I swore I wasn't going to do this... but here it is.
The last three games...
An abomination.
Improvement, but disappointing.
What team was this I was watching?
Especially in the first half, the team played with some fire and determination that we simply haven't seen all season.
Offense: B+
Really, the offense could be graded in the two halves, with the first half grading higher in the second half, and most of that based on the play calling.
I'll address the play calling first. Did aliens steal Dunn's brain and replace it with someone else? Abbie somebody? Abbie Normal? Was Gundy calling the plays in the first half? It was NOT the same offense we've seen the past couple of years. Well, except the second series, the three and out, that looked familiar. Line plunge for four yards. Throw it 25 yards needlessly down field on 2nd and 6, incomplete, and then line plunge on 3rd and 6 for no gain. That's classic Dunn play calling. But the rest of the half was creative, inventive, got the ball out of Bowman's hands quickly, kept the defense off balance, and kept the chains moving. Damn good offensive play calling and I'd like to see more of it, whoever was doing it.
Red zone offense still needs to improve. Three straight line plunges on goal to go drives me nuts. There's a reason why every single NFL team runs play action passes in goal to go situations... because it works. The linebackers and safeties have to respect the play action, which means the tight end or fullback is almost always open. Or, if we're going to run, that I-formation counter pitch we ran at Arizona was beautiful. Again, with the fullback hitting the middle that draws the linebackers in. If we improve our red zone offense just a little last night that game is a blow out.
Bowman was better. 19 of 35, 235, 0 and 0, QB rating 110.686 still isn't great, but it's better. His tendencies to flush when he doesn't need to and throw off his back foot when he doesn't need to and give up sacks when he doesn't need to, all of that has been worked on and improved. And play calling, getting the ball out of his hand quicker helped him too.
The run game was clicking when we were running outside the B gap. A gap we would lose a yard or two. I know we have to run A gap once in a while to keep the defense honest, but, please, coaches, when we actually need the yards, figure this out. We gain yards on the edges and lose yards inside. We were especially gaining yards on our left side. We had something going there.
Defense: A
What the Nardo is going on out there? We hadn't had a defensive score in 25 games. I'm not sure when the last time we forced three turnovers was. We *desperately* needed that defensive performance and our young defense came through. There was obviously a metric ton of preparation that happened in the off week and it showed, big time. And Cam Epps! Wow, buddy! I would buy you a Snickers this morning if I could! Every... single... time... we needed a play on defense, we got one.
Yes, okay, they made some adjustments at halftime and moved the ball and scored a little bit. They are still a very good team. And yes, in the second half we had some guys get blocked and we had a few players that were out of position and they ran through some arm tackles. Okay, we're still a young defense with a bunch of new players. But, still... every... single... time... we needed a play on defense, we got one.
Nicklas Martin, you get a Snickers AND a Venti Latte.
Special teams: A-
The only reason this isn't a solid A is because we let one guy come through untouched to block a field goal. Alex Hale has turned from a reliable kicker into a weapon. To put it simply, our special teams were better than theirs, and that is something considering it was K-State and their special teams are usually top notch.
Coaching: FIRE GUNDY!
Seriously, stop it. There has been a lot of coaching going on the past two weeks and it showed last night. We have a good coach. We have a string of bowl games and winning seasons that is unprecedented in our history, and our history hasn't been good exactly. Sure, the season could still tank. But last night showed what good coaches can do. Let's get behind our team and coaches because last night gave us hope. Ride with Pride! Go Pokes! Loyal and True!
The last three games...
An abomination.
Improvement, but disappointing.
What team was this I was watching?
Especially in the first half, the team played with some fire and determination that we simply haven't seen all season.
Offense: B+
Really, the offense could be graded in the two halves, with the first half grading higher in the second half, and most of that based on the play calling.
I'll address the play calling first. Did aliens steal Dunn's brain and replace it with someone else? Abbie somebody? Abbie Normal? Was Gundy calling the plays in the first half? It was NOT the same offense we've seen the past couple of years. Well, except the second series, the three and out, that looked familiar. Line plunge for four yards. Throw it 25 yards needlessly down field on 2nd and 6, incomplete, and then line plunge on 3rd and 6 for no gain. That's classic Dunn play calling. But the rest of the half was creative, inventive, got the ball out of Bowman's hands quickly, kept the defense off balance, and kept the chains moving. Damn good offensive play calling and I'd like to see more of it, whoever was doing it.
Red zone offense still needs to improve. Three straight line plunges on goal to go drives me nuts. There's a reason why every single NFL team runs play action passes in goal to go situations... because it works. The linebackers and safeties have to respect the play action, which means the tight end or fullback is almost always open. Or, if we're going to run, that I-formation counter pitch we ran at Arizona was beautiful. Again, with the fullback hitting the middle that draws the linebackers in. If we improve our red zone offense just a little last night that game is a blow out.
Bowman was better. 19 of 35, 235, 0 and 0, QB rating 110.686 still isn't great, but it's better. His tendencies to flush when he doesn't need to and throw off his back foot when he doesn't need to and give up sacks when he doesn't need to, all of that has been worked on and improved. And play calling, getting the ball out of his hand quicker helped him too.
The run game was clicking when we were running outside the B gap. A gap we would lose a yard or two. I know we have to run A gap once in a while to keep the defense honest, but, please, coaches, when we actually need the yards, figure this out. We gain yards on the edges and lose yards inside. We were especially gaining yards on our left side. We had something going there.
Defense: A
What the Nardo is going on out there? We hadn't had a defensive score in 25 games. I'm not sure when the last time we forced three turnovers was. We *desperately* needed that defensive performance and our young defense came through. There was obviously a metric ton of preparation that happened in the off week and it showed, big time. And Cam Epps! Wow, buddy! I would buy you a Snickers this morning if I could! Every... single... time... we needed a play on defense, we got one.
Yes, okay, they made some adjustments at halftime and moved the ball and scored a little bit. They are still a very good team. And yes, in the second half we had some guys get blocked and we had a few players that were out of position and they ran through some arm tackles. Okay, we're still a young defense with a bunch of new players. But, still... every... single... time... we needed a play on defense, we got one.
Nicklas Martin, you get a Snickers AND a Venti Latte.
Special teams: A-
The only reason this isn't a solid A is because we let one guy come through untouched to block a field goal. Alex Hale has turned from a reliable kicker into a weapon. To put it simply, our special teams were better than theirs, and that is something considering it was K-State and their special teams are usually top notch.
Coaching: FIRE GUNDY!
Seriously, stop it. There has been a lot of coaching going on the past two weeks and it showed last night. We have a good coach. We have a string of bowl games and winning seasons that is unprecedented in our history, and our history hasn't been good exactly. Sure, the season could still tank. But last night showed what good coaches can do. Let's get behind our team and coaches because last night gave us hope. Ride with Pride! Go Pokes! Loyal and True!
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