Rants & Raves; Montana State
Rants & Raves
Rave: The coaches for having the guts to call the fake field goal. The coaches know that Vinatieri can make a 48 yard field goal. He had booted a 47 yarder in the first quarter that would have been good from 55. However, the Bobcats were selling out to block the kick and the fake was wide open. It was fun because I had seen this play in practice in early August. At that particular practice, Vinatieri broke through the line but then lost his footing and would have been tackled for a short gain.
Rant: The referees seemed to struggle the entire game. Bignell's hit on Taryn in the first half was text book "targeting". He lowered his head, struck with the crown of his helmet, and launched. He shouldn't have even been in the game after that. On the Alex Wilde fumble, I thought that it was pretty clear that he was down before the ball came out. Later on a Bobcat touchdown, the MSU receiver, Herbert stepped out of bounds before his touchdown. The ball should have been spotted at the 1 or 2 yard line. On the Mengarelli fumble and recovery, Mengarelli fumbled and recovered the ball around the 48 yard line and the ball was spotted at the 50 which makes no sense.
Rave: How about Evan Greeneway? Greeneway had to step in at right tackle after Tyler Weir was injured last week. I don't recall Greeneway taking many, if any, snaps at right tackle in camp. However, you never would have known that he was on the second unit. His only glaring mistake live was the false start in the 4th quarter when the MSU fans really cranked up the noise.This one is kind of funny. I am @MengarelliBrady and I have the football! pic.twitter.com/dL9QNxtd2h— Mike Lockrem (@ML_Lockrem) September 10, 2017
Rant: The secondary needs, and can, be better. Jordan Brown is expected to lock-down his side of the field. He struggled against Jabarri Johnson (8 receptions, 116 yards, and 2 touchdowns) of MSU who is a big bodied receiver. However, I have watched Jordan hold his own in practice against Wienekee repeatedly. I hope this was just a blip on the radar and he can get back to shutting down his side of the field.
Rave: I thought Logan Backhaus had another really nice game (7 tackles and a QB hit). The coaches repeatedly told me that he is a player who is always in the right spot. So far, that is holding true through two weeks. Eric Kleinschmit also played a really nice game with 7 solo tackles of his own.
Rant: Although he made big plays and lead the team with 10 tackles, Christian Rozeboom had his share of missed tackles as well. Murray is shifty and there were times where Rozeboom just seemed to slide right off of him. Again, this is an area that I think he can improve easily.
Rave: In the preview, I mentioned that MSU might just sit back and let the Jacks throw it underneath. That appears to be how they started out and the Jacks had a screen game prepared for that type of defense. Cade Johnson and Dallas Goedert both did a nice job of following their blocks and running after the catch. MSU adjusted in the second half and made it a little tougher to get things going. I applaud TC for not forcing it into heavily covered areas.
Rave: The Jacks have been known for their quick score offense over the last two years. However, last night they used real methodical drives to score their points. Drives of 9 plays, 8 plays, 14 plays, 12 plays, and 8 plays lead to the Jackrabbit touchdowns and field goal.
Rant: The onside kick recovery was a mess. Nobody went for the ball. It was super risky just assuming that the ball would just roll out of bounds with no one making an attempt at recovery. I"m sure it was be used as a learning experience and someone will grab the ball next time.
Rave: Other than the botched onside recovery, the Jackrabbits dominated special teams play. The Jacks converted their FG attempt, scored a touchdown off a fake, only allowed 17 yards on kick coverage and -1 yard on punt coverage. On the other-hand, MSU missed two FGs, had a PAT blocked, sold out for a FG attempt that resulted in a touchdown, and allowed a 26 yard kick return.
Rave: This isn't Jackrabbit related so skip if you want. Chris Murray is a heck of a quarterback. I'll admit that I downplayed his passing ability. Watching his film from last year showed a quarterback who didn't throw the ball well at all. In the first quarter, he threw a wobbly pass that was broken up by Anthony Washington. That reminded me of what I saw from his games last year. But he rebounded and made some really great throws. Whoever worked with him in the off season should be commended. I'm excited and nervous to see him play live next fall in the Dana J.
Rave: To be honest, as this week has gone along, I grew more and more nervous. No disrespect but this just felt like a game that past Jackrabbit teams have found a way to lose. Yes, they were favored but they were going into a hostel environment (Gold Rush game where the Bobcats had won 10 straight), facing an athletic quarterback, and coming off a big win in the opening game. However, this team showed incredible resilience and grit to earn the victory. No, it wasn't pretty. Yes, the Jackrabbits will need to play much better against MVFC competition. However, the team stuck together and found a way to win. At the end of the day coming out of Bozeman with a "win" is all that matters. When this game series against Montana State was announced a few years ago, I'm guessing most of us would have been surprised if we came out of Bobcat Stadium with a victory.
Game Balls
Defense: Kleinschmit and Backhaus. Both were all over the field making plays. There was so much angst before the season from media and fans about the new outside linebackers. What the two lack in experience is made up for with athleticism and speed. Through two weeks, their inexperience is not hurting the Jacks at all.
Next week: The Beef Bowl: Jackrabbits vs. the Drake Bulldogs (September 16th with kickoff at 6pm).
Go Jacks!
-Matt
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