersey. This was far and away Gilbert's best game. That said he will not survive A&M if he dies not get more protection.

I am astounded to see posters posting negative about Gilbert and Darius Joseph. They are and will continue to be a great combination. They won this game tonight.

Some of you might want to belittle Hoover tonight also since his 3 for 3 were all needed for the win so I guess he sucks too.