FB: Northwest Conference

[Orca Jr.]

Couldn't agree more. +K for you.
[/quote]

That's nice, hop onto the board, throw most of the team under the bus, completely railroad our starting QB, and then decide it's time to move on.  Classy move fanatic.  I definately expected better from you. 

[coco]

Nice to see you back here, Wyd. Do you know what happened to eclute?

[RU Fan]

While I was very disappointed in losing to WOU last night, I can say without a doubt that I'm even more disappointed in some of the responses I've read on this board.

We have posters who are calling out individual players, posting about conversations with assistants, the streak being in jeopardy, etc, etc, and it just makes me sick to read this garbage.

How do I begin?  I never thought that I would agree Wildcat 11 about anything .............. However............... 

As always, I've never posted anything negative about the Linfield team or individual kids on the team (or any team for that matter).  Even after you guys spanked the Profs (yes, Downtown, I know it was 52-0), I never posted anything negative about the Linfield team and/or coaches.  You kicked our a** and deserved the win!

That being said, most of what was posted on the NW board after that game really showed how a small percentage of Linfield posters showed ZERO class in handling the win over RU.  Refelcting on that whole scenario since then, I tended to soften my view and feel that the above mentioned portion of the Linfield faithful were not really a bunch of a**es but a bunch of avid fans.

Well, with the last few pages of posts on this site, you have once again proven me wrong.  I'm not addressing all posters only the few who have thrown your QB under the bus and just about everyone else on the team as well as some of the coaches. 

Cats fa natic --- you've totally lost touch with DIII football reality.  Would you beat up Benszel like you have if he were your son?  I don't know Benzsel but give the kid a break.  From what I read, he had a lot of people in his face all game and got knocked around quite a bit.  If Elliot were still there with the same scenario, I doubt he would or could have done much better.  That was Benzel's first game as a starter.  This is the same kid that had some of the Linfield fans bitching because he wasn't a pre-season AA .... now, after a less than stellar showing in his 1st game, you throw him under the bus.  Somebody ought to be ashamed of themselves.  Its easy to sit in the stands and criticize when you're not the one with a 270 lb. D lineman running through you.  Remember, team members and coaches, as much as most people like to think that they don't, read this board.  What kind of a message are you sending to them?  If you think that your whining and bitching is going to have a positive effect, think again.  Sorry, ORCA, I didn't want to steal your thunder but obviously, you and I feel the same.

This is DIII college football.  These kids play for the love of the game only.  They work their a** off to represent themselves and their school.  They're not out there working, sweating, etc. to satisfy that small group of fans/experts who expect excellence 150% of the time while they are tailgating getting stupid on "longies".

While I agree with most of what 4merProf posted earlier, that small percentage of Linfield posters who disagree can come back at me with all of your cute tag lines, name-calling, etc. etc. but you know we're both right.

Enjoy what your team has given you over the years and support them when they are down.  Its been a long time since the RU/Linfield game but I would be surprised if you could find any posts where a Prof fan beat up any Prof player after that loss. That's what being a fan is all about!

At this point, you certain few should forget about the negativity and worry about HSU.  That may be a bit more constructive.

['Cats Fa Natic]

That's nice, hop onto the board, throw most of the team under the bus, completely railroad our starting QB, and then decide it's time to move on.  Classy move fanatic.  I definately expected better from you. 

So.... you're saying you want to stay stuck on the past game? Or you want to continue the argument? Or are you insulting me because i insulted the team? So it's wrong for me to criticize but for you, that's okay? Somewhat inconsistent logic there, don't you think?

I was hard on Benzel, and probably too hard all things considered. I don't think I was wrong, factually, in what I stated I saw-- that he threw too hard on the short routes, he was accurate and did well in the 10-15 yard routes, and didn't have the accuracy in the longer routes. Was I wrong, factually speaking?

I understood this board to be a place to cheer, to vent, to comment to voice one's FEELINGS and opinons about the team.

[Olinemom]

Wildcat 11,

Thanks for more incisive reflection on a tough opening game for all of us. You'll have to wait another 16 hours or so before I can give you another dose of holy water to express my sentiments.   

But I can and will do so now.  The last 2 years my team (Bridgewater) has lost their first game which we all expected to win and then went on to win the rest of them after adjustments.  We made it to the playoffs and went fairly deep as well.  You have to remember that it was the first game of the season and that for some of the guys it was their first varsity experience as well as their first time playing as a unit.  It takes time to jell.  I am sure they will do just that.  Please cheer for me wildcat11 down in Texas and I'll think about you going through all that traffic!!

['Cats Fa Natic]

Cats fa natic --- you've totally lost touch with DIII football reality.  Would you beat up Benszel like you have if he were your son?  I don't know Benzsel but give the kid a break.  From what I read, he had a lot of people in his face all game and got knocked around quite a bit. 

...

At this point, you certain few should forget about the negativity and worry about HSU.  That may be a bit more constructive.

No, if Benzel were my son, I would have done pretty much what I did here, which is go outside, give vent to my feelings, and then go back in and say, okay, here's what you need to do, here's how you can improve.

I had thought that I had read here at some point in the not too distant past that the vast majority of players and coaches do NOT come here to read the boards simply because of the "experts" being on here giving vent.  If that's incorect, then I apologize, and I will endeavor to make my criticisms in the future more constructive and with that in mind.

[Orca Jr.]

I don't think there's anything inconsistant about my logic, one way or the other.  What i'm sayin is that if you're going to come on here and make the statements and claims that you made, you gotta deal with the response.  You can't really just expect to be able to hit and run like that.  Do I want to stay stuck on the past game?  of course not. It was ugly and I'm still not sure what to think about it.  But I also know if it was a win we would still be breakin down what happened and how it went down, not tryin to move on.  
Here's my very abbreviated take on the game.  I thought Benzel looked alright out there.  Problem number one was the lack of rhythm between himself and the recievers.  Often times it looked like they weren't picking up his audibles and on a few occasions, he threw a route that they didn't run.  He also had the defense up in his grill the entire game, possible leading to some rushed balls that may have been thrown a little to hard.  I don't care how hard a ball is thrown, a drop is a drop, and the recievers had several last night.  This is a inexperienced unit, and that showed.  I mean, are you gonna start calling for Kaluza's backup because he only had two catches?? no, because you know he can play.  Well Benzel and this group can all play, and when things get settled down, we'll all see that.  Is he gonna be Brett, of course not.  But he will turn into a great quarterback.  
Offensively, my biggest concern coming out of the game was the o-line.  Granted, they were in there fighting with some hogs, but they are supposed to be the strength of our offense, and I just didn't see that.  
I really don't know what to think about the defense.  I know WOU has a good o-line, and they have some horses on offense, but thinking back I really can't pinpoint what happened.  I know that the big plays hurt us for sure.  
special teams looked good.  Doesn't appear that the kicking game is going to be an issue this year, and that kick off return was incredible.  I thought Masters was going out of bounds every step he took for about thirty yards!!!

[wildcat11]

While I was very disappointed in losing to WOU last night, I can say without a doubt that I'm even more disappointed in some of the responses I've read on this board.

We have posters who are calling out individual players, posting about conversations with assistants, the streak being in jeopardy, etc, etc, and it just makes me sick to read this garbage.

How do I begin?  I never thought that I would agree Wildcat 11 about anything .............. However............... 

Right now I'm looking out my office window to see if there is a mushroom cloud forming over me.  RU Fan and I agree on something....these must be the end of days!

I looking forward to seeing how the kids respond this week in Texas.  Go 'Cats!

[Orca Jr.]

Cats fa natic --- you've totally lost touch with DIII football reality.  Would you beat up Benszel like you have if he were your son?  I don't know Benzsel but give the kid a break.  From what I read, he had a lot of people in his face all game and got knocked around quite a bit. 

...

At this point, you certain few should forget about the negativity and worry about HSU.  That may be a bit more constructive.

No, if Benzel were my son, I would have done pretty much what I did here, which is go outside, give vent to my feelings, and then go back in and say, okay, here's what you need to do, here's how you can improve.

I had thought that I had read here at some point in the not too distant past that the vast majority of players and coaches do NOT come here to read the boards simply because of the "experts" being on here giving vent.  If that's incorect, then I apologize, and I will endeavor to make my criticisms in the future more constructive and with that in mind.

I don't know about "vast majority," but I do know that some players (i have no idea about coaches, but i would guess some of the younger ones may check in) read the boards.  I am about 99.9% positive that none of them post, but they do read.  I don't think anyone has to be constructive with their criticism for the sake of players who may be reading, let's just not start throwin everybody under the bus.  You can criticize play without attacking the heart of a person.  We gotta support those boys out there, thick or thin.  

[Catville Commissioner Elect]

Well,

Now that I have had the time to reflect on Saturday's game and given much of the negative input from a few I thought I might chime in and give my opinion about the WOU game.

1.  I thought that for the most part Benzel didn't play specactular, but did not really perform too bad for a first year starter.  This especially given the pressure he had on him all night long.  Many of his incomplete passes were balls that probably should have been caught and yes there are a couple of times he may have thrown the ball out of bounds to avoid the sack, but given the first game I thought his performance was about what should have been expected.
2.  I was impressed with the play of the defense the majority of time and especially with the secondary.  I thought for younger players with not a lot of experience they played exceptionally well.  Yes they gave up a couple of long ones, but you can't blame it on the secondary when a receiver lays out on the sidelines and catches a well defensed ball.  I thought the LBs/Rovers did a good job given the number of tackles they had to make on Vinzant when he broke through the line.
3.  Although myself like others may feel that the cats ran too much up the middle I believe you have to.  If you totally abandon the run, your pass is not going to work either. 
4.  If I have any concerns at all, they are with the play of the O-Line and the D-Line.  To me they just did not come together as a unit and seemed to be confused and out gunned most of the time.  This to me came as a real suprise.  I am sure that Coach Smith and the defensive coaching staff will make some changes along the D line to shore up things, especially at the end positions.  The real bright spot on D I felt was the play of the tackles.  The O Line does need work, but they will come together. 
5.  I was impressed with the play of our special teams.  the coverage units, and kick return units played a very good game and I think this is going to be one of the important factors in upcoming games.

There is little doubt in my mind that the WOU squad was one of the best, if not the best, overall team we will face this year both offensively and defensively.  No doubt that Hardin Simmons will more than likely be as tough as WOU, but the Cats will at least have one game under their belts and I expect some changes will be made by the coaching staff to address some of the weaknesses that appeared with the Cats Saturday. 

I would rather face 2 really tough opponents the first two games and loose 2 games then to have it happen in the middle of the season.  I believe that the Cats will learn alot during the first two games and be able to address issues that will put us in great shape for league play and the likes of Whitworth, UPS, etc.  We are fortunate to have a great coaching staff who can recognize problems and then put changes in place to address them.  I have all the confidence in our coaching staff!

Am I disapointed, yes as all fans normally are.  I am ready to throw the players, coaches, play book, etc. under the bus, definately not. 

P.S.  Thanks OLINEMOM for the excellant brownies.  The snickerdoodles and Ameretto ones were especially good.  I don't know how much the Coco family ate before they got to the Tailgate, but there still was plenty.   You have my vote any time.

[Catville Commissioner Elect]

Hi Bluenote,  I totally agree with the concept of not playing DII scholorship schools, but the fact is you take what you can get and it is apparent that until Linfield has 2-3 so-so seasons that the SCIAC will continue to stay away from playing the cats and stick to the LCs, UPSs, etc.  The problem I see with the increasing strength of the schools like Witworth, UPS, etc. who will the SCIAC teams play when they don't want to face any of the NWC teams.   If you do not play the likes of WOU and SOU (NAIA Scholorships) and you don't play the SCIAC teams, you then are talking about teams from the MIAC, the Wisconsin schools, and schools such as UMHB, Hardin Simmons, etc.  I would venture to guess that we will hardly ever see many of the NWC teams playing against the eastern schools in pre-season due to travel costs, etc.  To me it would be nice to see a contractual agreement of some sort worked out with another west region league such as the MIAC where two teams can travel together on a charter to PDX and then two teams can return to the twin cities on the same charter all using one aircraft on the same weekend.  It would still be expensive, but I have to believe the costs would be less.   Maybe Linfield and Willamette could travel east to play St Johns and another MIAC school and the same flight would bring back two MIAC teams to play at LC and maybe UPS or PLU.  After all a bus ride from PDX to UPS or PLU is pretty short and does not eat up a lot of time like bussing from Dallas to Hardin Simmons University.  A lot of logistics to figure out, but at least that way you are playing DIII teams in the same region.  This could even create some new rivalries which would be good for all schools.

I stated on this board earlier that WOU was a good DII team this year from my perspective after seeing them play Willamette. They are much improved over last year. They seem to be beefing up with good skill players, they offer scholarships and apparantly have a good crafty coaching staff now. I know we need games but is it such a wise idea to play DII schools that offer scholarships, etc? Just wondering what other people thought. The place was packed I guess and should be a good moneymaker for the athletic dept. in any case.

I think anyone that was at the game realizes that we have more rebuilding to do than what most of us thought we would. This process will take some time. I'm cool with that as long as we are improving week to week. I still beleive we can be very respecable, win the conference and make the playoffs, especially if we can pull it together and win this week in Texas. As Wldcat11 reminds us, we are in a rebuilding year, we're going to take some lumps as we develope our younger kids. Let's brush this game aside, learn from it and look forward. That's the only smart thing to do. The players and coaches will look at things and work on the areas that need work. Things will get better, believe me!

[snider]

My impression of the game is fairly simplistic.  WOU was playing their second game.  They were much improved over last year and that caught a few by surprise.  The second game made all of the difference in two teams that were fairly equal.  They were able to capture that early momentum and held on tight.  It was not lack of desire or coaching that was the difference.  It was the difference in the number of games.  That is huge at the start of the year, and in this case it made the difference.

[Tuxguy]

Well here goes.....
I had to go back 5 or 6 pages to make sure I had not, as some say "thrown someone under the bus," called out a player and so on.  It was, after all,  the day after a few Longies. Thanks GHC.  After reading Orca jr, I see I was spot on. I've seen some interesting chatter the last 24+hrs though, and it
Looks like I've been called out for backing a player! I will continue to back him, as I believe this player will turn into a fine all round (the guy behind the center) by the end of the year. Don't they call this preseason. I think we're still undefeated in Conference. Sure I watched the same game as everyone else, that's why I said Flush it............
Learn from it................... but Flush it.

Now, that said......................... One game at a time!
                                                      GO WILDCATS
                                                 LEAVE NO DOUBT '06

[Orca Jr.]

Tux, not sure what you mean, are you agreeing with my take on the offense and Benzel??

[RedandPurple]

I was fortunate enough to be at the game last Saturday night. What an awesome sight to see the Wildcats take the field again after such a long wait over the summer.

What's my take? Linfield lost a football game. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.
I also wanted to point out that WOU thrid and fourth TDs came after penalties. A late hit on their qb and an illegal substitution (12 men on the field?). Erase those two mistakes and we have a different ball game. Learn from it and remember what you need to. Forget the rest.
Hope to see y'all in Texas!