BG Loses to Buffalo
So, the Falcons lost last night. I'm not going to be able to comment too much because I literally did not see a play due to work obligations. I did hear some of the excellent radio broadcast (honestly, our guys are doing a great job) but did not see a play.
A couple quick observations from looking at the stats.
First, Leipold had extra time to prepare for us and I would say he used it to develop a game plan to exploit our weaknesses on defense. We have generally struggled to make stops. If we didn't force fumbles, that game would have been a rout.
Second, this week Coach said BG was very close to having a top-tier MAC offense. I think the offense is getting closer. In the end they had only 5.4 yards per play, which is nothing special. Seven teams in the MAC average more than that. Still, Doege completed 65% with no picks. It was only 10.5 yards per completion, which isn't great. He had 3 TDs. The middle seemed to be available again, which it had not been previously.
The rushing totals look worse than they were. They did a better job on Clair than most teams do, holding him to 4.7 yards per carry. Cleveland had 8 per carry. That was behind a banged up line that gave up some sacks so team rushing was only 3.3 yards per carry but the reality was better than that, if not great.
More later, but BG falls to 2-8 and 2-4. They could easily finish 2-10/2-6, a worse record than the year before on both fronts.
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I'll offer what I saw on TV last night, watching with a few friends at BW3.
This might have been their best game of the season, likely it was.
Despite having a devastated by injuries and having allowed a few sacks, the OL held together far better than expected.
Doege and what he is going to become were on full display I feel. Even the TV commentators noted that excluding two very long pass plays by UB, Doege actually was the better QB. He showed a very good touch on the ball, he was accurate in ways Morgan simply has never been, and the team seemed to rally to him. He inspired some fight in the offense, and that's not something we've seen from Morgan. He kept BG moving and in the fight, even though it fell behind early (again.) And though early there were some really bad drops by the WR, they honestly seemed to work harder. If I'm any judge of body language on the field….and of course I’m hugely brilliant at it, when Morgan was passing it seemed like WRs wouldn't try half of the time. They knew the ball was 10 years too deep, or behind them, or just wouldn't be catchable. With Doege, they know better, they can't blow-off not catching because the ball is going to be on their numbers.
BG can definitely run the ball and could even be dangerous doing it with a legit passing threat next year and an OL that isn't crippled.
The defense had surely its best game yet. It got burned on pass plays, true. Yet over the course of the game it seemed to make clear adjustments, continued to rip at the ball for take-aways, and was at least enough to slow UB down. But it was also clear that maybe the secondary is playing about at its limit. They need more studs and fast coverage than is possible to put on the field right now.
All of the previous and usual comments and worries about Jinks and staff remain. I'm not sure early next year is going to help show improvement, but I look at the team now and my expectations for mid-to-late 2018 are growing meaningfully.
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