Some sloppiness, but overall a lot more Pros than Cons last night! Good start to the season.
PROS:
1. All analysis of this game must defer to this one point: Drew Allar is the REAL DEAL. Poise in the pocket, stepping up to extend plays, arm strength for days, recognizing his open men, checking down, etc. This kid will only get better, too, but we haven't had a talent and an arm like this at QB in many years. Enjoy the ride, folks!
3. Singleton and Allen - Didn't have fantastic games but both were very solid. Singleton may have looked stronger than last season. He's gonna have a massive season. Also, I think we'll see them more involved in the passing game as the season progresses.
2. Keandre Lambert-Smith, Tre Wallace, Malik McClain and Liam Clifford erased any doubts about our WR room. Partly because of Allar, sure, but these guys consistently made plays and, for the most part, showed really great hands. Very impressed.
3. JB Nelson and Vega Ioane - Losing Tengwall was a big blow, no way around that, but I was very impressed with these 2 O Linemen last night. Aggressive, blocking downfield, big and hungry. Loved it.
4. Safeties - Particularly Reed and Winston, Jr. Very notable that Winston came out with the starting lineup. It says a lot. Both these guys looked very good in coverage and tackling.
5. Curtis Jacobs - Quietly led the team in tackles with 7/3 Tackles/Assists and a Sack. Strong, veteran presence needed among all our young talent.
6. Gabe Nwosu - great on kickoffs, well into the end zone every time.
7. Shout out to Elliot Washington for a very nice tackle on punt coverage. He could be a special teams force.
CONS: So, I hate to talk negatively about kids but if you're grading performance, you have to be honest.
1. D gave up too much rushing yardage on first down. The bright side is the first unit gave up only 7 points. I'll take that every time.
2. H Beamon is simply not a Big 10 caliber DT. He's not. Did anyone expect him to get a push forward on any of those short yardage plays? More optimistically, I thought Ellies was solid. Maybe van den Berg will step up. I'm a huge Franklin guy and I'm very glad we signed him long-term, but is it a weakness of his that he's "too loyal" to veterans who underperform? It's open for debate.
3. T Elsdon - Slow, out of position, and missing tackles. Nothing more need be said. See the comment on Franklin above.
4. FG Kicking - Simply cannot miss 2 FGs under 40 yards. Can't do it. Doesn't mean the kid can't bounce back, but I'd see what Felkins can do for a while.
5. Theo Johnson - Maybe not even his fault, was he even targeted once last night? Expecting big things from him this year but he was MIA last night.
On opening nights there are often kinks to be worked out, but overall a very nice performance against a team that was fired up. The WV QB and O Line were actually pretty impressive. Take the W and build on it.
WE ARE!!!
PROS:
1. All analysis of this game must defer to this one point: Drew Allar is the REAL DEAL. Poise in the pocket, stepping up to extend plays, arm strength for days, recognizing his open men, checking down, etc. This kid will only get better, too, but we haven't had a talent and an arm like this at QB in many years. Enjoy the ride, folks!
3. Singleton and Allen - Didn't have fantastic games but both were very solid. Singleton may have looked stronger than last season. He's gonna have a massive season. Also, I think we'll see them more involved in the passing game as the season progresses.
2. Keandre Lambert-Smith, Tre Wallace, Malik McClain and Liam Clifford erased any doubts about our WR room. Partly because of Allar, sure, but these guys consistently made plays and, for the most part, showed really great hands. Very impressed.
3. JB Nelson and Vega Ioane - Losing Tengwall was a big blow, no way around that, but I was very impressed with these 2 O Linemen last night. Aggressive, blocking downfield, big and hungry. Loved it.
4. Safeties - Particularly Reed and Winston, Jr. Very notable that Winston came out with the starting lineup. It says a lot. Both these guys looked very good in coverage and tackling.
5. Curtis Jacobs - Quietly led the team in tackles with 7/3 Tackles/Assists and a Sack. Strong, veteran presence needed among all our young talent.
6. Gabe Nwosu - great on kickoffs, well into the end zone every time.
7. Shout out to Elliot Washington for a very nice tackle on punt coverage. He could be a special teams force.
CONS: So, I hate to talk negatively about kids but if you're grading performance, you have to be honest.
1. D gave up too much rushing yardage on first down. The bright side is the first unit gave up only 7 points. I'll take that every time.
2. H Beamon is simply not a Big 10 caliber DT. He's not. Did anyone expect him to get a push forward on any of those short yardage plays? More optimistically, I thought Ellies was solid. Maybe van den Berg will step up. I'm a huge Franklin guy and I'm very glad we signed him long-term, but is it a weakness of his that he's "too loyal" to veterans who underperform? It's open for debate.
3. T Elsdon - Slow, out of position, and missing tackles. Nothing more need be said. See the comment on Franklin above.
4. FG Kicking - Simply cannot miss 2 FGs under 40 yards. Can't do it. Doesn't mean the kid can't bounce back, but I'd see what Felkins can do for a while.
5. Theo Johnson - Maybe not even his fault, was he even targeted once last night? Expecting big things from him this year but he was MIA last night.
On opening nights there are often kinks to be worked out, but overall a very nice performance against a team that was fired up. The WV QB and O Line were actually pretty impressive. Take the W and build on it.
WE ARE!!!
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