Sunday Morning (Afternoon) QB ---

[AppSt94]

One toe at a time people... Saw a lot of leadership emerging in Lamb last night. We have a long road ahead. No reason to not support our players, our coaches or our school. I'd dare say, to those suggesting firings of staff, and such, dial in reality friends. I'll be watching for your "metal" in team support.. are you worthy?

-wxapp

That is an excellent point about leadership. I am sure that there are leaders on the team but I don't see it on the field. I am glad to see the leadership coming out of Lamb. Hopefully the team responds to it.

[DaphneUrquhart]

WVa, the punts are easy to explain ... punts that can't be returned aren't returned. It's better to have a 35 yard roller out of bounds than a 60 yard punt with 40 yard return. My guess in watching last night was that their return man was too dangerous for the coverage we have.

I was surprised to see Critcher with two of the kickoff return tackles. To me, that signals weakness in special teams coverage. Critcher did a good job kicking on kickoffs, too. Time will tell if the special teams issues are personnel or coaching or both. Certainly Matics is struggling - not sure if that's nerves, injury, or what.

Other things I saw last night:
1) USA's QB is a 6'5" force to be reckoned with. His runs were carefully designed to avoid injury much like pro QB's.
2) Our secondary seemed to play to limit yards after catch rather than to break up passes. The coverage looked "soft". Was that our coverage or their receivers? Not sure.
3) Lamb took some hard hits and kept going. He's got some good leadership skills for a RS freshman.
4) Terrence Upshaw and Marcus Cox will do better with larger gaps to hit - see size and experience comments all over the board.
5) Penalties hurt. Stupid penalties hurt worse.

We have miles to go. I'm planning on being there for the sweet victories somewhere down the road.

[WVAPPeer]

Daphne - I certainly understand your points - and possible the USA PR was dangerous - I didn't check his stats but I really don't think we have given any long punt returns this year - I think the one at Michigan was actually partially blocked and the return was by a LB --- anyway, personally I don't like rugby punts, have seen too many go really bad over the years ---

[proasu89]

The rugby punts are frustrating, but I guess the coaches were tired of having blocked punts.

That's a good point and a good answer to my question ---

We also were into the wind on the two rugby punts, one killed us and the other was actually effective. Not defending, just sayin.

[tjpappy]

I was there, too. I arrived right as USA scored its first touchdown and stayed (almost) to the bitter end - (left with 2 or so min. left upon our INT in the end zone). I was hoping to see one more App score.

I don't have any brilliant insights and do not claim to be an expert. As the game wore on and the hope of a win evaporated, I was looking for bright spots ...

1) Pass protection looked gpretty good to me. Several have mentioned OL weakness, but much of the night Lamb had plenty of time in the pocket. Run blocking, however, seemed much less effective last night.

2) The snaps looked better and more consistent. I am not saying they were perfect, but I recall seeing in our earlier games where many were so high our QB had to reach up to get them, and others had to be fielded after they hit the ground.

3) Lamb as a run threat did open up the offensive options and mix up the offensive looks. Looked like the QB option was the most effective run play for much of the game. As the game wore on, I became a little concerned that he not risk injury in a game that was not winnable. He did eventually back off the run.

4) Lamb was allowed to look down field and go for the long ball. Of course, I saw the overthrows, too. The coaches (or Lamb himself??) seemed to pull back from that approach after it did not bear fruit, but it was on the table and attempted several times.

Well, that's all I've got to offer right now. Certainly not enough to come close to winning last night, but I just wanted to consider any signs of change or improvement.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

The rugby punts are frustrating, but I guess the coaches were tired of having blocked punts.

That's a good point and a good answer to my question ---

One thing about a rugby punt is that they can be harder to catch and tend to have a better bounce down the field. Critcher has a leg, but with the exception of the first punt that was more shank than rugby it seemed to work. I am not a fan of that punt style when we have a leg but that is the least of my worries for kicking.

[ASUPATCH]

My personal breakdown.....

1. Wasn't a big fan of the Woody hire and he continues to prove me right. In a 3-4 you need BIG DE's as they replace the 4-3 DT's in the running game and you have to have BIG ILB. We have neither, so the 3-4 is a terrible fit. We have quick DE's and quick LB's hence we fit a 4-3 so much better, to add to that 99% of high school kids play in a 4-3 so the transition is so much easier. It is easy to look at the DB's and say they suck but when you cant stop the run or get pressure on the passer I dont care id you have Richard Sherman and Darrel Revis out there, eventually someone will get open.
2. The rugby style punt is inexplicable and I can't think of any reason we used it to the short side of the field with a punter that has never done it.
3. Why is Bobo still fielding kicks/punts....he has now 2 muffs on the season and is more than likely our SLOWEST receiver.....put Sumler or another 4.4 guy back there.
4. Lamb was OFF. He looked good coming into this game but missed 3 wide open 20+ yard plays.
5. I HATE THE WE NEED TO GROW INTO FBS EXCUSES. YOU GUYS EVER HEARD OF A LITTLE SCHOOL NAMED GEORGIA SOUTHERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AppSt94]

My personal breakdown.....

1. Wasn't a big fan of the Woody hire and he continues to prove me right. In a 3-4 you need BIG DE's as they replace the 4-3 DT's in the running game and you have to have BIG ILB. We have neither, so the 3-4 is a terrible fit. We have quick DE's and quick LB's hence we fit a 4-3 so much better, to add to that 99% of high school kids play in a 4-3 so the transition is so much easier. It is easy to look at the DB's and say they suck but when you cant stop the run or get pressure on the passer I dont care id you have Richard Sherman and Darrel Revis out there, eventually someone will get open.
2. The rugby style punt is inexplicable and I can't think of any reason we used it to the short side of the field with a punter that has never done it.
3. Why is Bobo still fielding kicks/punts....he has now 2 muffs on the season and is more than likely our SLOWEST receiver.....put Sumler or another 4.4 guy back there.
4. Lamb was OFF. He looked good coming into this game but missed 3 wide open 20+ yard plays.
5. I HATE THE WE NEED TO GROW INTO FBS EXCUSES. YOU GUYS EVER HEARD OF A LITTLE SCHOOL NAMED GEORGIA SOUTHERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Georgia Southern was in a different situation than us. They are an upperclassmen loaded team that has the experience and continuity in it's strength and conditioning program. While you are judging us to them on the short term, we are setting up for a better long term success.

[GreatAppSt]

I drove 8 hours down, paid for 2 nights of hotel, my 5 year old was cold, saw what I needed to see and I left in the third qtr., and wasn't very happy. So all in all my problems are small, but I'll still bring my happy self to 3 more games this season.

Why?, because I'm an App State Fan!

The guys on the team without fail, will be trying to win for me. The cheerleaders without fail, will be cheering for me. The band without fail, will be playing hours for me. So without fail I need be there, simple really.

GAS

Winning has no meaning without living the harsh suffering of losses.

[DaphneUrquhart]

I drove 8 hours down, paid for 2 nights of hotel, my 5 year old was cold, saw what I needed to see and I left in the third qtr., and wasn't very happy. So all in all my problems are small, but I'll still bring my happy self to 3 more games this season.

Why?, because I'm an App State Fan!

The guys on the team without fail, will be trying to win for me. The cheerleaders without fail, will be cheering for me. The band without fail, will be playing hours for me. So without fail I need be there, simple really.

GAS

Winning has no meaning without living the harsh suffering of losses.

Here endeth the lesson.

[APPARJ]

The only coaching changes I feel are needed are in special teams.

The play was still very poor, but it's not a lost cause. Some of our players aren't every week FBS players. That'll take time.

If your haven't listened to DJ and Brownie postgame, go back and do so. They spout some serious wisdom.

If you don't mind, what did DJ and Brownie say? Better yet, how do I go back and listen to them?

[mtnjax]

If you don't mind, what did DJ and Brownie say? Better yet, how do I go back and listen to them?

Go to the athletics site and pull up the archived game audio and just fast forward towards the end. Might take some scrolling around to find it

[APPARJ]

My personal breakdown.....

1. Wasn't a big fan of the Woody hire and he continues to prove me right. In a 3-4 you need BIG DE's as they replace the 4-3 DT's in the running game and you have to have BIG ILB. We have neither, so the 3-4 is a terrible fit. We have quick DE's and quick LB's hence we fit a 4-3 so much better, to add to that 99% of high school kids play in a 4-3 so the transition is so much easier. It is easy to look at the DB's and say they suck but when you cant stop the run or get pressure on the passer I dont care id you have Richard Sherman and Darrel Revis out there, eventually someone will get open.
2. The rugby style punt is inexplicable and I can't think of any reason we used it to the short side of the field with a punter that has never done it.
3. Why is Bobo still fielding kicks/punts....he has now 2 muffs on the season and is more than likely our SLOWEST receiver.....put Sumler or another 4.4 guy back there.
4. Lamb was OFF. He looked good coming into this game but missed 3 wide open 20+ yard plays.
5. I HATE THE WE NEED TO GROW INTO FBS EXCUSES. YOU GUYS EVER HEARD OF A LITTLE SCHOOL NAMED GEORGIA SOUTHERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Addressing your points:

1.) I can't speak much to defensive philosophies. What I can say is that, regardless of "schemes", we are too small. Period. I'm not even certain our S&C is solely to blame. We need to recruit bigger, stronger guys on defense... of that, I am certain.

2.) I didn't read too much into that. The second rugby kick rolled well, the first one was a shank. Again, weird punt. I won't lose sleep over it. By the end of the night Bentlee boomed a normal punt. Until that point, I thought he was hurt.

3.) Bobo is a great symbol of where we are today. Someone not even close to being an FBS quality WR that is STARTING on our squad today. Before someone jumps all over that statement with "He wasn't recruited for FBS!!", from what I've seen, he would've hardly seen the field on the championship teams. I'm sure Bobo is a fine kid and I've heard he works hard. But he's a sub-6' white dude that has yet to do a thing on offense. I mentioned this earlier but it was very ironic that we honored Jerry Moore last night as his recruits (aside from John Law and Kendall Lamm) were getting worn out by South Alabama.

4.) I wonder how "off" those passes would've been if he wasn't throwing to the worst stable of App State WRs in over a decade. I think Taylor Lamb is the best offensive player we have right now.

5.) Simply stated, they are in a different standing than ours. Not possible to compare. Georgia Southern's timing (intentional or not) was impeccable compared to ours. They have the players in place, they're bigger, stronger and closer to where they want to be than us... by a mile. Example: Our talent at WR is average by SoCon standards and our talented RS Fr QB has barely started his career. It'll take time... which is something no one (myself included) wants to hear.

[DaphneUrquhart]

Daphne - I certainly understand your points - and possible the USA PR was dangerous - I didn't check his stats but I really don't think we have given any long punt returns this year - I think the one at Michigan was actually partially blocked and the return was by a LB --- anyway, personally I don't like rugby punts, have seen too many go really bad over the years ---

Oh, I don't like them either. It didn't appear that Critcher was too happy about them as he left the field. Just trying to figure out why I was seeing what I saw.

[APPARJ]

If you don't mind, what did DJ and Brownie say? Better yet, how do I go back and listen to them?

Go to the athletics site and pull up the archived game audio and just fast forward towards the end. Might take some scrolling around to find it

Thanks!

[T-Dog]

Basically, DJ and Brownie were talking about the situation Scott inherited in reference to our recruiting cycle. It's a struggle right now and we took a solid punch last night, but Brownie, who doesn't mince words, believes in how Satt is building the program to sustained FBS success in the future. Also, the week-by-week FBS schedule is something people underestimated. It's a lot easier to get up for one FBS game a year.

USA was a fundamentally sound team that was BIGGER than us. They're clicking on offense now. That was a team that's was picked to contend for the Sun Belt title.

In USA's last two years, their first two in FBS, they took a lot of punches to the mouth. 2-9 and then it clicked late last year to finish 6-6 after three wins to finish out.

[APPARJ]

Basically, DJ and Brownie were talking about the situation Scott inherited in reference to our recruiting cycle. It's a struggle right now and we took a solid punch last night, but Brownie, who doesn't mince words, believes in how Satt is building the program to sustained FBS success in the future. Also, the week-by-week FBS schedule is something people underestimated. It's a lot easier to get up for one FBS game a year.

USA was a fundamentally sound team that was BIGGER than us. They're clicking on offense now. That was a team that's was picked to contend for the Sun Belt title.

In USA's last two years, their first two in FBS, they took a lot of punches to the mouth. 2-9 and then it clicked late last year to finish 6-6 after three wins to finish out.

Thanks.

I respect Brownie's opinion and agree with him most of the time. It's refreshing to know that was his assessment.

[AppinVA]

Basically, DJ and Brownie were talking about the situation Scott inherited in reference to our recruiting cycle. It's a struggle right now and we took a solid punch last night, but Brownie, who doesn't mince words, believes in how Satt is building the program to sustained FBS success in the future. Also, the week-by-week FBS schedule is something people underestimated. It's a lot easier to get up for one FBS game a year.

USA was a fundamentally sound team that was BIGGER than us. They're clicking on offense now. That was a team that's was picked to contend for the Sun Belt title.

In USA's last two years, their first two in FBS, they took a lot of punches to the mouth. 2-9 and then it clicked late last year to finish 6-6 after three wins to finish out.

Thanks.

I respect Brownie's opinion and agree with him most of the time. It's refreshing to know that was his assessment.

One thing we all know about Brownie is that he is not going to toe company rope, so if he says that, he feels it to be truth. I agree 100 percent. We didn't get where we are overnight. We won't get back to where we want to be overnight.

[AppDawg]

Basically, DJ and Brownie were talking about the situation Scott inherited in reference to our recruiting cycle. It's a struggle right now and we took a solid punch last night, but Brownie, who doesn't mince words, believes in how Satt is building the program to sustained FBS success in the future. Also, the week-by-week FBS schedule is something people underestimated. It's a lot easier to get up for one FBS game a year.

USA was a fundamentally sound team that was BIGGER than us. They're clicking on offense now. That was a team that's was picked to contend for the Sun Belt title.

In USA's last two years, their first two in FBS, they took a lot of punches to the mouth. 2-9 and then it clicked late last year to finish 6-6 after three wins to finish out.

Thanks.

I respect Brownie's opinion and agree with him most of the time. It's refreshing to know that was his assessment.

More specifically, The biggest thing Brownie pointed out to me was the '10 - '12 recruiting classes, we only have 1 or two linemen still with the team. Essentially we are feeling the impact of going 2 full recruiting classes without signing any linemen. I know it has been talked about on here, but his phrasing with losing out on 2 classes really hit home for me and put things in perspective as to just how bad things were going in the wrong direction.

[T-Dog]

We had one lineman in both the 08 and 09 classes. The 08's guy flunked out and never played a down and 09 was Storm Moore. We got linemen in 2010 after Montana pushed us around but Elliot left and we had the OL coach we had for two years, who was terrible and caused some players to mutiny. So that's four years of bad recruiting/bad coaching that has come to roost.