It will be nice to get JR back. I was disappointed not to see him in the second half yesterday. Guess his suspension was 6 games, not 5.5. He wasn't suited up.
I like the defense and the secondary. I like the coverage, but it is far from perfect. Mistakes have been made, some costly. Seems like fewer mistakes now than earlier in the season. The corners have held up well, or fairly well, being left along in man.
My concern, however, is how many times receivers have been open by a step, but there was no completion because the ball was not on target. This has happened all season including yesterday.
Has UM faced a good passing qb this season? The guy that seemed the most accurate to me was the CP qb, and he had a high completion percentage. Some due to good accuracy; some due to mistakes in coverage.
I have not seen EWU play this year, but I assume the qb is accurate. We all know the EWU receivers are very good and deep. I can't help thinking that a very accurate, and good, qb would have completed alot more passes against the Griz this season. And I don't mean a few; i mean alot.
I can't imagine that EWU's opposition has been playing mainly man coverage against them. I assume it has been more or mainly zone. We'll see what the Griz do. Man coverage allows more blitzing and pressure. If UM can't or doesn't play as much man, then I assume there will be less pressure, including pressure less often.
I wish I had seen EWU this year. Perhaps some of you who have, can comment. I also haven't watched NAU. Don't know how good or accurate their current qb is, or whether Cookus has any chance of returning by next Saturday.
And, as good as the Griz have looked in recent weeks, the level of competition has been pretty low. Great for helping the O and D improve in game conditions, or for getting tuned up as Brint said, and developing depth, but not necessarily a good test of where the O and the D stand now.
Also, note that UNI has turned out not to be strong as was thought earlier. Still a good win for the Griz on the road, but not necessarily against a top team. And then the combined records of the teams UM has beaten. Not so high. But all that aside, the Griz has played fairly well, and then very well, against everyone on the schedule, and now the offense has shown strength and consistency in recent game.
I am feeling good and excited for the future, but obviously the next 2 games will show alot. But I am going to declare that the Griz will go deep in the playoffs because they have looked very good and crushed SS and MVP. However, I can now see how the coaches seemed to be surprisingly optimistic coming into the season. BG is playing very well now. The o-line has improved. The young receivers are talented and deep and figuring things out. The d-line is very strong. The backers are good and improving with each game, and Bus is even better than I had expected (and I had heard he was very good). The secondary is good and deep. The kicking/punting is better than all of us not in the know expected. The teams seems to be together and excited. The transfers and newcomers seem to be fitting in well. The injury situation seems to be good, except Weyer. There is alot to be positive and excited about.
