FB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[bleedpurple]

Anyway, UWW is due for an offensive explosion. I'm a little worn thin of driving under the speed limit in a car built for speed.

I would have to think, given his pedigree, Coach Smith feels the same way. Looking at my ratings though, UWW has played six consecutive teams who would rate in the Top 10 or Top 15 in defense in the nation. Even before Schmidt got there, La Crosse had been fielding Top 25-caliber defenses for a couple seasons, and Point has improved on that side of the ball too.

That really is a challenging stretch. As long as UW-W can get/stay healthy, I believe we will be the better for it. I understand both sides of this. We have played very good defenses capable of stopping/slowing down some very good teams. But I think the counter to that is in watching these games, Whitewater has done more to stop themselves than having been shut down by the defenses they are facing.  I understand that interpretation can be about perspective rather than data. But I believe on every side of the issue from Coach Smith all the way down to Emma (  ) everyone close to UW-W believes the offense is capable of much more than we have seen so far.  In my mind (not everyone's), last week was a step. An excellent half. This week would be an awesome time to put together four quarters.

[emma17]

Anyway, UWW is due for an offensive explosion. I'm a little worn thin of driving under the speed limit in a car built for speed.

I would have to think, given his pedigree, Coach Smith feels the same way. Looking at my ratings though, UWW has played six consecutive teams who would rate in the Top 10 or Top 15 in defense in the nation. Even before Schmidt got there, La Crosse had been fielding Top 25-caliber defenses for a couple seasons, and Point has improved on that side of the ball too.

That really is a challenging stretch. As long as UW-W can get/stay healthy, I believe we will be the better for it. I understand both sides of this. We have played very good defenses capable of stopping/slowing down some very good teams. But I think the counter to that is in watching these games, Whitewater has done more to stop themselves than having been shut down by the defenses they are facing.  I understand that interpretation can be about perspective rather than data. But I believe on every side of the issue from Coach Smith all the way down to Emma (  ) everyone close to UW-W believes the offense is capable of much more than we have seen so far.  In my mind (not everyone's), last week was a step. An excellent half. This week would be an awesome time to put together four quarters.

I do love me some Hansen ratings, they do shed some light on the challenges the UWW O has faced.  From the way down here, I want Coach Smith to succeed brilliantly. 
I just think he tries too hard. He needn't be the creative inventor, he just needs to get the ball to more players in short to intermediate depth. 

In watching the games, I feel UWW has been controlling the line of scrimmage and it seems the QB has a comfortable amount of time to find receivers.  The problem I see  is an over reliance on long balls, bubble screens or wrong route for the down and distance.  Last week had some nice slant routes, outs and hooks.  But they are used in such a sparring way that I get the feeling Coach Smith is thinking "if I use them too often the D will catch on". 

I don't think this is a problem exclusive to Coach Smith.  I think OC's out coach themselves all the time.  Look at UWP vs UWO.  I get it, UWP thinks UWO will "take away the passing game" so they attack them with the run.  You (UWP) have Dan Arnold and you can't find a way to get him more than 2 catches?  19 total pass attempts for 1 touchdown- Really?  That's the game plan?  Get your players the ball.  When the rush is strong, get your players the ball quicker.  I don't believe a defense can "take away" a good to great receiver. 
I remember in 2013 UWW went down to UMHB, and barely squeaked out a win against a great defense that smothered the run.  Jake Kumerow was having a great season, but only caught one pass that game.  Maybe he was targeted twice.  The word was UMHB's game plan was to prevent Jake from hurting them.  UWW struggled to move the ball all game (but at least distributed the ball to other players).
The next game, Stagg Bowl, UWW comes out on offense and on the second play I believe, Jake Kumerow is lined up at... tailback.  He goes in short motion and runs a slant for a great play.

Get your players the ball, on high percentage plays. 



   

     

[bleedpurple]

Anyway, UWW is due for an offensive explosion. I'm a little worn thin of driving under the speed limit in a car built for speed.

I would have to think, given his pedigree, Coach Smith feels the same way. Looking at my ratings though, UWW has played six consecutive teams who would rate in the Top 10 or Top 15 in defense in the nation. Even before Schmidt got there, La Crosse had been fielding Top 25-caliber defenses for a couple seasons, and Point has improved on that side of the ball too.

That really is a challenging stretch. As long as UW-W can get/stay healthy, I believe we will be the better for it. I understand both sides of this. We have played very good defenses capable of stopping/slowing down some very good teams. But I think the counter to that is in watching these games, Whitewater has done more to stop themselves than having been shut down by the defenses they are facing.  I understand that interpretation can be about perspective rather than data. But I believe on every side of the issue from Coach Smith all the way down to Emma (  ) everyone close to UW-W believes the offense is capable of much more than we have seen so far.  In my mind (not everyone's), last week was a step. An excellent half. This week would be an awesome time to put together four quarters.

I do love me some Hansen ratings, they do shed some light on the challenges the UWW O has faced. From the way down here, I want Coach Smith to succeed brilliantly. 
I just think he tries too hard. He needn't be the creative inventor, he just needs to get the ball to more players in short to intermediate depth. 

In watching the games, I feel UWW has been controlling the line of scrimmage and it seems the QB has a comfortable amount of time to find receivers.  The problem I see  is an over reliance on long balls, bubble screens or wrong route for the down and distance.  Last week had some nice slant routes, outs and hooks.  But they are used in such a sparring way that I get the feeling Coach Smith is thinking "if I use them too often the D will catch on". 

I don't think this is a problem exclusive to Coach Smith.  I think OC's out coach themselves all the time.  Look at UWP vs UWO.  I get it, UWP thinks UWO will "take away the passing game" so they attack them with the run.  You (UWP) have Dan Arnold and you can't find a way to get him more than 2 catches?  19 total pass attempts for 1 touchdown- Really?  That's the game plan?  Get your players the ball.  When the rush is strong, get your players the ball quicker.  I don't believe a defense can "take away" a good to great receiver. 
I remember in 2013 UWW went down to UMHB, and barely squeaked out a win against a great defense that smothered the run.  Jake Kumerow was having a great season, but only caught one pass that game.  Maybe he was targeted twice.  The word was UMHB's game plan was to prevent Jake from hurting them.  UWW struggled to move the ball all game (but at least distributed the ball to other players).
The next game, Stagg Bowl, UWW comes out on offense and on the second play I believe, Jake Kumerow is lined up at... tailback.  He goes in short motion and runs a slant for a great play.

Get your players the ball, on high percentage plays. 

That's awesome! Thanks for tolerating my rather lame attempt at levity. I was very surprised with UW-P's play distribution for sure.  That is a head scratcher from one of the few teams that pretty much declare they are so committed to the passing game they don't even care about balance, much less a run oriented approach. Agreed on the O-Line performance. I also think Cole is improving with experience.  Patterson is a beast at running back. I believe we have perhaps the best tight end duo in the country and good athletes at receiver. Whether the issue is play calling (your thought) or execution (my thought) or a combination of both, I think we agree the pieces are there. No time like the present to put it all together!

GO HAWKS!

[dachampishere]

I agree that the Hawks are due for an offensive expolsion. They played a great first half last week. Could have been even better minus all the dropped passes. You have to get your playmakers the ball. I will never forget the 2005 Stagg Bowl where he went for it on fourth and goal and Derek Stanley our best receiver was standing next to Brez and we threw a jump ball to the corner of the endzone and didn't get it. The Purple Raiders scored the very next play. Lets just say the Head coach and then OC had a couple words about why the best athlete on offense was on the bench and no in the game.as Brez said Get him the ball and get him in the dam game.
To me it comes down to execution. Coaches naturally out think themselves and that's why it comes down to execution on the field. Jut think where Cole would be if he was the starter from game 1 and didn't rotate in during a couple of games.

[Brian R. Carroll]

Who gets the nod at QB for La Crosse ? I don't know, but will predict a 20-14 Eagle win.

[bleedpurple]

Who gets the nod at QB for La Crosse ? I don't know, but will predict a 20-14 Eagle win.

My understanding is it's Schramski. Yaeggi won't play today.

[ScreamingEagles]

Who gets the nod at QB for La Crosse ? I don't know, but will predict a 20-14 Eagle win.

My understanding is it's Schramski. Yaeggi won't play today.

Preview article in today's Tribune says Yaeggi is likely to play, with Schramski getting some series.

http://lacrossetribune.com/sports/local/college/pressure-will-determine-eagles-pointers-matchup/article_ab5327c8-7bdc-5176-8903-364c65a15200.html

If Schramski does play, he has to be more accurate and run with more authority if the Eagles are going to win.  He's athletic, but went down easily and didn't fight for the tough yards against UWEC.  That's not the only reason UWL didn't win that game (the defense gave up some huge plays at bad times), but we should have had few more first downs (including one inside the 5 yard line on a 4th down) that likely would have made the end result different.

[badgerwarhawk]

Saw something in a high school game we were broadcasting that you don't see very often.  With 5 seconds remaining in the half one team punted from their own five yard line.  The receiving team called for and made a fair catch at the kicking team's thirty-five yard line with 1 section remaining.  The receiving team opted to take a free kick.  The 48 yard attempt was successful.

   

[ExTartanPlayer]

Saw something in a high school game we were broadcasting that you don't see very often.  With 5 seconds remaining in the half one team punted from their own five yard line.  The receiving team called for and made a fair catch at the kicking team's thirty-five yard line with 1 section remaining.  The receiving team opted to take a free kick.  The 48 yard attempt was successful.

Ha!  Wish I'd seen that.  I love it when the free kick rule gets used.

[ExTartanPlayer]

Anyway, UWW is due for an offensive explosion. I'm a little worn thin of driving under the speed limit in a car built for speed.

I would have to think, given his pedigree, Coach Smith feels the same way. Looking at my ratings though, UWW has played six consecutive teams who would rate in the Top 10 or Top 15 in defense in the nation. Even before Schmidt got there, La Crosse had been fielding Top 25-caliber defenses for a couple seasons, and Point has improved on that side of the ball too.

That really is a challenging stretch. As long as UW-W can get/stay healthy, I believe we will be the better for it. I understand both sides of this. We have played very good defenses capable of stopping/slowing down some very good teams. But I think the counter to that is in watching these games, Whitewater has done more to stop themselves than having been shut down by the defenses they are facing.  I understand that interpretation can be about perspective rather than data. But I believe on every side of the issue from Coach Smith all the way down to Emma (  ) everyone close to UW-W believes the offense is capable of much more than we have seen so far.  In my mind (not everyone's), last week was a step. An excellent half. This week would be an awesome time to put together four quarters.

I do love me some Hansen ratings, they do shed some light on the challenges the UWW O has faced.  From the way down here, I want Coach Smith to succeed brilliantly. 
I just think he tries too hard. He needn't be the creative inventor, he just needs to get the ball to more players in short to intermediate depth. 

In watching the games, I feel UWW has been controlling the line of scrimmage and it seems the QB has a comfortable amount of time to find receivers.  The problem I see  is an over reliance on long balls, bubble screens or wrong route for the down and distance.  Last week had some nice slant routes, outs and hooks.  But they are used in such a sparring way that I get the feeling Coach Smith is thinking "if I use them too often the D will catch on". 

I don't think this is a problem exclusive to Coach Smith.  I think OC's out coach themselves all the time.  Look at UWP vs UWO.  I get it, UWP thinks UWO will "take away the passing game" so they attack them with the run.  You (UWP) have Dan Arnold and you can't find a way to get him more than 2 catches?  19 total pass attempts for 1 touchdown- Really?  That's the game plan?  Get your players the ball.  When the rush is strong, get your players the ball quicker.  I don't believe a defense can "take away" a good to great receiver. 
I remember in 2013 UWW went down to UMHB, and barely squeaked out a win against a great defense that smothered the run.  Jake Kumerow was having a great season, but only caught one pass that game.  Maybe he was targeted twice.  The word was UMHB's game plan was to prevent Jake from hurting them.  UWW struggled to move the ball all game (but at least distributed the ball to other players).
The next game, Stagg Bowl, UWW comes out on offense and on the second play I believe, Jake Kumerow is lined up at... tailback.  He goes in short motion and runs a slant for a great play.

Get your players the ball, on high percentage plays.

Agreed.  Without specifics from UWW, since I have not watched the team play this year, I do think OC's can get themselves into trouble going a little overboard with the creativity.  NFL offensive coordinators love to brag about how thick their playbooks are, with 800-plus passing plays.  The average NFL team might throw 600 passes in a season.  Do you really need more passing plays than you'll ever run in a season?

I do think there's a place for a little creativity.  But the "creativity" works best when it's built from an effective diet of base plays.  I like the example of moving Kumerow to an RB slot and running a tailback slant.  Put the best guy in an unusual position, where the defense might not be ready to switch onto him, and get him the ball.

[bleedpurple]

Who gets the nod at QB for La Crosse ? I don't know, but will predict a 20-14 Eagle win.

My understanding is it's Schramski. Yaeggi won't play today.

Preview article in today's Tribune says Yaeggi is likely to play, with Schramski getting some series.

http://lacrossetribune.com/sports/local/college/pressure-will-determine-eagles-pointers-matchup/article_ab5327c8-7bdc-5176-8903-364c65a15200.html

If Schramski does play, he has to be more accurate and run with more authority if the Eagles are going to win.  He's athletic, but went down easily and didn't fight for the tough yards against UWEC.  That's not the only reason UWL didn't win that game (the defense gave up some huge plays at bad times), but we should have had few more first downs (including one inside the 5 yard line on a 4th down) that likely would have made the end result different.

The Tribune was correct and I was wrong. Both QB's played. I will take appropriate measures with my source. 

[bleedpurple]

Congrats to the Hawks on a nice win to move to 8-0.  A chance to clinch conference championship number 35 for the football program next week. Excellent bounce back game for Marcus Hudson. Four TD's for Drew Patterson.  Nice job by the defense getting five sacks, forcing three takeaways, and allowing only 10 first downs.  They traveled a young group as several starters didn't make the trip. Hopefully, the rest will help and most of them will be back in the next couple of weeks. It was good to get some playing time for some younger guys. It was nice to see Nathanial Osterloo get some snaps after losing his entire freshman year to an ACL tear last year.   Hoping for the best for Todd Campbell who went out during the game with an injury. He was playing well and had two sacks in the first half. Harry Green got some extended time and recorded a couple of tackles for loss.  Both QB's had some good moments.  Another good step.

[AppletonRocks]

Saw something in a high school game we were broadcasting that you don't see very often.  With 5 seconds remaining in the half one team punted from their own five yard line.  The receiving team called for and made a fair catch at the kicking team's thirty-five yard line with 1 section remaining.  The receiving team opted to take a free kick.  The 48 yard attempt was successful.

Packers tried that in a game at Lambeau from nearly 70 yards in the past 10 years, I think against Detroit.  Just missed.

[badgerwarhawk]

The Bears did it against the PACKERS in 2012 as well. 

[fredfalcon]

BP--did the "several starters" stay home to recover from injuries, or were the coaches that confident they would not be needed?