Slaton10's Weekly Musings Week10

[Slaton10]

Well this week I am just going to go right to the game!

In case you missed it..WEST VIRGINIA WON IN MANHATTAN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! Check that off the list!

Only think left...and it could happen this year...Beating OU and in NORMAN!

You want to know how the team felt about it ...and their Coach?


Man they hate playing for that guy!....


Honestly I did not see the first 8 minutes of the game..the Iowa State/Poke game ran over...tried to tee it up on my Apple TV and for the life of me I couldn't remember the activation code to activate the APP!

So I know there was an interception and a fumble I guess..but what I watched Will Grier do to extend plays from that point on was nothing short of Aaron Rodgers....he took his game to another level...the kid is special..

Something I don't quite understand about the offense though...I REALLY don't understand the RB rotation..it seems every week #4 and #32 get less and less reps...Whats the love affair with #25..he just can't break tackles..he needs space to run in and if its not there...he goes nowhere or worse..

This will be the first time I raise an eyebrow to play calling... It seemed Spavital called a completely different game in the second half and I don't understand why..clearly KSU had no answer for #2..or #12..or #13...where was #8 in this game BTW? my guess #7 is tired of him dropping balls..but they should have let Will continue to go vertical against the 128th worst pass defense in the country....

Something to keep your eyes on...for the first time in Wv history they will have 3 receivers go over 1000 yards in the same season..

Current Totals with three games to play (Including Bowl Game)

Jennings 938 yards White 907 yards and Sills 856

And in case you missed it White and Sills have 1763 yards 28 TD's between them..easily the most dynamic duo in College Football..

Biggest Concern in the game...and no its not the lack of scoring in the second half...they could have scored in the 4th quarter but Dana did the right thing and took victory formation at the 1 yard line at the end of the game...its Turnovers...11 since the Baylor game...and they came in bunches in two games OSU and this one... I give them credit and especially the defense for over coming them against KSU...it was the difference by a mile in the game..but turnovers this time of year have everything to to do with wear and tear..lineman play slower...especially on offense and RB's fumble..

Defense...Kenny Robinson is a player ..he will be one of Wv's best when he's done... Gibby must have heard me...he lined up #88 #49 and #91 up front for most of the game...and it paid off!.. Best Defensive effort all year....scratch my head sometimes when I think he's in a great down and distance to bring pressure but seems more content to drop 8 these days...

LB's played well...Tonkery looked a little lost out there at times..and he has GOT to make that interception...

Hey did I mention Wv won in Manhattan for the first time?!? Lets bring on the Horns!

 

[WVUDAD]

Well this week I am just going to go right to the game!

In case you missed it..WEST VIRGINIA WON IN MANHATTAN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! Check that off the list!

Only think left...and it could happen this year...Beating OU and in NORMAN!

You want to know how the team felt about it ...and their Coach?


Man they hate playing for that guy!....


Honestly I did not see the first 8 minutes of the game..the Iowa State/Poke game ran over...tried to tee it up on my Apple TV and for the life of me I couldn't remember the activation code to activate the APP!

So I know there was an interception and a fumble I guess..but what I watched Will Grier do to extend plays from that point on was nothing short of Aaron Rodgers....he took his game to another level...the kid is special..

Something I don't quite understand about the offense though...I REALLY don't understand the RB rotation..it seems every week #4 and #32 get less and less reps...Whats the love affair with #25..he just can't break tackles..he needs space to run in and if its not there...he goes nowhere or worse..

This will be the first time I raise an eyebrow to play calling... It seemed Spavital called a completely different game in the second half and I don't understand why..clearly KSU had no answer for #2..or #12..or #13...where was #8 in this game BTW? my guess #7 is tired of him dropping balls..but they should have let Will continue to go vertical against the 128th worst pass defense in the country....

Something to keep your eyes on...for the first time in Wv history they will have 3 receivers go over 1000 yards in the same season..

Current Totals with three games to play (Including Bowl Game)

Jennings 938 yards White 907 yards and Sills 856

And in case you missed it White and Sills have 1763 yards 28 TD's between them..easily the most dynamic duo in College Football..

Biggest Concern in the game...and no its not the lack of scoring in the second half...they could have scored in the 4th quarter but Dana did the right thing and took victory formation at the 1 yard line at the end of the game...its Turnovers...11 since the Baylor game...and they came in bunches in two games OSU and this one... I give them credit and especially the defense for over coming them against KSU...it was the difference by a mile in the game..but turnovers this time of year have everything to to do with wear and tear..lineman play slower...especially on offense and RB's fumble..

Defense...Kenny Robinson is a player ..he will be one of Wv's best when he's done... Gibby must have heard me...he lined up #88 #49 and #91 up front for most of the game...and it paid off!.. Best Defensive effort all year....scratch my head sometimes when I think he's in a great down and distance to bring pressure but seems more content to drop 8 these days...

LB's played well...Tonkery looked a little lost out there at times..and he has GOT to make that interception...

Hey did I mention Wv won in Manhattan for the first time?!? Lets bring on the Horns!

Glad to get the win, for sure!!! It is no easy task to win at KSU. The mindset on offense of scratching off lottery tickets on a 5% success ratio is getting old. This offense can score on lesser teams, but can not make the plays against good fast teams. Watching as pass after pass is incomplete, dropped, or picked so we can see that one long TD pass isn't what I like to watch, and it isn't what football should be. We have some capable running backs, how about running the ball on first and second sometimes, rather than being third and ten every single time???? I am glad the defense came to play Saturday, as the offensive misfires could have turned into the OSU game all over again!! I think we can beat TX this week, but it would be a long shot to beat OU the next week! Hey Slaton, I thought fumbles were a result of poor coaching, that they could be fixed by any competent coach??? It is great to see Grier extending plays, if not for his scrambling ability, this would have been a longggg season.

 

[Slaton10]

Glad to get the win, for sure!!! It is no easy task to win at KSU. The mindset on offense of scratching off lottery tickets on a 5% success ratio is getting old. This offense can score on lesser teams, but can not make the plays against good fast teams. Watching as pass after pass is incomplete, dropped, or picked so we can see that one long TD pass isn't what I like to watch, and it isn't what football should be. We have some capable running backs, how about running the ball on first and second sometimes, rather than being third and ten every single time???? I am glad the defense came to play Saturday, as the offensive misfires could have turned into the OSU game all over again!! I think we can beat TX this week, but it would be a long shot to beat OU the next week! Hey Slaton, I thought fumbles were a result of poor coaching, that they could be fixed by any competent coach??? It is great to see Grier extending plays, if not for his scrambling ability, this would have been a longggg season.

Its just my opinion but if you are turning the ball over at this rate at the beginning of the season I would say its Coaching and a reflection of "Soft" practices. But with the depth this team has at the moment and with 2 games left in the schedule I am going with aches and pains..

 

[bbwvfan]

Its just my opinion but if you are turning the ball over at this rate at the beginning of the season I would say its Coaching and a reflection of "Soft" practices. But with the depth this team has at the moment and with 2 games left in the schedule I am going with aches and pains..

Oh... now you’re just making excuses.

Everyone knows this team is young and there is depth problems across the board. Not having a 2nd bye week is going to have a big impact on a team like this year’s. How many kids are rotating through the WR position? How many kids are rotating though the OL?

As to your point regarding the playcalling, IMO this is simply Spav finding it difficult to put his square peg into the round hole. In his attempt to try to run clock, he is having trouble with his kids executing the plays to do so. Dropped passes on 3rd down conversions hurt a ton. I don’t believe this offense is good at pitch and catch to eat up clock.

It is a big play team... an explosive team. When you stop attacking the opponent vertically to go ball control, I think you put the offense in a weaker position. Why not attack the opponent vertically? If you score quickly, you are putting the opponent in a stressful position. Especially a school like KSU which is not capable of beating you through the air. Force them to play from behind and put the stress on them. Make them one dimensional.

Just my opinion...

 

[Anotherwvufan]

Good point. Too many running plays on first and second down. Will seems to be more accurate on long throws than short ones. We should be using the long ball to set up the run. We should go deep at least once every series. If you’re going to run, put wellman in to block. We do much better than running out of a 4 receiver set.

Karon has tied his brothers senior season TD total. Not as many catches or yards as his big brother, but I feel he is just as good but does not get enough targets.

Crawford looks really beat down. McKoy should be getting more carries.

Robinson is a difference maker. He will be the base of our secondary the next couple of years. Long is still a monster. I don’t know how he is consistently in the backfield making plays.

 

[Slaton10]

Oh... now you’re just making excuses.

Everyone knows this team is young and there is depth problems across the board. Not having a 2nd bye week is going to have a big impact on a team like this year’s. How many kids are rotating through the WR position? How many kids are rotating though the OL?

As to your point regarding the playcalling, IMO this is simply Spav finding it difficult to put his square peg into the round hole. In his attempt to try to run clock, he is having trouble with his kids executing the plays to do so. Dropped passes on 3rd down conversions hurt a ton. I don’t believe this offense is good at pitch and catch to eat up clock.

It is a big play team... an explosive team. When you stop attacking the opponent vertically to go ball control, I think you put the offense in a weaker position. Why not attack the opponent vertically? If you score quickly, you are putting the opponent in a stressful position. Especially a school like KSU which is not capable of beating you through the air. Force them to play from behind and put the stress on them. Make them one dimensional.

Just my opinion...

I am an excuse making machine BTW!!

 

[Slaton10]

Good point. Too many running plays on first and second down. Will seems to be more accurate on long throws than short ones. We should be using the long ball to set up the run. We should go deep at least once every series. If you’re going to run, put wellman in to block. We do much better than running out of a 4 receiver set.

Karon has tied his brothers senior season TD total. Not as many catches or yards as his big brother, but I feel he is just as good but does not get enough targets.

Crawford looks really beat down. McKoy should be getting more carries.

Robinson is a difference maker. He will be the base of our secondary the next couple of years. Long is still a monster. I don’t know how he is consistently in the backfield making plays.

I think if they are going to go with more high percentage run plays to chew clock with the lead #4 and #32 should see the bulk of the carries