@ UND Fight Hawks GDT

[goon]

I don't have the mental strength to rewatch the game but I'm fairly certain it was a 3-4....I don't think there was any DE way out.

They rotated 3 and 4 man fronts.

[LetsGoRabbits]

thanks for verifying the one penalty jake. i notice that we did not get to see any replay of the illegal down field when they had the PI overturned. and if we cannot see it i have zero faith that the stripes got it correct based on what we were able to see in disparity of penalties, the OBVIOUS PI against janke compared to ticky tack calls against us.

i have some problematic superstition issues)) so i do not like to have computer on while watching the game, so cannot comment in real time, but did anyone else notice the BAD spot in second half when janke caught an out breaking to his left? it was spotted basically directly at the 40 but that is where he handed it to the ref as he was coming BACK to the huddle. it did not end up making any difference but he was at least 2 yards further up the field

also, thought when we got the ball in Q4 after their last TD, about 6:50 remaining. we get our first down and the clock keeps running while we wait for them to move the chains.

these things did not really make difference but they just cause a lack of trust in the stripes and things like significant penalties against UND being overturned bc we supposedly had a man down field

[Mr_Tibbs]

You can't say that with the schedule both teams have remaining. UND has a game on a short week against USD on 3/4, and whatever happens there helps the Jacks. UND also faces NDSU on the road; again, whatever outcome helps the Jacks (although I'd hope for a Bison win, as the Jacks would still have a game against the Bison to knock them off and potentially out of playoff consideration). If the Jacks lose in March, then I think we can discuss playoff and seeding implications, but it's too early now

There are only 4 national seeds this year, and even though they looked like trash today,, JMU will probably be 8-0. Weber and EWU don't play each other and may end up 6-0. Not to mention to SHSU, who could likely be undefeated. Even if UND loses a game and both them and the Jacks are 7-1, the seed is going to the champ, not us. It's very unlikely that the #2 Valley team team going to end up with a seed when there are likely to be 3 other teams wit better records out there and no ooc games to check against. In a normal season, id agree with you. But this season, playoffs just became tougher, and a seed less likely than more likely. If we go 7-1 we will be in the field. And if we win the conference at 7-1 we will be a seed. But outside of that, I wouldn't count on a sees this year. It doesn't matter as much since there aren't any playoff bye weeks this year, but it does mean we are likely to be on the road in the quarters.

[jakejc795]

thanks for verifying the one penalty jake. i notice that we did not get to see any replay of the illegal down field when they had the PI overturned. and if we cannot see it i have zero faith that the stripes got it correct based on what we were able to see in disparity of penalties, the OBVIOUS PI against janke compared to ticky tack calls against us.

i have some problematic superstition issues)) so i do not like to have computer on while watching the game, so cannot comment in real time, but did anyone else notice the BAD spot in second half when janke caught an out breaking to his left? it was spotted basically directly at the 40 but that is where he handed it to the ref as he was coming BACK to the huddle. it did not end up making any difference but he was at least 2 yards further up the field

also, thought when we got the ball in Q4 after their last TD, about 6:50 remaining. we get our first down and the clock keeps running while we wait for them to move the chains.

these things did not really make difference but they just cause a lack of trust in the stripes and things like significant penalties against UND being overturned bc we supposedly had a man down field

I was irked by the lack of replays in general, but I think the non-call against Janke late was my primary issue with the refs because that not being called stifled the drive. Admittedly some of my frustration is due to it being one of the few plays/potential penalties they did replay. Plus, Alex Heinert even noted it seemed like a potential missed call.

[SDSUAlum08]

Jacks got their asses handed to them. I don’t think the coaching staff helped much this game, especially on special teams!

[LetsGoRabbits]

i agree with you jake the non call against janke was an obvious problem. but i do think the pi against us on the first TD drive was huge. take that away and you definitely take the TD off the board, it probably changes the entire game. i am not saying that it is never called but it NEVER should be. sometimes feet get tangled it is not a penalty and should never be a game changing penalty, which it definitely was today(

also the unsportsmanlike on janke on our first drive Q3. again totally changed momentum. how is that different from #7 post run celebration after his big run??? it is not if we are being honest. i mean i am NOT a fan of the post play celebration. behave as if you have made a play before. hand the freaking ball to the ref and go back to the huddle!!!! but i do not think it should have been called a penalty and definitely not different from the play by und

[LetsGoRabbits]

i will stop talking about the refs. the jacks cannot control crappy reffing. they have many other areas, which they can control so i hope that will be their focus!!!! but a few critical bad calls is all it takes to change the entire attitude of teams, players, and games. the refs definitely had too much influence in this game

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

Haven't stopped by in a couple years.
For as unpredictable as the last two weeks have been, there is sure for more to come.
This conference could have enough hurt on itself where only one team makes the playoffs.

[AZjack]

Haven't stopped by in a couple years.
For as unpredictable as the last two weeks have been, there is sure for more to come.
This conference could have enough hurt on itself where only one team makes the playoffs.

Highly unlikely.

[bigticket1]

When you resort to playing a true freshman at QB, you don't trust your back ups either.

I'm not saying Gronowski is above criticism, but the idea that putting in Gibbs or Heide would have magically fixed our problems when there was so much blame to go around seems illogical.

Gronowski is going to have his ups and downs, but his ups have been pretty impressive so far. He appears to have the highest ceiling out of all our QBs and he needs experience to iron out the wrinkles. Playing him now and letting him work through struggles appears to be the best course of action, as it will likely pay dividends by end of this season and beyond.

We need to remember that Gronowski had an easy TD catch dropped early in the game, and another TD pass called back due to the tripping penalty, neither of which were his fault. Had they worked out differently (especially the early drop ), he likely wouldn't have been put in that bad end-of-game situation.

[WestSideRabbit]

This wasn't fun to write but here are the "Rants & Raves" for the loss to UND. #GoJacks
https://jackrabbitillustrated.blogsp...raves-und.html

[jakejc795]

This wasn't fun to write but here are the "Rants & Raves" for the loss to UND. #GoJacks
https://jackrabbitillustrated.blogsp...raves-und.html

Another great post. I fear that the Midco production will probably suffer through at least the Summit Tourney, which is a consequence of Spring football.

I understand the "killer instinct" narrative is one consistently posted here, but let's remember that the Jacks' final possession of the first half involved an intermediate completion to Bauer that would've had the Jacks in the red zone had it not been negated by a holding penalty. I'm not sure how much the Jacks could've done differently on offense during that drive (other than not holding), and as was mentioned, they had a TD dropped and another negated by an iffy unsportsmanlike penalty earlier in the half. They were hardly "dinking and dunking" on offense in the first half (maybe not "killer instinct," but how about "grievously wounding"?).

If the "killer instinct" criticism includes hesitancy to blitz, I agree I would like to see that more, but when a team's being gashed with the run, the blitzes might've only increased the Jacks' "bleeding."

I see the Jacks handling the next two opponents, setting up a key game against SIU. If things go as they should, and UND drops at least one (I'm torn between hoping USD barely wins a costly war of attrition Thurs.), the Jacks would both control their own destiny and have the opportunity to dash the hopes of the 'Yotes and Bison to close out the regular season.

[Jackedforlife]

Not saying it was the main cause but after Janke dropped that TD it spun continually out of control from there on out. And that pass for me was probably the best pass I’ve seen a Jackrabbit QB make.

Drop pass, blocked FG, fake punt, give up and 4th down play, TD for UND. All momentum shifted there, at least in my opinion even with the redemption TD(which as west side mentions was a perfect ball by Gronowski).

[Mr_Tibbs]

It appears to me that this team is about 85% of the way there. In a normal year, maybe that wouldn't be a big deal and they could mature as the season goes on. There's no margin for error this season though. And I agree that there has been an issue in this program for a couple years now. After losing TC and Eidsness, this team just doesn't feel the same anymore with regards to leadership and maturity. Thats not a knock against Eck or any of the players, but something is missing and I don't think these teams have find their identity yet. It looks to me like we have the talent to make it to frisco. I don't know if we have everything else needed to make it though.

A side note, there were plenty of things to complain about with yesterday's performance, but I donr think Gronowskis play is one of them. He was WAY more accurate thab the UNI game until late in the second half and threw some of the best balls from a Jackrabbit QB I've seen. Much more disappointed in the penalties and the defensive line yesterday than QB

[jakejc795]

It appears to me that this team is about 85% of the way there. In a normal year, maybe that wouldn't be a big deal and they could mature as the season goes on. There's no margin for error this season though. And I agree that there has been an issue in this program for a couple years now. After losing TC and Eidsness, this team just doesn't feel the same anymore with regards to leadership and maturity. Thats not a knock against Eck or any of the players, but something is missing and I don't think these teams have find their identity yet. It looks to me like we have the talent to make it to frisco. I don't know if we have everything else needed to make it though.

A side note, there were plenty of things to complain about with yesterday's performance, but I donr think Gronowskis play is one of them. He was WAY more accurate thab the UNI game until late in the second half and threw some of the best balls from a Jackrabbit QB I've seen. Much more disappointed in the penalties and the defensive line yesterday than QB

The Jacks have had a carousel of inexperienced QBs since Christion graduated. Each has shown glimpses, but it's highly questionable to minimize how disruptive that would be to establishing what fans would view as leadership, although reports are that both players and coaches are impressed with Gronowski's poise and leadership, and Gibbs was giving the Gophers and Bison all they could handle in those games in 2019, and Heide performed admirably when he was thrust into the starting role.

Ironically, even UND faced criticism similar to that leveled here against the Jacks; for instance, this preview indicated the Jacks would win if "UND continues to be a program troubled by sustaining momentum from one week to the next... ."

With the exception of UND, what Valley team has looked better than 85 percent thus far?