2022 preseason thread

[LDopaPDX]

I think our staff, mostly, is doing fine. We get good talent. The defense has been an achilles heel most years, but seemed to show improvement this season after a wretched Spring. It felt like we were physically tougher this season than the season before. Obviously, the disaster of special teams needs to be a addressed post haste.

The scary thing is our 2022 season is indicative of the problems the team faces. It feels like the admin is always doing something to hamper the program. It's budget cuts, bad schedules, inability to lobby for a seed, all these little things that just add up to more problems than the team can surmount. There is ZERO reason to play Oregon and Florida on the road in the same year.

Ultimately, the whole university needs to come together with a mission and gameplan. The football team (and most sports) dramatically outperform the miniscule budgets they are given. It sounds holistic, but the university needs to nurse itself back to health as that benefits everyone. There's no reason enrollment should be where it is except for bad leadership... not bad leadership by the football team, but by the university. It's hard to see a way to dramatically improve without a general improvement in the university as a whole.

I can't stress this enough, but being financially without ways and means at this exact moment in time is inexcusable. The economy is off the chain, and the time for making hay is now... not 5 years from now. This kind of economic growth doesn't happen without a correction at some point. To be waning during an up period is a bad harbinger.

 

[GoldenEagle]

I think the defense next year could be quite stout. We return the entire DLine. On the interior we have some horses (Jerome, Davis and Paleso’o), and solid edge rushers (Johnson, McClain and Harrison). At linebacker we need to replace Sendelbach and Graham. However, Cale Lindsay played solid when Sendelbach was injured. In the secondary we need to replace Criner, but we are deep at the DB positions with a ton of experience. Overall, we may get some transfers that can help immediately, but if not it seems we have some depth and talent on defense.

 

[luckyintheorder]

I think the defense next year could be quite stout. We return the entire DLine. On the interior we have some horses (Jerome, Davis and Paleso’o), and solid edge rushers (Johnson, McClain and Harrison). At linebacker we need to replace Sendelbach and Graham. However, Cale Lindsay played solid when Sendelbach was injured. In the secondary we need to replace Criner, but we are deep at the DB positions with a ton of experience. Overall, we may get some transfers that can help immediately, but if not it seems we have some depth and talent on defense.

Spot on. :thumb: Liked Lindsay's improvement this season, hope it continues when he takes a primary role. One more LB with experience would be great. Ranger found that a possible Oregon transfer visited recently. He checks a lot of boxes. It's on the transfer thread. My love of the DL knows no bounds and Eastern has done of great job of "sizing up" in the last 2 classes. I'm only slightly disturbed by the number of recent signee's who are no longer on the roster. There were a couple of DL that disappeared who had big upside, several DB's (one a top recruit in FCS) that aren't around, some OL etc... sort of key positions where any depth is necessary to support playoff ambitions.

With Jerome Wood from Graham-Kaposwin already verbally committed, I feel like the Eag's may have missed on a couple of good sized DL from his state championship team who have committed to ISU Bengals. They did win the final 44-7 so some defense had to have been played. There is a 4 star sitting out there from G-K but he has offers from many D1's.

There is some good young talent, but if any of them move on this off season, good depth will be an issue. Maybe it's always been that way.

Still waiting for the red hot economy Dopa's talking about. I'm not a Federal tax collector, so maybe it passed me by. ;-) No one wants to see me on Instagram or TikTok so the "new economy" based on vapid ignorance and expository self-indulgence hasn't paid off yet either.. :dunce:

 

[LDopaPDX]

I didn't say red hot economy. The economy is good, but has shown some weakness lately. Had you invested a dollar in any market 10 years ago, it'd be worth 3 now. Nominal GDP has increased about 50% in that span. The average person has greatly expanded their wealth, especially over the last 5 or so years.

 

[luckyintheorder]

I didn't say red hot economy. The economy is good, but has shown some weakness lately. Had you invested a dollar in any market 10 years ago, it'd be worth 3 now. Nominal GDP has increased about 50% in that span. The average person has greatly expanded their wealth, especially over the last 5 or so years.

Where does a public state institution get it's money from? Honestly have no idea how it partakes of the stock exchange system. Agree with you that the University has dropped the ball on enrollment. Since I haven't checked the curriculum available, not sure if Eastern is delivering a "good value" to students that do enroll. I believed it did when I attended as the Business School was accredited and the PoliSci prof's where fun to play golf with at Fairways. Anyone remember David Bell? He was a SE Asian politics prof. Guy was a scratch golfer. Eastern has certainly dumped a lot of cash into campus building improvements. In the South, most schools poured millions into on campus student athletic facilities like olympic pools, weight rooms, racket ball and intra mural sports and living quarters. AKA, student friendly. One of my daughters captained intramural swim team that traveled half the US for meets as an example. One of my sons went to Ga. Southern because of their facilities. Kennesaw State bought a very good small engineering school, Southern PolyTechnic and really improved their offerings beyond liberal arts in the last five years and has ~35,000 students enrolled (same as Michigan) There are pluses and minuses.

I think I hear you saying "universities need to be run like a business". Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding.

I really didn't like the (forget her name) that was forced on Eastern who had already destroyed a small oregon college with her nonsense.

I'm sort of an Austrian school economist. Think Milton Friedman/Mises. Despite degrees in Finance, Econ, German, Philosophy and Statistics, I've still managed to F it up and don't even pretend to understand it all. From where I stand it appears the propping up of the stock market began shortly after the 2007-08 crash where governments began dumping cash into the most stable platform available - the US stock exchange. The underlying numbers of a majority of the businesses therein (aside from monopolistic super tech and media) are completely overvalued. Let's just say, I'm bearish and lack the capacity to trust.

 

[LDopaPDX]

I didn't say red hot economy. The economy is good, but has shown some weakness lately. Had you invested a dollar in any market 10 years ago, it'd be worth 3 now. Nominal GDP has increased about 50% in that span. The average person has greatly expanded their wealth, especially over the last 5 or so years.

Where does a public state institution get it's money from? Honestly have no idea how it partakes of the stock exchange system. Agree with you that the University has dropped the ball on enrollment. Since I haven't checked the curriculum available, not sure if Eastern is delivering a "good value" to students that do enroll. I believed it did when I attended as the Business School was accredited and the PoliSci prof's where fun to play golf with at Fairways. Anyone remember David Bell? He was a SE Asian politics prof. Guy was a scratch golfer. Eastern has certainly dumped a lot of cash into campus building improvements. In the South, most schools poured millions into on campus student athletic facilities like olympic pools, weight rooms, racket ball and intra mural sports and living quarters. AKA, student friendly. One of my daughters captained intramural swim team that traveled half the US for meets as an example. One of my sons went to Ga. Southern because of their facilities. Kennesaw State bought a very good small engineering school, Southern PolyTechnic and really improved their offerings beyond liberal arts in the last five years and has ~35,000 students enrolled (same as Michigan) There are pluses and minuses.

I think I hear you saying "universities need to be run like a business". Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding.

I really didn't like the (forget her name) that was forced on Eastern who had already destroyed a small oregon college with her nonsense.

I'm sort of an Austrian school economist. Think Milton Friedman/Mises. Despite degrees in Finance, Econ, German, Philosophy and Statistics, I've still managed to F it up and don't even pretend to understand it all. From where I stand it appears the propping up of the stock market began shortly after the 2007-08 crash where governments began dumping cash into the most stable platform available - the US stock exchange. The underlying numbers of a majority of the businesses therein (aside from monopolistic super tech and media) are completely overvalued. Let's just say, I'm bearish and lack the capacity to trust.

We're going off on a tangent, but I'm also bearish at the moment. I think the underlying fundamentals of the market are still relatively strong, but my fear is a currency collapse. We're already seeing inflation of the USD great outpacing other global currencies. The Federal response of spending into oblivion isn't helping. But one of the other major factors is the fact Americans are holding a lot of capital these days. Supply and demand is working against us. The increase in discretionary dollars is leading a buying frenzy of everything from stocks to houses to collectible sneakers.

As for where the money comes from, I assume that's a rhetorical question. The university is state funded- in other words, tax money- and funded by the educational spending of the students- in the form of tuition. More spending and income in the state of Washington invariably leads to more tax money, and well-off students and parents lead to more tuition dollars. Except when it doesn't, because Eastern has been miserable at recruiting students and enrollments have suffered mightily.

 

[luckyintheorder]

I didn't say red hot economy. The economy is good, but has shown some weakness lately. Had you invested a dollar in any market 10 years ago, it'd be worth 3 now. Nominal GDP has increased about 50% in that span. The average person has greatly expanded their wealth, especially over the last 5 or so years.

Where does a public state institution get it's money from? Honestly have no idea how it partakes of the stock exchange system. Agree with you that the University has dropped the ball on enrollment. Since I haven't checked the curriculum available, not sure if Eastern is delivering a "good value" to students that do enroll. I believed it did when I attended as the Business School was accredited and the PoliSci prof's where fun to play golf with at Fairways. Anyone remember David Bell? He was a SE Asian politics prof. Guy was a scratch golfer. Eastern has certainly dumped a lot of cash into campus building improvements. In the South, most schools poured millions into on campus student athletic facilities like olympic pools, weight rooms, racket ball and intra mural sports and living quarters. AKA, student friendly. One of my daughters captained intramural swim team that traveled half the US for meets as an example. One of my sons went to Ga. Southern because of their facilities. Kennesaw State bought a very good small engineering school, Southern PolyTechnic and really improved their offerings beyond liberal arts in the last five years and has ~35,000 students enrolled (same as Michigan) There are pluses and minuses.

I think I hear you saying "universities need to be run like a business". Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding.

I really didn't like the (forget her name) that was forced on Eastern who had already destroyed a small oregon college with her nonsense.

I'm sort of an Austrian school economist. Think Milton Friedman/Mises. Despite degrees in Finance, Econ, German, Philosophy and Statistics, I've still managed to F it up and don't even pretend to understand it all. From where I stand it appears the propping up of the stock market began shortly after the 2007-08 crash where governments began dumping cash into the most stable platform available - the US stock exchange. The underlying numbers of a majority of the businesses therein (aside from monopolistic super tech and media) are completely overvalued. Let's just say, I'm bearish and lack the capacity to trust.

We're going off on a tangent, but I'm also bearish at the moment. I think the underlying fundamentals of the market are still relatively strong, but my fear is a currency collapse. We're already seeing inflation of the USD great outpacing other global currencies. The Federal response of spending into oblivion isn't helping. But one of the other major factors is the fact Americans are holding a lot of capital these days. Supply and demand is working against us. The increase in discretionary dollars is leading a buying frenzy of everything from stocks to houses to collectible sneakers.

As for where the money comes from, I assume that's a rhetorical question. The university is state funded- in other words, tax money- and funded by the educational spending of the students- in the form of tuition. More spending and income in the state of Washington invariably leads to more tax money, and well-off students and parents lead to more tuition dollars. Except when it doesn't, because Eastern has been miserable at recruiting students and enrollments have suffered mightily.

You're right about Eastern's failure around enrollments and it is relevant to any discussion about the future of the football program. I've caught your bug to a degree and feel like chicken little. Just hope there is a football program in 2022 (yes, this is hyperbole... maybe)

I think the significant difference between what I've seen in the South versus my last on campus visit at Eastern was the focus. In the South, the focus has been singularly aimed at the Student Experience. Last time I was at Eastern, it appeared the focus was on updating where the Professors worked. My wife and I noted the difference. Very likely I'm ignorant of the student focused improvements beyond the PUB. Quick example; Ga. Southern had not changed or updated any of the classroom environments, that institution rebuilt on campus student living quarters, access to cable and wireless services, a HUGE student athletic center, improved curriculum with engineering tied to a potential Ga Tech degree and brought in a company specializing in higher end food delivery and management for the "food hall". Kennesaw State has the most celebrated dining facility in the state with high quality offerings. it's worth every penny. The rest of the campus is modern, well laid out and with the addition of football is a school on the rise. I've no skin in the game except the time, effort and resources we've poured in to support our two daughters who've gone there.

 

[luckyintheorder]

Time to look at the LB's on the roster: There is a lot of speed in the Graham mode. athletes.

In no order...

Daniel Taumoepeau -- like his speed. Aggressive player, contains the edge, plays heads up. not sure about his coverage skills from the tape
[media]http://www.hudl.com/v/2EnaiL[/media]

Shane Aleaga -- Like him more in a 4-3 as a MLB from the tape. Good size
[media]http://www.hudl.com/v/2GW7Pg[/media]

Emilio Veater -- was mr. everything in HS. good speed, lots of upside
[media]http://www.hudl.com/v/2ERJYU[/media]

Ahmani Williams -- Speed, speed, speed
[media]http://www.hudl.com/video/3/8180321/5dd2ddea3863700ee43b7ab8[/media]

Trevor Thurman -- a little thicker, another MLB in a 4-3 also a bruising RB
[media]http://www.hudl.com/v/2GPGy6[/media]

Conner O'Farrell -- POY on defense in Alaska
[media]http://www.hudl.com/video/3/7805295/5d663e6896814911a4fd563a[/media]

Steven Flowers -- small school, never seems to be fooled, likes contact
[media]https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7018969/5ba4588b5ef69608d87372bc[/media]

 

[luckyintheorder]

Can Best get out of his own way? Baldwin brought in QB transfers and did well with them because he let them play. Best is an EKG guy and not sure he'll play a transfer over someone he recruited and signed from the beginning.

Why the diatribe today? Went back and watched all the highlight video from the QB's and have stack ranked them. Without a doubt (assuming he sticks to fall 2022 and is able to play) Ryan Kelley is Eastern's best option against what looks like a murderers row first four game stretch of Oregon, MSU, Florida and Weber. If Eag's want to come out 2-2 I'd let Kelley light up what is likely to be the two best defense's in the BigSky again next season with his arm and legs. I covet accuracy, quick decisions and like good arm strength in that order and Kelley more than checks the boxes. Very accurate, makes quick decisions and even when he pulls the ball down, get's it back up quickly and is scanning the field and can flick it 20 yards or 50+ with zip. Hopefully he's been getting a lot of rep's with all the WR's who will have to step up next season and has found the range.

If I was just going off tape; it's Kelley and Burkett (significantly less arm strength in video but accurate, good runner, poised). Not ruling out all others and really excited to see the QB's compete IF and it's a big IF -- Best is actually looking for the number 1 option. Cause if he Best's this up, it's going to be a long season.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30mhO8QEDng[/media]

 

[Obzerver]

I agree on Kelly...brought him in to bridge us untill the next "chosen one" is groomed. Kelly is the real deal.

 

[luckyintheorder]

i find myself continually clicking on 4 star RB's that have entered the portal. It doesn't make a lot of sense. Thought I saw some real growth in all the backup's this season and know Perriah will be back next season too. Like me some Justice Jackson but they all played better. What I'd really like to see is continued growth in the running game ala the last few games with more lead blocking, motions, strong side and pulling blockers. The big runs come when the OL gets up field in most offenses, Eastern has had some because defenses are deep covering WR's. My take is that there were 3-4 plays a game where the Eagles just couldn't execute in short third or fourth down situations. Adding a few more traditional blocking concepts would really keep defensive coordinators heads spinning IMO. Of course, I think most of us on the board thought unleashing EB3 in those moments might have accomplished the same thing. I don't disagree.

There are a lot a good RB's in the portal right now. If there are scholarships available, wouldn't mind seeing a difference maker RB commit but it isn't a priority.

 

[LDopaPDX]

i find myself continually clicking on 4 star RB's that have entered the portal. It doesn't make a lot of sense. Thought I saw some real growth in all the backup's this season and know Perriah will be back next season too. Like me some Justice Jackson but they all played better. What I'd really like to see is continued growth in the running game ala the last few games with more lead blocking, motions, strong side and pulling blockers. The big runs come when the OL gets up field in most offenses, Eastern has had some because defenses are deep covering WR's. My take is that there were 3-4 plays a game where the Eagles just couldn't execute in short third or fourth down situations. Adding a few more traditional blocking concepts would really keep defensive coordinators heads spinning IMO. Of course, I think most of us on the board thought unleashing EB3 in those moments might have accomplished the same thing. I don't disagree.

There are a lot a good RB's in the portal right now. If there are scholarships available, wouldn't mind seeing a difference maker RB commit but it isn't a priority.

Eastern has been unremarkable at the RB position for many years. Breaking in a new QB, it would sure be nice to have some amount of balance. I'd love to see a guy who can take 20 carries a game and be good for 100 yards each time out.

One thing is absolutely certain, though. In modern football, if you can't keep the other team from scoring on most of their possessions, you won't win a lot. The days of trying to outscore a team and hope for a few turnovers to get extra possessions are over. You need to lock it down, and inability to do that is a recipe for disaster. To note Montana hung 57 on us and then got held to 6 by James Madison is an indictment of what we're doing at Eastern. You can't win titles only playing sporadic defense and then falling off the rails once or twice a month.

 

[clawman1]

To get all excited about getting a QB transfer is premature. Who is going to coach them up??? Now that EB3 is gone we are out of the Baldwin / Taylor golden age.

 

[luckyintheorder]

To get all excited about getting a QB transfer is premature. Who is going to coach them up??? Now that EB3 is gone we are out of the Baldwin / Taylor golden age.

There was never a Baldwin/Taylor golden age...IMO Don't know anyone advocating for a transfer QB. Eagles already have a good stable of QB's. I hope there is one in the group who consistently raises the play of those around him. It was easy for the recent graduating class to stand around and wait for EB3 to make something happen, I'm looking for a guy who holds everyone to a higher standard.

 

[luckyintheorder]

i find myself continually clicking on 4 star RB's that have entered the portal. It doesn't make a lot of sense. Thought I saw some real growth in all the backup's this season and know Perriah will be back next season too. Like me some Justice Jackson but they all played better. What I'd really like to see is continued growth in the running game ala the last few games with more lead blocking, motions, strong side and pulling blockers. The big runs come when the OL gets up field in most offenses, Eastern has had some because defenses are deep covering WR's. My take is that there were 3-4 plays a game where the Eagles just couldn't execute in short third or fourth down situations. Adding a few more traditional blocking concepts would really keep defensive coordinators heads spinning IMO. Of course, I think most of us on the board thought unleashing EB3 in those moments might have accomplished the same thing. I don't disagree.

There are a lot a good RB's in the portal right now. If there are scholarships available, wouldn't mind seeing a difference maker RB commit but it isn't a priority.

Eastern has been unremarkable at the RB position for many years. Breaking in a new QB, it would sure be nice to have some amount of balance. I'd love to see a guy who can take 20 carries a game and be good for 100 yards each time out.

This is likely what is making me unconsciously look at RB's in the portal. The OC will also determine a lot of how the running game goes.

 

[LDopaPDX]

To get all excited about getting a QB transfer is premature. Who is going to coach them up??? Now that EB3 is gone we are out of the Baldwin / Taylor golden age.

There was never a Baldwin/Taylor golden age...IMO Don't know anyone advocating for a transfer QB. Eagles already have a good stable of QB's. I hope there is one in the group who consistently raises the play of those around him. It was easy for the recent graduating class to stand around and wait for EB3 to make something happen, I'm looking for a guy who holds everyone to a higher standard.

I'm not too concerned about QB. We seem to be pretty good at that position and we've recruited some good QBs already. As for any reference to a Troy Taylor-related Golden Age... really? Wasn't he here for one season? The players he coached were already in the system. Fact is you can pretty much hang your hat on the fact Eastern can score points. Our habitual problem is giving up too many points. Modern football requires a lethal defense; it's what all the top teams in FBS and FCS have in common. That's where we need to improve the most. Special teams is a concern, but I don't think it takes as much to get that to a reliable level versus a defense that hemorrhages points.

 

[EWU98]

To get all excited about getting a QB transfer is premature. Who is going to coach them up??? Now that EB3 is gone we are out of the Baldwin / Taylor golden age.

There was never a Baldwin/Taylor golden age...IMO Don't know anyone advocating for a transfer QB. Eagles already have a good stable of QB's. I hope there is one in the group who consistently raises the play of those around him. It was easy for the recent graduating class to stand around and wait for EB3 to make something happen, I'm looking for a guy who holds everyone to a higher standard.

I'm not too concerned about QB. We seem to be pretty good at that position and we've recruited some good QBs already. As for any reference to a Troy Taylor-related Golden Age... really? Wasn't he here for one season? The players he coached were already in the system. Fact is you can pretty much hang your hat on the fact Eastern can score points. Our habitual problem is giving up too many points. Modern football requires a lethal defense; it's what all the top teams in FBS and FCS have in common. That's where we need to improve the most. Special teams is a concern, but I don't think it takes as much to get that to a reliable level versus a defense that hemorrhages points.

Yep he was a 1 and done....Taylor was.

 

[clawman1]

At Oregon, At Florida, At Montana, At Weber….next year could be rough…

But how fun will that be for players, to experience Pac 12, and SEC facilities??

 

[marceagfan5]

At Oregon, At Florida, At Montana, At Weber….next year could be rough…

But how fun will that be for players, to experience Pac 12, and SEC facilities??

It’s fine once a year…twice in one year against 2 top 15 teams, it’s a killer for the schedule

 

[clawman1]

At Oregon, At Florida, At Montana, At Weber….next year could be rough…

But how fun will that be for players, to experience Pac 12, and SEC facilities??

It’s fine once a year…twice in one year against 2 top 15 teams, it’s a killer for the schedule

How much over 1,000,000. will this be? Thats only about 4,000 season tickets.
I'll take the cash!