Bull Run Blog Swapping

Whenever we get a chance, we've been swapping questions with opposing blogs heading into the games.  This week, we have an exchange with Bull Run, an excellent Buffalo blog.  (The increase in MAC fanblogs has been a highlight of this season).

Beyond the swap of questions, Bull Run and I have added a bet.  If BG wins, he will put a banner on his site that says "Owned by Falcon Blog" and if Buffalo wins, I will respond accordingly on my blog.  All in good fun, and hoping the Falcons pull out a nice election night win.

1)  Buffalo lost a pretty good QB and a pretty good RB from last season.  Talk about how Maynard and Nduka?  They both are having success.  Are you surprised at either of them?

Maynard is the quarterback I expected him to be when the season started, great arm, quick release, a ton of potential with a sick number of sophomore mistakes. He had a ton of interest from some good schools and had his academics been better he would be on a BCS squad right now. Gill took a chance by giving an offer before the ACT scores were back and the rest is history. I was maybe a little over confident after the Pitt game but he settled right back into the same mistakes you expect a first year starter to make (Like the red zone pick against WMU last week).

Nduka came straight out of nowhere, he had one run in 2006, used a red shirt in 2007, and played some special teams last season. That he has had so much success despite being banged up this year was completely unexpected. What is more surprising is just how poorly Thermilus and Henry were running before Ike got his shot.

2)  It looks to me that your offense is pretty good on the marginal numbers, and is only failing to score more because of a very poor turnover ratio. Is that the right way to look at it?

The Turnovers are not the real reason we have such an awful record; Temple (5), UCF (4) Pitt (4) account for 72% of our turnovers. It's been the field position aspect of special teams (retuning and defending) that have killed UB this season. If you're starting on the 15 yard line a nice solid 65 yard drive only gets you in range for a 40 yard field goal (we have our problems with those).

3)  Everyone focuses so much on offensive players.....tell me about your defensive playmakers and evaluate your defense to date.

The defense has been more disappointing than the offense, but there have been some bright spots.

Justin Winters has really picked up his play this season. He has been about the only player in UB's front seven to be a defensive factor in every game. The secondary has been as solid as I would have expected (Newton and Cook have been solid in pass coverage) but quarterbacks have had enough time to work through their reeds, check their horoscope, consult their psychic friend, and twitter with fans to find the most open target.

4)  What has the home game environment been like in Buffalo this year?  What do you expect for Tuesday?

It's not been what many had hoped, still markedly better than several years ago maybe even better than last year, but I think the die hards were hoping that as the 'Defending MAC Champs' that we would be averaging 18-20K but instead we are holding at 17K. Whats really frustrating to me is that student organizations like True Blue can't get together with the Band to create a better game day experience.

But the parking is free, the tailgating is healthy, and the home town fans welcome the opposition, the rest  will come with time.  Back in the late 90's the 'Pep-Band'  wore a blue T-Shirt and jeans to a couple of basketball games, today they have been replaced by the thunder of the east, an actual drilled field band. Slowly but surely attendance is coming up, events are getting better, and all the things that surrounding the team are becoming more 'big-time'.

5)   What do you honestly think of Turner Gill.  I can't make up my mind....is he the real deal, or is he just a well-known name?  How long do you think he will be in Buffalo?

Gill is the real deal, sure there are moments where in the back of my mind I a little voice compares him to JD Brookhart but that's just the pessimist in me. Even before the MAC championship he had started to change the culture. He will leave when the right job comes along, if he can salvage something out of this year, and make something of next then maybe that job comes up.

We have some quasi-insiders on ubfan who say Gill has a list of schools he would like to coach for and money alone wont make him stray from that list and given that he was not seriously interested in Syracuse or Iowa State I have to agree. He is waiting for either Nebraska, a Texas School *not* in the Big 12, or something big along the Gulf Coast.