Montana Football - Question #1

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Question for fans of teams like NoCo, UNI, Citadel and Chattanooga etc


This coming season will be defined by our OL. Some people have optimism but I would not be one of those people. We don't have the talent or depth on the OL to compete in a decent conference let alone on a national level. Sure we have a great QB and some nice skill players but they won't do anything if our OL doesn't show up and play consistent week in and week out.

the fact we play in a very weak conference will net us a couple wins we wouldn't get elsewhere but that still puts us around the 4-5 loss mark on the season.

So my question is, How do you lie to yourself and convince yourself that you can be better than you actually are?

I have no experience in dealing with teams around .500 and I have a feeling this season I am going to need some tips from MSU fans and others to get me through this.


This isn't smack, this is serious, I am having trouble coping with this fact.



Thank you and God bless

[Silenoz]

Just use the mantra "well wait until basketball season"


Wait, we suck at that too

[citdog]

Alpha when you have had the kind of success that y'all have had it spoils you. The lean years are so few and far between for programs like yours. When we win the SoCon again, for the third time, it will be SO SWEET because it doesn't happen very often. We savor and treasure the good times.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

If JJ can play at the level he was at in '12, he could carry the offense until the O-Line comes around and gets some game experience....if the O-Line is truely the weak link....xnodx

Griz fans can evaluate the defense.....

[Grizcountry420]

If JJ can play at the level he was at in '12, he could carry the offense until the O-Line comes around and gets some game experience....if the O-Line is truely the weak link....xnodx

Griz fans can evaluate the defense.....


That was 2011 you are thinking of. He didnt play in 2012..

[BisonFan02]

Question for fans of teams like NoCo, UNI, Citadel and Chattanooga etc


This coming season will be defined by our OL. Some people have optimism but I would not be one of those people. We don't have the talent or depth on the OL to compete in a decent conference let alone on a national level. Sure we have a great QB and some nice skill players but they won't do anything if our OL doesn't show up and play consistent week in and week out.

the fact we play in a very weak conference will net us a couple wins we wouldn't get elsewhere but that still puts us around the 4-5 loss mark on the season.

So my question is, How do you lie to yourself and convince yourself that you can be better than you actually are?

I have no experience in dealing with teams around .500 and I have a feeling this season I am going to need some tips from MSU fans and others to get me through this.


This isn't smack, this is serious, I am having trouble coping with this fact.



Thank you and God bless

Just come over to the dark side. :D

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

I am a Griz fan and that will never change.

I wade through the idiot plethora of fans we have, I set aside the rapes, shootings, poaching, domestic violence and home invasions. I over look the ****ty administration that is tethering a boat anchor to our future and still bleed Maroonblood.com and silver.

You guys have it dialed in and on cruise control right now and it's awesome to watch my Bison friends enjoy the run but I am a Griz and that is the way it is. Thanks for the offer but I am true to my roots and no amount of success or failure will ever change that.

[semobison]

I can understand your concern Alpha. I watched you guys get beat in the trenches against South Dakota last year. Rushing yards were 250 to 50 or something like that. You guys got a gift with the fumble and KO return in the 4th qtr. Football games are often won in the trenches and I am sure the Griz will improve in that area rather quickly. Its good for the FCS when Montana has a good team. I used to pull for you guys in the playoffs when we were still DII.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

We are not getting better in the trenches, that's the problem.

Our OL is going to get trampled on this year and our DL won't be far behind. We are not getting the size and talent to compete in the FCS but hey we have 61 WRs!

[mvemjsunpx]

That was 2011 you are thinking of. He didnt play in 2012..

2013 would be a better comparison. JJ was better in 2013 than he was at any point in 2011.

The defense is a wild card to some extent. UM lost a really good linebacking corps, but the new set seems to match up better (on paper) to spread teams. Montana's biggest defensive weakness in 2013 was poor matchups against spread teams due to bigger linebackers & low DB depth. The DB depth should be better & the linebackers should fit stylistically better against spread teams, but the overall experience at LB is obviously lower. Montana's D-Line should be excellent as usual.

[mvemjsunpx]

I can understand your concern Alpha. I watched you guys get beat in the trenches against South Dakota last year. Rushing yards were 250 to 50 or something like that. You guys got a gift with the fumble and KO return in the 4th qtr. Football games are often won in the trenches and I am sure the Griz will improve in that area rather quickly. Its good for the FCS when Montana has a good team. I used to pull for you guys in the playoffs when we were still DII.

The rushing yards allowed against South Dakota largely came down to one thing: the defense kept biting on the fake reverse every single time. That was UM's worst game of the season in terms of ypc allowed—only Cal Poly & CCU ran for more total yards, but they each had 50+ carries.

[walliver]

We have a .500 or losing season every 4 years - literally every 4 years (2001,2005,2009,2013). Every time we get knocked down, we get up again, the sun rises in the east and it sets in the west.

Montana is a completely different situation from Chattanooga (whose glory days were long ago and struggled for 2 decades) and the Citadel (where great teams come every few decades). Your current plight is more like that of Furman which has just recovered from a frustrating decade.

If your team is mediocre this year, just drink some premium beer to make up for it.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Montana needs to get their long term coach sometime really soon. I'm sure Mick is a good guy but you have to think of recruits in 4 year chunks.

Is he going to be coaching when he's 75 or 80?

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Montana needs to get their long term coach sometime really soon. I'm sure Mick is a good guy but you have to think of recruits in 4 year chunks.

Is he going to be coaching when he's 75 or 80?

Got the feeling he's gonna want to pack it up after this season.

[NoDak 4 Ever]

Got the feeling he's gonna want to pack it up after this season.

They better get a plan. Be it the Jerry Moore or the Eddie Robinson plan, too much uncertainty scares away recruits

[Green26]

Montana should be fine this season. While 3 good o-lineman graduated, and o-line is my biggest question mark too, there is a decent amount of returning experience at o-line and some good younger guys who hopefully can step up. Maybe another glitch there too. I am much more concerned about the tougher schedule, than the strength or depth of the o-line. Opening at Wyo. NDSU on road several weeks later. Cal Poly, Eastern, So. Utah on the road. The qb, Johnson, is outstanding and needs to remain healthy. Not having him or any experience at qb in '12 killed the season. The d-line should be outstanding. Expected improved secondary as a group. The new linebackers will need to improve and step up fast. Lots of mobility, if not size, there. Receivers should be outstanding and near top of conference. Good running backs. Good blocking fullback. Have younger guys and a converted big receiver at TE. Great punter. Need a place kicker to step up. Good coaching staff, despite the complaining from some fans. The old very good strength coach is back from UNLV. The team will be stronger from the weight room.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

They better get a plan. Be it the Jerry Moore or the Eddie Robinson plan, too much uncertainty scares away recruits
I'm just speaking off the cuff with zero knowledge but I'm pretty sure the plan is already place and it just isn't public yet but will be in plenty of time to not affect recruiting negatively going forward.

[Green26]

Montana needs to get their long term coach sometime really soon. I'm sure Mick is a good guy but you have to think of recruits in 4 year chunks.

Is he going to be coaching when he's 75 or 80?

Don't think getting rid of the old guy and bringing up the coach of the future worked so great for App St last year--so pulling the trigger early on the an old guy isn't necessarily a successful strategy. At the FCS level, I think most recruits come for the program and are influenced more by the position coaches, who recruit them, and the existing players whom they meet, than by the head coach. Of course, there are exceptions.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Montana should be fine this season. While 3 good o-lineman graduated, and o-line is my biggest question mark too, there is a decent amount of returning experience at o-line and some good younger guys who hopefully can step up. I am much more concerned about the tougher schedule, than the strength or depth of the o-line. Opening at Wyo. NDSU on road several weeks later. Cal Poly, Eastern, So. Utah on the road. The qb, Johnson, is outstanding and needs to remain healthy. Not having him or any experience at qb in '12 killed the season. The d-line should be outstanding. Expected improved secondary as a group. The new linebackers will need to improve and step up fast. Lots of mobility, if not size, there. Receivers should be outstanding and near top of conference. Good running backs. Good blocking fullback. Have younger guys and a converted big receiver at TE. Great punter. Need a place kicker to step up. Good coaching staff, despite the complaining from some fans. The old very good strength coach is back from UNLV. The team will be stronger from the weight room.
That is one of those things that I think will have more impact than you'd expect it to.

[Bisonator]

That is one of those things that I think will have more impact than you'd expect it to.

I know Coach Kramer is a huge reason NDSU has been so good. He was a key "keep" when Bohl left!

[Grizcountry420]

I just hope whoever takes over at Montana isn't on the current coaching staff..

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Funny..............like we would ever hire a football coach that wasnt somehow involved in the program or related to the program. We are Nepotism U!!!

[MplsBison]

I know Coach Kramer is a huge reason NDSU has been so good. He was a key "keep" when Bohl left!

I would be surprised if he was convinced to stay in Fargo by the current staff. My guess is he made a decision that he didn't want to go way out to Wyoming and be that much farther away from his family. I'm sure it was a very difficult decision to break from Bohl, the guy who brought him to Fargo in 2003.

Kramer has been in Fargo since 2003 and surely can stay until Klieman decides to clean house or leaves himself.

[MplsBison]

As far as Montana's OL goes:

66 Logan Hines RS SR Center 6-4 291 Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix College)
65 Jordan Hines RS SR Offensive Guard 6-4 291 Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix College)
72 Trevor Poole RS SR Offensive Tackle 6-5 290 Spokane, Wash. (Ferris)

74 John Schmaing RS JR Offensive Tackle 6-7 290 Billings, Mont. (Senior)

70 Ben Weyer RS SO Offensive Center/Guard 6-4 270 Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman)
68 McCauley Todd RS SO Offensive Guard 6-7 295 Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Washington)
71 Devon Dietrich RS SO Offensive Guard 6-4 270 Woodinville, Wash. (Woodinville)
79 Max Kelly RS SO Offensive Tackle 6-7 274 Spokane, Wash. (Gonzaga Prep)
78 Clint LaRowe RS SO Offensive Tackle 6-5 290 Miles City, Mont. (Custer County)

77 Cameron Rokich RS FR Offensive Tackle 6-5 245 West Jordan, Utah (Juan Diego Catholic)


So what's the story with these guys? Did the Hines brothers from AZ JUCO not pan out? I saw Poole in a picture on the Griz website, so I know he must've played some last season. How about the Billings kid?

Looks like a large crop of Sophs that will need to grow up this season. What the heck is the guy from Cedar Rapids doing in Missoula???

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Hines brothers are solid but not starter material good 2's and I hear they are good guys.

Poole is incredibly over rated IMO, last year he was playing out of position and will move back to Tackle so maybe he can live up to the hype but I dont see it.

Schmaing is talented and if he improves might be the best all around player in the group, he has good feet and if he loads up on some size might be able to crack a pro roster. He has work to do but i think the talent is there.

Todd came to Montana if I recall correctly because of his major in college. He was coming to Montana even if he didnt play football from what I heard and he is a nice addition to the OL, needs to play tougher , he gets pushed around some but hoping he grows out of that and starts bitch slapping people.

Watched Weyer play a bit in high school and he has a solid skill set. He can anchor the line if he gets some playing time and keeps doing what he has done in spring ball.

The rest of the guys are mildly underwhelming and I dont know much about Rokich.

OL is going to be a weak point this season, I just hope it isnt worse than I think it will be.

[Tribe4SF]

Question for fans of teams like NoCo, UNI, Citadel and Chattanooga etc


This coming season will be defined by our OL. Some people have optimism but I would not be one of those people. We don't have the talent or depth on the OL to compete in a decent conference let alone on a national level. Sure we have a great QB and some nice skill players but they won't do anything if our OL doesn't show up and play consistent week in and week out.

the fact we play in a very weak conference will net us a couple wins we wouldn't get elsewhere but that still puts us around the 4-5 loss mark on the season.

So my question is, How do you lie to yourself and convince yourself that you can be better than you actually are?

I have no experience in dealing with teams around .500 and I have a feeling this season I am going to need some tips from MSU fans and others to get me through this.


This isn't smack, this is serious, I am having trouble coping with this fact.



Thank you and God bless

We've got plenty of OL so I'll trade you three OL for a healthy, talented QB.xsmiley_wix