UC-Davis Game Day Thread

[JackFan96]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

Agree with you. Knocking out Wright almost cost us the game. Lacy appears to have a lot of potential, just needs some game experience.

As for JJ's comment on Stig haters, I don't think you have to be labeled a hater when you question how well the coach is preparing the players and planning for the game. Foolish for thinking you know more than the coach? Yes, I think you can say that. Haters? Not most of them. I see a couple differences in fans. Some are content to cheer for their team regardless of wins and losses or performance on the field. Those are great fans and I wish I could be more like them. The other type of fan has expectations, realistic or not, and allows outcomes that fall short of those expectations to affect their enthusiasm for the team.

I was sorely disappointed in the pass offense and punt return team yesterday. I listened to the post game interviews on WNAX and at the presser and wasn't satisfied with Stigs answer to several questions. I drove the 2 hours home frustrated and wondering what the players were thinking. Then, I watched the video where Lally gets the game ball and all my frustration and concern melted away. The guys on this team appear to be special and I think they are going to put it all together and have some great success this year. Even if they don't win every game.

Again I agree with the good doctor. And again, I'm going to award rep points.

JJ's comments about Stig haters were interesting in that I would say the number of Stig lovers/apologists is far higher than the number haters. Just my observation from talking to folks and reading. Often, critical comments have been shouted down on this board.

[filbert]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

. . . I would say the number of Stig lovers/apologists is far higher than the number haters. Just my observation from talking to folks and reading. Often, critical comments have been shouted down on this board.

Part of that is, I think the "corporate culture" of SDSU. Don't rock the boat. Everybody pull together. Yada yada yada. It's what makes the institution special. It's also occasionally quite crazy-making. You take the good with the bad.

Personally, I'm still trying to figure out why, if Sumner wasn't fit to start, he played in the second half at quarterback at the Kansas game. That strikes me as a MAJOR f-up by the coaching and/or training staffs.

EDIT: I notice my own sig quote. Ironic, ain't it?

[JackJD]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

[Added: my post is a redundant---posted before I read some of the above which make a similar point.]

...Does anybody really believe that Stig doesn't know how and when a player should field a punt?...

JimmyJack: I generally agree with your total post but on the portion quoted above, I'm not sure the point made in your question is fair/accurate or responsive to the point being made by some posters. To answer the rhetorical question you present: I think every fan believes Stig knows how and when a player should field a punt. The issue for some is: Why isn't he putting his knowledge to use? Stated more simply: how many times is the punt returner going to do what we've watched for three games before the coaches react? In Saturday's game, I think the coaches reacted and we saw a change: Schneider was substituted in as the return guy.

Just my assessment of the point being made by some. Personally, all I know is punt returns are a real soft spot for the Jacks. I jokingly told someone that a wise-guy opposing coach may just start punting on second down: his team may have a reasonable chance of recovering deep in our territory after we flub the punt.

The good news is the coaches have opportunity to make some adjustments if necessary BEFORE the conference games start. Let's all keep in mind we're 2-1 and the team has proved it is capable.

[jackdaniel]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

Part of that is, I think the "corporate culture" of SDSU. Don't rock the boat. Everybody pull together. Yada yada yada. It's what makes the institution special. It's also occasionally quite crazy-making. You take the good with the bad.

Personally, I'm still trying to figure out why, if Sumner wasn't fit to start, he played in the second half at quarterback at the Kansas game. That strikes me as a MAJOR f-up by the coaching and/or training staffs.

EDIT: I notice my own sig quote. Ironic, ain't it?

I guess a bronze statue of Stig outside of the stadium,ala JoPa at Penn St,is out of the question then.......j/k

[JimmyJack]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

Agree with you. Knocking out Wright almost cost us the game. Lacy appears to have a lot of potential, just needs some game experience.

As for JJ's comment on Stig haters, I don't think you have to be labeled a hater when you question how well the coach is preparing the players and planning for the game. Foolish for thinking you know more than the coach? Yes, I think you can say that. Haters? Not most of them. I see a couple differences in fans. Some are content to cheer for their team regardless of wins and losses or performance on the field. Those are great fans and I wish I could be more like them. The other type of fan has expectations, realistic or not, and allows outcomes that fall short of those expectations to affect their enthusiasm for the team.

I was sorely disappointed in the pass offense and punt return team yesterday. I listened to the post game interviews on WNAX and at the presser and wasn't satisfied with Stigs answer to several questions. I drove the 2 hours home frustrated and wondering what the players were thinking. Then, I watched the video where Lally gets the game ball and all my frustration and concern melted away. The guys on this team appear to be special and I think they are going to put it all together and have some great success this year. Even if they don't win every game.

My fault that I wasn't more clear. My observation has to do with those people who seem to assume the coaches are stupid, not with loyal supporters who become frustrated when somebody makes a dumb play. It is not the critics on this board that bother me. I know that anybody committed enough to stay involved in a discussion board like this is a loyal fan who really wants student athletes to succeed.

I think the coaches stuck with Dom Wright longer than they should have, but given his explosive play-making ability, I can understand why they did. As for the passing game: Seems like Austin's thumb is a bigger problem than anybody thought and the absence of Aaron Rollin really allowed UC Davis to press our other receivers. The good news is that Tiefenthaler got more time and Schneiders did a nice job.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

I would rather have punt return problems with fair catches/field awareness than the problems we had the last 2 years. Seems like an easier fix than struggling to run the ball or stop the run. It doesn't appear to be a unit problem.

[jackmd]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

I would rather have punt return problems with fair catches/field awareness than the problems we had the last 2 years. Seems like an easier fix than struggling to run the ball or stop the run. It doesn't appear to be a unit problem.

One caveat, we can run the ball with Zenner in the game. When he goes out its a whole other story. It is a little frustrating that SDSU has no depth at the skill positions, none.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

One caveat, we can run the ball with Zenner in the game. When he goes out its a whole other story. It is a little frustrating that SDSU has no depth at the skill positions, none.

Meh, if you're comparing the way we move the ball with Zenner (over 9 yards per carry) to anything else, I'm pretty sure it will be a whole nother story when he comes out. That doesn't mean the other guy is bad, it just means Zenner has been that good. Gandy has 17 carries on the year. If he had 17 carries in one game and was still at 2 YPC I would be worried. He had a nice 3rd down catch Saturday, for whatever that's worth.

I see adequate depth/backups at WR, TE, and RB on the offensive side. 9 different guys caught a pass on Saturday. We've had multiple offensive lineman go down. Our backup QB did exactly what he was supposed to do in the Kansas game.

I don't know as much about the defense, but I know we had a RsFR who was slated as a backup when the season started get 4 sacks Saturday. A RsFr started at corner as well, I believe.

We are far from perfect, but we are doing a lot of things well right now too. I was just saying field awareness on punt returns is a relatively easy thing to fix in the grand scheme of things.

[KUlawJack]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

Meh, if you're comparing the way we move the ball with Zenner (over 9 yards per carry) to anything else, I'm pretty sure it will be a whole nother story when he comes out. That doesn't mean the other guy is bad, it just means Zenner has been that good. Gandy has 17 carries on the year. If he had 17 carries in one game and was still at 2 YPC I would be worried. He had a nice 3rd down catch Saturday, for whatever that's worth.

I see adequate depth/backups at WR, TE, and RB on the offensive side. 9 different guys caught a pass on Saturday. We've had multiple offensive lineman go down. Our backup QB did exactly what he was supposed to do in the Kansas game.

I don't know as much about the defense, but I know we had a RsFR who was slated as a backup when the season started get 4 sacks Saturday. A RsFr started at corner as well, I believe.

We are far from perfect, but we are doing a lot of things well right now too. I was just saying field awareness on punt returns is a relatively easy thing to fix in the grand scheme of things.

I think I can agree with what you are saying about the running game. There is a drop-off from Zenner to Gandy, but that may be that Zenner is just a beast. I heard from others about the drop-off before the season even started so I am not terribly surprised by what has occurred. Honestly, our depth at running back is probably in the true freshman class, with Tom Peitz and Parris. From what I hear, Peitz has been a monster since they moved him to the offensive side of the ball. If Zenner were to go down (which we pray does not happen), I would expect one of those freshmen to move into a prominent role.

Our TE depth is great. We miss Rollin at receiver. Can't wait to have him back.

[SDSUAlum08]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

The point of having depth at RB is that Zenner can't carry that much of the load in the MVC. He's going to get injured if he's carrying the ball that much. It's too physical of a league.

[JackJD]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

Our corners playing so far off the outside receivers is deceptive in that it looks bad from the fan perspective, but in theory and practice it's not all that bad.

Passes near the sideline are tougher throws (lower completion %) than those over the middle and take longer to reach there target (CB has more time to break on the ball), so encouraging the opposing QB to attempt them isn't a terrible thing. Also, most of the time when our corners are playing way off the far receiver the opposing offense has a slot receiver on that side, which our linebacker/safety is covering close to the line of scrimmage. This helps protect against the quick hit/WR Screen, plus, with the corner playing off, he has a good angle to see both the receiver he's line up against and the slot, which is important since we play a lot of zone. Also, just because they are playing deep doesn't mean they are always taking the deep zone, as disguising coverages and forcing opposing QBs to make post snap reads is a good thing.

I'm not saying the deep corners is always perfect (it's good to mix it up and show different looks), but I think it gets a bit overblown at times.

This is an excellent post.

[Southeast]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

The point of having depth at RB is that Zenner can't carry that much of the load in the MVC. He's going to get injured if he's carrying the ball that much. It's too physical of a league.

I agree. Running backs are an injury waiting to happen and handing them the ball 25 times per game is asking for trouble. Avoiding a significant injury at that rate would be a miracle. Hopefully one of those young guys is ready to carry a heavier load.

[Chains]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

[QUOTE=SF_Rabbit_Fan;207938]I would rather have punt return problems with fair catches/field awareness than the problems we had the last 2 years. Seems like an easier fix than struggling to run the ball or stop the run. It doesn't appear to be a unit problem.[/QUOTE

Agree, punt returns / field positions issues should be an easy fix. However, in the third game of the season it should NOT still be a problem. That is why you have practice. I promise you that if this was happening at some other MV schools there would be changes. It is completely unacceptable in the first game, last game and all the games in between. Fix it gentlemen or it will cost us a win somewhere down the road.

GBGBGJ

[witness]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

I wonder if Dom Wright is worried about getting hit that he doesn't see where he's at or does he just have trouble feeling where he's at in the field. And honestly this should not even be happening, and I'm guessing he caught punts during high school so I have no idea why he struggles with punts or knowing where he's at on the field

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: UC-Davis Game Day Thread

I think this "depth" conversation is pretty similar to basketball conversations in the past.

There were posters comment how Fiegen or Carlson aren't DI basketball players. My contention is that everybody on the team can't average 15/10/5. It just isn't possible (unless you are going to score 150 a game, grab every single rebound, and have an assist on every single play). A player can be "good" and contribute even if they aren't all-conference (or even starting) material.

Likewise in football. Is Rollin better than the back-up? I should hope so, otherwise Rolling should be the backup. Backups are backups for a reason, they aren't as good as the starter.

Depth means you have someone who can step in and play adequately until the starter can return. It doesn't mean you have someone step in and play just as good as the starter until they return. I would say the backups have performed at least adequately everytime they have been needed so far this season.