Clawson Post-Game Presser

"They almost had to hand us the game.  And then they did, and we didn't capitalize."

                                    ----Dave Clawson

Just watched Coach Clawson's presser.  He was pretty matter-of-fact, but blunt, terming the Falcon's performance very disappointing.

He said we played poorly for three quarters.  We are struggling on offense, upfront, and at QB.  He said that our defense (except for 2 big plays) generated our offense.

He said that while the defense made some big plays, we didn't rush the passer and we didn't cover.  They made a handful of big plays, but were uneven and couldn't get off the field on first down.

He said the offensive line really struggled with run block and with protection.  Blaec Walker was injured at Michigan and couldn't go this week, so there was reshuffling on the offensive line, but beyond that, we were badly outplayed up front.

He said that he went for the two-pointer down 9 for the reasons I speculated last night--he wanted to know if it is a one-score or a two-score game.  Also, we had a 2-point play, and we were going to use it regardless.

(My note:  It looked like that TE throwback where play drifts to the strong side and then a TE leaks off to the weakside and is often alone.  That play has been a staple of the BG program since the UM days.  They covered it, and we missed).

He did note that the wind was severe.  In the stands it did not seem that bad, so I was surprised.  They made a conscious decision to have the wind for the 4th.

He was disappointed that we did not get pressure like we did against Marshall.  We have been hurt blitzing, and thought we could get pressure with a four man front.  The sad things is (and this is now my comment), when your rush 4 the benefit is that you are supposed to have seven guys in coverage, but we rushed four and the middle of the field was still wide open all day.

He finished by saying that youth is not an excuse any more.  Our guys have played 5 games now, and they cannot use youth as an excuse for missed assignments and coverages.

BG Missed More than a FG

It is a cliche to say that it was not just a FG that lost today's game. In this case, it is a cliche with the backing of truth.  True, we certainly had some special teams issues.  But, no segment of our team played the way they should for four full quarters or maybe even two.  It was a very poorly played game on both sides, with a ridiculous number of turnovers and personal fouls.  BG was never in sync on offense, and the defense did not play well until the 3rd Quarter, when they did put up a pretty strong series of stands, especially given the amount of time they spent on the field.

There were two coaching calls that will be on everyone's mind.

The first one was going for 2 when BG was down 9.  The most normal approach is to kick the extra point and "keep yourself in the game" and try for the 2 pointer if you score again.  I haven't listened to Coach's presser, but I'm guessing he said that if you need two scores, it is better to know it then to leave it for the end and not have any back up.

You could go around and around on it.  If we make it, and then score and kick the second one, then the game is tied, and who knows what happens when Buffalo has the ball on that final possession.  The larger concerns are the fact we didn't hit the 2 pointer and missed that first xp in the first place.

The other one will be the decision to settle for the FG attempt rather than trying to get it closer or in the end zone.  Certainly, we have struggled on FGs, being 3-7 for the season with a long of 27.  You could certainly make an argument that you need to maybe throw some screens or something and try to get closer or maybe break a score.

On the other hand, we had not been moving the ball effectively for the game.  On our previous drie, our best play had been a personal foul against Buffalo.  If we throw a pick or get an INT, everyone is going to be screaming at Clawson for taking those kinds of risks.  If he gets sacked, (as he had on the previous drive), then you are even farther back.

Not saying that one was better than the other, just that there is a lot to weigh into it.

From the way he hit it, I was certain he had it.  It just looked good off the foot.  Sigh.

More later....

Halftime

Ouch. No one has much to be proud of, including the Falcons, the Bulls
and the refs.

Dear Falcons

You gotta turn the volume down on this chick who is screeching during
time outs. It is a joke.

Arrival at the doyt

Bad news on the pre-game show is that LT Blaec Walker won't play.
Didn't catch how things were shifted to accomodate. Didn't sound like
Schilz will play which is not a huge surprise.

25 questions that are full of Bull

What is their body of work?

Buffalo has played a relatively difficult pre-MAC schedule, but they are 1-3.  Their only win was against Rhode Island, and they have lost to UConn, UCF and Baylor.  I would say that their body of work has not yet revealed how good they are.  They don't have a FBS win, and you'd think on a good day you could beat UCF, especially since it was a home game for the Bulls.

What is their best recent result?

Well, depending how far you want to go back, their program's biggest win had to be the win over #12 Ball State in the MAC Championship in 2008.  The last two years have not had any big wins for the program.

What is their worst recent result?

Similarly, they don't have any disastrous losses this year or last.  Their losses have tended to be not surprising.

What is their turnover ratio?

They are -3 thus far and lead the MAC with 8 turnovers.

Offense:

How is their QB Play?

Buffalo had been targeting Zach Maynard to be their QB of the future but he got out of the ol' bullpen and Buffalo went with Soph Jerry Davis of Fresno CA.  He played a little bit in mop-up roles last season.  So far, he is only completing 47% of his passes (in a spread attack) and has a league-leading 7 INTs.  He is clearly still adjusting to his role.

What was their scoring and yards per play?

Given their struggles passing and running, they are 12th in the MAC in scoring.  Their 4.5 yards per play is in the lower half of the conference.  They are 4th in total offense solely because they run a crazy amount of plays...they are averaging 10 plays a game more than the next team in the MAC.

Can they run the ball?

They are really struggling to run the ball.  Typically, the cure for that has been orange and brown, (and it certainly was for Buffalo last year), and if the Falcons play well in this phase, I think they have a shot to keep this a problem for Buffalo.  They have not run for one TD all season.

Do they pass the ball?

Davis' struggles are covered above.  They have some excellent WRs, however, so if Davis gets time and makes good throws, they can burn you, especially deep.  

How is their run/pass balance?

Sack adjusted, they are about what you would expect from Quinn's spread....176 passes and 147 runs.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

38% on the year, which is in the middle of the MAC pack.

Do they score in the red zone?

They are averaging 3.9 yards per trip, which is below average.  They have only been stopped twice, but their 10 trips has yielded only 5 TDs.  

Do they protect the quarterback?

They have only given up 9 sacks, which is the middle of the MAC pack, but Bull Run, our rival blog from Buffalo, indicated in our blog swap that protection has been an issue, so there may have been pressure that did not lead to a sack.


This is a team that is struggling on offense.  BG's job is to make sure they don't get well on Saturday.

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They are in the middle in scoring defense and #4 in yards per play allowed.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are giving up 3.8 yards per rush, which is 6th in the MAC.

Could they be passed on?

They lead the MAC in passing efficiency defense.  They allow only 52.7% completions against which is the lowest in the MAC by 5%.  This is a strong point for the team, and it identifies what the key battleground will be when we have the ball.

Did they get off the field on 3rd down?

This is a strong point.  They allow only 38% conversions and they are second in the MAC.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are strong in the red zone, with 3.75 points per trip and 3 earned stops in 13 attempts.

Do they pressure the QB?

They have 8 sacks which is third in the MAC and it is twice as many as BG has.


Special Teams:

Punting?

This is not a strong point. They are last in the MAC in net punting and have not been blocked this year.

Punt Return?

Conversley, they are first in the MAC in punt returns.  No TDs this year, but Terrell Jackson, their returner, averages over 16 yards on 6 returns.

Placekicking?

The ageless AJ Principe, who seems to be in his 10th year of eligibility, is 4-6 on FGs with both misses coming beyond 40.  His season long is 39.

Kickoff?

They are also last in kickoffs.  They average only a net of 33 yards on kickoffs, which means that teams start at the 37 against them.  Go get 'em Ty.

Kickoff Return?

They are 9th on kickoff returns in the MAC and typically start at their own 25.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

I don't know what to say here.


You have two teams who really need a win.  It will be tough for either team to compete in the MAC without a victory out there Saturday.  Who responds in that situation will tell a lot.


Buffalo is still re-tooling to Jeff Quinn's spread offense from Turner Gill's use-a-fullback-offense.  They have not shown a terrific amount of success.


I'm hoping we have another big crowd.

Blog Swap, Return Visit

Yesterday, we ran Bull Run answering some of our questions about the Bulls, and today, we can look at how I answered their questions.

Enjoy....