Illinois Hokie's Recent Comments

God I hate being *that* asshole who responds point by point like I'm doing an autopsy on your post. But you posted in bullet form and if I don't reply in kind in going to forget something. So please don't think I'm trying to troll in my style of response.

1) How much of this schizophrenia is due to injury? It's not a negligible amount. TBH, I felt like we were regaining balance through the first half of the season, and then the proverbial bomb went off on the backfield. I don't know if I can say we have looked wildly different from week to week. We went from a team that couldn't run, to a team that could kind of run, back to a team that couldn't run because of injury. Did we really look that wildly different against Pitt than we did against GT?

2) I hear the "too cute" thing about Lefty more and more, but it's also at odds with what I understand of his scheme. Package plays are a cornerstone, as is a way more complex passing tree (check downs!), and Scot is all about giving his QB reads and options. So maybe the formations are designed to find individual mismatches, but there's no guarantee that's where the ball is going on any given play.

3) I don't hate the play calling. I absolutely abhor the procedural penalties in game seven. And I see a big, big improvement in play DESIGN, which I find to be what most people are taking about when they complain about play calling. In general, Lefty provides his QB with a vertical, intermediate and check down route in passing plays, which so long as the OL can give him four seconds to make a read should be sufficient.

4) I've talked about thus before, but Mahlzahn was immediately successful at Auburn because he inherited his own players who had played in his system for all but one year. The table was set for Malzahn in much the same way as it was for Larry Coker at Miami years ago. Perfect situation to walk into.

And Chad Morris might be the best OC in the college game. We could probably have as immediate a turnaround if Whit is willing to pay a million plus to a coordinator and Frank is willing to relinquish all control of the O to whoever it is. Neither of those is happening (though I see Whit cutting a literal blank check week before Frank would cut a proverbial one).

He woke up at the last drive of the 2nd quarter but his delay of game and the subsequent false start just destroyed the momentum. Punch it in to end the first half and it's a totally different ballgame. Still, thought he did a good job taking what was there on a night when there wasn't much there.

Ah, yes. I just realized that I, too, am thinking of our last 4th down play. Don't remember the 4th & 2 right off hand.

On that 4th and 2, are you sure they rolled the pocket? I thought Brewer just got flushed by the pressure.

Brewer didn't have a terrible game.

I think Brewer was checking down. I don't think the play call was to always go to the short receiver in those circumstances, but Pitt had all our vertical receiving threats locked down all night. Any time the camera showed downfield during a play I tried to find the open target, and I never could. I think there was maybe one play where Brewer missed a receiver coming open down the sideline, but he was on the run when he missed it, which if not excusable is at least understandable.

I said a couple weeks back I thought moving forward, Loeffler should always make sure Brewer has a check down to throw to as he develops as a passer. It looks like coach is in agreement, and the check downs were really the only thing there for Brewer last night.

Look at it this way. Without those check downs short of the marker, a lot of those short gains could likely have been sacks.

Okay now I gotta research this. I thought part of the agreement with ND was that they can't bump the ACC selection out of its spot in the Orange Bowl, just take the opposing spot.

Molte grazie.

Which brings me to my next point. Won't be long until undefeated non-Power Five schools get shut out of the playoffs in favor of P5 schools with one loss (or more). I expect the banging of that exclusionary drum to be what eventually forces the expansion of the playoff field, akin to the BCS rules changes to guarantee highly ranked mid-majors access.

Eat at Primanti Bros. This is the same advice I give to anyone I hear is going to Pittsburgh. Or Fort Lauderdale.

As for parking, absolutely no help here. Never been to a game at Heinz Field. So I'm really good for nothing here.

Oh, and I think you should now be required to reference yourself in the third person in the subject of every post you make.

God this is such a good point. At the time i thought of the Switzer muff as a lucky break. We had been playing balls out on punt coverage all game, though, and the huge hits he had already taken no doubt contributed to him surveying the coverage while trying to field the punt. Leg for you, good sir.

We are straddling the line during the era when our OL has been in shambles. If you back this chart up pre-Newsome, I'm guessing you would find VT well above the line in the "over-performers" region.

These are also the fans who, when the wheels fall off and Alabama returns to earth, will by and large burn their Alabama gear and actively and passionately hate the team. They're the worst of the bandwagon fans, the ones who scream the loudest whether it's to support or berate "their" team.