Once again we win the statistical battle but lose the scoreboard war
- Thread starter PirateDawg
- Start date
The same thing that hurt us all year hurt us in the Egg Bowl. Not being able to finish drives and missing field goals. We should’ve been up 20-10 at halftime instead of down 10-6. Will missed a wide open receiver in the end zone on our second drive which led to a field goal, missed a FG later on and then dropped a touchdown three plays in a row on our final drive and missed another FG. The game was there to be had, we just didn’t take it. Hopefully next year, with a year more experience (and a new kicker), we will make those plays.
3 The missed touchdowns. The dropped TDs and the overthrow by Will in the corner.
But I agree with you, it was about as evenly matched as you could get. Just didn’t go our way.
But I agree with you, it was about as evenly matched as you could get. Just didn’t go our way.
Yup. We just didn't make plays. Will was a little off, maybe because of the weather, and then some receivers didn't make plays they should have, again maybe in part b/c of the weather. The bounce off Marks's helmet was pretty bad on Marks, but the other two weren't easy plays, but you can't miss all three of those. At some point you have to make plays to win and we just didn't do it.
No coaching adjustments. For Leach and Arnett, they have to be able to make adjustments to their side when there are game issues as below:
1. Corral's mobility/running. After the second or third run, you have to spy that guy, even if it means blitzing less. Brule or Sweatt should have been spying him after he escaped a couple times. We are not a strong blitzing defense. Arnett never adjusted. That said, the defense played well enough to win that game, but they could have shut that part of their offense down.
2. Kicking. Not kicking the ball out of the end zone and allowing Ealy to have a big return was bad. Not being able to onside kick better than we do is a lack of practicing it. Loosing Ruiz killed our ability to kick FGs. It was obvious all year that we do not work on our special teams as much as we should.
3. Lashley / Williams mismatch. I understand that Leach's offense does not have a TE and the RB is part of the pass plays, but for the love of God, how do you not help out our worst offensive lineman going against their best pass rusher? Bad coaching. You have to at least chip him with the RB or bring in your receiver's tighter on his side to keep Williams from taking an outside speed rush and allow Lashley's slow *** to set the edge of the pocket. Leach has been coaching too long not to have tools to stop or slow this issue. Going into this game we all knew this was going to be an issue and I was hoping Leach had a plan. It didn't appear he did. He better recruit 2 pass blocking tackles ready to play next year or we are going to get Will killed.
Extra. Our interior linemen need to do a better job on twists and delayed blitzes. A 3 man pass rush should never be a problem to block no matter how talented they are. A 4th rusher/blitzing backer should not be an issue either.
1. Corral's mobility/running. After the second or third run, you have to spy that guy, even if it means blitzing less. Brule or Sweatt should have been spying him after he escaped a couple times. We are not a strong blitzing defense. Arnett never adjusted. That said, the defense played well enough to win that game, but they could have shut that part of their offense down.
2. Kicking. Not kicking the ball out of the end zone and allowing Ealy to have a big return was bad. Not being able to onside kick better than we do is a lack of practicing it. Loosing Ruiz killed our ability to kick FGs. It was obvious all year that we do not work on our special teams as much as we should.
3. Lashley / Williams mismatch. I understand that Leach's offense does not have a TE and the RB is part of the pass plays, but for the love of God, how do you not help out our worst offensive lineman going against their best pass rusher? Bad coaching. You have to at least chip him with the RB or bring in your receiver's tighter on his side to keep Williams from taking an outside speed rush and allow Lashley's slow *** to set the edge of the pocket. Leach has been coaching too long not to have tools to stop or slow this issue. Going into this game we all knew this was going to be an issue and I was hoping Leach had a plan. It didn't appear he did. He better recruit 2 pass blocking tackles ready to play next year or we are going to get Will killed.
Extra. Our interior linemen need to do a better job on twists and delayed blitzes. A 3 man pass rush should never be a problem to block no matter how talented they are. A 4th rusher/blitzing backer should not be an issue either.
He missed Polk in the endzone on our first drive after Lane turned the ball over on downs inside the OM 40. That was a killer. We score there, we probably win that game going away.
A normal occurrence for us this year. We were one of the only teams in the country that finished top 25 nationally in both total offense and total defense.
The progress we made offensively this year was exactly what we hoped, but we got killed in the “hidden yards/points.” Our specials teams has to get better in basically every area from coverage to punting and kicking.
The progress we made offensively this year was exactly what we hoped, but we got killed in the “hidden yards/points.” Our specials teams has to get better in basically every area from coverage to punting and kicking.
And with Corral, it’s easy to look at the raw stats and think that he didn’t have a huge day. However, there is no telling how many times we had good coverage which would have normally resulted in 2nd/3rd and long situations, but he was able to scramble for 5-7 yards and put the offense in very manageable spots.
It's those miscellaneous stats at the bottom that get us.
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</tbody>
| 3rd. Down Conv. | 11 of 18 | 4 of 14 |
|---|---|---|
| 4th. Down Conversions | 1 of 3 | 2 of 4 |
| Red-Zone: Scores - Chances | 5-5 | 4-6 |
| Sacks: Total - Yds. | 3-20 | 1-12 |
| PAT: Total - Made | 4-4 | 1-1 |
| Field Goals: Total - Made | 1-1 | 2-4 |
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</tbody>
Actually they tell us a lot.
Have to do the simple things.
Make short field goals.
Don’t drop easy touchdown passes.
Don’t miss easy touchdown throws.
Have to do the simple things.
Make short field goals.
Don’t drop easy touchdown passes.
Don’t miss easy touchdown throws.
BUT the stats DO tell you a big part of why we lost this game.
8 penalties- 75 yards.
Less than 30 minutes TOP.
4-14 3rd down conversions.
Red Zone - 4-6 vs their 5-5
3 sacks given up.
For some reason it takes Will a couple of series until has the touch and goes on unbelievable accuracy runs with his passing. I don't know what can be done to fix that other than practicing it right before the game starts or maybe Will matures a little. I agree with you, we score on that first possession and it puts the pressure on OM and we may never look back.
the game was over at 31-13 with 5:35 on the clock.
putting the stats in context--State gets 121 yards, 8 pts, and a bunch of first downs in 5+ minutes of garbage time--had zero impact on the outcome--but did pad stats. stated differently--State had 299 yds total offense during the first 54 minutes while the contest was being decided, and it accumulated 121 yds, 28% of its total offense, after the outcome had been determined.
putting the stats in context--State gets 121 yards, 8 pts, and a bunch of first downs in 5+ minutes of garbage time--had zero impact on the outcome--but did pad stats. stated differently--State had 299 yds total offense during the first 54 minutes while the contest was being decided, and it accumulated 121 yds, 28% of its total offense, after the outcome had been determined.
Biggest overlooked statistic of the year
Biggest and most overlooked static of the year:
White helmets 3-0.
Including our two biggest wins if the year.
Biggest and most overlooked static of the year:
White helmets 3-0.
Including our two biggest wins if the year.
Never in my life have I’ve seen a team drop 3 TD passes in consecutive plays. That didn’t happen in intramurals and I played with guys with hands of stone!
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