• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts access private forums and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!

How we all feeling?

HelenaHandBasket said:
EverettGriz said:
The difference in the schedules between this year and last is the most important issue of all.

I still am not sure the schedule is the slam dunk most believe.

We’ll start out 5-0 (most likely) and I’ll still be in a “wait and see” mentality.
 
HelenaHandBasket said:
EverettGriz said:
The difference in the schedules between this year and last is the most important issue of all.

I still am not sure the schedule is the slam dunk most believe.

It's not. It's just significantly easier than last year.
 
It is what it is. The offense will be fine and score plenty assuming no major injury problems at the OL spot. The D is not deep enough in the line, nor is the DB group good/deep enough. We are in for mid league finish with probably 2 league losses and probably a 1/2 round exit from the playoffs. Very pedestrian year incoming for this team.
 
EverettGriz said:
HelenaHandBasket said:
I still am not sure the schedule is the slam dunk most believe.

It's not. It's just significantly easier than last year.
We were ranked first going into the season last year despite the schedule. The cats are in that same boat this year. I like our chances this year. The schedule is a huge factor.
 
I could give you the Kool-Aid version, or the objective version. As always, there are enough Kool-Aid versions on here, so I'll give you my honest objective version.

1) We will win our first 5 games. Gee, what a revelation, huh?

2) We will go as far within the conference games as our QB position will allow for. Understand that there are still many questions about whether Vidlak can be The Man. After all, this will be his first chance to lead a college offense. Not excited about the other options at QB. More of the "praying that our QB doesn't get injured" stuff we have lived with under Bobby 2.0.

3) The offensive sets I have seen in practice look familiar to last season. With that said, they are mostly single-back sets, and not designed to be a "run-first" offense like MSU runs. It will be a multiple offense as in the past. So, those of you thinking we can pound the rock and dominate defenses with our running game will be disappointed, in my opinion. If we expect to be a run-first team, we need to install more 2-back options, counter plays, pulling linemen, etc. instead of just trying to execute better than last season with the same O-line and similar offense.
Hopefully we will.

4) I do not think that our defense can possibly be as good as last year's defense. There is no way that we can replace Robby, O'Connell & Ford without losing some skill. These positions are not plug-and-play like some of you believe. Those three were great players, and they will be missed. I agree that our defense wore-down towards the end of last season...... primarily because our offense couldn't stay on the field after mid-season.

5) We are very thin on the D-line, both with bulk and with numbers. We had one starter leave, and another possible starter lost due to injury. The CB position is also an area of concern.

6) I predict we win 7-8 games, mainly due to a favorable schedule and 5 cup-cake games prior to conference. We will get another first round playoff game in Missoula, even if we have to buy it like last season. Will probably win that first game. Then, as usual, we will be exposed by teams who are legit threats to win a NC, and, you know the rest. We start thinking about how great we will be next season when Bobby gets his players in the system.

Just my honest thoughts.
 
If CB play is solid and we defend power running teams better, I think 1 or 2 losses is realistic. If we struggle with either, 4 losses wouldn't surprise me.

We'd be hard pressed to make the playoffs with 4 losses.
That's dependent upon how other bubble teams do.

I'll go with a 2 loss GRIZ team and 5 to 7 seed.
 
Da Boyz Mom said:
Griz2k said:
I'm still waiting on that dominance we were all expecting upon Hauck's return. Until I start to see that again, I'll lean towards cautiously pessimistic and hope to be pleasantly surprised. I'm looking at 8-3 (most likely) or 7-4 (something went really wrong) right now.

Sorry but 8-3 with this schedule is not good enough and 7-4 would be a disaster. Bobby has to do better.

100% agree.
 
I think the griz are going to be pretty good, and if can somehow stay healthy at key positions all through the regular season..... could be very good. The concerns I would have if I were a griz fan would be depth at DT, CB, and QB.

Likely start 5-0 with the only tests coming from Ferris and possibly at NAU, at least one of those games will be too close for comfort.

Between UCD, ID, SAC, and MSU, you'll likely lose two of those. No seed. Win one game at home in the playoffs, then a second round exit.
 
I feel very good about the Montana Football team. QB will not be a concern and people will realize it quickly. The offense will be able to move the ball behind what will be a huge offensive line with Otsmo, Harris, and Childs with a little bit of Gilman mixed in keeping the defense off the field and fresh. Going into the brawl we should be 9-1 with a split between Davis and Idaho and after the brawl 10-1. This is a good football team!

Go Griz!!
 
I don't see a loss on our schedule going into Griz scat week. Anybody who thinks Ferris is going to give us a run is nuts.
 
retiredpopo said:
I don't see a loss on our schedule going into Griz scat week. Anybody who thinks Ferris is going to give us a run is nuts.

I hope you’re right, but given the line we have and the running game as well as the new clock rules, I’m assuming we are going to have some close one score games. We need to make plays when the opportunity is there.
 
Cautiously optimistic, there are some important unknowns on the defense and qb, but the schedule lends itself to a good season. Thinking 7-9 wins.
 
thirdandlong said:
I could give you the Kool-Aid version, or the objective version. As always, there are enough Kool-Aid versions on here, so I'll give you my honest objective version.

1) We will win our first 5 games. Gee, what a revelation, huh?

2) We will go as far within the conference games as our QB position will allow for. Understand that there are still many questions about whether Vidlak can be The Man. After all, this will be his first chance to lead a college offense. Not excited about the other options at QB. More of the "praying that our QB doesn't get injured" stuff we have lived with under Bobby 2.0.

3) The offensive sets I have seen in practice look familiar to last season. With that said, they are mostly single-back sets, and not designed to be a "run-first" offense like MSU runs. It will be a multiple offense as in the past. So, those of you thinking we can pound the rock and dominate defenses with our running game will be disappointed, in my opinion. If we expect to be a run-first team, we need to install more 2-back options, counter plays, pulling linemen, etc. instead of just trying to execute better than last season with the same O-line and similar offense.
Hopefully we will.

4) I do not think that our defense can possibly be as good as last year's defense. There is no way that we can replace Robby, O'Connell & Ford without losing some skill. These positions are not plug-and-play like some of you believe. Those three were great players, and they will be missed. I agree that our defense wore-down towards the end of last season...... primarily because our offense couldn't stay on the field after mid-season.

5) We are very thin on the D-line, both with bulk and with numbers. We had one starter leave, and another possible starter lost due to injury. The CB position is also an area of concern.

6) I predict we win 7-8 games, mainly due to a favorable schedule and 5 cup-cake games prior to conference. We will get another first round playoff game in Missoula, even if we have to buy it like last season. Will probably win that first game. Then, as usual, we will be exposed by teams who are legit threats to win a NC, and, you know the rest. We start thinking about how great we will be next season when Bobby gets his players in the system.

Just my honest thoughts.

If the offense doesn't abandon them this season, I think the defense can be more than enough. By the way, Gilliam from Davis and Skattebo from SacState lead the conference in rushing from one-back offenses. Bozeman will do their dammest to make a one back offense work, for reasons that have become all too obvious. All three teams share one thing in common, really good line play. If this line comes together, finally, and the passing strategy keeps the defenses honest, there is no reason not to believe they can move the ball effectively on the ground. Get dominated, like at Weebs last season, and all bets are off. Though I would prefer they do something more than inside zone.

Make the D-ends something more than block eaters, actually get a pass rush, the 3-3-5 might become really effective. And sorry, but Harris is a solid upgrade over McGourin. He was steady, though unspectacular after his freshman season. Harris looks like a difference-maker. Losing Nuce would be a blow, but the only way I think the line is an issue this season is an injury to someone named Gubs. And take this to the bank, the linebacking will be better than it was last season. Wilson is a special talent that will blend in nicely with the vets and rotation guys. Hauck never singles out a player to talk about, let alone one he thinks is among the best backers he's had, never having played a down for Montana. And yes, he actually did say that. I have no idea how the DB's will fare, but put a real pass rush on, change up the coverage schemes a bit, and you may have something that works well enough.

Games three and four should concern everyone. The D2 team is as far from a cupcake as you get. I expect them to give Montana a hell of a game. So does Montana. NAU could be a letdown game after a dogfight at home. I hope like hell I'm wrong.

Running QB's get dinged. Fact of life. - see bozeman last season. Vidlak can run, but he strikes me as someone who knows his strengths and that he is there to deliver the ball to the playmakers. I think he takes great pride in that, so he only runs as a last resort. Keep him upright, and he'll just keep getting better. This is allowing for Pease to have improved route trees and strategies over the "throw to the sideline" fetish Rosey had last. I too am concerned about the backup options, but less so since there is actually a second guy they've had to work hard to integrate. Which means he's gotten coaching, and though he may be holding a clipboard when the season starts, he knows what to do when the time comes.

I don't make predictions about win/loss records. My sincere hope is that there are no games where they come out flat when they have every reason to play well. I can't think that won't provide a higher seed, maybe another opportunity at home games. Finally, it's SDSU and the field this season, so I think it wise to temper expectations.
 
NAU tends to play above their station in their dome. They gave MSU and Weber fits last year in Flagstaff. I don't think it is wise to chalk that one up as an easy win. Same thing goes for your game at UI.

I think you have a really good chance to beat MSU on your field, no matter what the respective records are at that point.
 
oldrunner said:
NAU tends to play above their station in their dome. They gave MSU and Weber fits last year in Flagstaff. I don't think it is wise to chalk that one up as an easy win. Same thing goes for your game at UI.

I think you have a really good chance to beat MSU on your field, no matter what the respective records are at that point.

I believe by that point in the season, the GRIZ will be the favorites against the cats. Perhaps significant favorites.
 
thirdandlong said:
3) The offensive sets I have seen in practice look familiar to last season. With that said, they are mostly single-back sets, and not designed to be a "run-first" offense like MSU runs.

Did anyone think the offense would be anything like what the Cats run?
 
The griz will roll early, improve their ranking, and will develop a significant foundation of false confidence by beating inferior teams. By the time half the season is over, your guys still would not have played an actually good team. Lose at Idaho (this isn't even up for debate), beat Sac, lose to MSU (this DEFINITELY isn't up for debate, unless you are completely deluded). You'll get a first round home game and then get fed to one of the Dakota schools. There. I saved you 3 months of suspense.
 
FlyCastingCat said:
The griz will roll early, improve their ranking, and will develop a significant foundation of false confidence by beating inferior teams. By the time half the season is over, your guys still would not have played an actually good team. Lose at Idaho (this isn't even up for debate), beat Sac, lose to MSU (this DEFINITELY isn't up for debate, unless you are completely deluded). You'll get a first round home game and then get fed to one of the Dakota schools. There. I saved you 3 months of suspense.

I laughed.
 
FlyCastingCat said:
The griz will roll early, improve their ranking, and will develop a significant foundation of false confidence by beating inferior teams. By the time half the season is over, your guys still would not have played an actually good team. Lose at Idaho (this isn't even up for debate), beat Sac, lose to MSU (this DEFINITELY isn't up for debate, unless you are completely deluded). You'll get a first round home game and then get fed to one of the Dakota schools. There. I saved you 3 months of suspense.


Déjà vu! Sounds like every season the cats have deemed successful. Except they always dodged Sac State.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top