First thing I want to get out of the way.
I am not sure how many of you caught the pregame chat between Greg Papa and Tom Cable, but here is the link to the archive. 4 – 5 PM at about 45 minutes.
1) “You know it’s a shame,” Cable said. “I can’t really talk about the supposed incident. I am waiting and anxious to get the facts out so this can all be settled and put behind us.” Adding emphasis on the word ‘supposed.’
“I know what happened or didn’t happen and hopefully people do the right thing and I’m speaking directly to the media when I say that.”
“If anyone really knows who I am, knows that I wouldn’t say those things or do those things.”
Something happened, but it sure sounds like Cable is implicating that it is nothing near what has been reported. Stay tuned on this one. Cable also said he isn’t letting it effect the football team or his staff.
I’ve said this before: No way Hanson wants to come back and coach if it was as bad as reported.
He also said we are thin at linebackers, which is why he brought in Greenwood. I find that interesting considering he has four guys battling for three starting positions. Or he did up until that point.
Morrison dislocated his left elbow with 7:40 to go in the 1st Quarter. Greg Ellis came it to make the tackle on Coffee’s long run and Morrison’s elbow got sandwiched. Out several weeks.
The run defense was getting carved to pieces on a power run play where the offensive line pushed one direction with the running back hitting the whole on the back side. That means the defensive line isn’t getting a push and line backers are getting caught in the traffic or missing tackles.
The rush defense really bothered me, along with the inability to score from the 7. No way Fargas should be in the game in short yardage or goal line situations. That is Michael Bush’s job.
For as good as Ricky Brown looks at times, he looks horrible others. Filling the wrong gap and trying to guess running back holes lead to huge gains on the outside run plays. He seems to have a knack for coverage and blitzing. Morrison seems like a more solid tackler and up until the play he was hurt on, the defense had been stout against the run.
Nnamdi “re-injured” his heel or something, it doesn’t matter, because it is just an excuse to pull the best player early.
Louis Murphy was the best rookie receiver of the day. Aside from hauling in the TD, he made another grab that was solid. Not highlight reel, but very solid first down.
TE Brandon Myers was impressive catching the ball. I also noticed he was a good blocker. Better than Zach Miller at blocking, because Zach was getting pushed around quite a bit. Particularly on running plays.
Gotta love Nick Miller’s fight. You love a guy trying to fight for extra yards, but the punt return fumble hurt him. He needs to learn when he has lost the battle. Recognizing that makes it still possible to win the war. Frye was on a roll and I am sure the coaches would have liked to see Frye operate the 2-minute offense.
Russell’s greatest improvement may well be the touch on the underneath passes. Only one to Zach Miller was significantly offline. Garcia’s overthrow of a wide open Zach Miller would have been a TD if Russell was in. Not because of arm strength, but because he is much taller.
Slade Norris was much more invisible and even missed a couple tackles. I still have high hopes for this kid based on what I have seen.
Jeff Garcia was about what I expected. He erratic backfield behavior can get first downs out of a broken play, but it can also cause INTs like the one he threw way too high for Johnny Lee Higgins.
JLH also had a nice night with little on the stat sheet to show for hit. He singles handedly shut Nate Clements up.
A lot goes in to winning the battle of the bay, but I didn’t put any stock in the win, more the specifics, so I am not going to put much stock in the loss either. No more evidence of this being how coaches feel is needed than Cable going for the two point conversion to win at the end of the game.
Still looks like we are passing a lot more than running. Part of the continued effort to make the passing game better.
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