Wanted to type up my thoughts as well as some things I saw from the Gridiron scrimmage and how they translated to gameday.
JTS/tailgating: Man, it was HOT. I thought the lots were hot until I got into the stadium. That was like a sauna. Like I said all summer, for those that were just following the SEZ on the webcam, you have to see it to understand the difference it makes. I'd driven by probably a dozen times since last winter and been inside three times. Still no one had seen it full of people with all of the video and sound going. That was impressive. With people in the seats, you can't see the faded sections vs the new, so you really can't tell there was ever an expansion. I think that what we have now takes a back seat to no one. Sure, it's not the traditional college stadium like iowa and Nebraska have...it's more of an NFL style stadium. So what? You don't hear Oregon fans take any crap because their stadium only seats 60k. We shouldn't either.
QB: I really thought that Sam looked a little hesitant and held the ball too long. He was getting a little pressure, but nothing crazy. Not one of his better games. I actually thought that Mangino should have called a few more zone read plays to get Sam running. Crazy...never thought I'd say that. The one good thing was that when he really needed to, SBR put the ball where it needed to be. Still, he needs to play better. One of my only beefs with the staff was that I thought they kept Richardson in for 2 series too long. When you're up 17 halfway through the 4th and the D was playing like that? Put Sam on the bench and give Lanning some time. We are not going to have that many positive blowouts. And Lanning is going to need some snaps before next year if he's to compete for the job. I don't really know that you want him in down 45-7 to OU where they're just teeing off. Maybe the staff really didn't learn anything from the OU game last year.
RB: They did OK. Didn't really have a lot of holes to run through. Thought Brown opened the game with some nice runs. It seemed like whenever they tried to get extra yardage, they'd get smacked and fumble. Warren looked decent, Thomas at least falls forward well. Gonna need a better game out of these guys down the line, but they weren't given much to work with.
OL: Disappointing I'd say, but going without Burton, I guess it's somewhat forgivable. I think we saw why Taiese isn't a starter. He struggles a little with pass blocking. If we're running, he'll maul people, but he's not quick enough to pass block all that well. Philbert IMO was the opposite. When I watched him, he was destroying people in pass protect, but had some trouble run blocking. Either way, he's a good backup to have and I have no doubt he'll be starting next year. OL needs to step up. Hopefully Burton comes back this week.
TE: They did run a lot of two TE sets. Boesen was more of a lead blocker, Chandler was attached to the line. I don't remember any passes going their way. Guessing the way they ran the ball, they could have helped more in the run game than they did.
WR: Nothing really surprised me here. Lazard is a stud. Montgomery disappeared a little. Bundrage showed his speed, but fumbled twice. I think that he must have small hands. Was surprised that Medders didn't get any touches. Epps looked lost out there, but made at least one nice grab. Daley faking the Safety and scoring on the tunnel screen was one of the plays of the game. Overall, the WRs did well. Getting Wesley back will help down the line.
DL: What an improvement. First off, Tucker is a beast. Sure, he gets worn down, but when he's rested, the kid is relentless. He'll require a double team all year long. And that makes Pierson better. He's a pretty good fit in the 3-4. BTW, in the CGC scrimmage, one thing that never came out was that they played the entire scrimmage in the 3-4. It fits the team better than I thought it would. I think that we see now why Cousins left. Aka did OK. Luna was scrappy. Leath and Thomas showed some potential. I even thought Waggoner did a good job of pushing back the OL. This week they'll get Taylor back. AND, hopefully in a few more, they'll get Mitchell Meyers back, who is a natural fit at 3-4 DE. As long as Tucker stays healthy, this is the best DL ISU has had in 10 years.
LB: First off, I'll say that Jay Jones is a stud. Whoever is sniffing these JUCOs out now is doing a good job (finally). And Northrup is nearly as good. SLB/NB is set. Harris is a hitter. He may not be in the right place all the time, but at least he's going fast. Harvey kind of disappeared. Peters had some good plays here and there. I thought that Seeley was the same...too many missed tackles. Seonbuchner did a decent job when he was in there. They are going to have to bring along Northrup, Harvey, Seonbuchner and Mills over the season if they want decent depth.
DB: They get high marks. Cotton-Moya was all over the place. Just in control. Didn't hear much from Floyd, but that's OK. CB, I was a little surprised to see Peavey get so much time, but he did well. I'd say he and Wiltz played just as much as Sam R. They're all a step below Tribune, but it's not a big step. I'll say I'm a little concerned about lack of depth at Safety.
K/P: No complaints on Downing or the kickoffs, but Netten really needs to hit those early FGs. The best kicker in the country as Rhoads called him doesn't miss those. It wasn't windy. There's no reason to miss there.
Returners: KOR we just didn't see much of. PR was awesome. UNI was stupid for not yanking that punter. I watched Lazard catch a punt in the CGC scrimmage and run it back, so it was no surprise that he got the job and did well. Kid has a knack for it. Ryen seems like a more conventional PR for ISU. We did well too. I'm guessing they'll rotate a little more as the season goes on.
Coverage: Excellent. Jahlas was a missile.
JTS/tailgating: Man, it was HOT. I thought the lots were hot until I got into the stadium. That was like a sauna. Like I said all summer, for those that were just following the SEZ on the webcam, you have to see it to understand the difference it makes. I'd driven by probably a dozen times since last winter and been inside three times. Still no one had seen it full of people with all of the video and sound going. That was impressive. With people in the seats, you can't see the faded sections vs the new, so you really can't tell there was ever an expansion. I think that what we have now takes a back seat to no one. Sure, it's not the traditional college stadium like iowa and Nebraska have...it's more of an NFL style stadium. So what? You don't hear Oregon fans take any crap because their stadium only seats 60k. We shouldn't either.
QB: I really thought that Sam looked a little hesitant and held the ball too long. He was getting a little pressure, but nothing crazy. Not one of his better games. I actually thought that Mangino should have called a few more zone read plays to get Sam running. Crazy...never thought I'd say that. The one good thing was that when he really needed to, SBR put the ball where it needed to be. Still, he needs to play better. One of my only beefs with the staff was that I thought they kept Richardson in for 2 series too long. When you're up 17 halfway through the 4th and the D was playing like that? Put Sam on the bench and give Lanning some time. We are not going to have that many positive blowouts. And Lanning is going to need some snaps before next year if he's to compete for the job. I don't really know that you want him in down 45-7 to OU where they're just teeing off. Maybe the staff really didn't learn anything from the OU game last year.
RB: They did OK. Didn't really have a lot of holes to run through. Thought Brown opened the game with some nice runs. It seemed like whenever they tried to get extra yardage, they'd get smacked and fumble. Warren looked decent, Thomas at least falls forward well. Gonna need a better game out of these guys down the line, but they weren't given much to work with.
OL: Disappointing I'd say, but going without Burton, I guess it's somewhat forgivable. I think we saw why Taiese isn't a starter. He struggles a little with pass blocking. If we're running, he'll maul people, but he's not quick enough to pass block all that well. Philbert IMO was the opposite. When I watched him, he was destroying people in pass protect, but had some trouble run blocking. Either way, he's a good backup to have and I have no doubt he'll be starting next year. OL needs to step up. Hopefully Burton comes back this week.
TE: They did run a lot of two TE sets. Boesen was more of a lead blocker, Chandler was attached to the line. I don't remember any passes going their way. Guessing the way they ran the ball, they could have helped more in the run game than they did.
WR: Nothing really surprised me here. Lazard is a stud. Montgomery disappeared a little. Bundrage showed his speed, but fumbled twice. I think that he must have small hands. Was surprised that Medders didn't get any touches. Epps looked lost out there, but made at least one nice grab. Daley faking the Safety and scoring on the tunnel screen was one of the plays of the game. Overall, the WRs did well. Getting Wesley back will help down the line.
DL: What an improvement. First off, Tucker is a beast. Sure, he gets worn down, but when he's rested, the kid is relentless. He'll require a double team all year long. And that makes Pierson better. He's a pretty good fit in the 3-4. BTW, in the CGC scrimmage, one thing that never came out was that they played the entire scrimmage in the 3-4. It fits the team better than I thought it would. I think that we see now why Cousins left. Aka did OK. Luna was scrappy. Leath and Thomas showed some potential. I even thought Waggoner did a good job of pushing back the OL. This week they'll get Taylor back. AND, hopefully in a few more, they'll get Mitchell Meyers back, who is a natural fit at 3-4 DE. As long as Tucker stays healthy, this is the best DL ISU has had in 10 years.
LB: First off, I'll say that Jay Jones is a stud. Whoever is sniffing these JUCOs out now is doing a good job (finally). And Northrup is nearly as good. SLB/NB is set. Harris is a hitter. He may not be in the right place all the time, but at least he's going fast. Harvey kind of disappeared. Peters had some good plays here and there. I thought that Seeley was the same...too many missed tackles. Seonbuchner did a decent job when he was in there. They are going to have to bring along Northrup, Harvey, Seonbuchner and Mills over the season if they want decent depth.
DB: They get high marks. Cotton-Moya was all over the place. Just in control. Didn't hear much from Floyd, but that's OK. CB, I was a little surprised to see Peavey get so much time, but he did well. I'd say he and Wiltz played just as much as Sam R. They're all a step below Tribune, but it's not a big step. I'll say I'm a little concerned about lack of depth at Safety.
K/P: No complaints on Downing or the kickoffs, but Netten really needs to hit those early FGs. The best kicker in the country as Rhoads called him doesn't miss those. It wasn't windy. There's no reason to miss there.
Returners: KOR we just didn't see much of. PR was awesome. UNI was stupid for not yanking that punter. I watched Lazard catch a punt in the CGC scrimmage and run it back, so it was no surprise that he got the job and did well. Kid has a knack for it. Ryen seems like a more conventional PR for ISU. We did well too. I'm guessing they'll rotate a little more as the season goes on.
Coverage: Excellent. Jahlas was a missile.
