A Positive From Today's Game....

Iron24 · 10-05-2008, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by Clone9

Unfortunately it wasn't enough, and AA's two turnovers were both very costly.

Yes they were, but thats all part of the learning process of a young quarterback. AA has been improving every game he plays, and shows lots of promise and poise. This team will turn some heads this year, as well as years to come.

ArathornClone · 10-05-2008, 03:13 AM

Originally Posted by woodie

we need some moreplayers like lj,tb in our defensive secondary that can cover their man.we got beat by a mediocre end called meier that made our pass defenders look sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agree that our DB's did not cover Meier well. The 2 TDs he had came against Singleton and Hunley - so DBs instead of LBs on him which is what you want. But - he is anything but mediocre. He is big, fast, and has EXCELLENT hands.

ArathornClone · 10-05-2008, 03:17 AM

Originally Posted by Iron24

Yes they were, but thats all part of the learning process of a young quarterback. AA has been improving every game he plays, and shows lots of promise and poise. This team will turn some heads this year, as well as years to come.

Not to be too nitpicky - but from a "within the flow of the game" perspective, his fumble was not a very costly turnover. In hindsight however (i.e. post mortem,) getting points on that Red Zone trip would have been nice. However, at the time we were up 20 - 0 and KU did not turn that into points at all.

The interception - both costly in the flow of the game and in hindsight - was the dagger.

cyclonenum1 · 10-05-2008, 08:19 AM

Chizik coached defenses have generally been very good in the takeaway department. This development is not happenstance my friends...it is coaching.

Aclone · 10-05-2008, 08:28 AM

Positives:

1. No more complaining about redzone shortcomings

2. No more complaining that our offense can't score against decent defenses.

DRCHIRO · 10-05-2008, 08:33 AM

The bottom line is that we have an extremely young team who is still learning how to win football games. Sometimes you have to lose a couple close ones (KU & UNLV) before you learn how to win. We have a team that will not quit though. After we went braindead in the 3rd quarter, the mood in the stadiun was "oh crap, here we go again" but they fought back and made it a great game. Hopefully next week we can put a full game together on the road and come away with a much needed road victory.

cyking · 10-05-2008, 08:39 AM

When you lose by 2 points, a fumble in the red zone is the difference between losing and winning.

Al_4_State · 10-05-2008, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by woodie

we need some moreplayers like lj,tb in our defensive secondary that can cover their man.we got beat by a mediocre end called meier that made our pass defenders look sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That mediocre end Meier is only leading the nation in receptions, but whatev...

BryceC · 10-05-2008, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by Cydkar

Reesing will be gone next year.

Not unless he goes pro, he's a junior.

Aclone · 10-05-2008, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by BryceC

Not unless he goes pro, he's a junior.

And 5-10 quarterbacks generally don't go pro early.

cloneaholic · 10-05-2008, 10:23 AM

I was encouraged by the pressure our D line provided. We had sacks when we didn't even blitz. That's been pretty rare over the last few years.

Hang in there folks. I know it's tough to keep taking our lumps year after year, but I'm optimistic things will get better soon. We have some excellent young players on both offense and defense, and the recruiting will continue to build on that trend. We're also playing with a degree of toughness that I don't think I've ever seen in a Cyclone team. And the character factor is very strong.

The good times will come, but it has to be earned - just like with Pinkle's and Mangino's programs. We're on our way.

cardinal&gold · 10-05-2008, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by bostinelosd

I thought we handled Reesing pretty well. Kept him in check. Im glad he will go out with a squeeker rather than a blow out on us.

Dude still had 350 passing yards and four TDs. Part of the reason he didn't do much in the first half was because Quigley was getting all the carries, not Sharp.

In the first half, our tackling was MUCH better than it had been. In the second half, though, there were again way too many arm tackles. Sharp killed our defense, and our offense's inability to get a first down in the third quarter kept the D on the field way too much. It's especially frustrating when you think about how close we were a couple of times -- just a foot or two. Football really is a game of inches, and it hurt us.

Hopefully next week in Waco the guys--coaching staff included--can put together 4 solid quarters of football for a change.

trajanJ · 10-05-2008, 10:41 AM

Kurtis Taylor is a stud. I would love for KU to have him. A defensive end that causes pressure is hard to find. If we had him our defense would be so much better. Our D ends currently kill us. He will help you win some conference games this year, starting next week.

cygrads · 10-05-2008, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by Al_4_State

That mediocre end Meier is only leading the nation in receptions, but whatev...

That's what I was thinking and I think he killed us last year as well.

StLouisClone · 10-05-2008, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by ArathornClone

He is big, fast, and has EXCELLENT hands.

Meier also adjusts well to the ball. He knows how to run under it and with his size it's hard to knock him off stride. I think Marquis Hamilton is the closest thing ISU has to Meier but I'm not sure his hands are as good. It might help our receivers if AA would put a better touch on the ball (like on the throw to Sumrall to end the game).