(09-10-2024, 11:42 AM)TheSkipWillis Wrote:

(09-10-2024, 11:26 AM)Cleatwood Wrote: This is what I'm saying. I feel like all last year, on this board, we talked about the lack of execution. It's only week 1 but I'm seeing it again.

I struggle with understanding how a team could look so dominate the first half of the game (they did have a few mistakes) but turn around and the offense look worse than the Panthers in the 3rd/4th quarter. 


Everyone is pointing at the play calling because thats the biggest noticeable difference between the two halves. It's a resemblance of how the whole season went last year. Good in the first half, garbage in the second. Add in some goofy questionable calls like when we went for it on 4th. I think everyone making a big deal about the play calling is warranted because it looked the same last year as we crumbled.

It's 50/50 for me with both the players and the coaching. And, for the most part, that's going to be the tune 9 times out of 10.

I think being 2/10 on 3rd down is a problem. However, that's a two way problem that needs to be resolved by both parties. Kirk cannot drop two passes that were in his hands, especially when he was uncontested. One of them was a little harder than the other to track and catch, but, that early one? That was an easy one. 

Engram absolutely cannot drop his pass in a one-on-one situation isolated with a DB out there when split out wide. He's supposed to be able to out muscle the defender in those exact situations. When it comes to the coaching staff, again, look, the first 42:00 minutes of offense was good, we were running the football well, the lanes were opening up, things were relatively humming along.

Again, ETN's fumble really changed the momentum. I get that. We've beat that topic into the ground since Sunday. What bothered me, was, the 4th quarter conservativism. They kept trying to run it, and they kept failing. ETN went 2 for 9 and Bigsby went 3 for 5. At some point, on one of those last four possessions, the direction needed to change. Somebody needed to admit defeat and change the direction in which the offense was going to get after this defense. 

They didn't. So, coulda, woulda, shoulda. But, they didn't.

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