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Portland State

oldrunner

oldrunner

Active member
Three games left in the regular season. In many was, this game with PSU is the most important. Not just because it is the next game.

Personnel wise, PSU is a more athletic version of ISU. They can run the ball, but rely heavily on draw plays. They set up their run plays with their passing game. They pass, a lot, out of a spread type O. Their passing game is a lot of quick hitters, screen passes and the like. When you start playing up on their short game, they either go long or run a draw play. They have some fair speed and seem to use it well. This is a team to not take lightly.

On D, they run a lot of controlled blitzes. On obvious pass plays they are usually rushing 5 or 6 guys. I think they do that because their secondary is a bit suspect. If we have time to do it, we should be able to get over the top of them. I'm not sure how their run defense might fair against us. When I have watched them play, they were not going against the better running teams.

This is PSU's best team in a while. They score at a high rate on just about everyone. They have also been known to give up some points to mediocre teams.

This game, like most of our games, will hinge on our D and special teams. :coffee:
 
Gotta move the ball and sustain drives. The problem with Weber is its offense. It isn't consistent and the Cats turn the ball over waaaayyy too much. Granted, a lot of our problems have hinged on our QB's health, but even with Barron playing, we've averaged over 2 turnovers a game. If Weber can hold onto the ball, there aren't a lot of teams that can beat them. The Cats have gifted every team they have played with points off of untimely turnovers. Examples: JMU, take away the fumble run back, and pick ending the first half, the Cats are tied with the Dukes to end regulation; Davis a pick on the 25 gives them the ball deep and they score a TD off it (17-14); MSU, Weber fumbles twice deep in its own territory leading to 6 points (13-7). Take care of the ball, and Weber is 7-1 or 6-2 with a close loss to JMU. Good grief even last week, Barron misreads a quick out, and his errant pass goes for a 45 yard pick return giving ISU momentum. Thank goodness they decided to kick to Rasheed. Our success is about how well the offensive moves the ball, and if they can hold onto it. Weber doesn't even need to create turnovers, it is nice when we do, but the defense is good enough and getting better every week, that it can shut down opposing teams. It is all about the offense right now. For the Cats to take it to the next level, Weber's offense has got to get better.
 
The turnovers have been killers. I really was getting nervous after the pick 6. ISU hadn’t felt like they were in the game until then. It’s good Rasheed made it short-lived.

I definitely think PSU presents challenges. Wildcats need the offense to play well and play turnover free. That will go a long way for the Wildcats in establishing and keeping momentum for not just this game, but for the rest of the year.
 
The turn overs and the injuries to the QB are highly correlated with the play of the O line. We shouldn't have to be picking our QB up off the turf every other play. I know that they are young and have been getting better, but everything on O revolves around them. From what I have seen of PSU's D, we may want to keep the tight end and runningbacks in for pass protection. If we give Barron time, we can beat PSU's pass defense.

Actually, I'm hoping that our run game is so successful that we seldom have to pass. PSU was blitzing middle most of the time and when they bring 6 we should be running to the other side. They are leaving themselves vulnerable on the edges quite often.

I'm thinking that we may get Davis back for this game. His speed on the edge could be a key. Downfield blocking by our WRs would be really helpful as well.

I would love to see Shaheed get to the house a few times. I hope he breaks the NCAA record on our home field. Actually, I hope PSU only kicks off once and he runs that one back. :coffee:
 
I’ll admit I haven’t watched the last couple games since we blew it to Montana St. and good on the Cats for winning a couple and showing resolve but at this point it doesn’t matter. Losing to JMU, Davis, and Montana St. at home will seal their fate to no playoffs this year regardless it they win out in my opinion. You have EWU, Sac. St., Montana, Montana St., and Davis all above Weber. Even if they finished tied them losing two conference games at home will doom them. I’m also concerned because I still say Hammer isn’t a good OC and if we finish on a bit of a run I’m afraid Hill won’t have the guts to seek a better offensive minded coach. Proud of the players but this season is going no where and even if they squeaked in (which they won’t) they’ll get beat easy. Just my two cents.
 
GoCatsGo!!! said:
I’ll admit I haven’t watched the last couple games since we blew it to Montana St. and good on the Cats for winning a couple and showing resolve but at this point it doesn’t matter. Losing to JMU, Davis, and Montana St. at home will seal their fate to no playoffs this year regardless it they win out in my opinion. You have EWU, Sac. St., Montana, Montana St., and Davis all above Weber. Even if they finished tied them losing two conference games at home will doom them. I’m also concerned because I still say Hammer isn’t a good OC and if we finish on a bit of a run I’m afraid Hill won’t have the guts to seek a better offensive minded coach. Proud of the players but this season is going no where and even if they squeaked in (which they won’t) they’ll get beat easy. Just my two cents.
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I get your frustration. We all expected more this year. We've been a bit spoiled.

If we make the playoffs or if we don't, I just want us to continue to get better each and every game. I'm working hard to develop a long range view of the whole situation. I'm still 100% behind this team and what our coaches are striving for. :coffee:
 
We need to take care of business tomorrow before we can worry about anything else. I’ve got some concerns about this game. We had a difficult backs-against-the-wall win in Cheney, followed by another rivalry game on the road. Are the guys going to get up for this one?

Massey and Sagarin favor us by 10-12 points. If we give away our usual two turnovers then those 10-12 points disappear real quick. Portland State has a senior dual threat QB that can give teams fits. It’s not hard for me to picture this game being much more difficult than expected.

The optimistic side of me realizes the 3 FCS losses we have followed the same blueprint. The opposing offense was extremely conservative and they were happy to play a field position game with us and wait for our offense to make mistakes. I don’t think Portland has the defense or coaching to execute that strategy at the same level as Davis, MSU, or JMU.

I’ll be a homer and say we are due for some positive turnover regression and we pull away in the 2nd half.

33-17 Wildcats
 
Going to bring the whole family to this game…a November game that is this nice weather-wise is too good too pass up. This means I’ll spend more time keeping the kids from creating a public disturbance than I will be able and to focus on the game…maybe that is the shakeup needed to break the home losing streak.

I’ll say Weber State carries momentum and creates more turnovers than they have and win 38-20.

Wildcats just need to take care of business. Many teams above them play each other and will knock each other down. Wildcats still have a decent shot as I think a few teams above the will lose 2 or more. Tough to knock a team for losing to the possible PAC-12 South Champs, two top 5 teams and a top 25 team…on some very crappy calls.

I don’t see more than four being taken regardless with the committee chair…look for 6 CAA teams again. 😂
 
My god this offensive possession is an abomination. Have a chance to go win the game and we start the drive with an unsportsmanlike conduct. 1st down Tauteoli misses his block and we can’t connect with Shaheed wide open. We have 90 yards to go in 4 mins so we follow up with a QB power, which is literally the only play we run when Cooper is at QB.

Then we take our sweet effing time on 3rd down then throw a swing pass to slowest rb in the conference!?!?!??!? WTF WAS THAT
 
I left at halftime. Kids were acting up, but it was more painful watching that offense. I guess any decent defense shows how pathetic this offense is. I got false hopes after EWU.

Barron is awful…flat out awful. I’d take Ian Pizzaro over him. I know…the line doesn’t give him much help argument…not buying it anymore. He held on that ball for 7-8 seconds before taking a sack. He ran into a sack. He threw deep in 3rd and 3 and 4th on 3 when he could have picked up the first down. He constantly under throws receivers who have defense beat, misses seeing wide receivers who are wide open. His situational awareness and instinct suck. Cooper should get the nod the rest of the way. The Portland State QB kept plays open with his feet. Barron looks like he has a ball and chain on.

Anymore time with Hammer at OC or Barron as QB is a waste of time. Frankly, I’m not going to another game until Hammer is out. Power I formation worked last week…so they didn’t use it at all this week?

It’s disgraceful. If Bears pull off upset in 2 weeks, it will be a winless home slate…who cares at this point..6-5 or 4-7. The the worst part will be Hammer back as OC in the Fall
 
Hate to say I told you so but I knew it!! This team was flat ass overrated and I’m glad they’re officially toast. If I were the AD I put Jay on notice he either gets rid of Hammer and quite frankly find new DC’s or else I’ll find a new coach altogether. Hill is way too loyal to mediocre coaches and this is what it’s led to. Hammer, Myers, Dale, and Dyson are crappy coaches for the college level PERIOD!! I agree Barron isn’t the answer at QB but given the dogs*#t offensive line he’s been behind it only enhances his flaws. Bottom line we’re heading back to mediocrity and Hill better change it quick or he should be out too.
 
I think we should give Creyton Cooper the chance to start the last two games to see what he can do we have nothing to lose because I think our best QB right now is Weisser but he is hurt. Matt Hammer and the O line coach both should be gone right away we have steadily gone downhill starting in the spring and getting worse every game. Barron has totally regressed also he is scared and runs out of the pocket if his first read isn't open no pocket presence either.
 
sas123abc said:
I think we should give Creyton Cooper the chance to start the last two games to see what he can do we have nothing to lose because I think our best QB right now is Weisser but he is hurt. Matt Hammer and the O line coach both should be gone right away we have steadily gone downhill starting in the spring and getting worse every game. Barron has totally regressed also he is scared and runs out of the pocket if his first read isn't open no pocket presence either.
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Totally agree Weisser is the best QB as of now. Last week vs Idaho State, Cooper was pretty much the reason the offense took off in 2nd half. He gets the big rushing TD today, and then doesn’t get any full drives by himself , but gets inserted in 2nd and 3rd and longs after Barron incompletions. Cooper was also put in for the red zone packages so Barron wouldn’t take a 12-yard sack and kill a drive.

One other thing, is our FG kicker so awful that Weber State can’t even attempt a 46 yard field goal on a 4th and 7? That could have at least kept us tied at half. Pretty bad if so…too many kickers out there to just live with that crap.
 
So, we're having a bad year. It had to come at some point. We truly need to get better in a lot of areas, Not least of which is the O line. If we don't get some guys in there who can run block and pass block, it won't matter who our OC or QB is. Our O line is big, but they are fat and can't move. Might as well not be there at all if they don't have the foot speed to stay with a block. It's no wonder that we have injured RBs and QBs. There seems to be nobody to block for them. No OC in the world could be efficient with that line. There needs to be better recruiting, better conditioning, and better coaching for the O line. Gaining 35 extra pounds of fat is not the answer. :coffee:
 
Reading the quotes from Hill is like the movie Groundhog Day…complains about the play calling and the terrible misses that are sure TDs…Yet he sticks with Barron and Hammer and will continue to do so as long as he is there.

Sadly with Weisser out, Barron is the only pass capable QB, albeit one who can never throw deep enough or well enough to hit a receiver in stride. That’s pretty bad and a big part of why the offense sucks so bad in the Big Sky.

Yes the O line is bad…all the more reason to have a QB who can have more mobility than the silver sneakers at the gym or a QB who has arm strength to throw it away and not lose 80 yards on six sacks a game.

Since the O line is bad…why run 5 wides or 4 wide sets? Bring in some tight end and full back packages. An OC should call plays to help mitigate weaknesses. With Hammer, you never know what is going on: calling QB keepers for Barron, zone option reads with Cooper, power I, five wides…hell at this point run the triple option with Barron and just really screw up the players. The total definition of throwing crap at the wall and hoping it sticks is the smorgasbord Hammer Offense.

I think you will see skill players hitting the transfer portal this year regardless the position. Tight ends and fullbacks not being used, skilled receivers don’t have a QB who can get the ball to them. RBs who get two hand offs a game and asked to run for the edge with a slow oversized line.

If corrections in coaching and QB aren’t made soon, this downward spiral could get really out of hand fast. I would not at all be surprised if Hill left to be a coordinator at a big school now. Previously, I think he would have only left for a head coaching job. I think he might be getting the escape pod ready.

Hill should take blame for not kicking FGs at key points…going up 10-3 would have been nice and guaranteed a 10-10 halftime score. Instead they fall down 10-7 and PSU gets a TD to start 2nd half and goes up 17-7. Changes complexion of game. Not kicking FG resulted in UC Davis loss and possibly the Montana State loss. If the kicker is not good enough to inspire confidence to make those decisions, then get a better kicker.

Also would like to see Hill get fired up and yell down the refs once in a while. The screw job on the obvious completion to Shaheed overturned on replay would have been an ideal time…no wonder the Wildcats get jobbed at home as much as they do.
 
I agree with most has been written about this version of the Wildcats already. I have pointed out what I thought to be the weak spots in previous posts. But now I would like to say that there is a core problem that if wasn't there, this would be a far better team. That is the offensive line! Just too fat, too immovable and too slow in foot speed. 325, 345, 355, is just too much. Line needs to slim down by losing fat and adding muscle/strenth. If E. Atagi lost 35-40 pounds he would be a much quicker and much better blocker. The same can be said for the rest of the non-senior starters.

If the OL was able to run and pass block better we would see our running backs with much better results. We could depend on them to gain enough on the ground to make the defense focus on them more and open up the passing game. However, Bronson Barron has not proven thru the better part of two seasons that he has the moxy to play the position at a high level. Slow, slow footed, inconsistent progression following, panic in the pocket etc., etc., etc. He does have one positive skill, a strong arm. But he panics so much that he often throws without solid footing and underthrows anything over 30 yards.

It is time to give Creyton Cooper a chance to show if he can be effective at executing a full game plan at a high level. To me it doesn't much matter if we win or lose the last two games. Play a new QB and lets see if we have anything good enough to raise our QB level of play to a level that can run the offense (any offense) at a higher level. Without that Weber will never be able to compete consistently. Defense's role should be to put the offense in a position to win games. Our defense's role has been counted on far too long to win games. We have been asking our defense to carry games far too long. It should be obvious that a team cannot win the big games and compete at a high FCS level without at least an adequate offense. We have not had such an offense since Cantwell graduated. We haven't had the offensive line or the QB to accomplish this, not to mention the coordinator.

Unlike many of you here, I believe that Jay Hill will change the OC after this season. Lets hope he will and hope that he will be able to pick a OC who can develop QB's, design a competitive offensive scheme and call plays in a game at a winning level!!!!!!

It is time to begin to prepare this team for next season. Lets hope that Hill will see this also and make the necessary changes.
 
The scariest thing might be the lack of standout underclassmen. We’re going to lose Preston Smith, Lavaka, Scheiss, Mortenson, Whitworth, Shaheed…
 
It was a really rough game to watch. The OL really took a huge step back this Fall. I'm going to blame that on conditioning, injuries, the spring session and poor offensive planning and execution. Can't run three or four different offensive schemes in the same drive and hope to be successful. Really tends to confuse the players. As long as the plays were scripted the offense could move the ball, but once the game got going, the play calling was really weird.

On another note, the OL is getting blamed for the running back issues. Frankly, the running backs have been really poor. That group really struggled this fall. So weird, with all of the talent.
 
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