Troy Andersen

[CAT HAS CLAWS]

The kid was a beast last week, once he gets into the open field with his size and speed he's a nightmare to take down. I would leave him at RB if the decision was mine.

[onceacat]

Anderson is a good RB.

He's not our best, or an elite RB though.

Chris Murray is #11 in the country is rush yards per game and #12 in rush yards per carry. Troy Andersen has been awesome so far, but LB is a position of need right now. We've got a 4 deep rotation at RB of guys that you would like to have touch the ball 8-15 times per game in LaSane, Vader, Burgess, and Jones. Behind them we've got guys like Pegues, Roper, and James.

Without TA, the running game goes from an A+ to maybe an A-. If he is capable of cracking the rotation, our LB corps probably goes from a B- to a B+ (not a knock on the players-entirely based on age & injuries). Thats a net gain for the team. Right now, depth at LB is probably the teams weakest link.

[catsrback76]

I really like the move to LB is he plays the strong side. I feel like his attributes are straight line power and speed and that will help him there.

Personally I don't think he's our best running back so far. I feel like Vander is the better pure rb. If you gave him as many carries I guess we would know, hope he comes back soon. That said Anderson was still very effective at times and wherever he ends up on the field I think he will make a big impact.

This!

To have him at LB we immediately improve. I see him being another Mac type player in terms of speed and reaction. Let's see him play, but I think the coaches know that we take a huge step forward on defence when him there. I also think we will still see him in on certain packages on Offense too. So everyone gets their flavour of ice-cream!

[BleedingBLue]

Anderson is a good RB.

He's not our best, or an elite RB though.

Chris Murray is #11 in the country is rush yards per game and #12 in rush yards per carry. Troy Andersen has been awesome so far, but LB is a position of need right now. We've got a 4 deep rotation at RB of guys that you would like to have touch the ball 8-15 times per game in LaSane, Vader, Burgess, and Jones. Behind them we've got guys like Pegues, Roper, and James.

Without TA, the running game goes from an A+ to maybe an A-. If he is capable of cracking the rotation, our LB corps probably goes from a B- to a B+ (not a knock on the players-entirely based on age & injuries). Thats a net gain for the team. Right now, depth at LB is probably the teams weakest link.

While we do have good depth at RB, the UND game, and PSU games are totally different if Andersen isn't in the backfield. Vander wouldn't have converted several of the 3rd and shorts Andersen did in the UND game. Vander is a good all around back, but he lacks power in between the tackles. Lasane got knocked back and stood up on several plays last week. I can count on 1 hand how many times that has happened to Andersen all year. Jones has to have a big hole to hit or he isn't going anywhere. If he wasn't a true freshman I'd say give him 20+ offensive plays a game, 10 of which are carries and 30 or so on D, but I'm not sure he's ready for that.

[technoCat]

Anderson is a good RB.

He's not our best, or an elite RB though.

Chris Murray is #11 in the country is rush yards per game and #12 in rush yards per carry. Troy Andersen has been awesome so far, but LB is a position of need right now. We've got a 4 deep rotation at RB of guys that you would like to have touch the ball 8-15 times per game in LaSane, Vader, Burgess, and Jones. Behind them we've got guys like Pegues, Roper, and James.

Without TA, the running game goes from an A+ to maybe an A-. If he is capable of cracking the rotation, our LB corps probably goes from a B- to a B+ (not a knock on the players-entirely based on age & injuries). Thats a net gain for the team. Right now, depth at LB is probably the teams weakest link.

While we do have good depth at RB, the UND game, and PSU games are totally different if Andersen isn't in the backfield. Vander wouldn't have converted several of the 3rd and shorts Andersen did in the UND game. Vander is a good all around back, but he lacks power in between the tackles. Lasane got knocked back and stood up on several plays last week. I can count on 1 hand how many times that has happened to Andersen all year. Jones has to have a big hole to hit or he isn't going anywhere. If he wasn't a true freshman I'd say give him 20+ offensive plays a game, 10 of which are carries and 30 or so on D, but I'm not sure he's ready for that.

Maybe, or maybe we aren't in those 3rd and shorts with a different running back. Andersen might get 2-3 yards when we need it, but I've also seen a lot of 2-3 yard plays from him because he doesn't find the hole as well as Vander. The ypc is like 6.6 to 5.7 or something but I think Andersen is skewed by big plays a bit where Vander has been more consistent. Tomato, tomahto, good problem to have in any case. I think Lasane will show the power once he gets back into the swing. Burgess and Jones need more caries on the edge anyway(and wheel routes) and James could make an impact as well if given the chance.

[codecat]

Having Andersen on defense allows Konkol to play safety and Garcia to play nickel. Konkol is very good and vastly underrated and unappreciated. Garcia is better at nickel than safety. Could upgrade three positions with this one move.

Think your logic is spot on about the three positions, but have not missed how well Konkol has played this year!

[HawaiiFiveO]

Honestly, I still believe Anderson is a LB... However at this point I say put him wherever you want and allow him to really hone his skills... Next year when he no longer has a freshman attached him we're going to be talking crap about half ass performances becoming the norm... We need to be fair to this kid by putting him in a position that he can develop and become exceptional at...

[Bemiller49]

Agreed. Splitting time at both made him have no impact on either.

[Bobcat4Ever]

Agreed. Splitting time at both made him have no impact on either.

Well said. And this year the offense is struggling much more than the defense, so IMO his biggest impact would be in playing offense. He might help the defense some, but he can help the offense a whole lot.

[Cat_gld]

The problem is the Cat's defense is getting pretting thi n in places. The loss of Collins is really going ot make things worse because they could plug him in a couple places where he could contribute. I'd say if they can use both Andersen and Kassis both ways, go for it! These are a couple of the best athletes on the team.

[BleedingBLue]

The problem is the Cat's defense is getting pretting thi n in places. The loss of Collins is really going ot make things worse because they could plug him in a couple places where he could contribute. I'd say if they can use both Andersen and Kassis both ways, go for it! These are a couple of the best athletes on the team.

I thought I saw Kassis at DB in the 4th quarter. How much did he play on D?

[topey711]

Kassis played quite a bit on D. Nickel package.

[BleedingBLue]

Kassis played quite a bit on D. Nickel package.

How'd he look? I only was able to catch the 4th.

[onceacat]

Agreed. Splitting time at both made him have no impact on either.

Well said. And this year the offense is struggling much more than the defense, so IMO his biggest impact would be in playing offense. He might help the defense some, but he can help the offense a whole lot.

Except that RB is probably our strongest position. We don't really have 50 touches for LaSane, Murray, Burgess, and Jones. Let alone Vander & James. LB is looking scary thin right now-especially guys athletic enough to cover NAU & UM.

[Long Time Cat]

Except that RB is probably our strongest position. We don't really have 50 touches for LaSane, Murray, Burgess, and Jones. Let alone Vander & James. LB is looking scary thin right now-especially guys athletic enough to cover NAU & UM.

I think this is the best point! Especially when Vander is back, which I hope is this week.!

[PapaG]

He continues to impress on offense. Now he's WR out of the backfield.

[Cledus]

He continues to impress on offense. Now he's WR out of the backfield.

Maybe we need to start wildcatting him. Ok, I’ll say it. He’s a bigger deal than Bill Brasky.

[Montanabob]

Biggest problem is they run Andersen up the middle. Hit the edge and let him use his size and skills one on one with a linebacker instead of three 300 pound linemen.
I like that they passed to him in the flat.
As for running back stable, I'm not impressed with Vander, lasane is ok, if he plays and the rest are not as good as Andersen. Run more option.

[HawaiiFiveO]

Hate beating a dead horse, but Anderson should be LB...I don't see where they run Anderson up the middle,
as they run Lasane up the middle..IMO they're using Lasane as a FB rather than a T/RB...However, after halftime they did give Lasane some option carries and he was productive...

[LongTimeCatFan]

Hate beating a dead horse, but Anderson should be LB...I don't see where they run Anderson up the middle,
as they run Lasane up the middle..IMO they're using Lasane as a FB rather than a T/RB...However, after halftime they did give Lasane some option carries and he was productive...

Anderson will play wherever he gives the team the best chance to win. Period. Right now that seems to be at running back.


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