Rants & Raves: SIU



So I was wrong, the weather was not okay.  It kinda stunk until midway through the 3rd quarter when the sun came out. The wind in The Dana was swirling and the garbage was moving back and forth through the stands.  I really just want a nice weather Hobo Day.  I thought early October would help.  Next years date of October 31st likely won't be any better.  Oh well, at least we got to see the Jacks secure another "W" and open MVFC play in a strong position.

Rants & Raves
Rave: Pierre Strong sure is fun.  20 carries for 229 yards and 1 TD.  As we have said before, he just feels like it could go for a big gain every time he touches the ball.  You can feel the anticipation in the crowd.  Yesterday, he was the hot hand and coach Eck fed him.  There will be other games where that guy is CJ or Mikey but I'm glad that it was Pierre today.  Through five games he has 564 yards and an 8.3ypc average.  Not too bad.

Rave: How bout that defense?  Yesterday, they only gave up 7 points (the FG is not on them) and 215 yards on 63 plays.  That is pretty dang suffocating.  They have been really good all season and in their last two contests have held good offenses in check.  It was okay to wonder what we had coming off the first 3 games but SUU and SIU are complicated offenses that can score some points.  We should no longer wonder but instead appreciate how much fun it is to see this group flying around making plays.

Rant: The Jacks have to start faster on offense.  The current bumbling and penalty ridden sequences are not acceptable.  In the first half the Jacks went:

  • Punt (3 and out, 2:31 of possession)
  • Turnover (2 plays, fumble, 0:14 of possession)
  • TD (Cade Johnson, 3 plays, 65 yards, 1:27 of possession)
  • Punt (3 and out, 1:32 of possion)
  • FG (14 play, 58 yards, 8:58 of possession)
  • Knee'd out due to only 8 seconds being on the clock
The frustrating part is that on the 14 play drive the offense looked really really good but stalled out due to some breakdowns on the offensive line.  The two three and outs were set-up by false starts on the offense line.  Which leads to my next rant... 

Rant: The offensive line has to become more consistent.  The #605Hogs hashtag speaks to working for a full 60 minutes.  Right now that isn't happening.  There are moments of perfection, you don't rush for 297 yards without strong line play, but we should never ever ever give up 4 sacks to SIU and 8 other plays that result in tackles for loss.  There is too much talent in that room to not be better.  I know Coach Eck is trying to find an answer on the interior by rotating Miller, Lickiss, and Gruetzmacher but eventually two of them have to step forward as "the guys."  It will still be a few weeks until the return of Wes Genant so the guys that are currently playing need to figure it out.    

Rave: It is fun seeing the young corner group grow and succeed this season.  Some of the credit goes to the defensive line for getting consistent pressure on the quarterback but it is easy to see the talent these young guys in the group possess.  Don Gardner is getting his first taste of consistent defensive action and has thrived as the leader of the young group.  Malik Lofton has never been short of confidence but that has translated onto the field.  DyShawn Gales and Diamond Evans  are playing like seasoned veterans as freshmen and Jordan Gandy got his first taste of MVFC action this weekend.  This doesn't even get into the safety group which has played equally as well in 2019 behind all new starters. 

Rave: Congatulations to Chase on setting the new kicker scoring record!  Huge accomplishment for someone who has been a part of some huge moments in Jackrabbit football. 

Rave: Nice job students!  Way to show up and make noise.

Rant: The officials missed some really obvious penalties in the first half.  The pass interference non-call on Cade Johnson down the visiting sidelines in the first half was terrible.  And they seemed to miss a fairly obvious facemask in the middle of one of Pierre's big runs towars the end of the first quarter. I get that they can't see everything but these just seemed fairly obvious and were in the heart of the action.  

Rave: I was really happy to see Levi Brown play so extensively and play really well.  He finished with 7 tackles and 2 TFL.  But it was his closing speed that really stood out to me.  I've heard for two years from Coach Rogers how much talent Levi has.  Was this his coming out party? I sure hope so!

Rave: The Jacks 3rd down difference was pretty dang salty again this week and they held SIU to just 1 of 14 on 3rd down conversions.  SIU came in as a pretty good team on 3rd down.  The Jacks held up good in short yardage situations but part of the success was winning on 1st and 2nd down and forcing SIU to pass the ball down the field on 3rd down.

Rant: Dear Club Seating ticket holders.  Halftime is 20 minutes long.  Plan accordingly and get your butts back to your seats.  Most of you didn't show back up until midway through the 3rd.

Rave: This feels like it is on repeat but I love watching Cade Johnson play.  He is such a natural with the ball in his hands and he is so dangerous in the open field.  His catch and run was beautiful.

Rave: It was cool to see good friends Thomas Stacker and Tolu Ogunrinde split a sack.  The #ChainGang finished with 5 sacks and were consistently pressuring Lyles.  The high level of play from this group really sets the tone for the rest of the defense.

Game Balls
Offense: Pierre Strong
Defense: Logan Backhaus
Special Teams: Ben Dinkel

Go Jacks!
Matt




Comments

  1. GoldyJackOctober 7, 2019 at 2:02 PM

    RANT: People in the stands who think they know, but don't know. Guy in front of me can be quoted for bitching about our play calling on offense, but the diversity of calls is pretty great. 50/50 this week of pass to run plays.

    Rant: When you get the chance to go up by 21 and you are inside the 5 call a timeout and kick a field goal. Especially, with Vini struggling early in the game. Give him a chance for redemption and get his between the ears game better. He is a great kicker and we don't need him for getting that. I understand why Stig didn't, but I think the practice or a last second kick would have been great.

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