Wisconsin Football 2023

[BrewerFan]

On 8/11/2023 at 4:46 PM, Jim French Stepstool said:

He's actually a 4-star on one of the recruiting sites....Rivals, IIRC?

Lucas had offers from Michigan & Alabama, among others. It's hard to believe how much WR & DB talent this new staff has brought on board, to a program that has been known mostly as Tailback & O-line U. And they've secured a couple of nice RB prospects, too. Certainly way too early to say, but McIntosh may have hit a HR to rival what Pat Richter did 30-odd years ago (Alvarez) & about a decade later (Ryan).

I saw him as 4-star as well with 'Bama, UGA, FSU, Miami, Michigan and about 10 real blue bloods having offered him. I definitely think there's an immediate boost to a recruits status if they declare for Alabama or Georgia. I've seen people actually provide evidence of players getting boosts. Maybe those players just happened to get a boost over the previous period of time for whatever reason, but it feels a lot like the Yankees and prospects. How much did we hear about Jasson Dominguez being the next Bo or whoever?

 

As for the coaches, Fickel might have to win one to equal what Barry did. Barry took the program from bottom of the B1G to a top ~15 program in the Nation when Fickell took over. The Metz era hurt them(and cost Chryst) but we were still probably one of the 15-20 most reliably good programs in the Country.

I'll take a lot to top Barry, but I'm shocked at how UW has grown into this cool destination SO quickly. 

 

I really feel like we can be similar to what Oklahoma has been the last 10 years. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 8/3/2023 at 5:31 PM, LouisEly said:

They went from 10 to 8.  I wouldn't call that thin.  They aren't going to be playing 2-TE sets nearly as much as they did under Chryst - they'll be playing 3 WRs/1 TE predominantly. 

Rucci/Pugh/Dakovich/Seagraves/Nowakowski/Large have all seen game action.  Sounds like Large is still out with injury, but that still leaves five.

In a recent presser Fickell was saying some real positive things about Tucker Ashcraft, a true freshman. Said he's definitely going to see the field. 

He also had plaudits for Nowakowski, who moved from FB & I suspect might be their best blocker at the position, and Jackson Acker, who's best chance to see the field might be as a 3rd TB unless someone else emerges (maybe 2-back set in goal line situations).

[yourout]

As it sits today this is not a good football team.

It may get better but to do the things they want to do requires different players.

If they want to play an aggressive defense they need much more speed and talent.

What they have was a good fit for a scheme and discipline centric defense. Not so much for an attack based unit.

[wildcat83]

Allen just had his first carry at 7:45 of the 2nd qtr.  This offense just looks lost.  The defense plays well in spurts, but are not generating QB pressures consistently.  This looks like a below .500 team In conference right now.

[edfunderburk]

Wow … Did I completely overestimate Fickell’s ability to quickly turn this team around 

Unless we see rapid improvement … which I’m not sure will take place … this team will struggle mightily in the Big Ten

What a disappointing start to the 2023 season … this team is so out of sync

I miss Jim Leonhard more each week

Is it a lack of talent?

Are the players not a match for the new scheme?

Why do they look so mediocre?

I can barely watch … yuck!

 

[yourout]

7 minutes ago, wildcat83 said:

Allen just had his first carry at 7:45 of the 2nd qtr.  This offense just looks lost.  The defense plays well in spurts, but are not generating QB pressures consistently.  This looks like a below .500 team In conference right now.

As it sits today badgers are closer to the worst team in the West than they are the best.

[HarryDoyle]

Yeah, this is one ugly game. I still have faith Fickell will turn it around. Whether that happens this year or next is another story.

[HarryDoyle]

8 minutes ago, wildcat83 said:

Allen just had his first carry at 7:45 of the 2nd qtr.  This offense just looks lost.  The defense plays well in spurts, but are not generating QB pressures consistently.  This looks like a below .500 team In conference right now.

Can you say transfer portal?

[edfunderburk]

UAB scored 35 against Georgia Southern last week

Wisconsin has 7 at the half … playing at home

And look at the stats … they are killing us

If not for turnovers we would be down a couple scores

Awful … we may not win Big Ten game this year

 

[yourout]

2 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

Can you say transfer portal?

This offense is a terrible fit for him.

Honestly he has no NFL future at running back. Not enough lateral quickness.

[nate82]

2 hours ago, yourout said:

Honestly he has no NFL future at running back. Not enough lateral quickness.

I wouldn't say no NFL future.  He does have some good aspects to his game at RB for the NFL.  He has some decent hands for a RB his size.  He is a an excellent pass blocker and can pick up blitzes fairly easy.  Running wise he is not going to blow anyone away but he is a fairly good goal line back or a good short yardage running back.

I don't believe he is a starting NFL RB but he will be drafted and will probably have a long NFL career as he can do some of the little things really well.  I wouldn't be surprised if he is picked by the Patriots and he has a long career like James White did.  He won't be that big time back but he will provide some excellent play.  Allen is probably closer to A.J. Dillon than he is to Derrick Henry who he has been compared to a lot. 

[Oxy]

The Luke Fickell "energy" since his hiring has turned into "nervous skittishness."  I get the heebie-jeebies watching his press conferences.  While Chryst made me fall asleep, Fickell makes my eyes start darting back and forth and "flinching" at every slight change to the senses...

[yourout]

It's almost kind of shocking how god-awful bad the Big 10 West is.

While they've never been particularly good this season it is just rancid bad from top to bottom.

[BrewerFan]

16 hours ago, yourout said:

This offense is a terrible fit for him.

Honestly he has no NFL future at running back. Not enough lateral quickness.

That's...just ridiculous. Of course he does. And the offense is a fine fit for him(not the best) but when he actually gets the ball, he gashes the defense.

He's literally rated as the #1 draft eligible RB on many boards and a 2nd round pick on others(though the two aren't mutually exclusive);

He's the size of Dillon, he's 19 years old and he has exceptional lateral quickness...for a ~250 pound back. 

Now if the Badgers refuse to give him the ball until they get desperate, then it MAY hurt his draft stock, but as I said in another post, the fact that he can catch the ball and is proving he's better in the passing game may actually help him. 

https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/wisconsin-badgers-football/2023/7/19/23798583/is-wisconsin-badgers-braelon-allen-the-top-running-back-in-2024-nfl-draft-luke-fickell-blake-corum

https://theathletic.com/4729979/2023/07/31/braelon-allen-wisconsin-football-nfl-draft/

https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/players/2024/braelon-allen

He's almost certainly going to enter the draft. If he goes in the 2nd or the 3rd....he's got an NFL future. 

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Turns out Allen got injured in practice this week and almost didn't play. They eased him into the game and left it up to how he felt in determining how much action he'd get. But by all means, don't let that stop anyone from jumping to wild conclusions about transferring or not being able to play in the NFL.

[Team Canada]

52 minutes ago, True Blue Brew Crew said:

But by all means, don't let that stop anyone from jumping to wild conclusions

That's basically the function of the internet these days.

[Jim French Stepstool]

23 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

Wow … Did I completely overestimate Fickell’s ability to quickly turn this team around 

Unless we see rapid improvement … which I’m not sure will take place … this team will struggle mightily in the Big Ten

What a disappointing start to the 2023 season … this team is so out of sync

I miss Jim Leonhard more each week

Is it a lack of talent?

Are the players not a match for the new scheme?

Why do they look so mediocre?

I can barely watch … yuck!

 

It's the second one.

Like I said in another thread, coaches at that high a level have huge egos. You pretty much have to. But you also need to be smart enough to realize what you have/don't have, and how it fits. It's possible that the emphasis has been on establishing what they want to do, and now that they're in the league portion the run game may take more of a center stage. I certainly hope so. But cleaning up the dumb mistakes is every bit as important. Both those things happened in the second half, and the results were impressive.

There's also the idea that if you want a certain type of recruit, you have to show them what you're committed to. And they HAVE recruited well since taking over. Still, Allen & Mellusi certainly need to get the ball btwn the tackles much more.

[Jim French Stepstool]

4 hours ago, Team Canada said:

That's basically the function of the internet these days.

I hate that Fickell didn't go for it or move the needle during portal season. 

[BrewerFan]

9 hours ago, True Blue Brew Crew said:

Turns out Allen got injured in practice this week and almost didn't play. They eased him into the game and left it up to how he felt in determining how much action he'd get. But by all means, don't let that stop anyone from jumping to wild conclusions about transferring or not being able to play in the NFL.

The transferring is ridiculous as there's no point to it. He's going to enter the NFL at 20. Not sure if that played a role in his decision to reclassify, but it's a huge benefit for a RB.

I think it's a near given he's gone after this year and only to play on Sundays.

It does seem a bit strange they didn't give him any carries most of the 1st half and then when they finally did, they started to really ride him.

But if it was an injury, it stands to reason they wanted to see if they could get through the game vs GA Southern without having to use him much.

I'm still a bit frustrated with their...dedication to the passing game to seemingly set up the run game irrespective of Allen's health.

 

But it's going to be 2-3 years before you can really start making any decisions on Fickell...and you can wait until next April before making any crazy declarations that Allen is not an NFL back. 

[Samurai Bucky]

I got to sit towards the bottom on the home side in the game against Ga. Southern.  I observed a few things I thought were interesting.

• Braelon Allen was in the medical tent before the game.  I had heard rumors that he had tweaked something during the week and he did get additional tape before the game.  I believe that is why he was not in the first series and why he didn't get as many carries early in the game.
• I am not sure that Mordecai has good chemistry with his receivers.  There was one time in particular where Williams must have not run the right route and you could hear Mordecai yell at him.  The next play, Williams was wide open for a 5-7 yard hook on the right side, and Mordecai threw into coverage instead.
• Back to Mordecai -- I believe chemistry is one big reason why the passing game isn't what we are expecting.  Also, there are things that are clear from the 12th row over and over and over and he either doesn't see it, or chooses not to hit the easier routes.  Actually, I don't recall seeing Mordecai sitting with the other quarterbacks at all (that was literally right in front of us).  This might carry to communicating with the receivers, too.  I can't say for sure.
• I would like to see Mordecai keep the ball on the quick handoff option.  He could have run for another 100 yards if he did.
• The defensive backs do not talk.  They do not "hand off" receivers.  They do not anticipate the quick pass because they know they are going to get beat deep.  If they are defending, they rarely look back to the ball.  I think the last part was evident on TV.
• The turning point was indeed in the 3rd quarter when one of the coaches finally yelled at the offensive line:  "You need to get your F****** S*** together."
• I do not think that Tressel has his guys prepared at the beginning of the game.  Sure -- they made adjustments at halftime, but what is going to happen against OSU, Illinois, or <gasp> Minnesota?
• I understand Tressel has his system and "needs his guys," but an exceptional Defensive Coordinator would be able to adapt his defense to the personnel he has.  The jury is out for me, but consider me unimpressed and uninspired.

All in all, it was a lot of fun on Saturday.

 

[CheezWizHed]

For all the hype of a new coach and the transfer portal, I wasn't expecting a B10 championship season (as I saw some predict).  I think the hype raised all of our expectations a bit too high.  Yes, we did get an influx of talent, but this was after really not having much at skilled positions and losing several skilled OLB.  I'm not sure Leonard would've done much better honestly.  

[Samurai Bucky]

Fortunately, Mrs. Samurai told me this week's game is on Friday.  Zoinks!

[yourout]

Didn't take long for the new DC to strip out t those old habits of breaking down and making tackles.

It's far better too charge in out of control and drive at ball carriers.

Awfull.

[yourout]

It's really shocking how bad the defensive fundamentals are.

[nate82]

That looked real bad for Mellusi.  Probably out for the year.  Sucks because he was finally healthy and showing what he could do.