Let's talk offense.

[TomCat88]

I think the core of the problem is really the office of line. We need big gnarly strong guys to protect the quarterback so he can do his job, and create some holes for the RB. I really hope vegan can go out and recruit those kinds of guys. And develop players like we see at ndsu.

O line needs to play better, no doubt. However, if you blitz like crazy the o line is going to get overwhelmed. It is the job of the OC and QB to call and execute plays that punish a defense for being that aggressive.

Exactly. There's only so much an O-line can do when the defense sends all three backers every 3rd and 6 or greater. The fact that everybody knew that that was UM's MO on defense and we had nothing to counter it was a complete failure by the offensive coordinator and the offensive coordinator alone. That was quite possibly the poorest play calling/game planning I've ever witnessed. Any o-coordinator and QB worth a damn should be salivating at the opportunity that that kind of pressure presents. Instead, we were left with horrible play calls and a QB that was scared ******. The Griz would have been tore a new one again if Matt Miller was calling plays on Saturday.

I won't argue, but Montana has done this to a lot more schools than just MSU this season. Let's give them some credit, if it was that easy Montana wouldn't be 9-2 with a win over Washington.

I'm not saying the score would have been the same as in 2019. What I am saying is we run for nearly the same type of yardage. For one possession we called plays similarly as the 2019 game and we marched right down the field. And then we never returned to those plays. If they are going to send so much pressure right up the middle of an offense, you have to hit the edge quickly and take advantage of the open field and one on ones you get. I implore everybody to watch the 2019 game and where we attacked them. Then watch the one successful series we had at the beginning of the game and compare that to how the rest of the game was called. It was completely crazy that we didn't come back to it. You have to get that type of defense moving horizontal to stop the vertical pressure prior to trying to run inside. You'll notice most inside runs in 2019 were combined with some sort of jet motion. You'll see lots of quick screens, reverses, jet sweeps, dual back runs to outside, lots of formations to get outside leverage.

This gameplan was a complete fail. Way to passive in the pass game, and completely wrong in the run game. O-coordinator needs to be demoted and given more time to learn considering we have other play callers on the coaching staff.

I agree with all you said. I wish Housewright the best as he seems like a good dude. However, he does not have the skill set needed to be competitive at this level yet. Choate had the resolve to make those tough changes when necessary ( Armstrong), I guess we will see how this shakes out.

Vigen was/is very upset with Housewright. He gave him the freedom to come up with a game plan and he basically did the exact opposite of what he should've done and by the time it was obvious it was too late to do anything about it. He completely dropped the ball, but the way the game went it may not have mattered. One big play on offense, one big play on defense and Bergen getting them in FG range three times with PRs might've been enough to beat us right there. That's 23 points.

What's done is done. At hand now is what to do about the offense in the coming two weeks. It's going to be difficult to revamp it much.
Mellott isn't ready to start...or is he?
Can Rovig be more productive than McKay?
Is Bauman still hurt and if not, is he an option?

The only think the coaches can do that is simple and that will be effective is get Troy Andersen on the offensive side of the ball. Mellott, Rovig and Bauman may not be an answer on offense, but Troy is and we have guys that can fill in for him. Danny U is a stud and he played very well whenever he was used. Is he Troy? No. But remember we didn't even have Troy at all in 2019 and beat UM, Albany and APU. It's worth a shot and I think it's the best shot we have.

Lineup McKay at QB with Ifanse directly behind him and Troy and Tommy flanking Ifanse. Split McKay out to WR and have Ifanse/Mellott/Andersen take direct snaps and run option with Mellott throwing the occasional pass. Once team start adjusting have McKay stay in position and chuck the ball out to McCutcheon, Patterson, TEs, etc. It seems very obvious to me that this, or something like it, is what needs to be injected into the offense. I don't think it would be that complicated to do with the bye week available. I'm sure I'll get run off the board for this, but it just seems like the best option.

Newsflash: you can only have 11 players on the field during play.

So, as offensive coordinator, you are going to move two additional non blocking players 7 yards behind the ball (in the wrong direction) and tell the stacked defense "Now stop us, fools!"? That leaves us with 1 legit receiver out there - McCutcheon - defense doubles him and throws 9 in the box. It then becomes 5 blocking 9. Look at the few plays against the Griz where we ran this - Graves was in the backfield off the edge just at the ball was getting there. Not sure we want our stable of RBs to be killed in that fashion. The answer is the exact opposite.

I think iaa is talking about going forward, not the Cat-Griz game. Isn't what he's describing the diamond formation? QB, TB, two HBs.

[coloradocat]

The 2019 offense worked (except against NDSU) because we had Travis Jonsen. He was a once in an generation athlete. An athlete we really had no business getting, but he wanted to play quarterback. Choate or Matt Miller or whoever who got Jonsen to accept his role and then flourish was probably the best coaching job anybody did back then. Unfortunately, he's not going to be walking into that locker room and now we've just got Isaiah Ifanse on one good leg left.

Tommy is the limited version of Travis Jonsen. He runs the same primary play "The Travis Jonsen Play" but has actually handed the ball off/thrown the ball a couple times out of it.

The 2019 offense worked because we were better in most areas compared to 2021. Better line. Better RB group. Better WR group.

I like the 2021 crew but they don't have the same ability to stubbornly impose their will on competition that is near/at/above their level. They beat EWU handily but because of the multiple missed opportunities it never felt like they were in complete control.

[BleedingBLue]

Putting in some reverses, especially when Tommy is at QB would get a lot of teams I'd bet. Run outside with Tommy and have Willie come back for the reverse. Everyone knows Tommy runs it every time. That would surprise a lot of people.

[onceacat]

The 2019 offense worked (except against NDSU) because we had Travis Jonsen. He was a once in an generation athlete. An athlete we really had no business getting, but he wanted to play quarterback. Choate or Matt Miller or whoever who got Jonsen to accept his role and then flourish was probably the best coaching job anybody did back then. Unfortunately, he's not going to be walking into that locker room and now we've just got Isaiah Ifanse on one good leg left.

Tommy is the limited version of Travis Jonsen. He runs the same primary play "The Travis Jonsen Play" but has actually handed the ball off/thrown the ball a couple times out of it.

The 2019 offense worked because we were better in most areas compared to 2021. Better line. Better RB group. Better WR group.

I like the 2021 crew but they don't have the same ability to stubbornly impose their will on competition that is near/at/above their level. They beat EWU handily but because of the multiple missed opportunities it never felt like they were in complete control.

Isn’t that the point of getting good coaches & play callers?

If you have the best players at every position, it’s super easy to call plays. Like the 2018 offense…give Troy the ball every time.

But this is FCS football, so the quality of athlete on the top tier is equal (taken across entire teams). Good coaches maximize the potential when the talent level is the same.

[PortlandCat90]

I think the core of the problem is really the office of line. We need big gnarly strong guys to protect the quarterback so he can do his job, and create some holes for the RB. I really hope vegan can go out and recruit those kinds of guys. And develop players like we see at ndsu.

O line needs to play better, no doubt. However, if you blitz like crazy the o line is going to get overwhelmed. It is the job of the OC and QB to call and execute plays that punish a defense for being that aggressive.

Exactly. There's only so much an O-line can do when the defense sends all three backers every 3rd and 6 or greater. The fact that everybody knew that that was UM's MO on defense and we had nothing to counter it was a complete failure by the offensive coordinator and the offensive coordinator alone. That was quite possibly the poorest play calling/game planning I've ever witnessed. Any o-coordinator and QB worth a damn should be salivating at the opportunity that that kind of pressure presents. Instead, we were left with horrible play calls and a QB that was scared ******. The Griz would have been tore a new one again if Matt Miller was calling plays on Saturday.

I won't argue, but Montana has done this to a lot more schools than just MSU this season. Let's give them some credit, if it was that easy Montana wouldn't be 9-2 with a win over Washington.

I'm not saying the score would have been the same as in 2019. What I am saying is we run for nearly the same type of yardage. For one possession we called plays similarly as the 2019 game and we marched right down the field. And then we never returned to those plays. If they are going to send so much pressure right up the middle of an offense, you have to hit the edge quickly and take advantage of the open field and one on ones you get. I implore everybody to watch the 2019 game and where we attacked them. Then watch the one successful series we had at the beginning of the game and compare that to how the rest of the game was called. It was completely crazy that we didn't come back to it. You have to get that type of defense moving horizontal to stop the vertical pressure prior to trying to run inside. You'll notice most inside runs in 2019 were combined with some sort of jet motion. You'll see lots of quick screens, reverses, jet sweeps, dual back runs to outside, lots of formations to get outside leverage.

This gameplan was a complete fail. Way to passive in the pass game, and completely wrong in the run game. O-coordinator needs to be demoted and given more time to learn considering we have other play callers on the coaching staff.

I agree with all you said. I wish Housewright the best as he seems like a good dude. However, he does not have the skill set needed to be competitive at this level yet. Choate had the resolve to make those tough changes when necessary ( Armstrong), I guess we will see how this shakes out.

Vigen was/is very upset with Housewright. He gave him the freedom to come up with a game plan and he basically did the exact opposite of what he should've done and by the time it was obvious it was too late to do anything about it. He completely dropped the ball, but the way the game went it may not have mattered. One big play on offense, one big play on defense and Bergen getting them in FG range three times with PRs might've been enough to beat us right there. That's 23 points.

What's done is done. At hand now is what to do about the offense in the coming two weeks. It's going to be difficult to revamp it much.
Mellott isn't ready to start...or is he?
Can Rovig be more productive than McKay?
Is Bauman still hurt and if not, is he an option?

The only think the coaches can do that is simple and that will be effective is get Troy Andersen on the offensive side of the ball. Mellott, Rovig and Bauman may not be an answer on offense, but Troy is and we have guys that can fill in for him. Danny U is a stud and he played very well whenever he was used. Is he Troy? No. But remember we didn't even have Troy at all in 2019 and beat UM, Albany and APU. It's worth a shot and I think it's the best shot we have.

Lineup McKay at QB with Ifanse directly behind him and Troy and Tommy flanking Ifanse. Split McKay out to WR and have Ifanse/Mellott/Andersen take direct snaps and run option with Mellott throwing the occasional pass. Once team start adjusting have McKay stay in position and chuck the ball out to McCutcheon, Patterson, TEs, etc. It seems very obvious to me that this, or something like it, is what needs to be injected into the offense. I don't think it would be that complicated to do with the bye week available. I'm sure I'll get run off the board for this, but it just seems like the best option.

Newsflash: you can only have 11 players on the field during play.

So, as offensive coordinator, you are going to move two additional non blocking players 7 yards behind the ball (in the wrong direction) and tell the stacked defense "Now stop us, fools!"? That leaves us with 1 legit receiver out there - McCutcheon - defense doubles him and throws 9 in the box. It then becomes 5 blocking 9. Look at the few plays against the Griz where we ran this - Graves was in the backfield off the edge just at the ball was getting there. Not sure we want our stable of RBs to be killed in that fashion. The answer is the exact opposite.

I think iaa is talking about going forward, not the Cat-Griz game. Isn't what he's describing the diamond formation? QB, TB, two HBs.

We can only go forward. Teams now have the film and the recipe to beat our offense unless we change it. Double McC or at least have the S shade, single coverage on the other side, and stack the box/bring the house. 5 lineman + 4 backfield = 2 max TE/WR. With that, play man coverage (2 McC + 1 other) leaves at 8 against 5 linemen. Ifanse was getting killed with 6 coming - 8 would be a disaster. Also face the possibility of the defense playing a semi-goal line package at that point. The Diamond just wouldn't work.

To adjust, our TEs would be prime for this. I'd also put McC in motion to allow him to release LOS and run some drags against that defense. Motion works even if it is same-side and 3-yard motion. Minimum 8 yards per play and with his size he won't be coughing up the ball. Ditto Snell - man weighs 255 pounds or whatever and has tree trunks. Use him. Flash Elliot and Hosey on Wheel Routes. Then when the D loosens up mix some Ifanse to our strength and I swear we easily score 28 on that defense that continually has to ignore the pass. Even the Griz defense.

I think this next game will lift up the skirt and show us a ton about Coach Vigen and what our future holds. If we come out with some play calling changes that don't include #22, until the defense gets loosened up, or we score a sh*tload, then we can look forward to what we have. It appears that we rode that successful horse recipe until somebody found out how to stop it. Now, it's time to adjust. A big problem in my mind is that we didn't adjust midstream during the Griz game and didn't anticipate this happening to have the game plan ready. There's been sufficient Housewright-bashing to make everyone puke twice and re-eat it, but I just can't imagine not having a "second tab" that says "If they load the box, stop Ifanse, and the game starts going to sh*t - use these plays".

If that happens, hopefully we can give Sam Houston a battle because it would be fun to meet EWU in the National Championship.

[onceacat]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

[BelgradeBobcat]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

[utucats]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

My theory is that he has Bobcat Nation syndrome. This disease clouds one’s judgement if the team wins.

If we squeak out a narrow victory, we don’t analyze that the passing game was non existent, we celebrate that not one DB intercepted that pass that was 6 yards out of bounds.

If our playcalling is vanilla and a 12 year old could guess our next play call, we chalk it up to playing safe behind that stout D.

If we can’t possibly imagine being competitive in November or December without some improvement, we remind ourselves that it worked against powerhouses like Cal Poly and Northern Colorado.

Dealing with someone with BNS is much like dealing with a sleep walker. Do not attempt to wake them up! In addition to accusing you of all sorts of anti-Cat atrocities, a BNS sufferer is impossible to change and their blue and gold glasses are permanent fixtures that cannot be removed with any amount of logic or reason.

[kwcat]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

Did I miss something? Where has he said that all of a sudden he(Vigen) is pissed?

[onceacat]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

Did I miss something? Where has he said that all of a sudden he(Vigen) is pissed?

UTU didn't say that. Someone else said that earlier in the thread.

[kwcat]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

Did I miss something? Where has he said that all of a sudden he(Vigen) is pissed?

UTU didn't say that. Someone else said that earlier in the thread.

Ic. I just watch the presser from today and made a comment. Doesn’t seem all that pissed me . I will have to see where that comment came from. Thank you

[kwcat]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

Did I miss something? Where has he said that all of a sudden he(Vigen) is pissed?

UTU didn't say that. Someone else said that earlier in the thread.

Ic. I just watch the presser from today and made a comment. Doesn’t seem all that pissed me . I will have to see where that comment came from. Thank you

Looks like the quote came from 1aa earlier in this thread. Not sure where he picked up that Vigen was pissed.
Housewrights interview after that Weber State game was empty talk. He didn’t change.
IMO The head coach and the offensive coordinator‘s job is to utilize the skill sets of the players they have. It’s been talked about ad nauseam in other threads as well as this one The fact is that changes need to be made. I don’t agree with posters saying we need to replace players. I would simply like to see the coaches do their job on this issue.
If Matt doesn’t progress through his reads then give him a quick read for slants or drag routes over the middle that are simple and easy to complete when pressure is hot.
Completing some of those passes will keep the linebackers honest and not allow them to stunt at will and be constantly in the backfield. No offensive line is going to handle six or seven or eight constantly stunting and rushing and keep them out of the backfield.
I believe we have the skill set to go deep in the playoffs with the players we’ve got. Coaches need to make play calls to that skill set. My two cents.
Go Cats!

[onceacat]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

Did I miss something? Where has he said that all of a sudden he(Vigen) is pissed?

UTU didn't say that. Someone else said that earlier in the thread.

Ic. I just watch the presser from today and made a comment. Doesn’t seem all that pissed me . I will have to see where that comment came from. Thank you

Looks like the quote came from 1aa earlier in this thread. Not sure where he picked up that Vigen was pissed.
Housewrights interview after that Weber State game was empty talk. He didn’t change.
IMO The head coach and the offensive coordinator‘s job is to utilize the skill sets of the players they have. It’s been talked about ad nauseam in other threads as well as this one The fact is that changes need to be made. I don’t agree with posters saying we need to replace players. I would simply like to see the coaches do their job on this issue.
If Matt doesn’t progress through his reads then give him a quick read for slants or drag routes over the middle that are simple and easy to complete when pressure is hot.
Completing some of those passes will keep the linebackers honest and not allow them to stunt at will and be constantly in the backfield. No offensive line is going to handle six or seven or eight constantly stunting and rushing and keep them out of the backfield.
I believe we have the skill set to go deep in the playoffs with the players we’ve got. Coaches need to make play calls to that skill set. My two cents.
Go Cats!

Spot on.

[Bobcat4Ever]

Tucker….. he won the BRAWL last year and he has playoff experience, just needs to complete 10-12 passes per game for the remainder of the season and YES Tommy can continue his role offensively

I share this 100%. Tucker will provide a spark without shaking things up too much. I just really think McKay has lost his way. I feel awful watching him because he just looks defeated.

This is not to be critical of McKay as I’d have probably died on the spot, but the literal turning point for the offense was when he got lifted and slammed into the turf at Weber. We’d looked pretty decent in the first quarter of that game. But think over what has happened since. The remainder of the game at Weber was the first time we really saw the offense play just to not turn over the ball and get a good punt. But each game after that, the offense has been very passive, running the same cocktail card of plays over and over again. We wondered in the ISU game if the TE plays were just being saved. But they have actually gone witness protection for every game since. The offense looked the best at EWU, buoyed by the fact they could not stop Isaiah, but poor red-zone execution kept that game closer than necessary. The same offense and poor results again against Idaho. And Montana. Honestly, the first quarter at Weber was the last time we appeared to have a functional offense at all.

[kwcat]

[[/list]

Tucker….. he won the BRAWL last year and he has playoff experience, just needs to complete 10-12 passes per game for the remainder of the season and YES Tommy can continue his role offensively

I share this 100%. Tucker will provide a spark without shaking things up too much. I just really think McKay has lost his way. I feel awful watching him because he just looks defeated.

This is not to be critical of McKay as I’d have probably died on the spot, but the literal turning point for the offense was when he got lifted and slammed into the turf at Weber. We’d looked pretty decent in the first quarter of that game. But think over what has happened since. The remainder of the game at Weber was the first time we really saw the offense play just to not turn over the ball and get a good punt. But each game after that, the offense has been very passive, running the same cocktail card of plays over and over again. We wondered in the ISU game if the TE plays were just being saved. But they have actually gone witness protection for every game since. The offense looked the best at EWU, buoyed by the fact they could not stop Isaiah, but poor red-zone execution kept that game closer than necessary. The same offense and poor results again against Idaho. And Montana. Honestly, the first quarter at Weber was the last time we appeared to have a functional offense at all.

kwcat
1st Team All-BobcatNation
Re: Post- Game Thoughts
Edit Report Quote
Post Sun Oct 17, 2021 10:00 am

Defense saved us. We have multiple play makers and hopefully our secondary continues to improve because it’s going to get tested next week and then two more games to follow.

The offensive playbook is predictable and overly simple and frequently does not use our strength‘s efficiently.
We made Weber’s defense look better than it is. Maybe Vigen needs a visit with the Helena kid in Boise.
Hopefully Vigen and Housewright are smarter than they are stubborn and I am an armchair idiot.

Matt Mckay looked out of sorts after his body slam sack. Hope he’s OK.
Hope the rented mule also holds up for the season!

Way to go Glessner. Nice job kicking ass on his return to Fitzgerald.
Cautiously optimistic! Go Cats!

[CatsNoMatterWhat]

[[/list]

Tucker….. he won the BRAWL last year and he has playoff experience, just needs to complete 10-12 passes per game for the remainder of the season and YES Tommy can continue his role offensively

I share this 100%. Tucker will provide a spark without shaking things up too much. I just really think McKay has lost his way. I feel awful watching him because he just looks defeated.

This is not to be critical of McKay as I’d have probably died on the spot, but the literal turning point for the offense was when he got lifted and slammed into the turf at Weber. We’d looked pretty decent in the first quarter of that game. But think over what has happened since. The remainder of the game at Weber was the first time we really saw the offense play just to not turn over the ball and get a good punt. But each game after that, the offense has been very passive, running the same cocktail card of plays over and over again. We wondered in the ISU game if the TE plays were just being saved. But they have actually gone witness protection for every game since. The offense looked the best at EWU, buoyed by the fact they could not stop Isaiah, but poor red-zone execution kept that game closer than necessary. The same offense and poor results again against Idaho. And Montana. Honestly, the first quarter at Weber was the last time we appeared to have a functional offense at all.

kwcat
1st Team All-BobcatNation
Re: Post- Game Thoughts
Edit Report Quote
Post Sun Oct 17, 2021 10:00 am

Defense saved us. We have multiple play makers and hopefully our secondary continues to improve because it’s going to get tested next week and then two more games to follow.

The offensive playbook is predictable and overly simple and frequently does not use our strength‘s efficiently.
We made Weber’s defense look better than it is. Maybe Vigen needs a visit with the Helena kid in Boise.
Hopefully Vigen and Housewright are smarter than they are stubborn and I am an armchair idiot.

Matt Mckay looked out of sorts after his body slam sack. Hope he’s OK.
Hope the rented mule also holds up for the season!

Way to go Glessner. Nice job kicking ass on his return to Fitzgerald.
Cautiously optimistic! Go Cats!

You certainly called it my friend. Well done. I wish you had been wrong.

So what do you think needs to happen from here?

[coochorama42]

McKay looked really uncomfortable early against ISU (after the Weber hit), but when the brought in Fitzgerald to block, he became a gunslinger again. It could be that simple...

[bobcatbob]

Why haven’t we seen Jahari Martin at RB? Would like to see him get some carries. He is a beast and he has good speed.

[msuhunter]

We’ve all been careful and largely given Vigen a pass. He’s an offensive coach and was brought here to improve production on that side of the ball. I’m not saying anything other than it’s his ass on the hot seat and if he hasn’t been over involved in the play calling/game plan in the past, it’s time for him to get involved. If he was, God help us.

I mean, he let the horse **** play calling go after Weber…& EWU & Idaho.

Did anyone think the plan of not scoring against Weber or Idaho & trusting the D to be perfect was going to work in Zootown?

For crimineys sake, the O only scored 23 at EWU.

10 points against the Griz was right about what any reasonable person would expect.

What I don’t get is why Vigen is all of a sudden pissed. Like he didn’t watch the previous 4 games?

My theory is that he has Bobcat Nation syndrome. This disease clouds one’s judgement if the team wins.

If we squeak out a narrow victory, we don’t analyze that the passing game was non existent, we celebrate that not one DB intercepted that pass that was 6 yards out of bounds.

If our playcalling is vanilla and a 12 year old could guess our next play call, we chalk it up to playing safe behind that stout D.

If we can’t possibly imagine being competitive in November or December without some improvement, we remind ourselves that it worked against powerhouses like Cal Poly and Northern Colorado.

Dealing with someone with BNS is much like dealing with a sleep walker. Do not attempt to wake them up! In addition to accusing you of all sorts of anti-Cat atrocities, a BNS sufferer is impossible to change and their blue and gold glasses are permanent fixtures that cannot be removed with any amount of logic or reason.

I don't think you understand how far we've come since Kramer took over. I mean, we actually win some games in a season. This entitled attitude that the team should be competitive with the amount of talent on both sides of the ball has no place here. Just be thankful we beat up on the little sisters of the poor...

[msuhunter]

Tucker….. he won the BRAWL last year and he has playoff experience, just needs to complete 10-12 passes per game for the remainder of the season and YES Tommy can continue his role offensively

I share this 100%. Tucker will provide a spark without shaking things up too much. I just really think McKay has lost his way. I feel awful watching him because he just looks defeated.

This is not to be critical of McKay as I’d have probably died on the spot, but the literal turning point for the offense was when he got lifted and slammed into the turf at Weber. We’d looked pretty decent in the first quarter of that game. But think over what has happened since. The remainder of the game at Weber was the first time we really saw the offense play just to not turn over the ball and get a good punt. But each game after that, the offense has been very passive, running the same cocktail card of plays over and over again. We wondered in the ISU game if the TE plays were just being saved. But they have actually gone witness protection for every game since. The offense looked the best at EWU, buoyed by the fact they could not stop Isaiah, but poor red-zone execution kept that game closer than necessary. The same offense and poor results again against Idaho. And Montana. Honestly, the first quarter at Weber was the last time we appeared to have a functional offense at all.

I'm just confused as to what exactly happened offensively, be it coaching or personnel, but the entire scheme and dynamic has changed. Snell, FitzGerald, Smith, and others are no longer part of the offense. No rollouts, quick passes over the middle, screens, wheel routes, just 22 up the middle and chucking it down the field to McCutchon and sometimes Patterson (which makes no sense as he doesn't have the hands or the size to win 1on1 matchups on grab balls). I don't want the pressers but has anyone questioned the coaching staff specifically about this?