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Once again, this report is based on a half of viewing. I just can't bring myself to watch every "garbage time" play 10 times. I got what I wanted out of the first half.
First off, I want to give the Alcorn St. offensive line some props. They were the obvious class of the team, in other words, their best unit. I thought they were polished, physical, athletic and tenacious. They presented a challenge that I think represents FBS level football. To a man, across the line, they may have lacked the ideal length that a lot of FBS programs are looking for, but those kids are tough players and they appeared very seasoned. I have no idea if they are young or new or whatever (too lazy to look it up), but they look like a salty verteran group to me. If you ask our players, I'll bet they agree.
I was pleased with the overall tone of our defense the other night. We came out and played agressively, with energy, and got up in their faces. Perhaps this came with the confidence of playing an FCS opponent, but I hope it carries over into the meat of our schedule. On the surface, you may be disappointed that we didn't get a half dozen sacks and toss their QB around like a rag doll. Well, how many deep routes (meaning more than 10 yards down field) did you see them try and throw? Zilch, is the answer. They didn't have time to do that. To make matters worse, whether perceived or real, their QB didn't play as if he felt he had time to run their "quick stuff" either. He had a short clock in his head (perhaps put there in practice during the week working with his QB coach) and rushed about everything. Our skill guys on defense suffocated their skill guys on offense. Bottom line. There was little room or time to do anything. We were up in their faces and they couldn't get separation. If they were committed at all to taking shots down the field, we would have gotten to their QB a fair amount in my estimation. As it was, their pocket was moving and collapsing, even with the short clock.
They ran some shotgun based option in the back field in order to try and mount a run game. Because we tend to see a lot of this during the season, every time they left our DE unblocked, I double checked to see if LBs (or Nickel guys or who have you) were on the same page with the DE. In other words, if the DE crashed to the "dive", I wanted to make sure we had a player obviously dedicated to the "keep" and determine did he actually get there. For the most part we did, but there were a couple of busts that were not cashed in on, fortunately.
On to the position groups:
It was fun to watch the DL for a change. I feel like the energy was there. They made it a pretty easy day for the LBs for the most part. We did not get pushed out of lanes as much as I had become used to seeing. For the most part, we either held point (with great frequency), or beat our guy (with a little frequency), while demanding double teams much of the time. Although we rarely got there, the pocket was a thing in motion and not static like we saw so many times last year. The push up the middle was present. It just isn't realistic to expect to see DTs busting through every play, but we got push and, at times, got past our guy. Hunt did some good things. He took on a fair number of doubles, so he was no secret to Alcorn St. In fact, every time they ran option, both he and Gotsis got the double while the playside DE was left unblocked. He is not an easy guy to go against. He didn't take over the game, but he was a pest and he was effective. Gotsis is a better player than last year. He just keeps getting better. He has improved his body and his experience really shows. I don't know the guy at all, but I would bet his work ethic is off the charts. Freeman is still good at getting angles and beating guys with flanking moves, but until the bull rush becomes a part of the package, he will never be "elite". I really like him as a player. He is solid and perhaps more confident, but he is not a dominating force quite yet. If I could give Kallon a hug right now I would do it. He has upped his game and looks like a FB player. His pad level is better. He is using his hands some, got some push, and he flew around the field with tremendous hustle. He got way more snaps than he is used to and got a little gassed in the process, but you have to like how he came out of the gate energy-wise. I don't think he is a starter, but my confidence level has grown. It wasn't perfect with him, but he looked far from out of place. He has always been very athletic and now it is starting to show on the field. Gamble, once again, looks solid yet unspectacular at SDE. He lacks a little in the pass rush but he is a hard guy to move.
PJ Davis has always been a missile at LB since he arrived, but he never looked like a "big" player for his position. He is noticeably bigger this year and it has done nothing to slow him down. He plays fast and hungry, but I also think he reads things better now. He has made a jump in my estimation. He has kept all the good and appeared to have become even more of a force. Our LB crew was aggressive and seemed to do a good job of picking up the underneath stuff. #9, Alexander? Looks the part. He moves well, but seemed to be slower on his reads and less decisive than the experienced guys. He is physical with a lot of potential, but, as is normal with young guys, he is a little behind.
You really have to like what you saw out of our defensive backfield Thursday. We were up in their grill and in to their backfield. Our reads were good and we flew into position. We were better athletes than them and we knew it. Golden and Smith were reading minds out there. It is uncanny their sense of anticipation and how quickly they can go from playing deep to taking a guy down 2 yards past the LOS. Milton and White gave up no room. Total shut down of inferior players. Total. Nickel has got to be the most fun to play in our scheme. Maybe the most difficult too, but fun. They will have a chance to influence the results perhaps more than anybody this year. Both Austin and L. Griffin were very aggressive and quick.
I can't think of a single missed tackle. Great athletes force those to happen sometimes and they didn't have many. We are ready for a greater challenge. The talent differential in the skill positions was just too great to take away too much from this game. I do like what I saw though. If nothing else, there is a different attitude and confidence amongst the kids. It is palpable.
First off, I want to give the Alcorn St. offensive line some props. They were the obvious class of the team, in other words, their best unit. I thought they were polished, physical, athletic and tenacious. They presented a challenge that I think represents FBS level football. To a man, across the line, they may have lacked the ideal length that a lot of FBS programs are looking for, but those kids are tough players and they appeared very seasoned. I have no idea if they are young or new or whatever (too lazy to look it up), but they look like a salty verteran group to me. If you ask our players, I'll bet they agree.
I was pleased with the overall tone of our defense the other night. We came out and played agressively, with energy, and got up in their faces. Perhaps this came with the confidence of playing an FCS opponent, but I hope it carries over into the meat of our schedule. On the surface, you may be disappointed that we didn't get a half dozen sacks and toss their QB around like a rag doll. Well, how many deep routes (meaning more than 10 yards down field) did you see them try and throw? Zilch, is the answer. They didn't have time to do that. To make matters worse, whether perceived or real, their QB didn't play as if he felt he had time to run their "quick stuff" either. He had a short clock in his head (perhaps put there in practice during the week working with his QB coach) and rushed about everything. Our skill guys on defense suffocated their skill guys on offense. Bottom line. There was little room or time to do anything. We were up in their faces and they couldn't get separation. If they were committed at all to taking shots down the field, we would have gotten to their QB a fair amount in my estimation. As it was, their pocket was moving and collapsing, even with the short clock.
They ran some shotgun based option in the back field in order to try and mount a run game. Because we tend to see a lot of this during the season, every time they left our DE unblocked, I double checked to see if LBs (or Nickel guys or who have you) were on the same page with the DE. In other words, if the DE crashed to the "dive", I wanted to make sure we had a player obviously dedicated to the "keep" and determine did he actually get there. For the most part we did, but there were a couple of busts that were not cashed in on, fortunately.
On to the position groups:
It was fun to watch the DL for a change. I feel like the energy was there. They made it a pretty easy day for the LBs for the most part. We did not get pushed out of lanes as much as I had become used to seeing. For the most part, we either held point (with great frequency), or beat our guy (with a little frequency), while demanding double teams much of the time. Although we rarely got there, the pocket was a thing in motion and not static like we saw so many times last year. The push up the middle was present. It just isn't realistic to expect to see DTs busting through every play, but we got push and, at times, got past our guy. Hunt did some good things. He took on a fair number of doubles, so he was no secret to Alcorn St. In fact, every time they ran option, both he and Gotsis got the double while the playside DE was left unblocked. He is not an easy guy to go against. He didn't take over the game, but he was a pest and he was effective. Gotsis is a better player than last year. He just keeps getting better. He has improved his body and his experience really shows. I don't know the guy at all, but I would bet his work ethic is off the charts. Freeman is still good at getting angles and beating guys with flanking moves, but until the bull rush becomes a part of the package, he will never be "elite". I really like him as a player. He is solid and perhaps more confident, but he is not a dominating force quite yet. If I could give Kallon a hug right now I would do it. He has upped his game and looks like a FB player. His pad level is better. He is using his hands some, got some push, and he flew around the field with tremendous hustle. He got way more snaps than he is used to and got a little gassed in the process, but you have to like how he came out of the gate energy-wise. I don't think he is a starter, but my confidence level has grown. It wasn't perfect with him, but he looked far from out of place. He has always been very athletic and now it is starting to show on the field. Gamble, once again, looks solid yet unspectacular at SDE. He lacks a little in the pass rush but he is a hard guy to move.
PJ Davis has always been a missile at LB since he arrived, but he never looked like a "big" player for his position. He is noticeably bigger this year and it has done nothing to slow him down. He plays fast and hungry, but I also think he reads things better now. He has made a jump in my estimation. He has kept all the good and appeared to have become even more of a force. Our LB crew was aggressive and seemed to do a good job of picking up the underneath stuff. #9, Alexander? Looks the part. He moves well, but seemed to be slower on his reads and less decisive than the experienced guys. He is physical with a lot of potential, but, as is normal with young guys, he is a little behind.
You really have to like what you saw out of our defensive backfield Thursday. We were up in their grill and in to their backfield. Our reads were good and we flew into position. We were better athletes than them and we knew it. Golden and Smith were reading minds out there. It is uncanny their sense of anticipation and how quickly they can go from playing deep to taking a guy down 2 yards past the LOS. Milton and White gave up no room. Total shut down of inferior players. Total. Nickel has got to be the most fun to play in our scheme. Maybe the most difficult too, but fun. They will have a chance to influence the results perhaps more than anybody this year. Both Austin and L. Griffin were very aggressive and quick.
I can't think of a single missed tackle. Great athletes force those to happen sometimes and they didn't have many. We are ready for a greater challenge. The talent differential in the skill positions was just too great to take away too much from this game. I do like what I saw though. If nothing else, there is a different attitude and confidence amongst the kids. It is palpable.
