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Gameday: Fighting Hawks vs MVSU


geaux_sioux

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A win is a win and it's nice to start with one.  However, in order to keep attendance and interest high we must improve.  How long has it been since we played a crisp, assignment sharp, hard hitting game?  Seems like forever.  Most fans left thinking this game was at best so-so.  We need to pick it up or we are going to get our heads handed to us the next two weeks.   

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12 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

We look better than last year.

The local newspaper said that our kicker had the ability to kick touch backs easily.  #fakenews

Performance was somewhat disappointing, but I am optimistic and see definite upside in Rudy's play calling and our new QB.

Brady is the #1 back with the line that we have.  Transition Santiago to WR.  Swap Santiago and JJ's reps at running back.  

I said this two years ago...hard to play smashmouth football without a smashmouth running back.  I liked how we used John last night much better.  We got him the ball with a screen pass (I almost lost my marbles when we did it).  A swing pass, some sweeps and a check down.  The offensive philosophy was much better last night, and I think a lot of that has to do with the ability of our quarterback.  If we don't have a bad fumble by Brady, miss two field goals, and let their offense chew up clock in the first half, we win that game 55-6.  Hopefully that's a lesson to our guys, because a good team will make us pay handsomely for those mistakes!

Sidenote:  Rudy gets a lot of flack on here (and our past offensive performances were deserving), but why on earth does it take us until halftime to make the adjustment to not bring 7 on every passing down on defense?!?  A good team puts 21 up on us in the first half at a minimum if we play that kind of coverage, and Sam Houston might throw for 1000 yards if we play like that.  Our corners were put in bad positions last night, and we can't do that in any other game this year and survive.  The flip side to that is I think we'll be able to get pressure with 4-5 this year better than we have in a long time.  Disguise blitzes and coverages and let the talent up front do some work!

Second sidenote:  Special teams was brutal!  With all freshman specialists some struggles are to be expected, but kickoff coverage lapses against MVSU are inexcusable to me, given our history.  Also...I thought the media folks said our kicker could kick touchbacks...I sure didn't see that last night!

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4 minutes ago, UND08 said:

I said this two years ago...hard to play smashmouth football without a smashmouth running back.  I liked how we used John last night much better.  We got him the ball with a screen pass (I almost lost my marbles when we did it).  A swing pass, some sweeps and a check down.  The offensive philosophy was much better last night, and I think a lot of that has to do with the ability of our quarterback.  If we don't have a bad fumble by Brady, miss two field goals, and let their offense chew up clock in the first half, we win that game 55-6.  Hopefully that's a lesson to our guys, because a good team will make us pay handsomely for those mistakes!

Sidenote:  Rudy gets a lot of flack on here (and our past offensive performances were deserving), but why on earth does it take us until halftime to make the adjustment to not bring 7 on every passing down on defense?!?  A good team puts 21 up on us in the first half at a minimum if we play that kind of coverage, and Sam Houston might throw for 1000 yards if we play like that.  Our corners were put in bad positions last night, and we can't do that in any other game this year and survive.  The flip side to that is I think we'll be able to get pressure with 4-5 this year better than we have in a long time.  Disguise blitzes and coverages and let the talent up front do some work!

Second sidenote:  Special teams was brutal!  With all freshman specialists some struggles are to be expected, but kickoff coverage lapses against MVSU are inexcusable to me, given our history.  Also...I thought the media folks said our kicker could kick touchbacks...I sure didn't see that last night!

To defend the defense a bit, they didn’t have a clue what offense MV was going to run.  I heard our defense actually scouted another college where the MV offense cordinator came from to get an idea of what offense they would bring.  UND didnt even know who MV would be starting at QB was until the day before.  They did make adjustments and held MV to 50yds in the 2nd half.  

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Just now, ND1 said:

To defend the defense a bit, they didn’t have a clue what offense MV was going to run.  I heard our defense actually scouted another college where the MV offense cordinator came from to get an idea of what offense they would bring.  UND didnt even know who MV would be starting at QB was until the day before.  They did make adjustments and held MV to 50yds in the 2nd half.  

Completely agree.  Schmidt adjusted and the defense shut MVSU down completely in the 2nd half.

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13 hours ago, Longtime fan said:

Outside of Brady .....impressed with nothing.  

 

 

 

 

Huge upgrade at QB compared to last 3 years. O line improved but needs to get better. Hard to measure against weak team.  I don't  think we will be able to run against Washington. No excuse for receivers dropping ball. They need work on basic fundamentals.  Not sure why receivers coaches don't demand basic fundamental habit of looking ball into your hands every time you catch it in practice in warm-ups etc.  Look it in, tuck it in.  Every time.  It becomes a habit and then you don't drop the ball as often. I also liked that Bubba got a lot of kids some playing time.  That will pay off as year goes on.

Biggest concerns were:  secondary, dropped balls by receivers and special teams.

I don't like Thursday games.  Tail-gaiting wasn't  as good because of people still at work.

Not sure how refs microphone isn't working and if it isn't, why there isn't an immediate replacement.  Couldn't understand announcer sometimes.  Nothing from Alerus to jack up crowd (music, video etc). UND needs to review what makes game more fun for fans, then work with Alerus.  The marketing folks I know claim a big deal is getting fans, especially students on the big screen but involved in games.  Winning is best solution and it is a work in progress.

Was great to see Mark Chipman at game.  Great supporter of UND.  Great story with his role in bringing Jets back to Winnipeg..  I had a nice visit with him at halftime. Humble guy who has done big time stuff for Winnipeg and the Jets.

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20 minutes ago, ND1 said:

To defend the defense a bit, they didn’t have a clue what offense MV was going to run.  I heard our defense actually scouted another college where the MV offense cordinator came from to get an idea of what offense they would bring.  UND didnt even know who MV would be starting at QB was until the day before.  They did make adjustments and held MV to 50yds in the 2nd half.  

Agreed. The defensive staff had zero idea of personnel MVS had until game time.  Would have liked to see some adjustments sooner but with a young/rusty secondary maybe the first half was to be expected.  

Need to be much better going forward which hopefully they will.  

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My take on the game yesterday in person without reading any other comments on here first--

Crowd/Gameday experience: Granted it was a Thursday and a poor unfamiliar opponent, but wow was I disappointed. This was the first game of the season and I was jacked to be there! That feeling left as soon as I stepped into the parking lot. The additions to tailgating were nice, but there's nothing you can do to attract crowds to games other than winning, so I'm hoping this season brings some of that back.

In the Alerus, the lackadaisical and unenthusiastic crowd quickly rubbed off on me as I actually felt awkward clapping or saying anything loud during the game, especially from the 3rd quarter and on. The 1st and 2nd quarter showed a little bit of hope but overall I couldn't believe how empty it was and how few fans actually seemed to care.

Finally, get someone else to control the music/audio/volume...WTF.  I've never heard so much up and down in the volume before, it drove me crazy. Also, that microphone popping noise needs to be fixed. I'm pretty sure it was just the ref's mic but holy crap it sounded like the speakers were going to blow when it popped. In the 2nd half it seemed like it happened every 2 mintues. 

Offense: All 3 running backs did pretty decent for what they were given. Johnny didn't seem 100% but made some ridiculous cuts like we all know he can. Brady is a decent mix of power and agility and is an all around good RB at this level. He'll fix his fumbling issue because he's never really had that problem before and one of them (if not both) was a perfect helmet to the nose of the ball fluke. James was pretty underwhelming to me. It sure seemed like he lost his speed and agility with all those L.B.s he stacked on. I'm not sure he'll crush too many defenders this season...only because he'll never be running fast enough to do so. Without that speed or burst, he may not even be a good goal line RB...but definitely a good blocker. 

Oline looked good on pass protect but have some bugs to work out on the running scheme. Overall I was pleasantly surprised that they LOOK like an oline and seem to have the capabilities to do good things. 

How great is it to see a guy like Ketteringham with a UND jersey on? He looks, plays and acts like a legit D1 QB. Great pocket presence, great mobility, can throw on the run and has an accurate arm. His arm strength isn't top tier, but he has enough to get the job done. He made 2-3 VERY questionable throws that should've turned into at least 1 pick but I expect him to clean that up as the season unfolds. For the most part he made the right throws and wasn't scared to take a shot, and usually he error-ed on the correct side. He's already a stud, but shows obvious signs of even more potential. An even better feeling than having him on the team?...knowing Zim is there to back him up and 1-2 pretty capable guys behind them. 

WRs had a bad game but you can tell they posses the skill set, so I won't judge them on what I saw yesterday. Plenty of skill stacked up in that position group but I'd like to see some more of the speedsters in the slot with short quick routes. The mid ball was working so no need to change, but I think using Izzy and company on quick short curls and slants could do some damage with their ability to make guys miss. TEs looked solid and fit the body type of legit TEs. They caught the ball and made blocks all game long. They won't win any games for UND but they definitely won't be a weak spot. 

Defense: DBs were very poor, particularly CBs. I will give credit to that QB and those quick little receivers, but wow did Holm and Harris look like fools...over, and over and over and over. It looked like both of them were drunk and were wearing bowling shoes. Washington is going to be giggling in film, and their QB is going to be drooling. I'd start Blubaugh over either one of them as an eye opener next week, take your pick. He was a baller out there. Similar plays where Harris was straight legged and tripping over himself Blubaugh was cutting and jumping balls all over the place. Safeties weren't horrendous and didn't blow any coverage, but they were hesitant and always 1 second late to the ball. They need to get back to the basics and get their read off the tackles and trust it. Understandable of the first game to get back in the feel

Dline seemed much beefier than last year which was nice to see. They'll be no problem for Wash, but they'll at-least be respectable. LBs seemed to be MUCH beefier and stout. They held their own and tossed people around. Noah Larson is a scary dude. He was filling gaps like a juggernaut. The 2nd and maybe 3rd string guys filling in seemed to be very capable as well, so I was glad to see some depth there. As long as they don't end up on the 5th and 6th stringers like last year, I think the LBs will hold their own.

 

Special teams: The kicker now has a mental battle on his hands but he has the form and skill to overcome it. He'll nail a couple easy ones and snap out of it. The punter will be fine as well. He had a couple bad bounces but has decent air time and gets it off pretty quickly. Kickoff coverage actually looked okay to me other than 2 guys crossing lanes causing the long return. Shore that up and make sure idiots know how to take the guy to the ground rather than go for a highlight hit, then they'll be fine. 

Coaching/Play calling: Offensive play calling seemed good to me. They mixed it up, got a lot of different guys the ball and got yardage and scores in many different ways. I think last season lit a fire under their ass, but more importantly having a QB like this can make anyone look smart. 

They seemed to shore things up defensively and on special teams, but I don't understand why it had to wait until after halftime. It was very obvious in the 1st quarter that something needed to change on defense and the long kick return was followed up by a squib instead of a correction. There is plenty of time on the sidelines to fix things...especially when you're properly prepared with adjustments in case you're original plans...don't go as planned....Those adjustments should be chalked up and practiced out already so you can simply yell out the adjustment and it's already done. 

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2 hours ago, nodak651 said:

We look better than last year.

The local newspaper said that our kicker had the ability to kick touch backs easily.  #fakenews

Performance was somewhat disappointing, but I am optimistic and see definite upside in Rudy's play calling and our new QB.

Brady is the #1 back with the line that we have.  Transition Santiago to WR.  Swap Santiago and JJ's reps at running back.  

 

1 hour ago, forksandspoons said:

Disagree. John is so much of a home run threat it’s scarey for other teams. He played well last night. 

I think the solution is getting Santiago involved more in the passing game on screens and check downs.  Still give him the ball but use him more as a receiver.  I agree that if you want to play smash mouth, run the ball down your throat football, Brady and JJ are your guys.  

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16 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

 

I think the solution is getting Santiago involved more in the passing game on screens and check downs.  Still give him the ball but use him more as a receiver.  I agree that if you want to play smash mouth, run the ball down your throat football, Brady and JJ are your guys.  

Agreed. John also looked good on the off tackle runs on the outside. 

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What was I most disappointed in? 

Time of possession.

Yes it was 33+ (to 26+) in favor of UND, but UND's run game should've put that closer to 36. Well, that and the UND Defense not getting off the field on the MVSU opening drive (see: full blitz on 3rd and 25 and giving up a 50 yard play) letting MVSU hold the ball most of the rest of the first. 

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What did I like?

The way they opened the second half. 

At 21-7, I was worried MVSU would come out and score right after halftime and UND would clinch up. Instead it was ... Cugat! 

But then UND's offense stalled and I clinched up because a one score game was possible again.

But the defense went Cugat again, and this time UND scored, 28-7, and the game felt in hand. 

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