Date: 23/08/25 - 15:56 PM   48060 Topics and 694399 Posts

Author Topic: Spring Game....  (Read 644 times)

April 23, 2007, 08:48:42 AM
Read 644 times

ksu_FAN

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Of course the #1 topic after this game is Josh Freeman, and it should be.  He did not play well by any stretch of the imagination and he showed the issues I thought he had coming in, namely he is not a great at reading his progressions and this was only magnified by having no running game (best 2 backs by far were on the white team) and by the white taking away Nelson as a target and forcing him to find Gonzalez or a TE.  He did neither well, though Gonzalez didn't help him much (I'll get to that later).  So as a result Freeman looked much the same as he did vs ku and vs Rutgers and it was disappointing for the fans to see.  You can't just whitewash that and throw it out, but at the same time I'm not sure you can put too much stock into it either.  I know in the 3 practices I witnessed Freeman never looked nearly as bad as he did saturday, though he was helped by an offensive line with some continuity and a full stock of skill position players to back him up.  At the end of the day Freeman is a guy who is much hyped and no matter what the circumstances there really isn't an excuse for what he did saturday.  Now the hope is that (once again) he can pick himself up from a bad performance and learn from it as this team moves toward the fall.

That said, the 2nd most disappointing performance IMO came from our 2nd and 3rd WRs.  Gonzalez and Wilson both had some big drops (tough catches, but still should be caught) and it hurt their team.  Granted, on one Gonzalez was interfered with, but the purple needed to be bailed out and instead of having the ball near midfield, they only got the ball around the 30 after the PI penalty.  Wilson dropped a sure TD.  Both had drops on slants in traffic.  Those guys will need to play better for this team to win, or we have to hope Brown, Pierce, and Murphy can come in and be in the mix right away.

Offensive line wasn't great, but wasn't horrible.  Hard to really assess them with the mixed up rosters. 

Defensively we played pretty well.  I thought we got to the ball really well and WRs only got behind our DBs a time or two.  The white defense was absolutely dominant, but again I don't think the converted WR at RB was much of a threat and that made things much easier on them.  The front 7 looked solid.

Johnson didn't get a lot of touches, but showed his burst with his long run.  Petrie showed that he gives us a solid 3rd option.  This game really didn't show the gap that is there between Johnson and Petrie and Petrie came away looking pretty good.  But time and time again in 1s vs 1s situations in practices Johnson shined where Petrie did not.  Again, Petrie gives us a solid 3rd option at RB, but this is Johnson's to lose, and no doubt a healthy Patton will be in the mix.  Again, I think the gamebreaking ability here that Johnson and Patton will provide will make things much easier on Freeman and the rest of the offense.

Finally, Coffman showed about what I expected.  Like I said before, this kid was part of a great HS program, has great bloodlines and is flat out a competitor.  From what I've seen he's better at reading through his progressions and it showed saturday.  Over the long haul I don't think he's in position right now to overtake Josh, but if Josh doesn't improve he might challenge as soon as next season.  I don't think its time to make this a tight race yet; this is still Josh's job to lose, but we know now that we have a guy that can challenge him and hopefully Josh steps up to that challenge.

Finally, the running clock makes it nice for the fans and for a short game, but it also makes it tough to assess much, especially for the offenses.  This really makes it difficult for an offense to find any rhythm and gives the advantage to the defense IMO.  Also, the mixed roster, especially for this stage of the program, makes it tough to get anything going.  Both offenses looked like they were pressing and the limited possessions probably contributed to that.  Not an excuse for the poor offensive performances, but its easier to understand given the format used for the game.  I'm not necessarily complaining b/c I like that better than seeing the 1s beat the 2s 48-0, but it is what it is.


April 23, 2007, 09:04:46 AM
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coitus

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April 23, 2007, 09:08:10 AM
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Poopley

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Thanks, fan. I was surprised to hear you say the OL didn't look that bad. The purple OL was Lucas, Robinson, Bedore, Handy, Rooker. Rooker was playing with a bad shoulder that left him at half strength from that side. If Jackson, Walker, Campbell, and Childs could not make them look horrible, something is very wrong on defense. Our d should've been caving in the edges of that OL at will.

What is the solution for Freeman's inability to work through the progressions?  :billypopcorn: :popcorn: :billypopcorn:

April 23, 2007, 09:11:34 AM
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coitus

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the white def held the purps to -44 yards rushing.  a good chunk of that is james not being a rb, but they met him at the handoff many times.


April 23, 2007, 09:11:52 AM
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ksu_FAN

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Don't get me wrong, the offensive line wasn't great.  I just think it was hard to assess them based on being mixed, and that James was the purple RB.  There was plenty of pressure, but when its two hand touch on the QBs its hard to assess that as well.  I just think its really hard to assess the play of either front based on this game.  We'll know plenty about both fronts on September 1st.

April 23, 2007, 09:13:43 AM
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KSUIntegrity22

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Thanks, fan. I was surprised to hear you say the OL didn't look that bad. The purple OL was Lucas, Robinson, Bedore, Handy, Rooker. Rooker was playing with a bad shoulder that left him at half strength from that side. If Jackson, Walker, Campbell, and Childs could not make them look horrible, something is very wrong on defense. Our d should've been caving in the edges of that OL at will.

What is the solution for Freeman's inability to work through the progressions?  :billypopcorn: :popcorn: :billypopcorn:

Freeman's inability? And you're telling me that our D didn't destroy that offensive line? Were you at the game? That's with limited blitz packages...

April 23, 2007, 09:27:59 AM
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Poopley

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Integrity, as I said, I was surprised to hear fan say the offensive line was not horrible. Hence, my point. I also responded to his saying that Freeman is "not great at reading his progressions." Prince also criticized Freeman for that during the radio broadcast. Not sure why your tone is so hostile. You almost hurt my feewings.  :crybaby:

April 23, 2007, 09:30:39 AM
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KSUIntegrity22

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Integrity, as I said, I was surprised to hear fan say the offensive line was not horrible. Hence, my point. I also responded to his saying that Freeman is "not great at reading his progressions." Prince also criticized Freeman for that during the radio broadcast. Not sure why your tone is so hostile. You almost hurt my feewings.  :crybaby:

:( wife's pregnant. sorry.

April 23, 2007, 09:42:41 AM
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cireksu

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Don't understand the up roar here.  It is a glorified pick up game for the entertainment of the few fans that show up and the pride of the players.  Anyone expecting anyone else to dominate in that situation is absurd.  Yes one team dominated the other but no one had good numbers.

April 23, 2007, 09:51:31 AM
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Saulbadguy

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LOL at the "shovel pass" by Ross Diehl.

April 23, 2007, 10:09:19 AM
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ksu_FAN

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Don't understand the up roar here.  It is a glorified pick up game for the entertainment of the few fans that show up and the pride of the players.  Anyone expecting anyone else to dominate in that situation is absurd.  Yes one team dominated the other but no one had good numbers.

I agree with that for the most part, but it still doesn't completely excuse poor performances.

Also keep in mind b/c of the running clock, each team only got in about 50-60% of the plays they would've in a "normal" game.

April 23, 2007, 10:52:39 AM
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catzacker

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Don't understand the up roar here.  It is a glorified pick up game for the entertainment of the few fans that show up and the pride of the players.  Anyone expecting anyone else to dominate in that situation is absurd.  Yes one team dominated the other but no one had good numbers.

My concern is that the last 3 times I've watched Josh Freeman he looks more like a philanthropist than a highly rated QB.  And if Freeman was lights out during the spring game everyone would use it as a positive example of Freeman's progress. 

April 23, 2007, 10:54:40 AM
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SUPERKSUFAN

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LOL at the "shovel pass" by Ross Diehl.

agreed.... :lol:

April 23, 2007, 11:35:26 AM
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opcat

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You guys worry too much.  More addition than subtraction this season.

April 23, 2007, 11:51:12 AM
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I agree.  Coach Prince overachieved in this first year, and I think he will continue to surpass expectations this year.

April 23, 2007, 02:08:02 PM
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pufizzle

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LOL at the "shovel pass" by Ross Diehl.

Did Ross not see Reggie Bush try and do the same thing 2 years ago in the National Championship?  I mean, both players are without a doubt HUGE playmakers but you have to remember that not everyone around you is going to be ready for your freakish playmaking abilities.  :blindfold: