Assessment

[craigsker]

Just my two cents....Against an 0-12 team from last year the defense looked like it ran out of gas mid to late in the 3rd and gave up an embarrasing run up the middle which almost resulted in a TD for WKU if it weren't for the fumble at the 1-yard line. Then, on P.J Smith's interception he carries the ball like a loaf of bread and coughs it up and gives the ball right back to WKU. The Hilltoppers put together at least two nice drives in the second half and looked like a team that never gave up. On a positive note, Lavonte David showed he can be a playmaker

 

Offensively, while Martinez had a good first outing as a starter, we must remember that this game was against Western Kentucky and one game does not necessarily cement your position as the starter for the whole season. The kid definitely has some wheels and as the year goes on he could prove to be a problem for defenses. Green played better than what we saw last year and showed some significant improvement. I think the "true" starter remains to be seen IMO. Niles is playmaker but every so often he drops a pass which leaves you wondering how the heck he dropped it; especially when it's right on the numbers. I noticed some good play action from Brent Qvale too and Jermarcus Hardrick. The OL looked pretty good.

 

Overall, a good effort but showed it was the first game and there's some things to work on. Go Big Red.

[BigWillie]

 

That is the biggest question for me.

 

Niles is a fantastic receiver, and a good deep threat. We could be utilizing that ability, but we're taking time away from that to build around a young QB that - well, can he? How is his arm strength on a scale of Joe Ganz to Jamarcus Russell?

 

Taylor ran the ball 7 times this game, and very well.

 

We could be giving Taylor 10 Wildcat snaps a game, and having him run that zone read - and even throw some to keep defenses honest - and have that electric, lightning in the bottle as a feature of the offense. And for the other 50, 60 snaps a game, we could be putting a guy out there that will stretch the field and use our star wide receiver.

 

Instead, we are building around Taylor.

 

Taylor's arm is not a problem. He has the arm to push the ball down the field, but his biggest issue is with recognizing coverages and putting the ball into a spot.

 

Taylor is not going to be that multiple read QB who moves coverages, recognizes zones and picks them apart. Instead of trying to make him into something he isn't, we gave him the opportunity to be just enough of a passer with high percentage throws to make a defense respect his ability to throw.

 

You have to remember, this guy was playing WR at this time last year. He's still learning quite a bit as he goes.

 

Early on, we gave Taylor those high percentage short throws and he got into a nice rhythm. Taylor started out something like 5-5, got taken out for a series, then missed on his next 5 while taking a sack.

 

That goes back a bit to me saying that this 2 QB system is garbage and retarded. Don't take a kid, especially one who is as raw as Taylor, out of a good rhythm just to get someone else some snaps. It does nothing for Taylor's growth, who is supposed to be our #1 QB.

[Hingle McCringleberry]

That is the biggest question for me.

 

Niles is a fantastic receiver, and a good deep threat. We could be utilizing that ability, but we're taking time away from that to build around a young QB that - well, can he? How is his arm strength on a scale of Joe Ganz to Jamarcus Russell?

 

Taylor ran the ball 7 times this game, and very well.

 

We could be giving Taylor 10 Wildcat snaps a game, and having him run that zone read - and even throw some to keep defenses honest - and have that electric, lightning in the bottle as a feature of the offense. And for the other 50, 60 snaps a game, we could be putting a guy out there that will stretch the field and use our star wide receiver.

 

Instead, we are building around Taylor.

 

Taylor's arm is not a problem. He has the arm to push the ball down the field, but his biggest issue is with recognizing coverages and putting the ball into a spot.

 

Taylor is not going to be that multiple read QB who moves coverages, recognizes zones and picks them apart. Instead of trying to make him into something he isn't, we gave him the opportunity to be just enough of a passer with high percentage throws to make a defense respect his ability to throw.

 

You have to remember, this guy was playing WR at this time last year. He's still learning quite a bit as he goes.

 

Early on, we gave Taylor those high percentage short throws and he got into a nice rhythm. Taylor started out something like 5-5, got taken out for a series, then missed on his next 5 while taking a sack.

 

That goes back a bit to me saying that this 2 QB system is garbage and retarded. Don't take a kid, especially one who is as raw as Taylor, out of a good rhythm just to get someone else some snaps. It does nothing for Taylor's growth, who is supposed to be our #1 QB.

 

100% yes... I dont know how to make this choice, but we are paying people who are supposedly do. If they come out this week and say there is no clear leader, I am going to puke. Lee, Green, or T-Mart, choose and build the team around them and mold the other two into the suitable backups... Settle the issue and get the rest of the O rallied around them and move on......

[irieboy8]

i was happy to see guys we've been following since recruiting days on the field... guys like sirles,,, Qvale.... also really excited to see FSCC represented so well with Yoshi and LV showing upp..... good times....

[redblooded]

Bo's assessment of the defense.

 

"We were an absolute embarassment on defense"

 

Might be a little strong, but then again, might not be.

 

It's not strong... he needs to get the defense to believe anyone who even shows up to Lincoln is trying to disrespect them and they need to actually play hard, because (I only saw a half) it didn't look like they were trying that hard as a group. Most of the run stops seemed to be 3-5 years down field. It'd didn't look like an attacking D on the run game.

[shyndy]

everyone worried about how terrible we are needs to check ole miss, kansas, and oklahoma scores

[Lil' Red]

I think last year proved to use that your performance against non-conference opponents is not a good barometer for your season, especially those non-conference opponents that aren't good. I will say this though:

 

1) Martinez is very athletic. Some of the plays he made tonight, however, are not going to work against the better defenses in the Big 12. Missed tackles and flat out out-running defensive backs isn't something I'm going to expect from him here out. Great job tonight, but I am tempering all major judgments until I see play against Washington and K-state.

2) The injuries at linebacker and the lack of leadership is extremely clear at this position. WKU was gaining a lot of consistent yardage on simple runs between the tackles. We will need to shore this up against teams like K-State and Iowa State, two teams that love to run the football between the tackles.

3) The defensive backs played well for an opener, but they are going to need to shore up those deeper pass plays they let go in the game. We had a couple of floating passes that we didn't make a play on and ended up going for fairly significant games.

4) Penalties, penalties, penalties. As if they didn't bite us enough last year, they were at it again tonight. Block in the back, late hit out of bounds, one face mask, one helmet grab, holding, etc. Six penalties for 75 yards is brutal.

5) Last but not least, ball control. Two lost fumbles isn't good and somebody needs to tell P.J. Smith to keep the ball close to his body and not flail it around.

 

Granted that sounds like a lot of negativity, but I'm just being candid. A lot of things need to be shored up, but I was definitely most impressed with our running game tonight. A lot of good decisions and a lot of solid blocking. Very impressive.

 

I thought a positive summary would go well with that negative summary.

 

1) Martinez looked much better then I expected. His running ability was as good or better then advertised and he looked good passing the ball. He also didn't seem to play like a freshman as much as I would have thought in his first game.

2) Lavonte David looked pretty good. He hasn't been in this system long but he still had a nice showing and eliminated some of the doubts I had about him.

3) Burkhead looked really good Helu also had a decent game and I was also impressed with Austin Jones quickness. Tray was ok he had some pretty bad blocking on a couple of his plays.

4) Green and Lee had nice games to compliment the game Martinez had so no matter what our QB play should be improved from last year.

5) All our returners looked pretty good so that combined with Henery and Kunalic should make us have one of the best special teams in the country and a real strength for us.

6) Besides Paul's fumble, him and Kinnie had a good game and should be a nice dual receiving threat for us that will help keep defenses honest.

 

I know the defense looked spotty but people forget that we actually gave up 360 yards in our opener to Florida Atlantic last year so it's not like we can't improve on and fix. Also Martinez looked great and we dominated like we thought we would while several other teams can't say the same thing. It's early but after this game I think we should keep the kool-aid flowing

[bshirt]

They looked a lot better after 1 game than they did last year--especially on D, if you can believe that. What I saw today were mental lapses and a lazy defensive attitude due to the team we were playing, but on the upside I saw the same ability as the team that throttled Arizona in the bowl. Did you notice that Bo wasn't blowing a gasket tonight? That should say something, yes?

 

I really think that the D is going to step up with the quality of our competition. Baker really looked good. I'll bet Dean is proud of him. As for the kid ™.....he showed a lot of poise (and moves) for a freshman qb. Keep in mind that Frazier, as great as he turned out to be, didn't show that kind of poise in his first outing.

 

As I said earlier, for the first time in a decade, I don't feel too nervous about this team. They're going to shape up nicely after Bo gives them the whip.

 

 

Sorry to keep quoting you but your posts ring true to me. I hope you're right about the defense and completely agree that Tmart was awesome for a freshmen in his 1st start.....totally awesome. Green looked terrific too. It's just great to have "three" capable qbs.

 

Another good point about Bo not going nuclear. He wasn't happy at all but for "him"....it was about as laid back as it gets.

 

All things considered....a GREAT day!

 

Green looked terrific? Apparently you missed the throw right BEFORE the TD pass? He looked better than last year, but not terrific. Also, Tmart needs more than a little work on his long throws. He will get ate alive the way he is against Big 12 competition. I think the legs were a great plus, better than I thought they would be for sure, but in the little time Lee was in there, he showed better moves with his legs. Hopefully he can throw the ball better than what it was tonight...

 

 

And as far as the defense go, I wasn't overly impressed at all.

 

Lee showed better moves with his legs than Tmart?

 

I think he meant 2010 Lee looked better than 2009 Lee, if not...

 

Here's my Martinez assessment after the first game.

 

Jammal Lord with a bit more speed, and a bit less power?

 

 

Yeah good idea jliehr, maybe that's what he meant. I'm sure he'll pipe in soon.

 

J. Lord imo was a truly awesome running qb. He didn't have the initial rocket burst like Crouch/Tmart but somehow was almost impossible to get tackled directly. But it's hard to imagine him throwing accurate darts at any time of his career. Tmart had at least two drops by the receievers and still had a fine day throwing the ball. Especially for his 1st start.

 

I agree he doesn't have the power J. Lord had running the ball as he was a "load" for a qb. Tmart's long ball looked bad but everything else to me looked good to downright impressive.

 

Sure, it's just the first game vs a creampuff. I agree. But weren't you blown away with his running? I mean...BOOM....he's gone. I thought he looked all the world like Crouch when he was doing that.

[zoogs]

The issue with Taylor you will never get from the stats today is the degree to which he limits how we can attack defenses through the air. We're not going to do very well running simple reads against top tier opponents. I don't know if you can really say he looked good in his passing today. There was no way he was going to be put in a position to not build confidence from his passing stats.

[Count 'Bility]

My first assessment, i think some of the neggys on here need to calm down and take the stupid hats off. The D we saw on the first two series-fast, attacking, and crisp-is the one we'll see throughout the year. As the game moved forward and t.o.p. became quite lopsided cuz we had quick scoring drives followed by some 3 and outs, fatigue started to play a factor. What i saw was abosolutely no complexity in the defense whatsoever, and why should there be. Why should we open the book to shutout western kentucky, some of you would have nothing to complain about then. Then younger inexperienced players began to get some time. Lastly, that is not a team that has lost however many games in a row, they are better than that.

[chamrocck]

Saw the game and we are fine. It is hard to put a lot of stock into this game against the type of lower competition we played tonight. Martinez gives us that extra added threat compared to Green and Lee so I say go with him until he proves us otherwise but he had a great game tonight. I am not too worried about it actually because we have Green and Lee who can both also play. This is a good problem, people...we have a potentially electric running QB in Martinez, Green is getting better, and we have experience with Lee.

 

Lavonte David at LB was the standout on defense tonight. We are thin at LB and it showed but David was solid. Not sure what to make of the D-Line. Meredith did get injured and went out out of the game and at first I was concerned because you could see Suh's presence was missed and we were not getting much pressure on the QB in second half. I wonder if we just shut the D-Line down after the half...I mean why give opponents a look at what we will do on blitzes and other schemes...it was almost like we wanted to give the LB's and DB's some work. I hope I am right about this because our D-Line did not get the pressure we are going to need to beat better competition. Without the pressure, WKU made our defense look pretty weak on some drives.

 

On offense, I like what Kinnie is doing. Hated to see that Paul fumble but still expect a solid season from him and to be serious playmaker for us. Surprised McNeil didn't get some catches. The RB's will be fine but I was surprised we tried to run Tray sideways when he should clearly be a north/south runner. That was the only thing I scratched my head on the offense for tonight. The O-Line can improve. Yoshi is HUGE!

 

All in all a solid win and really don't think we can get too high on some of the great plays or too low on some of the poor plays.

 

[bshirt]

The issue with Taylor you will never get from the stats is the degree to which he limits how we can attack defenses through the air. We're not going to do very well running simple reads against top tier opponents. I don't know if you can really say he looked good in his passing today. There was no way he was going to be put in a position to not build confidence from his passing stats.

 

Of course that's true that he'll probably never be a J. Namath, D. Marino, etc passing threat but with his explosive running he doesn't need to be.

 

I know I sound like a broken record but one last time......Gill, Frost, Frazier, Crouch, etc were not (or even close to) D. Marino's either. So yeah...the old,tired excuse "we don't run the option anymore". While true, it's surely obvious to me we're getting closer to that every year.

 

Ah zoogies.....my good friend. You'll adapt just fine.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I agree, we need to work on alot of things, but overall it was a pretty impressive performance for the first game of the season. Martinez was very impressive for a true freshman, Cody played well, and Niles is still a stud.

yea, he is a stud, nice fumble.

I bet you weren't saying anything when he returned a punt to mid-field, or caught that pass for a TD. He gives us our best opportunity at a deep threat. He has the tools to get the job done.

[zoogs]

The issue with Taylor you will never get from the stats is the degree to which he limits how we can attack defenses through the air. We're not going to do very well running simple reads against top tier opponents. I don't know if you can really say he looked good in his passing today. There was no way he was going to be put in a position to not build confidence from his passing stats.

 

Of course that's true that he'll probably never be a J. Namath, D. Marino, etc passing threat but with his explosive running he doesn't need to be.

 

I know I sound like a broken record but one last time......Gill, Frost, Frazier, Crouch, etc were not (or even close to) D. Marino's either. So yeah...the old,tired excuse "we don't run the option anymore". While true, it's surely obvious to me we're getting closer to that every year.

 

Ah zoogies.....my good friend. You'll adapt just fine.

 

I'm sure I will. You couldn't have found a guy that hated going to the WCO from the option more than me.

 

Nonetheless...what I'm getting at is, people look at Taylor and say "Wow, he's a dual threat, he opens things up on the offense." I say, not really. He gives you a new threat in some area, but then he takes away threats that you had before in other areas. By the same measure, Zac Lee is no Eric Crouch, but with his passing, he doesn't need to be. Me, I would still take someone who can be the best threat in the passing game, while only adequate as a runner, to someone who is electric as a runner but has a ways to go as a passer. Coach Bo, obviously, feels differently.

[RedDenver]

This game went about how I expected. We made silly mistakes against a greatly overmatched opponent and still won comfortably.

 

I'll leave the QB discussion until next week.

 

I predicted the defense would be a weak spot and cause the fans some angst, but it was better than I thought it would be (predicted we'd give up 23 points). Given how we looked last year at this time and the number of injuries we've had at critical spots, I'm not too worried. Besides, I'd rather have mistakes happen now and give us something to work on. That RB Rainey is a baller - I think WKU will win a few this season. Idaho gives us a good test next week.

 

I'm not sure how much I trust the performance of the offense. How much was we're that good and how much was WKU is that bad? Much like the Sunbelt opponents was last year, this was a warmup. I'm not impressed with the o-line. How many years have we now heard that the o-line is the best we've had since 2001? They look about the same as last year.

 

Overall, I don't think many conclusions can or should be drawn just yet, but I'm going to do so anyway. We have potential and could be quite good if we get things cleaned up and improve. But right now I'll say we're not a BCS- or conference title-level team and should not assume we're going to win the B12 north easily.