island eagle

Good news. We did ok without him at Ball State, but considering how good he looked in fall camp, one can only wonder how much better we could have done with him. As Brett Vito says, its nice to have the depth at WR. I sure hope Carey gets a few more touches in the Ohio game. If he does, then Jamaal, Michael and crew might really run wild.

Riley Dodge was named SBC offensive player of the week and Craig Robertson was named SBC defensive player of the week. Way to go guys!!

Thanks for the overview. Ohio will not be a pushover. We need to play with the same intensity we did on Thursday.

On top of that, we didn't even get to see BJ Lewis, who was out with an injury, and Darius Carey is just now learning the ropes. Get those two rolling and the opposing DB's won't know who to focus on!!

These quotes are from off the Troy board. They could easily have come off our board last year: "Point the finger wherever you want. Last night was a total TEAM effort. Coaching staff made ZERO adjustments, the players on DEFENSE forgot how to tackle on the field and then tried to tackle off the field, result 15 yard personal foul. Hell, we almost ran into the punter, in fact, did brush him, that is just BUSH. We're trying to get the ball back, you've worked hard and you 'brush' the kicker, come on. Special teams (kicking especially) weren't any better. Glussman misses a chip shot, coaches go for it on 4th instead of giving him a chance (Maybe they already knew something) and the Offensive Line blocked NO ONE most of the night. TEAM effort here. #7 caught more passes than anyone in the HISTORY OF BOWLING GREEN FOOTBALL, MORE THAN ANYONE!!! So point the finger here, point the finger there, or just put your finger up and realize that this effort (lack there of) was TEAM. Maybe they were thinking of their tweats and twits to much, or what might make a better video for more "pre season hype". I don't know. I do know that the Troy Trojan team that played last night better get their asses to the practice field and FILM ROOM and get this fixed, pronto, or it could really, really be painful in the next 5-6 weeks." " The O-Line blocked no one and the D-Line didnt touch the QB all night(no penetration). Give the db's time and they will come along, but we got handled up front and that is where the game is won and lost. Also I agree the play calling was bad. Didnt throw the ball down field but in the O coordinators defense,Levi didnt have time to throw. BG did a good job rolling the QB out so our ends were not able to get a true pass rush. I am as big a TROY fan as the next person, but we got handled on the field and on the sidelines. Gotta give BG some credit!!" Reply With Quote

Absolutely, the best way this team can go 2-0 is not think that 2-0 is in the bag already. Ohio will be a challenge and the team will need to play as good or better than they did against Ball State.

It was an "SMU" sell-out. Everyone knows what that means.

Obviously time to cancel FWST subscriptions. If they don't wish to serve their public then why support them?

One thing we were missing Thursday night was BJ Lewis, who shone in fall camp and reportedly was out with an injury. Does anyone know if he will be ready for the Ohio game? Sure wouldn't hurt to have him.

I looked at some of the games where De Loach was coaching defense under Dickey and we always had good LB play. Hopefully, that is back to stay.

Quote from his pre-season magazine: "NT could be one of the surprise teams in the NCAA this year. They are the most improved team in the SBC. After yielding 45.1 and 47.6 ppg in Todd Dodge's first 2 seasons, they should have the most improved D in the country. Special teams are a concern, but this team is capable of winning any or all of their 6 home games......I'll probably regret picking a vastly improved Mean Green team, who were -17 in TO's (ie turnovers) and have 16 starters back this low".

The Ball State defensive adjustments at half-time had them keying on that play. So, we tried some other looks. By the way, we have not rolled out all the plays/formations yet. We'll probably see a few new things at the OU game.

See link:http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=204781412&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=1800&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT=

The Athletic Department has posted the game notes for the opening game with Ball State. It includes the official two deep and an alphabetical and numerical roster. See link: http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle...;ATCLID=1567954

I've just sent that quote to Coach DeLoach. Time for us to go to Muncie and shove those words down their throats.

It's a process that begins in high school. You recruit a 6' 4" tackle and he becomes 6' 2" in college and then when he shows up in pro camp, he's 6'1". It's like 40 times. Tons of 4.4 40 guys in high school, who become 4.5 in college and then test out 4.6 at the pro combines.

We can debate this all we want, but we won't have a feel for this team really until the Ball State game. If we are as bad as last year, then we will lose by 50 points. If we are improved, then we will make a game of it. As for Gilmore, unfortunately, he has never been an "every down" player at either position. It's not unhappiness with DT (though he may well be), but his approach to playing that needs changing. I think that Nelson sees that. Gilmore has every chance in the world to contribute and excel this year. It is up to him. Potential and talent don't mean anything. It is consistent performance that counts.

Of course, the answer to this depends on many factors that will be unknown until the game gets underway (our starting field position, Do we have the ball first? Are we tied at 0-0 or trying to play catch up at 0-7 or 0-3? But, all things being equal (ie no compelling reason to choose either a run or pass play due to prior or existing circumstances), I am of divided mind about what our first offensive play should be. On the one hand, it seems smart to test out Ball State's defensive line , our new offensive line and bevy of good running backs and see if we can push it down their throats. On the other hand, starting off with a pass does send a message (we are out to win this thing, not just stay close). I wonder what others are thinking about this.

There are two problems with the defense, that I see. One is they don't play as a unit. Without that, all the skill in the world won't do them any good. Second, they have horrible tackling skills. That is a fundamental and they need to improve in that pronto. Potentially, they could be good, but it is going to take some change. I hope that Nelson, DeLoach and company can make progress with those aspects of the game soon.

We've been in the top 20 at least twice over the years (I think maybe 3 times) and it didn't do much then for fan support. But, maybe it will now in this age of increased publicity.

The staff thinks that Jeremy Phillips will be the real deal.

The notes of caution are well taken, however, there can be many reasons why a player doesn't make it through a coaching transition. We've had transfers like this in the past who have made and others who have never made in onto the field. It could be a maturity issue (which might be resolved with a year more to "grow up"), it could be that Julian got off on the wrong foot with Jones, could be a personality clash, or a half-dozen other issues. Without us knowing the details, we have no way of knowing whether this is a great pick-up or a shot in the dark. I say, let him get on the field here, show us what he can do, and then we decide how good or disappointing this is.

Apparently, this is just one of the changes we will see in the offense this season. Hopefully, they will translate into better offensive production.

These are big time pick-ups for us. As well as being sought by a number of high-powered programs, Flax was 2nd team All-State at OL and Anyiam was 1st team All-District on a State Championship team and in what Texas Football called the "toughest district" in Texas High School Football last year.

I wonder who the LB and two DE's are? Could they be Ryan Foster at LB with Joseph Nailor and Bryan Murray at DE?