2022 Football Season

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

Agree.
Sometimes an option for Tommy to call the run or pass was part of the playbook.

Tommy's occasional lock on to the primary receiver wasn't in the playbook, but was his own lack of execution. 
Most run plays ended up snapped as called in the huddle.

[Midwestern Hawk]

15 hours ago, Norhsidepride said:

Freund gives Tommy an RPO on a lot of plays.  (3rd and short and 3rd and long probably not)  His cadence or one word when its loud tells the Oline run or pass.   If you re watch you will see that on the road when its loud our WRs run more routes on run plays than at home, because if they don't hear it, they have go with the pass option.  South Dakota and MSU come to mind as examples.

I will look for that.  The offense includes multiple shifts and usually motion on each play which also makes it much tougher to call traditional audibles.

[Siouxperfan7]

I am wondering how Freund can get Quincy Vaughn more involved in the offense.  Besides the occasional RPO play he runs when he is in there, most of the time he goes in to pick up a 3rd and 1 or a 4th and inches.  He is our backup QB, but I am wondering if there are other ways to use him in the offense as opposed to under center.   

[Irish]

I find the discussion on audibles interesting - although I guess we'll never know for sure unless we hear from Bubba (and he ain't talking).  For me this wraps into an issue we seem to have struggled with for years - we never seem to keep a defense off balance or make them pay for over-playing - and I am not talking about the tricky double reverse type crap we seem to love.  Just catching the defense off-guard or countering their stacking the line or catching them in a shift or exploiting their coverage.  How many times have we seen 8 in the box, for example, and done nothing to exploit it.  We don't seem to use the run to set up the pass or the pass to set up the run.  For all of our motion and shifts we seem to be pretty predictable.  We are somewhat better since the Rudy years, but don't quite seem to get it still. We don't quite have the horses for the old "you know what's coming now try to stop it" philosophy.   An improvement in this area could really help us. 

 

[iramurphy]

22 minutes ago, Irish said:

I find the discussion on audibles interesting - although I guess we'll never know for sure unless we hear from Bubba (and he ain't talking).  For me this wraps into an issue we seem to have struggled with for years - we never seem to keep a defense off balance or make them pay for over-playing - and I am not talking about the tricky double reverse type crap we seem to love.  Just catching the defense off-guard or countering their stacking the line or catching them in a shift or exploiting their coverage.  How many times have we seen 8 in the box, for example, and done nothing to exploit it.  We don't seem to use the run to set up the pass or the pass to set up the run.  For all of our motion and shifts we seem to be pretty predictable.  We are somewhat better since the Rudy years, but don't quite seem to get it still. We don't quite have the horses for the old "you know what's coming now try to stop it" philosophy.   An improvement in this area could really help us. 

 

I think the missing piece is a dominant Oline but I may be wrong. That also requires the ability to change a play at the line of scrimmage once you read the defense. Then it becomes a cat and mouse game of being able to disguise your defense vs being unpredictable offensively. But to your point an offensive line that can “impose their will” on their opponents is a game changer. We didn’t have that this year nor have we had that for some time. I believe one mistake we make is stacking the TE position with big framed athletic kids who get lost on the depth chart. They weigh 250-260 lbs and are 6-4 to 6-7 and have room on their frame to add weight. I would try them at another position if they aren’t getting PT at TE. Oline, D end or LB but these often are good athletes that our program needs to find a way to get on the field. If those guys are willing to transition, it may take 3 years to become a starter but I believe we need to do a better job at that. 

[Irish]

8 hours ago, iramurphy said:

I think the missing piece is a dominant Oline but I may be wrong. That also requires the ability to change a play at the line of scrimmage once you read the defense. Then it becomes a cat and mouse game of being able to disguise your defense vs being unpredictable offensively. But to your point an offensive line that can “impose their will” on their opponents is a game changer. We didn’t have that this year nor have we had that for some time. I believe one mistake we make is stacking the TE position with big framed athletic kids who get lost on the depth chart. They weigh 250-260 lbs and are 6-4 to 6-7 and have room on their frame to add weight. I would try them at another position if they aren’t getting PT at TE. Oline, D end or LB but these often are good athletes that our program needs to find a way to get on the field. If those guys are willing to transition, it may take 3 years to become a starter but I believe we need to do a better job at that. 

Totally agree with the need for a dominant O line. When you can impose your will on a team many good things happen.  My point is that we don't seem to be winning the "chess match" that is O against D.  I have seen almost all of the games in the past 6-7 years.  Just off the top of your head, how many times have we seen the defense load the box with up to 8-9 people.  Now, name a time in which we made anyone pay for overplaying.  I can't.  That is a big miss for our coaches and to me an indication of what needs to be improved in our program.    

[iramurphy]

29 minutes ago, Irish said:

Totally agree with the need for a dominant O line. When you can impose your will on a team many good things happen.  My point is that we don't seem to be winning the "chess match" that is O against D.  I have seen almost all of the games in the past 6-7 years.  Just off the top of your head, how many times have we seen the defense load the box with up to 8-9 people.  Now, name a time in which we made anyone pay for overplaying.  I can't.  That is a big miss for our coaches and to me an indication of what needs to be improved in our program.    

I can’t “name a time” but there are times when I think we can utilize our tight ends, run outside the tackles or take advantage of the seams in the middle of the zone but I can’t say I’m right. I can see we haven’t dominated the LOS offensively very often. There have been parts of games we have,  but we haven’t sustained it. Talent will make any coach better. I like our oline coach. I don’t get as frustrated as I used to. We are slowly getting there. Players and coaches are responsible for the outcomes. I’m curious to see if we improve next year. We have some talented kids coming in but looking good on paper doesn’t mean much if we don’t develop those kids and the kids don’t stay focused on getting stronger, faster, better and then developing the confidence to becoming a winner at this level. (I don’t think anything I’m saying is terribly profound).

[Sioux94]

3 hours ago, Irish said:

Totally agree with the need for a dominant O line. When you can impose your will on a team many good things happen.  My point is that we don't seem to be winning the "chess match" that is O against D.  I have seen almost all of the games in the past 6-7 years.  Just off the top of your head, how many times have we seen the defense load the box with up to 8-9 people.  Now, name a time in which we made anyone pay for overplaying.  I can't.  That is a big miss for our coaches and to me an indication of what needs to be improved in our program.    

The first three drives against Utah State we definitely won that chess match and we had them guessing and wondering what the heck was coming next.  Would have been on the first four drives too if they didn't run into each other on 3rd down.  Not sure what the heck happened the rest of the game, their D schooled our O the rest of the game. 

I think a big part of our drop off in points and our poor red zone offense was due to below average OL run blocking when things got tight. I still remember the one game we had 3rd and goal from about the 4 1/2 yard line.  We ran it three straight times and got half a yard total.  I think it would be more common to get stuffed at the 1 yard line three straight times since that is obvious running down and they load the box.  From the 4 yard line, that is run/pass distance.....especially on 3rd down and goal from the 4 yard line. 

[Sioux94]

On 12/27/2021 at 9:36 PM, BarnWinterSportsEngelstad said:

Agree.
Sometimes an option for Tommy to call the run or pass was part of the playbook.

Tommy's occasional lock on to the primary receiver wasn't in the playbook, but was his own lack of execution. 
Most run plays ended up snapped as called in the huddle.

I don't recall too many times where Tommy locked on his primary receiver and when he threw it I was like......what the heck were you doing.  Did he do that a few times, probably.  Did he throw it to his primary receiver many times yes.  Is it possible that he read the defense very well before the ball was even snapped that the primary receiver he looked at was the correct read and therefore threw it to him? I do know though I have absolutely seen him go to his 2nd or 3rd read.  The infamous interception at the end against SDSU, right when I happened I was pissed at Tommy as it looked like he threw it into triple coverage.  Upon review, he made the exact right read IMO and the pick was due to WR holding up for a bit (don't want to get in that whole debate again). 

For the record I'm not saying Tommy is the best FCS QB in the nation or the best QB that we as UND football fans can ever root for.  I just don't think Tommy locking in a primary receiver has been a big problem for him, but I could be wrong.  I do find the audible question and discussion interesting though, as since it was brought up, I didn't recall times of him obviously audibling out of something so that was an interesting point that would be curious to know what they are allowed or not allowed to do on that one.  I think Tommy has a fairly high QB IQ though, and I think Danny would allow him to do it if needed within the system constraints.  Would be a good question for Tom Miller to ask Danny sometime though.

[Irish]

12 hours ago, iramurphy said:

I can’t “name a time” but there are times when I think we can utilize our tight ends, run outside the tackles or take advantage of the seams in the middle of the zone but I can’t say I’m right. I can see we haven’t dominated the LOS offensively very often. There have been parts of games we have,  but we haven’t sustained it. Talent will make any coach better. I like our oline coach. I don’t get as frustrated as I used to. We are slowly getting there. Players and coaches are responsible for the outcomes. I’m curious to see if we improve next year. We have some talented kids coming in but looking good on paper doesn’t mean much if we don’t develop those kids and the kids don’t stay focused on getting stronger, faster, better and then developing the confidence to becoming a winner at this level. (I don’t think anything I’m saying is terribly profound).

Sorry - my question wasn't meant to be directed at you as much as a topic for general discussion - thanks for your reply

 

[Teeder11]

55 minutes ago, Irish said:

Sorry - my question wasn't meant to be directed at you as much as a topic for general discussion - thanks for your reply

 

Off the top of my head, in recent memory, I seem to remember Cal Poly loading the box before the Kett to TE Cloyd 4th quarter game winning TD in SLO.

[Nodak78]

40 minutes ago, Teeder11 said:

Off the top of my head, in recent memory, I seem to remember Cal Poly loading the box before the Kett to TE Cloyd 4th quarter game winning TD in SLO.

I seem to remember. That as well.  I think it was 4th and short maybe one yd.  Cloyd was so open.

[iramurphy]

11 hours ago, Sioux94 said:

I don't recall too many times where Tommy locked on his primary receiver and when he threw it I was like......what the heck were you doing.  Did he do that a few times, probably.  Did he throw it to his primary receiver many times yes.  Is it possible that he read the defense very well before the ball was even snapped that the primary receiver he looked at was the correct read and therefore threw it to him? I do know though I have absolutely seen him go to his 2nd or 3rd read.  The infamous interception at the end against SDSU, right when I happened I was pissed at Tommy as it looked like he threw it into triple coverage.  Upon review, he made the exact right read IMO and the pick was due to WR holding up for a bit (don't want to get in that whole debate again). 

For the record I'm not saying Tommy is the best FCS QB in the nation or the best QB that we as UND football fans can ever root for.  I just don't think Tommy locking in a primary receiver has been a big problem for him, but I could be wrong.  I do find the audible question and discussion interesting though, as since it was brought up, I didn't recall times of him obviously audibling out of something so that was an interesting point that would be curious to know what they are allowed or not allowed to do on that one.  I think Tommy has a fairly high QB IQ though, and I think Danny would allow him to do it if needed within the system constraints.  Would be a good question for Tom Miller to ask Danny sometime though.

The play you mentioned, the WR slid into the seam in the zone. Not sure he was supposed to keep sprinting. Often times not. 

[The Sicatoka]

This is no disrespect to their skill positions, but most of NDSU's banners are because they had the best OL in the competition. 

[Mama Sue]

The paper had an editorial about all the FCS teams leaving and NDSU contemplating a Bison move to FBS…. And the cost to their athletic budget for travel for conference games. Also… that the “Fargo fan base has gotten bored.” Regular season games have gotten smaller. All very interesting! This was Patrick Reuse’s column!

[shep]

It's a good article.

He notes the Bison's regular season conference games are tougher than the first rounds of the playoffs. He notes all the teams that have gone to FBS which includes Coastal Carolina which played in something called the Cure Bowl this year in front of 3000 fans.

Is that what moving up gets you? 

[Midwestern Hawk]

28 minutes ago, shep said:

It's a good article.

He notes the Bison's regular season conference games are tougher than the first rounds of the playoffs. He notes all the teams that have gone to FBS which includes Coastal Carolina which played in something called the Cure Bowl this year in front of 3000 fans.

Is that what moving up gets you? 

College football likely about to undergo a major shift(transfer portal, NIL, conference realignment. etc)  Not sure how it will all shake out, but likely 4 FBS super-conferences(ACC,B1G,SEC, P12).  If FCS is destroyed in the process, UND needs to be ready to move with the Bison and Jacks.

[Siouxperfan7]

45 minutes ago, Midwestern Hawk said:

College football likely about to undergo a major shift(transfer portal, NIL, conference realignment. etc)  Not sure how it will all shake out, but likely 4 FBS super-conferences(ACC,B1G,SEC, P12).  If FCS is destroyed in the process, UND needs to be ready to move with the Bison and Jacks.

This could have been a post from 2015!!   They have been saying this for years.  But I agree with your point about moving to wherever the bison and Jacks go.  Can't be left behind again.

[siouxfan512]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

This is no disrespect to their skill positions, but most of NDSU's banners are because they had the best OL in the competition. 

There are definitely a lot of games (most), where you just wonder how their RBs seem to go untouched for 10-15 yards so frequently.

[Dustin]

3 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

This is no disrespect to their skill positions, but most of NDSU's banners are because they had the best OL in the competition. 

Yes.  I realize coaches have to recruit that level of O-line talent, but after that, is coaching an NDSU team really that hard??!!

[UND1983]

9 minutes ago, Dustin said:

Yes.  I realize coaches have to recruit that level of O-line talent, but after that, is coaching an NDSU team really that hard??!!

Literally EVERYBODY wins at NDSU

[Hawkster]

4 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

This is no disrespect to their skill positions, but most of NDSU's banners are because they had the best OL in the competition. 

I always thought it was the defense that won titles for NDSU

[Siouxperfan7]

Freund really missed a great opportunity to get Waletzko involved in the offense!!   Maybe next year we need some big old lineman to get the ball!!

 

 

[SiouxFan100]

Remember The fridge?

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

6 hours ago, Hawkster said:

I always thought it was the defense that won titles for NDSU

It was a combination of both. They won their big share of close games in the last 10 years, of course they had early blowout games.