Montana @ UC Davis

[Tod]

No score at the end of the 1st Qtr., but Davis has a first and goal at about the one foot line.

[Tod]

False start on Davis, first and goal from the six...

Second and goal from the four...

[Tod]

4th and goal from the four...

FG attempt is...good.

3-0 Aggies.

[I Bleed Purple]

Damn it, you beat me by a minute, Tod. xlolx

[Tod]

Damn it, you beat me by a minute, Tod. xlolx

I was waiting for somebody else to start it! xlolx

[Thundar]

I thought this game was On Channelsurfing, is it viewable anywhere??

[I Bleed Purple]

4 and out for UM. Not looking sharp at all. O-Line and QB looking shaky to start off.

[I Bleed Purple]

I thought this game was On Channelsurfing, is it viewable anywhere??

Big Sky TV. You would have known that had Tod waited an extra two minutes to make the thread. xlolx

[Silenoz]

Someone needs to kick our ass so we can get our s#$% together, ala the Weber game last year

[Tod]

4 and out for UM. Not looking sharp at all. O-Line and QB looking shaky to start off.

True, true...

UC Davis doing well. Moving the ball.

[Tod]

Big Sky TV. You would have known that had Tod waited an extra two minutes to make the thread. xlolx

:p

[I Bleed Purple]

Looks like the O-line from UM is starting to run block better

[Tod]

Wow! Griz not looking good at all. xsmhxxsmhx

[I Bleed Purple]

Wow. What a drop!

[I Bleed Purple]

UC Davis doing a lot of bootlegs and executing their offense very well so far.

[I Bleed Purple]

Davis doesn't seem to have any big play makers on offense, though. Lots of swing passes and quick outs. That's why it's still just 3-0

[Tod]

Damn! Mariani stripped of the ball after a good catch/gain. UCD 30 yards on the fumble return.

About a minute to go in the half.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Montana fumble recovered and ran back 30 yds for Davis... ouch

[I Bleed Purple]

When will O-Lineman learn you can't chop block guys when you're on the side of them?

[I Bleed Purple]

UM's defense looks OK. The offense, though, looks really inexperienced despite some talent. One good play, than three bad plays.

[UNHWildCats]

score?

[I Bleed Purple]

3 nuttin' Davis. Halftime.

[UNHWildCats]

wow

[Silenoz]

Jesus. H.

[gbhmt]

I can't really think of much we can do to play worse at the moment.

[I Bleed Purple]

What a great play action for a touchdown.

[Tod]

TD UC Davis on a brilliant fake from the one yard line. 10-0 UC Davis with 9:34 to go in the 3rd Qtr.

[gbhmt]

Denham has got some serious skills.

[gocats05]

What is happening? Espn says that your qb has 1 pass attempt and your rb has 2 attempts

[AggiePride]

Oh yeh :D

[ncbears]

Any internet feed besides bigskytv.org?

[Tod]

TD Montana!

[Tod]

PAT Good! 10-7 UC Davis.

About 6 min. left in the 3rd.

[I Bleed Purple]

Bad defense by Davis on that drive.

[Tod]

What is happening? Espn says that your qb has 1 pass attempt and your rb has 2 attempts

Maybe someday ESPN will mention your team.

Nah!

[I Bleed Purple]

That was a great diving tackle attempt by the Montana DB xrolleyesx

[I Bleed Purple]

What the hell?

1st half, nothing but flat passes, slants and outs. Same thing 2nd half and UM isn't adjusting.

[Silenoz]

What the hell?

1st half, nothing but flat passes, slants and outs. Same thing 2nd half and UM isn't adjusting.

We did the same thing last year. We'll switch it up after the fourth or fifth game

[I Bleed Purple]

We did the same thing last year. We'll switch it up after the fourth or fifth game

Is it worth losing a game to do what was done last year?

[Tod]

We did the same thing last year. We'll switch it up after the fourth or fifth game

Just luring them in, I guess? xrolleyesxxsmhx

[I Bleed Purple]

All out blitz picked up, easy first down throw for the QB to make. Amazing that this is a three point game.

[Tod]

Davis misses the FG. Griz ball. 10-7 Davis, 12:18 left in the game.

[I Bleed Purple]

Missed FG. Davis looks like a very average football team. They're executing offensively well to move the ball, but don't have the big hitter to challenge UM, letting them toughen up nearer the goal line.

Montana looks really sloppy. More so on offense.

[gbhmt]

All out blitz picked up, easy first down throw for the QB to make. Amazing that this is a three point game.

Not really. Sure the defense isn't slowing them down but if you've been paying attention you'd hear that every other play they reiterate that it's a "bend but not break" defense that doesn't allow big plays. That also makes for very good defense on a small field, hence the fact that they've gotten in the endzone once.

[I Bleed Purple]

Nice catch and run. Followed by easy TD run.

That TE was much faster than Davis defenders realized.

[Tod]

62 yard play by Montana! TD on the next play by Chase Reynolds.

Montana has their first lead of the game.

PAT is...good!

10:48 left, Griz 14-10.

[gbhmt]

Missed FG. Davis looks like a very average football team. They're executing offensively well to move the ball, but don't have the big hitter to challenge UM, letting them toughen up nearer the goal line.

Montana looks really sloppy. More so on offense.

And yeah that's all right. I'd say Davis is better than average but not stellar. Just very balanced. Good enough to take advantage of a poor performance by the Griz.

[Silenoz]

Huge gain to the tight end Beaudin

14-10 UM

I think we'll all be happy with escaping with a win here

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Griz are looking better, but have a lot of room for improvement.

[Silenoz]

Davis blowing it here

[gbhmt]

Ouch. that hurts for Davis

[Tod]

Bad snap by Davis, recovered by Montana inside the Davis 20!

[I Bleed Purple]

Not really. Sure the defense isn't slowing them down but if you've been paying attention you'd hear that every other play they reiterate that it's a "bend but not break" defense that doesn't allow big plays. That also makes for very good defense on a small field, hence the fact that they've gotten in the endzone once.

Thing is, playmakers can beat that style. The QB doesn't have a big arm, so he has to throw 5-7 yards routes while top line Big Sky QBs can throw 10-12 yard passes on similar coverage. Plus the WRs look to be faster. Toone would have 12 catches for 120 at this point.

[I Bleed Purple]

Davis falling apart.

[igo4uni]

closer than I thought.

[gbhmt]

Hahah announcer: "that might be the biggest play of the night for the Grizzly defense."

[Tod]

PI Davis. 1st and goal Griz.

2nd and goal...

[gbhmt]

Thing is, playmakers can beat that style. The QB doesn't have a big arm, so he has to throw 5-7 yards routes while top line Big Sky QBs can throw 10-12 yard passes on similar coverage. Plus the WRs look to be faster. Toone would have 12 catches for 120 at this point.

Chris Carter is that guy. He's 100+ for the game. But he's all they've got for playmakers, that's why they're giving him so much space. Not that I agree with that, I'd be confident in putting Johnson against him.

[Tod]

FG good by Montana.

8:38 left in the game. Griz up 17-10.

[I Bleed Purple]

"One man to beat on the ouside." ???? That "one man" had two defenders ten yards behind him.

[I Bleed Purple]

Very loose coverage. Davis looking to go big, now.

[I Bleed Purple]

Good read by the QB on the safety blitz going up top. Dropped in the end zone.

[Tod]

Montana takes over on downs. About 5 min. left.

[I Bleed Purple]

Chop block on Montana. Weber fans have memories of that kind of block.

[BEAR]

Can we watch this or listen to this online?xeyebrowx

[I Bleed Purple]

How the hell does a guy with 16 catches get that wide open?

[pokefan02]

If you have Directv turn to channel 698

[BEAR]

Of course not...xlolx Guess I'll check out the live stats on the athletic site. xnodx

[I Bleed Purple]

Two dropped passes in the end zone last two drives.

4th down.

[pokefan02]

UCD receivers are dropping a lot of passes tonight

[BEAR]

The lights just went off?

[ValleyChamp]

score?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Is it my imagination or did Davis tie or go ahead something like four times in this game, but their all-World receivers dropped the ball each time?

[pokefan02]

And now no lights

[I Bleed Purple]

Best time for the lights go out. 4th down. 50 seconds left. xlolx

[BEAR]

Less than a minute left.
The lights just went off! xlolx

[pokefan02]

Montana 17
UCD 10

57 seconds left when the lights come back

[gbhmt]

UCD receivers are dropping a lot of passes tonight

Taking their cues from ours it seems.

[phoenixphanatic21]

Maybe they are trying to switch out their receivers for some guys who'll be able to catch the ball tonight, since the guys they have right now seem to be struggling with that.

[Silenoz]

Maybe we'll use the opportunity to switch out our defensive scheme...

[I Bleed Purple]

Ten to fifteen minute delay?

Would have been funny had it happened in the middle of the fourth down play.

[BEAR]

I bet the Band-UH is having a blast! xlolx

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Maybe we'll use the opportunity to switch out our defensive scheme...

Do we have one? :Dxsmiley_wix

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Ten to fifteen minute delay?

Would have been funny had it happened in the middle of the fourth down play.

Amateur grounds crews......man, looks bad for them and really breaks they rhythm of the game.

[I Bleed Purple]

The speculation on the TV feed was that the lights were on a timer and turned off right at 10 PM local time.

[gbhmt]

Forced it to their man when he was perfectly covered.

[pokefan02]

Montana got away with pass interference on that last play on the inside receiver #18

[I Bleed Purple]

Badly thrown ball. Easy pic. UM pulls another one out of its ass. I wish Weber could pull wins out of their ass instead of gagging them up.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Badly thrown ball. Easy pic. UM pulls another one out of its ass. I wish Weber could pull wins out of their ass instead of gagging them up.

So many ways to comment on this....must.....resist.......:D

[BEAR]

I love it! The radio guys brought up the Central Arkansas game..xlolx

[I Bleed Purple]

So many ways to comment on this....must.....resist.......:D

No, go right ahead. I was curious to see the responses when I posted it.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Well, it's a win. Da Griz have some work to do, I hope they can improve because we need too. We had moments that looked good, and others that looked bad. Just glad we got the W.

[GOKATS]

UCD was the better team all night, but with the snaffus the jizz won. No way in hell are the griz in the top ten.

[I Bleed Purple]

Well, it's a win. Da Griz have some work to do, I hope they can improve because we need too. We had moments that looked good, and others that looked bad. Just glad we got the W.

Here's what I saw and what would be in my mind going into Big Sky play. I believe UM's tackles were good, but the interior three gave up penetration a lot more than they should. Quarterback play is an issue. Accuracy looked to be an issue. If UM was purposely playing simplistic defense with no adjustments on purpose, then I guess they'll know to change up schemes in conference play. Reynolds looked a tad slow to me and didn't/couldn't trust his blockers as much as he did against Weber last year. Final thought. Weber can beat this team and looked to be either more talented or on the same level.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Here's what I saw and what would be in my mind going into Big Sky play. I believe UM's tackles were good, but the interior three gave up penetration a lot more than they should. Quarterback play is an issue. Accuracy looked to be an issue. If UM was purposely playing simplistic defense with no adjustments on purpose, then I guess they'll know to change up schemes in conference play. Reynolds looked a tad slow to me and didn't/couldn't trust his blockers as much as he did against Weber last year. Final thought. Weber can beat this team and looked to be either more talented or on the same level.

Can't argue with you at this point. I just hope the Griz can improve. xpeacex

[ddmann]

In a strange way the game tonight reminds of the Kitty game of three years ago. Neither team ever really got it together and yet, somehow, someway, the Griz always seem to pull out another win. Can hardly wait to be in Zoo in a few weeks time and see if the team has improved as much as I think they need to.

One thing is for certain. quarterbacking by committee is STUPID.

[Ronbo]

The Griz start slow every year. It's a Hauck coached team. He allows no hitting during fall camp for fear of injuries. It's two hand touch. It takes the team 4-5 games to get going every single year and we always hear the same comments. It's pretty funny come November and December as the ones that say we sucked after the first two games are shocked and silent.

[Dallas Demon]

The Griz start slow every year. It's a Hauck coached team. He allows no hitting during fall camp for fear of injuries. It's two hand touch. It takes the team 4-5 games to get going every single year and we always hear the same comments. It's pretty funny come November and December as the ones that say we sucked after the first two games are shocked and silent.

I've noticed that over the years, and agree the same results happen at the end of the year with the Griz rolling over people in the playoffs. He probably wants them to peak at the right time.

[ddmann]

As much as it pains me to agree with Ronbo he does have a valid point. I know not why BH coaches his teams to only attain full attack status the last two or three games each year, but he does.

On the plus side he rarely, (and some small childish part of me hates him for this) runs up the score on an opponent. The negative side of this attitude is his apparent love of winning by "just that much". It drives me crazy, I am much more into the bury the opponent early and often viewpoint.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

The Griz start slow every year. It's a Hauck coached team. He allows no hitting during fall camp for fear of injuries. It's two hand touch. It takes the team 4-5 games to get going every single year and we always hear the same comments. It's pretty funny come November and December as the ones that say we sucked after the first two games are shocked and silent.

I'm not saying we sucked by any means. You would be blind if you didn't think we had a lot of room for improvement though. I'll take a W and look for ways to improve over a L any day. xnodx

[Green26]

No, Davis was not the better team tonight. When big plays and catches had to be made in the second half and late in the game, the Griz made more of those plays.

For example, UM intercepted on the last offensive play by Davis. Good play by the corner Trumaine Johnson, and not a good throw by Denham. In the 4th quarter, Davis receivers started dropping some balls, Davis had no running game, the UM defense started making more break ups on screens, and Denham didn't throw quite as well. UM seemed to pick up steam; Davis ran out of steam. I wonder if the Griz wore down Davis, as they often do to teams, despite Davis' offense moving the ball and Davis winning time-of-possession (37.5 minutes).

Denham was very good and completed 64% of his 67 passes. Threw 2 interceptions--both in the endzone to Trumaine Johnson. Davis had no running game. The Davis receiver Carter had a tremendous night (18 catches), but dropped a critical 4th down pass in the 4th quarter. Davis ended up with about 95 more yards of total offense than UM.

The UM defense gave up about 370 yards, but only one TD--and that was follwing a UM fumble on about the 40 of UM. UM stopped Davis on 3 of 4 4th down attempts.

When the lights went out with 50 some seconds to go, Johnson may have had an opportunity to stretch out his leg cramps, which he had the second half. That's why he was in and out, and was not in on the long pass to Carter on the last Davis drive. The other normal starting corner, Swink, appeared not to play. This hurt us.

Selle was 7-9. Roper was 9-19. Tremendous run by tight end Beaudin after the short roll out pass. I agree that the alternating of qb's has draw backs, but I'm not sure who I would pick, based on tonight as well the first game. Had Sambrano not dropped the easy third down pass and Mariani not fumbled, Selle's stats would have been better (I think Selle threw to Mariani, but could be wrong). I liked how Roper was the first to give kudos to Selle as he came off the field after moving the Griz in the first half.

The two late o-line penalties against UM were very unfortunate. It didn't look like Hauck was too excited with the refs on the first one. The second one looked much better on replay, than in real time. Horn was running hard, jumped over the pile, and was able to take less than a step before making the late hit. His momentum was going to take him into the Davis play and the hit was not that hard, but he shouldn't have put his head down. Nevertheless, the right call by the ref. UM had only 5 penalties.

Speaking of refs, I thought the first quarter pass to Palmer on the sideline on 3rd down should have been called good.

All of the turnovers were critical. Davis' 2 interceptions and fumble/high snap. UM's 2 fumbles. All killed drives, or likely drives. UM didn't give up any sacks. I think Reynolds had 80 or 90 yards.

Davis is a good team, as I thought. The Griz need to get better. It was a good road win.

[mlbowl]

UCD was the better team all night, but with the snaffus the jizz won. No way in hell are the griz in the top ten.

...as was Dixie State

[I Bleed Purple]

Chop block on Montana. Weber fans have memories of that kind of block.

Wow. Didn't think I'd get neg repped for this post.

[Silenoz]

UCD was the better team all night, but with the snaffus the jizz won. No way in hell are the griz in the top ten.
Well after watching Michigan State lose at home to a MAC team, and the embarrassment that was the Dixie State game, I'm not sure what the Cats are

[GOKATS]

Well after watching Michigan State lose at home to a MAC team, and the embarrassment that was the Dixie State game, I'm not sure what the Cats are

You'll know by the end of the season.........................xnodxxnodxxnodx

[mlbowl]

You'll know by the end of the season.........................xnodxxnodxxnodx

Heard thatxrolleyesx

[Grizaholic17]

All Ya'll can cry your little heads off about the Griz win. But when it comes down to it, the griz do horrible in the first few games and find their way towards the end. Happens every year...

2-0 and nothing you guys can do about it

Now on to Portland State

[aggiemba]

The Griz are the real deal. We had a number of chances to put the game on a little ice and couldn't get it done.

Our playoff hopes are basically on life support now, so I hope the Griz run the table the rest of the way out.

[mlbowl]

All Ya'll can cry your little heads off about the Griz win. But when it comes down to it, the griz do horrible in the first few games and find their way towards the end. Happens every year...

2-0 and nothing you guys can do about it

Now on to Portland State

xbeerchugx...let the haters hate...we pulled out a good win ON THE ROAD against a good Davis team!!!...side note...UNI looks VERY GOOD right now.

[Grizaholic17]

I will say this, UC Davis did a terrific job, it is too bad those lights went out, they had some momentum

[GOKATS]

All Ya'll can cry your little heads off about the Griz win. But when it comes down to it, the griz do horrible in the first few games and find their way towards the end. Happens every year...

2-0 and nothing you guys can do about it

Now on to Portland State

Arrogance (and in your case ignorance) will get you nowhere.............xnodx

[Grizaholic17]

Arrogance (and in your case ignorance) will get you nowhere.............xnodx

read my next post. I had butterflies most of the game. And don't act like you know me. I'd think you'd be surprised how humble I really am

[mlbowl]

The Griz are the real deal. We had a number of chances to put the game on a little ice and couldn't get it done.

Our playoff hopes are basically on life support now, so I hope the Griz run the table the rest of the way out.


Thanks aggiemba...You guys were tough...as expected...game could've easily went your way.

[Silenoz]

xbeerchugx...let the haters hate...we pulled out a good win ON THE ROAD against a good Davis team!!!...side note...UNI looks VERY GOOD right now.

Yeah, I'll probably have to put Richmond UNI as my new 1-2, not sure in what order though

[UNI Pike]

Watching the game this evening, I have to say that the MT secondary is going to have its hands full with Portland State if PSU is anything like the past. MT's "coverage" of receivers was plain terrible.

UC Davis certainly deserves an assist on the MT win, way too many dropped balls for UCD to overcome.

[mlbowl]

Watching the game this evening, I have to say that the MT secondary is going to have its hands full with Portland State if PSU is anything like the past. MT's "coverage" of receivers was plain terrible.

UC Davis certainly deserves an assist on the MT win, way too many dropped balls for UCD to overcome.

Um...they threw the ball 67 times...xrolleyesx

[I Bleed Purple]

Um...they threw the ball 67 times...xrolleyesx

Come on now. I'd say at least 20 of those were designed swing passes or passes going no more than two yards past the line of scrimmage. Those are essentially running plays.

[Ronbo]

Bottom line is Montana got a win against a team that will probably end up 7-4 or 8-3 depending on the Cal Poly game. It will be a considered very good win at season's end. And on the road. Remember they were 5-1 at home last year.

[Green26]

I'd like to hear some of you pass-defense experts explain what scheme or schemes UM was using and what they were trying to accomplish.

One of UM's starting corners didn't play. The other starting corner was in and out with cramps during the game, especially the second half, and was playing in his first game of the season. He was not on the field for the long pass completion in Davis' last drive, but was the one who made the 4th down interception in the endzone. UM's third safety was playing in his first game of the season, and was used sparingly, I believe.

UM gave up only one TD in the game, a 1 yard play action pass on 4th down. Davis averaged 5.4 yards per passing attempt and 8.4 yards per completion. (By comparison, UM averaged 7.8 and 14.1). Davis' qb threw 2 interceptions. Davis' longest completion was 42 yards, which came on the last drive--when UM clearly made a mistake in coverage. The longest receptions of the receivers other than Carter were 13 and 12 yards. Carter averaged only 10.5 yards per catch, obviously helped by the 42 yarder on the last drive.

[UNI Pike]

UC Davis had two (maybe three) touchdown catches in the end zone that were flat out dropped by the receiver last night - without the help of the defender other than being close by the receiver. Plus the illegal procedure call on the MT one.

My reason for stating the MT coverage was terrible because more often than not, there was no coverage. There was no defender in the picture when the ball was caught. It looked like MT was in a prevent defense passing wise - caveat, I only was able to consistently watch the second half. And it wasn't like you worried about the UC Davis run game.

Thanks for pointing out that your secondary was not what you hoped, I have never heard of players getting injured or having to play inexperienced players. (BTW UNI started 2 RS FR at CB, backed by 2 FR having lost most of the secondary from last year).

MT won - UC Davis didn't finish the deal. You may improve through the season, you will need to, because that performance won't get you far against Weber, Cal Poly, et al. I hope to watch the game against Portland State to see if the coaching staff & secondary make adjustments, or roll the dice.

[Kabooom]

UCD was the better team all night, but with the snaffus the jizz won. No way in hell are the griz in the top ten.

...Speaking of the JIZZ.....The Cats got load of said Division II Jizz on their pants yesterday...Yeah.....Nice win Cats...Weren't the Rebels NAIA...just a few short years ago?

Way to spout off.

[Green26]

UNI, Davis did not have 2 or 3 possible TD catches dropped in the endzone. They had one, is my recollection: the second to the last play for Davis. The Davis qb was not particularly accurate on two fades thrown in the endzone, and on passes longer than 10 yards.

UM had passes dropped on 3rd downs, which would have kept drives going.

So what, isn't catching the ball part of the game?

UNI, I can see that you don't understand pass defense (like this statement of yours: pass defense had to be bad because I couldn't see the defender in the camera frame), but nonetheless I will provide this quote, which was from the Davis media:

"Denham rarely had a poorly thrown ball including the interceptions, which came on two great plays by Montana cornerback Trumaine Johnson. 'They weren't blitzing the heck out of us and we matched up a lot better than against Fresno,' Denham said. Montana was able to contain the UCD rushing attack simply with its down lineman and dropped seven back into coverage to take away the deep ball. 'Montana is known for playing a bend-but-don't-break defense,' Denham said. 'They drop seven and eight guys back on most plays. I just had to stick to my reads and throw the ball underneath to the guys that were open."

Before you start disputing this analysis, I point out that the quotes are from the Davis qb. He says Montana plays a bend but not break pass defense, dropping 7 or 8 players back into coverage on most plays.

What don't you understand about giving up 1 TD total, a one-yard TD pass on 4th down, one long pass (42 yards) due to a bad mistake in coverage, and passes of 13 and 12 yards to the second and third receiver?

Montana's goal was to keep the ball in front of the defenders, make stops and count on Davis eventually not getting first downs on drives. Guess what, it worked.

Had Montana not had key uncharacteristic drops in the first half, it's all-american receiver not got stripped (great play by Davis defender), and Montana not have the fumbled center from snap early in the second half (when the center appeared to snap the ball when he thought the Davis d-lineman had jumped offside; Montana would have taken control of the game earlier. However, these things are part of the game. You apparently don't understand that.

[I Bleed Purple]

You missed the fade pattern in the end zone that came off a safety blitz that the QB read and went over the top to the receiver on the blitzing safety's side. Ball should have been caught. Right through the receivers hands. Happened on the second to last drive.

I don't get where the Davis media would ever consider the last throw of the game not to be a poorly thrown ball. Severely underthrown and on the defender's side instead of more to the corner. But whatever. I'm not sure I'm fond of defenses that think 2nd and 3 all the time is a good thing. I guess it works against mediocre, one dimensional offenses.

[Green26]

Bleed Purple, I disagree with your comment on the fade route. The qb threw the ball too flat and too. The replay showed that the ball would have been difficult to catch. The qb threw a fade to the same corner of the endzone on the next play, and it was a worse throw that the receiver didn't touch. Better look again, or check the prescription for your classes. Methinks your bias is skewing your comments.

[JALMOND]

Portland State can give you a fair assessment as to where your pass defense is at this point. :D

Also, I agree with the two QB system. It messes with the minds thinking you are one mistake from sitting on the bench. We went through it last year with both Hubel and Howland. This year Hubel knows he is the QB and he seems much more relaxed and composed back there as compared to last year.

[putter]

Griz gameplan was the biggest question. Davis did the same thing last year..short drops short passes all night long. What were the coaches expecting? I thought the Griz D played ok for how long they were on the field (too loose pass coverage) but overall the Griz looked flat. Flying Elvis' next up so we will get to see 70 more pass attempts.

[Green26]

Purple, it occurred to me that you may have been referring to another pass. You called it a fade, but I recollect it more as a shorter flag (into the left corner as the offense faces). While I wouldn't necessarily say that pass should have been caught, it was catchable (it was over the shoulder at full speed as the guy was running out of bounds). In any event, if that's the pass (as opposed to the first of two fades thrown to the right corner), then my apologies. Because I had forgotten that one in any event, I will amend my earlier statement to say that 1.5 potential TD passes were dropped. For the poster who said 2-3 were dropped, I will give you the 2, but not the 3. In any event, closer to 2-3 than I thought when I made my initial post. My bad.

Putter, I think Davis did what the Griz expected. The plan was to contain the short passing game, not give up anything long, shut down the run game, and keep Davis from scoring TD's. This is what occurred. In addition, I think the Griz wanted to keep Davis from hitting the 10-yard seem routes, which hurt UM last year, especially on 3rd down. UM seemed to do fairly well on this too. I wonder how often a team has completed 43 passes, at a 64% completion rate, and scored only 1 TD in the game.

Some people in Griz Nation are complaining about the game and the start of the season, but I believe that's largely because they don't give enough credit to the quality of either team. Davis is a very good team. Western St. is a credible D-II, and I could seem them doing better in their conference than expected. Some in Griz Nation are also too demanding and too spoiled. It's just not easy and common to blow out, dominate or even win convincingly every weekend.

The facts are that UM is 2-0, with a good road win. UM's defense has been very good in both games. While the offense has sputtered at times, it has also shown good signs of life. Both qb's have looked good much of the time.

The 2009 team, like teams in the past, has just showed that it has alot of character and confidence, and it doesn't panic when things are going against them--and has the ability to wear down the opponent and come back.

From just observing the players, and reading their quotes, it looks like this team may be developing the good chemistry that has been characteristic of most UM teams in recent history. I wonder about these last 2 things every year, because they are not a given every year.

I'm glad to see that this team appears to have those important qualities.

[putter]

Green, other than the lose zone coverage (I understand your explanation) I don't have a major problem with the D. Davis had a large advantage in TOP but our offense needs to do better. Run blocking was not good against a, supposedly, overmatched smaller D line. Chase was getting hit in the backfield all night yet still muscled his way for yards. Pass blocking was pretty good - QB's just need to hit open receivers.

[Green26]

Davis didn't have a smaller d-line. In fact, they were much bigger than UM's d-line. From the depth charts: Davis starters were 240, 282, 270 and 260; UM's were 240, 265, 273 and 210.

I don't know whether the Davis d-line was supposed to be overmatched. I do know that the Davis coach had said they were going to load up against the run (and put lots of extras in the box) to stop the run, and make the UM qb's beat them. As a result, our o-line and other blockers had alot of defenders to block on runs, and they were often blitzing from various positions. When UM receivers were dropping the ball in the first half and Roper was missing receivers, it looked like the Davis strategy was working. Eventually, Selle came in and starting hitting receivers, the receivers caught the ball, and later Roper improved too.

Nevertheless, I agree that UM should have had a better running game, especially early in the game. With all the early 3 and outs (I believe only 1 FD in the first 3 drives), it was hard to develop any offensive rhythm.

[Green26]

Here's a link to a photo of the fade route I initially thought Purple was saying should have been caught (but I don't know for sure what pass he was referring to). Note that the ball is already through the receiver's hands--as the pass was thrown from the right (see 10 yard marker in background).

http://photos.davisenterprise.com/view_photos.php?s=100&k=0&num=5

[Native]

Someone needs to kick our ass so we can get our s#$% together, ala the Weber game last year

We would be delighted to perform the favor again this year!

[lucchesicourt]

Creadick and Carter both had passes go through their hands, And no, that pass you are talking about is probably uncatchable. Carter had a pass go through his hands as he turned around to receive it and a UM defensive back around him, and Creadick dropped one as he was moving right to left in the end zone that was untouched by an UM player. UCD probably threw 6 passes into the end zone of which only 1 was caught. They should have caught three caught.

[UNI Pike]

Green26

I apologize - but the post was based on memory - no opportunity to record or re-watch the game. The two dropped UC Davis balls were very clear - the third was fuzzy, that is why I put it in brackets.

Let me rephrase my thoughts - I think MT played a one dimensional offense (and will again next week). 43 net yards rushing with 7 dropped back in pass coverage 80% of the time is as one dimensional as it gets.

That said, while not having played college FB, I have seen as much of the "bend, don't break coverage" as anyone in the past 7-8 years watching UNI defensive schemes. Frankly, that concept makes me want to barf, a la Richmond, Delaware, etc. I believe that mentality allows opposing teams to stay in games, making games much closer than they need to be.

The coverage I was complaining about was very loose. The picture you cited with Chris Carter is my case in point - look how far away the MT defender is on that play. I can't understand with 7 dropped back, why MT simply didn't put a spy on Carter in the second half? At least make the Davis QB go through a couple reads. The QB was locked on Carter even before the play began half the time.

Terrible coverage is an overstatement - with more thought, I believe the MT players were doing what they were told to do against the human pitching machine. I have a bias against that scheme. USD tried the same offensive package as UC Davis against UNI the past two years. 400+ yards passing last year, 200 yards this year after a change in scheme.

The assist still goes to the UC Davis offense for being so one dimensional and dropping TD catches (in the endzone). 43 net yards rushing? That's ridiculous.

[I Bleed Purple]

Looked like UM's secondary was much too talented to play a simple Cover 4, which I assume was the coverage. Man 2 seems a more useful coverage, or Cover 2, man out.

[Native]

Portland State can give you a fair assessment as to where your pass defense is at this point. :D ...

Can't WAIT to see how that turns out this weekend!!!

[Green26]

With all due respect to Purple and UNI, you guys don't have a clue about pass defense. Purple, you are trying to use terminology that doesn't exist, or is exactly the opposite of what you think it means. For example, Montana used man coverage and wasn't in zone all the time. Anyway, Purple, feel free to enlighten us on what you multiple coverage terms mean. I can't wait to see your explanations.

Trumaine Johnson, who is the defender in the photo and who had 2 interceptions (both in the endzone), was the national co-defensive player of the week. Obviously, some people thought he played well last Saturday.

UNI, could you please explain this comment of yours. I must admit that I don't understand it:

"Let me rephrase my thoughts - I think MT played a one dimensional offense (and will again next week). 43 net yards rushing with 7 dropped back in pass coverage 80% of the time is as one dimensional as it gets."

Lucchesicourt, sorry, I just can't accept your bold (unsupported and inccorrect) statement that Davis should have caught 3 of the (supposed) 6 passes thrown into the endzone. I think you're just plan wrong on that statement. You're welcome to your opinion, but you don't get to make up the facts.

[I Bleed Purple]

lol, when did this thread get moved to the smack forum.

Now, I know everyone else but you is wrong, Green, but let me explain (again) what I saw on a free internet feed of a game that only holds my interest because I want to see how one team plays so I have an idea what to look for when the team I root for plays them.

I saw linebackers play coverage where they weren't immediately tracking RBs out of the backfield, signaling zone to me. I saw CBs playing so loose, that it seemed like they were in Cover 4, which to explain, is exactly like Cover 2, but the edge CBs play a deep quadrant instead of the short flat zone that Cover 2 does. This is assuming the LBs are in zone as well. Now the times that they were in man, as you say, they were in such loose coverage it was essentially Cover 4 since they weren't giving anything over the top. I didn't get to see where the safeties were all night given that I was again watching the game on an internet feed, and you really don't get to see them much, but given how far back the CBs were playing, the lack of a Davis running game, and the lack of attempts over the top, led me to believe they're playing a two deep zone, which, when safeties play a two deep zone with zone on the outside, is either a Cover 2 if the CBs are up, and Cover 4 when the CBs are back. Now if one safety was up in zone and the other was back, it would have been a Cover 3 zone, but I don't believe that was the case. Since you were studying the secondary, Green, maybe you can tell me if the safeties were up.

Now if in fact the Grizzlies were in a really soft man to man, which certainly is possible, and the safeties still had their two deep zone, then they were in fact in in Man 2, which is short for Man Coverage Underneath, Two Deep Safeties Over the Top. But as I mentioned, I don't remember the LBs chasing RBs into the flat, making me think they were in a zone. Now if the LBs were in a three man zone up front, safeties in standard two deep, and the corners in man coverage, it's a coverage I don't know the name of. Certainly a legit coverage, I just don't know what to call it. It's just like Cover 2 but with the corners on man instead of in a short zone.

Now since what I just typed is completely wrong anyway, go ahead and ignore it and post THEY WERE IN MAN AND ZONE HALF THE TIME and be done with it.

[Green26]

Purple, I played cornerback in college, and I have never heard of some of the terminology you are using. Man2?

If you were watching sporadically on the Internet, then that probably explains why I don't think you know what pass defenses UM was using.

UM was in man a good deal of the time, especially earlier in the game, altho played plenty of zone. One of the ways you can spot man coverage, is when a d-back follows the motion back across the field. You can also tell by where the d-back, especially the corner, lines up, and where his eyes are when the ball is snapped. In order to play man, you need to have very good position on the receiver and can't be watching the qb at the snap.

UM even played some press coverage, where the corner locked on the wide receiver and played him close. Trumaine Johnson had a tremendous play out of press, where he didn't get any safety help over the top. He followed the receiver downfield and toward the post, and then turned at exactly the right time. He was in better position than the receiver, and the receiver almost interfered with him to keep him from having another interception in the endzone. This was an NFL quality play, and probably better than his first interception, which was also a terrific play.

While it's almost impossible to ascertain the pass defense scheme watching on tv (when you can see what the whole secondary is doing), it looked to me that UM was often trying to take away the seam routes of 8-12 yards, and allow receivers to make shorter catches. My guess is the defensive scheme was often vulnerable in the flats. No zone defense can cover all zones, because there are more zones than defenders.

UM must have also wanted to prevent any long passes. UM succeeded in this, except for the 42 yarder on the last drive. This was clearly a mistake in coverage.

My guess is that UM thought Davis and Denham could hurt them more in the seams, and that UM thought Denham wasn't as accurate in flats and/or UM could recover and make tackles for short gains. UM didn't tackle as well as they should have, especially in the first half. No. 35 for Davis was hard to bring down.

Denham was very good at finding his receivers quickly over the middle, and delivering the ball in perfect catching position. He doesn't throw quite as well downfield.

[lucchesicourt]

Green 26, if a ball passes through your hands, and you are not overly outstretched, and are untouched, as a receiver you SHOULD be able to catch this pass. I am not saying you WILL , as we all know that is not the case, as in these cases. I have looked at the videos over and over, and there is no way a receiver can say that these were not catchable passes. If you look at the replays, Creadick is untouched and and has the ball pass through his hands, hits him in the chest and falls to the ground. Explain why you think this pass should not be caught. As a past DB, if you get burned and a player drops the pass, would you comsider it that you played good pass "D"? As for Carter's pass. he did have to make a 180 to turn around, but once he did and had his hands on the ball, this pass becomes catchable though much more difficult than Creadick's-it also hit him in the chest. Why do you think these passes were uncatchable? I think they were totally catchable balls, but the receivers did not catch them. That is what the film shows.

[Green26]

Sorry, can't agree with what you said. Doesn't sound like you played the game, or you wouldn't be saying some of the stuff you said. There's a big difference between drops, could have caught it, and should have caught it. Don't think you have an appreciation of the differences--or of the difficulty of catching certain types of passes, passes thrown over the receiver's head, and passes coming in at odd angles. For example, catching the ball in the photo would have been very difficult. Not impossible, but very difficult. The replay shows that it was a poorly thrown ball for the pattern.

[Ronbo]

Here is one of the supposed dropped TD's. Sorry guys that ball was thrown too high and too hard. It would have been a great catch if he had made it. The only dropped TD was the one by Creadick, I think that's his name.

http://photos.davisenterprise.com/galleries/slide_shows/2009/ucdmt/Vacucd-mt044.jpg

[UNI Pike]

UNI, could you please explain this comment of yours. I must admit that I don't understand it:

"Let me rephrase my thoughts - I think MT played a one dimensional offense (and will again next week). 43 net yards rushing with 7 dropped back in pass coverage 80% of the time is as one dimensional as it gets."


Any defense that can hold a running game to 43 net yards primarily pass coverage is either

1. 1985 Chicago Bears, or
2. playing an offense that has a totally ineffective run game

Watching the the second half, I would vote for the second. UC Davis is not a balanced offense in any sense of the word.

[lucchesicourt]

No, that is not one that I said was a dropped pass. Carter has a ball go right through his hands as he is holding them just above his head, and is not outstretched. Granted he did a 180 to get into position,

[NorCalJack]

Carter set a school record for most catches in a game. I think he had 17 catches in that game and your complaining that he did not catch 18??? The pass he did miss, in my opinion was not a ball that should have been thrown. The defender was close and he was near the sideline. The QB threw it about the only place it could have been thrown, which was high and outside. Carter had to jump up, spin 180 degrees, reach over his head and then was lucky to get a hand on the ball. The QB has so much confidence in Carter that he threw that ball because only he could have caught it. He would not have thrown that ball to anyone else on the team.

If it wasn't for Carter, you team would not even have been in position to win that game. You need to re-evaluate your complaints about blaming that kid for dropping that ball. Carter is a stud and makes your QB, other receivers and your offense a much better team. You just need appreciate what you have and stop complaining about what should have happened.

[lucchesicourt]

Carter dropped his pass in the end zone atabout 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The ball passed through his hand and it hit him in the helmet. he was open, untouched, and just missed it.

[lucchesicourt]

I am not complaing about Carter. I was just saying that the Ags dropped two passes in the end zone when the Griz are saying only one was dropped. Carter is a great athlete and I think a great player. All players drop passes sometime. I am not blaming Carter. He palyed great and deserves the game ball.

[Green26]

Carter had 18 catches. If you want to play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game, then I will too. If UM's corner Johnson hadn't had bad leg cramps, he would have played more, perhaps had another interception, and caused Carter to have fewer catches. If UM's other starting corner had not had a pulled hamstring, he would have been able to play and would have caused Carter to have fewer catches. Had UM's receiver's not dropped some 3rd down balls in the first half and not fumbled after a long catch, UM would have been able to continue drives, probably had a lead, and not allowed Davis' offense to be on the field so much. Then, it wouldn't have mattered if the Davis receivers dropped several passes.

Jeez, gotta love woulda, coulda, shoulda--but it works both ways.

[lucchesicourt]

Green26, I am not playing the coulda shoulda game. I am just stating facts. The fact is that 2 passes were dropped in the end zone. That is all!. All the Montana fans are saying that only one was dropped in the end zone and I am correcting the error, as two were dropped. Why are you trying to say, I said UCD could of won this game. I never said that! If I did, would you please show me where? I AM only STATING facts. I said that 2 passes were dropped in the end zone by UCD receivers. That is all and that's a fact, not opinion.

[Green26]

Lucch, who said I was talking to or about you? Don't be so defensive.

Some of us Griz fans are saying that there weren't two "drops" in the endzone. It's just a fact that we disagree with you. You aren't correcting anything. You are stating your opinion, and some of us disagree with you.

[mtgrizfan4life]

Carter had 18 catches. If you want to play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game, then I will too. If UM's corner Johnson hadn't had bad leg cramps, he would have played more, perhaps had another interception, and caused Carter to have fewer catches. If UM's other starting corner had not had a pulled hamstring, he would have been able to play and would have caused Carter to have fewer catches. Had UM's receiver's not dropped some 3rd down balls in the first half and not fumbled after a long catch, UM would have been able to continue drives, probably had a lead, and not allowed Davis' offense to be on the field so much. Then, it wouldn't have mattered if the Davis receivers dropped several passes.

Jeez, gotta love woulda, coulda, shoulda--but it works both ways.

Lets add Mariani should not have fumbled, and we should not have had a bad qb/center exchange. I completely agree with what you are getting at though. xthumbsupx

[Green26]

The fumble is already mentioned in my post. I didn't mention the center snap, because Davis had a center snap over the qb's head--so those cancelled out.

I will add (to the absurdity) that UM would have scored more if our qb's had been more accurate, and Davis would have moved the ball less if their qb hadn't been so accurate.

[lucchesicourt]

All those turnovers did happen in the game. Those are facts. As for all the incompletions in the game- those are facts. Passes that went through receivers hands are also- FACTS- they are also part of the game just like turnovers. Mariani should not have fumbled, but he did. Games are won and loss on miscues- and many of them can be contributed to the defense. If you hit hard, and receivers begin to hear footsteps, they may pulll up causing an incompletion. This would be atributed to good hardd hittingdefence. The whole idea of sports is NOT to make mistakes, but we are only human, and that is what makes sports fun for all.

[NC Aggie]

Here's a link to a photo of the fade route I initially thought Purple was saying should have been caught (but I don't know for sure what pass he was referring to). Note that the ball is already through the receiver's hands--as the pass was thrown from the right (see 10 yard marker in background).

http://photos.davisenterprise.com/view_photos.php?s=100&k=0&num=5


That's not the one that he should have caught - that was on other side of the end zone.

[NC Aggie]

Carter set a school record for most catches in a game. I think he had 17 catches in that game and your complaining that he did not catch 18??? The pass he did miss, in my opinion was not a ball that should have been thrown. The defender was close and he was near the sideline. The QB threw it about the only place it could have been thrown, which was high and outside. Carter had to jump up, spin 180 degrees, reach over his head and then was lucky to get a hand on the ball. The QB has so much confidence in Carter that he threw that ball because only he could have caught it. He would not have thrown that ball to anyone else on the team.

If it wasn't for Carter, you team would not even have been in position to win that game. You need to re-evaluate your complaints about blaming that kid for dropping that ball. Carter is a stud and makes your QB, other receivers and your offense a much better team. You just need appreciate what you have and stop complaining about what should have happened.

Calm down Jack. Carter is a stud and I think we all know it. He made the UM secondary look silly.

[DuckDuckGriz]

Why are Davis fans still going over this? Y'all lost. And with dual QBs learning the system and the Griz offense not even looking somewhat put together - you are lucky the game was that close.

[NC Aggie]

Why are Davis fans still going over this? Y'all lost. And with dual QBs learning the system and the Griz offense not even looking somewhat put together - you are lucky the game was that close.

Uh.....same reason you are.... it's a discussion board

[mlbowl]

Calm down Jack. Carter is a stud and I think we all know it. He made the UM secondary look silly.


yup...way to put 10 up on the boardxrolleyesx

[NC Aggie]

yup...way to put 10 up on the boardxrolleyesx


Glad we can agree on something.