Spokesman Review article, coach D thought it was 4th & 8

[PlayerRep]

In the past 5 years, hasn't UM been to the national championship game twice, and in the semifinals another time? Has EWU done better than that? And this comes after UM's dynasty has ended.

 

[griz4life]

The article is right. Everything special on the field Saturday was EWU's play and swagger, taking shots that were sometimes high risk, but making them work.
The Montana window dressing was a little silly. You can set off some sparklers.run your mascot out on an ATV, send your team storming onto the field with two American flags, A state flag, a pirate flag, a giant brand and a sledgehammer, You can do all that, but the show that matters is your game, which is really all Eastern has, aside from its gimmick red carpet.

 

[Potomac Griz]

Did Coach D really say he thought it was fourth and eight?

If the Spokesman reporter is correct, then yes. I sent messages to a few Griz reporters to try to confirm.

Makes me wonder if on the 3rd and 13 earlier in the half he thought it was 3rd and 1.

Very curious what you hear back on this from the other reporters.

Not going for it on 4th and 1 when we had all the momentum and a shaky field goal unit left a LOT of people shaking their head wondering why. If it was due to not knowing how far we had to go that's just inexcusable. There are so many damn indicators as to what down it is and how far you have to go I'm not even sure how someone could make that mistake.

First, there are the chains.
Second, there is the damn first down marker.
Third, there is the F'n scoreboard has the down and how far to go.
Fourth, there is simple math and paying attention to the previous plays that should be able to give someone a rough idea of how far we have to go. 0+0+9 = 9! 10-9 = 1 yard to go, not 8. At no point in the history of the world has 10-9 been = to 8. To put it another way, 10-9 =/= 8!
Fifth, there are the other coaches. Did no one else on the staff maybe question the decision or bring up "hey it's only 1 yard, maybe we should go for it?"

I really hope that what the spokesman review reported isn't the case... I'd like to at least be able to trust that the coach knows about how far we have to go before deciding on a play, especially at an incredibly critical point in the game like that one was.

 

[AZGrizFan]

Did Coach D really say he thought it was fourth and eight?

If the Spokesman reporter is correct, then yes. I sent messages to a few Griz reporters to try to confirm.

Makes me wonder if on the 3rd and 13 earlier in the half he thought it was 3rd and 1.

Very curious what you hear back on this from the other reporters.

Not going for it on 4th and 1 when we had all the momentum and a shaky field goal unit left a LOT of people shaking their head wondering why. If it was due to not knowing how far we had to go that's just inexcusable. There are so many damn indicators as to what down it is and how far you have to go I'm not even sure how someone could make that mistake.

First, there are the chains.
Second, there is the damn first down marker.
Third, there is the F'n scoreboard has the down and how far to go.
Fourth, there is simple math and paying attention to the previous plays that should be able to give someone a rough idea of how far we have to go. 0+0+9 = 9! 10-9 = 1 yard to go, not 8. At no point in the history of the world has 10-9 been = to 8. To put it another way, 10-9 =/= 8!
Fifth, there are the other coaches. Did no one else on the staff maybe question the decision or bring up "hey it's only 1 yard, maybe we should go for it?"

I really hope that what the spokesman review reported isn't the case... I'd like to at least be able to trust that the coach knows about how far we have to go before deciding on a play, especially at an incredibly critical point in the game like that one was.

:clap: :clap:

 

[MrTitleist]

Man I tell you what, journalists sure don't photograph well.

 

[NativeGriz]

Griz Fans,

You're in good company, no one I know in Spokane thinks much of Blanchette's journalistic abilities. He consistently writes articles that piss off EWU, WSU, GU, and UW fans. You'll be better off if you simply ignore this hack.

He's in completely wrong, EWU is one of the special Big Sky teams not THE special team. I can think of at least couple of other special BSC teams, one of which is Montana. Make no mistake about it the BSC is as good as it is today in large part due to the Griz.

You should be proud of your team for not giving up when it looked bleak. If you had another minute or so the outcome may have been different.

Griz Fans are a class act. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Missoula yesterday.

Best of luck to you, and beat the Cats.

Mike

Thanks MIke, Is Dave Turner still reporting for Spokesman?

 

[big kahuna]

Don't blame the messenger, folks. Play calling was horrendous, really, for most of the game. That said, players have to tackle, block, etc. EWU did those things more often than we did, thus the massive hole we couldn't quite dig ourselves out of, despite an inspired effort.

 

[EWU Grad 82]

Griz Fans,

You're in good company, no one I know in Spokane thinks much of Blanchette's journalistic abilities. He consistently writes articles that piss off EWU, WSU, GU, and UW fans. You'll be better off if you simply ignore this hack.

He's in completely wrong, EWU is one of the special Big Sky teams not THE special team. I can think of at least couple of other special BSC teams, one of which is Montana. Make no mistake about it the BSC is as good as it is today in large part due to the Griz.

You should be proud of your team for not giving up when it looked bleak. If you had another minute or so the outcome may have been different.

Griz Fans are a class act. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Missoula yesterday.

Best of luck to you, and beat the Cats.

Mike

Thanks MIke, Is Dave Turner still reporting for Spokesman?

The only reporter named Turner on the current S-R staff is Paul Turner.

 

[spsyk]

I'm thinking that if JJ was using the Pflugrad playbook for the entire game in lieu of just the last 9 min. the result would have been different.

It's surprising to me with two OC, the play calling for the first 3 qtrs could have a little more surprise than was provided.

No worries for the warm weather football fans this year, if there is an entry into the playoffs, it won't be in Missoula.

I also thing that Royce Engstrom, is totally responsible for the decline of the the Griz dynasty, and it may take years to recover.

Problems are more that just a mediocre football team, with nice guys, however over their heads as a coaching staff.

Athletes facilities near the bottom of the Big Sky, will hurt recruiting, plus two seasons not making appearance in playoffs will have an effect.

Just the facts, sugarcoating, I would say the athletes deserve better.

The Cal Poly game was a miracle gift, and this coaching staff didn't learn anything from it.