Smurph's smack - week 4

[smurph]

A win is a win is a win. I have to keep telling myself that. Hopefully I can tell myself that 8-9 more times this season.
First off, our opponent. I will give Colorado credit. They came to play in a game where they were completely outmanned. At halftime they were able to come up with a blitz package that took us completely out of our passing game. In 2 consecutive series, we had 3 sacks with total lost yardage of about 45 yards. Expect Syracuse to pick this up on the game tapes. We had better learn how to block the middle blitz or we will lose next week.

1. Quarterback - C+ The huge losses on the sacks are partly his fault for nor recognizing them, and for not getting rid of the ball sooner. Then there is the stupid fumble and overthrowing 2 wide-open receivers.
2. Offensive line - C- They blocked well in the running game, but it was against a young, not-very-good defense. No pass blocking at all in the second half.
3. RBs - A+ Noel had his best game, not just from a yardage standpoint but in the way he was able to read the defense. Nearly every decision he made was the right one and he broke a few tackles.
4. Receivers - C 2 fumbles. Bradley Starks seems like he is a thousand miles away. He lacks concentration and composure. Truly a stupid fumble. He did have a couple of nice receptions. Jock Sanders played his usual solid game. They should have used him more. His fumble is the only one which might be excusable because he was fighting for more yardage on third down. Wes Lyons is useless as a receiver, though he is probably the best blocker among the receivers.
5. D-line and linebackers - C There was no pass rush against a young offensive line. Stewart is a good runner who caused us to miss way too many tackles. It was good to have Reed Williams back in there. Not a great athlete, but he is always in the right place.
6. Defensive backs - D We were told at the beginning of the season we would blitz more with more man coverage. I was wondering why we haven't. Last night answered that question. Our cornerbacks SUCK. On one of the rare occassions we blitzed, Hogan got burned for a touchdown. He looked like he was running alongside the receiver, giving him an escort into the end zone. AND HE IS OUR BEST CORNERBACK. I saw Tandy do the same escort thing on a sideline pass in the first half. Fucking HIT SOMEBODY.
7. Special teams - C- Kozlowski has been fabulous all season. He was probably our best player last night other than Devine. Will he be playing on Sundays next year? I think so. He did almost have a couple blocked, so with our pathetic ST coach, expect a punt to be blocked against either Syracuse or Marshall. KO coverage - The KO coverage team on last year' team was the worst I have ever seen - until this year. Expect our KO coverage to be the worst in the country in the forseeable future.
8. Coaching - C I blame the continuing KO coverage problems on the coach. I also blame them for not adjusting to Colorado's blitz in the second half. As for the other problems on this team, it's time the players start taking most of the blame. You can only tell a kid to "protect the ball" so many times. Eventually they have to do it. You can't take your best players out of the game for a lesser player.

In summation -Other than Noel Devine, not one aspect of our team rates above a C for this game. Much like last season, this is a very talented team that just doesn't seem to get it. They will win most games with superior talent, but will lose 1-2 more games they should win. If they don't address their problems, they will lose to Pitt and/or USF and they will get slaughtered by Cincinnati.

[smiteedawgwv]

It wasn't very pretty but yes it's a win and that is all that really matters . My outlook on this team is that IF we hold on to the ball we are virtually unstoppable. We've left 50+ points on the field the last 2 games because of turnovers. The offense is potent and can strike very quickly. Jarrett needs to settle down and just do what he did in the first 2 games, I think he still had flashbacks of the Auburn game last night not wanting to make the same mistakes. The defensive backs need some improvement without a doubt. I'm not going to be rough on the line and linebackers because they were held on virtually every play without getting the calls from the Big 12 crew but were still able to get some occasional pressure on the QB which resulted in incompletions and a couple of sacks. I'm hoping the D will gel all of a sudden like it did last year. We have 3 "should win" games to get tuned up before USF and I think we'll be OK by then. Honestly there's only 1 statistic I'm concerned about and that's the score. If the D can improve any at all and give our offense more chances, AND we hold on to the ball we will outscore anyone.

[smiteedawgwv]

Oh, a bright spot that I forgot to mention is Ryan Clarke, this kid is getting the job done in short yardage situations. Not a whole lot of carries so far but averaging nearly 5 yards per carry with 3 TD's. I see a very bright future as a Mountaineer for him.

[elp525]

I agree our D-backs are soft. They give way too much cushion.
It was good to see Reed on the field. Our D is always tighter with him there. He is a great general and always is around the ball.
What is up with the coaching of these kids on how to carry the ball? They need to tuck the ball away instead of carrying it like a loaf of bread.
Our kick-off coverage is . Period.

[mountaineer501]

I must agree with most of the comments. Jarrett seems to be looking for escape route too soon. He needs to look for receivers and if the pass isn't there , run if it's there but throw it away if not. He can be a great passing qb needs to focus on that. Receivers will get open.

Two bright points. Kozlowski, if coverage team will tackle he will be among national leaders. Ryan Clark redshirt freshman Great Future.

One difference of opinion "can't take your best players out of the game for a lesser player" I've seen many great coaches do just that to provide a wake-up call and it works. Remember all these guys were stars in high school and sometimes need to be reminded that this is a different level.

[smurph]

[glow=red,2,300]I'm not going to be rough on the line and linebackers because they were held on virtually every play without getting the calls from the Big 12 crew[/glow]
I noticed this also. I used to think BE officials were the worst in the country, and 2-3 years ago they were. Having seen other games with other officials now, I would say the current BE officials are better than most.

[joemountaineer]

I'm a little late in the week on my post. Must say I agree with most of what was written in this thread. The B12 officiating was PATHETIC, not one penalty on CU the first half, and a total gimmie on a delay of game penalty that SHOULD have been called. The tackles for CU were holding almost the entire night. Heck, I saw several plays where the lineman had an arm WRAPPED around the helmet of our players and it was right in front of the backfield judge - NO CALL. Really bad. Over all, this team is underachieving. If it weren't game five coming up, I'd be confident they could still work out the kinks. But funbling the ball, not picking up blitz's in game four does not bode well. I'll try to remain upbeat and think things will get better but there are glaring issues with this team. It's just realllly too bad WVU is the only team holding itself back at the moment on offense. Defensively, I agree, the corners are using terrible technique. I don't know what is up with Hogan, he seemed like a budding star last year - made some mistakes but I chalked them up to inexperience. But the mistakes his second year in are really inexcusable.