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Post by dharry13 on Feb 18, 2022 17:47:10 GMT -5
You can’t have 2 guys taking reps in Spring Ball Midwestsader05. Too much wear and tear on their arms. Always need 3 for that. So it more speaks to their desire to take 2 in this class. I’m a believer in 5 personally but I can see both sides.
That said - in the most important position on the field I’d rather have more than less.
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Post by rgs318 on Feb 18, 2022 18:09:20 GMT -5
Or put another way..."better to have them and not need them, than it is to need them and not have them"  |
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 18, 2022 19:27:43 GMT -5
First of all I think the new QB coach will be very helpful this year. Secondly I would expect the dual QB program to continue as it was successful last year and Chesney seemed to like the ability to mix it up. Just my thoughts. Sluka sees more contact in one game than many QBs will see in several games, so that still gives Matt the chance to greatly impact the game playing 70-80% of the snaps as well as giving opposing DCs fits. |
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Post by newadvisor on Feb 18, 2022 20:36:23 GMT -5
First of all I think the new QB coach will be very helpful this year. Secondly I would expect the dual QB program to continue as it was successful last year and Chesney seemed to like the ability to mix it up. Just my thoughts. Sluka sees more contact in one game than many QBs will see in several games, so that still gives Matt the chance to greatly impact the game playing 70-80% of the snaps as well as giving opposing DCs fits. I know I sound foolish, but anybody whose ever played this game knows you're 1 play away from never playing again. With the TEAM we have coming back we need somebody to distribute the ball and be a playmaker. Problem is if Matt doesn't put the time in to change his throwing motion, HC can't make the leap i believe we all think this team is capable of making. He will be even more explosive and deadly if he doesn't have to face 8 man fronts. |
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 18, 2022 20:48:58 GMT -5
Sluka sees more contact in one game than many QBs will see in several games, so that still gives Matt the chance to greatly impact the game playing 70-80% of the snaps as well as giving opposing DCs fits. I know I sound foolish, but anybody whose ever played this game knows you're 1 play away from never playing again. With the TEAM we have coming back we need somebody to distribute the ball and be a playmaker. Problem is if Matt doesn't put the time in to change his throwing motion, HC can't make the leap i believe we all think this team is capable of making. He will be even more explosive and deadly if he doesn't have to face 8 man fronts. Meaning it's better for Matt to become a pass/hand-off first and run second QB playing the whole game rather than switching out to a pass/hand-off QB as a regular change of pace? |
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Post by newadvisor on Feb 18, 2022 21:14:50 GMT -5
I am a 1 qb guy. It’s easy for a d coordinator to game plan against 2 qb system when their skill sets are so different. Just like playing poker we show our hand when we make the switch. All I’m saying is if we want to get to the next level our qb needs to be proficient in both run and pass. As of right now we don’t have that. That’s the reason why I said the spring game is so important. Let’s see if any of the qb’s make the leap.
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Post by alum on Feb 19, 2022 7:42:56 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses to my question about how much a QB can improve technique. I hope it is possible and that it can happen. I am convinced that his improved throwing ability is the difference between our guys being a round of sixteen team and a quarterfinals or better team this fall.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Feb 19, 2022 10:37:57 GMT -5
You can’t have 2 guys taking reps in Spring Ball Midwestsader05. Too much wear and tear on their arms. Always need 3 for that. So it more speaks to their desire to take 2 in this class. I’m a believer in 5 personally but I can see both sides. That said - in the most important position on the field I’d rather have more than less. I 100% agree about a 3 QB minimum for spring ball DHarry. My comments were specific to heading into fall camp. We carried only 4 QB's last season. For a bit more nuance, my point is that if we have a chance to grab 1-2 players post spring game (likely a DB from the portal), your 5th string QB should at least be in the discussion about a potential cut to make room. |
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 19, 2022 10:38:40 GMT -5
Here are Matt's passing stats for the shortened 20-21 Spring season (we'll call it 2020) and for Fall 2021.
Stat= 2020/2021
Comp= 20/117
Atts= 35/208
Yards=187/1,512 (still bothers me that sacked yardage goes against rushing, not passing)
TD= 2/11
Ints=1/5
Yds Per Att= 5.3/7.3 (To me this is a key stat and we saw great improvement)
Yds Per Comp=9.4/12.9 (More downfield passes??)
Comp Pctg=57.1%/56.3%
% TD's= 5.7%/5,3%
% Ints= 2.9%/2.4%
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Post by midwestsader05 on Feb 19, 2022 10:43:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses to my question about how much a QB can improve technique. I hope it is possible and that it can happen. I am convinced that his improved throwing ability is the difference between our guys being a round of sixteen team and a quarterfinals or better team this fall. Brass tacks right here alum. The difference in another great season but the ceiling being the round of 16 or taking the big next step (to the quarters or even beyond) is what you stated AND as I'll point out in a later position group, our ability to replace our NG/DT's on defense. Jason Modak was the most underrated player on the team last year. Cedeno also played very well. Dobbs and Anderson don't have near the production in 2022 they had last year if we don't reload these positions. To be continued.... |
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Post by midwestsader05 on Feb 21, 2022 10:47:07 GMT -5
Final take on QB before we move to the next position group:
One stat I think will be very telling in Sluka's development will be his total rushing attempts in certain games. If you look at both our playoff opponents (2 of the best defenses we faced), Sluka rushed 23 times vs SHU and 22 times vs Nova. His most rushing attempts in the regular season were 19 vs Yale.
This is a reflection that his bias was to use his legs/athleticism to will his team against better opponents. If you look at his best passing performances (granted against weaker competition), he was much more balanced. He usually rushed 9-14 times and total pass attempts (including Marco's) were 20-25. I think that mix is more the sweet spot. Matt should have 6-8 designed runs a game but only scramble 4-6 times.
That will show he is trusting his arm, the play calls/process, his receivers and keeping his eyes downfield while going through all his reads.
Next Group up: RBs/TEs...next day or two.
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Post by hc4life on Feb 21, 2022 11:18:32 GMT -5
Interior D-Line is certainly a key to stopping an opponents run game but to say Dobbs and Anderson would not have nearly the production is laughable. You insulted one group while praising another. They are both not only extremely athletic they are both extremely smart football players.
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Post by dharry13 on Feb 21, 2022 11:36:39 GMT -5
That's not the intention of that comment at all. The comment was devoted toward praising Cedeno/Modak and the work they did to free up the LB's - who you are right - they are fantastic players. Ask any LB - they would tell you all day long their production/efficacy hinges often on DL play keeping lineman off of them to free them up more. We need that type of play again from the DT's to free these guys up. That's all.
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Post by HC92 on Feb 21, 2022 11:46:03 GMT -5
That's not the intention of that comment at all. The comment was devoted toward praising Cedeno/Modak and the work they did to free up the LB's - who you are right - they are fantastic players. Ask any LB - they would tell you all day long their production/efficacy hinges often on DL play keeping lineman off of them to free them up more. We need that type of play again from the DT's to free these guys up. That's all. Same as a QB who has great passing stats often owing some of that to his OL. Doesn’t mean the QB isn’t great. Just means he might not be as great while on his back. |
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Post by midwestsader05 on Feb 21, 2022 11:54:30 GMT -5
Interior D-Line is certainly a key to stopping an opponents run game but to say Dobbs and Anderson would not have nearly the production is laughable. You insulted one group while praising another. They are both not only extremely athletic they are both extremely smart football players. I'll let that comment slide without coming back too hot. I text with one of the 2 LB's you mention on a near weekly basis and have spoken to him many times. He would find your comment laughable. And not that I even need to as DHarry and 92 knew exactly what the context of the comment was without hearing verbatim from the primary source. It's just basic football IQ. You aren't going to find many bigger fans of Jake Dobbs and Liam Anderson than I. Both as players and people. |
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Post by hc4life on Feb 21, 2022 13:03:56 GMT -5
Which comment would he find laughable? The one where I said the interior D-line is a key to stopping the opponents run?  I'm glad you have a great relationship with either Liam or Jacob as I do as well. I also have one with Jason Modak who is a great person beyond the excellent football player he is. |
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Post by HC92 on Feb 21, 2022 13:35:44 GMT -5
Sounds like everyone agrees. Lots of great players and young men on the HC football team. Need to backfill for the ones who left with more great players and young men to keep moving the program forward.
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Post by hc4life on Feb 21, 2022 14:01:57 GMT -5
Absolutely and they will.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Feb 21, 2022 15:14:04 GMT -5
Which comment would he find laughable? The one where I said the interior D-line is a key to stopping the opponents run? I'm glad you have a great relationship with either Liam or Jacob as I do as well. I also have one with Jason Modak who is a great person beyond the excellent football player he is. My comment you said was laughable when I suggested that Dobbs and Anderson wouldn’t have put up the kind of jaw dropping production stats in 2021 without the stellar play of Modak and Cedeno (plus BW, Kuz and Reichwein) Jake had damn near 20 TFLs. Liam had 15. A plurality of both of their total tackles were 1-3 yds past the line of scrimmage vs 4-6 yards. You really believe both those guys think they have those type of seasons without the domination at the point of attack from their front 3 or 4. Modak was taking up double teams all season at NG. Hopefully this conversation is moot and at least a couple of the 4 underclassman DTs step up in a big way. If not, Boobie will have to come in college ready Day 1. The only way this defense isn’t again a National Top 5 D across most categories is if we can’t reload the interior of our D line. We graduated our Top 3 and the #4 is coming off serious shoulder surgery. More to come…and yes all on the same team here. |
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Post by dharry13 on Feb 21, 2022 15:18:55 GMT -5
I agree with this. DT is the spot where the most opportunity will be and playing time up for grabs. Hopefully the Spring football results produces that. Have to imagine Dyer is on the shelf for that with the double shoulder surgery. Lots of reps for Springer, Gillis, Williams, Donalds.
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Post by hc2020 on Feb 22, 2022 15:04:51 GMT -5
Hearing from my sources that the conditioning program is advancing very well. Although some players are recovering from off-season surgery and have not been cleared yet, some have been particularly impressive thus far, including the following: Fuller (RB), Schon (OL), Peterson (TE), Coker (WR), Vaganek (DE) and Rivers (SS). I’m told Dobbs is, without question, the leader in the weight room and his example fuels the entire program. Hopefully he stays here through his 5th year.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Feb 22, 2022 19:11:00 GMT -5
3 week countdown till spring ball! Next position group up RBs/TEs:
This group has fewer unanswered questions than others but I still have a few:
1) We return our top 4 RBs, does the amount of playing time and carries mostly correlate with what we saw last year?
2) Does Coach Smith plan to get the RBs and TEs more involved in the passing game?
3) Does Forrest or Fuller emerge as the likely inside the tackles power back to spell and eventually replace Oliver?
My take:
Barring injury, I think the percentage of snaps and carries stays fairly comparable with what we saw in 2021. Oliver likely continues as the #1 featured back with Purdy as the #2. I'm most interested to see the development of Forrest and Fuller. Does Fuller get more traditional snaps in addition to being the goal line/short yardage tail back?
We spoke in great detail about Sluka's necessary progress in the passing game. As others have pointed out, one way to increase his completion percentage while getting the ball to our other athletes in space is the RB screen game and play action to the TEs. Purdy apparently has some of the surest hands on the team and second fastest 40 yd time (behind only Ayir). Both our returning TEs, Morris and Petersen are capable of being more than just blocking TE/H-back types (yet it should be stated and appreciated again that Morris was 1st team All PL with just ~5 receptions all season.) Both have good hands, size and athleticism to make plays in the passing game. We have to get both more involved. We had a beautiful play action play call in the 4th Quarter of the Villanova game but Sluka threw it behind Petersen. He still should have made the difficult catch but if Matt hit him in stride it was a long TD pass (we went down to score anyway but used more clock). We will need more of those types of explosive plays against the 5-6 best teams on our schedule this season.
Brass tacks, We should feel good about the depth and talent at both positions.
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Post by hc2020 on Feb 22, 2022 19:39:13 GMT -5
^ I’ve been told that Fuller is an absolute beast in the weight room. Some of you may have seen him doing squats in a recent video that was posted on Twitter. I’m told he is the strongest player in the RB group. Most of the players I noted earlier are also the strongest players in their position groups.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 22, 2022 20:47:47 GMT -5
What a joy it has been reading the 2022 Recruiting and now this 2022 Refocus thread over the past weeks/months! It's amazing what a thriving program does for you.
I'm on record as a huge fan of Peter Oliver. I have same question about Jordan Fuller that you have. One player not mentioned is Sam Slade-anxious to hear what the reports are when he joins the team
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Post by dharry13 on Feb 22, 2022 22:12:18 GMT -5
I love that Fuller is a beast in the weight room. It doesn’t always translate to plays on the field. I like Fuller - a lot - but can he get quicker.
Rivers in the weight room - great - but can he make plays on the field. Strength is great but lateral movement and quickness/speed is more important. Not even in my opinion - in todays game it’s fact.
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I'm glad you have a great relationship with either Liam or Jacob as I do as well. I also have one with Jason Modak who is a great person beyond the excellent football player he is.