The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

[Calibull]

2 hours ago, JupiterBull said:

The running game wasn't great, but I can't but 315 rushing yards (which includes sack yards) is BAD category, ever.

I'm right there with you... hard to say 315 yards rushing can rationally be put in the bad category.  Aside from the play Johnson bounced outside, the majority of that 315 were between the tackles and off tackle.  I didn't see many outside runs at all.  I guess someone bouncing outside is an outside run... even then the majority still came from tackle to tackle. 

[Calibull]

14 hours ago, smazza said:

true- worst college stadium i have been to

i forgot the rich tradition sjsu had

Id didn't know Pop Warner was affiliated with that school in any capacity. 

[charsibb]

Good

USF Co-ed Cheer Team - very personable and approachable, excellent ambassadors for the school. Feisty too! Photo at bottom

San Jose fans - very welcoming, met a bunch of folks and all were knowledgeable and friendly. Would definitely go back

Stadium - for those of you who "need" your chairbacks, THIS is what college football is supposed to be. Not billion-dollar stadiums with cupholders. Shade would have been nice, but sunscreen worked in a pinch.

Alumni Association Happy Hour and Tailgate - these folks worked their butts off for us - many thanks!

We won. Winning is better than losing, but not by much when we don't cover the spread.

Sunset - was just awesome to watch the sun go down behind the mountains.

Inside run offense and overall run defense. DJ and Tice will be an amazing tandem this year, Hoping we see more 2-back sets and explosive plays. Run defense got gashed a couple of times, but by and large, did their job very well.

Bad

CCS didn't play #30, the only USF player from California. His family drove from Pasadena - over 8 hours each way - to see their boy play USF ball, and CCS never even put him in for a single play. That's just plain wrong. I talked to him a bit after the game, commiserated with the family, and thanked him for choosing to become a Bull. Hopefully he sees the field soon, but to keep him off the field in his only trip to his home state is unfathomable

CCS not knowing his players' stats. DJ ended with 99 and Tice with 94 yards. WTF? When they're that close, you put them in and let them both get over 100 yards.

Blocking schemes on the outside. Runners on sweeps were left hanging out to dry without lead blockers. WR screens without proper blocking. If we block like this in-conference, we will not make the CCG

Special teams. folks appeared to be running around not knowing their assignments. I suspect this will be a special are of focus this week. If it doesn't get better, the season gets shorter. As in no CCG, maybe no bowl.

Dropped passes. Looked like Wilcox got into my sunscreen. Ugh!

Ugly

SJSU attendance. Wow, just wow. Half the fans who did come left before halftime. Brennan's got a tough job to bring back the fans. Their attendance is far worse than ours, but the ones who were there were great.

1st quarter performance. CCS clearly didn't get the players ready to play. Nuff said

Gutless coaching. Not going for extra scores at the end of the half and end of the game should qualify as a criminal offense against this team. As I ranted in the other thread, we still have a chance (smaller now, since we didn't cover the spread, and looked so terrible) to make the playoffs. Obviously, that chance goes to zero following the first loss, but it is non-zero as long as we're undefeated. But style points MATTER when you're G5, far more than they do for the P5. This team has a real chance to be something special, but at least twice during the game, CCS made a conscious decision to make them less than they can be. It's not enough to win, we must win BIG.

 

 

 

[charsibb]

2 hours ago, Calibull said:

17 hours ago, smazza said:

true- worst college stadium i have been to

i forgot the rich tradition sjsu had

Id didn't know Pop Warner was affiliated with that school in any capacity. 

I had no idea SJSU was so old. I assumed it was a post-war school like Sac State, Fullerton, or CSUN, etc.

They've been around since 1857, longer than any of the UC schools, even Berkeley.

[Calibull]

9 hours ago, charsibb said:

I had no idea SJSU was so old. I assumed it was a post-war school like Sac State, Fullerton, or CSUN, etc.

They've been around since 1857, longer than any of the UC schools, even Berkeley.

I did know that, though. 

[Calibull]

I don't really care if a coach knows the guys stats... I'd rather get out of the first game with no major injuries and worry about stats later.  I always think back to the Grothe injury.  #30 was Farrar... not sure why he didn't play.  But if he's not on the 2 or 3 deep, I don't really blame that on the coach for someone not playing.  We have to develop the depth that's going to play this season.  A lot of young guys we're going to need to be on point this season.

I'm not worried about the run game, it will be just fine.  Once they figured out they were run blitzing and keeping 7 and 8 guys in the box, we started throwing intermediate passes to the outside and got them out of it.  From the 2nd quarter forward, the run game was just fine.  The outside run where Johnson lost yards, Wilcox missed the pickup on the LB.  They fixed that though.  I also expect to see more Dillon this week.  Wilcox... along with Barr... have hands of stone. 

[Bull Dozer]

The Good

• Q's passing was fantastic.  He would've had a monster day if not for a few drops 
• The defensive played with attitude and was fast and aggressive 
• The team as a whole didn't flinch at the early adversity and stormed back to take care of business.
• Kegler and Pinkney were impressive for Freshmen and should find their way into the rotation
• McCants doing McCants stuff.  The kid is an animal in the run game.

 

The Bad

• Wayyyyy too many penalties 
• The bad drops by Wilcox and Barr 
• The officiating, woof 

The Ugly

• Special teams were pretty bad.   

 

All in all a very good opener for us.  We went across the country with a new staff, scheme, new key play makers, won by 20 and stayed healthy.  I also like that we got punched in the mouth a little bit early and got to overcome some adversity.   

 

[JupiterBull]

18 hours ago, charsibb said:

Good

USF Co-ed Cheer Team - very personable and approachable, excellent ambassadors for the school. Feisty too! Photo at bottom

San Jose fans - very welcoming, met a bunch of folks and all were knowledgeable and friendly. Would definitely go back

Stadium - for those of you who "need" your chairbacks, THIS is what college football is supposed to be. Not billion-dollar stadiums with cupholders. Shade would have been nice, but sunscreen worked in a pinch.

Alumni Association Happy Hour and Tailgate - these folks worked their butts off for us - many thanks!

We won. Winning is better than losing, but not by much when we don't cover the spread.

Sunset - was just awesome to watch the sun go down behind the mountains.

Inside run offense and overall run defense. DJ and Tice will be an amazing tandem this year, Hoping we see more 2-back sets and explosive plays. Run defense got gashed a couple of times, but by and large, did their job very well.

Bad

CCS didn't play #30, the only USF player from California. His family drove from Pasadena - over 8 hours each way - to see their boy play USF ball, and CCS never even put him in for a single play. That's just plain wrong. I talked to him a bit after the game, commiserated with the family, and thanked him for choosing to become a Bull. Hopefully he sees the field soon, but to keep him off the field in his only trip to his home state is unfathomable

CCS not knowing his players' stats. DJ ended with 99 and Tice with 94 yards. WTF? When they're that close, you put them in and let them both get over 100 yards.

Blocking schemes on the outside. Runners on sweeps were left hanging out to dry without lead blockers. WR screens without proper blocking. If we block like this in-conference, we will not make the CCG

Special teams. folks appeared to be running around not knowing their assignments. I suspect this will be a special are of focus this week. If it doesn't get better, the season gets shorter. As in no CCG, maybe no bowl.

Dropped passes. Looked like Wilcox got into my sunscreen. Ugh!

Ugly

SJSU attendance. Wow, just wow. Half the fans who did come left before halftime. Brennan's got a tough job to bring back the fans. Their attendance is far worse than ours, but the ones who were there were great.

1st quarter performance. CCS clearly didn't get the players ready to play. Nuff said

Gutless coaching. Not going for extra scores at the end of the half and end of the game should qualify as a criminal offense against this team. As I ranted in the other thread, we still have a chance (smaller now, since we didn't cover the spread, and looked so terrible) to make the playoffs. Obviously, that chance goes to zero following the first loss, but it is non-zero as long as we're undefeated. But style points MATTER when you're G5, far more than they do for the P5. This team has a real chance to be something special, but at least twice during the game, CCS made a conscious decision to make them less than they can be. It's not enough to win, we must win BIG.

 

 

 

A few counterpoints:

Though I wanted both to break 100 yards rushing, Strong isn't likely focused on indy stats, but did want others to get game experience & keep the starters healthy.

I agree that not tossing a bomb before the half was silly.  Almost no risk, and with our gaggle of tall receivers, we have a decent chance.  As to the end of the game, Coach Strong isn't going to risk injury or score a last second TD up 20.  It's not the right thing to do, IMO (arguing with myself, it would give a chance to give Kean & WRs a jump ball).  Recall the game in Tally 2 years ago.  We were down > 2 scores, with under a minute.  Yes, it'd be good to score to make it closer, but not critical.  Taggart calls a deep post to Dillon who gets absolutely BLOWN UP by the safety...and misses several games.  Just not worth the risk.  And, Taggart trying to score a garbage TD v ECU was classless (and Strong will have to hope they don't get a chance to return the favor.

Does suck that JUCO transfer Farrar didn't play.  He's supposed to be really good, but maybe not quite up to speed?

You can't talk drops with Barr.  You and I would have caught those.  He may be working himself out of playing time, as we do have hands on the team.  I do hope we see more Dillon soon...he's a MAN.

[BiggTipp]

On 8/27/2017 at 10:05 AM, FatDaddyBull said:

Good:

Flowers

Corners weren't perfect, but overall excellent in coverage. Some outstanding catches by San Jose receivers.

Nate Ferguson deserves mention because that dude flashes and makes hits every time he's on the field.

 

Bad:

Gilbert playcalling

See above regarding San Jose receivers - USF receivers had no fight for the ball in the air. Wilcox needs to catch both of his drops every time. Barr doesn't even belong in the bad category. 

Pass rush generally took at least a second too long to generate pressure

 

Ugly:

Barr. I've never understood what he must show in practice as every time he's on the field he appears to be the worst player on either side. Maybe could try a jet sweep or two with him, otherwise he's simply a liability. 

First quarter special teams 

I think Mike Hampton deserves mention as well. He was solid in coverage and tackling. Gonna be a good one

[CousinRicky]

Didn't get home until early Wed morning from the other coast. Rewatched the 1st half last night. If not for the interceptions (and, yes, I understand that is a part of the game) our defense really didn't look very special.  They moved the ball pretty well, made some nice catches and didn't look overmatched by the #19 team in the country.  Hope to get to the 2nd half today.