Wow - How many times are we going to do this?

[Screamin_Eagle174]

A wise man once told me that there are Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. While it's true that BLM's stat line measures up with the rest of the big sky (QB rating, int's, etc), the real issue is one that isn't measured in a box score. After watching each game this season, two things have become quite apparent:

1) The turnovers have, for the most part, come at the worst possible times. I know that there is never a good time for an interception, but when they serve to kill an otherwise extremely productive drive, the rhythm of the offense may take a few series to recover. For example, in the sac game we were driving in the first half and had a chance to put the first nail in the coffin to make it 28-0. Instead, there was an interception that ultimately resulted in points for sac and a momentum shift going into halftime. This could have been avoided, which leads me to...

2) BLM needs to work on staying within himself. There's no need to try and be a hero all the time by making a laser strike into double coverage. I know Kaufman is a hell of a target but if it's not there, check down and take what's available. The Eagle offense has always been its most deadly when we strike quickly and keep the D on its heels. Trust the system, trust your supporting staff, and the rest will take care of itself. I don't know if the players check this site, but if they do: Bo, you don't need to impress us. We know you've got the skills to get it done and nobody is going to question your effort or your competitive drive. Take a deep breath, trust your skill and make your reads. This is YOUR offense man, and I know how close we are to hanging 40-50 points on someone. Keep battling!

Whew....that being said, I am proud as hell of how our guys battled through adversity and found a way to win against a good Sac State team. On to PSU! Here's to cleaning up the rough edges of the past few weeks and finally playing a 3-phase statement game!

This.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Hey All Eag Fans....Glad to see the all the talk on Eag Football!!

LDopaPDX-You're comment about questioning Taiwan's toughness is absolutely REDICULOUS! Are you serious?? That kid has been playing at about 80% full strength for the past 2 seasons which still puts him as the best back in the nation!...He has been taking so much pounding every game and is such a fighter that the kid won't stay off the field unless he is forced to in practice/game (literally getting his helmet taken away from him in 2 games this year)...Concussion in 2nd gm of the year, hip contusion, ribs and other injuries that CANNOT heal with out staying away from contact for a while...Which will not happen...That run yesterday where he carried 5 guys and still was able to break away for TD speaks for itself!! This kid is an absolute gamer!!

You sort of say my point is wrong and then proceed to make it. I said he gets hurt a lot, you say that's ridiculous. Then you go on to list the number of injuries he's had, and a lot of guys don't get that many injuries in their career, let alone half a season. Yeah, the kid is very good, no doubt about it, but he needs to stop getting hurt all the time to make himself a complete player.

One other thing to note, how dumb was Sac State to go into man coverage on Kaufman with a short corner on that last play from the 6 yard line? i was watching it and the first thing I said was "you've got to be kidding me, they're giving us that route?"

It's not really his fault he gets hurt. He gets hurt because everyone on defense knows how dangerous he is, so they take shots at him every game. Not necessarily accusing any specific team or players of playing dirty, but defenses key on him and give him a little extra to make sure he doesn't get free... yet he still does. He takes those hits, and keeps playing through the pain. Any lesser back wouldn't be able to. He's tough as nails. If anything the play-calling is to blame for putting him at risk by sending him up the middle time after time, which has been mentioned already. Teams are keying in on him even more this year. Last year when they did (MSU), we started sending him outside on screens and the such, and he tore MSU a new one with receiving yards. We need to start getting him in space where he can make moves... he's not a power runner and is only going to get hurt if we send him up the middle time after time. That's what Beaumonte is built for and good at.

 

[EWURanger]

Hate to keep sounding like the armchair QB here, but - I keep thinking and hoping that they give Beaumonte more carries, but then we don't - and I don't understand why. Yeah, he's probably not going to break the 20+ yard runs, but he has shown that he can be pretty effective at getting 3-4 yards at a time. Give him the damn ball man. This will also help to alleviate some of the punishment TJ has been getting. On another note, I'd like to see us use our TE's a little more than just as an extra offensive lineman. Our TE's combined must easily have less than 10 receptions all season. We have a couple big TE's at 6'5 and another at 6'4 - we need to use them more than we have. When WR's aren't open we gotta check down to the TE's and slot receivers and take the easy stuff underneath when it's there. I don't think a lot of people really realize how big Overbay was as a check-down receiver in this regard.

 

[flyingnail]

Hate to keep sounding like the armchair QB here, but - I keep thinking and hoping that they give Beaumonte more carries, but then we don't - and I don't understand why. Yeah, he's probably not going to break the 20+ yard runs, but he has shown that he can be pretty effective at getting 3-4 yards at a time. Give him the damn ball man. This will also help to alleviate some of the punishment TJ has been getting. On another note, I'd like to see us use our TE's a little more than just as an extra offensive lineman. Our TE's combined must easily have less than 10 receptions all season. We have a couple big TE's at 6'5 and another at 6'4 - we need to use them more than we have. When WR's aren't open we gotta check down to the TE's and slot receivers and take the easy stuff underneath when it's there. I don't think a lot of people really realize how big Overbay was as a check-down receiver in this regard.

Kinda makes you wonder WHO's calling the plays !!! DOESN"T IT!

 

[Wwbig9]

It's great that people are excited enough about Eastern football that they are on this board questioning
everything that is done. I guess that's what these boards are for. TJ weighs 170 lbs if he's lucky. Do you realize the punishment he takes. You are right that he is injury prone but is it any wonder with his body build. How many other running backs have a body that looks like his? I can't remember who it was but on an earlier preseason post someone was calling for TJ to touch the ball 30 times a game. Might want to rethink that one. Also, do you really think Baldwin has forgotten how to call plays? When you have questions as to what your QB is going to do on every throw, it alters your game plan and play calling. He has to weigh the risk versus reward on every throw late in the game. I remember earlier in the year on a 3rd down play( I think against NAU ) he threw a fade to Kaufman and someone was questioning why we didn't throw a higher percentage pass. I thought it was a great call as it's either a first down or incomplete. With some of the turnovers weve had, you have to think of the risk of a bad decision with every call. I'm guessing he is probably using 60% of his playbook. Under the current circumstances he's pretty handcuffed right now. I would agree that we need to clean things up, but it could be alot worse. Just a different perspective. Keep the post coming. I enjoy hearing everyones opinions.

 

[Screamin_Eagle174]

There's no way TJ's only 170. Minus pads, he's probably right around 190.

 

[EWURanger]

Yeah, I kinda got a kick out of that one. The rest of his points are well taken though.

 

[kalm]

A wise man once told me that there are Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. While it's true that BLM's stat line measures up with the rest of the big sky (QB rating, int's, etc), the real issue is one that isn't measured in a box score. After watching each game this season, two things have become quite apparent:

1) The turnovers have, for the most part, come at the worst possible times. I know that there is never a good time for an interception, but when they serve to kill an otherwise extremely productive drive, the rhythm of the offense may take a few series to recover. For example, in the sac game we were driving in the first half and had a chance to put the first nail in the coffin to make it 28-0. Instead, there was an interception that ultimately resulted in points for sac and a momentum shift going into halftime. This could have been avoided, which leads me to...

2) BLM needs to work on staying within himself. There's no need to try and be a hero all the time by making a laser strike into double coverage. I know Kaufman is a hell of a target but if it's not there, check down and take what's available. The Eagle offense has always been its most deadly when we strike quickly and keep the D on its heels. Trust the system, trust your supporting staff, and the rest will take care of itself. I don't know if the players check this site, but if they do: Bo, you don't need to impress us. We know you've got the skills to get it done and nobody is going to question your effort or your competitive drive. Take a deep breath, trust your skill and make your reads. This is YOUR offense man, and I know how close we are to hanging 40-50 points on someone. Keep battling!

Whew....that being said, I am proud as hell of how our guys battled through adversity and found a way to win against a good Sac State team. On to PSU! Here's to cleaning up the rough edges of the past few weeks and finally playing a 3-phase statement game!

I was just trying to be positive.

And nice post.

 

[flyingnail]

True TJ IS injury prone, you would think though that just his presence in the backfield as a decoy at times would open up the short passing game a ton and allow BLM to start using those possesion passes, which he does well, allowing the tightend to become more of a factor in the short game, which in turn keeps the offense on the field longer and keeps the defense fresh ! Someone else mentioned the swing pass, that also allows TJ the freedom to juke his way outside and get more one on one with the corners. To keep pounding him inside is a recipe for injury not to mention he doesn't run downhill all that well. Seems to me we ARE only using 60% of the playbook, for whatever reason it's unknown. Beaumonte up the middle, swing passes for possesion, tightends for firstdowns, drawplays for TDs, seems like we used these earlier in the year, might be a good time to revisit some of this game plan if we want a healthy TJ and a more balanced offense !! GOEAGS!

 

[EWURanger]

Ok, just read that our big 6'5 TE Seto is injured, so that explains why he hasn't been getting any looks. If I recall, though, he did get a TD grab in the Weber game.

Update on injuries:

Seto, TE (shoulder): Questionable for Sat. Re-aval later this week.
Myers, G (groin): Questionable for Saturday
Cook, DE (ankle/shoulder): Lost for season
Worthington, T (knee): Questionable for Saturday. Will return vs. SUU if not PSU
Larry, DE (knee): May see limited PT
Shepperd, S (knee): May see limited PT
Lechtenburg, S (ankle): Redshirt
Robinson, S (knee): Lost for season
Jolley, DT (concussion): Injured in Sac State game, status unknown???
Washburn, LB (??): Injured in Sac State game, status unknown???
Harris, TE (concussion): Career-ending concussion. Helping team as student assistant.
King, RB (knee): Lost for season

Ugh, the list is starting to add up. Good news is most of these don't seem to season ending, so if we can make it though this game with a "w" and limited further injuries, we have 2 weeks to get some guys healed up with the bye week before Southern Utah.