FrontFive4Life
Active member
Ok, having sobered up, here's my final impressions from the game.
Offense:
You could certainly tell it was the first game. The whole squad looked tense for the first couple of series (pretty normal). I liked how Padron calmed down as the game went on. He did tend to hold the ball a bit long at times, and seemed to be not quite in sync with his receivers. Then again, he made some fantastic throws on the run and under pressure, so I'm very optimistic about it.
Receivers were ok. A couple passes were dropped but again, i chalk that up to first game nervous energy. It's no secret we have a stable of talent!
I was encouraged to see our run game pick up in the second half, especially the ability to break off some yardage when we needed it the most. Bottom line: Not a bad way to start the year. We'll have to cut down on mental mistakes and be more fundamentally sound on a consistent basis. If that happens, then watch out...we could be scary good.
Defense:
Best surprise of the game IMO. Our D was flying around and played GREAT. Idaho's receivers were frustrated all night and guys were swarming to the ball when a catch was made. The D-line did a good job of pressuring their Q and, most importantly, stopping the run! There were very few instances of broken contain and of course, the blown assignment which led to Idaho's only points. Our guys were playing with passion and energy, and it completely demoralized the opponent.
Bottom line: Keep the momentum going! Great way to start.
Special Teams:
Solid. I was very impressed with our punter's ability to win the field position battle. Coverage was good, and protection seemed decent. There were a couple times where I thought we may give up a blocked kick, but almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. Continue to be stout and take care of the little things. PAT protection needs to be firmed up as well. The only gaffe was when we went for the block early on when Idaho was punting out of the end-zone. Why even get close? If the block is there, great. If not, we'll still get the ball inside of the 50. Instead, we let them off the hook which led to the long pass and field goal.
Bottom line: Good, just need to clean up some small things.
One last point. We MUST be more disciplined in all phases. 14 penalties (or whatever it was) is WAYYYY too much, and it kept us from getting a true rhythm for most of the game. If we would have played more penalty free, it could have easily been a 40-0 curbstomping instead of a solid 20-3 victory. I'll take the win, but this week we will need to be MUCH better. The Cougs are wounded now, and they'll be eager for redemption in front of what will surely be close to a sellout crowd in Pullman.
Can't wait for next weekend... PS, tune in to the Eagle Pre-Game show for a little extra Eagle-Cougar smack about 45 mins before kick off!
Offense:
You could certainly tell it was the first game. The whole squad looked tense for the first couple of series (pretty normal). I liked how Padron calmed down as the game went on. He did tend to hold the ball a bit long at times, and seemed to be not quite in sync with his receivers. Then again, he made some fantastic throws on the run and under pressure, so I'm very optimistic about it.
Receivers were ok. A couple passes were dropped but again, i chalk that up to first game nervous energy. It's no secret we have a stable of talent!
I was encouraged to see our run game pick up in the second half, especially the ability to break off some yardage when we needed it the most. Bottom line: Not a bad way to start the year. We'll have to cut down on mental mistakes and be more fundamentally sound on a consistent basis. If that happens, then watch out...we could be scary good.
Defense:
Best surprise of the game IMO. Our D was flying around and played GREAT. Idaho's receivers were frustrated all night and guys were swarming to the ball when a catch was made. The D-line did a good job of pressuring their Q and, most importantly, stopping the run! There were very few instances of broken contain and of course, the blown assignment which led to Idaho's only points. Our guys were playing with passion and energy, and it completely demoralized the opponent.
Bottom line: Keep the momentum going! Great way to start.
Special Teams:
Solid. I was very impressed with our punter's ability to win the field position battle. Coverage was good, and protection seemed decent. There were a couple times where I thought we may give up a blocked kick, but almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. Continue to be stout and take care of the little things. PAT protection needs to be firmed up as well. The only gaffe was when we went for the block early on when Idaho was punting out of the end-zone. Why even get close? If the block is there, great. If not, we'll still get the ball inside of the 50. Instead, we let them off the hook which led to the long pass and field goal.
Bottom line: Good, just need to clean up some small things.
One last point. We MUST be more disciplined in all phases. 14 penalties (or whatever it was) is WAYYYY too much, and it kept us from getting a true rhythm for most of the game. If we would have played more penalty free, it could have easily been a 40-0 curbstomping instead of a solid 20-3 victory. I'll take the win, but this week we will need to be MUCH better. The Cougs are wounded now, and they'll be eager for redemption in front of what will surely be close to a sellout crowd in Pullman.
Can't wait for next weekend... PS, tune in to the Eagle Pre-Game show for a little extra Eagle-Cougar smack about 45 mins before kick off!
