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Re: GDT: @ JMU Bulldogs With Too Much Bling
Just got home from the game - saw a lot of great Jacks' fans there. Game was not a good one, obviously, but I hope we can let up on these kids in the coming days. No one was beating himself up more than Christion - really feel for the kid.
Some observations about why I think this happened - and random thoughts.
1. JMU fans were great, gracious, and that's what it's all about. But they better get ready for the Bison because the Bison might run for 350 yards and control 38 minutes of clock. We got beat by a team with a soft run underbelly.
2. I sat up high toward an endzone for a half - good vantage point for holes. And the Jacks' holes were huge at the beginning of the game and they stayed that way most of the night. Problem is we never took the time to establish the run game that they were giving us, and on pass downs we were getting beat by stunts and blitzes by quick guys up front. I
3. On that point, I think we came out throwing too much, too early, after getting some early success in the running game. This might be one of those nights where you say, we're getting 4 or 6 or 11 yards every time we run it, screw the passing game, let's run it until they stop us. By then, the passing game could have been a lot more effective. I was the only Jack fan in a secton of JMU fans and that was the consensus all around - that our big guys were handing it to their big guys in the opening drive. One guy told me he was bracing for a long night. I think we were trying to establish our star wideout and TE star and weren't taking the goodies on the plate right in front of us.
4. The fumble in the opening drive was the turning point, no doubt about it. Had we gone in and gotten seven there and held (remember, the defense held them and the jacks got the ball back), we'd have had the ball, up by a TD with a running game going. TC would have had a good chance to settle in and we'd have been playing from ahead.
5. I think our play after we got behind had a lot to do with how well JMU's defensive backfield played. They were mixing schemes and we were forcing ourselves into the pass too often. But if NDSU is smart, they will pound the ball inside all night on JMU. That is a definite weakness in JMU's defense.
6. My enduring memory of this game will be on their Pick 6 (one of those lucky breaks you get when you are having one of those can't-do-anything-wrong nights like JMU was having). ..............Mengarelli had been blocking in the flat on the other side of the field from the interception ... probably 30 yards away, and as soon as the DB caught the other sideline he pivoted and ran as hard as he could for the corner flag hoping to cut the guy off. ........ Mengarelli just missed him at about the 2. ....... He did this when the Jacks were trailing by 35 points. It was an incredible effort. .........It won't show up in any stat sheet or game story, it wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it sure told me a lot about this kid and what kids like him are learning in our program. Never give up, Jacks' fans!
Just got home from the game - saw a lot of great Jacks' fans there. Game was not a good one, obviously, but I hope we can let up on these kids in the coming days. No one was beating himself up more than Christion - really feel for the kid.
Some observations about why I think this happened - and random thoughts.
1. JMU fans were great, gracious, and that's what it's all about. But they better get ready for the Bison because the Bison might run for 350 yards and control 38 minutes of clock. We got beat by a team with a soft run underbelly.
2. I sat up high toward an endzone for a half - good vantage point for holes. And the Jacks' holes were huge at the beginning of the game and they stayed that way most of the night. Problem is we never took the time to establish the run game that they were giving us, and on pass downs we were getting beat by stunts and blitzes by quick guys up front. I
3. On that point, I think we came out throwing too much, too early, after getting some early success in the running game. This might be one of those nights where you say, we're getting 4 or 6 or 11 yards every time we run it, screw the passing game, let's run it until they stop us. By then, the passing game could have been a lot more effective. I was the only Jack fan in a secton of JMU fans and that was the consensus all around - that our big guys were handing it to their big guys in the opening drive. One guy told me he was bracing for a long night. I think we were trying to establish our star wideout and TE star and weren't taking the goodies on the plate right in front of us.
4. The fumble in the opening drive was the turning point, no doubt about it. Had we gone in and gotten seven there and held (remember, the defense held them and the jacks got the ball back), we'd have had the ball, up by a TD with a running game going. TC would have had a good chance to settle in and we'd have been playing from ahead.
5. I think our play after we got behind had a lot to do with how well JMU's defensive backfield played. They were mixing schemes and we were forcing ourselves into the pass too often. But if NDSU is smart, they will pound the ball inside all night on JMU. That is a definite weakness in JMU's defense.
6. My enduring memory of this game will be on their Pick 6 (one of those lucky breaks you get when you are having one of those can't-do-anything-wrong nights like JMU was having). ..............Mengarelli had been blocking in the flat on the other side of the field from the interception ... probably 30 yards away, and as soon as the DB caught the other sideline he pivoted and ran as hard as he could for the corner flag hoping to cut the guy off. ........ Mengarelli just missed him at about the 2. ....... He did this when the Jacks were trailing by 35 points. It was an incredible effort. .........It won't show up in any stat sheet or game story, it wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it sure told me a lot about this kid and what kids like him are learning in our program. Never give up, Jacks' fans!
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