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McDowell back in the portal

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mthoopsfan said:
UM probably wouldn't have gotten to Frisco without McDowell emerging. The only chance would have been later emergence of Ay Yat or Vidlak, and then a hot streak later in the season.

Without Bergen and Gubner, UM wouldn't have gotten to Frisco. There is no way anyone could have replaced them. I'm not sure UM would have gotten to Frisco without Hill, as he made a lot of plays and big plays. Riley Wilson? The corners? Obviously, it takes a team to get to Frisco, and for the Griz, a great D.

I said right after McDowell went to the Portal, that I'd be fine with him coming back. I could set the he screwed up in leaving abruptly. I liked McDowell and what he did for the team. He really came on as the season went on, but later he stopped improving and I think went backwards. If his return and he wouldn't be disruptive, now and later, I'd be fine with him being on the team. The disruptive thing would be a big concern, in my mind, and it's impossible to know now what might happen later in that regard. Had he just stayed, he had the potential to be better and more consistent next fall.
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I agree 100% with this post. I think McDowell, Bergen, Gubner and maybe even a couple others could be on that short list. On THIS particular team, there was noone to replace them if they went down and we wouldn't have gotten to Frisco.

Also agree about his return/disruption potential, and really wish he'd just stayed.
 
mthoopsfan said:
UM probably wouldn't have gotten to Frisco without McDowell emerging. The only chance would have been later emergence of Ay Yat or Vidlak, and then a hot streak later in the season.

Without Bergen and Gubner, UM wouldn't have gotten to Frisco. There is no way anyone could have replaced them. I'm not sure UM would have gotten to Frisco without Hill, as he made a lot of plays and big plays. Riley Wilson? The corners? Obviously, it takes a team to get to Frisco, and for the Griz, a great D.

I said right after McDowell went to the Portal, that I'd be fine with him coming back. I could set the he screwed up in leaving abruptly. I liked McDowell and what he did for the team. He really came on as the season went on, but later he stopped improving and I think went backwards. If his return and he wouldn't be disruptive, now and later, I'd be fine with him being on the team. The disruptive thing would be a big concern, in my mind, and it's impossible to know now what might happen later in that regard. Had he just stayed, he had the potential to be better and more consistent next fall.
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"Without Bergen and Gubner, UM wouldn't have gotten to Frisco. There is no way anyone could have replaced them. I'm not sure UM would have gotten to Frisco without Hill, as he made a lot of plays and big plays. Riley Wilson? The corners? Obviously, it takes a team to get to Frisco, and for the Griz, a great D." I would agree with all of this. I would add Fontes game at Davis and the strip and recovery by Ryder Meyer in same game. That game turned the season. You could go on with Gradney, the emergence of Panflioff stepping up all the OL injuries. . What about the Walter Peyton Award winner?
 
oldngrizzly said:
No question in my mind Ah Yat is better but not sure he is ready. I think he needs more playing time but when he is ready I think you may see the best quarterback to ever step on the field in a grizzly uniform.
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Hold on there partner…slow your roll a bit…
 
oldngrizzly said:
No question in my mind Ah Yat is better but not sure he is ready. I think he needs more playing time but when he is ready I think you may see the best quarterback to ever step on the field in a grizzly uniform.
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I'll settle for ah Yat being as good as his dad. If so, top 5 QB in UM history
 
By ready I mean being the starting quarterback without anyone to challenge him. He should have seen more playing time last year. Maybe when the games don't count like the nonconference, play him and see how he handles it. If he is good enough at the end of that then let him continue. He is a crowd pleaser and I think it would be a good time to break him in. What say you?
 
Flashback to my later teen years. Can't get a job without experience, can't get experience without a job. The old chicken v egg conundrum.
 
oldngrizzly said:
By ready I mean being the starting quarterback without anyone to challenge him. He should have seen more playing time last year. Maybe when the games don't count like the nonconference, play him and see how he handles it. If he is good enough at the end of that then let him continue. He is a crowd pleaser and I think it would be a good time to break him in. What say you?
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Every game counts for seeding purposes. There aren't any "throwaway" games for guys to get trial by fire.
 
AZGrizFan said:
Every game counts for seeding purposes. There aren't any "throwaway" games for guys to get trial by fire.
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Then Griz better start Fife. He was 11-12 140 yards in a half vs USC when future NFL guy was hurt. Last year he had a career-high 291 yards passing on 22-of-39 attempts in his first start of the season in a win at Utah State. Loved what Cliff did last year but he really had zero game experience before coming here. Ah Yat looked good last year as a true freshman without the benefit of Spring practice. Griz are good with either one.
 
oldngrizzly said:
Ok then lets play someone worth playing instead of some cheap to get team that the Griz can make a pile money on by playing them at home.
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I think it’s hilarious when people make comments like this. Like we can just plug any opponent we want in any week of the schedule. First the desired team has to have a corresponding opening in their schedule. Then they have to agree on a “home and home” or just a one time meeting which then usually has a monetary value put on it both teams have to agree on. I don’t imagine you’ve taken into consideration how many top tier teams are willing to come to montana to most likely lose a game early in the year. Or how many mostly decent teams that want to invite Montana and potentially lose one of their non con home games. Turns out it’s not that easy to get comparable competition to want to play us that early in the season, especially when most of your top teams have a grueling con schedule they still have to navigate.
 
UncleRico said:
Then Griz better start Fife. He was 11-12 140 yards in a half vs USC when future NFL guy was hurt. Last year he had a career-high 291 yards passing on 22-of-39 attempts in his first start of the season in a win at Utah State. Loved what Cliff did last year but he really had zero game experience before coming here. Ah Yat looked good last year as a true freshman without the benefit of Spring practice. Griz are good with either one.
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In a perfect world, this makes absolute sense.
In the real world, Cliff's strengths (literal strength to break tackles, scrambling, evasive instincts to buy time and make plays off schedule, design run ability) perfectly covers our team's greatest weakness (pass protecting). It's been proven every year since Bobby's return that we do not have the luxury of letting a passing QB deal from a clean pocket. Ask the crushed-to-powder confidence of an injured Humphries, Kris Brown, and Vidlak. They all were -- and possibly still are -- seeing ghosts in the backfield.

Maybe Pawlak immediately reverses fortunes up front. But more than likely our QB will need to protect himself and the ball first and foremost. I've never seen Fife play, he may well be sturdy and instinctive. Ah Yat as well. But if they're not built for dodging blown protections and playing off schedule, we might have a Cliff-shaped hole at QB.
 
UncleRico said:
Then Griz better start Fife. He was 11-12 140 yards in a half vs USC when future NFL guy was hurt. Last year he had a career-high 291 yards passing on 22-of-39 attempts in his first start of the season in a win at Utah State. Loved what Cliff did last year but he really had zero game experience before coming here. Ah Yat looked good last year as a true freshman without the benefit of Spring practice. Griz are good with either one.
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You know a ton more about FB than I do, but which one of Fife, Ah Yat, and Clif have more game reps now?
 
BigRock said:
In a perfect world, this makes absolute sense.
In the real world, Cliff's strengths (literal strength to break tackles, scrambling, evasive instincts to buy time and make plays off schedule, design run ability) perfectly covers our team's greatest weakness (pass protecting). It's been proven every year since Bobby's return that we do not have the luxury of letting a passing QB deal from a clean pocket. Ask the crushed-to-powder confidence of an injured Humphries, Kris Brown, and Vidlak. They all were -- and possibly still are -- seeing ghosts in the backfield.

Maybe Pawlak immediately reverses fortunes up front. But more than likely our QB will need to protect himself and the ball first and foremost. I've never seen Fife play, he may well be sturdy and instinctive. Ah Yat as well. But if they're not built for dodging blown protections and playing off schedule, we might have a Cliff-shaped hole at QB.
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Cliff did a great job. But before he was here he had zero track record to draw from. My point is that Fife has played in big games against teams better than teams in the Big Sky. The addition of Pawlak I think is good. Remember the Griz were 10-3 with Cam at QB and a depleted backfield that had Junior as a true freshman RB. The absolutely stacked RB group Griz have can take a lot of pressure off the QB to run the ball. I think Fife has more in common with Dalton Sneed than he does with Cliff. Is that he that good? We will find out.
 
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