How about some props ...

[1987alum]

for Coach Brandon?

Most of us have been b*tching & moaning about the lack of second-half adjustments and the deer-in-headlines approach to the third quarter. It was quite a different story Saturday. The team came out for the second half just as tenacious as they were in the first half. And while most folks assumed that Solich had some magic coaching potion, it couldn't counteract what the Falcons were doing.

for the seniors?
For keeping the surnames OFF the jerseys. Team first, team last, team always.

for Jelani Jordan?
The favorite whipping boy for many posters made a statement over the past two games - I'm the senior leader of the defensive backfield. Period.

[04forheisman]

I will give Coach Brandon props when we can get through one football game without any special teams disasters

[BGFan]

I will give Coach Brandon props when we can get through one football game without any special teams disasters

...but, then you won't have anything to complain about!

People who recognize and acknowledge the positives are much more fun to be around then people who piss and moan about every little thing. Give credit where credit is due. There were a lot of positives in this game.

(That's why falconboy has such a hard time gaining any credence here. He's not necessarily wrong but he rarely has anything good to say.)

[JimmyZ11381]

I will give Coach Brandon props when we can get through one football game without any special teams disasters

I don't understand this...Coach Brandon has been our coach for two full seasons and what has he done....2 BOWL WINS. If we win the MAC this year and go to another Bowl game, I don't know what more you want from the guy. I think some people have some unrealistic expectations right now. I would love to see us go undefeated as much as anybody else, but we have to keep things in perspective. This program is still on the rise, and its VERY hard to go undefeated. Lets give Coach Brandon some credit for continuing the winning ways of this program.

[04forheisman]

The defense has greatly improved, that I will give props for. If our special teams doesn't improve, and coaching adjustments in big games them we have NO chance of beating Miami and Toledo. These next few games are important, we need to kick the living CRAP out of these bottom feeders and correct these embarassing blunders. If OU would of been a decent team we would of gotten killed. Sorry, I will not sugar coat these blaring mistakes.

[hammb]

I will give Coach Brandon props when we can get through one football game without any special teams disasters

I don't understand this...Coach Brandon has been our coach for two full seasons and what has he done....2 BOWL WINS. If we win the MAC this year and go to another Bowl game, I don't know what more you want from the guy. I think some people have some unrealistic expectations right now. I would love to see us go undefeated as much as anybody else, but we have to keep things in perspective. This program is still on the rise, and its VERY hard to go undefeated. Lets give Coach Brandon some credit for continuing the winning ways of this program.

I'll give Brandon some credit when we do win that MAC title. Saturday was okay, but its not like it was an overly great coaching performance. We always look a lot better when we're going against the dregs of the MAC. We simply out-talented Ohio. We almost shot ourselves in the foot by the asinine call on the opening kickoff. That's the stuff you do when you know you'll struggle to score in the game, not when you've got the best player in the conference running an offense that is nearly unstoppable.

I didn't see any major changes in the second half, we just executed better. We started making better throws and better catches.

Our defense showed up to play and looked improved, I'll give him some props for that (although that goes half for Lovett as well).

I've made it very clear, as have others, that my EXPECTATION for this season is a MAC title. Anything less is a disappointment, anything more would be where the coach would get some credit (for exceeding expectations). At this point about the only way he can exceed any expectations would be to win a bowl game, since we slobbered our way to two OOC losses in the only OOC games that mattered.

I refuse to allow this coach to pull the wool over my eyes again. We have a way of always winning our home games, and beating the teams we're favored by 3 TDs against. That's good that we don't choke in those situations, but not exactly the stuff that deserves praise, IMO. As far as I'm concerned this year we're 0-2 against reasonable D1A football teams and 3-0 against crap. We hung tough in one of those losses, and embarrassed ourselves in the other. Both were abysmal coaching jobs.

I want to like Coach Brandon, but I've seen little to encourage me that he's the sort of guy that can take this program to the next level. If winning 8 games against the bottom 25 of the NCAA to bolster your record is good enough for ya'll, that's cool with me. But for this fan, I want more. When we can start winning against upper tier teams, and winning the conference I'll start to be happy. Until that time, I don't think our coach has really earned anything more than a, "Thanks for not pulling a Blackney"...and even he managed a couple MAC Championships before tanking completely.

[1987alum]

The defense has greatly improved, that I will give props for. If our special teams doesn't improve, and coaching adjustments in big games them we have NO chance of beating Miami and Toledo. These next few games are important, we need to kick the living CRAP out of these bottom feeders and correct these embarassing blunders. If OU would of been a decent team we would of gotten killed. Sorry, I will not sugar coat these blaring mistakes.

Let's keep the hyperbole in check, shall we? No chance at beating Miami & Toledo? We could screw up royally on special teams and still have a chance to win those games. A big chance? No. But to say we have NO chance is a little over the top, don't you think?

And Ohio is a "decent" team. Not great, but decent. And against this decent team, we made those mistakes and still won by more than three touchdowns. Against a "great" team, we may well have been in trouble with those mistakes.

And against this decent team, we did not witness the third quarter paralysis that has come to grip this team in three out of four games this season. That's improvement. That's a BIG improvement.

Isn't that what everyone wants, improvement? And short of someone waving a magic wand and having our defense turn into the '85 Bears, Nate Fry suddenly booming 60-yard field goals and, in general, our special teams immediately playing spotless ball, the best, the absolute best we can hope for is steady improvement. We're seeing that. The defense is starting to come together. We actually made a field goal and haven't missed an extra point in a few weeks.

Is there work to be done? Why, yes, of course there is. But we are improving.

[hammb]

Is there work to be done? Why, yes, of course there is. But we are improving.

Yes, we are improving, and I will give Brandon some credit for addressing some problem areas. Going with Fry for all kicking duties was a good decision, and it needed to be done. Fry is improving and looking a lot better considering it wasn't his job until recently.

That said, I would still argue that the reason why we have so much improving to do is because we started off WAY below expectations. This was a team that was picked to win the MAC, and is clearly more talented than all of our MAC East foes. We were given a LOT of credit, and many picked us to upset UW. We failed, but played a close game. The Boise game was supposed to be a great test, and we came out and drooled on ourselves when we were supposed to play football.

It's definitely nice to see the improvement, but why must we be embarrassed every year on national TV before we start to think about improving? How about coming into a season with a high level of play, and improving upon THAT?

We set the bar of expectations at the beginning of the year. I'm not about to lower that bar because of poor early showings. If beating OU at home becomes the bar then I think we're in for a lot more mediocrity. It was a game we should've dominated, and we did. Good to see. I want more.

[HoustonFalcon]

The first part of the year is OVER. No, we didn't win the two games that we all wanted to win to let the whole world know we should be a legitimate top 25 team. Boy that was a long sentence. Anyways. This team is improving each week. These are young men trying to make themselves better and represent their school well. It's funny how a lot of people that don't have to deal with kids that age all think that it's nice and easy to get these kids to do their job each and every week at the best of their ability. Come on, that just isn't possible. And sometimes, you just don't have the talent at certain positions to do things better. These coaches are doing their job to the best of their ability. I'm sure that these players are doing the most that they can to get better. Some days they aren't going to work as hard as they could, and that is to be expected. I'm sure the staff is yelling in practice when they have to. I know that we say at times that Coach Brandon doesn't get into the defenses face enough when they are having one of those Wisconsin game moments, but they are getting better, and that is what is asked of everyone. If you can't say something positive about the way they are improving, then just don't say anything. This team is winning, and that is what we ask of them.

[1987alum]

hammb:

I think we're in the same section, if not the same row, if you know what I mean.

I've said before that I think Brandon became a head coach before he was ready, that Krebs knew that but decided living with the growing pains outweighed the negatives of going outside the organization. We're living through those growing pains.

In particular ...

Brandon is an offensive coach. I think we've seen him struggle with the idea that defense needs top athletes, too and, perhaps, with how much input he has on the defensive game plan. I think moving Winovich to defense, finally giving Van Johnson a permanent home at DB and the rapid development of Antonio Smith are small indications that more talent is flowing to the defensive side of the ball.

Game management is an issue. I don't think the Ohio game signals the end of our concerns, but it was an indication, I hope, that we're seeing some improvement in that area.

This is the second year in a row that we've stumbled out of the gate. That leads me to believe that the off-season/pre-season approach is another area in which Brandon needs to improve. We'll have to wait until next year to see if he's made strides there, of course.

I don't think we should set the bar at beating Ohio at home. That's not what this program needs to be about. Bowling Green football should be about playing for championships. As you said previously, my expectation at the beginning of the year was MAC Champions. That has not changed and we are, I believe, in a good position to make that happen.

I think this quote says it all ...

It was a game we should've dominated, and we did. Good to see. I want more.

Exactly. And I see signs that the "more" is coming.

[Warthog]

How about props for Omar, now the schools all-time leader in TD passes? Can't believe how this has gone unmentioned. And to do it such a short time is amazing. Think about this, he has played, basically, in 17 games. If he were to come back next year, he would have roughly (give or take a bowl/MAC championship game or two) 20 games left as a Falcon. He would easily double the previous TD passes record. Can you think of any other record on the books that a player could not just beat, but double?

Side note, Brian McClure was about three rows behind us Saturday night. When they announced Omar broke the record, his former teammates started razzing him. McClure said "At least I was here to see it."

[hammb]

Exactly. And I see signs that the "more" is coming.

I hope you're right '87, and you very well could be. I'm of the ilk that is only willing to take so much from games such as Saturdays. I do think we've improved. The last 2 games our defense looked completely different. However, I still need to see it against a higher level of competition before I'll start singing the Monkees.

Last year we came out poor, beat up on crappy competition, but when the chips were down against UT, we still couldn't get the job done. I'm hoping that the coaching staff, and team, have grown to the point where they will not get satisfied. Clearly there were issues against the early tests that caused us to lose. I'm hoping its fixing those flaws that is making us look better, and not just the level of competition, but I'm wary of declaring that the case.

I think if I were the coach I would have the Boise ESPN game tape playing in the meeting room when the team arrived for every single meeting. I would walk in after the team, shut off the tape, and remind them of that embarrassment. I'm hoping that the staff & players don't forget that, because that is an atmosphere reminiscent of what we'll be facing in Oxford. And it is a level of competition that we won't face again until UT (I don't think Miami is as good this year). We need to use these games against scrubs to improve and get better, but we cannot forget the ashes from which our phoenix is trying to rise.

[1987alum]

I think if I were the coach I would have the Boise ESPN game tape playing in the meeting room when the team arrived for every single meeting. I would walk in after the team, shut off the tape, and remind them of that embarrassment. I'm hoping that the staff & players don't forget that, because that is an atmosphere reminiscent of what we'll be facing in Oxford. And it is a level of competition that we won't face again until UT (I don't think Miami is as good this year). We need to use these games against scrubs to improve and get better, but we cannot forget the ashes from which our phoenix is trying to rise.

I have too much Dale Carnegie training to employ that strategy, though I agree that the coaches cannot simply look at the Temple and Ohio games and say, "looks like everything is OK now."

Someone mentioned in another thread that these next several games are important, that they are a chance to work out the kinks. I hope the coaches do that, instead of just "out-talenting" the opposition in a sloppy win. We should win the rest of the games leading up to Miami easily, but the real measuring stick should be how each player grades out in those games.

Example - I know you have a bugaboo about our kick coverage. When we look at kick coverage against Buffalo & WMU, did each player follow his assignment, did they stay in their lane and breakdown at the proper time and with the proper technique? My hope is that the tape for these next several games is graded more intensely than the preceeding games.

[Rightupinthere]

After the Boise game, I was really beginning to be turned off from Brandon because it didn't appear as though he bothered to take history into account when making decisions.

I like what I saw at Homecoming and I liked how OU was simply dominated on O and D. I have expectations that Brandon will improve his coaching style just as other coaches do.

Although the jury is still out in some people's minds, I believe Lovett was a good hire (a decision made by Brandon) and he will continue to improve this defense.

[Tricky_Falcon]

It's funny that we can automatically call Ohio a crappy team now that we beat them. But a week ago a majority were singing their praises saying how good they are and that we have a great chance of losing.