Last Week’s Recap:
I think that my friend summed it up best after the first 12:30 minutes of the game – this is not good, do they always look this bad? I had to be honest and say, well not usually against other teams – but UCM always plays NW tough. And historically NW has not played extremely well against the Mules. I think a lot of that comes from the coaches. UCM seems to be in Coach Dorrel’s head – like he always overthinks his game plan. This year was no different. That first quarter was some pretty bad playcalling. The only thing worse than the playcalling, was Adams execution of the called plays. This was not a surprise to me or anyone else who has a basic understanding of the game of football. Adams always struggles with teams with good defenses. Against teams with poor average or poor defenses, and in practice – he looks awesome. This has been his MO over his career. From all accounts, he is a great kid – and smart too. And he has the respect of his teammates. But last week’s game proves he is not the best QB on the team. Without a doubt, TA is easily the best backup QB in the MIAA, if not all of D2. But as far as being ‘the man’ – that should not be his role. The only reason that Bolles would not start is if AD is too stubborn to admit that he is wrong. But I don’t think that AD has to make that decision anymore – I think it has already been made for him. Bolles is young, so he will have some bone-head plays – like he did this week. Holding on to the ball too long and taking the sack rather than throwing it away. Like the old adage goes – good decisions come from experience, experience comes from bad decisions. UCM had a good game plan against NW – put 6 in the box, drop 2 safeties to cover the deep ball. Problem is, that is what UCM always does against NW, and it still works. The RB’s weren’t as impressive this week – but that’s because they were going against a much better D – yet the RB’s still managed to average over 5 ypc combined (Creason 6.6 on 10 carries RB3 3.8 on 11 carries.) NW was pretty darn balanced – 182 yards on the ground, and 196 in the air. The WR’s continue to impress. UCM’s secondary was covering pretty good, and the receivers made some great catches. Utter just picked up where he left off last week. He some really nice grabs, and did some excellent blocking down field on a couple of plays. I would still really like to see the TE’s get more involved – although on Korey Jackson’s TD pass, it was in the formation that the TE usually gets the ball, which is what sucked in the CB and safety to cover the TE, but left Korey open. I think as the offense gets more opened up with Bolles as QB, we will start seeing more of those plays. I thought that the OL played pretty good too – especially in the 4th quarter. They were really able to open up some nice holes as the game went on.
On defense, NW did a pretty darn good job IMO. Central isn’t going to beat you on the ground, as NW kept them to only 56 yards rushing. Their bread and butter is thru the air. This weeks game was no exception. I said that they were going to dink and dunk – and they did. Hawk managed to get 304 yards in the air. Nothing real deep, they were all primarily in the short area. The D was able to not allow UCM to really have many good drives. Of their 4 scoring drives, the first was a short field and they managed to keep them out of the endzone on 6 attempts within the 10 yard. They were only able to put together one really good drive – for their last score. Their first TD wasn’t bad – but they only had to go 57 yards, and their only other score was on that 55 yard scamper after the catch. It’s amazing how just a couple of injuries in key spots can really effect the overall product. I thought the secondary did a good job, but I think that they could have done a lot better if Brian Dixon had been out on the field. Hopefully he will get better soon. The D line wasn’t able to get the pressure that they were the week before – which kind of surprised me. Not sure what UCM was able to do, but I hope that the other teams don’t figure it out, or NW figures out how to overcome that.
This Weeks Game:
Here is what I would like to see at Lewis Field stadium on Saturday: Blake Bolles in his first collegiate start. There is absolutely no reason why Bolles should not start. The only reason to have a 2 QB system is if the two have two different skill sets. That isn’t the case here. There isn’t anything that TA does that Bolles doesn’t do, and do it better. Bolles is definitely the future of the team, he should also be the present – as the future starts now. Yeah, I get the fact that TA is a captain and a leader – well good leaders know when to step back and put the team first. The best example of this is Jordan Simmons: he actively recruited JF3 to come to NW after UNO folded, despite knowing that it would cut down on his number of carries – he knew that it would be best for the team. Not that this is TA’s decision at all – in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if TA would put Bolles in ahead of himself if it was decision, according to all the great reports of what a leader he is. What I am saying is that this is really a simple decision for AD to make – because its already been made on the field. And because TA is such a great leader, AD shouldn’t worry about stepping on seniority or hurting anybody’s feelings by putting in Bolles. In fact, you could argue that it sets a dangerous precedent if he doesn’t. What incentive do any player have to be the best, if the coaches are just going to play the guy with the most seniority?! It seems like the majority of positions are very competitive for the starting spot, but some spots – not so much. But anyway, I digress. Let’s get back to the game at hand. Fort Hays is bad. Like really bad. So NW should put up video game type of stats. That being said – strange things happen on the drive to Western Kansas. And weird things happen in Fort Hays. The Tigers have a history of playing NW better than they should. And Hays is always tougher at home. Those things combine for interesting games. By all accounts, the WR’s should have a Hay Day – as the Tigers are averaging giving up over 315 passing yards per game. The RB’s should do good as well, as Ft Hays D is giving up almost 240 yards per game on the ground. I would really like to see Phil Jackson on the field at some point. From everything that I’ve heard, he is a beast – but I don’t know if he even will make the travel team, probably not. I think that this game is definitely an opportunity game. Depending on some of the decisions that the coaches make, it could set things in motion for 2013 to be a really good year for the Bearcats.
When the Tigers have the ball, the NW D should have a field day. So far this year, Ft Hays has rushed for a total of 134 yards. I don’t see them rapidly increasing those numbers this week. They have done a pretty good job of protecting their QB, as he’s only been sacked once in two games. Hopefully NW’s Dline can change that number. So if NW can shut down their run game (which doesn’t sound too difficult) and force them to the air, I think that NW’s secondary is going to have fun. Hays QB, Treveon Albert, is currently 30/60 for 380 yards, and he’s been picked off 6 times. They are definitely going to be having fun out there!
Basically, I believe that the Bearcats are going to have a Hay Day in Ft Hays. NW 56 Fort Hays 6
#FreeBolles
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