Positive Note Today Amidst A lot of Bad Ones

Submitted by littlebrownjug on

While a lot went wrong today, I really am pumped that Junior Hemingway is back in the lineup. He made a nice catch, and we have another big receiver in the mix.

JT4104

September 18th, 2010 at 8:14 PM ^

I think Lewan totally destroying the same people that Huyge struggled with was a nice positive..

heck almost every run in the 2nd half we behind Lewan/Schilling....if he can keep it up our OLine just got a whole lot better.

Maize.Blue Wagner

September 18th, 2010 at 9:01 PM ^

Lewan played a lot more than just a series.  I don't think it was the entire 2nd half, but he was out there for a good portion of it.  There could be other factors involved, but the running game seemed to improve after the time he went in.  It was after I noticed him playing that Shaw started to get some yards, including the 30 yd. TD.

Sven_Da_M

September 18th, 2010 at 8:17 PM ^

... +1.

Win by 1, win by 100--who cares?

Every team has a letdown/trap game.  Good to get it out of the way now.

The defense is who we thought they were, even before the injuries.  

The nearly pathetic negativity from small people who have never stepped out and risked anything in the arena is mind-boggling.

Now on to watch ND dismantle MSU!

jmblue

September 18th, 2010 at 8:17 PM ^

There were a lot of positives on the offensive side of the ball: 

-Denard shrugged off an early INT to have a great day throwing the ball (10-14-1, 241 yds, 2 TD).   

-The deep ball returned to the offense.  Grady, Stonum and Hemingway each hauled one in.

-Stonum was a real playmaker out there.  Two of his grabs were TDs and a third was a deep ball.

-Shaw may have seized control of the tailback position with his career day (126 yards, 3 TD).

-There were a lot fewer penalties than last week.

Rmilkman

September 18th, 2010 at 8:22 PM ^

Denard's passes were looking very nice today. It's good that he's shutting up the haters who said that he was only dumping the ball off in the first few games.

Keeeeurt

September 18th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^

Also, not sure if it was posted or not (there's a lot of unhappy posts to look through), but I was really happy with how, at least the student section, acted when UMass's band took the field.  No one near me booed, everyone cheered and most people stood up.  I was really proud of how everyone acted.

BlueGoM

September 18th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^

True - nice to see him back.  He's a relatively big WR too so he'll be  a help on those downfield blocks.   He's been injured so often it'd be nice to see him have a big year.

Yostal

September 18th, 2010 at 8:30 PM ^

I thought Denard's decision making was excellent.  When he pulled the ball down and ran early on, he was able to avoid major contact and get to the sidelines.  That's smart football.

Denard's downfield throws looked very good when he made them (Stonum made him look better.)

Michael Shaw and Vincent Smith played MUCH better in the second half.  They were finding seams and breaking tackles.

Denard found six different recievers to varying degrees.

Kelvin Grady made some exceptional blocks and at least one very nice catch.

So yes, there are many positives, build on those.  Work on the flaws.  Polish the stone.

Wendyk5

September 18th, 2010 at 8:48 PM ^

It seems to me we're playing exactly as everyone on this board expected we would before the season started, and perhaps even better. No one knew Denard would be as developed as he is as a passer and a team leader. The defense is struggling, as we suspected, but has shown glimpses of excellence. The secondary is barren, as we suspected. The kicking game is suspect, and sad. 

 

Two things are making us crazy. 1) We all got a taste of the national media attention. How many posts were on this board last week linking to some story about Denard and the Heisman? A lot. RR says don't swallow the poison, and I think he means us, the fans, too. And 2) It's just dang hard to watch. 

 

Yostal

September 18th, 2010 at 9:10 PM ^

Another positive note: The continued presence of the Slippery Rock score and the very nice ovation given to the UMass band by the Michigan Stadium crowd.

BlueTimesTwo

September 18th, 2010 at 9:15 PM ^

As bad as it was, we won despite:

1)  A botched snap by freshman punter resulting in blocked punt deep in our end;

2)  Cam getting greedy and turning his interception right over for a 10 yard UMass gain;

3)  The uncalled PI that cost 'Tree a TD, and then we missed the FG;

4)  The refs stubborn and ongoing refusal to throw a flag when Martin and Roh get held.

5)  Etc.;

6)  Etc.

In the last two years we don't win a game like that, even against a AA opponent.  Today we did.

Maceo24

September 18th, 2010 at 10:20 PM ^

Although, I don't know how the officials decided it was UMass ball on the fumble.  On replay, it becomes obvious that Mouton recoverd and the WR who jumped on the pile after they had already awared the ball to UMass ended up with the ball.  Very strange situation.

 

Also, on the guy coming out of bounds to catch the ball.  Since he hadn't re-established himself in bounds before he caught it, wasn't he out of bounds.  My theory on this is that you remain in your last previous state.  Since he jumped from out of bounds, he was out of bounds until touching in.  Therefore, when the touched the ball, he was still out.  Anybody able to correct me?

gujd

September 18th, 2010 at 10:44 PM ^

I totally agree with you. He wasn't out of bounds when he caught it but he never was back in, so his last established position was out of bounds. If the football rules are the same as basketball rules, he should not have been given that catch.

 

re: the overall thread, I think Denard (and most of the team) came out playing not to lose. The first two games we came out playing to win. UMASS took it to us, we responded late in the 2nd quarter and the offense at least never looked back. I think we should have upped the aggressiveness on defense and tried to force more plays, rather than sitting back and letting UMASS dictate things.

BigCat14

September 19th, 2010 at 2:54 PM ^

Fitz Tousant (not sure of correct spelling) was.  i know that  75% is not 100%.  i did think he was supposed to play.  shaw ran hard, was patient when needing to be and hit holes hard at the right times.  VS ran hard as well.  very nice to see the run game goingggggggggggg!