Bye Week... last 2 weeks changed the view

[bbwvfan]

Bye week may have come a week too late.

Tough 6 week stretch has just been finished.

vs. KU
@ TT
vs BU
@ OSU
vs TCU
@ UT

Two top 10 schools, won one of them, and blew a win against another. Nice road wins over TT and Okie St, but a terrible loss at Texas.

I don't know what the coaches did or didn'd do last week to get the kids to play hard and emotion against Texas. But, they failed to push the right buttons. From reports I have read, the kids had no emotion on the sideline, they were not talking to each other, and there was a lot of finger pointing and bickering going on.

Some of that is to be expected following the last second loss to TCU. Reportedly, the kids were devastated by the loss. Dana would not allow the offensive players to be interviewed after the game. And, reporters were told not to ask questions about the TCU game during the prep week for Texas.

Doesn't look like the effort by the coaching staff worked as WVU came out flat, and the defense had one of its worst performances in the first half of the season.

I watched the recording of the game after I knew the results. But, to see the Texas players on the sidelines dancing before kick-off made it clear their heads were right. They were ready to have fun and play some ball.

I want to see the WVU players come out with the same swag they did for BU. Hopefully, the coaches push the right buttons for them between now and next Thursday. It can still be a great ending.

I guess we don't have to worry about Dana going anywhere after this season now that they've lost two in a row... no more worries about UF, UofM...

 

[Anotherwvufan]

I saw Texas as a trap game coming for a while. Add the hangover from TCU and we were going into a sh*t storm. A bye week would have been great for us last week.

Don't be surprised if Texas beats TCU next week. The D is coming into their own and the Offensive line is learning to block. They are one great QB away from being a great team.

 

[bbwvfan]

I get a kick out of all of our football experts who make all the right calls.... know all the right calls... and expect nothing less than for our coaching staff to be as good at is as they are.

I enjoyed reading this post from BGN... this guy freaking nailed it...

dirtyfrankwvu wrote:

You can't base the goodness or badness of play calls totally from the results. Trickett has run/pass calls to make at the line, plus there's just a lot of execution that you can't account for with the play call itself. You can call the perfect play and get the exact matchup you want, but...

the QB/line have to identify pre-snap stuff (e.g., where's the pressure coming from)
the line has to block
the receivers have to run the right routes (and if there are option routes, the QB and receivers have to be on the same page)
the QB has to see it and deliver it on target.

If 1 of those pieces is off even just a little, the play fails - even though it was the right thing to do in the situation.​

Here's the example of what I'm talking about:

against Texas - on the play that resulted in a safety - they ran the same play that Texas picked Trickett on earlier in the game (Diggs read the 10 yard square in to White and jumped the route) with this variation: White ran a double move to the corner. This is from Mike Casazza's article in the Daily Mail on Sunday :

WVU decided to go back to the quick pass to White, but with a twist. White would run a double-move. He’d first bait Diggs with the inside route the cornerback spotted before and could be expecting again in the tight space up against the end zone. White would then angle back outside so he could run deep.


“We got the coverage we wanted and I thought we’d be able to come through for sure,” White said. “We had a great matchup and I’m confident I would have come down with the play. We just didn’t have enough time.”


Defensive end Cedric Reed ruined everything when he stepped untouched through the line and sacked Trickett for a safety. Reed lined up over right guard Mark Glowinski and right tackle Marquis Lucas. Safety Mykkele Thompson stepped forward over Lucas’ right shoulder, and Lucas pointed out Thompson and blocked him on the snap.


No one accounted for Reed, and Trickett had no chance to take advantage of what he saw and what WVU was sure would happen.


“It would have been a 99-yard touchdown,” he said.
​

Now I recognize that I said I didn't like the decision to pass there because I didn't think our line could block long enough to take a shot (which is the right kind of pass play in that situation), but that's not my point here. My point is you could easily say "bad play call" because it resulted in a safety, but if you look at the replay, it was there...if the line makes the right read and gives Trickett enough time (and if he puts the ball where White can catch it and if White catches it), it might be 24-17 instead of 26-10 right there. and that's a totally different ballgame.

​

 

[DCWV4life]

You can scream it from the mountaintops...casual fans like us have no clue what each plays part is in the grand scheme of things....does that 2 yard run open up a 60 yard pass later in the game? Does the short screen open up a run going the other way? It is to easy to sit on our couches after a play is ran and say "oh nice play coach"....smh one of the dumbest things I think fans do.

 

[bbwvfan]

Hey... I get as frustrated as the next guy when I see a play get blown up. It is always interesting to watch the play again on DVR when you can put it into slow motion.

Execution... it always comes back to execution. Like the post I highlighted. Casazza stated he thought the play that ended up as a safety could have gone for a TD.

It is a fine line...

 

[WVUDAD]

Hey... I get as frustrated as the next guy when I see a play get blown up. It is always interesting to watch the play again on DVR when you can put it into slow motion.

Execution... it always comes back to execution. Like the post I highlighted. Casazza stated he thought the play that ended up as a safety could have gone for a TD.

It is a fine line...

Indeed it is a fine line, it is the coaches job to watch film, show film, and teach the players to see what is there. If the play indeed could have gone for a TD, which EVERY play has that potential, as you can pick out one player who was free. It is disheartening to see WVU blow games that they could easily have won.

 

[bbwvfan]

Indeed it is a fine line, it is the coaches job to watch film, show film, and teach the players to see what is there. If the play indeed could have gone for a TD, which EVERY play has that potential, as you can pick out one player who was free. It is disheartening to see WVU blow games that they could easily have won.

To go back to my original thought on this thread, the TCU game should have been a victory. So many mistakes…

Rewatching the recording of the game, you see Buie miss some great running lanes on the last possession. When all WVU needed was a first down to likely seal the deal, a couple of opportunities were missed.

Instead of WVU being the toast of the Big 12… some recently referred to WVU as a bad loss for Baylor.

A fine line…

 

[GoldRusher]

Good things happen when you pin your opponent deep, eh Dana?

 

[bbwvfan]

Looks like Dreamius Smith has moved into the #1 slot. Good for him…

 

[DCWV4life]

Looks like Dreamius Smith has moved into the #1 slot. Good for him…

Seems like he earned it on the field, almost makes you wonder what he has been doing in practice all year...

I would like to see them move Smallwood to slot.....I think a formation with Smith, Smallwood, Thompson, Alford, and White would be very versatile and we would not have to give the defense a break in the redzone. You could go single back to two backs with ease.

 

[bbwvfan]

Dana stated that Smallwood has worn down. He should know better than anyone.

I believe the entire offense has worn down. The OL has played a ton of snaps. And, I don't recall too many back-ups getting into the game to give any of those kids a break.

If the OL wears down, the RB's are not going to get the same kind of production.

One of my biggest gripes with our RB's is their poor vision. They miss holes by keeping their eyes down, they miss cut back lanes because they have their eyes down.

And, for the life of me… I don't understand why they don't bounce more runs to the border. From the time you're a kid playing football in your backyard, you develop instincts for cutting away from the would-be tackler. I hate seeing our kids cut back to the middle of the field… hate it…

Dreamius' big run last week… he took an inside zone play and bounced it to the outside… and, wow… 60 yds later… he stops running…

 

[Anotherwvufan]

Dreamius has looked like the best back we have had all year. Hopefully DTW comes in next year and shows some vision and breakaway ability. Smith is good, but seems to get stuck in the backfield too ofter. Shell gets those tough yards, but then tries to run over a secondary guy rather than make a move and take it to the house. Bottom line is that we have a bunch of average RBs and nobody has been able to separate themselves from the pack. I agree that Smallwood may be better utilized as a slot receiver than as an every down RB.

 

[DCWV4life]

I mentioned this earlier in the year and still believe it....we lack playmakers. I agree with Another, we have a bunch of, I will say above average, backs that have not shown they can break one for the big gainer. Even Smith last week ran out of gas. I really hope some of these guys can turn into this player as they develop, but I am not sure that is something that develops, kind of one of those things you have it or you don't

 

[bbwvfan]

Alford has so much damn potential to be a playmaker. It has been a long time since I've been as frustrated with a WVU player. A kid who could be a game changer on a consistent basis… just misses too often.

I agree… not enough playmakers. And, the tackles aren't making it easier to allow a kid to potentially present himself as one either. Trickett no longer is getting great protection to get a bunch of time to find his receivers.

And, the RB's have been good… but, not great. Kind of a disappointment there too…