The team that wanted it more won...

[LDopaPDX]

No excuses on this one, they played a lot harder and deserved to win. We had every opportunity to take control and win and didn't do it. It sucks to have that much more talent than a team and lose because they just played so much harder.

This is a tough pill to swallow. It's probably a learning experience that was long due, because we let teams hang around with us and just try to win it on a play or two at the end. You keep up that mess for too long, and this is what happens.

Not sure what to make of our DL performance today... Not sure what to make of all the players taking the week off either. Time for some tough love to see if this team has what it takes to come back next week. This is even harder because now we only have one loss to "give" to even make the playoffs. We lose to a good Cal Poly team (that might make our current defense embarrassed the way they run), and we have to win out.

 

[HannahO]

Breathe, man, just take a deep breath, in and out...

 

[LDopaPDX]

Breathe, man, just take a deep breath, in and out...

I don't really mind losing, I'm not one of those people. I just despise losing because we didn't have the heart equal to the job. If you get beat by a team that is flat-out better, than so be it (would never complain aboutthe UW or WSU losses, or even the loss to Montana State last year). But don't lose to a team that is multiple touchdowns worse. That just sucks.

We need to find that other gear that allows us to spearate when we have a chance to do do, and we need to find a toughness edge that allows us to not fade as a game goes on or stay on the sidelines.

 

[clawman1]

I would not agree with that. Our guys put out a very physical effort. There was no quit in anyone. When Bronson came to the sideline after the fumble he was crushed emotionally. He had been tearing them up with his earlier runs. No lack of effort, in fact maybe too much. Hamlin was under a thourough checkup of a concussion and jumped right back into the battle as soon as we was given the green light.
IMO if anything was lacking it was the mental aspect of the game. The blocked punt and return for TD in the first half was a result of a procedure call that would have been a first down inside their 20. We had several other procedure calls that stopped or slowed down the offense. On one of them in the second half that would have been a big gain, there were only 10 guys on the field. They pushed Bronson onto the field at wide receiver. He stepped back a little to get off the line of scrimmage but not far to satisfy the line judge, procedure call. Not Bronsons fault, someone was not on the field when they should have been. To me those mental mistakes made the difference in the game, certainly not a lack of effort or desire to win.

 

[LDopaPDX]

I would not agree with that. Our guys put out a very physical effort. There was no quit in anyone. When Bronson came to the sideline after the fumble he was crushed emotionally. He had been tearing them up with his earlier runs. No lack of effort, in fact maybe too much. Hamlin was under a thourough checkup of a concussion and jumped right back into the battle as soon as we was given the green light.
IMO if anything was lacking it was the mental aspect of the game. The blocked punt and return for TD in the first half was a result of a procedure call that would have been a first down inside their 20. We had several other procedure calls that stopped or slowed down the offense. On one of them in the second half that would have been a big gain, there were only 10 guys on the field. They pushed Bronson onto the field at wide receiver. He stepped back a little to get off the line of scrimmage but not far to satisfy the line judge, procedure call. Not Bronsons fault, someone was not on the field when they should have been. To me those mental mistakes made the difference in the game, certainly not a lack of effort or desire to win.

I would really want to know how our DL became such a non-factor. Southern Utah has struggled with OL play all year, and their OL dominated us. We had some sacks, but only because we brought 6 and still managed the cover responsibility. The second we bought 4, it was almost fruitless, no pressure at all. The DT position looked especially weak today.

The other thing that glared was the lack of redzone finishing. We had four drives after scoring our 27 and a single TD would have won the game at that point. Two of those went into the red zone. None scored any points. Not to mention the earlier drive that was 1st and goal at the 2 that we didn't punch in, actually moving backward from that point.

 

[EWURanger]

I would not agree with that. Our guys put out a very physical effort. There was no quit in anyone. When Bronson came to the sideline after the fumble he was crushed emotionally. He had been tearing them up with his earlier runs. No lack of effort, in fact maybe too much. Hamlin was under a thourough checkup of a concussion and jumped right back into the battle as soon as we was given the green light.
IMO if anything was lacking it was the mental aspect of the game. The blocked punt and return for TD in the first half was a result of a procedure call that would have been a first down inside their 20. We had several other procedure calls that stopped or slowed down the offense. On one of them in the second half that would have been a big gain, there were only 10 guys on the field. They pushed Bronson onto the field at wide receiver. He stepped back a little to get off the line of scrimmage but not far to satisfy the line judge, procedure call. Not Bronsons fault, someone was not on the field when they should have been. To me those mental mistakes made the difference in the game, certainly not a lack of effort or desire to win.

Great post and I agree. I don't think it was lack of effort, just a lot of mental mistakes and the ball not bouncing our way too many times. We'll be ok.

Also, on the DL, we were down to our #3 and #4 tackles. Losing Pulu last week and then Cook early on in this one is certainly a contributing factor to why they were able to run the ball at times on us.

 

[LDopaPDX]

I would not agree with that. Our guys put out a very physical effort. There was no quit in anyone. When Bronson came to the sideline after the fumble he was crushed emotionally. He had been tearing them up with his earlier runs. No lack of effort, in fact maybe too much. Hamlin was under a thourough checkup of a concussion and jumped right back into the battle as soon as we was given the green light.
IMO if anything was lacking it was the mental aspect of the game. The blocked punt and return for TD in the first half was a result of a procedure call that would have been a first down inside their 20. We had several other procedure calls that stopped or slowed down the offense. On one of them in the second half that would have been a big gain, there were only 10 guys on the field. They pushed Bronson onto the field at wide receiver. He stepped back a little to get off the line of scrimmage but not far to satisfy the line judge, procedure call. Not Bronsons fault, someone was not on the field when they should have been. To me those mental mistakes made the difference in the game, certainly not a lack of effort or desire to win.

Great post and I agree. I don't think it was lack of effort, just a lot of mental mistakes and the ball not bouncing our way too many times. We'll be ok.

I still disagree, but answer this:

Who had more talent?
Who won the game?
Who continuously made the big plays and took advantage of the opportunities given?

Unless you were watching a different game, the answer to the first is easily Eastern, but the answer to the last two is unquestionably Southern Utah. When you have a lot more talent and still don't win, there is a disconnect between how hard you play versus the other team.

Also, as it realtes to guys missing time... isn't that part of the problem? Sure, lots of injuries are elgit and require time, but how often does a guy get hurt and tape it up and go after it? The only guy I can remember actually playing when his status was "questionable" was Ena in the first week.

 

[clawman1]

I'm watching the same game but obviously from a different perspective. You are obviously drawing your conclusion from sitting home listening on the radio or ?? I am standing on the sideline seeing the effort put forth.
The title of your post used the words "wanted it more". To that I say BS

 

[Obzerver]

I believe one of the many things that has defined EWU(for years and years) is playing hard /never giving up. This game was no exception, they played with heart and played hard. Also, we have had our share of favorable breaks and teams that are successful have more than most. Today we were on the other end of the break spectrum. We are not head and shoulders above teams when it comes to talent. We do have talent and great coaching..add in some breaks and it makes for a winning combo.

 

[HannahO]

I'm watching the same game but obviously from a different perspective. You are obviously drawing your conclusion from sitting home listening on the radio or ?? I am standing on the sideline seeing the effort put forth.
The title of your post used the words "wanted it more". To that I say BS

+1

questioning effort has always bothered me unless a team has obviously quit on the field, each other or the coaches (see Idaho) and I certainly don't see it on this team. I didn't think we would lose this game but I also didn't think we would finish the regular season with 1 loss.

 

[Rjones61]

I think it's important to realize that we beat Montana State in the same fashion that Southern Utah just beat us.

Good game Thunderbirds

 

[sunday]

I think it's important to realize that we beat Montana State in the same fashion that Southern Utah just beat us.

Good game Thunderbirds

I hate it when someone besides me is right... :shocking:

 

[LDopaPDX]

I'm watching the same game but obviously from a different perspective. You are obviously drawing your conclusion from sitting home listening on the radio or ?? I am standing on the sideline seeing the effort put forth.
The title of your post used the words "wanted it more". To that I say BS

I'm not saying they put forth no effort. But how else do you explain a clearly lesser team beating a more talented team? We didn't get jobbed by the officials. We just got beat by a team that played harder. They went out and won the game; we didn't. I guarantee Coach Baldwin will be almost throwing up after this because I know that's the worst thing in the world to a coach. He's won games like that before and has often been on the winning end of the equation; it's the mark of a great coach getting your team motivated to beat better teams. Today we were the team that got beat despite being better. And that, to me, is them wanting it more.

 

[EWUeag]

I've gotta agree with Dopa. The #1 team in the nation doesn't come out and lay an egg against an unranked team that has lost to Teams that we have beat. We fell asleep on the plane ride and never woke up.

 

[talon38]

Dopa, wake the F__k up! Our guys played there ass off so quit dogging MY team! SUU got the ball bouncing there way today in a close game. Yes, EWU could have, should have WON, but the Players laid it all out, but SUU today got some breaks to go their way, we didn't. So don't dog on MY team!!

 

[Obzerver]

EWUeag, yes we were ranked #1 in the nation but make no mistake about it...we are not(were not) the Alabama of the FCS. Heck we're not even close to the Oregon of the Pac 12. After watching Delaware vs Old Dominion not sure we are better than either one of those teams. Our wins have been hard fought and some breaks have gone our way...that is the nature of our league. Looking foward to the Cal Poly game and beyond.

 

[JoinTheEAA]

What a load of nonsense. Clawman was there so I appreciate his perspective. Anyone who knows Coach Best or Coach Sawyer knows they demand complete effort. Coach Baldwin didn't win a national title by accident. We got beat because we made more mistakes than S Utah. These are not professional football players, they are student-athletes who deserve our support win or lose. Respect is the key word here. Both teams gave good effort and S Utah won. I won't disrespect our players, coaches or our opponent because a blocked punt, two turnovers and a missed field goal contributed to a close loss.

I will continue to support our players and coaches win or lose. We all are entitled to our own opinion even when we're wrong. But when we question effort we are questioning the individual integrity of our coaches and players. That is wrong. The player parents know the effort this team has displayed as do those close to the program. I expect another hard fought game next Saturday, may the best team win. Feeling pretty good about the team returning home at a reasonable time last night (thanks to our administration arranging a charter) so look out Cal Poly. Welcome to Cheney and our Red Turf.

Hope to see you at the Coaches Show Monday night where our die hard fans support Beau and our team win or lose. I was in Bozeman in 2010 when MSU punished us and we rebounded from that tough loss. This is a different team but I envision our guys responding with the best week of practice we've had this year.

 

[HannahO]

What a load of nonsense. Clawman was there so I appreciate his perspective. Anyone who knows Coach Best or Coach Sawyer knows they demand complete effort. Coach Baldwin didn't win a national title by accident. We got beat because we made more mistakes than S Utah. These are not professional football players, they are student-athletes who deserve our support win or lose. Respect is the key word here. Both teams gave good effort and S Utah won. I won't disrespect our players, coaches or our opponent because a blocked punt, two turnovers and a missed field goal contributed to a close loss.

I will continue to support our players and coaches win or lose. We all are entitled to our own opinion even when we're wrong. But when we question effort we are questioning the individual integrity of our coaches and players. That is wrong. The player parents know the effort this team has displayed as do those close to the program. I expect another hard fought game next Saturday, may the best team win. Feeling pretty good about the team returning home at a reasonable time last night (thanks to our administration arranging a charter) so look out Cal Poly. Welcome to Cheney and our Red Turf.

Hope to see you at the Coaches Show Monday night where our die hard fans support Beau and our team win or lose. I was in Bozeman in 2010 when MSU punished us and we rebounded from that tough loss. This is a different team but I envision our guys responding with the best week of practice we've had this year.

Thank you! That was well said and sums up my feelings exactly. :clap:

 

[LDopaPDX]

What a load of nonsense. Clawman was there so I appreciate his perspective. Anyone who knows Coach Best or Coach Sawyer knows they demand complete effort. Coach Baldwin didn't win a national title by accident. We got beat because we made more mistakes than S Utah. These are not professional football players, they are student-athletes who deserve our support win or lose. Respect is the key word here. Both teams gave good effort and S Utah won. I won't disrespect our players, coaches or our opponent because a blocked punt, two turnovers and a missed field goal contributed to a close loss.

I will continue to support our players and coaches win or lose. We all are entitled to our own opinion even when we're wrong. But when we question effort we are questioning the individual integrity of our coaches and players. That is wrong. The player parents know the effort this team has displayed as do those close to the program. I expect another hard fought game next Saturday, may the best team win. Feeling pretty good about the team returning home at a reasonable time last night (thanks to our administration arranging a charter) so look out Cal Poly. Welcome to Cheney and our Red Turf.

Hope to see you at the Coaches Show Monday night where our die hard fans support Beau and our team win or lose. I was in Bozeman in 2010 when MSU punished us and we rebounded from that tough loss. This is a different team but I envision our guys responding with the best week of practice we've had this year.

Hold up, where is this coming from? No one on this board comes on here and doesn't support the team. But you're naive if you tell me this is the best the team can play. I see all the talent on this team and think it's hard to understand how we could play Southern Utah and lose. If you want to argue that SUU was just too good to overcome, well, you'd just be wrong. We came out and didn't finish, and it cost a win. Jeezus, it's not an integrity issue, it's just an issue of not getting it done on the field.

Supporting the team is miles different than saying "we played great" when we sure as hell didn't. Optimism is a serious problem when it isn't tempered with reality.

 

[flyingnail]

Dopa, couldnt have said it better !!!! :roll: And one last comment, it's time to stop comparing this team with the NC team, light years different ! GOEAGS !!