He so wanted a kick-sixJust watched reply of the record-breaking FG. Love that at the end that the returner who was back follows the ball til it’s landing and turns back with body language that seems say, “are you f’ing kidding me?”
He so wanted a kick-sixJust watched reply of the record-breaking FG. Love that at the end that the returner who was back follows the ball til it’s landing and turns back with body language that seems say, “are you f’ing kidding me?”
... you might want to look up why the Illini switched from using the locally owned bus company this year and are now chartering busses from a big Iowa based corporation.
Bert lets his fire rage over little things. It can be a valuable trait for a head coach — at least on occasion.
Great win but 3/4 FGs does not merit an A++. I'd separate them and give Moc an A+ for the record and Olano an A- (2/3 FG and 3/3 on XPs).Field goal kicking: A ++
Penalties: F --
Yes, Altmeyer looking better but still needs to see the field better and improve his pocket awareness.Thoughts from beneath the overhang:
The good!
- Pat Bryant is gonna be playing on Sundays. That’s exciting.
- our defense continues to hold the points down.
- CaLil wasn’t a fluke last week. Kid’s the lightning to the thunder we have with Feagin.
- how many teams have 2 kickers that can connect from beyond 50? I think Mochulski can hit from 65+ holy cow
The bad..
- OL, cmon man.
- DL, cmon man.
- Luke Altmyer you gotta process your reads and stop staring down receivers. You GOTTA figure that out.
The ugly
- we now, through three weeks, know that our lines aren’t good. When we face good defensive lines, we’re gonna get exposed.
- penalties were super dumb.
- nothing else really? I mean I’d like to have blown them out convincingly but 30-9 is good with me.
We’re 3-0 now, let’s go get #4 Friday.
You can't blame the backs if there is nowhere to go. It's basically a pile up at the line and hope someone does something.run game leaves a lot to be desired. equal blame on the OL and backs (save Valentine). Feagin is kinda like an ocean liner, takes too long to hit the hole. hasn't been the punisher I thought he was too. gotta get him moving before he gets the ball. it was nice to see McCray finally have a bit of success. but, damn, we're not having our way with MAC D on running plays. very disappointing.
and then there's the illegal procedures. ugh. thought we'd end up with double digits there
this team has the ingredients to be pretty darn good. but right now there are too many misfires. hope we get our stuff together soon, otherwise we're gonna lose winnable games. IMO, we don't deserve to be ranked
very nice crowd today, but the heat had a big toll
Bro, are you kidding? You need to tighten that up!
My official attendance guess was 51,144. I’ll consider that a successful guess and take victory lap on this one!
Well, your thinking is wrong, but don’t let that stop you. But maybe you can tell me what the picture the cards are showing is because I can’t tell.If it makes you feel better, I don't think anyone except for 1970 block I alumni are embarrassed by this
If this was The Price Is Right, you would win both showcases.
My official attendance guess was 51,144. I’ll consider that a successful guess and take victory lap on this one!
what in the pictureWell, your thinking is wrong, but don’t let that stop you. But maybe you can tell me what the picture the cards are showing is because I can’t tell.
thanks again for your well thought out and well written analysis .Notes from the game:
(1) Altmyer now has a 164.3 passing efficiency rating. Last year he was at 131.9 (Scheelhaase's best season was ~140). NFL passer rating last year was 85.4. This year? 120. His PER will likely regress - Kansas' has an excellent defense but Nebraska and Penn State are also excellent plus the weather will turn - but this is a much better start to the year than last year. You can see the staff's imprint on him: they rather he leaves so yards out on the field to mitigate turnovers. I'm fine with that during the crux of the game, but I was appreciative of him letting things loosen up when they needed points against KU and he was reading the zone well against CMU. Question is whether he can trust the team's offensive line more on passing plays and avoid lowering his eyes under pressure. A couple of the sacks yesterday had an obvious safety valve option but LA preferred avoiding all risk. I'm fully expecting Nebraska to bring more pressure based on CMU's success and force Altmyer to trust his personnel.
(2) Seeing lots of complaints about offensive line but I think too many folks are conflating running game issues with all offensive line concerns. Right now, there are no lanes being opened on the interior. Lots of finger pointing going around and it all might be warranted. Feagin looks indecisive and slow to change directions. McCray broke a couple runs but tough to decide if something is different there or a couple well schemed runs. Saw more linemen disagreements yesterday than past weeks. Is that things where the team needs to get on the same page or frustration boiling over?
(3) Want to point to how PFF stats can be wildly inaccurate to what you are watching? PFF has Illinois with the 8th (!!!!) best team run blocking rate in the country. They have them as the 70th (!) best pass blocking rate in the country. The only defense is PFF weighs WR blocking the same as o-line blocking, so Pat Bryant being a run blocking extraordinaire carries the same weight as Priestly. I do not trust PFF with those team stats, you can look at Altmyer's time to throw stat and it's increased this year - but it does likely mean Illinois needs to consider more wham blocking fits and/or stretch runs to take advantage of good blocking WRs.
(4) Really happy to see some Collin Dixon passing success. Bryant and Franklin are awesome, but someone else is going to need to step up (and Altmyer is going to need to trust them) and become a relief valve or 3rd trustworthy WR because defenses like Penn State/Nebraska/Michigan are going to have the personnel to make things harder on two reliable pass-catchers. Speaking of....
(5) This might be the worst set of TEs on Illinois' roster in a long time, which is saying something. Every summer there are folks on here asking why we aren't getting the TEs 25-40 catches a year. Want to know why? Watch the CMU tape. Not sure this is going to be an easy fix next year either. I'm sure Arkin will improve and Rusk will come back but each has their deficiencies and Rusk will be back from a major knee injury. We still don't know if Rusk can block. Heck, I'm not sure any of the TEs blocked this past week.
(6) Defensive edge play was awesome this past week. Going to need that to make up for interior deficiencies and/or obvious passing downs. Even the non-stars, the Triple B's (Briggs, Barna, Bryant) have been playing well. Wonder if the staff might mix and match them for a few snaps on the interior if necessary. It also shows the benefit of moving Jacas more inside and giving them OLB 2-deep more opportunities.
(7) 25 snaps for Terrance Brooks this past weekend. With him and Strain back it gives lots of rotational options for Illinois in the secondary.
(8) Illinois is badly needing a thumping LB. Rosiek is built for modern pass concepts but is likely in a tough spot playing in the Big Ten. His coverage scores are awesome, his tackling and run defensive scores are....not. Kreutz is going to keep eating into those snaps, let's hope he's ready to make the right reads.
(9) Starting to see an adjustment this week as teams were heavily attacking Xavier Scott at the end of last year and beginning of this year - CMU only threw at him three times. I'm guessing Illinois' opponents will start testing quick, horizontal passing concepts to test Illinois' CBs without safety help. That likely fits better with Cox's skillset (quickness and negates his height concerns) but Canada and Patterson will have to prove they can tackle and force offenses to string together long drives.
(10) It won't stay perfect for the season but it's refreshing to see so few in-season injuries to close the non-conference schedule. Bray is nicked up. Laughery too, but I think he would have played if this was a tough opponent. There were a lot of big injuries this week to good teams. Grateful going into Lincoln with good health.
I agree with Mr Tibbs, great assessment and write up mhuml32.Notes from the game:
(1) Altmyer now has a 164.3 passing efficiency rating. Last year he was at 131.9 (Scheelhaase's best season was ~140). NFL passer rating last year was 85.4. This year? 120. His PER will likely regress - Kansas' has an excellent defense but Nebraska and Penn State are also excellent plus the weather will turn - but this is a much better start to the year than last year. You can see the staff's imprint on him: they rather he leaves so yards out on the field to mitigate turnovers. I'm fine with that during the crux of the game, but I was appreciative of him letting things loosen up when they needed points against KU and he was reading the zone well against CMU. Question is whether he can trust the team's offensive line more on passing plays and avoid lowering his eyes under pressure. A couple of the sacks yesterday had an obvious safety valve option but LA preferred avoiding all risk. I'm fully expecting Nebraska to bring more pressure based on CMU's success and force Altmyer to trust his personnel.
(2) Seeing lots of complaints about offensive line but I think too many folks are conflating running game issues with all offensive line concerns. Right now, there are no lanes being opened on the interior. Lots of finger pointing going around and it all might be warranted. Feagin looks indecisive and slow to change directions. McCray broke a couple runs but tough to decide if something is different there or a couple well schemed runs. Saw more linemen disagreements yesterday than past weeks. Is that things where the team needs to get on the same page or frustration boiling over?
(3) Want to point to how PFF stats can be wildly inaccurate to what you are watching? PFF has Illinois with the 8th (!!!!) best team run blocking rate in the country. They have them as the 70th (!) best pass blocking rate in the country. The only defense is PFF weighs WR blocking the same as o-line blocking, so Pat Bryant being a run blocking extraordinaire carries the same weight as Priestly. I do not trust PFF with those team stats, you can look at Altmyer's time to throw stat and it's increased this year - but it does likely mean Illinois needs to consider more wham blocking fits and/or stretch runs to take advantage of good blocking WRs.
(4) Really happy to see some Collin Dixon passing success. Bryant and Franklin are awesome, but someone else is going to need to step up (and Altmyer is going to need to trust them) and become a relief valve or 3rd trustworthy WR because defenses like Penn State/Nebraska/Michigan are going to have the personnel to make things harder on two reliable pass-catchers. Speaking of....
(5) This might be the worst set of TEs on Illinois' roster in a long time, which is saying something. Every summer there are folks on here asking why we aren't getting the TEs 25-40 catches a year. Want to know why? Watch the CMU tape. Not sure this is going to be an easy fix next year either. I'm sure Arkin will improve and Rusk will come back but each has their deficiencies and Rusk will be back from a major knee injury. We still don't know if Rusk can block. Heck, I'm not sure any of the TEs blocked this past week.
(6) Defensive edge play was awesome this past week. Going to need that to make up for interior deficiencies and/or obvious passing downs. Even the non-stars, the Triple B's (Briggs, Barna, Bryant) have been playing well. Wonder if the staff might mix and match them for a few snaps on the interior if necessary. It also shows the benefit of moving Jacas more inside and giving them OLB 2-deep more opportunities.
(7) 25 snaps for Terrance Brooks this past weekend. With him and Strain back it gives lots of rotational options for Illinois in the secondary.
(8) Illinois is badly needing a thumping LB. Rosiek is built for modern pass concepts but is likely in a tough spot playing in the Big Ten. His coverage scores are awesome, his tackling and run defensive scores are....not. Kreutz is going to keep eating into those snaps, let's hope he's ready to make the right reads.
(9) Starting to see an adjustment this week as teams were heavily attacking Xavier Scott at the end of last year and beginning of this year - CMU only threw at him three times. I'm guessing Illinois' opponents will start testing quick, horizontal passing concepts to test Illinois' CBs without safety help. That likely fits better with Cox's skillset (quickness and negates his height concerns) but Canada and Patterson will have to prove they can tackle and force offenses to string together long drives.
(10) It won't stay perfect for the season but it's refreshing to see so few in-season injuries to close the non-conference schedule. Bray is nicked up. Laughery too, but I think he would have played if this was a tough opponent. There were a lot of big injuries this week to good teams. Grateful going into Lincoln with good health.
Wonder if the O-Line issues are personnel related and someone (or multiple guys) needs to be replaced, or if it's something else such as communication, chemistry, etc.(2) Seeing lots of complaints about offensive line but I think too many folks are conflating running game issues with all offensive line concerns. Right now, there are no lanes being opened on the interior. Lots of finger pointing going around and it all might be warranted. Feagin looks indecisive and slow to change directions. McCray broke a couple runs but tough to decide if something is different there or a couple well schemed runs. Saw more linemen disagreements yesterday than past weeks. Is that things where the team needs to get on the same page or frustration boiling over?
Watching all the games it feels like a communication issue. They aren't identifying their guys and effectively doubling up to the second level.Wonder if the O-Line issues are personnel related and someone (or multiple guys) needs to be replaced, or if it's something else such as communication, chemistry, etc.
either way, it needs to be fixed...
quick.
Feagin needs to move to the linebacker room- he’s not built to be a running back