Montana will Prevail

[Grizaholic17]

I have been reading a lot about the Grizzles and there possible fall from dominance this year. And after reading the Thompson article, I am outraged. I wish all of this talk will seize.

The Grizzlies have a new team on defense, that is for sure. But our defensive backfield is more speedy and talented than most in the country, no problems there. The line backer corps poses some issues, but they will hold their own. And the line has about 10 guys that will sub in and out to stay fresh (slight exaggeration :p)

And our offense will be amazing with our O-line and prepared quarterback and running back. We will hold our own. And a 9-3 season will get us to the playoffs if we hold our one conference loss to EWU, and the rest to OOC.

Our stadium is primed, the field is new, the sound system in check. Football time is coming. Good luck to all. And have no fear, the Griz are near.

[Cleets]

I have been reading a lot about the Grizzles and there possible fall from dominance this year. And after reading the Thompson article, I am outraged. I wish all of this talk will seize.

The Grizzlies have a new team on defense, that is for sure. But our defensive backfield is more speedy and talented than most in the country, no problems there. The line backer corps poses some issues, but they will hold their own. And the line has about 10 guys that will sub in and out to stay fresh (slight exaggeration :p)

And our offense will be amazing with our O-line and prepared quarterback and running back. We will hold our own. And a 9-3 season will get us to the playoffs if we hold our one conference loss to EWU, and the rest to OOC.

Our stadium is primed, the field is new, the sound system in check. Football time is coming. Good luck to all. And have no fear, the Griz are near.

I would think a Montana fan would enjoy a season being the under-dog for once... in like 20 years
I would post all the "Montana will stink" stuff you can get your hands on...!!!



xwhistlex

[ursus arctos horribilis]

I would think a Montana fan would enjoy a season being the under-dog for once... in like 20 years
I would post all the "Montana will stink" stuff you can get your hands on...!!!



xwhistlex

No need to post it my friend, everyone knows that we are young and we have a tough row of Ho's to even get in to the playoffs this year. I give it a 50/50 chance of keeping the playoff streak alive. I hope I am wrong and we gun everyone down but we are short on experience and have some pretty big losses.

[wapiti]

Shouldn't this be under smack???? xeyebrowx

The griz are going down!!!! xnodx :D

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Shouldn't this be under smack???? xeyebrowx

The griz are going down!!!! xnodx :D

It probably should be now. No Griz thread should be started anywhere else just to save the Mods some time from moving it.

[CopperCat]

I have been reading a lot about the Grizzles and there possible fall from dominance this year. And after reading the Thompson article, I am outraged. I wish all of this talk will seize.

The Grizzlies have a new team on defense, that is for sure. But our defensive backfield is more speedy and talented than most in the country, no problems there. The line backer corps poses some issues, but they will hold their own. And the line has about 10 guys that will sub in and out to stay fresh (slight exaggeration :p)

And our offense will be amazing with our O-line and prepared quarterback and running back. We will hold our own. And a 9-3 season will get us to the playoffs if we hold our one conference loss to EWU, and the rest to OOC.

Our stadium is primed, the field is new, the sound system in check. Football time is coming. Good luck to all. And have no fear, the Griz are near.

Minus all the misspellings:

The griz had quite a few guys leave the defense, and that is a big deal (especially Kroy). The backfield on the offense won't be as deep as it was last year. Those two things in my mind make the griz very vulnerable. But as Cleets said, you should enjoy that role.

[Green26]

I can see it taking a good chunk of the season to get things going. Cal Poly on the road will be a hard one.

I've heard people say the linebackers may be better this year than last, even though 6 graduated. Two of the backers are very hard hitters. The middle backer is back from an injury that kept him out last year.

The o-line line should be excellent. 3 first team pre-season all-conference picks. 2 being picked for some all-american teams. 4 being promoted by UM as all-american candidates. This will likely be the key to the offense.

Cornerback is the thinnest position. Will depend on 2 JC transfers and perhaps some true frosh, to go along with 2 transfers from a year ago.

Yes, running back will be interesting. Replacing the top 3 from last year will be a challenge. A true frosh will likely be in the mix. New coach Delaney, who coached at Colo St for a number of years, should help.

Receivers should be good, but may be a bit thin.

Replacing the first team all-american kicker and the 2nd leading punter, will result in some or alot of dropoff.

2 or 3 true frosh are expected to be in the mix.

[ncbears]

I just don't see Montana winning the Sky, but I don think they'll make the playoffs. Maybe even UNC will upset the Griz?!

[GOKATS]

I'm not a pup by any means, and I've eaten enough 'crow' (and lost many bets and cases of beer, though it's coming back lately) to last a life time, so I will never take the griz out of the picture. However, I do think that losing as much talent as they did will impact their ability to win the conference and move on to the playoffs.

My guess is that they'll do no better than conference co-champs, but will make the playoffs. I predict a big loss at Cal Poly- how they recover from that will set the scene for the rest of the season.

Isn't pre-season BS fun?:D

[SeattleGriz]

I'm not a pup by any means, and I've eaten enough 'crow' (and lost many bets and cases of beer, though it's coming back lately) to last a life time, so I will never take the griz out of the picture. However, I do think that losing as much talent as they did will impact their ability to win the conference and move on to the playoffs.

My guess is that they'll do no better than conference co-champs, but will make the playoffs. I predict a big loss at Cal Poly- how they recover from that will set the scene for the rest of the season.

Isn't pre-season BS fun?:D

I might agree if Cal Poly had a couple of games under their belt, but the first game of the season is always an offensive struggle. That alone should keep it close. xpeacex

[slostang]

I might agree if Cal Poly had a couple of games under their belt, but the first game of the season is always an offensive struggle. That alone should keep it close. xpeacex

It is the Griz first game of the season. It will be the Mustangs second game. Cal Poly plays at San Diego State the week before. Not saying it wont be close or that the Mustangs are going to win, just saying it is not the Mustangs first game.

I do agree about offenses struggling early in the year. I think that is even more so for a timing offense like Cal Poly's triple option.

[OB55]

Git out there and buy yourself a hunk of that old turf. Maybe then they can raise enough money to go on the road for a non-conference game.

:D

[Ronbo]

Git out there and buy yourself a hunk of that old turf. Maybe then they can raise enough money to go on the road for a non-conference game.

:D

That money goes to the GSA not the Athletic Department. We netted 2.5 million profit last year in football. Looks like they are going to spend that money on facilities improvements not road games. In fact I would predict that with fuel costs drving up the cost of traveling we will never see a Griz team on the East Coast again. We will have a steady diet of Cal Poly, Southern Utah, and Davis for our OOC games. Maybe North Dakota and South Dakota soon.

[kalm]

If memory serves, you graduated your all-world kicker, so with the potential for closer games that could potentially be a concern.

At Poly, Portland State, and of course the friendly confines of Woodward Field, will all be tough games. But I don't see the Griz losing all three which would afford them a loss at Weber or to the Cats in the Brawl, a 9-3 finish and at the very least an at-large bid.

[mvemjsunpx]

If memory serves, you graduated your all-world kicker, so with the potential for closer games that could potentially be a concern.

At Poly, Portland State, and of course the friendly confines of Woodward Field, will all be tough games. But I don't see the Griz losing all three which would afford them a loss at Weber or to the Cats in the Brawl, a 9-3 finish and at the very least an at-large bid.


I don't think Portland will be a loss. PSU lost most of their key players from last year (including their top 3 receivers) & I figure they'll end up with about the same record as in 2007.

I think the Griz will go 9-3 overall & 6-2 in conference, losing @ CP, @ Eastern, and @ Weber. In other words, Montana will start 3-3, but sweep the second half of the season.

[Gully]

I think the Griz will do fine. Their schedule looks pretty easy to me and I'd expect them to win the Big Sky. Not sure they'll do much in the playoffs but the streak is not in jeopardy.

[Ronbo]

I have a friend that rooms with a couple of the players. He says everyone will be mighty surprised with this years team. He says the fans have no idea what a monster team we have this year. He said enjoy the ride, it's going to be a good one. :) :) xlolx xlolx xnodx xnodx

[Grizaholic17]

I might agree if Cal Poly had a couple of games under their belt, but the first game of the season is always an offensive struggle. That alone should keep it close. xpeacex

I guess all we can truly do is sit back and enjoy the games. No matter what happens, we'll always LOVE OUR GRIZ.

[rancher griz]

I think we will be fine and will win or share the sky again. We will be improved at the Offensive Line and at quarterback, which is a huge key to anybody's success. We won't have as dominant as running back as Lex this year, but with the OL we have, I believe our running game will be as solid as its ever been. The big question on offense is if we get our WRs to step up and spread out the offense.

On defense we will miss Kroy and our trio of linebackers, but we had alot of depth there last year and the players replacing them this year have solid game time experience. Our run defense should be excellent. My biggest worry is how we'll defend the pass. We have excellent talent at safety, headed by a Buck Buchanan Candidate in Colt Anderson, but our experience at the CB positions is a glaring weakness. Can we get pressure on the quarterback? Kroy was a special player. You can't replace the best defensive player in the country that easily. The kicking game is also a huge question mark. I don't know if we'll have the luxury of almost automatic 40+ yrd field goals this season.

Bottom line is that we've recruited too much talent to not reach the playoffs.

[Casey_Orourke]

I don't think Portland will be a loss. PSU lost most of their key players from last year (including their top 3 receivers) & I figure they'll end up with about the same record as in 2007.

I think the Griz will go 9-3 overall & 6-2 in conference, losing @ CP, @ Eastern, and @ Weber. In other words, Montana will start 3-3, but sweep the second half of the season.
I would hope we do better than last year, but we do realize that we are in the second year of a total revamp, but it still will be an interesting season. Best of luck this season, that is until you hit Portlandxlolx .

[already123]

I dont necessarily think it is a matter of what the Griz have in the pantry (sorta speak), I think its a matter of comparing that to what the rest of the conference is offering as well...

And of course, I only mean those teams in contention....EWU, NAU, MSU, possibly WSU