Sparty

[Falconfreak90]

I totally disagree with most of you. For one half of football we outplayed them on defense.

I wouldn't go that far, but, after that first Spartan drive, our defense looked competent.

Offense still needs work.

Clearly. It looked at times like receivers were open and Morgan just wasn't able to get them the ball. With better quarterback play, we could have kept this game closer.

The o line made some holes but our tailbacks were too slow
hitting them. You cannot beat a big 10 team without a running game.

I'm curious if others agree with this. I'm not sure what to think. Does Sparty had a great defensive front? Or is our offensive not creating holes? I wonder. These tailbacks of ours seemed to perform pretty well last year, so I'm not sure why running the ball was such a struggle yesterday.

I know they were supposed to be very fast and strong up front but I believe were breaking in 3 new starters in the secondary. We have a couple new guys on the OL that need work. It is scary to think we have such little depth on the OL so they must stay healthy.

[MarkL]

I saw that Morgan was nodding in agreement every time Jinks talked about offensive failures putting the defense in a bad position. It seems Morgan was owning the offensive problems ... but never stated such. Maybe I'm an idealist but I was hoping for him to take responsibility for the offense and have a "Tebow moment". But hey, he's a young man so maybe I'm asking way too much here for a young guy in front of media.

[hiway44]

I cannot believe all the negative comments here. Yes the offense didn't play that well and the qb play was not on track and a no show. But understand we were playing a Big Ten team. Give some credit to what we did do. Defense played well, but gave up points. Did you not think that would happen? We are a MAC school and played like it. Our defense looked good, but still has plenty of room for improvement. Offense need help and I'm not sure where we start. I do believe we need a more versatile, slashing style running back. (Greene style back).

We can build on the first half of football, and learn from the second half problems. Defense made plays and stops. It doesn't matter how it happened they are call Take Aways. Offense has to get better and catch up to the defense. You cannot win football games without playing on both sided of the ball. Defense on the field for over 80 percent. Too long and gas, it's expected.

Jinks will get our boys ready and I expect to see some better performances next week.
Go Falcons, I will stick with you.

Jinks, Great job as a coach for saving your QB (Morgan) from the Media. That shows leadership. Great Job!!!!! Never leave a player to admit poor play that will destroy the young man. Thank you coach for saving Our QB. REMEMBER GUYS HE IS ONLY A SOPHOMORE AS IS ALL OF OUR DEFENSIVE BACKS.

[footballguy51]

I was frustrated with the game. Then again, I've seen the years where we beat almost every major team on our schedule, so I still get stuck in that mentality when I watch BG play a big opponent. This year we will make a bowl game, but we're not going to light the world on fire. We went against a mid-tier B1G opponent and looked like crap. That's how this year will be. I have a feeling we'll beat who we should beat, lose to who we should lose to, and fight hard in the toss-up games. We'll likely finish at 6-6 or 7-5.

[MarkL]

hiway, I have to disagree with you. Owning up to poor play, admitting that personal mistakes cost opportunities, that does not destroy a person. No, that kind of ownership of faults builds character, builds leadership, and every player on the team would rally around such a young leader. Now for all we know Morgan took ownership for the offense's performance behind closed doors. Nobody knows. I'm looking for a leader to step up.

We could have and probably should have been up big early. Then with the defense playing far better than last year, the offense could make consistent gains and clock running drives to allow the defense time to catch breath. That formula could have easily led to a win in the area of 31-24 or so. It didn't happen primarily due to the offense. Woulda coulda shoulda. Learn and develop from this and the team will win the next time they get an early lead.

Learn from this, improve on offense, and some injury luck and a winning season is there for the taking. A solid offensive performance next week will go a long way, and we've got another Big Ten team on the schedule who looked less than impressive.

[jpfalcon09]

Here's my break down of what I saw on Saturday from the second deck of Spartan stadium.

Offense:
Already brought up several times but Morgan had a very poor day throwing the ball. He looked uncomfortable most of the game and forced several passes. Few drops which weren't his fault, but overall subpar effort. Had two nice deep throws, one was caught by Guyton and the other went through Miller's hands. Running game really struggled and I didn't understand the decision to keep running the ball up the middle. Clair was the lone bright spot of the day and I hope he gets more reps, and I think Guyton will end up having a huge impact.

Defense:
Improvement from last year. Yes Michigan State does not have the same players Ohio State does, but the defense played hard for the entire game and made some adjustments. Tackling was better and downfield coverage was much better. Issues with spying the QB which will be something teams will try to take advantage of in the games ahead. Getting QB pressure will also be something that will need to improve. Overall though I was impressed with their play.

Special teams:
Davidson was hit and miss all game. Long of 65 but had a couple shorter punts. Suder made his only FG. Short kickoffs make me cringe as we're giving teams good field position to start drives.

Take away:
Offense needs A LOT of work to prepare for South Dakota. Morgan was disappointing and the run game struggled. Miller was largely invisible. Defense is improved and played well and my hope is they can continue it into the opener.

[gmartin]

Miller should have caught that 4th down pass however his feet were already out of bounds. I believe that's why he didn't make the catch. He was too concerned about keeping his feet in he lost concentration on the ball.

[bowlgreen]

Not trying to be too rude, but the totality of this really is from CRITICS not FANS. The reality is our defense is much improved. Two big turnovers is a result of defensive playmakers making plays. And as for our QB, go back and watch the drops and see what would have happen to at least our first half drives if those balls were caught.

[MarkL]

Not trying to be too rude, but the totality of this really is from CRITICS not FANS. The reality is our defense is much improved. Two big turnovers is a result of defensive playmakers making plays. And as for our QB, go back and watch the drops and see what would have happen to at least our first half drives if those balls were caught.

If you think those of us who are critiquing and offering constructive criticism are not fans, you've got some learning to do. Perfect example .... see my profile picture? When I was in undergrad I made the trip to Boise for a game. We lost but it was a blast. Bowling Green, OH and Boise, ID are not exactly close. Do you think a critic would make such a trip? I've followed BG football as far East as Boston College, as far West as Idaho, and just about everywhere in between, and many folks on this board can say far more of their time.

I constructively critique the team because I love following BG football. It is such a fall tradition for me. Weekends in the fall involve hikes, local activities, and BG football. I want the team to be the best they can. It is a thrill watching the young freshmen show up on campus and grow into leaders. I point out what is off and celebrate what is right. I spend hours each week in conference play putting together previews of opponents because I love following our team.

You can be a fan and also critique what you see. These are not mutually exclusive.

[jpfalcon09]

Miller should have caught that 4th down pass however his feet were already out of bounds. I believe that's why he didn't make the catch. He was too concerned about keeping his feet in he lost concentration on the ball.

Couldn't tell from live action if he was OB or not. We thought maybe the sun got in his eyes looking for the ball. Nice observation.

[gmartin]

Miller should have caught that 4th down pass however his feet were already out of bounds. I believe that's why he didn't make the catch. He was too concerned about keeping his feet in he lost concentration on the ball.

Couldn't tell from live action if he was OB or not. We thought maybe the sun got in his eyes looking for the ball. Nice observation.

Hopefully I'm not critiquing too much for some people.