FB: Northwest Conference

[MonroviaCat]

So, 5 days till the next NWC games.  Any updates, insights, etc.?  We all know that THE Cats have to turn it around, step it up, check their guts (fill in your favorite cliche here).  What about the other teams:

Bear Cats have what could be another tough opponent in Cal Luth.  My pick:  Cal Luth

The Rats have a visit from La Verne which should easier than Redlands was.  My Pick:  The RATs

The Lutes play against UW-River Falls who got stomped by St. Johns.  My Pick:  The Lutes (Homefield Advantage)

The Pioneers play Pomona Pitzer which should give us an idea about what the Lewis and Clark season will be like (e.g. Pitzer not typically a real strong program so maybe L&C has a shot?)  My Pick:  drum roll......the Pioneers in an ugly one!

And Menlo plays Chapman.  My Pick:  Menlo in a blow out

[Orca Jr.]

I've been waiting to post on the game but got a little to worked up afterwords and thought it best to wait on it.  But the more I keep reading, the worse it gets.  I've got a lot to say, but right now the message is simple.
Did we get beat on Saturday, absolutely.  But Fanatic, pull your head out.  Who do you think you are anyway?  Since Saturday you have continued to show just how out of touch with reality you are.  As a player, it's the fans like you that we could pick out from a mile away, frowning the entire second half and refusing to cheer and help pick up the team until the game is put away.  MAN i could write forever.....

[mudball]

Can some of you Menza Football Scholars inform us on why Scharer didn't play in the first game? Not even a series or 2? And no one has answered the question as to why the lines were so soft? Also...did anybody see any wedge busters?....... I've heard Hardin-Simmons is very quick, I think we can match up with some ADJUSTMENTS. This game will show us a lot.

Linfield 28
Hardin-Simmons 27

[MonroviaCat]

O.K.

Seriously guys.  Can we Plllllllllleasssssssssssse move on.  I think we all know that the the Cats AND their fans had a bad weekend.  For those of you who want to keep arguing about how best to deal with this fact, send each other emails or something.  I for one am sick of reading about it.  Let's get our thoughts where they should be and that is on the games to come.  Cats have a big challenge ahead of them but that should be exciting for all of us!  Let's start getting fired up already!!!!

[4merprof]

Downtown,

Just a little friendly ribbing...  I see that you are great at dishing it out, however, rather poor at being on the receiving end.  And I also, wasn't trying to get into a Stagg Bowl debate with you either.  But nice use of color.

Here's a new tag line...

STAGG BOWL 2006:  Where LINFIELD will not be 100% of the time.

[beancounter]

I could parrot Wildcat 11, but I won't.

What I don't like is that there were people on this list building up guys on the team over the summer.  Yes, we did have a regular poster on the board who said that Tim Benzel had "All American caliber".   Tim Benzel is not Tyler Matthews....Ty had two and a half seasons to work his magic.  Tim Benzel is going to get one season only before he goes to the business world and knocks everyones socks off (I'm more confident in that than anything involving football).      Be fair to the young man.   

Just way too many ridiculous expectations to go up against a team that brought back a lot of talent, had two weeks in pads to practice this spring and had an extra week of practice because they started their season a week earlier.

All this panic over the first regular season loss since September 30, 2001.   
Well, at least the front runners have exposed themselves....

[downtown48]

I can give and take...I am more than willing to take some grief...it was just a response, and Prof Fan just doesn't have room to talk...I half expected some grief coming from somebody.  We didn't get it done.  After all you've been waiting four years for a regular season loss.  It would be more well received coming from PLU fan or SJU fan however since they've actually beaten Linfield in their history.  

You're welcome to come in and rib us anytime, it keeps it fresh; you can just expect a response.  

[Foss]

Playing fellow D3 schools is going to tell us more about how we might stack up against like minded institutions than playing scholarship schools like WOU. I do think some congrats is in order for the Wolves, however; they have made an effort to improve their program and clean up their antics.

To put a loss to a scholarship school in perspective, it wasn't that long ago (2001) when the 'Cats were beaten much worse by a scholarship school, 29-0 by Southern Oregon. Didn't we manage like 40 total yards that game? Yet, we still went 7-2 that year and held a share of the NWC title. Dropping that game to a scholarship school hardly meant the season was a bust, in terms of our final record and competitiveness in the conference.

By the way, take a look at many of the WIAC's teams early season games last couple of seasons. We know that is a good league, and still it is not uncommon for a number of its teams to lose a game to a D2 or 1-AA team early on (they, like some of the NWC teams, are also forced to play  scholarship schools due to difficulties in scheduling). Also, remember Concordia-Moorhead, that very solid team that gave us a pretty good game in the 2nd round of the playoffs last year? Well, despite starting the season ranked #16, they fell to an in-state rival D2 school 28-7 just last week. I doubt the Cobbers suddenly suck, however. Losing to scholarship schools is not a huge deal, in my opinion. It's not even apples to apples.

Speaking of the rankings, Linfield is now officially the underdog heading into Texas this Saturday, as some already mentioned, the 'Cats and Hardin-Simmons have switched places in the rankings (Hardin-Simmons #7, Linfield #11). This might be a good thing. I've been watching a lot of the Discovery channel lately and have learned that often times 'Cats (especially the ones with big claws) do better when they sneak up on their targets.

[Foss]

By the way, props to the Loggers. It wasn't that long ago UPS was on a 1-27 skid. I mean, we were talking Lewis & Clark caliber material. Since then, they've gone 12-10. I don't care who they're playing to get some of those wins, that is just an unbelievable turnaround for any program.

Also - very nice, decisive 28-3 win for Whitworth on the road against Redlands. The Pirates are now ranked in the top 20 and off to a solid start this season.

[wyd]

Tried to find some info on PLU, but it's all Linfield. Are there any PLU posters? What are your reactions after your loss?

I saw, unfortunately, the 41-9 Johnnie win over UWRF last Saturday. The Falcons, with the same no. of returning starters (16) as PLU, did not look good at all. They have dropped the option offense (wishbone) for a zone offense with our best back (Anderson) behind qb. It's supposed to allow our qb, who rushed for over 900 yds. last year, more passing options. But Saturday, he threw it only 14 times, completed fewer than half, and was not effective as a  passer. He ran for 18 yds. Anderson got around 110, but the entire offensive output was less than 200 yds. In the wishbone we rarely were held to less than 200 yds rushing. At the moment, the switch does not look good. There was no sophistication in the offense.

The only defense for the performance, if it is one, is that SJU is a ranked team, we're picked to finish one spot above last, we played in front of  8600 fans in Collegeville, and it was our first game vs. their second.

Though RF  won last year's game vs PLU 45-14,  or something like that, I'm not optimistic about this Saturday's game.

PLU Posters here, just not much to celebrate.  PLU controlled the game with Cal Lu until the 4th quarter.  As is the case with last years, Turn Overs killed the Lutes.   

Quick PLU Summary:

Defense is better:  Good size at line and line backers.
Offense is ?: I have no idea what to think.  The Cal Lu defense looked pretty good, but I can't tell if that was because the PLU offense was bad.   

Like all PLU teams, there were a lot fireworks to get up and down the field, just no finishing.  I can't really imagine things will get much worse than last year, but hears to hoping for some improvement.

WYD -

[RFB]

I was surprised that Linfield lost but it just reminded me that even great football programs can have a bad day. Linfield has a lot of new faces mixed with many returners that are getting their first significant playing time. Sometimes it takes a while to gel and mix. Add to that a new head coach that is putting his stamp on the program along with new coordinators and it is a recipe that will need some seasoning before it is just right. I fully expect to see the old Linfield come playoff time. Don't jump off the cliff just yet.

['Cats Fa Natic]

Did we get beat on Saturday, absolutely.  But Fanatic, pull your head out.  Who do you think you are anyway?  Since Saturday you have continued to show just how out of touch with reality you are.  As a player, it's the fans like you that we could pick out from a mile away, frowning the entire second half and refusing to cheer and help pick up the team until the game is put away. 

Sorry, but you're dead wrong. I was there CHEERING hard and loud till the very end.

['Cats Fa Natic]

O.K.

Seriously guys.  Can we Plllllllllleasssssssssssse move on.  I think we all know that the the Cats AND their fans had a bad weekend.  For those of you who want to keep arguing about how best to deal with this fact, send each other emails or something.  I for one am sick of reading about it.  Let's get our thoughts where they should be and that is on the games to come.  Cats have a big challenge ahead of them but that should be exciting for all of us!  Let's start getting fired up already!!!!

Couldn't agree more. +K for you.

[Andy Jamison]

I was impressed by how good WOU was in every aspect of the game... their running back was dynamite... receivers were solid.. tight end was impressive... Oline was good and d line was quick.. my thinking was that they reminded me a lot of Whitewater skillwise... if they were a D3 team I'd have them ranked in the top 10 at least.

If we are going to lose games I'd rather do so early in the season than later... we'll learn from the game and improve for HSU.

Go Cats!

ps - Cats Fa Natic - perhaps wait a day or two to post after a tough game...

['Cats Fa Natic]

ps - Cats Fa Natic - perhaps wait a day or two to post after a tough game...

lol! You're probably right.

At least no one ever accused me of not having a passion for the game.