The Big Sky as a Conference

[AZDoc]

The original was only a few Tiers because it was early. I gave some benefit of the doubt to a couple clubs. I will say it'll be fun week after week seeing what they can do in conference play.

Tier 1:

1. Sac State-defending Champs, easy schedule, and they have the formula to beat the Griz. They won on the road to a team that will make the playoffs with a 4-7 record this year. They may get an FBS win this week. I can't wait to move them down, but they have currently earned this spot.

2. Griz-I like but don't yet love everything I have seen. They need better line play, or maybe more consistent line play offensively. Defense cannot give up the big play against teams that can actually execute the big plays (Sac St, Ewoo). There have been opportunities for all of the teams to hit a homerun ball against the D, and none have connected. Shows a trend that will be exploited.

3. Weebs-so far solid all around. Will be interesting to see how they match up in conference play now, against better competition (yep, looking at USU, they aren't good. Barely beat UConn. I watched that disaster too).

4. Cats-Offense has injuries so some limitations there. Defense was horrible. Big game this weekend to see who is a contender and who is the pretender.

Tier 2:

5. Ewoo-week off to study how to beat the Cats. I thought really no chance at the beginning of the season, but they may surprise on Saturday. Contender/Pretender as above

6. Davis-I like what I see here. Obviously well coached also. They will win one and lose one they shouldn't .

Tier 3:

7. Idaho-Solid play so far, and again biggest surprise for me.

8. NAU-which team will show up this week? A bit inconsistent overall. Also better than I expected and I think. This week will let us know which surprise team is a bit more legit.

9. Cal Poly-not yet for these guys. Still could see them pulling off an upset though.

Tier 4:

10. PSU-no idea yet. Played decently in 1 of 2 games. We will see how they play this week. I have a feeling it'll be great for a bit, then things turn around.

11. ISU-I mean, this week they could get a win and start conference 1-0, so there's that.

Tier 5:
12. N Colorado-yes they are on a level of their own. I agree. Question is...how $h!##y is Lamar?



This is why I love conference play. We will learn a lot this weekend.

 

[AZGrizFan]

2. Griz-I like but don't yet love everything I have seen. They need better line play, or maybe more consistent line play offensively. Defense cannot give up the big play against teams that can actually execute the big plays (Sac St, Ewoo). There have been opportunities for all of the teams to hit a homerun ball against the D, and none have connected. Shows a trend that will be exploited.

I believe this defense and it's frenetic pace is predicated on those homerun balls being "off" because of the relentless pressure the QB is always under. I don't worry too much about the home run balls....I think they're going to happen potentially 1-2 times a game. I DO worry if I see a team consistently moving the ball in long, sustained drives against the D. We haven't seen that yet, at least not for a sustained period (ISU did it for a quarter, basically, and then got shut down with adjustments).

 

[Wolf777]

2. Griz-I like but don't yet love everything I have seen. They need better line play, or maybe more consistent line play offensively. Defense cannot give up the big play against teams that can actually execute the big plays (Sac St, Ewoo). There have been opportunities for all of the teams to hit a homerun ball against the D, and none have connected. Shows a trend that will be exploited.

I believe this defense and it's frenetic pace is predicated on those homerun balls being "off" because of the relentless pressure the QB is always under. I don't worry too much about the home run balls....I think they're going to happen potentially 1-2 times a game. I DO worry if I see a team consistently moving the ball in long, sustained drives against the D. We haven't seen that yet, at least not for a sustained period (ISU did it for a quarter, basically, and then got shut down with adjustments).

It will definitely matter against deep playoff teams with good offensive lines and max protect backs that have decent skilled receivers. I agree right now that the benefit outweighs the risk. If you have a composed qb willing to take a hit to deliver a ball it might be another story. EB was last year. Luckily we got a second chance to rectify that one.

 

[MikeyGriz]

I believe this defense and it's frenetic pace is predicated on those homerun balls being "off" because of the relentless pressure the QB is always under. I don't worry too much about the home run balls....I think they're going to happen potentially 1-2 times a game. I DO worry if I see a team consistently moving the ball in long, sustained drives against the D. We haven't seen that yet, at least not for a sustained period (ISU did it for a quarter, basically, and then got shut down with adjustments).

It will definitely matter against deep playoff teams with good offensive lines and max protect backs that have decent skilled receivers. I agree right now that the benefit outweighs the risk. If you have a composed qb willing to take a hit to deliver a ball it might be another story. EB was last year. Luckily we got a second chance to rectify that one.

Barring injuries, we will be a different team by then also.

 

[Wolf777]

It will definitely matter against deep playoff teams with good offensive lines and max protect backs that have decent skilled receivers. I agree right now that the benefit outweighs the risk. If you have a composed qb willing to take a hit to deliver a ball it might be another story. EB was last year. Luckily we got a second chance to rectify that one.

Barring injuries, we will be a different team by then also.

I agree and trust that our DC can make adjustments when necessary at that time. I love what I see in our defense, players, and staff. They made quality adjustments after the first quarter and we survived to the quarters last year purely on that talent and special teams. This year we have a competitive offense that will only grow as well. We are starting to look like a complete team again in all phases.

The big key that you hit is health and luck come into play. We are deeper which should make that less costly than years prior.