orangeandbrown wrote:Factman, normally I'm behind you on this stuff, and I think more or less you are right--we just didn't have the horses to stop their running game. But, there is this quote from Coach Brandon, indicating maybe we underestimated their running game a little.
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Was their running game more than you expected?: "Yes, it was. My worst fear was realized because we couldn't stop them."
Which is stupid to begin with because your still facing a B10 team Coach!! Even Northwestern had their way with our D-line in Motor City Bowl.
I might as well put in my 2 cents on this. Was I disappointed in the outcome? You bet I was. If you would have told me before the game began we would score 42 points I would have had no doubt we would have won, easily. But we did not. Two things stand out for me.
The first, it seems nearly every time we play a good BCS team, and many top-tiered Mid-Majors, we cannot match up with them on the defensive line. We are just too small. The only game I can recall in the past several seasons where we played a top team and shut down their running game was against Purdue. Otherwise, we consistently give up major yardage on the ground and allow the opposition to control the ball for long periods. From there everything escalates. If the offensive line can dominate the DL this way not only does it allow them to run at will, it opens up the passing game since the DB's have to cheat to try to stop the run. In the end, we end up making a mediocre passing game look very efficient. Also, our smallish DL cannot get consistent pressure on the quarterback which exasperates the problem.
I can see where it would be easier to recruit offensive players to BG than it would be defensive players what with the success the offensve has had. However, when I look through the media guide and read the bios of our players, I see a lot of the 290-300+ lb offensive linemen we have who once were talented defensive linemen in high school who we have "converted" to the offensive line. Why aren't we utilizing some of these bigger linemen on the defense where a real need exists? I am not a coach or an evaluator of talent but if the need exists to the degree it does wouldn't it seem that more attention would devoted to addressing that need.
The second point is concerning our half time adjustments. I am not so concerned about the defensive ones against Wisconsin since we were just outclassed on the line of scrimmage. Not much they could do, really. I do wonder about the lack of adjustments offensively. In our losses last season we were in the game against Oklahoma at the half and lost it in the third quarter. Tied with NIU at half, and lost it in the third quarter. Ahead by 3 touchdowns at the half against Toledo, and lost it in the 3rd quarter. Finally, on Saturday we were tied at half against Wisconsin and managed to produce a -1 yard in the third quarter. Something is not happening and adjustments are not being made. In fairness, when a team puts 35 points on the board in the first half, it may not feel the need to make many adjustments, but you at least need to anticipate what the defense may do differently in the second half. That does not seem to be happening. We do seem to get back on track in the 4th quarter but sometimes that is too late.
Was this loss a harbinger of things to come? I doubt it. More like a needed warning signal. Wisconsin's offensive line is the best we will see all year. Every remaining team on our schedule is beatable. Even at Boise does not look so insurmountable what with their performance against Georgia. Imagine how they feel giving up over 350 yards passing to a run-oriented team with a new quarterback. Ball State is coming at just the right time and we will be fine. However, having said that, we had better do something defensively before next years game at Browns Stadium against Wisconsin or that could get ugly.
First time poster here. I have been reading for a bit though. I agree with everything but still feel there were no defensive adjustments at all. The old chinese definition of insanity- doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results applies here. The D stunk. The D coaching was worse because of the predictable nature of our D. You can create mismatches but need to keep the other side guessing. We need balance between the aggressive gambling beckman style D and the same old line em up style of our current coach. On another thread someone was compaining about the lack of offensive adjustments- not sure what agame that was as with the exception of the first second half drive only dropped passes stopped us.
Bottom line - We need to do something different. Could be moving some offensve players to the D as some have suggested or mixing it up a bit. Probably need to do both. We have the best QB in the nation IMHO and he deserves every effort to field a competitive D.
Factman's understanding of my question is limited b/c of his viewpoint on the matter.
I understand that Calhoun in from Wisconsin originally. I understand why he transferred and where he went. My question has more to do with Brandon using his coaching ties to evaluate the only player we don't have game tape on that happened to run for 260+ yards.
It seemed like a fairly simple thing to do, to call a former coaching buddy to get a scouting report.
Alvarez could've transmitted each and every play to our sideline 3 plays in advance and it wouldn't have made any difference.
After watching the game again today, we would've had to put about 13 in the box to stop that running game the way we were (not) tackling/getting blocked.
Who else around here would pay money to see Markray line up at d-tackle against ball state?
Jacobs4Heisman wrote:Alvarez could've transmitted each and every play to our sideline 3 plays in advance and it wouldn't have made any difference.
After watching the game again today, we would've had to put about 13 in the box to stop that running game the way we were (not) tackling/getting blocked.
Who else around here would pay money to see Markray line up at d-tackle against ball state?
i'd pay a years salary to have Markray along with Gilbert Brown line up at DT if we got another shot at Wiscy!
4th & 13 on PU 32yd line.. 56,000 fans up on their feet screaming, i held my breath the entire play trying to make as little noise as possible.. wouldnt u know Sharon would make the biggest touchdown catch in the history of BG Football, FALCON UP!
Jacobs4Heisman wrote:Alvarez could've transmitted each and every play to our sideline 3 plays in advance and it wouldn't have made any difference.
After watching the game again today, we would've had to put about 13 in the box to stop that running game the way we were (not) tackling/getting blocked.
Who else around here would pay money to see Markray line up at d-tackle against ball state?
J4H,
You are exactly right. I've watched the game a couple times now and I've never seen a team hit so hard as Wisky did Saturday. Did you see the one play that FB Bernstein LEVELED Thaler? Downright scary. That O line had 3 new starters...like it mattered. They simply dominated our D...nuff said.
Will be heading over to Ball State....I think our D is gonna be the one doing the pounding this week. This one will get ugly very quickly.
Michael W.
BGSU-12 TIME MAC CHAMPION
FALCON FOOTBALL ROCKS!
Hypothetically, let's say Markray does play defense.
If he gets off the ball defensively as quickly as he got into his stance on Saturday, his 340+ frame won't matter either. I agree, we need size, size and more size on the DL, but we need speed at LB as much as any need area.
For knocking, CMU, Ball State and the other "lower tier" schools last year, I would assume Gregg Brandon and Co. could actually use the UW game to cash in on recruits by offering them a chance to play right away defensively.
Considering the athletes, or lack thereof on defense, it looks to be time to concentrate on that side of the ball and Derek Brighton and Darius Smith are nice starts.
