Halfway mark....

[Falconfreak90]

5-1, 3-0 MAC. It's been a solid season so far and I'm very pleased. Plenty of guys have stepped up and we're playing well. Still need to work on stuff....these slow starts need to stop. Put together 60 full minutes and nobody beats this team the rest of the season.

Keep it going fellas...BEAT MISS STATE!!!

[SicSicalum]

5-1, 3-0 MAC. It's been a solid season so far and I'm very pleased. Plenty of guys have stepped up and we're playing well. Still need to work on stuff....these slow starts need to stop. Put together 60 full minutes and nobody beats this team the rest of the season.

Keep it going fellas...BEAT MISS STATE!!!

I know this game quite well, however one thing I continue to grapple with is "why" do we have to wait until halftime for adjustments??!!??!! With all of the new-fangled communications tools available, why is not possible for the coaches/coordinators "up-above" to send down what they are seeing and make the necessary corrections on the fly? Again, I just don't get it.

[BGSU33]

The Good:
1. 3-0 in the MAC! What more needs to be said?! We're exactly where we want and needed to be three games into the conference race.
2. 5-1 overall. Sure the IU loss was frustrating, but it was a non-conferences loss and it wasn't a last-second loss or something like that.
3. Travis Greene. I don't think any of us saw this coming and one could make the argument he's actually better and giving us more than Samuel did last year.
4. Matt Johnson. He's had more ups than downs, and has given us a new dimension at QB.
5. Tyler Tate. Yes he had a rough game at IU but we haven't talked about our kicking much at all this season and that's almost always a sign things are going well.
6. Second-half adjustments vs Tulsa, Kent State, Akron and UMass. They've been great, just wish we could implement this early on our come out swinging out of the gate like that.
7. No season-ending injuries (that I'm aware of) to players who began this season able to go who are starting or on the two-deep.

The Bad:
1. The first-half starts vs. Tulsa, Akron and UMass. I'm willing to scratch the Tulsa start off as we juggled two QBs in the first quarter and it was the season opener, but the Akron and UMass starts easily could have cost us the game if it was against Toledo or Ohio. We need to get this fixed now.
2. Still lacking consistent big plays from he passing game. We're getting some nice runs from time to time from the running game, and we've had a few big pass plays like the Burbrink TD vs Kent State and Moore vs UMass, but we still lack a deep threat again. I heard Clawson comment on it, but we need to come up with a play or two at some point.
3. Darrell Hunter ruled out. We knew this was likely the case but he could have helped us at corner. Teams, such as Akron, really went after Foster. Getting Hunter back could have provided a with another lockdown corner as he was our other #1 opposite Truss.
4. Attendance. Yes, our favorite topic. My butt has been to every game this season (home and away) but the attendance for the Akron game was a head-scratcher. There was a very good turnout for the Tulsa and Murray State games and I can understand if weather put a damper on the UMass crowd, but these last two games have been extremely important and the crowd and atmosphere have been poor. I wondered a little if it has anything to do with our team sleepwalking in the first quarter each of the last two weeks. This team deserves better so I'm putting it on here.

The Ugly:
1. We're 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the MAC, so IMO, there's been very little ugly about anything. But if I had to pick one thing, I'm going to say our pass rush, especially from our DL. Yes I know Jones was a big loss but we essentially returned our entire two-deep on the DL and also returned Campbell (who was essentially lost for the year last season) and we're getting next to nothing in terms of a consistent pass rush up front. Against Akron and UMass, both games at home, we had zero sacks combined. Akron sacked us 6 times in the first half alone, and by comparison, Ohio sacked Akron 8 times for the game on the road. We must start getting a rush going up front with teams like Toledo and Ohio looming.

[MarkL]

0 sacks against Akron didn't bother me. Their QB was tossing the ball within about thre or four seconds every snap so the pressure had to be on the receivers, not the QB. 0 sacks against UMass was a worry, though. Our front seven has created good pressure but is not sealing the deal.

[mmisbg]

I'm sure one of the reasons you hold off on halftime adjustments is to prevent your opponent from having halftime to readjust. If you can keep a game manageable, it's better to put your opponent on their heels after halftime instead of 3 minutes before the half.

[Cap City 7]

I can't imagine any team waiting until halftime of a game to in essence put in a workable offensive game plan. Coaches have an entire week to look at game films and scouting reports in order to devise an offense that would be effective from the first play of any game. BG has been fortunate to have played teams that are offensively challenged enough to allow BG the time to make adjustments usually in the second quarter and at the half. I have been to the last two home games and in both the only saving grace for BG has been the inability of their opponents to take advantage of the ineptitude of the offense to make any plays early in the games. This will cost the Falcons dearly against the better offenses they will face as the season goes forward. One other thing, try to get the ball to Ronnie Moore sooner in the game and more often. The kid has the ability to be a game-changer and adds a dimension to this offense that should be better utilized.

[hammb]

Ronnie Moore needs more opportunities because he's the only big play threat in the passing game that can really do it AFTER the catch.

As 33 said, we don't have much of a deep threat, but I don't think it's the WRs' faults. Joplin and Gallon can both get open downfield and both excel in going up and high pointing the ball. The problem is our new QB (who is playing fairly well) doesn't have the arm to get the ball downfield. He just can't do it. That really limits what Joplin/Gallon can do to change games. They're not the guys that are going to take the quick slant and turn it up field for 30 yards. They're guys that do their damage before the ball is to them, and make the big catch.

For this QB, Moore is the guy that we need to get more looks. He's the one that can take a quick hitter, make a guy miss and explode up field. He's the guy that can split the safeties on a slant and house it.

It sucks, because I think Gallon & Joplin are both VERY good WRs, but with a QB that can't push the ball downfield, their skillset is a terrible fit. They fit much better with a Schilz type QB who would let them go up and make plays.

[Flipper]

Agree on Moore...he's a dynamic player in the slot. Agree that we have to get to Tettleton, history shows that if you put him on his butt you damage his football brain to the point that he makes some errors. Don't think we'll get any pressure on UT. Their QB has a good enough completion % but his YPA is miniscule...like 50% lower than Johnson's...they get the ballout too quickly to generate much in the way of pressure. Your best bet is to get the DL hands up in his face and block his throwing lanes. That and focus on Fluellen runing between the tackles.

[BGSU33]

Agree on Moore...he's a dynamic player in the slot. Agree that we have to get to Tettleton, history shows that if you put him on his butt you damage his football brain to the point that he makes some errors. Don't think we'll get any pressure on UT. Their QB has a good enough completion % but his YPA is miniscule...like 50% lower than Johnson's...they get the ballout too quickly to generate much in the way of pressure. Your best bet is to get the DL hands up in his face and block his throwing lanes. That and focus on Fluellen runing between the tackles.

Agreed. Last year we basically kept a spy on Tettleton all game as he's a threat to run it and he can also keep passing plays alive with his feet. You gave to account off him all game long. He ripped us apart in previous matchups and we did a much better job against him last season. As for Toledo, they will run that bubble screen to death and just when you fall asleep on them taking a shot downfield, they have spreed at WR and will hurt you over the top. They also have very good balance running the ball as well. I fully believe that these two games will either make or break our season.

[BGSU33]

It sucks, because I think Gallon & Joplin are both VERY good WRs, but with a QB that can't push the ball downfield, their skillset is a terrible fit. They fit much better with a Schilz type QB who would let them go up and make plays.

Agreed. One thing we haven't been able to utilize, especially in the redzone, is fade to the corners with these two. They have the frames perfect for matching up against smaller DB's but our timing and execution with Johnson has been nonexistent so far. We've attempted a few tries with it but it's been way off. The same could be said with a verticle shot downfield, as almost everything we attempt is underneath, as evident by Gallon's ypc under 10.0.

[Falco_peregrinusana]

I think that this start has been terrific... We have taken care of the business at hand. To be honest, the Ohio game is our season. Beat the Bobcats, and you essentially have a two game lead for the East. Lose to them, and it is over. Don't see them losing two league games if we don't beat them. T*&$&0 would be a great win, but Ohio is essential..

[MarkL]

I'm personally eyeing and hoping for 8-0 in the MAC. It can be done, and the two biggest and most important games from here are at home. Buffalo will be no cakewalk but that will be on the Friday after Thanksgiving in a massive empty stadium.

[kdog27]

It sucks, because I think Gallon & Joplin are both VERY good WRs, but with a QB that can't push the ball downfield, their skillset is a terrible fit. They fit much better with a Schilz type QB who would let them go up and make plays.

Agreed. One thing we haven't been able to utilize, especially in the redzone, is fade to the corners with these two. They have the frames perfect for matching up against smaller DB's but our timing and execution with Johnson has been nonexistent so far. We've attempted a few tries with it but it's been way off. The same could be said with a verticle shot downfield, as almost everything we attempt is underneath, as evident by Gallon's ypc under 10.0.

I'm deflecting some of this blame off of Johnson. There has been plenty of plays missed by our receivers. Gallon needs to come down with that catch in the end zone last Saturday for the most recent example. Gallon and Joplin are physical yes, but I still think they are missing the tools to come down with a lot of these passes as they don't create separation or adjust to the ball very well.

[mscarn]

It sucks, because I think Gallon & Joplin are both VERY good WRs, but with a QB that can't push the ball downfield, their skillset is a terrible fit. They fit much better with a Schilz type QB who would let them go up and make plays.

Agreed. One thing we haven't been able to utilize, especially in the redzone, is fade to the corners with these two. They have the frames perfect for matching up against smaller DB's but our timing and execution with Johnson has been nonexistent so far. We've attempted a few tries with it but it's been way off. The same could be said with a verticle shot downfield, as almost everything we attempt is underneath, as evident by Gallon's ypc under 10.0.

I'm deflecting some of this blame off of Johnson. There has been plenty of plays missed by our receivers. Gallon needs to come down with that catch in the end zone last Saturday for the most recent example. Gallon and Joplin are physical yes, but I still think they are missing the tools to come down with a lot of these passes as they don't create separation or adjust to the ball very well.

You have to wonder if this is being emphazied in practice enough. It's certainly not due to a lack of athleticism or physical ability. That tells me it's being taught improperly or is not a point of emphasis when it absolutely should be.

[kdog27]

You see much in the NFL where they let the more physically gifted player go up and make a play even though there is good defense and/or the pass isn't the best. Seems like they should be capable of this once in awhile.