Game day uni

[Kemo]

Re: Game day uni

A loss on Saturday likely indicates that this Jackrabbit team is not playoff caliber or playoff ready.

This is mostly likely the case, as our playoff hopes all but ride on this game. We need to win 3 out of the last 4 (Youngstown, @NDSU, @ SIU, USD) and I think it'll be a tall task to get a win in Fargo, especially if the team can't beat YSU at home.

Technically we'll be playoff eligible this year if we win half our remaining games, but I don't think 7-4 is going to get us in this year. The bloated Big Sky is going to get at least 4 teams based on the fact the top teams get to avoid each other, and the OVC will probably get 2 in even though they have proven year in and year out that they don't deserve to have at-large bids (haven't won a playoff game since the 90's). Also, the CAA has a cluster at the top and I'd say the Southern will get 3 teams in as long as App St. wins 7 games (attendance is too high for the committee to leave them out IMO).

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: Game day uni

To discuss,or not to discuss,thats up to each individual to decide.Don't care if coaches read this message board or not,as I was under the impression it was intended for fans of SDSU athletics to share ideas and thoughts.Thanks for the commentary anyway.

That was intended as serious tongue-in-cheek stuff. I love the discussion as much as the next fan. However, I did finally get over the loss and moved on to YSU. Happy Hobo Week!

SUPERBUNNY

[TransAmBison]

Re: Game day uni

So what has happened to your passing attack? Sumner is a really good qb, so are you guys lacking in quality receivers? Sumner also hurt his thumb two or three weeks ago...is that it?

[goon]

Re: Game day uni

So what has happened to your passing attack? Sumner is a really good qb, so are you guys lacking in quality receivers? Sumner also hurt his thumb two or three weeks ago...is that it?

apparently Dale Moss really was that good. I am putting it on poor decision making from coaching staff and the QB and WRs who are to short and not fast enought and we have been infected with a case of the droppsies. Probably avg atleast 5 drops that should have been catches every week. Usually in a third and long or big play situation which has killed a lot of drives.

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: Game day uni

So what has happened to your passing attack? Sumner is a really good qb, so are you guys lacking in quality receivers? Sumner also hurt his thumb two or three weeks ago...is that it?

I think it is a little bit of everything. Sumner's thumb issue and maybe a little lack of confidence. The line not giving solid protection. Play calling is questionable. Our talent at WR is ok IMHO but we aren't mixing it up enough to give them a chance. Bottom line is it isn't working. We were able to win the first few games against lesser teams but that changed this week. They have to get it going or it will be a disappointing finish.

SUPERBUNNY

[Southeast]

Re: Game day uni

So what has happened to your passing attack? Sumner is a really good qb, so are you guys lacking in quality receivers? Sumner also hurt his thumb two or three weeks ago...is that it?

He still throws a lot of balls too high. No doubt about. Is it because of the thumb? Then there is the decision making, which seems to be questionable sometimes. Add a few dropped balls to that and you get this (taken from TV's Argus article today):

"Sumner passed for at least 200 yards in each of the last seven games last season, topping 300 five times. But this fall, the Jacks have yet to hit the 200-yard mark through the air and rank 116th out of 121 teams in the FCS in passing efficiency."

[RabbitNation]

Re: Game day uni

Everyone should try this: Try picking up a glass with out using your thumb.

That is how Sumner is trying to throw a football and has a great deal to do with why he is throwing the ball high on plays.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: Game day uni

Everyone should try this: Try picking up a glass with out using your thumb.

That is how Sumner is trying to throw a football and has a great deal to do with why he is throwing the ball high on plays.

Austin Thumbner?

If his thumb is that much of an issue, he should have sat out. Period. No excuses. A QB who can't throw a ball (or pick up a glass or a can of coke) is a quarterback who should be on the sideline. Eric Kline has shown that he can manage the offense without turning the ball over, he won't pass for 200 yards but an injured Sumner isn't either. Kline should have finished the KU game, and probably started at SELU as well.

IMO, there are lots of reasons the passing game has struggled.

-Austin's thumb
-Receivers not getting open. There is plenty of speed and length among the receivers, if not in one person. Kool and Thiefenthaler have both displayed speed on kickoff returns.
-Poor play calling. I'm sick of 3 yard passing plays trying to hit a receiver that is moving away from the QB. If I never see another one of those, I'll be happy. If your QB really does have a bad thumb and is throwing high, why not run some plays where that disability isn't a problem. 30 yard fly routes where if the ball is high the worst case is an overthrown ball hitting the ground, not an overthrown ball sailing to the safeties.
-Poor pass blocking. Austin is getting pressured on almost every passing play. Although he was only sacked 1 time against UNI, he was forced to run multiple times.
-Rhythm. Our passing game hasn't been able to establish a rhythm, in part because Zenner is busting 40+ yard runs a couple times a game. That wasn't the case in the UNI game, however.

Another thing about the UNI game that has been bothering me is the decision to bring Gandy in on a drive where we had moved the ball 43 yards and gotten 3 first downs. Then ran Gandy 3 times, dropped a pass, and it was time to settle for a 40 yard field goal. Maybe Zenner had a stinger or something.

[bigticket1]

Re: Game day uni

Austin Thumbner?

If his thumb is that much of an issue, he should have sat out. Period. No excuses. A QB who can't throw a ball (or pick up a glass or a can of coke) is a quarterback who should be on the sideline. Eric Kline has shown that he can manage the offense without turning the ball over, he won't pass for 200 yards but an injured Sumner isn't either. Kline should have finished the KU game, and probably started at SELU as well.

IMO, there are lots of reasons the passing game has struggled.

-Austin's thumb
-Receivers not getting open. There is plenty of speed and length among the receivers, if not in one person. Kool and Thiefenthaler have both displayed speed on kickoff returns.
-Poor play calling. I'm sick of 3 yard passing plays trying to hit a receiver that is moving away from the QB. If I never see another one of those, I'll be happy. If your QB really does have a bad thumb and is throwing high, why not run some plays where that disability isn't a problem. 30 yard fly routes where if the ball is high the worst case is an overthrown ball hitting the ground, not an overthrown ball sailing to the safeties.
-Poor pass blocking. Austin is getting pressured on almost every passing play. Although he was only sacked 1 time against UNI, he was forced to run multiple times.
-Rhythm. Our passing game hasn't been able to establish a rhythm, in part because Zenner is busting 40+ yard runs a couple times a game. That wasn't the case in the UNI game, however.

Another thing about the UNI game that has been bothering me is the decision to bring Gandy in on a drive where we had moved the ball 43 yards and gotten 3 first downs. Then ran Gandy 3 times, dropped a pass, and it was time to settle for a 40 yard field goal. Maybe Zenner had a stinger or something.

If the thumb is still an issue after we had the bye week,it's likely that there will not be any more improvement until getting complete rest during the off-season. I totally agree that it was a mistake bringing Sumner back in the second half of a game we weren't going to win anyway.

[Southeast]

Re: Game day uni

If the thumb is still the main issue I am surprised we have not seen Kline again. Could his numbers be much worse? We rank 116th out of 121 FCS teams in passing efficiency. Can you imagine the list of terrible teams (and bad QB's) that rank higher than us?! That ranking is a stunner to me, considering the offense we saw last year.

[common sense rabbit]

Re: Game day uni

So what has happened to your passing attack? Sumner is a really good qb, so are you guys lacking in quality receivers? Sumner also hurt his thumb two or three weeks ago...is that it?

Our SCHEME is terrible

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Game day uni

I was at the game at UNI. I don't think it is scheme as much as it is Sumner's confidence level. For the majority of the game, he looked like a true Freshman QB who was having a hard time adjusting to the speed of the college game. He looked like a guy who was second guessing every read he was making.

For what it's worth, it didn't help that his WR fell down on one of his first passes during the first drive. Of course, that slip led to an INT. It's hard to describe how important that play was in the overall flow of the game. If you remember, UNI went 3 and out on their first series after winning the coin flip and taking the ball (I'm sure in an attempt to come out of the gate and establish some momentum for a team that was struggling to move the ball). We get the ball and immediately start moving the ball in moderately sized chunks. I have no doubt that drive was going to end up in points for the Jacks, but for the interception. Given UNI's season up to that point, it doesn't feel like a stretch to think that most of their players would have had the "here we go again" thoughts running through their heads. Instead, they get the ball with great field position, their TE runs a wheel route, our LB falls down and they score on a HUGE momentum shifting play. From that moment on, they had momentum on their side for the remainder of the game.

For what it's worth, I have it from the highest authority on the team that in a couple big situations in the first half and early in the second half, one of our senior WR's ran the wrong routes when he was the primary receiver on the play. Those sorts of things are not going to help with Sumner regaining some of his confidence.

On a postive note, UNI's offense looked like toilet for most of the season, but were able to put some things together thanks to one big play. Our offense has that look to it. If we could just get one big pass play at the right time to inject some confidence into everyone, it may just be what is needed to start rolling.

On a selfishly positive note, it was my 3 year old daughter's first Jacks game. She was pretty excited despite the outcome of the game. Worth every minute of the 4 hour drive.

Stella Jacks Game.jpg

[jackdaniel]

Re: Game day uni

I was at the game at UNI. I don't think it is scheme as much as it is Sumner's confidence level. For the majority of the game, he looked like a true Freshman QB who was having a hard time adjusting to the speed of the college game. He looked like a guy who was second guessing every read he was making.

For what it's worth, it didn't help that his WR fell down on one of his first passes during the first drive. Of course, that slip led to an INT. It's hard to describe how important that play was in the overall flow of the game. If you remember, UNI went 3 and out on their first series after winning the coin flip and taking the ball (I'm sure in an attempt to come out of the gate and establish some momentum for a team that was struggling to move the ball). We get the ball and immediately start moving the ball in moderately sized chunks. I have no doubt that drive was going to end up in points for the Jacks, but for the interception. Given UNI's season up to that point, it doesn't feel like a stretch to think that most of their players would have had the "here we go again" thoughts running through their heads. Instead, they get the ball with great field position, their TE runs a wheel route, our LB falls down and they score on a HUGE momentum shifting play. From that moment on, they had momentum on their side for the remainder of the game.

For what it's worth, I have it from the highest authority on the team that in a couple big situations in the first half and early in the second half, one of our senior WR's ran the wrong routes when he was the primary receiver on the play. Those sorts of things are not going to help with Sumner regaining some of his confidence.

On a postive note, UNI's offense looked like toilet for most of the season, but were able to put some things together thanks to one big play. Our offense has that look to it. If we could just get one big pass play at the right time to inject some confidence into everyone, it may just be what is needed to start rolling.

On a selfishly positive note, it was my 3 year old daughter's first Jacks game. She was pretty excited despite the outcome of the game. Worth every minute of the 4 hour drive.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]399[/ATTACH]

Now thats a great Dad,way to go MilwaukeeJacksAlum.

[TransAmBison]

Re: Game day uni

On a postive note, UNI's offense looked like toilet for most of the season, but were able to put some things together thanks to one big play.

I would have to disagree on your assessment of the UNI offense. One of my friends went to both the NDSU/UNI game and the UNI/Iowa. UNI's o-line does a very impressive job of protecting the qb. They have a dangerous passing attack. My friend said Iowa got zero pressure on UNI's qb all game. They have moved the ball this year, despite injuries etc. The defense has been their downfall.

[jackmd]

Re: Game day uni

I was at the game at UNI. I don't think it is scheme as much as it is Sumner's confidence level. For the majority of the game, he looked like a true Freshman QB who was having a hard time adjusting to the speed of the college game. He looked like a guy who was second guessing every read he was making.

For what it's worth, it didn't help that his WR fell down on one of his first passes during the first drive. Of course, that slip led to an INT. It's hard to describe how important that play was in the overall flow of the game. If you remember, UNI went 3 and out on their first series after winning the coin flip and taking the ball (I'm sure in an attempt to come out of the gate and establish some momentum for a team that was struggling to move the ball). We get the ball and immediately start moving the ball in moderately sized chunks. I have no doubt that drive was going to end up in points for the Jacks, but for the interception. Given UNI's season up to that point, it doesn't feel like a stretch to think that most of their players would have had the "here we go again" thoughts running through their heads. Instead, they get the ball with great field position, their TE runs a wheel route, our LB falls down and they score on a HUGE momentum shifting play. From that moment on, they had momentum on their side for the remainder of the game.

For what it's worth, I have it from the highest authority on the team that in a couple big situations in the first half and early in the second half, one of our senior WR's ran the wrong routes when he was the primary receiver on the play. Those sorts of things are not going to help with Sumner regaining some of his confidence.

On a postive note, UNI's offense looked like toilet for most of the season, but were able to put some things together thanks to one big play. Our offense has that look to it. If we could just get one big pass play at the right time to inject some confidence into everyone, it may just be what is needed to start rolling.

On a selfishly positive note, it was my 3 year old daughter's first Jacks game. She was pretty excited despite the outcome of the game. Worth every minute of the 4 hour drive.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]399[/ATTACH]

Didn't want to speak out of line, but I think it's time. The receiving game is not good and that is likely the greatest part of the reason the Jacks can't pass. My source is well informed and the fact is we can't scheme any more than we are because we can't execute the current simple schemes. That isn't Sumners fault. Dale Moss is sorely missed.