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Post game: Griz shake off the rust in the 2nd half

BWahlberg

Well-known member
DONOR
Going into this game I was a little nervous about the Grizzly defense against an offense that’s designed to stretch the field a bit more and has suddenly found a rhythm with a new starting QB. Davis put a bit of a scare into the Griz and game-planned well with a good rushing attack and the ability to stretch the field passing the ball – all while keeping Wags and Holmes as non-factors in the game. All of that said it was great to see the Grizzly offense find their footing as the game went on and keep the Aggies from being able to tie up the game.

As I kind of suspected the Griz opened slow, coming off the bye week, and their inability to find quick footing on offense proved for a very stressful 1st half of the game. It not for a few incredible catches by Jamaal Jones, who knows, it could’ve been 14-0 UCD at the half. In the 2nd half the Grizzlies got churning on the ground and UCD was unable to stop them.

Some general thoughts:

- 280 yards passing and 490 yards of total offense to put up 42 total points on the board – that pretty much hits about what UCD is allowing on average. At first (especially in the 1st half) I was growing more and more concerned that if this offense can’t get going against UCD then it’s going to be tough sledding the rest of the season. As the game went on, and especially after the 2nd half the rust was shaken off and the offense got going. It was a good mix of passing and running. JJ looked more comfortable in the pocket. And the running game found good traction – especially around the left side of the O-line.

- Some great plays from the guys this team absolutely needs on offense. 150 rushing yards for Canada and 3 TDs. 280 passing yards for JJ. 150 receiving yards for Jones. And a quieter day for Van but still a few highlight-reel plays.

- With Ellis Henderson done for the season it was great to see Sean Haynes back and making a long catch on a deep pass. If Haynes can keep working his way in and stay healthy he’ll be a welcome addition to this team in the 2nd half of the season.

- While it was all PATs Harrison Greenberg goes 5-5 and they’re all clean and dead-center. I’m hearing some interesting chatter on the kicking situation and I’m wondering who the coaches will be eyeing to make the trip to Poly since I assume they’re not going to take all 3.

- With Wags and Holmes mostly stymied by a surprisingly solid UCD O-line the interior tackles had a pretty good game. Multiple batted passes for Takai and some good plays in the backfield. Nothing was more clutch than Peevey’s sack to set up a 4th and long late in the game for UCD.

- What was the issue with our linebackers today? This group has largely not been victims of over-pursuit, arm or shoulder-check tackles, and getting out of position. Today that group was off and on and had some noticeable issues. You’d have a big stop by one guy and then bad missed tackle by another guy on the following play. Pass coverage was an issue too – I had people pointing out to me that the 1st UCD TD might not have been fully on Hermey’s shoulders but that the linebacker in coverage wasn’t there to help underneath.

- My concern of facing an offense like Davis’s is growing especially considering the slate ahead. We’ve got the spread/option team in CPSLO, then Sac, then EWU. The Griz have to go 3-0 or 2-1 over this stretch. Can the defense buckle back down?

- QB pressure was not there today. Was it the Davis O-line, their game plan, or did our blitzes and D-ends just not have a good game? Our pass defense is helped by pressure on the QB – that will need to be improved upon, not probably so much for UCD but certainly after that.

- Big props to the kickoff coverage team. I posted concerns about containing their returner and boy did they ever.

- O line had a rough 1st half but a better 2nd half. I’m not jumping on the “we’re doing way better” bandwagon yet but it was good to see better protection for JJ in the 2nd half that allowed him more time to throw the ball.

- Did you notice some of the great blocking by the WRs on some run plays and screens? A few times they totally took a DB or LB out of a play. Great execution on blocking by that group.

- Saw a replay on TV of that 4th UCD touchdown, it was a good call, no bobble and actually 2 feet in bounds.

- A lot of times you see special teams standouts transition to becoming good defenders the next season. That could bode well for Eric Johnson and Tyrel Garner who were listed as being in on some great special teams stops and plays.

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Griz are 3-0 in the conference and now hit the roughest stretch of their schedule. The offense needs to keep building on their 2nd half success and the defense needs to re-group a little bit. It was nice to see the Griz put up some points and have no turnovers or major errors/blunders in the game. No major injuries that I noticed and hopefully this team can just keep improving

On to Cal Poly! GO GRIZ!
 
BW, if you watch the game again, you might change your opinion regarding our DE's. Wags was not a big factor statistically, but he did cause some trouble. He forced the QB to hurry things often. They often had 2 or 3 guys containing him. When they did that, it opened up the opportunities for Takai and even more for Peevey. Wags impact was not on paper this game, but he did play well. Also he was held a lot, just as NDSU did to him.

Thankfully Jones came up huge in the 1st half, or we would have been in trouble. Defensively, Hermanson struggled overall. It has been awhile since he had that bad of a game. I will be surprised if he struggles like that in another game this season.

LB's were uncharacteristically inconsistent this game in over pursuing, and a few key missed tackles. The secondary did give up some passing plays, but still better than the last 2 seasons. They did also have a few plays where they had to cover for awhile, and UCD could not get anything because of great coverage.

UCD is a much improved team under their new QB, they are a better team than their record. Their defense is terrible. Their offense is better than I expected.

As for which kickers to take, that is a good question. I am sure Lider will travel, we need him for his punting, just in case we need him to punt. Greenburg looked much better today, but Sullivan did nothing to lose his spot, just injured. That is a tough call. :thumb:
 
biga75 said:
Anybody know why Shaw only punted once today? Lider punted pretty well.

His knee is pretty messed up. His mechanics were bad and his one punt wasn't too good, his kicking motion was even slower it seemed. I'm also told he can't really run so he can't cover as the last line of defense either.
 
mtgrizrule said:
BW, if you watch the game again, you might change your opinion regarding our DE's. Wags was not a big factor statistically, but he did cause some trouble. He forced the QB to hurry things often. They often had 2 or 3 guys containing him. When they did that, it opened up the opportunities for Takai and even more for Peevey. Wags impact was not on paper this game, but he did play well. Also he was held a lot, just as NDSU did to him.

I'd agree with that, in other games both Wags and Holmes have been able to beat the constant holding and get some sacks. However you're right they did draw a crap ton of attention from UCD players and did hurry up a lot of plays.
 
I also thought the Davis O-line did a real good job pushing our D-line around on run plays. Been awhile since our D-line got bullied like that. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't pretty either.
 
Watching Canada run around the left side twice, reminds me of the old adage "Speed kills." No one on Davis could keep up with him.
 
Seemed to me that Johnson was in pistol formation quite a bit and the coaches used play action a lot more this past game. I like this because Johnson can see the pass rush coming instead of being crushed in a 3 or 5 step drop. I also think he is a lot more effective on the move throwing the football out of play action. I hope another receiver is able to step up his game with the loss of Ellis Henderson over the next few games Jones has been amazing.
 
’m not jumping on the “we’re doing way better” bandwagon yet but it was good to see better protection for JJ in the 2nd half that allowed him more time to throw the ball.

Couldn't make the game but the announcers were talking about how this offensive scheme against Davis made a lot more use of JJ's scrambling ability and short passes. I agree. JJ looked like himself because the O scheme was taking advantage of his strengths.
 
UC Davis's OL impressed me. Great assignment blocking.

BW, glad you recognized the blocking by the WRs. I noticed that as well. Great job by those guys.
 
How about J-Wil... 1 touch all year. 10 yards!
I don't care that he didn't get more touches. I was JACKED for him.
 
DuCharme said:
How about J-Wil... 1 touch all year. 10 yards!
I don't care that he didn't get more touches. I was JACKED for him.
Yes, Wilson should be used more. My god that guys legs are huge, great blocking but let the guy tote the rock. Coach said they have some plays dialed up for him. Maybe saving that for an up coming game.
 
rocklobster said:
Nice to see some bootlegs mixed in their today. Opened Jordy up for some nice deep passes. :thumb:
Yes Jordy was looking more like himself in that scheme. I truly think he is more accurate on the run, just his style.
 
I liked your analysis, I would add that eric johnson is a hitter on special teams and our two safties did not tackle well at all, especially whitted (not typical of him),,,,hermanson could not cover their hybrid tight end man to man (not typical of him either)....everyone has a days like this.......overall I felt like we became a better team today.... rest of the season is going to be exciting and fun.
 
Thanks for the post.

I thought JJ's movement this game kept the defense off balance, particularly in the second half. That seems to be his strength; let's hope the offensive scheme embodies that moving forward.
 
Jordy needs to run and become a threat to run. He does way better all around if he is able to move around in the backfield. Pure and simple.

The reason Whitted had problems tackling was his shoulder and it is still an issue. Not sure about Hermy but I am told he is ok health wise. Zack W. was held much of the time. He needs to learn some new moves as he ended up on the ground way to many times.

We all understand the facts: If Canada had been caught on the first portion of his run we would have been in deep trouble. And If Jones had not made some super catches we would have been in deep trouble. And Jordy's passes were just a shade off but we did enough to win and we are all excited about a win. Looking down the road? We need to improve all across the board to win another game.
 
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