Great improvement

[blackfootbengal]

I posted the following in the paper in replying to Dan Thompson article. I'm posting it here as it says what I feel fairly well. Frankly, I'm tired of being demonized for having an opinion and the willingness to defend my postion. I feel the QB move was unwarrented and quite frankly may have cost us any chance of winning at Montana. Don't tell me I have gave up on the team when moves like benching Hill are more of an indication of giving up than anything I did or said. I have three white out weber shirts, how many of you have any. I have spent the last 28 years going to games, spending money, and watching football, sometimes good, more times bad, but I have always been there. In all my years and I have seen some questionable moves made by coaches, (Garth Hall playing Josh Gibbs for one play in a meaningless game costing him his red-shirt year) never making and issue of them. But the moves made over the last two years make no sense to me, did nothing but cause problems, and did not accomplish anything unless the goal was to get one of your QB's to transfer. Last year ended up being a fiasco. I don't see this years move as any better, neither accomplished anything.


November 16th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Dan says; “His performance was flawed, but it also accented the clear advantages he holds over sophomore Russel Hill. He completed just 16-of-34 passes and threw three interceptions, but he gained 7.0 yards per attempt for 246 yards, and he clearly opened up the field with deep passes. I counted at least five pass attempts of more than 25 yards, and he completed three of them.”

It also accented the clear advantges sophomore Russel Hill holds over junior Kyle Blum; 62% passer as compared to a 42% passer, 265 ypg as compared to 194 ypg, so much for long passes. 15 interceptions over a 10 game season passing 408 times, every 27.2 Hill is intercepted, compared to 68 passes over 6 games, Blum is intercepted every 18 passes. Please spare me the he has not played excuses, Hill was 15.4 in 69 passes as a redshirt freshman one game against a PAC-10 school. You know the saying about excuses, everyone has one. Hell, Hill was benched and Blum got the start against Montana and Hill had the better game against Weber, Hill’s stats

#17 Russel Hill Att Comp Int Pct Yards TD Long Sack-Yds Effic
——————————————————————————
Weber State……….. 26 16 2 61.5 139 0 26 0-0 91.06

#8 Kyle Blum Att Comp Int Pct Yards TD Long Sack-Yds Effic
——————————————————————————
Weber State……….. 23 8 1 34.8 88 1 26 0-0 72.57

A touchdown pass when your given the ball on the five does not make up for the less than average stats everywhere else. Could we have beaten Montana if Hill had came in a played his normal game of 265 ypg and 62 percent passing, maybe, we had some good defensive play this game. In addition, the play at QB had nothing to do with our record. We give up over 40 points a game on defense, the highest scoring offense in the league could not win doing this. We again have a QB controversy where one player is clearly the better player and other gets the start ahead of him for no other reason than creating excitement. I want the best player on the field, not everyones friend, or the one who throws the ball the farthest, I want the one who gives you the best chance of winning. You don’t get that throwing 33 percent on balls longer than 25 yards. I’m going to throw something out for you to think about. Do you really think you can get a JC quarterback who is a 60 percent passer and has almost 5000 yard passing against Div. I and Div. IAA teams? Wake up and smell the roses, Hill is only a sophomore and has two years starting experience against Div. I teams. There is no Junior College or High School kid who will be able to duplicate that. Hill is better than any JC we can get. Quit holding it against Hill for beating Butler out as some of you are, and the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence for the rest of you. I have not given up on the team this team, I just want to be in a position to win every game. I never gave up on this team or this season, but I wonder about a coach who makes a change that when looked at rationally, does not make any sense.

 

[letuknow]

With Blum they can open the offense up. How many of those passes were dropped during the Weber game? Blum can run the ball and has a BETTER arm. Both of the INT's against Weber were due to the fact the Hill under threw the ball. Have you noticed that the players said how they were glad that Blum was FINALLY put into the game and given a opportunity. I think they have a better idea than any of us.

 

[blackfootbengal]

I guess I'm missing your point. Open the offense up, do you mean run the ball more or what. I was mistaken in my percentage for passes down field, according to Thompson he was 60 percent (3-5), that means he was about 40 percent on all his other passes, great trade off. Both of Hill's interceptions in the last game were not because they were under thrown. If you have it recorded, look at the interceptions. You will see that the first would have hit Burel in the legs if the defender had not caught it, all he had to do was adjust his route and make a play on the ball. May not of caught the ball but more than likely would have prevented the interception. The other was a timing route where the QB looked the safety off down field then quickly turns and throws the ball to the sideline. Burel the reciever stood and watched as the defender stood, not stepped in front of him and caught the ball. What led to Blums interception, he missed the reciever and threw it right to the guy, one of a couple others Blum should have had if the defender had held on. As I have already said, excuses are like A$$holes everyone has one, but state the facts not what you think happened. I made a point of checking this out as Cub and I spoke of it ad he said the pass was way under thrown. It was not, it would have hit the receiver if the defender had not caught it. As for opening the offense up; I challenge you to find a pass that Hill cannot throw with as much accurecy as Blum. Note I added in accurecy, just throwing the ball all over does not get it done, you have to throw a catchable ball. I believe 62 percent passing as compared to 42 percent passing proves that point with no problem. By the way, what QB on the team has not had dropped passes, that is a lame and weak defense of your postion.

 

[letuknow]

Im not going to bash Hill, but as I stated earlier I will take the players opinion and continue to go with Blum! I dont think anyone one of us have a better idea of what is truly going on then they do.

 

[bengalbeliever]

Blackfoot, did you watch the Montana game?
I assume you did, so tell me how many times would Hill have been sacked??

 

[blackfootbengal]

Nice defense, an answer than cannot be debated becuase it has no substance and nothing to substantiate it. In other words, you present nothing. Bengalbelieve I doubt Hill gets sacked as much, reads the defense better and gets rid of the ball faster. Escaping pass rushes is not always about running, pre-snap reads are more effective and lead to fewer injuries than running all over the field. You have to come up with something you can defend, not assumptions, they have no bases in fact. You cannot ever say that avoiding sacks by running is more effective than getting rid of the ball faster. Hell, if your QB is fleet of foot but does not read defense well, I'll set up my defense to force him to run. Blum is not threat to go the distance.

 

[bengalcub]

I don't think Blum played that bad for his first start, especially considering where he was playing. He did some good things, I thought. He puts too much air under some of his throws, which surprised me given his arm strength. He had an interception negated on a roughing the passer call that easily could have been a TD. But he also showed good vision, taking off when he had the chance. I think Blum deserves another look vs Sac State.

With that said, here is what worries me the most. This is the 2nd year that the coaching staff has pulled the chair out from under Hill. And while I am NOT sure if Blum is the answer--I still believe that Hill WAS the future. So, I hope this works out for the team and for everyone involved. But if it does not, I fear that they may have shattered the confidence of a SO QB permanently. Maybe I am seeing too much drama, but I do worry about it.

If Blum does not play well against Sacramento State, ISU will need to go recruit someone that they can live with.

 

[blackfootbengal]

That was a nice way of saying he was average at best. I to have concerns for next year, obviously the coaching staff looks for excuses to sit Hill. What they really want is a mystery to me. They need to help him find another school as he is not going to get a fair chance here. Go find a QB who meets everyone expectation, oh that person does not exist. Find someone everyone can like, that person does not exist either. Maybe we can find a local kid who had JC experience and everyone can like. No one is coming to mind yet, but I'll think about it. Maybe we could ask the players who they like best.

 

[bengalcub]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Hill leave, but I hope he stays.

I have heard or have been told that a number of kids will be leaving the program. I have read online that Wes Flectcher is going to transfer to a JC (Santa Ana) to back closer to home. Idaho State will need to convince 2-3 QB's and 2-3 RB's to sign for next fall. Knickrehm and LaPorta will be the only two RB's on the roster. Who knows, maybe LaPorta will be the next Trevyn Smith. Maybe they can convince Fletcher to change his mind--but for now I would say he is OUT.

Look for a pair of DB's to turn in the cleats as well.

 

[letuknow]

blackfoot dont you think the players ON THE TEAM have a better idea of who is the BETTER QB for the team than any of us do? Cub why are the players leaving the program?

 

[bengalcub]

I was waiting for you to make a guess.

 

[letuknow]

Cub didnt you just basically apologize for being sarcastic in a post a few days ago? I can tell you really meant it

 

[bengalcub]

I'm not being sarcastic.

 

[GOBIGORANGE]

Blackfoot, Why are you so set against giving the other QB's a chance? Obviously things aren't working on both ends of the ball. Why have back up QB's in your program if you aren't going to give them a chance. I do not want to bash Hill...he has a good arm...but he can not run at all. I hope most players will stick it out but I have heard there are players leaving also. I did not make it to Montana but it sounds like we really did give them a game at the first.

 

[blackfootbengal]

Actually, no I don't think the players are the best ones to make a choice. People on the inside tend to judge their friends less harshly, make excuses for those they like, and over look what they are doing wrong. Unlike you, I see Hill's flaws as well as his strengths. I do the same for Blum, remember I was the first to point out that Blum was fairly good when he first came in two summers ago and fully expected him to compete for the job this year. I don't know either player very well and have never spoken to either. I know you on this board cannot accept that, but I don't care. I watch and judge based upon what I see, I don't let friendships get in the way of my judgement and never let that stop me from saying what I think. If you cannot handle my version of the truth you better not read what I say. The simple truth is; Hill is held to a different standard than the rest of the QB's are, no matter what your reasons. If he throws an interception it is because he lacks arm strength, if he is sacked it is because he can't run, no excuses for Hill, just the others. Read you posts if you don't believe me, full of excuses why things happened to Blum but none for Hill. Hill has been benched twice when he is obviously playing better than the player coming in for him. At least Butler put up good stats against E.W., Blum was bad against Weber and still got the next start. Blum did not beat out Hill, he was award the start because the defense gives up 40 points a game and the coaches needed someone to blame other than themselves. All the hand slapping and jumping around in the world did not win against Weber, did not win against Montana, and will not win against Sac without better play at all positions. The defense has to get it done the majority of the time, the offense has to be productive and efficient. And if as you claim the players are using Hill as their excuse, they need to pull up their panty hose and start putting the blame where it belongs on themselves. After all this is a team sport and no one player can win or lose every game. Even with the 7 to 8 percent improvement Dan gave Blum in the article for his next game, he will only be a 49 percent passer. That is not efficient anywhere, paticularly on a team that runs the spread 80% of the time. Face it, Blum has been with the team for a year and a half and had played in JC. It's not like he is a high school kid coming in. As I said we hold the sophomore to a higher standard then the junior, last year it was holding the freshman to a higher standard than the sophomore. Could of Hill won against Montana, will never know will we, what I do no is football is a team sport and if you are losing it is because the team lost. Not because of one player.

 

[blackfootbengal]

GOBIGORANGE there are two positions I believe you have to earn the position by being the best, Left Tackle and QB. These are two positions where you have to have stability for the team to succeed. If the QB is always worrying about being benched he will not do what he has to do. That is the climate we have at ISU for Hill. If Hill had put up the same numbers as Blum did he would have been benched games ago and rightfully so. As I already said, different standards for different players.

 

[skippy57.0]

Quite frankly, I'm not sure either Hill or Blum is the answer to long-term success, but you've got nothing to lose seeing what Blum offers. Hill has already shown us he's an average Big Sky Qb. He's put up a lot of yards, few TDS (2 in his last five games) and a lot of INts (9 in his last 5). He's had a few pretty good games, but he's no Matt Nichols or Cameron Higgins, who both put up monster numbers as sophomores. And I know they both had better teams around them than Hill, but Russ isn't in the same league as those guys. He's not going to win any Big Sky titles for you. Is Blum any better? I can't really tell after a game and a half, but it's worth a look.

As to causing Hill to transfer, all I can say is if he doesn't want to compete for the job, then he should transfer. If he does, then step on the field in the spring and make your case.

PS--Blackfoot, I'm not villifying you for your opinion, I just disagree with it. I like Russ, he's a good kd and he works hard at his craft. He just hasn't shown me that he's a great QB. But hey, if you see greatness in him, more power to you.

 

[letuknow]

Blackfoot when was the last time he threw a TD? When was the last time he led the team to a Win? I would take the players point of view and give BLUM a chance! I thought you just hated Butler, but now im positive you are related to hill or he has something on you! Let Blum play Saturday and open the position up for whoever deserves it. If it is Hill so be it, but why not see what Blum can do?

 

[pocatato]

Neither Blum nor Hill play defense. Until the defense is fixed, nothing done on the offensive side of the ball will matter.

 

[letuknow]

The defense is in need of alot of improvement. The loss of Coach Christoff was huge. As I stated earlier give Blum the starting nod, and if things arent going better than try Mozzochi. Then if they arent sold on any of those 3 then bring in someone else. Hill has put up good numbers, but lets see what these other guys offer.