To play off of our “Film Don’t Lie” feature, we’re going to tell you what our eyes saw tonight from the press box at Bill Snyder family stadium. This won’t be super organized and a bit of a string of thoughts, but we hope you enjoy it.
What we’d selfishly enjoy is your guys thoughts on tonight’s game. What did you see? I think this can be fun for a lot of people if the experts we're fortunate to have on here get involved.
Eyes Don’t Lie …
Okay, maybe D.J. Reed should return kicks? Jeff is never going to let me live this down. This guy is gonna be a STAR this year.
Offensive line wasn’t immediately dominant, maybe not a shock considering the late shift needed at center, but still somewhat surprising to me. I think they got better as the game went on, and they really did a better job pass protecting than we saw run blocking tonight.
At least initially, Ertz still struggled throwing the ball down the field. Glass half full is that he had plenty of arm – balls weren’t underthrown – but the accuracy wasn’t there. Passes weren’t missed by a ton – the reads were right for the most part – he’ll just obviously want to connect on some of those. Again, though, it was encouraging to see what seemed to be better arm strength.
Ertz was far more accurate on routes where the receiver made himself stationary as opposed to those where he had to lead a receiver or hit one on the run. And as much as we’ve nitpicked Ertz in the first half – he’s still lighting it up. Maybe we’re being a tad too harsh. He’s over 200 yards with three scores in the first half.
You know what? I could go back and delete the above after knowing Ertz finished the game with a quarterback rating of infinity, but I'll leave it to show how silly I am. Really, really impressive overall outing for him.
Was nice to see Duke Shelley make a pair of nice plays in the first quarter, breaking up one throw in one-on-one coverage and then later fighting off a receiver’s block to make a solo tackle on an option run that seemed to have a chance.
Know Winston Dimel takes some guff (not really his fault) but he’s an impressive player. Jeff hadn’t had a chance to focus on him in the past and was immediately impressed with him as a blocker.
Isaiah Harris looks quick. Jeff made the same comparison our anonymous Wildcat did, immediately thinking of Brandon Banks. I was thinking Isaiah Zuber might be the breakout guy this year (still love him), but I may have picked the wrong Isaiah.
Linebacker play was a little concerning, particularly in the first half. Outside of Jayd Kirby’s sack, they weren’t able to really alter anything UCA was trying to do offensively.
Derek Young had an interesting observation, as he’s been in virtually every Big Ten stadium and was very impressed with the atmosphere. I don’t think he was ready for it. Also had to remind him that this was a game against Central Arkansas, as well. He mentioned how impressed he was multiple times - it's cool to get a different perspective on something like that. He was an Iowa guy, and he specifically said it was, "waaaaay better than Iowa."
K-State’s receivers are difference makers. Pringle, Heath, Zuber – each of them has the athleticism to hurt defenses. And that’s without Dominque Heath in the lineup. To guys like Jeff and Derek, who haven’t watched K-State week after week the last couple of years, they were a little taken back by this group. And I didn't even mention Dalton Schoen in that group.
D.J. Reed is the best player on the field (this is from Jeff … I mean, I said this on the podcast today). Just a special player. Short of a guy playing two ways, how much more of an impact can you have on a game?
As we got into the second half, Ertz immediately hits a receiver (Pringle) streaking down the field. I felt like that was the only thing he missed in the first half. So, encouraging to see for sure.
You hate to overact over one series or a couple of plays, but it was nice to see Justin Hughes almost immediately make a play in the backfield after being inserted into the lineup. Trent Tanking is big for these defense, and he’s needed. We’re not moving on to Hughes. Just saying Hughes showed some flashes.
Take that last paragraph, re-write most of it, and put the name Elijah Sullivan instead of Hughes. Yeah, ready for the linebacker controversy to heat up.
Skylar Thompson was exciting to see. Hope to get him throw the ball around a little bit, but we’ve been assured that’s his strength. So it was awfully encouraging to see his wheels and willingness to plow over and defender – although he may have to watch that some. And with Justin Silmon out it was also nice to see Dalvin Warmack get a little bit of extended action and flash a little on his way to the end zone.
To me, this is a good win. Like I said in the podcast, really good FCS teams are better than low-level FBS teams. It wasn't all perfect - defense was shaky early - but overall a lot more positive than negative.
CLOSING THOUGHTS FROM THE KSO STAFF
Jeff Martin: Any ailments you see, FCS team or not, are fixable. People have to relax. There’s speed to play at linebacker when it’s the right time. Was surprised they chucked it around as much as they did. This group has guys who can really hurt you on the outside.
Derek Young: Speed, this team is a lot faster than I anticipated. Would have loved to see Mike McCoy tonight (NOTE: Derek made this note right before he headed down to the field and McCoy entered the game). Expected most of the offensive damage to be on the ground, but it really through the air – which is encouraging. It’s good to see them throw the ball; we know they can run it.
Matt Hall: I think D.J. Reed is an All-America caliber talent. And okay, he should probably be a kick and punt return guy all year long.
What we’d selfishly enjoy is your guys thoughts on tonight’s game. What did you see? I think this can be fun for a lot of people if the experts we're fortunate to have on here get involved.
Eyes Don’t Lie …
Okay, maybe D.J. Reed should return kicks? Jeff is never going to let me live this down. This guy is gonna be a STAR this year.
Offensive line wasn’t immediately dominant, maybe not a shock considering the late shift needed at center, but still somewhat surprising to me. I think they got better as the game went on, and they really did a better job pass protecting than we saw run blocking tonight.
At least initially, Ertz still struggled throwing the ball down the field. Glass half full is that he had plenty of arm – balls weren’t underthrown – but the accuracy wasn’t there. Passes weren’t missed by a ton – the reads were right for the most part – he’ll just obviously want to connect on some of those. Again, though, it was encouraging to see what seemed to be better arm strength.
Ertz was far more accurate on routes where the receiver made himself stationary as opposed to those where he had to lead a receiver or hit one on the run. And as much as we’ve nitpicked Ertz in the first half – he’s still lighting it up. Maybe we’re being a tad too harsh. He’s over 200 yards with three scores in the first half.
You know what? I could go back and delete the above after knowing Ertz finished the game with a quarterback rating of infinity, but I'll leave it to show how silly I am. Really, really impressive overall outing for him.
Was nice to see Duke Shelley make a pair of nice plays in the first quarter, breaking up one throw in one-on-one coverage and then later fighting off a receiver’s block to make a solo tackle on an option run that seemed to have a chance.
Know Winston Dimel takes some guff (not really his fault) but he’s an impressive player. Jeff hadn’t had a chance to focus on him in the past and was immediately impressed with him as a blocker.
Isaiah Harris looks quick. Jeff made the same comparison our anonymous Wildcat did, immediately thinking of Brandon Banks. I was thinking Isaiah Zuber might be the breakout guy this year (still love him), but I may have picked the wrong Isaiah.
Linebacker play was a little concerning, particularly in the first half. Outside of Jayd Kirby’s sack, they weren’t able to really alter anything UCA was trying to do offensively.
Derek Young had an interesting observation, as he’s been in virtually every Big Ten stadium and was very impressed with the atmosphere. I don’t think he was ready for it. Also had to remind him that this was a game against Central Arkansas, as well. He mentioned how impressed he was multiple times - it's cool to get a different perspective on something like that. He was an Iowa guy, and he specifically said it was, "waaaaay better than Iowa."
K-State’s receivers are difference makers. Pringle, Heath, Zuber – each of them has the athleticism to hurt defenses. And that’s without Dominque Heath in the lineup. To guys like Jeff and Derek, who haven’t watched K-State week after week the last couple of years, they were a little taken back by this group. And I didn't even mention Dalton Schoen in that group.
D.J. Reed is the best player on the field (this is from Jeff … I mean, I said this on the podcast today). Just a special player. Short of a guy playing two ways, how much more of an impact can you have on a game?
As we got into the second half, Ertz immediately hits a receiver (Pringle) streaking down the field. I felt like that was the only thing he missed in the first half. So, encouraging to see for sure.
You hate to overact over one series or a couple of plays, but it was nice to see Justin Hughes almost immediately make a play in the backfield after being inserted into the lineup. Trent Tanking is big for these defense, and he’s needed. We’re not moving on to Hughes. Just saying Hughes showed some flashes.
Take that last paragraph, re-write most of it, and put the name Elijah Sullivan instead of Hughes. Yeah, ready for the linebacker controversy to heat up.
Skylar Thompson was exciting to see. Hope to get him throw the ball around a little bit, but we’ve been assured that’s his strength. So it was awfully encouraging to see his wheels and willingness to plow over and defender – although he may have to watch that some. And with Justin Silmon out it was also nice to see Dalvin Warmack get a little bit of extended action and flash a little on his way to the end zone.
To me, this is a good win. Like I said in the podcast, really good FCS teams are better than low-level FBS teams. It wasn't all perfect - defense was shaky early - but overall a lot more positive than negative.
CLOSING THOUGHTS FROM THE KSO STAFF
Jeff Martin: Any ailments you see, FCS team or not, are fixable. People have to relax. There’s speed to play at linebacker when it’s the right time. Was surprised they chucked it around as much as they did. This group has guys who can really hurt you on the outside.
Derek Young: Speed, this team is a lot faster than I anticipated. Would have loved to see Mike McCoy tonight (NOTE: Derek made this note right before he headed down to the field and McCoy entered the game). Expected most of the offensive damage to be on the ground, but it really through the air – which is encouraging. It’s good to see them throw the ball; we know they can run it.
Matt Hall: I think D.J. Reed is an All-America caliber talent. And okay, he should probably be a kick and punt return guy all year long.
