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Jim French Stepstool

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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool

  1. Jim French Stepstool
    After having a full season of watching Fickell coach the team & listening to his pressers, I think he's a guy who relates pretty well to his players (although there may have been an issue after the Indiana & NW games involving some of the holdovers from Chryst/Leonhard), is a pretty effective recruiter and a good promoter of the program regarding media, alumni, etc. As far as in-game coaching, I think the guy is very much a delegator who largely is only going to be as successful as his coordinators. With regards to making the "big" in-game decisions, I feel he was a little spotty. But if he brings in the talent he appears to be able to attract that will (hopefully) cure some of those ills.
  2. Jim French Stepstool
    Not only that, but around the 7-8 minute mark of the 4th quarter Washington led by two scores & had the ball. Their play calling at that time was less about winning & more about..... I don't know.....trying to impress their friends? The final possession for Texas never would've existed because the game would've been over. Just dumb. On the swing pass, maybe they thought the safety would've been in the end zone guarding against a longer throw? But even then, just throw it away. Not smart.
  3. Jim French Stepstool
    As to your 1st point, I agree but I'm hoping it's more a byproduct of not being able to run effectively enough. You certainly need to be able own the point of attack once you get to the red zone & the pass routes are contracted. We'll see how (if) it evolves.
  4. Jim French Stepstool
    I agree with this. At the beginning of the Alvarez era, you had Ohio State & Michigan to deal with. If at that time someone would've said that Penn State & Nebraska would be joining the league soon, well, maybe we should just play lacrosse. Teams go through good & bad stretches. Just try to raise your own bar.
  5. Jim French Stepstool
    Tressel dialed up some effective stuff from time-to-time this year w/the corner blitz. But otherwise, yeah. On the other hand this was a very good offensive line they faced today. Fickell has been really heavy on recruiting DBs & safeties, if they defend as per their press clippings/expectations I think they'll be able to generate an effective enough rush. And Keanu Benton could occupy two blockers last year, while Isaiah Mullins wound up never seeing the field in 2023. That didn't help.
  6. Jim French Stepstool
    It's tough when you're one-dimensional. People always say that when the team they pull for runs the ball a lot. Same holds true for when you get pass-happy, especially when you're in the red zone & the secondary has less ground to cover. As others pointed out, they reached a spot on the field where they no longer had to throw exclusively. I'll admit it's hindsight. But 2nd & 2 leaves you with a lot of options, and we treated it as if we had none.
  7. Jim French Stepstool
    Agree with many of the sentiments on here. This offense showed it's effective side today. Mordecai was mostly very good, with excellent reads. Virtually all of his decisions to throw deep were good ones. Receivers did a nice job getting open. Tempo was nice. But the flip side is self-evident. I mentioned earlier about the 2nd quarter 3rd & 1 play where LSU appeared to have no thoughts of defensing a run, and didn't have to. Then we had Mordecai rolling out ON 1ST & GOAL FROM THE ONE. Finally, the 2nd & 2 from the 19. As far as LSU wondering what to dial up defensively, it may as well have been 3rd & 13. That has to change moving forward. We never could get any pressure on their passer, which certainly didn't help. Most people probably wouldn't consider this a key play, but I thought it was huge when LSU started from their own 2, and on 2nd & 10 ran for nine yards. Stuff that for a gain of 4 or less & you have a chance to get a down & distance where we actually had a little success earlier. I'd like to know what the personnel situation was in that drive regarding the DBs. Jonas Duclona (true freshman) looked outmatched. AFA I could tell Nolan Rucci wasn't bad at LT subbing for Nelson, given the opponent. Props to both Yacamelli & Acker. And Kekahuna looks like a playmaker that will fit this scheme pretty well.
  8. Jim French Stepstool
    Entertaining half. I think LSU did us a favor by not trying to establish the run early. I guess you still have the element of relative unknowns stepping up after bowl practices, but for vastly different reasons than before. Curt Neal showed some real chops in the D'Line. Kekahuna, I've seen highlights of him in HS and his elusiveness & "twitchiness" seemed exceptional. Nice to see him display that in his first real opportunity. Yacamelli & Acker have looked about as good as you could expect. If we can find a way to get some pressure on the passer it would be huge. But I think it's gonna have to come from blitzing the right people, at the right times. So that's on Tressel. Certainly nice to not have to worry about the dual-threat guy being back there. Renfroe certainly doesn't look like he's needed to knock off a lot of rust.
  9. Jim French Stepstool
    I thought they missed an opportunity on 3rd & 1. A straight run, QB draw or another shovel to the TB like the one to Acker earlier could've popped. Fourth & one, they lost a little bit of the surprise element a run would've provided.
  10. Jim French Stepstool
    I thought Marvin Harrison JR standing on the sidelines for OSU, in uniform, after deciding to quit the team sends a horrible message.
  11. Jim French Stepstool
    I watched the game for a few minutes. You know how sportstalk is on the radio now, where 30-40% of the time they aren't even talking about sports? That's what it reminded me of. Then I saw the logo on the field. The game was sponsored by Barstool Sports. When anyone that doesn't lose eight games is able to at least sniff the chance of reaching a bowl, this is what you get.
  12. Jim French Stepstool
    Immediate eligibility for a transfer only if the coach leaves is something I've advocated for a while now. The problem is the NCAA has virtually no confidence in anything they implement being upheld in court. College FB is careening towards the day when it's of interest only to those who don't want to limit their betting to NFL games. I know there are fans of both, but a lot of college FB fans are of a different breed, and the things that appeal to them are slowly being destroyed.
  13. Jim French Stepstool
    You're right, but my disappointment at the time was more directed toward the fact that he really seemed to be coming into his own in 2017 & garnered nothing more than Tyler Webb, who had no pedigree, did virtually nothing for us & was mediocre afterward save for the abbreviated 2020. I guess Cooper was getting a bit long in the tooth at the time (26) but I just didn't like the deal.
  14. Jim French Stepstool
    I also remember following Coopers' progress through the organization. Was very disappointed when we dealt him for not much more than a warm BP body. He would be a decent platoon bat at 1B that could play every day if need be. I'd be interested, but I think we're looking for a one-year deal & that makes Santana most likely. If Cooper would go for a single year, great. He's a dark horse, but the emergence of Clarke as a power bat is interesting. It would be nice if things are a little more defined after this spring regarding Black. There are enough different scenarios for 1B in the next year or two that rolling with Santana for one season probably makes the most sense.
  15. Jim French Stepstool
    I remember when we hit the date from "Back to the Future II" in 2015. It was quite a big deal with some people. Like UFOlogists don't have enough to do, they were supposed to spend the day looking up in the sky for Deloreans.
  16. Jim French Stepstool
    Among other things there should be a true salary cap, meaning you can't go over it, period. Or if you do the penalty should be incredibly massive as to be a deterrent. Of course, either or both of these things will happen the day after our Christmas cactus sprouts coconuts. Happy holiday season to all of you.
  17. Jim French Stepstool
    Freshmen often need to add strength after their first year. Maybe he did that & it cost him some lateral movement. I agree he certainly doesn't look as quick as last season, not that that was ever a strong suit of his. I think he struggled defensively last year, they did some things to simplify their schemes & give him help b/c they needed him on the floor, and now due to the increased depth he's in more of a "sink or swim" situation & just hasn't gotten up to speed on that end of the floor. Gard says he's been practicing really well & working hard, so I'm still hopeful. From 2nd & 3rd hand stuff I've heard, the back is no longer an issue.
  18. Jim French Stepstool
    Gard said in his presser that Hepburn was walking normally after the game. Sounds like there isn't a whole lot of concern, especially since they don't play for 10 or 11 days. From where he was grabbing on his leg, it certainly did look like the Don Money Special----groin.
  19. Jim French Stepstool
    Chi State obviously shot the ball poorly, but other than that they played better than I expected. Their leading scorer was defended pretty well by Klesmit, forced the issue & turned it over 4 times. The rest of their team had only three, which is a much lower total than I would've expected. Also had quite a few 2nd & 3rd shots, which was disappointing. And some decent perimeter pressure that was short-circuited by a LOT of whistles. Klesmits' defense speaks volumes about the decision to keep starting him. If he can matchup with a high scorer & keep him from getting off to a hot start, that's huge. There's been talk from some fans about Winter & Crowl seeing time together on the floor. That happened briefly tonite, and it was obvious why we seldom see it. Anyone 6-6 to 6-8 with any kind of game outside the post he's going to struggle guarding, at least at this point in his career. In his minutes tonight, it was nice to see Essegian continuing to try to make people pay for overplaying him by going backdoor or driving the ball. Unfortunately the defense is still a work in progress. Great to see the FT shooting trend upward. Especially from Blackwell & Storr, who have the type of game where they should be living at the line.
  20. Jim French Stepstool
    In a related note, I just finished watching "Planet of the Apes" w/Charlton Heston. It was one of those deals where you're flipping around, come across it & decide to watch for a bit, then wind up watching the whole damn thing. That was actually a strong cast. Although most of them needed to rely on voice or credit recognition to get noticed.
  21. Jim French Stepstool
    He indeed was a very good fit for what they were trying to do offensively. The young man has had to endure an awful lot of injury issues, even before this most recent one, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he decided enough was enough. He's showing some big-time courage & resiliency, wish him all the luck in the world. He'd be a terrific veteran presence for the incoming tailbacks.
  22. Jim French Stepstool
    I've had moths hovering around my outdoor lighting in the summer that changed direction less than Robert Booker has in the last year or so. If he really commits to the program (meaning actually stays here) they're in great shape there with fellow recruit Grant Stec, Ashcraft returning & the kid from LSU coming over. As LouEly said, locking up Willor late was a great topper to the class. Also cautiously optimistic about the offensive lineman signed, and the additions at TB.
  23. Jim French Stepstool
    Also former UW basketball player Walt McGrory, who was battling bone cancer. He passed away on Saturday. I can't find a DOB but I'd say he had to be 23 or 24. As tragic as things like these are, I guess it allows us all to put into perspective the mundane problems in our lives that we always tend to blow out of proportion. RIP to both.
  24. Jim French Stepstool
    They were overmatched inside, but otherwise yeah. And they made some fairly well-contested twos in the 1st half. They certainly weren't someone that should come in & beat you, but not your typical buy game where you win by 20-30 just by showing up, either. And a nice-looking zone press, although we handled it pretty well.
  25. Jim French Stepstool
    IMO, Gus not playing yet is about him not wanting to burn a year, period. That would be the case whether he plans on staying, or leaving. FWIW he seems very engaged & enthusiastic on the bench. No one knows if he'll be here next season, but I don't believe him sitting out is an indicator one way or another.
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