Competition is nervous

[56n92]

Some of our biggest rivals' fans in the FCS are talking a lot about the quality of our defense (criticism warranted) and how we are a second class team because we can score 52 and still lose (AGS and other boards). Their talk is a cover up of their real feelings. I guarantee, after what we showed today, nobody wants to play us. We hung 52 on the best defense (by far) we'll see all season. We gave up 59 but to the most athletic (by far) team we'll play all year. Now we're accustomed to a new level of speed and size which will make us even better from here forward. :thumb:

The POS griz fans that were proud of their beloved team for staying close to a powerhouse like Wyoming and spanking CWU are already dreaming up some excuses for the ass whooping they will get in November (and probably a few between now and then).

I'm always cautious about pre season expectations because even crappy teams think they'll be good in August. Until today, I didn't really know what to think about this team. Now I'm comfortable that this team will have a 15-1 record. These dudes are good and the competition knows it. Oh yeah, they're scared and they should be. :yikes:

I am also very comfortable saying there isn't a big gap between the top two college programs in Washington State. But there is a considerable gap between the top two programs and the distant third which is located in Pullman. :loser:

 

[LDopaPDX]

Honestly, do REALLY think Eastern would beat North Dakota State based on what you've seen? Be Honest.

They'd D us up to where we'd only hang 35 or 38 on them. And the way they run the ball, I just don't see our D holding them out of the end zone on half of their possessions.

Eastern is going to have to make some changes defensively, probably both in terms of personnel and philosophy. Last year, Eastern seemed to improve on D quite a bit around the middle of the year. Fortunately, we've got two weeks to make some changes and get healthy. Montana State is going to be a big test.... playing in Bozeman isn't easy.

 

[EWURanger]

Honestly, do REALLY think Eastern would beat North Dakota State based on what you've seen? Be Honest.

They'd D us up to where we'd only hang 35 or 38 on them. And the way they run the ball, I just don't see our D holding them out of the end zone on half of their possessions.

Eastern is going to have to make some changes defensively, probably both in terms of personnel and philosophy. Last year, Eastern seemed to improve on D quite a bit around the middle of the year. Fortunately, we've got two weeks to make some changes and get healthy. Montana State is going to be a big test.... playing in Bozeman isn't easy.

I think we could beat NDSU this year, and potentially, beat them badly.

 

[MLEagle]

Our offense is scary good this year, maybe one of the best ever in the history of FCS. The thing that sucks is our defense is so weak, and has gotten worse every year since 2010. I'm sure it is partially a personnel issue, but a lot has to fall squarely on Graham 's shoulders.

Right now we can win games only one way and that is to score a LOT of points, and we need to be able to win games to lots of ways to win championships.

It is SAD when we have to try 3 onside kicks in the 2nd half because we know there is no way in hell we are going to get a stop.

 

[EWUeag]

Our offense is scary good this year, maybe one of the best ever in the history of FCS. The thing that sucks is our defense is so weak, and has gotten worse every year since 2010. I'm sure it is partially a personnel issue, but a lot has to fall squarely on Graham 's shoulders.

Right now we can win games only one way and that is to score a LOT of points, and we need to be able to win games to lots of ways to win championships.

It is SAD when we have to try 3 onside kicks in the 2nd half because we know there is no way in hell we are going to get a stop.

This

 

[luckyintheorder]

Honestly, do REALLY think Eastern would beat North Dakota State based on what you've seen? Be Honest.

They'd D us up to where we'd only hang 35 or 38 on them. And the way they run the ball, I just don't see our D holding them out of the end zone on half of their possessions.

Eastern is going to have to make some changes defensively, probably both in terms of personnel and philosophy. Last year, Eastern seemed to improve on D quite a bit around the middle of the year. Fortunately, we've got two weeks to make some changes and get healthy. Montana State is going to be a big test.... playing in Bozeman isn't easy.

I think we could beat NDSU this year, and potentially, beat them badly.

Ranger +1. We beat NDSU and any other comer in FCS. This isn't just pure homerism. Our athlete's on D are as good or better than any other BigSky team. Scheme is another thing. Looking at the discipline of Virginia Tech's scheme as an example, EWU doesn't have one. Just don't know what Graham looks at in the film room. Pretty obvious yesterday Miles wasn't going to throw the ball inside the five, but no one was assigned to the QB in the read option. Discipline in stopping or slowing the run is about trust in the rest of the front seven on most teams; our scheme is every hat to the ball, much to our detriment. So effort is tremendous, results suspect. The fact that we have played numerous teams in the last three years with good to excellent option offenses and haven't improved is telling. Just one man's opinion.

 

[56n92]

Can we beat NDSU this year? I wondered earlier but I have no doubt now. UW ran all over us no question about it but every guy on UW's o-line is better than 90% of any FCS team. And we won't see speed like that again until UO next year. Actually our D did some good things but not consistently. I was surprised how much pressure we got on Miles.

I don't think this defense will ever be top caliber but it will be adequate for this team. Also I know a lot of people think NDSU defense is the greatest thing ever but the defense we played yesterday is full of All PAC 12 performers so yeah, if we needed to we could hang 50 on NDSU too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a little embarrassed about our defense-actually I'm a lot embarrassed-but my point is that we'll get better and be good enough to win within the context of the way this team plays.

 

[luckyintheorder]

Our offense is scary good this year, maybe one of the best ever in the history of FCS. The thing that sucks is our defense is so weak, and has gotten worse every year since 2010. I'm sure it is partially a personnel issue, but a lot has to fall squarely on Graham 's shoulders.

Right now we can win games only one way and that is to score a LOT of points, and we need to be able to win games to lots of ways to win championships.

It is SAD when we have to try 3 onside kicks in the 2nd half because we know there is no way in hell we are going to get a stop.

It's only telling Coach Baldwin was playing to win IMO. Like the last two years, our offense puts teams, on our level, in the precarious position of having to score every time. That pressure is enough to make teams error prone. Offense is our best defense. Pretty emotional loss yesterday. Am sure the team wasn't looking for a moral victory and the players did everything possible to pull it out. Honestly thought Miles would throw at least one pick pressing to keep up the pace, but UW limited his throws and the UW O-line did a good job of keeping their hands inside on holds. Just what you would expect from a senior lineman.

 

[Rjones61]

Although I don't agree that we will not see a defense like that the rest of the season- I don't think we will see an offense like that the rest of the season. There is something UW had that no other team will have- SPEED. I don't remember where I said it, but I said that our biggest weakness is speedy players who can get to the edge. I don't think NDSU can just march up the field on us. They can score, but come on.... WEBER held them to 24.

And their defense? It fits perfect for our spread offense. Our offensive line held their own to one of the best defensive lines in the FBS. We wouldn't lose in the trenches. Their linebacker corps averages 210 pounds. Remember how we pounded the ball against SHSU? That was because they carried light weight linebackers. We can burn any secondary in the FCS, especially if we can move the ball with the run.

I'm sorry, but I find it sad that some of Dopa has jumped on the Bison bandwagon and started the :notworthy: so early. Just raising the white flag? We can beat the bison. Period.

 

[Rjones61]

I'd be far more worried about how we match up with SELA than NDSU.

 

[GoldenEagle]

First off, this team has a ton of heart. How many teams could spot a PAC12 team (on their home field) 21 points in the first 8 minutes and come back like this team did?

Our offensive line played outstanding and I am still not sure why the Huskies only consistently rushed three and stunted only sparingly. However, that is the best front seven the EAGS will see all year. Montana and Montana state are not even close to the Huskies front seven.

VA was incredibly accurate yesterday and was reading the defense superbly. I was sitting in the upper deck at Husky stadium and was amazed at how VA and the EAGS offense shredded the Husky defense. There is only one QB in the west that is better than VA and he plays for Oregon. No quarterback in the BSC, and likely all of FCS comes remotely close to VA or this offense. I want to watch the SELA offense, but have a hunch that is the only offense in FCS even close to the EAGS.

I know we have big problems on defense. However, as a fan of EWU football, that game yesterday was one of the craziest, but fun to watch games I have seen in a long time.

 

[KWCAT]

Honestly, do REALLY think Eastern would beat North Dakota State based on what you've seen? Be Honest.

They'd D us up to where we'd only hang 35 or 38 on them. And the way they run the ball, I just don't see our D holding them out of the end zone on half of their possessions.

Eastern is going to have to make some changes defensively, probably both in terms of personnel and philosophy. Last year, Eastern seemed to improve on D quite a bit around the middle of the year. Fortunately, we've got two weeks to make some changes and get healthy. Montana State is going to be a big test.... playing in Bozeman isn't easy.

First congrats on near upset at UW. I was hoping you would pull it off. Second not looking past Central Arkansas,with who we will have our hands full, but am excited looking forward to EWU visit as well.
while we (MSU) are still finding our footing I am hoping we can do better than just match up. Beating the talent and coaching you guys possess is a tall order, but an upset in Bozeman would be awesome!
Look forward to seeing you all in Bz . Keep doing the Big Sky proud.

 

[56n92]

I doubt anyone flying EWU colors thinks we'll have a cake walk at MSU. Our one and only cupcake was MT-western. From this point forward, we will definitely have our hands full.

 

[Dozy]

It is SAD when we have to try 3 onside kicks in the 2nd half because we know there is no way in hell we are going to get a stop.

Try again. One at the end of the first half wasn't an onside kick. The kicker simply mis-kicked it, per Coach B. The FIRST onside kick was a guts/gamble move because the guy they kicked it towards had been seen on film and during this game as taking off early to get back to block, again, per Coach B. The SECOND one was what you do at the end of the game when you need two scores with little time left regardless of how good or bad your defense may be.

This board is starting to sound like it did during the 2010 season with everyone bitching about the play of the defense. Frankly, it's tiresome. I enjoy the dumbasses on eGriz talking shit about their own team. Reading the same crap here just pisses me off. The worst part of it is hearing former players complain, like they could do better even now. They should know better...

 

[56n92]

Well said Dozy. Despite the statistics put up by a PAC 12 team, our defense did a lot of good things. Thinking about the talent we have on defense..... PAC 12/all American/all conference talent in the secondary, all conference/Buck Buchannon level linebackers, all conference level d-linemen (at the least). Two of SHSU scores and >100 yards of offense came on two plays that are totally associated with first game hiccups. That is getting cleaned up. MT-Western we were playing everyone who suited up that day. UW-well- we fumbled twice and athlete for athlete, they were just better as they should be. No shame in that.

I'll venture a guess that MSU scores less than 20 and has less than 300 yards. I believe as the season goes on, heads will turn on how good our defense really is but I'm fine with the rest of the nation underestimating our defense. In addition, what some might be forgetting, we can run the ball pretty good, which will keep our defense off the field. Of course we couldn't run well against the monsters from UW so we scored relatively fast with the pass. Think about how tired our defense was being on the field all that time bashing heads with Kenworth trucks and chasing rockets all day.

Yeah, our defense will be a force, I have no doubt. :thumb:

 

[tomq04]

Go look at the stats against SDSU and Towson, ZZ had 77 yards, and West had 104...those were the top 2 rushers in the whole FCS! Our defense for the last half of the year was STOUT! I wish we could see the stats and how we compared for the final 6 games, we wouldn't have been in the bottom 1/3.

We've got 2 weeks to regroup, and get mad! Barring injury to VA himself, there is no reason we can't overcome anything in the BSC and make it to the natty.

 

[sammamisheag]

Remember BB rested two starters vs UW plus Evan Day won't see the field until Mid November.

Assuming EWU stays healthy and gets Day back in time for playoffs D should be better come playoff time.

If EWU played NDSU now NDSU probably wins 6 out 10 times. BUT the game isn't played in September, it will be played in JANUARY.

All that matters is the next game vs MSU. BTW, If EWU can drop 500+ yards against an average Pac 12 defense, imagine what they'll do int he BSC. Scary.

 

[MLEagle]

It is SAD when we have to try 3 onside kicks in the 2nd half because we know there is no way in hell we are going to get a stop.

Try again. One at the end of the first half wasn't an onside kick. The kicker simply mis-kicked it, per Coach B. The FIRST onside kick was a guts/gamble move because the guy they kicked it towards had been seen on film and during this game as taking off early to get back to block, again, per Coach B. The SECOND one was what you do at the end of the game when you need two scores with little time left regardless of how good or bad your defense may be.

This board is starting to sound like it did during the 2010 season with everyone bitching about the play of the defense. Frankly, it's tiresome. I enjoy the dumbasses on eGriz talking shit about their own team. Reading the same crap here just pisses me off. The worst part of it is hearing former players complain, like they could do better even now. They should know better...

How many times in the history of division I college football has a team scored 52 points and still lost? I don't have the exact answer but I can say it is very rare. So, you can act like showing concern for our defense makes me AlphaGriz, but I would say you are the one over reacting.

I have been watching this team since my freshmen year in high school in 89 and my coach would give the tickets away for free. I believe this version of EWU has the BEST OFFENSIVE FOOTBALL TEAM IN THE HISTORY of I-AA/FCS. But, I am also convinced that if our defense doesn't figure out how to make MORE stops the semifinals will be our ceiling. I thought we were going to be stiffer on D then last year, but what I have seen shows me that we have slipped.

If you read what I have posted I have NOT called out a single player. I have questioned repeatedly on this board and in person however, Graham 's effectiveness as a defensive coordinator. On the other hand, I 100% believe we can make improvements on the defensive side of the ball but think it will require Baldwin taking a larger role.

 

[Dozy]

Ooooh, sensipoo... Do you still think they kicked three onside kicks in the second half or was that just an exaggeration on your part to make it sound like the sky is falling?

Have you considered the time it takes to integrate true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and sophomores into the defensive scheme? Did you even realize how many are playing? Did you take note that in the second game against the NAIA opponent, the D played a TON of freshmen and rested most of our experienced players? Did you know that our third opponent, the UW, plays up a division and has 23 more full scholarships to hand out and has about $15 million more in the their football budget than EWU, which allows them to have the best in facilities, the best in nutrition and training, and the highest end of coaching available which attracts the elite athletes and is why they're in one of the five Power Conferences?

Our offense is loaded with experienced players. Our defense isn't. Our offense should be putting up tons of points. Our defense should be having some growing pains. Let the O cover the D for a bit. Give the D a little time to figure it out before you crap your pants.

 

[EWU98]

arty: Let's stop eating our own . .
GOEAGS!