BGNews Slams Falcons Defense and Special Teams

[The Niz]

Assistant sports editor Colin Wilson absolutely ripped our defense and special teams apart in today's paper. Taking shots at the defense for their difficulties with the badger offense, and ripping Big Bird for not getting a single kickoff into the end-zone.

http://www.bgnews.com/media/storage/pap ... bgnews.com

Someone should come down on this idiot. Sure the defense wasn't amazing but they did a damn good job against a Big Ten opponent. Big Bird may not have gotten any kicks into the end-zone either but he sure didn't miss a single extra point. How many kids do you think will show up in the student section if the school paper is allowed to print inaccurate crap about how terrible our team played this weekend? I've already written a strong email to him and his editor about how he is completely working against our goal as a football community. Hopefully someone more important than I will read this article and and be as disgusted with it as I am.

[Globetrotter]

I think it is accurate. STs was horrible. And our Defense was poor. We did not tackle for crap. I think that the fact that he he is stating these things is showing that he had higher expectations. Low hurdles get you know where.

[Schadenfreude]

The nice thing about our defense is that players seemed to be in position more often. The Badgers seemed to rip off fewer long runs than last year.

The scoreboard tells the story. We gave up 35 points -- and two of those touchdowns can be blamed on special teams.

As far as special teams: Rojas is gonna come along. He's a true freshman; it was his first game, and the blocked punt may not be on him, anyway.

[jpfalcon09]

It's his opinion and he's entitled to it. We don't have to agree with it, it's just another view point of the team, obvious Mr. Wilson thinks the team needs to work on some stuff, and while his points may be extreme, they are true to an extent. I always keep in mind that when I express my opinion, there will always be someone who won't agree with it and will think it's ridiculous, it's all a part of freedom of speech.

I don't really think a newspaper article will influence how many students show up to the home games this year, you either support BG sports or you don't. I hope many show up, especially with the OSU game being later in the day, the weather being nice and nothing else going on behinds the BSAF.

[hammb]

I don't think the defense was much improved upon what we saw last year. The points allowed benefitted from two things. One Brian Calhoun is no longer in their backfield, and two our new offensive scheme kept the clock running a lot more than the pass happy system we ran last year.

They were in position to make more tackles, that I'll agree with, but they sure as hell didn't make those tackles. The front line played better than last year, and allowed the LBs to get in position to tackle the guys, but they just didn't do it. The defensive coaches have still not gotten this group to even make an effort at a proper tackle. It would be one thing if UW's players were so strong they were running through our tackles, that was not the case. The problem was the same as it has been for the past 3-4 years. We consistently dip our heads, lower our shoulders, throw our bodies at the ball carriers, with almost no effort to wrap up. This has been a common trait for the past few years, and I was very disappointed to still see no end in sight.

The STs were awful, but I don't think Big Bird should be the one drawing the ire of anyone. His kickoffs were not in the endzone, but they were sufficient to not harm the team with adequate kick coverage (except for the one OOB ). The punt team, OTOH, has a reason to hang their heads and they definitely have something new to work on.

[Rightupinthere]

I always keep in mind that when I express my opinion, there will always be someone who won't agree with it...

That's where you're wrong.

[Bleeding Orange]

Actually, I think this article was quite positive. Things like this were, anyways:

The game was a good test for the Falcons. When they reach Mid-American Conference play they should have an easier time stopping the run. The special teams needs work, but both the punter and the kicker are freshmen and should improve with time.

[bgmaggot00]

How many kids do you think will show up in the student section if the school paper is allowed to print inaccurate crap about how terrible our team played this weekend?

So the BG News isn't allowed to print what they want anymore? When did they turn into a state-run propoganda machine?

[hammb]

Actually after reading the article, I really don't think he's that off base at all.

We lost a game against a team that is not top 25 material...I deem that as a winnable game. So, there had to be reasons why we lost, right?

The author, realizing last year's weaknesses, and previous coach commentary mentions that we were looking to improve on our defense & ST's. He then goes on to show how those two areas of play were the reason why we lost the game Saturday.

He does finish by spinning things in a positive light (correctly, IMO), that we will have an easier time stopping the run in MAC play, and that both kickers are still freshmen.

I really don't see this article as that particularly negative at all.

[edr4225]

Assistant sports editor Colin Wilson absolutely ripped our defense and special teams apart in today's paper..

http://www.bgnews.com/media/storage/pap ... bgnews.com

Someone should come down on this idiot. Sure the defense wasn't amazing but they did a damn good job against a Big Ten opponent. Big Bird may not have gotten any kicks into the end-zone either but he sure didn't miss a single extra point. .

Yeah your right, this guy is an idiot. Our defense wasnt what killed us in that game, it was our special teams that was a disappointment. We had very weak punts and kicks alll day. One of the punts lead to Wisconsin getting field position in our redzone and then they scored. Another punt was blocked and that lead to a touchdown. Take away those two scores and its 21-14. Our defense did give up three scores, but it was much improved from last year. We at least forced them to pass quite a bit and even forced them to turn the ball over by stuffing the run. Last year they didnt even think about passing in the entire second half, they just ran the ball the entire second half down our throats. Overall, i think our defense is better this year and our fans will realize that sooner than later.

[BGSUFootballFan]

I agree with both parts of the ST's and Defense letting us down. I'm going to bring up a crucial point in the game that no one has mentioned yet, because of the turning points in the game when we handed them 14pts from the blocked punt and big return. To me the biggest most influential series in the game was UW's opening offensive possession. We unexpectedly drove the field on offense, ate a lot of time off of the clock and score a TD. We had all the momentum in the world on our side and the crowd was a factor in the game. So how does our defense respond with all the momentum on our side? We let UW go right down the field, mostly on the EXACT same running play to the left, including two 3rd and medium-long situations where UW just simply called a run to the left and got the 1st down with ease. It looked like a carbon copy of last year even without Calhoun in the backfield for UW. I think if we could have come out prepared for the running game (as we should have been) we could have stuffed it on 1st and 2nd down, and given up some yards on 3rd, but still forced a 3 and out. Also even with our momentum gone after UW's 1st score, our offense was moving the ball right down the field again until a holding call pushed us back too far and we had to punt. Basically what I am saying is if our defense doesnt let us down in that opening series, we get the ball back and score just as easy if not easier than our 1st drive and take a 14-0 lead. 14-0 lead in the 1st Q reminds me of the NIU game. All we need to do now is play even from here on out and we win the game! Plus we already have a ton of momentum (the most underrated factor in football) and confidence on our side. As inefficent as UW was throwing the ball compared to running, I think we would have been able to hang on for the win, because when UW loses a game its because they get behind and are forced to throw the ball more than they want to!

My take on special teams is slightly different. I don't understand why anyone would say something negative about how Ellis played. It certainly wasnt ideal kicking conditions and he made both XP's which are huge in a game of this magnitude. Also his kickoffs were very effcient, especially considering how bad our cover team has been the past few season. They didnt even get one semi-big return, and yes he did kick one out of bounds ONCE... but the 35yd line is still 65 yards away from a TD... definitely not the end of the world. As for kicking it into the endzone, I certainly didnt expect him to as a true freshman and in such crappy conditions. Also the commentators on YES network talked about how the NCAA has mandated that kickers only use a certain type of tee to kickoff this year. I believe it is only 1inch, which is smaller than what previous kickers used, and the idea behind it was to try and eliminate touchbacks on kickoffs. Thus, promoting more kick returns and excitement to the game of college football. So I like the idea there and it is definitely something to watch for as the season moves along.

As for the punting, as I've said in several other threads it was not Rojas's fault. No punter is going to look awesome when he has pressure on him every single kick and gets rattled by having one blocked early. It's just the same as a QB. Look how awesome Omar was when he had all day to throw it and no pressure on him. Compare that to how he played at Boise when he got sacked early on and didnt have time to say his name on a lot of other throws. The same goes for punters. We need to execute our blocking MUCH better than what we did NO MATTER WHAT FORMATION WE USE. This will slowly build confidence in Rojas and I think he will be the punter that we all think he is capable of!

[The Niz]

My main concern is the butts-in-the-seats. I'm all for free speech but if our own writers are gonna tell our fans that the team has made minimal improvements I don't think people are gonna be too excited to go see what they're all about this year. Even with the sloppy tackling I thought the defense was much improved over last year. ST the huge problem is punting, not Big Bird. Maybe I was in a bad mood when I read it at breakfast today or something but I felt like the guy came down pretty hard on some guys that really put out a decent effort.

[kdog27]

They were in position to make more tackles, that I'll agree with, but they sure as hell didn't make those tackles. The front line played better than last year, and allowed the LBs to get in position to tackle the guys, but they just didn't do it.

It is still an improvement. Much of what you say has to do with PJ Hill being a 240 pound bruiser. I'm not excusing theit taclking but I do contribute some of the broken tackles to his size and durabilty. The defense could not wrap him up in the fourth quarter.

[Falcon30]

As far as special teams: Rojas is gonna come along. He's a true freshman; it was his first game, and the blocked punt may not be on him, anyway.

I was in that endzone - (I called the blocked punt). The guy who blocked it slithered right through the blockers and was right on top of rojas. IMO, it was NOT his fault.

[The Niz]

It most definately wazs not his fault. Neither were the terrible punts he was getting off all game. As I told Strouse yesterday, you can't get off a decent punt off when you're punting around and through rushers every time.