I noticed the same things you have; you are 100% correct, at least re: Sneed and Eastwood. The only thing is, Sneed had virtually no time to pass; the pocket collapsed almost instantly. Not until in the 2nd half did he have any time to throw & did so well. But, he does overthrow deep balls.MiningCityGrizFan said:I feel bad for these kids. They played their hearts out, but unfortunately, they were not put in a position to close out this game.
At this point in the season, I am seriously questioning some of the coaching staff’s priorities. I think some of them still have a chip on their shoulders about being passed over for Stitt a few years back.
I’m not trying to re-ignite the controversy, but there was a podcast I listened to this week that brought back that sense of frustration from earlier this year.
Here is the link to the podcast: Big Sky Breakdown: Griz at WIU featuring Andrew Houghton, Shaun Rainey
Jump to the 54-minute mark -- Listen to what Shaun Rainey says about why he believes Gresch Jensen left the program.
For those of you who are technically challenged, the short version is the close personal relationship between Sneed and Rosenbach is the reason that Gresch left the Griz football team.
To quote Shaun, “They are TIGHT. Like, really, really close.”
The sad thing is that Shaun genuinely didn’t know this information. The sadder thing is that Colter has known all along that Sneed was getting preferential treatment because of that tight relationship and yet he still continued to push the narrative that Gresch left because he was an entitled kid who didn’t want to compete for the job.
An actual journalist would have reported on this conflict of interest, but Colter also has relationships with the current Griz coaching staff. I think it’s more of a man crush, but regardless of how you describe it, Colter lets those personal relationships influence his reporting. Keep that in mind whenever Colter references his “sources” on Twitter.
His reporting is more propaganda than it is journalism. In fact, when you listen to the podcast I referenced above, Shaun is replying to Colter’s glowing praise of Rosenbach’s “phenomenal job” addressing Montana’s “glaring weaknesses” (his words not mine).
Blah, blah, blah… Why do you even care?
Because today it cost the Griz a game they should have won.
I realize that many in Griz Nation are really high on Sneed. He's a very well spoken young man. He's very politically savvy too. And I think he’s genuinely a competitive kid. So please note that I am not attacking him as a person here.
As a football player, Sneed is not a good enough QB to lead this team to the playoffs. He proved that today.
He’s a very good runner, but he’s not an accurate passer. He cannot throw the deep ball.
He rarely connects on the deep throws and when he does, it takes a diving acrobatic maneuver by a receiver to make the catch, like today’s throw to Sammy early in the game.
The receiver ends up on the ground after making a circus catch. It’s great that they make the catch, but usually, there is with no one between him and the goal line. Had a more accurate throw been made, and the ball was caught in stride, then those plays go for six.
And even his short to medium range throws are not very catchable, he rifles almost every throw. And more often than not, he throws the ball at their knees.
Simply put, Sneed doesn’t have the skill set that is needed to complement the strengths of this team. Receivers like Toure came here to play in a vertical passing offense with a QB like Gresch.
Unfortunately for Griz players and fans, I don’t think Rosenbach cares.
It doesn’t matter that we had a proven winner in Jensen or a kid like Humphries with a better arm standing on the sideline, Sneed’s relationship with Rosenbach is all that matters.
For what it’s worth, I think Eastwood falls into that same category.
He too appears to be favored by this staff -- I assume it’s Hauck since he came from SDSU, but I don’t know.
For at least the last 10 years I have watched every Griz game multiple times -- in person whenever possible, but also again (and again) on DVR. I saw what Lee is capable of doing in short yardage situations last season. He’s a banger. A short, stocky, powerful kid who can get you one yard.
And yet for some reason, Eastwood is repeatedly given the ball in short yardage situations. Why you would repeatedly hand the ball to a slower, less powerful, freshman over an experienced senior is beyond me. Yes, I know the OL is struggling, but that’s exactly why you want a back who will slam the ball into the hole. Not one who stands straight up and leans into the pile only to be driven back.
Even today Eastwood didn’t play with any sense of urgency on the last few drives. Sneed to his credit followed up one of Eastwood's low-effort runs by quickly attacking the same defense, behind the same offensive line, and picked up 8 yards or something running straight up the middle of the defense.
And yet we repeatedly put the ball in the hands of a freshman transfer.
I know this team has the entire conference season ahead of them, but if the coaches don’t put their egos aside, learn from the last three Saturdays have taught them, and start putting the best players on the field instead of their favorites, then we’re in for a lot more days like today.
Re: Eastwood, you're right on. I'll only mention an end zone view of an attempted Eastwood short yardage run. He was standing straight up in the hole, immediately held by the WIU D.
Still, what killed the Griz was the play in the last 5 min.: a TD on a kick return & a costly fumble, giving the ball to WIU deep into MT territory. I'm hoping the Griz realize they can't let up, even down to the last second of a game. Bobby can't control that. Nothing on him.