I for one thought that this was a decent step forward for the team. It still wasn't pretty, but IMO they cleaned up some of the dumb mistakes and maybe started to find a little bit of an identity.
QB: I thought both looked good at times and both had some bad moments. If Lanning had Park's accuracy, maybe we'd have something. I have no problem with the rotation.
RB: We saw a glimpse of the old Mike Warren. Probably a small step back for the TRFR. Still, as a group, they are starting to be less of a liability and closer to a strength.
WR: TCU has now shown everyone how to play ISU...bracket Lazard and make the other WRs beat them. Daley needs to catch the ball to beat this scheme or sit the bench. I know the passes weren't great, but his drops were drive killers. Ryen had a good game and DLC and Jones made some plays in mop up time. Did Butler even play? I didn't see him, so maybe his injury kept him out.
TE: Finally a catch! Great grab by Chandler, but man is he slow. Chase Allen would have made a big difference here. Hopefully he and Fernandez round into shape and can contribute down the line.
OL: Wasn't great by any means, but huge improvement over the first 2 games. I was surprised that they didn't pull the RS off of Foster. It will be interesting to see if Philbert gets the message or the boot. I wish Seda had another year, but it doesn't say much for Kodanko, Windham or Curtis...or the two JUCOs. Blocking was poor, but that's a step up from horrendous.
DE: Have yet to hear Luna's name all year. But I thought that Thomas had his best game as a Cyclone and Meyers and Waggoner showed up at times. Maybe Mitch Meyers needs to move back to LEO?
DT: Not the kind of season we expected to see from Tucker so far. Aka had a decent game and Trent actually made a few plays. Not a great day from these guys, but they at least didn't get blown up all game.
LB: I'm sorry, but Seeley is horrible. We did see Harvey make a few plays. Seems to me that once we start playing more passing teams, it should be Harvey and Northrup in there. Mills did OK at times. I'd be interested to hear if Sutton is going to play this year. Payne hasn't lived up to the hype so far...hopefully he'll round into shape.
CB: It was good to see Tribune out there again. I really hoped that Peavey would make more plays this year. He doesn't seem like the same guy. Wiltz played well and Jones did OK at times.
S: KCM just hasn't made the plays that I thought he would and Johnson is late reacting. They need to step up their play.
Overall, I thought it was at least a step in the right direction. The guys who we thought were solid B12 players (Warren, Tucker, Harvey, Peavey, Cotton-Moya) need to be better than they have been. None of those guys have made anything close to all-Big 12 type plays so far. The D has gotten all of one turnover in 3 games and I don't remember more than a few others that they were even close to getting. The team cut down on the stupid penalties and didn't turn the ball over. So, I guess baby steps, we should be encouraged. If they improve as much again this week, they should beat SJSU. If they don't, they'll lose and we'll be looking at that trip to Lawrence as our only potential win. Honestly, the only things that we need to look for this season is getting good effort, continuing to implement the system and the culture, getting the young players some experience and keeping the recruiting class intact.
QB: I thought both looked good at times and both had some bad moments. If Lanning had Park's accuracy, maybe we'd have something. I have no problem with the rotation.
RB: We saw a glimpse of the old Mike Warren. Probably a small step back for the TRFR. Still, as a group, they are starting to be less of a liability and closer to a strength.
WR: TCU has now shown everyone how to play ISU...bracket Lazard and make the other WRs beat them. Daley needs to catch the ball to beat this scheme or sit the bench. I know the passes weren't great, but his drops were drive killers. Ryen had a good game and DLC and Jones made some plays in mop up time. Did Butler even play? I didn't see him, so maybe his injury kept him out.
TE: Finally a catch! Great grab by Chandler, but man is he slow. Chase Allen would have made a big difference here. Hopefully he and Fernandez round into shape and can contribute down the line.
OL: Wasn't great by any means, but huge improvement over the first 2 games. I was surprised that they didn't pull the RS off of Foster. It will be interesting to see if Philbert gets the message or the boot. I wish Seda had another year, but it doesn't say much for Kodanko, Windham or Curtis...or the two JUCOs. Blocking was poor, but that's a step up from horrendous.
DE: Have yet to hear Luna's name all year. But I thought that Thomas had his best game as a Cyclone and Meyers and Waggoner showed up at times. Maybe Mitch Meyers needs to move back to LEO?
DT: Not the kind of season we expected to see from Tucker so far. Aka had a decent game and Trent actually made a few plays. Not a great day from these guys, but they at least didn't get blown up all game.
LB: I'm sorry, but Seeley is horrible. We did see Harvey make a few plays. Seems to me that once we start playing more passing teams, it should be Harvey and Northrup in there. Mills did OK at times. I'd be interested to hear if Sutton is going to play this year. Payne hasn't lived up to the hype so far...hopefully he'll round into shape.
CB: It was good to see Tribune out there again. I really hoped that Peavey would make more plays this year. He doesn't seem like the same guy. Wiltz played well and Jones did OK at times.
S: KCM just hasn't made the plays that I thought he would and Johnson is late reacting. They need to step up their play.
Overall, I thought it was at least a step in the right direction. The guys who we thought were solid B12 players (Warren, Tucker, Harvey, Peavey, Cotton-Moya) need to be better than they have been. None of those guys have made anything close to all-Big 12 type plays so far. The D has gotten all of one turnover in 3 games and I don't remember more than a few others that they were even close to getting. The team cut down on the stupid penalties and didn't turn the ball over. So, I guess baby steps, we should be encouraged. If they improve as much again this week, they should beat SJSU. If they don't, they'll lose and we'll be looking at that trip to Lawrence as our only potential win. Honestly, the only things that we need to look for this season is getting good effort, continuing to implement the system and the culture, getting the young players some experience and keeping the recruiting class intact.
