Robert Morris game thread

[iramurphy]

I appreciate yours posts since you are always level headed and full of good insight but I think you may be a little biased to Mollberg. His ability is off the charts but I'm not sure if the mental side of the game is on par. Sure he's only a soph but he's the starting qb and needs to play like it, he's not Joey Bradley. Lazy feet and lack of awareness of when to flick a short pass to an open man and when to rifle one have been his major weaknesses so far. If he can improve those he could be great. It's a long season but he needs to be better as do the OL and WR.

y

I said he wasn't sharp. He also isn't throwing to Hardin, Golladay and Jackson anymore. He didn't consistently move his feet well and he had a couple of bad misses. Bartels hasn't shown anything that would make me believe he would do better and he has shown he is less mobile. I get where it is assumed I am biased but I have seen Mollberg play more. Both he and Bartels struggled at times last year and both showed promise. Once he earned the job, it makes no sense to start making a QB change after an off game. They still haven't let him run and still don't do a lot of pass run option with him which might be a good weapon. We need to stop all of the penalties, get the snap count right and Simmons needs to know where to line up and where he is supposed to run. Get the running game going protect the QB and if he can't hit open receivers then the next guy gets in. The QB's can't be afraid to make mistakes cuz they will get benched. Right now Mollberg still gives us the best chance to win. Coaches see the game film, the games and practice. I think they try to get they guys on the field that give them the best chance to win. As we try and get better, we might need to be patient.

[BigGame]

Even half of the complete passes were not very accurate or what I would call good throws.  He had time to throw in most cases but was really off target.  If they are going to continue to play him I would prefer they treat him more like an extra RB. 

[geaux_sioux]

y

I said he wasn't sharp. He also isn't throwing to Hardin, Golladay and Jackson anymore. He didn't consistently move his feet well and he had a couple of bad misses. Bartels hasn't shown anything that would make me believe he would do better and he has shown he is less mobile. I get where it is assumed I am biased but I have seen Mollberg play more. Both he and Bartels struggled at times last year and both showed promise. Once he earned the job, it makes no sense to start making a QB change after an off game. They still haven't let him run and still don't do a lot of pass run option with him which might be a good weapon. We need to stop all of the penalties, get the snap count right and Simmons needs to know where to line up and where he is supposed to run. Get the running game going protect the QB and if he can't hit open receivers then the next guy gets in. The QB's can't be afraid to make mistakes cuz they will get benched. Right now Mollberg still gives us the best chance to win. Coaches see the game film, the games and practice. I think they try to get they guys on the field that give them the best chance to win. As we try and get better, we might need to be patient.

For the record I'm for sticking with him since that's the only way he'll get better. I've seen him make a ton of NFL throws, I've also seen him make some JV throws. I just don't understand his need to throw almost everything 90 mph and how heavy and sloppy his feet are in the pocket. I firmly believe that if he fixes those two things he'll be a very good qb.

[BigGame]

It's going to be really hard to consistently run the football when the opposing teams know we can't pass.  Shaugs should get more work because he's the only guy that makes a cut and get's up field quickly.  The backs need to take the yardage that's blocked for them before they start trying to make a big play and end up losing yards or getting stopped for little or no gain.  Mollberg was terrible in this game and I really doubt he can throw with enough accuracy to continue to play(of course he is welcome to prove me wrong and I hope he does)  The underthrow on the deep ball was really bad, even a decent pass and the WR walks into the endzone. 

[the green team]

Bubba won't play favoritism to the players on the roster like Mussman did. He and his staff will constantly be looking for ways to improve the roster and I think that includes upgrading both lines.

I believe he and this staff already have. Perfect example is Jer Garman. I don't know how he won the job and earned the top spot on the depth chart coming out of fall camp. What could he have possibly of shown that would have gotten him that listing? I know Cedric Simmons was listed behind him, and as I was told watching last night from another fan, that Simmons was actually the number 1, but Garman was listed above him because he's been part of the program. Is that not some sort of favoritism? I tend to believe most of our running problems actually are a result of the inabilities up front... but the eye test for me, even going back to last year is that Shaugaby should be ahead of Garman, but perhaps also ahead of Simmons as well. Granted we don'thave a lot of options, but they've got be at the very least be able to run the ball with some toughness, and I think Shaugaby is that guy right now, on a list of not many options.

[BigGame]

He might be listed as a one because he actually understands where to line up and what his assignment is on each play.  It is pretty clear Simmons isn't to that point yet. 

[NewUNDAlum]

Simmons is not very good.  He runs so tentatively.  Doesn't like contact one bit.

[geaux_sioux]

Simmons is not very good. He runs so tentatively. Doesn't like contact one bit.

Yup. Shaugs is what we need.

[UND-1]

Here is my assessment of this team as is:

 

Coaching Staff:

I like the direction that this staff is trying to take us.  Its obvious that we lack talent at certain position and we have obvious limitations because of it.  However, I think this staff is making the best out of it.  The kids play hard and try to be physical.  Not a whole lot of quit in them and that is something that couldn't be said last year.

 

Quarterback:

Mollberg needs to play better.  The physical tools are there.  The mental side of the game needs some drastic improvement.  Too many dumb decisions.  He tries to do more than he is capable of.  He needs to develop some consistency in his game.  

 

Wideouts:

Losing Galloday was an absolute killer for this group.  I think we all anticipated that would be the case though.  We still have some decent talent and appear to have some young guys that could develop into good players.

 

Backs:

Terrible.  All around terrible.  Obviously, others may see it differently but, in my opinion, this group is as soft as warm butter.  I'm looking forward to some recruits coming in because these guys are tough to watch.  Soft. Soft. Soft.

 

Oline:

Lacks talent.  Very very limited in what they can do.  It could be worse, but they have no identity.  Really struggle to generate any sort of push and they aren't athletic.  We need some bruisers up front if we intend to be a team that pounds the rock.  

 

Dline:

This is not an FCS level group.  We are terribly undersized in the interior and they get pushed around.  We have what appears to be some young talent that might turn out to be pretty good over the next couple years but this group needs some work.  Hopefully that kid from Newtown can come in and make a difference inside for us.

 

Backers:

Far and away the most impressive positional group on the team.  They play physical and they are pretty athletic.  This group stacks up pretty well against other FCS teams.  Very impressed thus far and next year they should be even better.

 

Secondary:

Better than previous year but still lacks talent.  We may see some more JUCO guys coming in next year to help out this group.

 

All in all, if we win 5 games I would be impressed.  We need to recruit size and we need to recruit guys that are physical.  This is a 3-4 year project to get this turned around.

 

The UND linebackers do not stack up well vs. other FCS teams.  Our OLB's have been bad thus far and Will Ratelle is pretty much the only consistent bright spot.  The young guys are just too green to play with any consistency yet.  

[Dagger]

Robert Morris lost the week before to Eastern Kentucky.   If I am not mistaken, Eastern Kentucky beat an FBS team this week.   Trying to be optimistic, maybe Robert Morris will end up being better than we think.  Time will tell.

[The Sicatoka]

I'd take #24 for Robert Morris in a heartbeat. 

[MafiaMan]

Robert Morris lost the week before to Eastern Kentucky. If I am not mistaken, Eastern Kentucky beat an FBS team this week.

If you want to call Miami (OH) an FBS team, sure, you're technically correct. However, the Redhawks' last win was October 27, 2012. They lost their final 4 games that season, 12 games last season, and are now 0-1 this season. That's a 17 game losing streak...ouch.

Doesn't that Ben Roethlisberger guy still have a year of eligibility left? He might be able to help a bit...

[The Sicatoka]

Mr. Mollberg may have (probably did) put himself on the hot-seat Saturday. He shortened his own leash. 

 

Also, when the run game is missing 22, and 2 is inconsequential, why not go to Shaugabay? 

 

 

Mentioning 22, I suspect (no info) he's not available this week. That shoulder looked not so great. Patrick Sharp will probably be getting reps. Along that same line of thoughts, would UND ever consider a "heavy" backfield: Iverson* at the tail behind Pecosky. Those two on a dive play would get three yards running into a cinder block wall. 

 

 

*That would be flashbacks to the old Christian Okoye KC Chiefs.

[DT94]

WOW!!!!!

 

Let's just cancel the rest of the season.

[darell1976]

WOW!!!!!

 

Let's just cancel the rest of the season.

And to think some of these comments are after a win. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

Mr. Mollberg may have (probably did) put himself on the hot-seat Saturday. He shortened his own leash.

Also, when the run game is missing 22, and 2 is inconsequential, why not go to Shaugabay?

Mentioning 22, I suspect (no info) he's not available this week. That shoulder looked not so great. Patrick Sharp will probably be getting reps. Along that same line of thoughts, would UND ever consider a "heavy" backfield: Iverson* at the tail behind Pecosky. Those two on a dive play would get three yards running into a cinder block wall.

*That would be flashbacks to the old Christian Okoye KC Chiefs.

Jer Garman has 7 carries for 9 yards on Saturday; that's not good. Garman should be #4 on the depth chart and Simmons and Shaugabay should take the bulk of the carries moving forward. If Simmons can't go for awhile, then Shaugabay and Sharp should carry the ball.

I strongly dislike small backs unless they are used situationally (e.g., screens, route combinations, pitches, etc.). Miller last year was way overused and now Garman is being overused. Of course, if he understands the offense the best then that would be one thing, but eventually the others have to catch up.

[geaux_sioux]

And to think some of these comments are after a win.

It's great that we won but we need to be much much better to have a chance next week. We improved from week 1 to 2 and I'm proud of the way we greased out an ugly win but giving up 200+ yards in the ground and having the offensive performance that we did is unacceptable. Standards need to be high, nobody should be happy with a squeaked out win against Robert Morris no matter how much better they are than previous years. It's not that there weren't tons of positives to build on but there were a few glaring deficiencies that need to be fixed asap.

[UND-FB-FAN]

No one should be satisfied. It's great that UND won, but a lot of improvement needs to occur. UND is in the Big Sky Conference, not the NEC. Getting complacent over a 3 point win vs. Robert Morris would be foolish.

[darell1976]

No one should be satisfied. It's great that UND won, but a lot of improvement needs to occur. UND is in the Big Sky Conference, not the NEC. Getting complacent over a 3 point win vs. Robert Morris would be foolish.

But its a start, just getting a win (even if its RMU) boosts confidence and you can build on that. You can't build after a blowout or a loss to a bad opponent. See Muss decade. We do have a lot of work, we also have Muss's players, you can't cut everyone and replace them with free agents like the NFL. You have to work with the hand you are dealt with. Bubba is doing great with the defense, yes they bent but blocking an XP and/or FG is a big boost. Getting a sack really got the crowd going and pumped up the defense. Yards are one thing, but points is what matters. 13 points by UND's defense who last year was ranked 100 in the FCS out of 122 teams with a scoring defense of 33.7!! 

[MafiaMan]

But its a start, just getting a win (even if its RMU) boosts confidence and you can build on that. You can't build after a blowout or a loss to a bad opponent. See Muss decade.

I'm pretty sure I was absolutely skewered on this board last year for commenting about the scheduling of Valpo while everyone else viewed that game as some sort of program measuring-stick for UND.

So you're saying UND can build on a 16-13 win over a bad opponent but had RMU won 16-13, there would be nothing to build upon?

[darell1976]

I'm pretty sure I was absolutely skewered on this board last year for commenting about the scheduling of Valpo while everyone else viewed that game as some sort of program measuring-stick for UND.

So you're saying UND can build on a 16-13 win over a bad opponent but had RMU won 16-13, there would be nothing to build upon?

It would be a lot tougher to build on. Look at the Sioux Falls game...how do you build on that? Or getting blown out by UM, MSU, EWU week after week.  You take the win, and build on it. Then when you beat a middle of the pack team say a Missouri State then you build on that to try and take down the upper teams by this time its almost conference play and you have the big 3 in your sights (UM, MSU, and EWU). If UND beats MSU, most likely we start conference play at 3-1. THREE and 1. Some people thought we get 3 wins or LESS all year. 

[UND-1]

I'm pretty sure I was absolutely skewered on this board last year for commenting about the scheduling of Valpo while everyone else viewed that game as some sort of program measuring-stick for UND.

So you're saying UND can build on a 16-13 win over a bad opponent but had RMU won 16-13, there would be nothing to build upon?

 

Name one person who said Valpo was a "measuring stick"?  Everyone in the country knows they are gawd awful and the general consensus after the game was that the game proved absolutely nothing.  

 

Robert Morris would beat Valpo by 40.  

[Risky]

Don't count on beating Missouri State   .  Ain't going to happen.

[NewUNDAlum]

I think people need to decide on what their expectations for this program should be.  Very rarely, in anything in life, does expectation level not have a direct correlation to level of success one achieves.  If your expectations are that beating Robert Morris in the manner that we did is alright and is a stepping stone then I would suspect this entire rebuilding process is going to be much longer than any of us anticipate. Personally, my expectation level, regardless of our current situation, is to become a perennial playoff team.  That means beating the likes of Robert Morris by multiple touchdowns.  Anything less should be unacceptable and is putting lipstick on a pig.  Tough love is a must in our current situation.  Take the win but call a spade a spade.  

[UND-FB-FAN]

I think people need to decide on what their expectations for this program should be. Very rarely, in anything in life, does expectation level not have a direct correlation to level of success one achieves. If your expectations are that beating Robert Morris in the manner that we did is alright and is a stepping stone then I would suspect this entire rebuilding process is going to be much longer than any of us anticipate. Personally, my expectation level, regardless of our current situation, is to become a perennial playoff team. That means beating the likes of Robert Morris by multiple touchdowns. Anything less should be unacceptable and is putting lipstick on a pig. Tough love is a must in our current situation. Take the win but call a spade a spade.

Agreed.

Work needs to be done.