William and Mary

[Gringer1]

Phil Steele predicted the Tribe to be the National Champions this year, but they seem to have been struggling so far. They got blasted by a not so good UVA, but FBS losses aren't held against most teams. They barely lost to a good looking JMU team, but struggled against D2 New Haven and Villanova, who looks woeful this year. Just how good is WM this season? Where are the problem points and can they be corrected quickly? My questions are not intended as smack; I am genuinely curious about why a promising team seems to be having so much trouble so far.

[crusader11]

From what I have seen, their defense is top notch. But, without a solid quarterback and very mediocre offense, I think they are a borderline playoff team right now. Tribe posters will know much more about where they currently stand than I do though. We'll find a whole lot about where they stand after their next two games (Delaware and UNH).

[jmufan999]

I'm not sure either, and I've seen them once. I'd like to know how the QB performed this past week. I guess I could just look it up. But I probably won't.

[JmuSkinsfan]

Phil Steele predicted the Tribe to be the National Champions this year, but they seem to have been struggling so far. They got blasted by a not so good UVA, but FBS losses aren't held against most teams. They barely lost to a good looking JMU team, but struggled against D2 New Haven and Villanova, who looks woeful this year. Just how good is WM this season? Where are the problem points and can they be corrected quickly? My questions are not intended as smack; I am genuinely curious about why a promising team seems to be having so much trouble so far.

The score of the game was close ... but the outcome didn't feel close at all. It was 20-7 when WM drove down and scored a last minute TD ... although I suppose if they receive that onside kick and get a hail mary they could have won ... but the game didn't feel as close as the scoreboard indicated.

[BlueHen86]

If W&M wins this weekend I think they will be fine, a loss and they are in big trouble.

The New Haven result may not be so bad. New Haven used to be a D-II power, got to the finals once and were consistently in the playoffs. They dropped football for a few years and then recently brought it back. 10 years ago I would have expected New Haven to hang with W&M (or any CAA school), I have no idea how the new version of New Haven football compares to the old one; but they are 4-1 so far this year so they may not be too bad. FWIW - they have beaten West Chester this year.

[tribe_pride]

The Defense is really good but when they spend a ton of time on the field, they are tired by the end of the game and give up points. In the UVA game, the score was 10-0 at half but TOP was 20-10. D just got tired and got blown away in the 2nd half. If a team has a strong running game, it will also give this D the fits. Nova game may have been close but they only gave up 200 yards all game against Nova. Nova got the ball on the W&M 43, W&M 23, and W&M 10 on their 3 FGs (2 special teams errors and an INT). They only had 1 good drive that led to a score and that was the TD. Similar problems in the New Haven game.

Offense is another story. All expected Paulus to play well this year as he did before his shoulder injury against UNC last year. Apparently, he never recovered and that has hurt us the opening bunch of games as well as the fact that we do not have much depth at WR. Good guy, but it has not worked out. Graham, a Sophomore, is now playing and did decent on Saturday against Nova. 13-24 for 171 and an INT. Grimes was a beast at RB with 31 runs for 140 and 2 TDs and McBride backed him up well in the 3rd with 11 runs and 45 yds (including 1 on a 4th and 1 I think it was). If Graham can continue to improve and Moody comes back at WR (was out again against Nova), it will take a lot of pressure off of the run and defense and the team could get good. The question is will this happen too late.

[TypicalTribe]

Jimmye is clearly relying on Grimes to carry the offensive load while he slowly brings Graham along. Unfortunately, the WR corps is not as talented as normal and fails to get separation fairly consistently. The defense is good enough to keep them in most games. They dominated the game against Villanova, but when you grind the run and play defense, you keep things closer than they probably should be and it allowed Villanova a chance to win the game. They other issue that kept it close on Saturday is the Tribe has problems in the punt game and the mistakes there put added pressure on the defense in terms of short fields.

This team has most of the pieces to be pretty good, but the CAA schedule will pprobably expose them as not complete enough to compete for a national championship.

[Catsfan2]

I saw the game (a Nova fan) and was a bit surprised it was so close. I think the W&M defense was excellent. I also think the W&M O line has issues with pass protection - don't know the stats but there were a lot of hurries. When he had time for the patterns to be run and to set up and throw he looked pretty good. I would run Grimes a lot more EARLY in the game to give the O line some confidence and set up play action. I agree the punt game needs work and could really bite you in a close game, or when you need field position. The place kicker seems very strong -- can he punt?

[Tribe4SF]

To answer the thread question, the Tribe's struggles early on were directly the result of poor play at QB. Through the first three games, the top two guys were 23 of 60 for 227 yards with one TD and three interceptions. Mike Graham took over in the second half against New Haven, and really emerged in the second half against JMU. Graham drove the Tribe 59 yards to the JMU 12 to open that half, but a botched snap on a FG left them empty. JMU went 3 and out, and the Tribe then drove 99 yards for a TD to pull within three at 10-7. After holding JMU again, the Tribe fumbled the ball away at their own 24, yielding JMU's second TD of the game. Graham later drove W&M 79 yards for their second TD. Producing three drives for 237 yards in the second half against the JMU defense was clear evidence that Graham was going to be our man. His performance at Villanova only solidified that belief. Despite six drops, his stats were solid, and he produced several big throws to secure that game.

[Tribe4SF]

The place kicker seems very strong -- can he punt?

He is the punter.

[JmuSkinsfan]

Yeah, Graham played very well in the 2nd half against JMU. I wasn't trying to take anything away from him or the W&M offense. I think WM is a good team ... just not top 5 or top 10 ... sitting in the top 15 is probably the right place until they can upset someone above them.

[UNH Fanboi]

Yeah, Graham played very well in the 2nd half against JMU. I wasn't trying to take anything away from him or the W&M offense. I think WM is a good team ... just not top 5 or top 10 ... sitting in the top 15 is probably the right place until they can upset someone above them.

Just wait two weeks. W&M beats UNH even when they are terrible.

[VUCats02]

Jimmye is clearly relying on Grimes to carry the offensive load while he slowly brings Graham along. Unfortunately, the WR corps is not as talented as normal and fails to get separation fairly consistently. The defense is good enough to keep them in most games. They dominated the game against Villanova, but when you grind the run and play defense, you keep things closer than they probably should be and it allowed Villanova a chance to win the game. They other issue that kept it close on Saturday is the Tribe has problems in the punt game and the mistakes there put added pressure on the defense in terms of short fields.

This team has most of the pieces to be pretty good, but the CAA schedule will pprobably expose them as not complete enough to compete for a national championship.

W&M absolutely did not dominate the game against Villanova. At least give Nova some credit for the way they played...It was a game that went down to the final drive, and as Nova was driving the walk-on QB through a pick off his back foot. On paper, even with a botched snap on a punt, W&M should have crushed us. W&M was inches away from fumbling the ball at the Nova 1 yard line and having it go the other way for 7. That play itself would have been a 14 point swing in Nova's favor.

[TypicalTribe]

W&M absolutely did not dominate the game against Villanova. At least give Nova some credit for the way they played...It was a game that went down to the final drive, and as Nova was driving the walk-on QB through a pick off his back foot. On paper, even with a botched snap on a punt, W&M should have crushed us. W&M was inches away from fumbling the ball at the Nova 1 yard line and having it go the other way for 7. That play itself would have been a 14 point swing in Nova's favor.

73 plays to 49. 344 yards to 200. 35-25 advantage in time of possession.

If they didn't dominate, they at least controlled the game.

[WestCoastAggie]

From what I have seen, their defense is top notch. But, without a solid quarterback and very mediocre offense, I think they are a borderline playoff team right now. Tribe posters will know much more about where they currently stand than I do though. We'll find a whole lot about where they stand after their next two games (Delaware and UNH).

If this is the case, the Tribe will not be a Playoff team this season. Decent QB play is paramount for success.

[Wildcat80]

Just wait two weeks. W&M beats UNH even when they are terrible.

Not this year! Deck will get it done....he loves playing in the deep south!!

[VUCats02]

73 plays to 49. 344 yards to 200. 35-25 advantage in time of possession.

If they didn't dominate, they at least controlled the game.

Stats don't tell the full story of a game...

[MR. CHICKEN]

QUOTE=VUCats02;1690835]Stats don't tell the full story of a game...[/QUOTE]

16162....AH...LAK TA GO...BAH DUH SCORE............AWK!

[molly]

It was a game that went down to the final drive, and as Nova was driving the walk-on QB through a pick off his back foot.

It's not really very important, but W&M had the ball for the final drive, not Nova. They moved it about 60 yards to use up the final 3:30 or so.


On paper, even with a botched snap on a punt, W&M should have crushed us.

You point out that Nova's QB is a walk-on. W&M's QB is a sophomore who was a walk-on, making his 2nd career start. None of W&M's WRs who played Sat had started before this year. I'm not sure why you think W&M should have been able to go on the road, give Nova the ball at the 10, 24, and 43, and still "crush" them.

[TwoFeathers]

The 4-game experiment with Paulus was a failure. The offense was non-existant (completing 30% of passes???). With Graham at QB, the Tribe is now passing more consistently. However, Graham is still coming up to speed, and the receivers are getting sorted out. Moody played for 1 game, but may have come back too early and did not play the last week. Getting the passing game going will take the pressure off the run, and keep opposing defenses from stacking the line. Even so, the running game with Grimes has been solid. And the defense has been very good, except against the run. However, the Tribe has been very good in Total Defense, and Scoring Defense, even including the UVA game.

I'd say we should begin to improve as a team as Graham improves. However, this is the tough stretch of the schedule.

[TwoFeathers]

73 plays to 49. 344 yards to 200. 35-25 advantage in time of possession.

If they didn't dominate, they at least controlled the game.

Agreed, but 'Nova was in the game until the last drive.

[MR. CHICKEN]

16163....WHEN WILL YE LADS....EVERAH UNDERSTAND.....DAT EACH GAME WILL ALWAYS BE DIFFERENT....LAK WHEN TWO BIG FLUFFIES...MEET HEAD-ON....WHIFF HIGH OCTANE O.....AN' FINAL COMES IN @....16-9......O'...WHEN DEFENSE MINDED SQWADS...HOOK-UP...FO' UH 49-48..........O' WHEN ONE TEAM'S T.O.P.....IS 37 MINUTES......BUT OPPONENT....HAD TWO PICKS FO' SIX......BLKD PUNT IN RAIN....=...FG....AN' SO FORFF....&...WINS BAH MUCHO....xrolleyesx..BRAWK!

[TwoFeathers]

16163....WHEN WILL YE LADS....EVERAH UNDERSTAND.....DAT EACH GAME WILL ALWAYS BE DIFFERENT....LAK WHEN TWO BIG FLUFFIES...MEET HEAD-ON....WHIFF HIGH OCTANE O.....AN' FINAL COMES IN @....16-9......O'...WHEN DEFENSE MINDED SQWADS...HOOK-UP...FO' UH 49-48..........O' WHEN ONE TEAM'S T.O.P.....IS 37 MINUTES......BUT OPPONENT....HAD TWO PICKS FO' SIX......BLKD PUNT IN RAIN....=...FG....AN' SO FORFF....&...WINS BAH MUCHO....xrolleyesx..BRAWK!

... what he said!

[heath]

A reliable source texted and said QB Graham might have MRSA in throwing arm, can anyone confirm? The kid was just getting his chance after scout team last season.

[Squealofthepig]

A reliable source texted and said QB Graham might have MRSA in throwing arm, can anyone confirm? The kid was just getting his chance after scout team last season.

Holy crap. I certainly hope not. :(

[molly]

He's not playing Saturday due to an unspecified illness, so that definitely could be the case.

[URMite]

That makes a lot more sense. I had heard he was declared ineligible, and that didn't seem right, especially in the middle of the season...