Montana St. Postgame

[Phantom Hornet]

Couple thoughts:

*Hornets played better than I thought they would and should have had the lead at the half. Couple calls went didn't go our way (thats my nice way of putting it) and Diniz missed a chippy. The fake punt by MSU seemed to deflate Sac in the second half.

*Looking at the schedule I think Sac can win out the rest of the way, I honestly do, to finish 8-3.

*Hope Deadder is okay. He made a hell of a play on that bogus offensive PI call.

*If I were Sperbeck I'd hold open tryouts this week for a kicker...absolutely horrible

 

[DrMike]

on a positive note, both Weber (at EWU) and Southern Utah (home vs. North Dakota....WTF!??) lost. Weber loss is big. looking forward, the game at Portland could be a challange/shootout. EWU is down, but, they are still a pretty solid team. Weird things happen in the Causeway. Other than that, others should be solid wins. 8-3 and a 2nd place finish isn't out of the question. that will be a playoff bid. 7-4, and a 3rd place, and you're putting your faith in the committee -> that's scary.

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

I know this will seem like sour grapes, but I really believe that horrible offensive pass interference call just before the half really changed the complexion of the game. To make that call, you have to see something and not guess. The ref didn't see anything because nothing happened. It was merely a bigger guy out positioning a smaller guy. He never pushed off. They both had an arm on one another, but no push off occurred either way. And even if it did, they RARELY make that call against the offensive player.

If that TD stands, as it should have, the Hornets likely have the lead at the half. The entire direction of the game is changed.

That said, the Hornets still would have been in position to tie the game at the end if Dinitz makes what amounted to an XP. As several have already stated, this guy has got to go. While I'm not going to pin all the losses on him as the Hornets had plenty of time to make up for the misses, he's hurting this team and making it much harder to put points up on the board. They have to go for it on every 4th down inside their opponents 35. Being able to rely on a kicker in many of those situations might have changed the complexions of some of these games. I mean this when I say, they can probably find a better kicker on the roster of their soccer team. Hell, at this point, I'd rather see the punter, Heath, take a crack.

Moving on, another irritating thing is Flemming's inability to throw an accurate deep ball. The Hornets probably left at least 2, possibly 3, TD's on the field today because he couldn't hit the open receiver behind the defense. Jeff has simply got to start making those plays. He finally hit Reed late in the game, and then again on a lucky up-for-grabs throw in which Reed made a fantastic play on (I think he would have scored if he kept going to his left), but too little too late. They need those plays before they get down by multiple scores.

This game was there for the taking and they blew it. They had their chances but couldn't get out of their own way. Yes, MSU did some things to force the issue. They got good pressure on Flemming all day. And they got things rolling offensively in the 2nd half. However, I still think the Hornets would have had a chance to win this game had that bogus call not been made.

Oh well. There is always next week. Props to MSU for a big win. They are in the drivers seat to win the BSC.

 

[Kadeezy]

I came home and watched every play of the game in about 30 minutes (thanks DVR). This was a frustrating loss for a variety of reasons...

1. Our pass coverage needs work. We're small and somehow the opposing teams always have one on one coverage that leads to big plays for their bigger receivers. The defense played as good as can be expected other than that.

2. We were straight up robbed on the Deadder offensive PI call towards the end of the first half. There was practically ZERO contact and that backjudge embarassed himself by making that call.

3. The Jason Diniz experience should be OVER. We can't go for it on fourth down every time because our kicker is a basketcase. I don't care how little the sample size. He's out of his league missing these chip shots. Even on PATs his kicks are unpredictable and barley avoid getting blocked or making it through the uprights. Hold open tryouts, or SOMETHING.

4. Take better care of the ball for god's sake.

5. Oh hey, remember Brandyn Reed?


This game had all the makings of an upset and we let it slip away (with a little help from the refs).

 

[DrMike]

Fleming's passing stats were pretty good, but, he didn't look that sharp to me. several of his long passes weren't close, and the ones he did complete seemed like more because of the receiver's great effort, rather than a good pass. he runs very effectively.

 

[Hornet25]

There are ups and downs during a game, but when the opportunity to make a play is there, you have to make it. There were some dropped passes on deep balls from Fleming. There were receivers running wide open down field and Fleming missing them because he's trying to avoid getting hit. Sometimes you just have to step into the throw and make sure it's completed and suffer a big hit. It's what you have to do if you want to win the game. If you want to be a champion. Complete half of the missed opportunities and we win this going away.

I will just say this on the kicking situation. It puts unbelievable amounts of pressure on a team and the play callers when you can't trust a kicker to make a field goal. Sperbeck had to have known what he had in the kicker before the season started. Diniz is in the spotlight, but I blame Sperbeck for not taking care of it from the beginning. Maybe the Diniz's have naked pictures or his wife or something, but it seems like Sperbeck is going to live and die with Diniz back there. I hope not.

Fleming is just talented enough and has just the right amount of potential to get a coach fired. It's too bad we don't have a backup QB to put in when Fleming is sputtering. Not because I don't think Fleming can do it, but because sometimes it kick starts a struggling offense. When the passing plays are there to be had, it would be nice to have an accurate passing QB you can throw in there. Not saying I don't like Fleming. Just saying, this is a big season for this program, and I personally don't have a lot of patience for the inconsistency.

The defense has it's short comings, especially at the corner position, but the team is about outscoring the opponent. The focus is on the offense, and when they are clicking, very few teams can keep up. So I'm not even going to fault the D on this. Especially when they were so good most of the first half and still walked into halftime trailing, when we should have been no less than tied.

Final thought. Sperbeck, when it's 3rd and short, stop calling 40 yard pass plays....

On to the next game. This season can still be a successful one.

 

[cats25061]

I have to agree that the PI call before half was a head scratcher, BUT lets not pretend that these refs were competent or biased and hurt SAC any more than they hurt MSU.

The KO return for a TD should have been called back from a huge block in the back on Cunningham.
another major play of yours Keli'i was held so bad that he was literally dragging your OL as he hung on to his leg. I dont think there was a single holding call against SAC all day, and there was some pretty obvious ones.
the hit on Minter was a horrible cheap shot and should have been flagged since it happened out on the edge in front of the refs.

I have no doubt that you can come up with several more that went against SAC.

These refs were some of the worst I have ever seen, even for the Big Sky, this was the first time I have ever seen this crew and they shouldn't be qualified to ref a little guy football game.

 

[cats25061]

SAC is a good team and you are going to win many games, I know you are playing an all DI schedule and think you will get the needed 7 DI wins this year and get your first playoff appearance

 

[jj2319]

Fleming's passing stats were pretty good, but, he didn't look that sharp to me. several of his long passes weren't close, and the ones he did complete seemed like more because of the receiver's great effort, rather than a good pass. he runs very effectively.

I was thinking the same thing. Fleming appears to be a great dual threat but a very average passer. I am obviously not on the field but the pressure didn't look that great on a few of the misses especially the Deadder miss where he was wide freaking open - he had the DB beat by 3 yards.

 

[Hornet25]

I have to agree that the PI call before half was a head scratcher, BUT lets not pretend that these refs were competent or biased and hurt SAC any more than they hurt MSU.

The KO return for a TD should have been called back from a huge block in the back on Cunningham.
another major play of yours Keli'i was held so bad that he was literally dragging your OL as he hung on to his leg. I dont think there was a single holding call against SAC all day, and there was some pretty obvious ones.
the hit on Minter was a horrible cheap shot and should have been flagged since it happened out on the edge in front of the refs.

I have no doubt that you can come up with several more that went against SAC.

These refs were some of the worst I have ever seen, even for the Big Sky, this was the first time I have ever seen this crew and they shouldn't be qualified to ref a little guy football game.

Refs were not high on my list of concerns. We have a good team, just inconsistent and a bad kicking game.

 

[HornetHope]

There are ups and downs during a game, but when the opportunity to make a play is there, you have to make it. There were some dropped passes on deep balls from Fleming. There were receivers running wide open down field and Fleming missing them because he's trying to avoid getting hit. Sometimes you just have to step into the throw and make sure it's completed and suffer a big hit. It's what you have to do if you want to win the game. If you want to be a champion. Complete half of the missed opportunities and we win this going away.

I will just say this on the kicking situation. It puts unbelievable amounts of pressure on a team and the play callers when you can't trust a kicker to make a field goal. Sperbeck had to have known what he had in the kicker before the season started. Diniz is in the spotlight, but I blame Sperbeck for not taking care of it from the beginning. Maybe the Diniz's have naked pictures or his wife or something, but it seems like Sperbeck is going to live and die with Diniz back there. I hope not.

Fleming is just talented enough and has just the right amount of potential to get a coach fired. It's too bad we don't have a backup QB to put in when Fleming is sputtering. Not because I don't think Fleming can do it, but because sometimes it kick starts a struggling offense. When the passing plays are there to be had, it would be nice to have an accurate passing QB you can throw in there. Not saying I don't like Fleming. Just saying, this is a big season for this program, and I personally don't have a lot of patience for the inconsistency.

The defense has it's short comings, especially at the corner position, but the team is about outscoring the opponent. The focus is on the offense, and when they are clicking, very few teams can keep up. So I'm not even going to fault the D on this. Especially when they were so good most of the first half and still walked into halftime trailing, when we should have been no less than tied.

Final thought. Sperbeck, when it's 3rd and short, stop calling 40 yard pass plays....

On to the next game. This season can still be a successful one.

I would say that in the middle of the 3rd, through the middle of the 4th, the defense stopped blitzing, and it clearly gave the momentum to MSU. Either get after or don't, but stop taking the foot off the accelerator. If they beat you they beat you but come one, stay after them the whole game.

As far as kickers go, there are 3 on the roster, baby Heath and Jordan Bettencourt. At this point, I would make every single player attempt a kick under pressure, heck maybe a DL can kick better?

 

[superhornet]

Final thought. Sperbeck, when it's 3rd and short, stop calling 40 yard pass plays....

While I missed this game (I was a flunkie at a women's conference at my church yesterday), I have a thought on this that may or may not reflect what was going on in Sperbeck's head.

This all hinges on how one defines 3rd and SHORT. If it's only one or two yards, calling a bomb (particularly off of play action) is acceptable from about own 40 or 45 into the opponents' territory because if the play misfires, the first down can be picked up with a sneak, dive, iso, or option on 4th down. If you're farther into your own territory than that, you're probably too close to risk a failed 4th down, so you should get the first RIGHT NOW. If the "short" is longer than one or two yards, going for the bomb OCCASIONALLY (and punting if it fails) is acceptable in that it should back the defense off when you go for the bread-and-butter plays in similar situations later. But by no means should OCCASIONALLY equate to ALL THE TIME.

At least he's not continually calling stretch on 3rd and 8 like someone else used to do, right?

 

[StungAlum2]

I hope Jason Diniz isnt on scholarship because he is flat out terrible. It's pretty bad when the guy can't make 25 - (yes that's a minus) yard field goals. The guy has one job, to kick the ball through the uprights, and he cant do it. There's got to be someone else on the team that can kick 25 - yard field goals, there has to be. Bench Diniz and if he doesnt improve, cut him next season. The Hornets cannot suffer another year of this guy botching field goals.

The push-off call on Deadder was terrible, there was absolutely no contact whatsoever. It seemed like whenever the Hornets got some momentum, the refs were there to bring the Hornets down. I never, and I mean never, worry about refs unless the Hornets play one of the Montana's. There's always calls that are so blatantly bogus that go against the Hornets in those games.

I honestly felt that the Hornets were playing against the refs and not the Bobcats due to the rediculous calls. I just couldnt believe what I was seeing.

:twocents:

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

I'll give them credit for trying. We should have been up at half, or at least tied.

We need DB's that are 5'11" at least, our guys are too short to defend against a tall lanky receiver. Kinda like what Deadder does to opponents.

FG team will win or lose a game. We are severly handicapped at this point. Going for it every 4th down is predictable and not a confident way to win a game.

I had my emotional blowout against WSU and SUU, so if this team does anything it will be a nice surprise. I have relagated myself to yet another atypical year for Hornet's football.