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The Truth (as I see it)

EWUeag

Active member
Disclaimer: I am quietly one of the bigger homers on this board.

That being said, here's the truth: this defense is bad. Historically bad. They have shown zero progress. We all hoped Davis was a turning point, yet we just gave up over 50 points to Idaho State. Is their offense as good as the Huskies'?

It's time for Graham to go. He should be gone at the end of the year if we have any self-respect as a program. I understand he's a nice guy, I've had plenty of contact with him. Yet unless the D has a miraculous 20ppg turnaround, he needs to move on.

Anyone on here who keeps giving excuse after excuse for our defense has their head in the sand. This isn't an injury thing, this isn't a youth thing, this isn't a rotation thing. All of those do not help, but they don't add up to any more than maybe 1 less TD per game.

So, that's all I have.
 
Your points are well stated and wow... I put up a simple question about whose defense is more suspect...ours or MSU and the post gets taken down. Inflammatory? Really? You should have heard the guys behind me at the game today if you want inflammatory!
 
RedRaptor said:
Your points are well stated and wow... I put up a simple question about whose defense is more suspect...ours or MSU and the post gets taken down. Inflammatory? Really? You should have heard the guys behind me at the game today if you want inflammatory!

Nah man, I just merged it into the defense thread since it's hard to keep up with a lot of various threads that are posted. So sometimes if there's a couple that are fairly similar, I merge them. Nothing inflammatory about your post at all. :thumb:
 
I'm not saying I disagree with you. However, here is a consequence that isn't discussed.

Coach Beau Baldwin has created an atmosphere within the team which they call a family. We have a very tight knit group. Surely this includes the coaching staff. It's not a far cry to assume Baldwin and Graham are friends, if not close friends. If the administration makes the decision to fire Graham, how will that make Baldwin feel about the program? Maybe the distaste of Graham being fired is enough to finally push Baldwin to take up an FBS position. Just something I think about. I think there are better coaches then Graham, but would it be worth going against Baldwin's opinion? I wouldn't want to take a step forward unless I know that Baldwin also feels Graham needs to be replaced. Such a statement would never be made publicly, so we wouldn't know until the decision to let Graham go was made.
 
EWUeag said:
Disclaimer: I am quietly one of the bigger homers on this board.

That being said, here's the truth: this defense is bad. Historically bad. They have shown zero progress. We all hoped Davis was a turning point, yet we just gave up over 50 points to Idaho State. Is their offense as good as the Huskies'?

It's time for Graham to go. He should be gone at the end of the year if we have any self-respect as a program. I understand he's a nice guy, I've had plenty of contact with him. Yet unless the D has a miraculous 20ppg turnaround, he needs to move on.

Anyone on here who keeps giving excuse after excuse for our defense has their head in the sand. This isn't an injury thing, this isn't a youth thing, this isn't a rotation thing. All of those do not help, but they don't add up to any more than maybe 1 less TD per game.

So, that's all I have.
:clap:

After spending 13 seasons at Central Washington University, John Graham enters his seventh year as EWU’s defensive coordinator, and his sixth as associate head coach. He coordinates EWU’s annual Coaches Golf Tournament, and also coached EWU’s linebackers in fall 2010 as EWU went on to win the NCAA Division I Championship.

Eastern’s defense in 2013 featured a pair of All-Americans (cornerback T.J. Lee and linebacker Ronnie Hamlin), plus one Freshman All-American (defensive end Samson Ebukam). Lee finished his career as a three-time first team All-Big Sky Conference selection. The Eagles held its first three league opponents to just 43 points (14.3 per game) in helping EWU to its first-ever perfect 8-0 finish in the Big Sky.

Graham’s defense in 2012 limited Idaho to three points in a season-opening 20-3 victory, then held three more opponents to 19 points or less. The squad featured a trio of All-Americans – Lee, Hamlin and defensive end Jerry Ceja.

Injures plagued the defense in 2011, but Eastern did hold perennial playoff participant Montana to 17 points and ended the season by holding Idaho State to 14 points. The Eagles featured first team All-Big Sky selections Matt Johnson (safety) and Lee, with Johnson eventually getting drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. Johnson, who finished his Eastern career with 341 tackles to rank fifth in school history and eighth all-time in the Big Sky, missed Eastern’s last four games of his senior season with a biceps injury. He was one of seven starters on the defensive side who lost time because of injuries, including two lost for the season.

Eastern’s defense in 2010 ranked first in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in interceptions (total of 26) and turnovers gained (47), and finished 17th nationally in turnover margin (.80 less turnovers per game than its opponents) after ranking sixth in 2009 (1.25 less). The Eagles were also 26th in passing efficiency defense (134.8) and finished sixth nationally in red zone defense, as they allowed just 38 scores in 58 opponent trips inside the EWU 20-yard line. Eight of those scores were field goals, including two in the first half of the national championship game.

One of the linebackers Graham coached in 2010 was J.C. Sherritt, who won the Buck Buchanan Award presented by The Sports Network to the top defensive player in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. Sherritt was also selected to six different All-America teams as a first team selection, and was the College Sporting News Defensive Player of the Year and the Big Sky Defensive MVP. He broke his own league and school records by finishing his senior season with 176 tackles, which ranks sixth in FCS history. He closed his career with a school-record 432 tackles in his 47-game career (35 as a starter) to rank second in Big Sky history and 10th all-time in the FCS.

In 2009, Eastern’s defense helped the Eagles finish sixth in the FCS in turnover margin, averaging 1.25 less turnovers per game than its opponents. Along the way, Eastern had a 16-0 shutout against Northern Colorado, which was EWU’s first shutout at Roos Field since 1983. Individually, Sherritt was named to all six All-America teams and was second in the voting for the Buck Buchanan Award.

In Graham’s first season at the helm of the defense in 2008, Eastern overcame a rocky start to hold five-straight opponents from Oct. 11 to Nov. 15 to 19 points or fewer. That was something EWU has never done since becoming a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 1984. The Eagles closed the year by limiting Weber State’s high-powered offense to 26 points in a 33-26 Eagle victory over the league champions. Defensive end Greg Peach, who would go on to win the Buchanan Award given to the top defensive player in the FCS, led the nation in sacks (1.64 per game) and tackles for loss (2.1) in 2008.

A graduate of nearby Reardan (Wash.) High School, Graham spent his final 12 seasons at Central as the defensive coordinator while coaching defensive backs and linebackers. He served as secondary coach in 1995, and in 1997 served as interim head coach for a three-month period. He also served as recruiting coordinator, travel coordinator and camp coordinator at different times during his tenure, as well as serving as an assistant to the athletic director in charge of fundraising and the department’s alumni golf tournament.

As a defensive coordinator, Graham helped coach Central to an 89-51 overall record with five conference championships and the NAIA title in 1995. As a defensive backs coach, two Wildcats earned All-America honors, three were conference defensive players of the year and 18 earned first team all-conference accolades. The 1995 Central team was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2005, and the 2002 squad followed in 2013.

Was a defensive coordinator on two National Championship teams, coached two Buchannon Award winners, numerous all-americans…

Yep, I guess he forgot how to coach. :dunce:
 
The truth as I see it is our success has brought many new fans and opinions. Coach Graham won't be fired by anyone and posting nonsense like that is just ridiculous. This staff won a national title and we were unbeaten in Big Sky play last year. We were one fumble away from beating UW in their stadium. Football is a team game and Coach Graham and our staff recruit athletes to the team. Which side of the ball they play on is a long, complicated process.

Special teams was awesome yesterday, the pick by Tonani was crucial and we won a tough game. There was a time in the past where we probably lose that game. Bottom line we're playing a lot of young guys, some of our older players are beat up and we're 5-1 with our only loss to a decent Pac-12 team.

It is possible some of the "fans" who constantly attack Coach Graham should consider becoming Cougar fans. Love the Cougs but they have a tough time winning games like the one we prevailed in yesterday.

I prefer focusing on how we retain this staff by improving our facilities and the compensation our coaches receive. Our next game will be a challenge but I'm confident our defense will respond in Utah this weekend. Our coaching staff is the best in the Big Sky. If you don't agree with that you are ignorant and you really aren't paying attention. Our coaching staff is not the best compensated staff in the Big Sky.

There is a gentleman who is a consistent poster here who attends games, donates considerable money and at times he wonders what our staff is doing. But he realizes they are very good at what they do and they have built something special at EWU. He has helped that by donating time, money and his support. I suggest those who call for firing coaches consider how stupid they look. How many championship rings do you have? Our staff has league and national titles with more rings on the way. I hope those rings come from leading EWU to more championships. So far so good this season.
 
JoinTheEAF said:
The truth as I see it is our success has brought many new fans and opinions. Coach Graham won't be fired by anyone and posting nonsense like that is just ridiculous. This staff won a national title and we were unbeaten in Big Sky play last year. We were one fumble away from beating UW in their stadium. Football is a team game and Coach Graham and our staff recruit athletes to the team. Which side of the ball they play on is a long, complicated process.

Special teams was awesome yesterday, the pick by Tonani was crucial and we won a tough game. There was a time in the past where we probably lose that game. Bottom line we're playing a lot of young guys, some of our older players are beat up and we're 5-1 with our only loss to a decent Pac-12 team.

It is possible some of the "fans" who constantly attack Coach Graham should consider becoming Cougar fans. Love the Cougs but they have a tough time winning games like the one we prevailed in yesterday.

I prefer focusing on how we retain this staff by improving our facilities and the compensation our coaches receive. Our next game will be a challenge but I'm confident our defense will respond in Utah this weekend. Our coaching staff is the best in the Big Sky. If you don't agree with that you are ignorant and you really aren't paying attention. Our coaching staff is not the best compensated staff in the Big Sky.

There is a gentleman who is a consistent poster here who attends games, donates considerable money and at times he wonders what our staff is doing. But he realizes they are very good at what they do and they have built something special at EWU. He has helped that by donating time, money and his support. I suggest those who call for firing coaches consider how stupid they look. How many championship rings do you have? Our staff has league and national titles with more rings on the way. I hope those rings come from leading EWU to more championships. So far so good this season.

Strong post. :nod:
 
Rjones61 said:
I'm not saying I disagree with you. However, here is a consequence that isn't discussed.

Coach Beau Baldwin has created an atmosphere within the team which they call a family. We have a very tight knit group. Surely this includes the coaching staff. It's not a far cry to assume Baldwin and Graham are friends, if not close friends. If the administration makes the decision to fire Graham, how will that make Baldwin feel about the program? Maybe the distaste of Graham being fired is enough to finally push Baldwin to take up an FBS position. Just something I think about. I think there are better coaches then Graham, but would it be worth going against Baldwin's opinion? I wouldn't want to take a step forward unless I know that Baldwin also feels Graham needs to be replaced. Such a statement would never be made publicly, so we wouldn't know until the decision to let Graham go was made.

This doesn't make any sense. No one from within the admin would fire a coach unless it was Baldwin (and that ain't happening). He would be the one making staff changes on his own staff. The only time the AD would step in and remove someone under him is if there was some sort of HR issue.

Everyone I know thinks Graham is a respectable coach. On top of that, everyone seems to think we have some pretty good players on D. That's why the utter absurdity we are seeing on the field is so confusing. The defense is simply much better than what they do on the field.
 
LDopaPDX said:
This doesn't make any sense. No one from within the admin would fire a coach unless it was Baldwin (and that ain't happening). He would be the one making staff changes on his own staff. The only time the AD would step in and remove someone under him is if there was some sort of HR issue.

Everyone I know thinks Graham is a respectable coach. On top of that, everyone seems to think we have some pretty good players on D. That's why the utter absurdity we are seeing on the field is so confusing. The defense is simply much better than what they do on the field.

That's fair. I suppose I don't know much about the contracting and releasing of coaches from a team. For some reason I was under the impression that the Athletic director handled releasing and hiring of new coaches.
 
Kalm- nice copy and paste. :notworthy: Here are some more stats for you

2012 Total Defense rank: 79th out of 121 (almost cracked the top half)
2013 Total Defense rank: 81st out of 121
2014 (so far) 101st out of 121

JointheEAF- I have one BSC Championship ring, and graduated the season before the 'ship. Oh, I'm also a member of the EAF, and was a season ticket holder until I moved, so there's that. Not that any of that matters one bit.

Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.

No one is asking for a great defense. I'd be happy with a defense that gave up an average of 28ppg, which is still in the bottom half of the nation.
 
EWUeag said:
Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.


This is my biggest concern. I'm not worried about defensive schemes or styles. The best defensive gameplan in the world does no good if your guys can't tackle. We're talking about the fundamentals that are escaping the defense at the moment. It's a downward trend that keeps getting worse year after year. People can throw out past accolades for Graham all they want, they mean squat now. The defense is getting worse not better and for me that is not acceptable. If I saw that the players were making improvements, even if they were still giving up 50 points per game, I'd be OK with it, but it's still just a ton of missed tackles and poor reads. The defense should be better than this. I'm on the fire Graham bandwagon, but I won't go to the EWU campus with a pitchfork demanding it. Maybe firing Graham isn't the right answer, but there is zero doubt in my mind that some kind of shake up is necessary. The defense as it stands now will cost EWU a chance at a national championship this year.
 
EWUeag said:
Kalm- nice copy and paste. :notworthy: Here are some more stats for you

2012 Total Defense rank: 79th out of 121 (almost cracked the top half)
2013 Total Defense rank: 81st out of 121
2014 (so far) 101st out of 121

JointheEAF- I have one BSC Championship ring, and graduated the season before the 'ship. Oh, I'm also a member of the EAF, and was a season ticket holder until I moved, so there's that. Not that any of that matters one bit.

Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.

No one is asking for a great defense. I'd be happy with a defense that gave up an average of 28ppg, which is still in the bottom half of the nation.

Well then, we better just fire the entire coaching staff as recruiting defensive kids who lack the fundamentals is split between offensive and defensive coaches, and Sawyer, Fetter, et al are also responsible for player development. :dunce:

I'd hate to be a DC in todays climate. Look at Breskke who was a outstanding DC for Montana. I suppose he's forgotten how to coach too.

I get your frustration, but you're oversimplifying and showing a bit of emotion here. What would you like to wager that we hold teams to less than 28 from here on out?
 
JPN17 said:
EWUeag said:
Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.


This is my biggest concern. I'm not worried about defensive schemes or styles. The best defensive gameplan in the world does no good if your guys can't tackle. We're talking about the fundamentals that are escaping the defense at the moment. It's a downward trend that keeps getting worse year after year. People can throw out past accolades for Graham all they want, they mean squat now. The defense is getting worse not better and for me that is not acceptable. If I saw that the players were making improvements, even if they were still giving up 50 points per game, I'd be OK with it, but it's still just a ton of missed tackles and poor reads. The defense should be better than this. I'm on the fire Graham bandwagon, but I won't go to the EWU campus with a pitchfork demanding it. Maybe firing Graham isn't the right answer, but there is zero doubt in my mind that some kind of shake up is necessary. The defense as it stands now will cost EWU a chance at a national championship this year.

This^
The debacle that is our defense falls squarely on coaching and the defense has been on a constant regression. Take the rose colored glasses off and quit making excuses (youth, injuries, etc...) You can have the squawks defense out there and it wouldn't matter if your leaving receivers wide open and missing tackles. This will be our achilles heel and will be the death of our team in the playoffs

This defense sucks, plain and simple. This isn't a knee jerk reaction, this is 7 games worth (counting the Towson game) of observation and it isn't magically going to get better. It is what it is Its only a matter of time before we run into someone who slows down the offense. However, we'll mostly likely win the Big Sky since no one else is any good.

Call me negative nancy all you want but I'm fed up with what I've seen and I hate to see this talented offensive team be boat anchored by a terrible defense.
 
EdubU10 said:
JPN17 said:
EWUeag said:
Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.


This is my biggest concern. I'm not worried about defensive schemes or styles. The best defensive gameplan in the world does no good if your guys can't tackle. We're talking about the fundamentals that are escaping the defense at the moment. It's a downward trend that keeps getting worse year after year. People can throw out past accolades for Graham all they want, they mean squat now. The defense is getting worse not better and for me that is not acceptable. If I saw that the players were making improvements, even if they were still giving up 50 points per game, I'd be OK with it, but it's still just a ton of missed tackles and poor reads. The defense should be better than this. I'm on the fire Graham bandwagon, but I won't go to the EWU campus with a pitchfork demanding it. Maybe firing Graham isn't the right answer, but there is zero doubt in my mind that some kind of shake up is necessary. The defense as it stands now will cost EWU a chance at a national championship this year.

This^
The debacle that is our defense falls squarely on coaching and the defense has been on a constant regression. Take the rose colored glasses off and quit making excuses (youth, injuries, etc...) You can have the squawks defense out there and it wouldn't matter if your leaving receivers wide open and missing tackles. This will be our achilles heel and will be the death of our team in the playoffs

This defense sucks, plain and simple. This isn't a knee jerk reaction, this is 7 games worth (counting the Towson game) of observation and it isn't magically going to get better. It is what it is Its only a matter of time before we run into someone who slows down the offense. However, we'll mostly likely win the Big Sky since no one else is any good.

Call me negative nancy all you want but I'm fed up with what I've seen and I hate to see this talented offensive team be boat anchored by a terrible defense.

I remember the Towson game and how all the expert opinions on here were clamoring about "prevent defense" when we were up in press man for most of that drive.

I love all of the expertise on here. :rofl:
 
kalm said:
EWUeag said:
Kalm- nice copy and paste. :notworthy: Here are some more stats for you

2012 Total Defense rank: 79th out of 121 (almost cracked the top half)
2013 Total Defense rank: 81st out of 121
2014 (so far) 101st out of 121

JointheEAF- I have one BSC Championship ring, and graduated the season before the 'ship. Oh, I'm also a member of the EAF, and was a season ticket holder until I moved, so there's that. Not that any of that matters one bit.

Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.

No one is asking for a great defense. I'd be happy with a defense that gave up an average of 28ppg, which is still in the bottom half of the nation.

Well then, we better just fire the entire coaching staff as recruiting defensive kids who lack the fundamentals is split between offensive and defensive coaches, and Sawyer, Fetter, et al are also responsible for player development. :dunce:

I'd hate to be a DC in todays climate. Look at Breskke who was a outstanding DC for Montana. I suppose he's forgotten how to coach too.

I get your frustration, but you're oversimplifying and showing a bit of emotion here. What would you like to wager that we hold teams to less than 28 from here on out?

A little touch of emotion is good for this board. Not the flyingnail type of emotion, but emotion none the less.

I bet you a sixer of your favorite beer (Hamm's?) That we don't. However, with my new edition, I don't think we will make another trip over this season. But I promise, I'll hold my end up even if it has to spill over into next season when I come for a game.
 
I always thought one of the many challenges for the "D" was our offense scored so quickly they never had a chance to catch their breath. But when we had that 7:19 extended drive and scored the TD in the second to last possession I figured that long rest for the "D" would be the key to stopping ISU from scoring. Well ISU took the ball right down and scored another TD. So much for my theory. My other theory was why wouldn't we try something different as it seemed what we were doing wasn't working in the earlier games. Now, I don't know if we have tried anything different but appears we have cause I'm not sure how we can give up more yards/pts. than we just did with our offense scoring so much and having 9 min. more top.

I'm out of ideas and have heard all the reasons why the struggles are upon us...just don't understand it. Doesn't tarnish my support for this team nor the optimism for a great season because so far it has been a great season. This team is exciting to watch even when the opposing teams have the ball...never a dull moment!
 
kalm said:
EdubU10 said:
JPN17 said:
EWUeag said:
Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.


This is my biggest concern. I'm not worried about defensive schemes or styles. The best defensive gameplan in the world does no good if your guys can't tackle. We're talking about the fundamentals that are escaping the defense at the moment. It's a downward trend that keeps getting worse year after year. People can throw out past accolades for Graham all they want, they mean squat now. The defense is getting worse not better and for me that is not acceptable. If I saw that the players were making improvements, even if they were still giving up 50 points per game, I'd be OK with it, but it's still just a ton of missed tackles and poor reads. The defense should be better than this. I'm on the fire Graham bandwagon, but I won't go to the EWU campus with a pitchfork demanding it. Maybe firing Graham isn't the right answer, but there is zero doubt in my mind that some kind of shake up is necessary. The defense as it stands now will cost EWU a chance at a national championship this year.

This^
The debacle that is our defense falls squarely on coaching and the defense has been on a constant regression. Take the rose colored glasses off and quit making excuses (youth, injuries, etc...) You can have the squawks defense out there and it wouldn't matter if your leaving receivers wide open and missing tackles. This will be our achilles heel and will be the death of our team in the playoffs

This defense sucks, plain and simple. This isn't a knee jerk reaction, this is 7 games worth (counting the Towson game) of observation and it isn't magically going to get better. It is what it is Its only a matter of time before we run into someone who slows down the offense. However, we'll mostly likely win the Big Sky since no one else is any good.

Call me negative nancy all you want but I'm fed up with what I've seen and I hate to see this talented offensive team be boat anchored by a terrible defense.

I remember the Towson game and how all the expert opinions on here were clamoring about "prevent defense" when we were up in press man for most of that drive.

I love all of the expertise on here. :rofl:

It wasn't prevent defense, it was "the ol Jody Sears prevent."

Get it right.
 
kalm said:
EdubU10 said:
JPN17 said:
EWUeag said:
Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.


This is my biggest concern. I'm not worried about defensive schemes or styles. The best defensive gameplan in the world does no good if your guys can't tackle. We're talking about the fundamentals that are escaping the defense at the moment. It's a downward trend that keeps getting worse year after year. People can throw out past accolades for Graham all they want, they mean squat now. The defense is getting worse not better and for me that is not acceptable. If I saw that the players were making improvements, even if they were still giving up 50 points per game, I'd be OK with it, but it's still just a ton of missed tackles and poor reads. The defense should be better than this. I'm on the fire Graham bandwagon, but I won't go to the EWU campus with a pitchfork demanding it. Maybe firing Graham isn't the right answer, but there is zero doubt in my mind that some kind of shake up is necessary. The defense as it stands now will cost EWU a chance at a national championship this year.

This^
The debacle that is our defense falls squarely on coaching and the defense has been on a constant regression. Take the rose colored glasses off and quit making excuses (youth, injuries, etc...) You can have the squawks defense out there and it wouldn't matter if your leaving receivers wide open and missing tackles. This will be our achilles heel and will be the death of our team in the playoffs

This defense sucks, plain and simple. This isn't a knee jerk reaction, this is 7 games worth (counting the Towson game) of observation and it isn't magically going to get better. It is what it is Its only a matter of time before we run into someone who slows down the offense. However, we'll mostly likely win the Big Sky since no one else is any good.

Call me negative nancy all you want but I'm fed up with what I've seen and I hate to see this talented offensive team be boat anchored by a terrible defense.

I remember the Towson game and how all the expert opinions on here were clamoring about "prevent defense" when we were up in press man for most of that drive.

I love all of the expertise on here. :rofl:

Nice straw man, but your point is irrelevant to the defense this year.
 
kalm said:
EWUeag said:
Kalm- nice copy and paste. :notworthy: Here are some more stats for you

2012 Total Defense rank: 79th out of 121 (almost cracked the top half)
2013 Total Defense rank: 81st out of 121
2014 (so far) 101st out of 121

JointheEAF- I have one BSC Championship ring, and graduated the season before the 'ship. Oh, I'm also a member of the EAF, and was a season ticket holder until I moved, so there's that. Not that any of that matters one bit.

Watch the games again. 75% of our issues on D is coaching-related. Out of position, horrible tackling technique, bad angles, bad eyes by the DBs. The D line gets a pass. It's tough when you have to start a freshman tackle that weighs 240lbs. However, I have a hard time believing that when we get healthy along the Dline that it will automatically make our defense anymore than 7 points a game better.

No one is asking for a great defense. I'd be happy with a defense that gave up an average of 28ppg, which is still in the bottom half of the nation.

Well then, we better just fire the entire coaching staff as recruiting defensive kids who lack the fundamentals is split between offensive and defensive coaches, and Sawyer, Fetter, et al are also responsible for player development. :dunce:

I'd hate to be a DC in todays climate. Look at Breskke who was a outstanding DC for Montana. I suppose he's forgotten how to coach too.

I get your frustration, but you're oversimplifying and showing a bit of emotion here. What would you like to wager that we hold teams to less than 28 from here on out?


Just to clarify, are you suggesting a wager that the D holds everyone they play from here 'til the end of the season to 28 or under? And you want to bet they do? This is a straight up bet?
 

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