These "slow" starts where the team gets behind big early is a sign of...

[Katatonic]

poor game planning, poor play-calling, players not being in the right position, etc.

There is really no excuse for this as the players donning purple don't yet have to worry about classes, etc. (if anything, they should be the ones better prepared early in the season).

 

[Rebel II]

poor game planning, poor play-calling, players not being in the right position, etc.

There is really no excuse for this as the players donning purple don't yet have to worry about classes, etc. (if anything, they should be the ones better prepared early in the season).

Reasonable criticism. We should all know by now that Fitz doesn't seem to give a crap about OOC games and most of September. Saving for B1G?

 

[phatcat]

poor game planning, poor play-calling, players not being in the right position, etc.

There is really no excuse for this as the players donning purple don't yet have to worry about classes, etc. (if anything, they should be the ones better prepared early in the season).

Especially with a bye week and the "let's go 1-0 this week" mantra.

Oh well, I expected 3-9, and the West is in a shambles. And we have a QB. I hate losing to Puke but am over it

 

[zeek55]

Especially with a bye week and the "let's go 1-0 this week" mantra.

Oh well, I expected 3-9, and the West is in a shambles. And we have a QB. I hate losing to Puke but am over it

The team does look much better than any reasonable expectation after last year.

We played the same listless first quarter that we did against them last year.

And West division looks like everyone took a step back except Minnesota and Illinois.

Lots of beatable teams on our schedule.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

We need to open up the offensive playbook.
Gordon has shown that he is worth targeting down the field.
Passes to Hull are gold - the LBs can't cover him and a lot of guys can't tackle him in space.

The defense cannot be expected to hold up, so we have to change our philosophy.
That is not easy to do, but is obviously necessary.

Stop being so afraid of turnovers and chuck the ball deep.

And please start bringing the blitz. Pressure causes turnovers and bad passes. When your defense cannot stop people, you have to take chances.

 

[FeralFelidae]

And please start bringing the blitz. Pressure causes turnovers and bad passes. When your defense cannot stop people, you have to take chances.

Does blitzing fit into the "read and react" philosophy? I think of blitzing as more of an attacking thing.

 

[Sheffielder]

Especially with a bye week and the "let's go 1-0 this week" mantra.

Oh well, I expected 3-9, and the West is in a shambles. And we have a QB. I hate losing to Puke but am over it

So let me slip in here and ask a question of anyone who wants to answer it.

Let's say we win the West - couple of upsets, couple of gritty wins, couple of solid wins, maybe a loss to Minny but they lose too many themselves...we get to the championship and get absolutely decimated by Ohio State (like...let's say we lose by more than four TDs), and then let's say a Jan. 1 drubbing by the SEC West Champs, and let's say that's Kentucky.

Are we happy?

 

[FanatiCat]

So let me slip in here and ask a question of anyone who wants to answer it.

Let's say we win the West - couple of upsets, couple of gritty wins, couple of solid wins, maybe a loss to Minny but they lose too many themselves...we get to the championship and get absolutely decimated by Ohio State (like...let's say we lose by more than four TDs), and then let's say a Jan. 1 drubbing by the SEC West Champs, and let's say that's Kentucky.

Are we happy?

Happy relative to last year, for sure. Not “happy” from a program growth standpoint as we’ve done that before and we really need to get over the hump of winning a B1G championship and/or winning a NY6 bowl.

 

[gocats8992]

We need to open up the offensive playbook.
Gordon has shown that he is worth targeting down the field.
Passes to Hull are gold - the LBs can't cover him and a lot of guys can't tackle him in space.

The defense cannot be expected to hold up, so we have to change our philosophy.
That is not easy to do, but is obviously necessary.

Stop being so afraid of turnovers and chuck the ball deep.

And please start bringing the blitz. Pressure causes turnovers and bad passes. When your defense cannot stop people, you have to take chances.

I completely agree here with bringing more blitzes. The coaches are too conservative and not aggressive enough on defense… leading to slow play. This then leads to slows starts.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Does blitzing fit into the "read and react" philosophy? I think of blitzing as more of an attacking thing.

Certainly one could build a blitzing scheme based on reading and reacting to the offense's formation.

I'm talking about regularly sending one of the linebackers on nearly every 2nd and 3rd down.

Sometimes a safety. Sometimes a cornerback. Sometimes nobody blitzes.

Get the quarterbacks head spinning.

NEVER rush less than 4 guys. That approach is lame when your defense is below average.

 

[Inovacat]

Would someone here who knows football tell me if our defensive line let Duke’s O-line get a running start on every running play was a good alignment. Our defensive linemen looked like were were 2-3 yard off the ball a lot of times and that resulted in running plays that went by the linemen because they were already in battle when the runner with the ball whizzed by.

 

[FeralFelidae]

Certainly one could build a blitzing scheme based on reading and reacting to the offense's formation.

I'm talking about regularly sending one of the linebackers on nearly every 2nd and 3rd down.

Sometimes a safety. Sometimes a cornerback. Sometimes nobody blitzes.

Get the quarterbacks head spinning.

NEVER rush less than 4 guys. That approach is lame when your defense is below average.

If you are predictable with your blitzes ("nearly" every 2nd and 3rd down), there are plays (screens, etc.) that can be called to punish them.

 

[1060Ivy]

Fitz traditionally appears to play more “vanilla” against non-conference portion of schedule.

Wouldn’t expect anything but vanilla - power running game, passes to flats, minimum blitzes, etc. - for the next weeks.

Would like to see the O stretch the field, taking shots downfield but not expecting it so the Cats O gets to face 8 men in the box D.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

If you are predictable with your blitzes ("nearly" every 2nd and 3rd down), there are plays (screens, etc.) that can be called to punish them.

Well sure. Thats where your "read and react" comes in.
Any smart linebacker can watch the guards and sniff out a screen...

Draw plays - where the qb gives a delayed handoff to the tailback - seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur.

All I'm saying is that if you have a stout defense you can play standard sets - if you are somewhat outmanned you have to get creative and aggressive to force mistakes. Otherwise your opponent is going to beat you down.

 

[gocats8992]

It’s simple I think. Fitz and the staff don’t care too much about non conference and are not being aggressive with defensive playcalling. As a result, the players aren’t aggressive. Leading to slow starts and tentative playing on the field

 

[phatcat]

The team does look much better than any reasonable expectation after last year.

We played the same listless first quarter that we did against them last year.

And West division looks like everyone took a step back except Minnesota and Illinois.

Lots of beatable teams on our schedule.

Yes. I don't think this is a great team, but the division is bad.

I am encouraged by Hilinski. It has been more than a decade since we had a QB carry the team on his back (Persa), but early indications are that while he is not Persa, he is WAY better than I expected, and Jake appears ready to let him fire away if needed.

 

[Katatonic]

It’s simple I think. Fitz and the staff don’t care too much about non conference and are not being aggressive with defensive playcalling. As a result, the players aren’t aggressive. Leading to slow starts and tentative playing on the field

So, how does that explain the slow start against Nebby, and against MSU last season (which was also against a team having to learn a new scheme due to a regime change)?

Sick of excuses for losing to Dook which came into this season on a 6 game losing streak and was 0-8, 1-9, 3-5 and 3-5 in the ACC (which is not the same as being 3-5 in the SEC) over the past 4 seasons.

The Cats had the advantage of...

1. Having 2 weeks to prepare
2. Playing at home
3. Players not having to worry yet about classes and can focus on FB
4. Continuity in coaching staff/schemes unlike for Dook

The "advantage" Dook supposedly had was Fitz not caring as much about OOC games (did Fitz not care so much about these OOC games when the Cats were beating Dook and Stanford?), but find that claim questionable as most coaches save certain plays for conference games (esp. against a rival).

The exception being non-power 5 schools playing a P5 school and wanting to get a signature win (such as App St. and Marshall).

Fitz lost 3 in a row to a coach who ultimately got fired, and now to a coach who is just getting his feet wet as a HC.

Wake, under Clawson, is on track to make their 7th consecutive bowl, and very likely back-to-back seasons being ranked.

 

[Katatonic]

Well sure. Thats where your "read and react" comes in.
Any smart linebacker can watch the guards and sniff out a screen...

Draw plays - where the qb gives a delayed handoff to the tailback - seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur.

All I'm saying is that if you have a stout defense you can play standard sets - if you are somewhat outmanned you have to get creative and aggressive to force mistakes. Otherwise your opponent is going to beat you down.

Stated from the very beginning that had serious reservations about bringing a "read and react" scheme to the D after all those years of experience with having one on the opposite side.

R&R schemes require having experienced (usually upperclassmen) players and in this day and age of the transfer portal, much less injuries, one is apt to find major holes.

In previous years, Hank was able to plug and play young players like A-Walk when injuries, etc. arose; this is much less likely to happen under JON's scheme.

B/c of having to read, the Cats front 7 are all too often playing on their heels and over thinking (being put of position or hesitating and thus ending up taking bad angles on tackle attempts).

The Cats rarely had frosh/RS fr WRs make any type of impact b/c it took time for them to learn the O and how to read and react to what the opposing D was doing.

Sane thing applied to QBs when it came to the passing game.

 

[gocats8992]

So, how does that explain the slow start against Nebby, and against MSU last season (which was also against a team having to learn a new scheme due to a regime change)?

Sick of excuses for losing to Dook which came into this season on a 6 game losing streak and was 0-8, 1-9, 3-5 and 3-5 in the ACC (which is not the same as being 3-5 in the SEC) over the past 4 seasons.

The Cats had the advantage of...

1. Having 2 weeks to prepare
2. Playing at home
3. Players not having to worry yet about classes and can focus on FB
4. Continuity in coaching staff/schemes unlike for Dook

The "advantage" Dook supposedly had was Fitz not caring as much about OOC games (did Fitz not care so much about these OOC games when the Cats were beating Dook and Stanford?), but find that claim questionable as most coaches save certain plays for conference games (esp. against a rival).

The exception being non-power 5 schools playing a P5 school and wanting to get a signature win (such as App St. and Marshall).

Fitz lost 3 in a row to a coach who ultimately got fired, and now to a coach who is just getting his feet wet as a HC.

Wake, under Clawson, is on track to make their 7th consecutive bowl, and very likely back-to-back seasons being ranked.

I’m sick of losing to them too and losing these winnable non conference games every year. They do this every year and every year we say the same thing… what’s wrong with the team? And then they’ll go win the West and we all forget about it cuz they are playing the Buckeyes for the Championship. Or we win just 3 games cuz we just plain suck.

From what I see as a long time fan, Fitz has always used these games against weaker opponents to prepare for the Big Ten. His team goals are not to go to the CFP (a goal for most Power 5 teams), but to win the West, win the Big and win the Bowl Game. I don’t see this trend of losing to these weaker teams stopping until he changes the mindset and goals of the program to going to the CFP. By doing this, it means that every single game and the outcome of that game matters!

i would like for someone in the media to ask him why one of his team goals Isn’t to go to the CFP?

 

[docrugby1]

So let me slip in here and ask a question of anyone who wants to answer it.

Let's say we win the West - couple of upsets, couple of gritty wins, couple of solid wins, maybe a loss to Minny but they lose too many themselves...we get to the championship and get absolutely decimated by Ohio State (like...let's say we lose by more than four TDs), and then let's say a Jan. 1 drubbing by the SEC West Champs, and let's say that's Kentucky.

Are we happy?

Do you still believe in the Easter Bunny?

Supposed to be funny not an attack

 

[usopen30]

I completely agree here with bringing more blitzes. The coaches are too conservative and not aggressive enough on defense… leading to slow play. This then leads to slows starts.

RH can certainly chuck the ball deep--he did that at SC. But he had receivers who were vertical threats and we don't have that luxury at present although Navarro, GHP and Fleurima should offer help on that front. The next two games would be a great time to see if that is the case. Hull and TG are terrific but hopefully Fitz and MB are game to go deep.

 

[willycat]

So let me slip in here and ask a question of anyone who wants to answer it.

Let's say we win the West - couple of upsets, couple of gritty wins, couple of solid wins, maybe a loss to Minny but they lose too many themselves...we get to the championship and get absolutely decimated by Ohio State (like...let's say we lose by more than four TDs), and then let's say a Jan. 1 drubbing by the SEC West Champs, and let's say that's Kentucky.

Are we happy?

No, but if we beat Kentucky, then YES!

 

[Jaguar 88]

The team does look much better than any reasonable expectation after last year.

We played the same listless first quarter that we did against them last year.

And West division looks like everyone took a step back except Minnesota and Illinois.

Lots of beatable teams on our schedule.

You ignore Purdue at our peril.

 

[Katatonic]

I’m sick of losing to them too and losing these winnable non conference games every year. They do this every year and every year we say the same thing… what’s wrong with the team? And then they’ll go win the West and we all forget about it cuz they are playing the Buckeyes for the Championship. Or we win just 3 games cuz we just plain suck.

From what I see as a long time fan, Fitz has always used these games against weaker opponents to prepare for the Big Ten. His team goals are not to go to the CFP (a goal for most Power 5 teams), but to win the West, win the Big and win the Bowl Game. I don’t see this trend of losing to these weaker teams stopping until he changes the mindset and goals of the program to going to the CFP. By doing this, it means that every single game and the outcome of that game matters!

i would like for someone in the media to ask him why one of his team goals Isn’t to go to the CFP?

They've won the West when the bar was pretty low.

Don't buy that argument of Fitz not interested in beating (weaker) teams in OOC games.

At minimum, the goal should be to win 6 games and to go to a (crappy) bowl; continually losing to weaken competition makes that more difficult (Dook is just 3 wins from bowl eligibiliy).

Sure, he may save certain plays for in conference and esp rivalry games, but so does pretty much every program, unless it's a team seeking a signature OCC win.

Did Fitz care more about these OOC games when the Cats were beating Dook, nevermind Stanford and Vandy?

There was a time when the Cats could claim wins over all those schools and the Domers.

Now, the Cats have an L against 3 of those schools and if they played this season, Vandy would get the W as well.

If Fitz didn't care so much about losing to Dook again, then why did they have RH start to sling it?

Fitz, himself, stated that the playcalling changed once they got behind big.

Think the issue is more the scheme, game plan, initial scripted plays on O, etc. - which is why we are seeing the same issues as we saw in the Nebby win (which, could have easily been a loss), nevermind pretty much all of last season.

Fitz game plans as if he still had Hank calling the D, which is why he has the O turtling at the onset of games.

But many of us know that is idiotic b/c the O needs to score as early and often as possible to make up for the inept JON D.

The Cats have given up an avg of 30 pts a game and it's not like the Cats have faced really quality opposition.

Thought would be finished having to grumble about a read & react scheme, and that Fitz would've learned that such a scheme has a major flaw (needing experienced players to run the scheme well).

Prior, Hank was able to plug and play young guys when the injury bug arose (yes, there were some growing pains, but nothing like now).

Now, when injuries hit, you've got young players running around like headless chickens (not that the vets were doing that much better).