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(02-21-2019 01:29 PM)brovol Wrote:  I dont think the author of the article actually watched our games last year. I think at he looked at some final scores and made conclusions; like when he described our game against Syracuse as "a competitive loss". We got the score close, but that game was only competitive until the national anthem was over. By the second quarter it was an embarrassing blowout. Same with Michigan, Toledo, Ohio, and BYU. Yes, we lost our starting QB against Toledo, but that had nothing whatsoever to do with our blowout loss. We were getting taken to school while Wassink was in the game, and in fact did much better offensively after Wassink was out.

The S&P+ week to week rankings from 2014-2018 is telling, however. It looks like we climbed a mountain from 2014 through 2016, but then fell off the mountain thereafter.

WMU had won 6 in a row coming into the Toledo game. The Rocket starting QB went out just before the end of the first half. The score was 21-17, when the back up entered the game.

(02-23-2019 08:48 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:29 PM)brovol Wrote:  I dont think the author of the article actually watched our games last year. I think at he looked at some final scores and made conclusions; like when he described our game against Syracuse as "a competitive loss". We got the score close, but that game was only competitive until the national anthem was over. By the second quarter it was an embarrassing blowout. Same with Michigan, Toledo, Ohio, and BYU. Yes, we lost our starting QB against Toledo, but that had nothing whatsoever to do with our blowout loss. We were getting taken to school while Wassink was in the game, and in fact did much better offensively after Wassink was out.

The S&P+ week to week rankings from 2014-2018 is telling, however. It looks like we climbed a mountain from 2014 through 2016, but then fell off the mountain thereafter.

WMU had won 6 in a row coming into the Toledo game. The Rocket starting QB went out just before the end of the first half. The score was 21-17, when the back up entered the game.

Indeed, it usually gets forgotten how close the WMU/UT game was a good chunk into it.

Every game on the schedule is winnable, this is our year. This is Lester's year. We have a senior QB who has a lot to prove, we have the best WR corps in the MAC. Time to produce. No excuses.

(02-24-2019 11:23 AM)WMU2013 Wrote:  Every game on the schedule is winnable, this is our year. This is Lester's year. We have a senior QB who has a lot to prove, we have the best WR corps in the MAC. Time to produce. No excuses.

If we don’t fix the issues on defense, we won’t win the big games, I.e sparty, Cuse, Toledo.

If the defense is solid, yes we can be successful

(02-24-2019 09:45 PM)Broncodan Wrote:  

(02-24-2019 11:23 AM)WMU2013 Wrote:  Every game on the schedule is winnable, this is our year. This is Lester's year. We have a senior QB who has a lot to prove, we have the best WR corps in the MAC. Time to produce. No excuses.

If we don’t fix the issues on defense, we won’t win the big games, I.e sparty, Cuse, Toledo.

If the defense is solid, yes we can be successful

Yep, that's the wildcard. Defense needs more than just a few tweaks, it has to leaps n' bounds better if we are to be in the MACC.

45-0 at halftime (Ohio), 18-for-18 freshman pass completions (BYU), etc... those are some ugly stats to repair.

Our D needs to at least get to the level of "just bad", as opposed to horrendous. It will take a lot getting it to "just bad" though. "Average" would be a dream.

Defense needs to keep rowing the boat. Work for a better best.

Wake up positive and ready to work.

(02-25-2019 08:25 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  

(02-24-2019 09:45 PM)Broncodan Wrote:  

(02-24-2019 11:23 AM)WMU2013 Wrote:  Every game on the schedule is winnable, this is our year. This is Lester's year. We have a senior QB who has a lot to prove, we have the best WR corps in the MAC. Time to produce. No excuses.

If we don’t fix the issues on defense, we won’t win the big games, I.e sparty, Cuse, Toledo.

If the defense is solid, yes we can be successful

Yep, that's the wildcard. Defense needs more than just a few tweaks, it has to leaps n' bounds better if we are to be in the MACC.

45-0 at halftime (Ohio), 18-for-18 freshman pass completions (BYU), etc... those are some ugly stats to repair.

I don't blame the Ohio loss on the defense at all, look at this drive chart, seven turnovers.

Ohio: 78 yards (TD)
WMU: 1 yard (Fumble)
Ohio: 19 yards (TD)
WMU: 8 yards (Blocked punt TD)
WMU: 2 yards (punt)
Ohio: 29 yards (missed FG)
WMU: 10 yards (interception)
Ohio: 64 yards (TD)
WMU: kick return (fumble)
Ohio: -4 yards (FG)
WMU: kick return (fumble)
Ohio: 11 yards (TD)
WMU: 9 yards (downs)
Ohio: 44 yards (TD)
WMU: 30 yards (fumble)
OHio: 15 yards (half)

The defense looked outstanding against BYU in the first half, as soon as that QB got hot and BYU totally abandoned their gameplan, we didn't have an answer. Look at our offense's second half drive chart that game: Punt, turnover, turnover, turnover...

Our defense struggled, but some of that definitely is because of our poor special teams play, and our offense sputtered after Wassink went down. That was not a defense that could be leaned on like we did in 2017.

(02-21-2019 01:46 PM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:33 PM)Rasser Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:32 PM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 11:58 AM)fastbuicks Wrote:  Players quit on Daoust. No secrets there. Coach Espo is liked by players and recruits, he has three times the energy as the guy he replaced

If we have players quitting on a coach, then we have a leadership issue beyond that particular coach. Agree?

He addressed the issue. Agree?

Yep. Question is whether he addressed it properly. By chance did you see the BYU game? And the reward for that defensive masterpiece was becoming the permanent Defensive Coordinator.

So you expected the D to turnaround in 30 days? Lester made correct move and looks like they are addressing DB issue in camp moving some players around. Still expect to see a grad transfer or two on D in 2019.

(02-25-2019 11:34 AM)RunningGame Wrote:  

(02-25-2019 08:25 AM)Motown Bronco Wrote:  

(02-24-2019 09:45 PM)Broncodan Wrote:  

(02-24-2019 11:23 AM)WMU2013 Wrote:  Every game on the schedule is winnable, this is our year. This is Lester's year. We have a senior QB who has a lot to prove, we have the best WR corps in the MAC. Time to produce. No excuses.

If we don’t fix the issues on defense, we won’t win the big games, I.e sparty, Cuse, Toledo.

If the defense is solid, yes we can be successful

Yep, that's the wildcard. Defense needs more than just a few tweaks, it has to leaps n' bounds better if we are to be in the MACC.

45-0 at halftime (Ohio), 18-for-18 freshman pass completions (BYU), etc... those are some ugly stats to repair.

I don't blame the Ohio loss on the defense at all, look at this drive chart, seven turnovers.

Ohio: 78 yards (TD)
WMU: 1 yard (Fumble)
Ohio: 19 yards (TD)
WMU: 8 yards (Blocked punt TD)
WMU: 2 yards (punt)
Ohio: 29 yards (missed FG)
WMU: 10 yards (interception)
Ohio: 64 yards (TD)
WMU: kick return (fumble)
Ohio: -4 yards (FG)
WMU: kick return (fumble)
Ohio: 11 yards (TD)
WMU: 9 yards (downs)
Ohio: 44 yards (TD)
WMU: 30 yards (fumble)
OHio: 15 yards (half)

The defense looked outstanding against BYU in the first half, as soon as that QB got hot and BYU totally abandoned their gameplan, we didn't have an answer. Look at our offense's second half drive chart that game: Punt, turnover, turnover, turnover...

Our defense struggled, but some of that definitely is because of our poor special teams play, and our offense sputtered after Wassink went down. That was not a defense that could be leaned on like we did in 2017.

BYU figured out our secondary was a patched up mess. No need to run when your WRs are coming to the bench telling the coach "I'm open by five yards every route". They did indeed change their plan and it worked.

Quote:I think at he looked at some final scores and made conclusions; like when he described our game against Syracuse as "a competitive loss". We got the score close, but that game was only competitive until the national anthem was over.

It was a competitive loss. It was an embarrassing 1st half. But if Syracuse kept their star/starting QB on the bench the 2nd half -- one would be a fool to say we wouldn't have had a very good chance at winning the game. They had to put him back in, or else. We had more yards than them, and we lost by 13.

Quote:No way NIU misses a bowl.

No way MSU will accept Detroit.

Better chance of NIU missing a bowl given coaching change, but yeah, I don't see that happening. No way would MSU accept Detroit -- unless they were 5-7 but too-few-teams being bowl-eligible getting them in. That's the only way they'd go, IMO.

Quote:Our D needs to at least get to the level of "just bad", as opposed to horrendous. It will take a lot getting it to "just bad" though. "Average" would be a dream.

I don't think Average is a dream, but I agree -- we can't be just bad. But we're on a better track to get to average (and more). I can only imagine it will be better than last year, at least. But to assume it'll be overall average out of the gates would be riding on hope, not reality. I think a solid realistic hope would be to become average in the latter half of the year.

Quote:Every game on the schedule is winnable, this is our year.

I do not think this is "Our Year" -- nor do I think every game is winnable on the level of the games being realistically close by Vegas Odds. Our D is going to be a weakness, at least for the 1st quarter - 1st half of the season.

- @MSU: We'd have to hope MSU is going on their way down like they were a few years ago, while we are on our way up with solidity for this to be checked-off as solidly winnable; silly to count on that
- @Syracuse: IMO, it's going to be tougher this time. They have a good coach rising them up, and this time it's in NY, not in Kalamazoo.
- ROAD GAMES NOT HOME GAMES: @Toledo, @NIU, @EMU, @Ohio.

Pound for pound, expect a tougher hill to climb this year, no doubt. Even with some improvements, we shouldn't expect the same record. We'd need to shore up a lot or have a lot of luck blowing our way as far as other teams sliding to expect 7-5, given everything.

That said, I think this is Lester's year to show we can still fight to be an upper-level MAC team. Defense shores up, O solid, and we go 7-5 again, up a much tougher hill + never getting completely blown out.

(02-25-2019 03:25 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  - @MSU: We'd have to hope MSU is going on their way down like they were a few years ago, while we are on our way up with solidity for this to be checked-off as solidly winnable; silly to count on that

We play MSU frequently, but never seem to catch them in one of their down years.

I think we can beat MSU next year. We have a senior QB, stud WR and a defense that in my mind will make significant strides under Esposito leadership. Also, I might add our new Center Juriga will be an NFL draft pick in 2020.

(02-25-2019 01:10 PM)fastbuicks Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:46 PM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:33 PM)Rasser Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:32 PM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 11:58 AM)fastbuicks Wrote:  Players quit on Daoust. No secrets there. Coach Espo is liked by players and recruits, he has three times the energy as the guy he replaced

If we have players quitting on a coach, then we have a leadership issue beyond that particular coach. Agree?

He addressed the issue. Agree?

Yep. Question is whether he addressed it properly. By chance did you see the BYU game? And the reward for that defensive masterpiece was becoming the permanent Defensive Coordinator.

So you expected the D to turnaround in 30 days? Lester made correct move and looks like they are addressing DB issue in camp moving some players around. Still expect to see a grad transfer or two on D in 2019.

No; I do think it should be fixed at least over the course of a year though. And we have had two straight years of horrendous defense, even when we had several NFL prospects on the field together.

If the issue was one of scheme, then it could be fixed in a week, but it was more than just scheme I think. Esposito has been a co-defensive coordinator from the start. He seems to be getting a pass for his role in the mess that is our defense. I don't get it. "Making a change" isn't the answer unless is is a smart change, calculated based on reason and common sense to improve things. If we had two bad Cooks in the kitchen, now we have one bad cook. We are still eating lousy food.

(02-26-2019 07:50 AM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-25-2019 01:10 PM)fastbuicks Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:46 PM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:33 PM)Rasser Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:32 PM)brovol Wrote:  If we have players quitting on a coach, then we have a leadership issue beyond that particular coach. Agree?

He addressed the issue. Agree?

Yep. Question is whether he addressed it properly. By chance did you see the BYU game? And the reward for that defensive masterpiece was becoming the permanent Defensive Coordinator.

So you expected the D to turnaround in 30 days? Lester made correct move and looks like they are addressing DB issue in camp moving some players around. Still expect to see a grad transfer or two on D in 2019.

No; I do think it should be fixed at least over the course of a year though. And we have had two straight years of horrendous defense, even when we had several NFL prospects on the field together.

If the issue was one of scheme, then it could be fixed in a week, but it was more than just scheme I think. Esposito has been a co-defensive coordinator from the start. He seems to be getting a pass for his role in the mess that is our defense. I don't get it. "Making a change" isn't the answer unless is is a smart change, calculated based on reason and common sense to improve things. If we had two bad Cooks in the kitchen, now we have one bad cook. We are still eating lousy food.

We didn't have a horrendous defense in 2017, by any measure.

(02-26-2019 10:14 AM)RunningGame Wrote:  

(02-26-2019 07:50 AM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-25-2019 01:10 PM)fastbuicks Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:46 PM)brovol Wrote:  

(02-21-2019 01:33 PM)Rasser Wrote:  He addressed the issue. Agree?

Yep. Question is whether he addressed it properly. By chance did you see the BYU game? And the reward for that defensive masterpiece was becoming the permanent Defensive Coordinator.

So you expected the D to turnaround in 30 days? Lester made correct move and looks like they are addressing DB issue in camp moving some players around. Still expect to see a grad transfer or two on D in 2019.

No; I do think it should be fixed at least over the course of a year though. And we have had two straight years of horrendous defense, even when we had several NFL prospects on the field together.

If the issue was one of scheme, then it could be fixed in a week, but it was more than just scheme I think. Esposito has been a co-defensive coordinator from the start. He seems to be getting a pass for his role in the mess that is our defense. I don't get it. "Making a change" isn't the answer unless is is a smart change, calculated based on reason and common sense to improve things. If we had two bad Cooks in the kitchen, now we have one bad cook. We are still eating lousy food.

We didn't have a horrendous defense in 2017, by any measure.

I guess its a matter of perspective. To our biggest rivals we gave up: CMU 35 pts, NIU 35 pts, Toledo 37 pts. Gave up 68 pts to Buffalo (admittedly after a few OT's). Those were MAC games which decided the fate of our season. Giving up 35 points per game works when you are scoring a a high volume, but remember we were a "running", "ball control", control the time of possession team by Lesters choice (which of course didnt work, because we became predictable, and, regardless, didnt score at the pace we were giving up points. Thus, giving up 35+ points in all of our key games is actually horrendous.

Have to agree with Brovo here. We played well at times showing promise. We should be better this year. But we gave up too many large chunks of yardage and way too many points to be competitive.

Speaking of which I hope our new DB coach changes the way we cover receivers. Opposing players were way too open way too often last year.

(02-26-2019 01:46 PM)Aimless1 Wrote:  Have to agree with Brovo here. We played well at times showing promise. We should be better this year. But we gave up too many large chunks of yardage and way too many points to be competitive.

Speaking of which I hope our new DB coach changes the way we cover receivers. Opposing players were way too open way too often last year.

I would attribute that to our former DC philosophy and our putrid secondary. I think Esposito was a smart higher, he is our best recruiter and seems to know how to use our players strength's to maximize the best out of them.