The Jackal wrote: ↑Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:13 am
gofurman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:22 pm
The Jackal wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 2:06 pm
AstroDin wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:22 pm
several things gave The Citadel trouble playing EKU.
The EKU big back got stronger and stronger as the game went on and the DOGS had no answer in the fourth.
Furman has two 220+ backs, both can run between the tackles and catch.
The EKU quarterback had ok mobility - ended up with 57 rushing yards to go with 274 passing yards and four touchdowns. Also, Citadel got beat on two long throws over the top.
Grainger and Sisson IMO are far more effective runners, and Furman has the makings of a very good receiving corp, with a blend of speed and some size.
I'll put this on The Citadel - they put the ball on the ground a lot and EKU took away the big play-action plays.
The DINS did not show up well against the CItadel last season but I just don't see the same team. Furman has key parts back, has new pieces to blend in, and several key players got critical game experience. I hear rumors they won't play in the spring but I'd circle Chatty as the leading competition if they play. I say that not expecting a cakewalk at Mercer.
I've said this before, but Furman is some consistent QB play away from being a holy terror on offense.
Our completion percentage in 2019 was around 52%. If that completion percentage jumps to over 60% (which isn't a big ask in this offense), I think we will be a title contender.
Let's beat Citadel and Wofford and win a freakin playoff game before we throw around terms like "holy terror". WE got terrorized in the 2019 playoffs. I am aware that game snowballed vs AP but they were making us look very slow in space with their athletes last year. They did. Also, "title contender" makes me cringe a little bit for a conference that lost both games in first round last year. SoCon needs to step up and so do we. We are one of the better teams in the conference but
the whole conference looks average at best nationally.
I have hope and belief that we can get there but 'title contender' is a hard one when we can't get to the quarterfinals yet in playoffs. Granted, CCH is in only his, what 4th year of coaching for us and 3rd year of recruiting(?) - joined Dec 2016... and has done a WONDERFUL job. I am just saying let's see how these next two years play out. Are we SoCon champs? Can we get to the quarterfinals/semifinals? That last one would really encourage me.
Here's my take on this -
Last season we averaged 33.4 ppg. The "showtime" Paladins of 2005 averaged 34.9 with Ingle Martin, Jerome Felton and a bastion of offensive weapons. Same yards per play average (6.4).
Now, it's hard to compare eras in football, but suffice to say, the 2019 offense was already statistically in the discussion with historically great Furman offensive teams. We were the SoCon's best unit on both sides of the ball. That includes playing two FBS teams.
So, then what went wrong?
Our offense struggled in 4 games (I'm throwing out Virginia Tech) - Citadel, Wofford, ETSU, APSU. Two of those games were played in the rain and wind (make of that what you will). But, from my vantage point, all four games looked very similar.
Each of those teams had a defense that could force us out of our game plan. They knew that the QB play was the weakest part of the offense, they loaded the box, brought pressure, and forced our young QBs to beat them in the air.
Now, mind you,
every team attempted to do this to Furman. Against most teams, Furman is a really tough matchup up front. It was only against teams that had horses up front that was struggled, because it exposed us.
Now, do I think the Citadel is better than we are? I don't. It's clear they aren't. You can watch them for 10 minutes and see that. Do they have enough talent on defense to make sledding tough? Yes. Should they match us blow for blow? No.
Watch the Citadel game again. Our completion percentage that game was 20%. It was was 7-3 game at half time. We had plenty of opportunities and failed to capitalize.
Watch that game and you will see Furman receivers open everywhere. We just struggled to the ball to them. It was cold, rainy, windy, and the Citadel has enough talent on defense where we couldn't just shove them around up front. They kept us in our end zone and it basically was the game.
Here's an example I've cited before, but watch Deluca spin around the Citadel's DB to the point he couldn't even find him. Literally, the DB lost the WR he was juked so hard. There were examples like this over and over. Guys were open. We had the right plays called. We just couldn't get the ball to them.
Easier said than done, right?
It is my opinion that if our completion percentage ticks up and as our freshman QBs now get more comfortable in the offense, you'll see us explode. At the moment, we can push around many of teams we play. We probably don't even have to throw it. To play at that next level, though, we have to start hitting open receivers and force good defenses to back off. Once we do that, we'll pose a major threat.
, the LAX & Track peeps just don’t see it that way. They think that stadium was built for them & that they allow Football to share it with them...Much like the WCU Band believes the 1st half of WCU Football home games are just to give the fans something to do while they tune up and the 2nd half is played only to keep from having all of their fans leave at once following their performance and cause a traffic jam in Cullowhee.
