FB: Northwest Conference

[snider]

I hate to say it, but the Cat defense is really weak.  Pass defense needs to greatly improve.  This is going to come down to either greatly improving, or Clark and Whitworth will have a record breaking day against Linfield.  I have been to most of the games, and have not seen the necessary improvement.  Last night, some of the big plays were great to see.  The running plays could use more misdirection, because we obviously don't have what it takes for any kind of power burst at the O line. 

[George Thompson]

Snider, your comments are right on the mark.    Good analysis.

551 yards of offense and win by only 8 points?    Rushing defense was excellent.    Passing game was superb.

Running game and passing defense need improving.    And, penalties?     13 for 145 yards?     OUCH!     Sure, some were questionable, but that is still not Linfield football.

SOU's freshman QB was very good.     He will be a tough force for the next 3 years.

Wildcats need to shore up those weak areas to beat Whitworth.    And then the playoffs?     Occidental, St. Johns, or UW - Whitewater?      HUGE roadblocks ahead.

Still, Linfileld looks far better than their first game.    With continued improvement, Wildcats can be a contender.

GO CATS!  GO!
   

[MonroviaCat]

I think the Defense if far from "weak".  What we saw last night was a very stingy D in the first half.  However, in the second half the pas-d did break down some (I believe we are pretty young in the DB/Safety positions...right?) AND then SOU really did have a few lucky breaks (at least twice where we had good pressure on the QB and he threw it up for grabs and his own guy came down with it).  What I do think is very true is that we have too many penalites this year and often when they can really hurt us (remember back to the first two games where some key penalities extended our oponents drives when we should have had them stopped).  Nonetheless, I think the main issue with the team so far has been failure to play a complete game on both sides of the ball.  Last night our O was pretty dominant most of the game except that we couldn't find the endzone much in the first half.  However, the D played 1/2 a game and fell apart later on.  STill to say our D is weak is an over statement.  Before last night they had not allowed a 4th quarter score and had really shut down opponents in the 2nd half.  Last night, SOU made better adjustments at half and benefited from them.  However, a big test will be this week against a rather good passing PLU team (I mean to say they pass good....I think it is a mystery at this point as to how good the entire team is...).  Anyway, let's be positive---Cats have won 3 in a row and need only 2 more wins to keep the streak alive and 4 more wins to make it to the play-offs (IMO).


GO CATS!

[snider]

Monrovia cat,
I am being realistic, not positive or negative.  Linfield was not playing a highly rated team last night, yet struggled in a game that might expectantly be a 40-7 game.  There were large holes in the pass defense (secondary).  What I was saying, was that if Linfield was playing a quality team, it could easily have been a blowout, with the wrong team winning.  There needs to be great improvement to hang with a quality team (let alone, win against a quality team).

[OregonCityCat99]

Great to see everyone yesterday.  Scharer is the real deal at QB.  The defense continues to give up big plays, but we'll be ready for the Flutes next weekend on the concrete turf.

GHC- You bring the Longies and I've got the BBQ.

GO CATS!!

[bluenote]

I don't know what you mean about SOU not being a quality team. They looked pretty athletic and skilled to me. I would think they have the ability to beat a lot of teams in DIII. Even teams in the top 25 on a given day. We're not the team of the last 2 years either where you're going to see us pasting teams 62-7. It's just not going to happen this year. We've just got to work our way up until we get some more seasoned players, especially in the defensive secondary and linebacker positions. I really liked what I saw on the offensive side of the ball. We seem to be getting a little more balanced. Remember 2 years ago our defense gave up a bunch of points and yards but the offense would just score at will anyway. It isn't like that this year and the defense is alittle behind now but they are catching up fast. Next weeks game with PLU should be a great game. I'm looking forward to the trip!

[MonroviaCat]

O.K.  true, in all honesty, the Defense was not great last night but on the whole they have been decent.  They are by no means a lights out, shut down defense (and I don't think we've had that at Linfield in a while).  But when I read that they are "weak" I think of a bad defense that gets stomped all over (a la Lewis and Clark) and the fact that last night's 29 points was the most the Cats have given up still does not qualify as weak for me.  As for looking ahead to Whitworth, playoffs, etc.....we've got PLU, Menlo and then Whitworth (who by the way I'm much more worried about their Defense than their offense!).  Let's not get ahead of ourselves...one game (one win) at a time!

Go Cats!

[snider]

The word "weak" can mean different things to different people.  I understand that.  But, after hearing all summer from many "connected",  I was expecting a defense that would shut down 2-4 teams.   There were many bright spots and I think there will be improvements.  One thing I did notice was it (the temperature) got cold real quick. The nice thing about being a spectator, is that you don't have to take "one day at a time".

[coco]

Like OregonCityCat said, Scharer is the real deal. You can see that he's more confident each game.

It's all coming together. We just need to be a little more patient this year, IMO.

[CamCat]

Tux...Looks like a Johnnie vs Linfield game in Collegeville is a real possibility.  Of course Whitworth could be heading east.  Those were impressive wins the Pirates had in the pre season.  Shouldn't Linfield and Whitworth win-out up to the 11/04 showdown?

KK,
I see you're back on our board.

So what do you think is the best way to your getting the questions answered on our board?  How about a different approach?  Aren't you a lot more effetive when you  first make a connection when we've got your nose under what we see as your potentiial opponents tent before you start asking a whole lot of questions?  Everybody in the tent knows it's there and what your trying to get a whiff of?  Aren't you likely to get more of what you're looking for with your nose under another tent based on the response you've gotten from ours so far?  The challenge for you seems to be to find the right tent, then the question is what do you do when you get there based on the reception you get.

When you report to John Gaglardi every Monday morning with your valuable scounting report on a team that he may or may not play weeks from now, is that part of what has made him so successful over all these years? 

At what point do you finally conclude all this "tent nosing" just ain't working and relax and enjoy the game?

[Tuxguy]

O.K. guys, and Ladies,

My take on the game, short and sweet........(Kind of).........I think SOU surprised the Cats some, I was under the impression that the Raiders were a running team, I believe The young Qb threw more pass's in the first Qt than he had all year.
The Offense played well. and the play by our man Trevor was "Scharer Beauty". 4th or 5th Qb in Cat history to throw what, 5 td's? And over 400 yards. They are getting better each week!
The "D" had some nice stops and how about the safety, big play in the game I think.

Now, I don't like to put blame on the Officials, but please, They were a little rusty last night. the worst was the fumbled punt, 3 things could have happened on the play. 1) the punter was very close to having his knee touch the ground 2) the reception was close to touching the ground, or 3) and this had to happen!!! With as much time as the punter took, a lineman had to be down field on the pass. It's a punt, the guys were in full sprint. The result was a 1st  down that lead to a Td. 

I'm not surprised I guess because the call should have been made by the guy who was making calls 40+ yards a way all night. Just to mention 1, the pass play near the SOU sidelines when a Cat receiver looked to have caught the ball close to the ground, 2 refs with in 5 yards of the play with good looks start to signal good catch,  when this guy goes running across the field , he was on the Cats side  hash mark, 35  yards a way and says incomplete? I had a better view through my binoculars.  8)

Sure The Cats won, but I hope they review the  tape,...........I'd like to see a tape.  I realise I'm bias, and I'm in the stands, but at times, I  might have had a better view of the play!   

I don't mean to whine, just like good called games, and like I said we Won.

I will give the Raiders alot of credit, they never gave up, kept coming after the Cats all night, and the freshman Qb was impressive. Fun game to watch, back and forth and things like the ball hitting the upright and going through.  That's Football!

Any way, just my take, and my opinions. My post might have been influenced by the Rams game today. They cost me a Dinner to my son  going down in defeat in the last 4 seconds. It's about the Pride!
Thanks, tootle! 
                                                            BELIEVE
                                                 ONE GAME AT A TIME

[bluenote]

A lot of good points Tuxy, coco and others......I guess it was probably my favorite game of the year so far. I'm not a real fan of blow-outs unless it's the Stag Bowl.  I love when it's a great game and back and forth....just as long as we win!!! That's all that counts with me! There were a lot of great plays by both teams. Southern is a very good team...a lot of talent there. If they had some more size on their O-line they would be a force. They had much better athletes than UPS and Willamette. Can't wait to see the PLU vs Linfield game!!! Classic....

[D O.C.]

Thanks to folks for the phone updates. Did not win slot tournament I went to instead of being on line.

I know I play around out on the edge of the Bell Curve, I like it there, but tonight I am feeling very sorry for Tim Benzel. Adversity is supposed to make mortals stronger but you still have to go through it. Not fun.

PLU at home will be a fight the 'Cats can win BUT....


DEFENSE!

[RedandPurple]

Cat defense weak? "...Linfield held the Raiders to 85 yards rushing, outgaining the visitors in total yards, 551-342.Mitchell finished with 257 yards passing, completing 18 of 29 attempts. Van Zant was the game's leading rusher with 82 yards on 20 carries."

Could have been 40-7? It wasn't 40 -7, it was 37-29. That's the "reality".
There's no such thing as an ugly win!
Linfield won, quit nitpicking.

SOU: "Sometimes it's better to be lucky, than good"
Just a couple of examples:
A completed pass on a botched punt!
The ball hits the upright and falls through.

Thanks Abby; The Pep Band sounded great!

[(509)Rat]

Personally can't wait to see the whitworth vs. linfield game.  Hope the players don't look past Menlo.  I know the Oaks have had some troubles this year (like letting LC stay in that ballgame), but I think some of you remember 2 years ago when whitworth had to travel down to atherton to play a 1-3 menlo team.  That year whitworth gave linfield the second closest game of their season and had a legitimate shot at going to the national playoffs had they beat willamette, but it took an overtime to get past menlo at their place.  Hopefully this year it isn't even close.

I know whitworth hasn't played anyone as good as linfield yet this year but chew on this wildcat fans...17 interceptions in 6 games, the RATS defense has been a little (i think this is how you in mac say it) "salty" against the pass this year.