FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Raider 68]

It is Friday and the Raiders Sports information Office has not previewed the Homecoming game
against Heidelberg, Does anyone know what is going on there?

You realize that they can't put anything out until they get Heidelberg's info.

ADL70,

I do, maybe Heidelberg was waiting for the 2 deep to become clear!


Desertraider,

Enjoy your first game this season. The Raiders I agree, need to control the LOS, but who is going to really cover
Wayne Ruby and company? The Brunch is still great!

GO RAiDERS!

[Desertraider]

I swear my youngest (13) would prefer to ride to Mount, go to brunch, go to car and take a nap while I am at the game, and then come home. To her the brunch is why people go and the game is just something that happens after, completely insignificant.

[Dr. Acula]

Every week I foolishly click on the audio link thinking maybe this is the week it works.  You'd think I'd learn at some point!

[WRMUalum13]

Don't like what I'm seeing from the Mount Lineman right now. Should be able to pick up 4th and 2 on the ground against this team.

[WRMUalum13]

Yikes... that was definitely a cheap shot. Not sure what he was thinking.

[D3fanboy]

Going to be a short season unless the Raiders clean up the OL.  Can't believe there's not another tackle on the roster instead of having a TE play at RT

[WRMUalum13]

Going to be a short season unless the Raiders clean up the OL.  Can't believe there's not another tackle on the roster instead of having a TE play at RT

I didn't notice a TE playing RT, but I agree with your assessment of the OL. Was not impressed, especially on the 4th and 2 I mentioned earlier. I've seen NCC, UMHB and UWW games and our O-line doesn't seem to be playing at their level right now. Hope they pick it up!

Defense was excellent as usual though, I think we look big and fast on D.

[WRMUalum13]

I'm also guessing Mount wasn't as focused for this game as they could have been. Having your first real test 6 weeks into the season can probably cause some complacency or lack of focus.

Last year we had ranked Westminster to open the season and ranked (IIRC) JCU like 2 weeks later...I could chock this up to a mid-season lull.

Looks like 2019 and 2018 JCU was an early season game as well.

[WRMUalum13]

Well... looking on the bright side UMHB also had a clunker of a game today.

[Desertraider]

There is no bright side - this is a round 2 Mount team. This was more than the Oline giving up 5 sacks, and worse than the DBs giving up chunk plays on 2 and 3rd and long. The play calling was god awful. Could Mount run that flash screen again? I think the 30th time will be the one. The play did nothing yesterday - Berg was not caught off guard - and I believe they lost more yards on it than gained. But every series - run it again. Not just run it again, run it to the same side with the same person getting the ball. What I noticed, and I need to go back and look again, was that Berg left the Y receiver free to the inside almost every time (I am using X as outwide, then Y, then Z, then back from sidecar). X engages the DB, Y slants, Z on an out, RB on the screen - the slant was open the entire second half. As soon as the play started the DBs on Y an Z moved to the RB. Whatever.

The one that really annoyed was right before half. Up 21-6, Mount ball around midfield. Completed pass toward Mount sideline. Clock ticking, 20, 19, 18, Mount taking time, runs it down to 4 seconds and calls timeout. Ok - I am thinking setting up something deep. Why not - you got Wayne Ruby and a great receiving corp. Comes out of timeout and......runs off tackle to the left. Half-time. WTF? You needed a time out to call that? And before you say "Well no need risking injury"...well then why even call the timeout? Let the clock run out and go half.

Finally, (I know - thank god) the best pass Braxton threw all day was the pick. The way he managed to find that ONE WHITE JERSEY IN A SEA OF BLACK! He drilled the guy right in the chest on Mount's sideline. Mount relies on the big play - they did this the last couple of years. The problem is the Oline can't give him time to go deep against a good team, and Mount isn't rolling him out enough to take pressure off the line. The long TD to Ruby was a 15 yard pattern that he took to the house. Aside from all of this - great game Raiders.

Oh, the brunch was outstanding. I don't like donuts - but I have to admit they were great! Shout out to the crew at the HPCC and Kresge!!

[Desertraider]

BTW - the cheap shot reference above I assume is the punt returner for Berg getting hammered. It was a cheap shot - but I did not hear a clear whistle. The kid had the ball and fell to the ground but I don't know that the return team could see that given everything in front o them. So when the kid started getting up - it was called and it should have been.
'However, the offsetting is my issue. #3 for Berg came off the sidelines and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was flagged 2 or 3 plays later in that same series (at least I think it was the same series) for unsportsmanlike conduct. Shouldn't 2 calls be an ejection? He also was not flagged for throwing a punch at a Mount defender (that is on the game highlights). Don't know why that was not called.

[theaprof]

The other thing I noticed was not great decision making by Plunk--if you want to throw it out of bounds, throw it way out of bounds--also I thought a few of the sacks were because Plunk didn't seem to have any mobility in the backfield and he made, again, questionable decisions--he could have thrown the ball out of bounds on at least three of those sacks but didn't.

[WRMUalum13]

BTW - the cheap shot reference above I assume is the punt returner for Berg getting hammered. It was a cheap shot - but I did not hear a clear whistle. The kid had the ball and fell to the ground but I don't know that the return team could see that given everything in front o them. So when the kid started getting up - it was called and it should have been.
'However, the offsetting is my issue. #3 for Berg came off the sidelines and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was flagged 2 or 3 plays later in that same series (at least I think it was the same series) for unsportsmanlike conduct. Shouldn't 2 calls be an ejection? He also was not flagged for throwing a punch at a Mount defender (that is on the game highlights). Don't know why that was not called.

That's a good point, if you don't hear a whistle you can't stop playing. I wasn't paying attention to the audio that closely

[Raider 68]

Overall the Raiders played so inconsistently as was pointed out by earlier posts. The play calling and lack of creativity is becoming worse. Coach Dartt should watch the formations and calls that Ryan Day makes in Columbus (can't hurt). Heidelberg was quick, big and came  to play. Mount was just the same old team with nothing new. Better hire a OC soon. Letting the clock run down before half and missing a chance is not what the Raiders used to do.

While the defense made some mistakes, I thought they had much more intensity then the offense. Why not work in #8 Noah to make the defense adjust to his style and running ability. Again, no creativity. In the playoffs, the Raiders will not advance against teams who control the TOP. While the O line is young, they are pretty average. Against some upcoming defenses, the offense will be limited if they can't move people and create formations that recognize that. When was the last time the Raiders ran a internal screen like the days of Garcon and Shorts?

[Shamrock]

Fellas!  You've scored 45+ points in four of the five games you've played this year.  I think you're going to be alright.