iramurphy

We recruited the top ranked kicker from Kansas and an All-State kicker from Utah. Apparently waiting for them to perform consistently enough to move ahead of Elrich. Elrich had 2nd best FG % in the league last year and we should expect him to improve on that. Unfortunately, he hasn’t yet.

I think they stay hungry. I don’t think they think beating UNI home or road will satisfy this team.

The measure of success for KO’s is where your opponent starts their drive. Overall, it’s been very good this year. Create TO’s and avoid penalties and KO team can be a difference maker. The measure of success for a punter and punt team is net yds/punt. Punting and Punt coverage has been very good. KO return and Punt return are easier to break down. No turnovers, no penalties, don’t let punts hit the ground unless inside your own 5yd line. The guys have done well so far this year. Punt blocks, FG/XP blocks are a great bonus and we have done well so far. Missing XP’s, getting a kick blocked, missing FG’s is usually one guy missing their assignment. To continue to struggle with FG’s or XP’s is usually mental. Good luck solving that. It has happened to All-pro kickers who have a bad few games, get cut and are back the next year as an all-pro. That’s tough to solve at college level during mid-season.

Brungard will be a challenge. He has thrown for over 1000 yds and averages over 100 yds/gm on the ground including a game this year where he ran for over 200 yds. We had trouble containing him last year and allowed him to be the difference. Jerry is coming off of his best game, our RB’s are running well and Fleming and DeMontagnac both were impressive last week. It was good to finally see Hoskins get reps. Oline needs to dominate and our defense needs to contain Brungard. Last year we “over ran” the pocket too many times which allowed him to make plays with his arm and his legs when it looked like he might be sacked.

Agreed. Big mistake last year. It’s obvious Jerry had a big upside from the day he arrived on campus. He needed PT last year. JTJ and Sulik should get PT this year to further their development and to protect Jerry. Other backups also need PT and I believe this year the staff has been getting a lot of guys PT.

Rather than screw up the other FB threads I figured this is a better way to comment. In response to your continued negative comments about Simon, you are correct in that you haven’t commented personally. If you were so inclined you would probably find yourself on your ass, courtesy of Jerry and the rest of the team. Same goes for the 3 Cream Puffs. Simon Romfo is an important part of turning this program around. He has made a similar impression on Danny Freund (before he left), Freuchte, Bubba and now Schmidt. He has earned his playing time at whatever position he plays. The team is better with Simon and other backups all of whom have earned their spots on the team. I’ve tried to explain that the coaches make these decisions as a staff, not just the HC, DC, or OC. With your extensive experience from the vantage point of a bike you insist it was all Bubba. Not only the previous coaching staff, the present coaching staff, the players and a number of area HS coaches believe Kostich is an excellent coach, but also an excellent recruiter. Our special teams have improved and have been very good this year. Our kicker is the exception. That is usually on the kicker rather than the coach. Kostich will have opportunities if he were to leave but he won’t be fired. I suggest you focus on Jerry,who just had his best game, and quit embarrassing yourself with the constant bashing of a player who is doing whatever he can to help this team. Unlike the 3 cream puffs, when you aren’t obsessed with your negative posts on Simon, you have had some decent posts. Otherwise, instead of ruining other FB posts put the crap posts here. Same for the Cream Puffs boys.

You are half right. You “don’t know what” to tell him.

I didn’t review so it could have changed, but there was also an exemption to the age 21 rule for anyone serving in the military before their eligibility expires. Not sure if you can start, leave for military and return but those who joined directly out of HS were eligible when they got out of the military. I wouldn’t think a hockey player could maintain skills while serving in the military but guys have done it in FB and BB.

Not yet, but he has to stay healthy. He is athletic and big “wingspan” which they like in linemen, especially tackles. He has held his own when healthy, but most playing time has been in exhibition games.

I see Feeney is still splitting time at QB for St. Johns. Through 2 games he is 26/33 (79%) for 356 yds and 4 TD’s. I run for 12 yds. St. Johns is ranked 4th in D3.

Then let it go. I think you are smart enough to know that your comments seem personal. I don’t know if your obsession with Jerry is cuz you are personal friends, related, or a man crush. I would think you are better than that. Jerry has earned the starting position and I believe it’s because he gives us the best chance to win. The coaches also believe that. Last year they didn’t think he was ready. I lot of us thought Feeney would be the starter last year. None of that matters anymore. If the coaches have a plan to utilize Simon in multiple roles, it’s because they believe that would give us a better chance to win. Regardless of how they plan to utilize him, he has already proven he belongs. In answer to your question, yes I’ve watched a couple of the UND and the NDSU games.

You have a goalie that can carry you to another championship if you get some scoring. I bet his older brother will be a force this year.

Yet a couple former All-Americans and a number of coaches disagree with you. Danny Freund said that he wanted to find ways to get him on the field 2yrs ago when Schuster was our starting QB. Are you that delusional that you think so many others closer to the program think Simon will help them. What do you have against Simon?

I said I have “friends and relatives” who went to NDSU but are great UND hockey supporters. That’s not just when they win, it’s because they are hockey fans and NDSU doesn’t have a hockey team. That doesn’t make them “front runners”. The friends that will cheer for NDSU when they are in playoffs just cuz they are an ND team is different I guess one could argue that is “front running” but I’m not sure I agree. To me “front running” would be cheering for your rivals, rather than your own team because they are better. I’m not sure not caring about who people cheer for would mean I don’t understand the rivalry. I’d be surprised if there is much you could tell me about the UND-NDSU rivalry that I don’t know or have personally experienced. That includes financial manipulations, funding shifts, recruiting issues for both athletes and otherwise, letting an NDSU head coach know he couldn’t be on the sideline during a HS football game. A tractor tire being rolled from the top row of the bleachers through the student section toward the UND bench during a UND-NDSU MBB, a half court brawl between UND and NDSU FB players at halftime of a MBB. I’ve experienced the “rivalry, tradition, legacy, history etc” up close and personal for many years. I wouldn’t assume that because I don’t care if someone cheers for NDSU when they aren’t playing UND, that I don’t have a complete and thorough understanding of the rivalry and the ramifications of it.

Our starting QB is front and center. He doesn’t care if a teammate is featured in a photo or an article why should you? This isn’t about playing time or who starts. It’s a great article that provides a window into what some of the key components of successful programs are. There is nothing in my comment nor in the article that detracts from the other QB’s. At every level, except maybe fantasy FB (so you obviously never learned how to appreciate the guys who don’t start, or don’t play much, but rather than quit, keep working their ass off to make the team better) these are the players we usually don’t hear about. Your comments are a window into your character. If you wish, I can give you a hint as to what Simon’s teammates would say about you. (They make fun of fans like you).

The Romfo boys are a great college sports story. Small town twins whose greatest obvious assets out of HS were they were winners and good athletes, although undersized. I don’t think you have a clue as to the challenges these guys faced as PWO’s coming to play at UND. Your unhealthy fixation on Simon doesn’t make sense. He didn’t make the decisions to become the starter. He worked his butt off to get to that position. Now Jerry has worked his butt off to earn the starting position. It’s obvious that Simon is still doing whatever he can to help the team. If the time comes I would expect he will be able to step in and show that he is a better QB than he was last year. Regardless, your persistent negative comments are unwarranted this year. I would hope you now realize that even Jerry will miss wide open receivers for a TD at times or one bounce passes to receivers at times. (Please don’t post of them 20 times on ss.com). That doesn’t mean Jerry shouldn’t be QB, it means it happens to all QB’s at all levels. Who cares about whose picture is where? They did an interesting article on Simon who has played well when he has been in. It’s clear how much respect the coaches and his teammates have for him. Championship teams need guys like this. It’s part of learning to win and building a consistent winner. Guys who may have more physical abilities get motivated to do better when they see teammates doing everything they can to help the team. Give that some thought.

I’m not sure what you are trying to say regarding “front running” but it doesn’t matter. I have friends and relatives who went to the Ag school but are great UND hockey supporters. I have friends who will cheer for them in playoffs if UND isn’t competing. Who cares? It doesn’t affect me nor does it bother me regardless of why they do that. They don’t send them money.

Yeah. Chatted with him. Asked him about Carter and he says Carter really likes it here. I always remind him he wore my number. He made the tailgating rounds with Mike Manausa (sp?).

With all due respect, without the UND hockey fans who are NDSU fans for other sports, we wouldn’t have the hockey following that we do. There are a number of UND fans that cheer for NDSU football when they aren’t playing UND or when they play for National Championships. Most sports fans like to identify with a winner and some are just proud of anything that is positive for N. Dak.

I believe many PWOs will be “PWOs”.

Nice cheap shot. Neither Feeney, nor Jerry, nor Simon, were ready 2 years ago. Many people thought Feeney would start last year. Some thought Jerry would. The staff decided Simon gave them the best chance last year. Coaches have decided Jerry gives them the best chance to win this season just like last year when they thought Simon was the guy. They don’t play someone cuz of where they are from. Rather than continue the recurrent complaints about last year maybe give it a rest and focus on how Jerry can help his receivers be better and lead a team with an experienced oline, a bevy of good receivers and RB’s to a successful season.

“Obviously a Bubba decision”? At this level that’s not how it works. Those decisions are staff decisions. Regardless of who made the decision last year, it has nothing to do with this year. Kaminski is starting Saturday because the staff feels he gives this team the best chance to win.

That is a rumor. It depends on what we mean by $50,000. If you mean in addition to the extra expense money allowed by the NCAA and Alston/701 initiatives, I would bet that isn’t accurate. If you consider these athletes can obtain around $3000 for expenses, which UND gives, and whatever the Alston max is ($8-10000?) each year, that is around $10,000-$12,000 per year. The Alston money is dependent on grades, leadership, community service. That can be around $50,000 or a bit more for a 4 or 5 yr college career. JTJ and a select few may get a bit more. UND’s philosophy at this time is to provide enough for athletes to be able to pay for the usual extras for college students and enough money to help their parents get to games. I golf occasionally with one one NDSU’s biggest and wealthiest boosters. He hates the NIL and portal. He said they don’t give NIL money to incoming freshmen. He said they have a year to prove themselves as athletes and students. He said that includes their incoming star qb whom he had met.

All of what money? How much do you think he is getting?

Good question. I’m not sure my answer will be any better than yours or anyone else’s. As you and most here know 3-4 def needs 3 down linemen to occupy 3 and hopefully 4 offensive linemen to keep them off of the 4 LB’s. They also need to plug up the middle against the run and create gaps against pass defenders to allow blitzing LBS or DBs to pressure the QB. The LBS need to plug gaps against the run and the outside guys may often have outside contain. Those LBS need to cover TEs RBs and slot receivers depending on your secondary coverage. As far as Cover 1 vs Tampa or Tampa 2 I didn’t pay close enough attention to comment much on how Bubba typically deployed them. The big concern was our DBs didn’t seem to close on receivers as they crossed into their areas of responsibility as well as we would hope. the 4-2 obviously has 4 linemen with DEs who are playing the edge position. Our edge guys can hopefully put pressure on the qb or shutdown the outside game against the run. They may also need to cover the TE or slot receivers depending on where our 5th DB is. I would guess if we can do some twists on the LOS and bring pressure from one of our 5 DBs and disguise our schemes we can be a tough defense to adjust to. I don’t know how they will deploy our secondary but they will all need to tackle. Their work in the film room and meetings is so whatever the coaches are seeing from the box is what the players are seeing on the field. We have a couple of guys on this forum who played DB around the time Bubba coached defense and Schmidt played/coached who could probably give a better answer. If I had to guess, I think we will tackle better and be quicker this year. Offensively, so much depends on QB and whether or not we can protect the ball. We certainly have weapons. But that wasn’t your question.