You are assuming Bobby is playing chess not checkers…
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Hoops, I respect your faith in the team and concede the sacks, INTs, etc. But the fact of the matter is that the pass D is in the bottom 10% in the FCS and dead last in conference. I don’t know how you can say that’s not a problem. If giving up 451 pass yards is not considered “porous” then you need to redefine the term.
Don’t also forget that teams that are run first like Sac, go to the passing game cuz we can’t cover it.
Grisly Fan
Well-known member
If this was one or two bad games then worry but after 10 games to be at the bottom of what some deem as a crappy conference means that you have problems that won’t be solved in one or two games. Unfortunately several teams have shown the blueprint to beat the Griz. Just don’t dig yourself a hole and throw the ball all over the field. Some want to cite the 8 sacks but fail to acknowledge 451 yards to a RS freshman making his first start. That is epically bad.
billingsgriz
Well-known member
Yes, " unfortunately several teams have shown the blueprint to beat the Griz," which explains why we're 10-0 !!! ... just sayin.'
fanofzoo
Well-known member
and that didn't work either
Grisly Fan
Well-known member
Teams that were far inferior. That soon won’t be the case.
Ut-Grizfan
Well-known member
There's a big difference between Weber, Sacred Heart and a 4 win EWU vs the Cats, Bison, playoff teams etc.
catgrizfan
Well-known member
They need to get shit figured out before 11/22. I think the cats have turned into a wagon and the Griz have regressed. I have been very confident about the Griz winning, but after this weekend I am not sure. The cats didn’t play as well as they could have and still only gave up 7 points with their starters. Their offense could have scored 90.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
UND wasn't far inferior. Neither was Idaho when we played them. You should direct the far-interior comment to the Cats.
markson161
Well-known member
10-0
Winning games they couldn't last year.
Ranked #2
Not the defense of 2023, but making the stops when it comes down to it.
I don’t think Eastern would’ve scored even if they had another play, not enough room for the qb to just throw up a ball and hope for a PI.
When the defense does get burned for a TD, watch Bobby, he stops the player coming off the field and has a long conversation with him, I gotta believe some of what he’s coaching will stick with the player, and it’s not the same player getting that conversation.
Why is no one talking about that official in the white hat, who again could not make a call on a play right in front of him ( the incomplete pass first ruled a fumble, among others), all he does is look to the right and left of him with a dumb look on his face waiting for another official to make the call.
Winning games they couldn't last year.
Ranked #2
Not the defense of 2023, but making the stops when it comes down to it.
I don’t think Eastern would’ve scored even if they had another play, not enough room for the qb to just throw up a ball and hope for a PI.
When the defense does get burned for a TD, watch Bobby, he stops the player coming off the field and has a long conversation with him, I gotta believe some of what he’s coaching will stick with the player, and it’s not the same player getting that conversation.
Why is no one talking about that official in the white hat, who again could not make a call on a play right in front of him ( the incomplete pass first ruled a fumble, among others), all he does is look to the right and left of him with a dumb look on his face waiting for another official to make the call.
ilovethecats
Well-known member
Just out of curiousity PR, what made Idaho not inferior when you played them? Their wins were to St Thomas and Utah Tech. And after losing to you they then lost to a bad UNC team and a bad EWU team. Just curious why they were not inferior then when they appear to be pretty inferior now?
Ut-Grizfan
Well-known member
He was literally referencing the last couple weeks of gameplay, beating decent teams (Idaho is a maybe) in the beginning of the year though great, doesn't excuse the poor play yesterday.
We literally only won yesterday because we were playing EWU aka inferior competition. If the offense disappears for 3 quarters and we give up 450 passing yards to a Playoff caliber team the chances of us keeping them from scoring points (like the defense was able to yesterday) are slim to none.
He was very confident and I do not think the crowd or the defense bothered him all that much. At one point he was egging the crowd on to get louder. I would be willing to bet he has seldom if ever taken a snap under center. If you watch the play the centers fanny pack appears to knock the ball out of his hand.
They routinely lined up in an under front and moved the sam linebacker into a 9 tech. The SS played mostly in the box. This is essentially a 4-3 defense. I think the plan was to completely shut down EWU's ability to run the ball effectively. They blitzed the edge alot with corners with the idea of disrupting the young freshman QB. The eags handled it pretty well but ultimately the plan seemed to work.
TheGrizManFan
Well-known member
God I don’t even know why I come on this website anymore. All people do is worry and complain about literally anything. Griz will be fineIt's the next day and I'm still a little in shock over how yesterday's game ended. The Grizzlies played their ugliest game of the year and managed to escape with a win thanks to a fumbled snap and failed attempt to spike the ball. Credit Hunter Peck for seeing the EWU QB mis-manage the exchange and run through him to create a scrum that would lead the clock hitting zero.
The Montana Grizzlies cannot have a repeat performance of what we saw from essentially the 2nd quarter and on if the team goals are to beat MSU, have a deep playoff run, and return to the natty. After scoring 22 points on their first 3 possessions Montana's next 9 possessions would amass 161 total yards and 7 more points. In the 2nd half the Montana offense would have just 117 yards, and in the 4th quarter alone across 3 possessions Montana would have just 16 yards of offense.
Montana's 350 total yards of offense is their lowest output of the season and it comes at the hands of the 2nd worst statistical defense in the conference
Montana's previously top 3rd down conversion offense winds up going 1-10 on 3rd downs.
Montana would rush for 101 yards, Sac the week before had almost 400.
The Grizzly offense had the ball for just over 22:00 of clock.
Just 13 rush attempts for Eli.
On the other side the defense was hung out to dry, frustrating in a game where early it appeared the Griz would roll and our defensive guys would get some rest with some good chances for depth rotation. Instead the Montana defense was fighting for their lives the whole way and being absolutely decimated in the passing game giving up continued 3rd and long conversions. It really looked like neither man coverage, nor zone was working, the pass rush would be great on 1st or 2nd down, but then get picked up and shut down on 3rd. The Big Sky Conference has now updated the combined conference stats Montana has the worst passing defense in the Big Sky, statistically. You don't win championships with performances like this.
Worst 3rd down offense in the conference goes 11-21 against the defense.
An RS frosh with 3 prior games under his belt, in his first start, throws for 451 yards.
An EWU WR playing in place of an injured one with 90 yards on the season goes for 133 yards and 1 TD.
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There's plenty of silver lining here, Montana played this poorly, especially on offense, for 3/4ths of a game and still won, we had some amazing early plays and performances, and even in a tough spot the defense kept battling the whole way and did just enough, barely, to hold on for the win. As discussed a bit last night on twitter, good Grizzly teams have struggled before in "ugly" wins. I was at the 2009 ISU game where an undefeated Montana had a kick a game winning field goal to beat a winless Bengal team 12-10.
Ugly games can happen, however this is a growing concern that's not just a single game issue. Montana has now shown issues in games where they cannot play consistently and cannot put their opponent away. Cal Poly needed a 2nd half surge after no points scored in the first half. Idaho State throws an incomplete pass out of the endzone to turnover on downs and lose at the end. Sacred Heart is within 8 points with 6:46 to go in the game. Weber hangs around and Montana only scores 1 time in the 2nd half against them. And then there was yesterday.
There's presumably no dramatic change that can happen, the defensive secondary is beat up, but I also don't think that if/when Loud returns all will be fixed and fine. There's broader concerns that aren't solved by 1 player. Beyond the defense though, my greatest concern is the offense and it's inability to be consistent through games. Are these guys losing focus? Are they more banged up than we possibly know? Are they just not as good as a unit as their early stats suggested? Is this a growing pain issue with so many transfers?
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End of the day, Montana's 10-0 and now going to hit the road for the trap game of the century with a brawl looming against a Cat team that is firing on all cylinders. While I'm trying to avoid the sense of doom rising within me, let's focus on some points from yesterday that goes beyond all of the concerns stated above.
- What a catch by Hendrix, maybe one of the better/best ones I've ever seen in that stadium Brooks Nuanez with Skyline had an amazing photo of it too. In a game where Brooks Davis was pretty severely limited it was cool to see Hendrix step up. If you haven't seen it, here it is, with the article source as well:
Griz survive against Eastern Washington, move to 10-0 – Skyline Sports
MISSOULA, Montana — The Griz got to 10-0 how? The last few weeks, the Montana Grizzlies looked like a team that was gaining steam and reaching new levels as the wins kept piling up. And while Saturday’s 29-24 victory against Eastern Washington moves UM to 10-0 for the first time since 2009 and...skylinesportsmt.com
- Have a day Kellen Detrick, 3.5 TFLs / 3 sacks. I really like stories like his, battling injuries most of his career, missing a few seasons from it, and having just 1 sack before yesterday total over his time here - and he gets 3 of them! Watching him in fall camp practice I could hear him as a vocal leader with the D-line and his play has really been rewarded this year. Really happy for the guy.
- Kenzel Lawler our CB1 was battling yesterday, 1 pick, probably should've had a 2nd, 9 tackles! Our CB room is thin, even more after yesterday, but he's still out there and doing as much as he can.
- If there's one thing Aaron Best does well, it's decimate the 3-3-5 defense that Montana has had since Bobby brought it here in 2018. He just knows how to pick it apart, and I'm sure both Barnum and Vigen are going to be on the phone with him a lot in the weeks ahead.
- Solid day for Ramos with 2 sacks as well, and the Grizzly rush defense did good too - granted EWU just kind of gave up trying to run the ball - they still held EWU to an average of 1 yard per carry (thanks to those 8 sacks) - if you back out the sacks the EWU offense was still held under 4ypc.
- Gillman coming up short on a swing pass at mid-field seemed like such a pivotal moment in the game.
- How many 3rd and medium/long plays did the called play be a screen or short pass well beyond the line to gain? Didn't work yesterday at all.
- Tremendous punt return by Deck, caught by his heel or it's a house call.
- Wortham was super dangerous in the passing game, fun to see him burn up his old team, just wish we could've highlighted him more all over the field.
- Jake Mason with some great interior line disruption early in the game.
- Wing, Tolbert, Solo, and Oven have to be gassed today, those guys were tasked with so much blitzing / pursuit / aggressive plays at the line.
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Here's my hope for the upcoming week - a return to better consistency on offense. That will go a long ways in putting my mind at ease. Let's start there because we have seen and know they can do that. Griz are 10-0, the best record they can have at this point, they're solidly IN the playoffs, and they're 1 more win away from a round 1 bye. Lots to focus on, lots to clean up. Their best game is hopefully still in front of them - let's keep it rolling!
Go Griz
Ndsu never has a reason to panic, even in 2023, one of their worse years in the past 20 or so seasons, they went from not having a bye to being 1 play away from a trip to Frisco.
And we are not NDSU, not by a long shot.
With these new pieces of information, you must definitely panic!
Alright all all ready! Montana has a very good football team that had a very bad day. I mean watching AhYat throw to nobody and no body looking around looking like where the hell you throwing the ball? Offense sputtered and looked like spring ball but for anyone to think this will continue past yesterday is off base. The players and coaches will get this fixed-guaranteed. The defense seemed a step off. Players getting to a “spot” late resulted in some 3rd down conversions. Film and coaches will point out guilty parties and correct it. Many times the guilty party is a two or 3 deep. I have no idea what the injury issues are but I’m confident the starters will fill those holes. Comparing us to msu right now serves no purpose at all. Are they good? Yes. Are we good? Yes. I in no way see msu coming to Wa Griz and destroying us just like I don’t think Montana will destroy them. Football is about game planning, and execution. I’m positive Bobby and co will have begun formulating this and will have the guys ready on November 22. So hopefully we can get a win in Portland and start Griz/cat week on November 17th.
No worries…….Go Griz!!
No worries…….Go Griz!!
