jpfalcon09 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 9:12 am
We're all singing a different tune today if Orth doesn't fumble, he doesn't overthrow OJ on the 4th quarter corner route, and if the Oladokun INT is seven instead of three. Felt like a perfect storm of unfortunate events in the 2nd half, beginning with that awful snap on the seven yard punt, then the fumble, and finally injuries to Connor, Fannin & Kam Stewart.
Fact is BG didn't execute well enough on a few key plays and they lost because of it. Calling for people to be fired over it is lazy in my opinion. Toledo seized on the momentum swing and BG started reeling. That's what good teams do.
I have no issue trying to throw the ball late, Toledo started loading the box when Orth came in. They knew the offense was going to be limited and they were right. Cam struggled throwing the ball, but it gave BG the best chance to win. Toledo had timeouts to burn on the BG possession before the Stuart TD to win the game. First down run was stuffed. Two more running plays probably would have had a similar result and Toledo takes their timeouts. The fate of the game probably doesn't change a whole lot.
Great post & I agree to a point. The play calling was just bizarre in the second half, I think SL appears to be a pretty decent coach thru the week but some of his play calling on gameday is odd. I just believe we should've been able to turn out a few first downs & shorten the game. Instead the Falcons kept trying pass after pass.
I like our coaching staff but I worry SL suffers from Brandon Staley syndrome (coach of the Chargers) where we just do some head scratching stuff that costs us. Talent wise this is an 8-9 win team (not counting the bowl) but so much weird stuff seems to happen consistently
Bgsu2016 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:09 pm
Talent wise this is an 8-9 win team (not counting the bowl) but so much weird stuff seems to happen consistently
There is an elite player at every level of this team on offense and defense with the exception of the offensive line. That says a lot about Loeffler. You just hope he learns from games like this.
jpfalcon09 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 9:12 am
We're all singing a different tune today if Orth doesn't fumble, he doesn't overthrow OJ on the 4th quarter corner route, and if the Oladokun INT is seven instead of three. Felt like a perfect storm of unfortunate events in the 2nd half, beginning with that awful snap on the seven yard punt, then the fumble, and finally injuries to Connor, Fannin & Kam Stewart.
Fact is BG didn't execute well enough on a few key plays and they lost because of it. Calling for people to be fired over it is lazy in my opinion. Toledo seized on the momentum swing and BG started reeling. That's what good teams do.
I have no issue trying to throw the ball late, Toledo started loading the box when Orth came in. They knew the offense was going to be limited and they were right. Cam struggled throwing the ball, but it gave BG the best chance to win. Toledo had timeouts to burn on the BG possession before the Stuart TD to win the game. First down run was stuffed. Two more running plays probably would have had a similar result and Toledo takes their timeouts. The fate of the game probably doesn't change a whole lot.
I never complain about trying to pass the ball and actually gain first downs in "ice the game" situations. Very few teams have the OL/RB combo to just announce they're going to run the clock out.
We seemed to do ok on many 1st down runs last night, but when it was time to push forward and gain 2 yards? Wasn't happening.
jpfalcon09 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 9:12 am
We're all singing a different tune today if Orth doesn't fumble, he doesn't overthrow OJ on the 4th quarter corner route, and if the Oladokun INT is seven instead of three. Felt like a perfect storm of unfortunate events in the 2nd half, beginning with that awful snap on the seven yard punt, then the fumble, and finally injuries to Connor, Fannin & Kam Stewart.
Fact is BG didn't execute well enough on a few key plays and they lost because of it. Calling for people to be fired over it is lazy in my opinion. Toledo seized on the momentum swing and BG started reeling. That's what good teams do.
I have no issue trying to throw the ball late, Toledo started loading the box when Orth came in. They knew the offense was going to be limited and they were right. Cam struggled throwing the ball, but it gave BG the best chance to win. Toledo had timeouts to burn on the BG possession before the Stuart TD to win the game. First down run was stuffed. Two more running plays probably would have had a similar result and Toledo takes their timeouts. The fate of the game probably doesn't change a whole lot.
Great post & I agree to a point. The play calling was just bizarre in the second half, I think SL appears to be a pretty decent coach thru the week but some of his play calling on gameday is odd. I just believe we should've been able to turn out a few first downs & shorten the game. Instead the Falcons kept trying pass after pass.
I like our coaching staff but I worry SL suffers from Brandon Staley syndrome (coach of the Chargers) where we just do some head scratching stuff that costs us. Talent wise this is an 8-9 win team (not counting the bowl) but so much weird stuff seems to happen consistently
Bear in mind the playbook is pared down for Orth. He comes in and there's only so much you can do with him because of what he's been used for, which is red zone touches. It's why you saw the QB power runs as BG was on their side of the field. It is what it is, and as such the play calls suffered because of it. Loeffler said after the game he felt the pass game gave BG the best chance to move the ball, and I agree. Even adjusted for the sack yardage, BG was only going for about three yards a carry. Trying to run out the clock and praying your defense has enough left in the tank would have also been a losing strategy.
Citing magic "if" scenarios is not a defense of this coaching staff or what happened last night.
Looking at SL's body of work at BG, I am convinced we will never get any better than this -- which is not acceptable to me. I want us to have a chance to get to MAC title games and to be competitive with teams like Ohio & Miami each season. We're not close to that, yet, and a close loss to a rival should not be evidence that we are.
If this program wants to grow and become a factor in the MAC again, it will make a coaching change. I'm hoping our AD feels the same and is able to find a coach who will get us there.
I went to bed in the early third quarter feeling somewhat like Colonel Trautman did after LT Clinton Morgan blew up the mine shaft in First Blood, and they declared Rambo dead….. I had a feeling he’d blow the game. It’s what this staff does. The perpetual inconsistency is caused by repeated questionable mistakes, different ones each and every week.
jpfalcon09 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:36 pm
Bear in mind the playbook is pared down for Orth. He comes in and there's only so much you can do with him because of what he's been used for, which is red zone touches. It's why you saw the QB power runs as BG was on their side of the field. It is what it is, and as such the play calls suffered because of it. Loeffler said after the game he felt the pass game gave BG the best chance to move the ball, and I agree. Even adjusted for the sack yardage, BG was only going for about three yards a carry. Trying to run out the clock and praying your defense has enough left in the tank would have also been a losing strategy.
That is incorrect. TK was 15-64 rushing, the team stats were affected by Bazelak having 7 rushes for -10. More TK/Wimberly and less QB draws would have been my recommendation. We have to be honest, SL is a former QB & loves QB's. The guy would rather have QB draws than jet sweeps & dives which would've helped. More rushes would have put them a little more off balance & opened up the quick passing game we had in the 1st half.
jpfalcon09 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:36 pm
Bear in mind the playbook is pared down for Orth. He comes in and there's only so much you can do with him because of what he's been used for, which is red zone touches. It's why you saw the QB power runs as BG was on their side of the field. It is what it is, and as such the play calls suffered because of it. Loeffler said after the game he felt the pass game gave BG the best chance to move the ball, and I agree. Even adjusted for the sack yardage, BG was only going for about three yards a carry. Trying to run out the clock and praying your defense has enough left in the tank would have also been a losing strategy.
That is incorrect. TK was 15-64 rushing, the team stats were affected by Bazelak having 7 rushes for -10. More TK/Wimberly and less QB draws would have been my recommendation. We have to be honest, SL is a former QB & loves QB's. The guy would rather have QB draws than jet sweeps & dives which would've helped. More rushes would have put them a little more off balance & opened up the quick passing game we had in the 1st half.
Funny, he loathed having to run the qb with Grant Loy, who was a good quality runner IMHO. Consistently inconsistent.
Flipper wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 3:44 pm
Ironically...in the preseason..SL said they would focus on running the ball successfully. When they really needed to do that...he went away from it
Would’ve been much easier to run the ball with their top 2 RBs and LT healthy, no?
Flipper wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 4:15 pm
That's why you recruit depth....
He leaves talent out of the game plan week to week. Patterson, Wimberley or Fannin; at the least, we’re capable out of the backfield. Same replay for 5 years. It’s why I knew there was a good chance this game would be an L after halftime. Not rooting for it, just inevitable.
It's that feeling of inevitability of losing a game in which we dominated the first half, that's really unfortunate. It would be so nice to get back to the days of going into the locker room with confidence that we won't lose focus, go away from the game plan, call non-sense plays and make mistakes that will lead to a 2nd half collapse in a game we should win. At this point, we are conditioned to know that any success this program may have is only going to be there for a fleeting moment, then we'll de-rail again for no real reason. The lack of consistency just sucks the life out of me, as a fan.
Beaker wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 11:17 am
It's that feeling of inevitability of losing a game in which we dominated the first half, that's really unfortunate. It would be so nice to get back to the days of going into the locker room with confidence that we won't lose focus, go away from the game plan, call non-sense plays and make mistakes that will lead to a 2nd half collapse in a game we should win. At this point, we are conditioned to know that any success this program may have is only going to be there for a fleeting moment, then we'll de-rail again for no real reason. The lack of consistency just sucks the life out of me, as a fan.
I think it was near unanimous with our group in the stadium that we all expected a loss as we came out of halftime. That's the Scot Loeffler experience.
I mean personally for me I can lay my biases all out there and every post I make on this forum should be read with that grain of salt. I despised Scot Loeffler's resume prior to coming to BG. If I were in charge I would not have granted him an interview let alone considered him for hiring. Since his arrival in BG I've come to dislike him even more as he's A) put forth years of awful to watch football, B) been completely uncompetitive in the landscape of our conference, and C) I flat hate hearing the man talk. I think he's an excuse riddled egomaniac.
Until he proves that he can make it through a season winning all the games he should and least being competitive in our own division there is little to nothing he can do to change my opinions. As I watch every game I wonder how they're going to screw it up. When they do beat the craptastic teams we get to play every year I have a hard time taking joy in them because I know it's shortlived and not going to build upon anything. I am open minded enough to realize there are multiple schematic ways to win football games, but even when we win I do not enjoy watching the way we win so that removes any benefit of the doubt from me.
He's had 5 seasons to prove me wrong. He's currently 6-5 this year with 2 blowout losses against the leaders in our division and blew a 28-10 halftime lead against our rival. And THAT is quite likely still going to end up as the high water mark for his first 5 seasons at BG; it's the first time we've ever had a + point differential. So yeah..I was as confident we were going to lose at halftime as I was at the start of the game. THe only thing I was less sure of was the margin of defeat.
He deserves credit for recruiting some talent. Offensive line play is still not where it needs to be but it is slightly better. I think you’ll continue to see the team beat teams they should because they are just more talented. Against teams that have that have equal or slightly better talent, BG is going to lose 9 times out of 10 because of coaching.
I’d have moved on after last season, but he’s obviously coming back now. I think the best chance for this team to win under Loeffler is for him to give up playcalling. It takes a special coach to call plays and manage the team and the game. He is at best avg to below avg at playcalling…let someone else focus on that. That would free up Loeffler to just focus on the game. Hopefully cutting down on some of the penalties and dumb mistakes.
I’ve said it hundreds of times. BG should be winning championships multiple times a decade. They don’t pay at the same level as some other schools in the MAC, but they have other advantages other schools don’t in terms of facilities, budget, campus etc.
A slightly above avg coach can win championships here or at least be in the hunt every year.
