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TL;DR game 1 Reaction from a Ghostwriter
ThomasFremont
Member Posts: 13,325
Week 1: Already Doogin’
Let’s start with the obvious...this was Eastern. A scrimmage. But god damn it felt good.
Offense:
QB - Eason is the man. He’s got the arm we all knew about. Haven’t seen anyone chuck it like that for the Dawgs since Cody Pickett. More impressive than his talent was his poise. He looked in total command. He knew his reads. He controlled the offense to near perfection. The offense looked dynamic and multi dimensional. After watching Browning run for his life for the better part of 4 years while Gaskin carried the team, it was a revelation to see a QB that was able to see the entire field and UTILIZE it. His arm strength allowed the ball to get out to the flats sooner, giving defense less time to react and flow to the ball carrier or shed blocks. His arm strength allowed UW to attack the middle of the field for a change: crisp passes to TEs and a slant to Chico for a TD. And the deep ball is always a threat. No more 9 man in the box fronts from opposing defenses (Gaskin is even more of a legend when you consider the shit he had to run through). Despite Sven’s brainlocked insistence that he still sucks (rofl) Eason is legit.
RB - it’s early. I remember freaking out at the run game last year too and it turned out just fine. Ahmed looked good but not great. Tough to follow a legend. His best play was the swing pass he almost broke for a TD. Bush should get him multiple touches like that per game. McGrew looked shifty, and had some nice runs. But he won’t break any tackles. Stretch plays and screens should be his bread and butter. Pleasant looked like the odd man out. But the big news was the NEWTCAT. Newton ran hard and seemed to fill the Pleasant/Coleman role from seasons past. Less top end speed, but he looked the best of the RBs yesterday IMHO. First career touch to the house? *chef’s kiss*
TE - Great. Bryant was wide open in the middle on the deep TD, and I assume he was available other times as well. Both blocked well. The shuttle to Bryant was a new wrinkle I liked. Only surprise was they were not targeted more, especially in the red zone. BUT, I’m fine with that since we know that will be there all season.
WR - so many emotions. Aaron Fuller going full Kev King on the TD grab (plus Skinny’s awareness to throw it up quick when Eastern jumped). WOW. Fuller is legit. 2 nice end zone grabs and another deep pass down the sideline. Baccelli can run fast in a straight line, so if his only job is to be Eason’s deep shot, it’s whatever. Chico was great to see back. I’m not convinced Ahmed wouldn’t be better in that role, but I can’t not root for Chico. I want to see the fly sweep more often. Puka saw the field! If Pounds and Jones are out with injuries, how are more young guys not getting into the rotation at WR? I need to see some YAC. Sorry. Staying positive. Serenity now...
OL - hopefully Nick Harris is ok, but Mele played decent in his absence. I was somewhat disappointed with the run blocking. I don’t understand how this team can’t just dumpster a team like Eastern at the LOS. Pass blocking was mostly ok, but a few blown assignments got Eason rushed/hit and ended as negative plays. Gotta clean that up.
Overall the offense was definitely a plus. While they weren’t perfect, and there are some personnel changes I’d like to see, I’m blown away at how much more versatile we are compared to the last 2 years. Even Sirmon looked good on his one throw. Excited for him to get all of the 2nd team reps.
Defense:
Holy fuck. We look like Ohio St out there, Groz!
Sacks! TFLs! Stuffing the run game at the LOS!
Molden - defensive MVP. Not even the refs were safe out there. He was everywhere. Multiple TFLs. Special teams plays. But my favorite was when he jumped the passing lane on the overloaded side and the QB just had to abandon the play and run for his life. The dude has football IQ to match his physical gifts. I think I’ve found my new favorite player.
LATU - not only was it a safety (great job by McDuffie on the initial penetration to force the ball carrier sideways), he slammed that man. Hard. No way you can redshirt him. Monster.
MJ Tafisi - speaking of hard hitting...just start him. I mean, am I missing something that only a brilliant football coach can see? What’s the problem? Play this man. I remember a time when LBers didn’t just wrap up and drag people down, they HIT people. What’s that? They can still do that? Oh ok. PLAY THIS MAN. I’m staying positive here, but to be frank, I noticed nothing from the upperclassmen LBers. Maybe that’s unfair, I’m not watching tape and examining assignments. But this isn’t that complicated.
Overall the defense looks fast and mean. The few mistakes they made were over penetration that lost contain, a few missed tackles, and a couple of bad angles. All fixable. All coachable. I’m already dreaming of a team that lines up LATU and Smalls together with the huge interior DL and our uber talented secondary. Special shout out to Jackson Sirmon for rocking the cowboy collar and playing both ways.
Special teams:
We made a FG.
We kicked the ball to the end zone.
We punted effectively and pinned the opponent deep multiple times.
Field position was never an issue, and special teams didn’t allow the opponent to flip the field or snatch momentum a single time. That’s a win.
Up next: Cal. Let’s send Evan Weaver home in a fucking body bag. Do it for the culture.
Let’s start with the obvious...this was Eastern. A scrimmage. But god damn it felt good.
Offense:
QB - Eason is the man. He’s got the arm we all knew about. Haven’t seen anyone chuck it like that for the Dawgs since Cody Pickett. More impressive than his talent was his poise. He looked in total command. He knew his reads. He controlled the offense to near perfection. The offense looked dynamic and multi dimensional. After watching Browning run for his life for the better part of 4 years while Gaskin carried the team, it was a revelation to see a QB that was able to see the entire field and UTILIZE it. His arm strength allowed the ball to get out to the flats sooner, giving defense less time to react and flow to the ball carrier or shed blocks. His arm strength allowed UW to attack the middle of the field for a change: crisp passes to TEs and a slant to Chico for a TD. And the deep ball is always a threat. No more 9 man in the box fronts from opposing defenses (Gaskin is even more of a legend when you consider the shit he had to run through). Despite Sven’s brainlocked insistence that he still sucks (rofl) Eason is legit.
RB - it’s early. I remember freaking out at the run game last year too and it turned out just fine. Ahmed looked good but not great. Tough to follow a legend. His best play was the swing pass he almost broke for a TD. Bush should get him multiple touches like that per game. McGrew looked shifty, and had some nice runs. But he won’t break any tackles. Stretch plays and screens should be his bread and butter. Pleasant looked like the odd man out. But the big news was the NEWTCAT. Newton ran hard and seemed to fill the Pleasant/Coleman role from seasons past. Less top end speed, but he looked the best of the RBs yesterday IMHO. First career touch to the house? *chef’s kiss*
TE - Great. Bryant was wide open in the middle on the deep TD, and I assume he was available other times as well. Both blocked well. The shuttle to Bryant was a new wrinkle I liked. Only surprise was they were not targeted more, especially in the red zone. BUT, I’m fine with that since we know that will be there all season.
WR - so many emotions. Aaron Fuller going full Kev King on the TD grab (plus Skinny’s awareness to throw it up quick when Eastern jumped). WOW. Fuller is legit. 2 nice end zone grabs and another deep pass down the sideline. Baccelli can run fast in a straight line, so if his only job is to be Eason’s deep shot, it’s whatever. Chico was great to see back. I’m not convinced Ahmed wouldn’t be better in that role, but I can’t not root for Chico. I want to see the fly sweep more often. Puka saw the field! If Pounds and Jones are out with injuries, how are more young guys not getting into the rotation at WR? I need to see some YAC. Sorry. Staying positive. Serenity now...
OL - hopefully Nick Harris is ok, but Mele played decent in his absence. I was somewhat disappointed with the run blocking. I don’t understand how this team can’t just dumpster a team like Eastern at the LOS. Pass blocking was mostly ok, but a few blown assignments got Eason rushed/hit and ended as negative plays. Gotta clean that up.
Overall the offense was definitely a plus. While they weren’t perfect, and there are some personnel changes I’d like to see, I’m blown away at how much more versatile we are compared to the last 2 years. Even Sirmon looked good on his one throw. Excited for him to get all of the 2nd team reps.
Defense:
Holy fuck. We look like Ohio St out there, Groz!
Sacks! TFLs! Stuffing the run game at the LOS!
Molden - defensive MVP. Not even the refs were safe out there. He was everywhere. Multiple TFLs. Special teams plays. But my favorite was when he jumped the passing lane on the overloaded side and the QB just had to abandon the play and run for his life. The dude has football IQ to match his physical gifts. I think I’ve found my new favorite player.
LATU - not only was it a safety (great job by McDuffie on the initial penetration to force the ball carrier sideways), he slammed that man. Hard. No way you can redshirt him. Monster.
MJ Tafisi - speaking of hard hitting...just start him. I mean, am I missing something that only a brilliant football coach can see? What’s the problem? Play this man. I remember a time when LBers didn’t just wrap up and drag people down, they HIT people. What’s that? They can still do that? Oh ok. PLAY THIS MAN. I’m staying positive here, but to be frank, I noticed nothing from the upperclassmen LBers. Maybe that’s unfair, I’m not watching tape and examining assignments. But this isn’t that complicated.
Overall the defense looks fast and mean. The few mistakes they made were over penetration that lost contain, a few missed tackles, and a couple of bad angles. All fixable. All coachable. I’m already dreaming of a team that lines up LATU and Smalls together with the huge interior DL and our uber talented secondary. Special shout out to Jackson Sirmon for rocking the cowboy collar and playing both ways.
Special teams:
We made a FG.
We kicked the ball to the end zone.
We punted effectively and pinned the opponent deep multiple times.
Field position was never an issue, and special teams didn’t allow the opponent to flip the field or snatch momentum a single time. That’s a win.
Up next: Cal. Let’s send Evan Weaver home in a fucking body bag. Do it for the culture.
Tagged:
Comments
and takes your ball
and goes home
to the end zone
know your place
We’re going to decapitate you and plant roses where your head used to be. I hear rotting bear flesh makes good fertilizer.
And I'd do it again. Don't leave. Stay and keep pumpin out stuff like this.