Unfortunately, this looks like it will be a long season. There are moments and flashes of greatness, but they are overshadowed by so many mistakes, it makes it hard to appreciate them. Each phase of the game has its own set of positives and negatives as does the overall game day experience and attendance.
Offense
While Brewer and Brooks had a little bit of a rough day on the ground, they are both great backs that can get the job done. Further, Chad ran the ball pretty well today as well. The offensive line should get credit as well… the other teams know exactly what we’re going to line up and do about 90% of the time and we still manage to break nice runs as well as have a good per game rushing average.
On the flip side, Chad doesn’t seem like he has the ability to consistently throw and accurate pass beyond 10 yards or so. To make matters worse, our receivers seem to be lost most of the time Hobbs, for as much hype as he received in the off season, as dropped a lot of easy balls so far this season. If he wants to be the go to guy, he needs to step up and make some catches.
I’m not sure what the deal is with the play calling… Is it because we really don’t have the ability to do much more or is it something else? The first two drives seemed good, but I know that at least the first series of every game is pre-mapped out (all the plays are pre-set) and the team just runs through them quickly. It seems that after we make it through these pre-set plays, that trouble begins to set in. Again, I’m not sure if that falls on Chad making poor decisions or if it’s poor play calling or what. However, I do know that on 3rd and long that you shouldn’t throw to your back that’s well covered 3 yards beyond the line of scrimmage when you need 9 for a first down. Scenarios like the one just mentioned seem to happen quite often with Chad throwing the ball.
I think we have some tools on offense, but it just seems like they aren’t working together. I hope with time they work this out – we’ll know more next season.
Defence
The defense has received a pretty bad wrap over the first part of the season and rightfully so. Our secondary has to be one of the worst in the country. Further, the entire defense just seems a step behind on most plays. Is this a conditioning issue or is it a coaching issue? I know Bill Young/Brian Norwood are well respected, but jeez… something has to change on defense. Recruiting defensive backs needs to be a priority.
The defense does seem to come up with big plays when we need them. The strip of the Navy WR in the first quarter was textbook. They have also come up with similar plays every week. Again, I’m not sure if it’s luck or what, but I’ll take whatever we can get at this point.
Special Teams
Our Special Teams may be the highlight of our team. Jones seems like he’s really improved in distance an accuracy. The new punter has a leg and seems like he gets decent hang time and is typically good with directional kicks. The blocked kick today was fantastic as well. Great speed off the edge to snag that one.
The only downside on special teams seems to be in the coverage/return games. Coverage is generally ok, but there have been too many returns that end up about 10-15 yards longer than they should be because we don’t tackle well. Our returners can’t seem to get more than very short returns on both punts and kickoffs… Our blocking is either poor or the returner runs directly into the crowded part of the field.
Overall we have a team with potential, but some changes have to be made for there to be any type of success this year. Playing like we have the past few games will lead to 1 maybe 2 more wins this season.
Game Day Experience/Attendance
The game day experience at TU is the best it’s ever been. The amenities are good, the concession options are plentiful, The tailgate spaces are great, there is alcohol (and not just bud light, but nicer craft beers and wine), ticket prices are reasonable compared to other local sports (Drillers, Roughnecks, etc.), and Campus is so much more aesthetically pleasing than it was just 10 years ago.
I few things I would change would be:
Designate an area that is open for tailgating for free. Chapman Commons is great/beautiful, but you have to shell out $600 for a tailgate spot for the year. Some people may like to just tailgate at one or two games per year, so having a free, first come first served, tailgate area may add to the overall pre-game day experience.
The atmosphere in the stadium is lacking… granted there isn’t a lot to get excited about on the field, but even before we crapped the bed, it was dead in there. The Navy fans in the corner were louder than all the rest of our fans put together. Sorry, but getting a free taco (and diarrhea) from taco bell isn’t going to get the stadium riled up. It seems like this would be an opportunity to have a consultant come in and lay some outside eyes on what we’re doing and make some suggestions – it doesn’t have to be someone spectacular, someone from the Drillers would be a good start.
Make the city feel welcome at games. I’m an alum, so is my wife, as well as many of my friends who attend the games. BUT we will NEVER be able to fill our stadium with just our alumni. It even needs to go further than casual sports fans. Those guys show up from time to time for name opponents or when TU is hosting a big game. I’m talking about people who really don’t even follow sports, but want to have an exciting time. People like that are who can make a difference. The problem is, they don’t know how fun a TU game can be because, more than likely, they think of TU as a) snobby/unwelcoming or b) a terrible experience based on what they witnessed when they game at some point over the last couple of decades before improvements were made. Obviously this is the golden egg and if someone knew how to crack it, I’m sure they would have at this point, but I still think it’s worth noting.
The attendance today wasn’t awful at a little over 21k, especially if you take into consideration the number of people who chose the fair over the TU game. But as I was driving into the game earlier, I thought to myself, wow – this fair traffic should be what it looks like at 11th and Harvard for most home games. We need those mullets, jorts, cutoff sleeveless nascar shirts, less than high school educations, and so on. We need all those people to get to where we need to be in regard to attendance and atmosphere.
Finally, but still VERY important: TU needs your financial support. Before you complain, be sure you’ve written than check to the GHC, regardless of what you think of our coaches, administration, or whatever it may be, we need to support our student athletes because they represent our alma mater and deserve nothing less. Further, TU simply cannot keep up financially with some of the massive schools in our conference in regard to athletic dollars. So, do whatever you can – if that’s $50, then great! That’s $50 the athletic department didn’t have before. We’re all in this together and we all want to see TU be successful.
I’ll see you all in a couple of weeks for homecoming!
Offense
While Brewer and Brooks had a little bit of a rough day on the ground, they are both great backs that can get the job done. Further, Chad ran the ball pretty well today as well. The offensive line should get credit as well… the other teams know exactly what we’re going to line up and do about 90% of the time and we still manage to break nice runs as well as have a good per game rushing average.
On the flip side, Chad doesn’t seem like he has the ability to consistently throw and accurate pass beyond 10 yards or so. To make matters worse, our receivers seem to be lost most of the time Hobbs, for as much hype as he received in the off season, as dropped a lot of easy balls so far this season. If he wants to be the go to guy, he needs to step up and make some catches.
I’m not sure what the deal is with the play calling… Is it because we really don’t have the ability to do much more or is it something else? The first two drives seemed good, but I know that at least the first series of every game is pre-mapped out (all the plays are pre-set) and the team just runs through them quickly. It seems that after we make it through these pre-set plays, that trouble begins to set in. Again, I’m not sure if that falls on Chad making poor decisions or if it’s poor play calling or what. However, I do know that on 3rd and long that you shouldn’t throw to your back that’s well covered 3 yards beyond the line of scrimmage when you need 9 for a first down. Scenarios like the one just mentioned seem to happen quite often with Chad throwing the ball.
I think we have some tools on offense, but it just seems like they aren’t working together. I hope with time they work this out – we’ll know more next season.
Defence
The defense has received a pretty bad wrap over the first part of the season and rightfully so. Our secondary has to be one of the worst in the country. Further, the entire defense just seems a step behind on most plays. Is this a conditioning issue or is it a coaching issue? I know Bill Young/Brian Norwood are well respected, but jeez… something has to change on defense. Recruiting defensive backs needs to be a priority.
The defense does seem to come up with big plays when we need them. The strip of the Navy WR in the first quarter was textbook. They have also come up with similar plays every week. Again, I’m not sure if it’s luck or what, but I’ll take whatever we can get at this point.
Special Teams
Our Special Teams may be the highlight of our team. Jones seems like he’s really improved in distance an accuracy. The new punter has a leg and seems like he gets decent hang time and is typically good with directional kicks. The blocked kick today was fantastic as well. Great speed off the edge to snag that one.
The only downside on special teams seems to be in the coverage/return games. Coverage is generally ok, but there have been too many returns that end up about 10-15 yards longer than they should be because we don’t tackle well. Our returners can’t seem to get more than very short returns on both punts and kickoffs… Our blocking is either poor or the returner runs directly into the crowded part of the field.
Overall we have a team with potential, but some changes have to be made for there to be any type of success this year. Playing like we have the past few games will lead to 1 maybe 2 more wins this season.
Game Day Experience/Attendance
The game day experience at TU is the best it’s ever been. The amenities are good, the concession options are plentiful, The tailgate spaces are great, there is alcohol (and not just bud light, but nicer craft beers and wine), ticket prices are reasonable compared to other local sports (Drillers, Roughnecks, etc.), and Campus is so much more aesthetically pleasing than it was just 10 years ago.
I few things I would change would be:
Designate an area that is open for tailgating for free. Chapman Commons is great/beautiful, but you have to shell out $600 for a tailgate spot for the year. Some people may like to just tailgate at one or two games per year, so having a free, first come first served, tailgate area may add to the overall pre-game day experience.
The atmosphere in the stadium is lacking… granted there isn’t a lot to get excited about on the field, but even before we crapped the bed, it was dead in there. The Navy fans in the corner were louder than all the rest of our fans put together. Sorry, but getting a free taco (and diarrhea) from taco bell isn’t going to get the stadium riled up. It seems like this would be an opportunity to have a consultant come in and lay some outside eyes on what we’re doing and make some suggestions – it doesn’t have to be someone spectacular, someone from the Drillers would be a good start.
Make the city feel welcome at games. I’m an alum, so is my wife, as well as many of my friends who attend the games. BUT we will NEVER be able to fill our stadium with just our alumni. It even needs to go further than casual sports fans. Those guys show up from time to time for name opponents or when TU is hosting a big game. I’m talking about people who really don’t even follow sports, but want to have an exciting time. People like that are who can make a difference. The problem is, they don’t know how fun a TU game can be because, more than likely, they think of TU as a) snobby/unwelcoming or b) a terrible experience based on what they witnessed when they game at some point over the last couple of decades before improvements were made. Obviously this is the golden egg and if someone knew how to crack it, I’m sure they would have at this point, but I still think it’s worth noting.
The attendance today wasn’t awful at a little over 21k, especially if you take into consideration the number of people who chose the fair over the TU game. But as I was driving into the game earlier, I thought to myself, wow – this fair traffic should be what it looks like at 11th and Harvard for most home games. We need those mullets, jorts, cutoff sleeveless nascar shirts, less than high school educations, and so on. We need all those people to get to where we need to be in regard to attendance and atmosphere.
Finally, but still VERY important: TU needs your financial support. Before you complain, be sure you’ve written than check to the GHC, regardless of what you think of our coaches, administration, or whatever it may be, we need to support our student athletes because they represent our alma mater and deserve nothing less. Further, TU simply cannot keep up financially with some of the massive schools in our conference in regard to athletic dollars. So, do whatever you can – if that’s $50, then great! That’s $50 the athletic department didn’t have before. We’re all in this together and we all want to see TU be successful.
I’ll see you all in a couple of weeks for homecoming!
knocked out of you on the sidelines would make anyone have alligator arms. Hobbs is better than average, but he also has been racked up waiting on the QB's ball . Even when caught the defender is smothering all receivers where they can't even make a move to gain any yardage. I had hoped Keevan would play his senior year, however it turns out he made the right decision.
