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Jim French Stepstool

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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool

  1. Jim French Stepstool
    I don't know if anyone expected them to actually win today. But I wanted to see something much cleaner, at home, in a game of this magnitude. The 2nd quarter sequence was particularly ugly. You're competing, and in the game. The Mellusi fumble was a huge gaffe, obviously, but the details bookending either side of it, those are the details that kill you. You receive a punt, and fair catch it at the 5-yard line. That's inexcusable & makes the fumble even more of a killer due to field position. Then you force an incompletion on 3rd down, holding them to a FG. Except you don't because Hills jumps offside. TD. I guess we weren't saved in the 2nd half, when Chaney was able to take the field & proceed to play worse than the people who replaced him in the 1st half. His over-pursuing & lack of assignment-assuredness is getting to be very old. Would love to know what we were doing in the secondary late in the half when they scored in like two plays. It almost looked like we were trying to take away the short pass, which I assume wasn't the case because that would be lunacy, so I'll chalk it up to, once again, people not being where they're supposed to be. Words can't express how bad everyone should be feeling for Van Dyke.
  2. Jim French Stepstool
    Actually the one TD they scored was when they kept the ball on the ground. Defensively I don't know how they would've fared today with Leonhard in charge, but if his past is any indication they would've blown way fewer assignments, and the only way they give up 42 or more is if the mistakes were as plentiful as what we saw today, on both sides of the ball. Look, I'm not a huge Fickell detractor. Deeming him a failure at this point would be foolish. But he also hasn't done much of anything to generate confidence either. He strikes me as a coach/administrator who puts a lot of responsibility for success on his coordinators & staff. And right now that doesn't exactly cause me to feel the need for sunglasses. And wanting to add Jack Del Rio when they did makes things a little more curious. But I don't see the need to go over the top with criticism until sometime next year at the earliest, if warranted.
  3. Jim French Stepstool
    That game in Seattle I believe was Darrell Bevells' 1st indication he should have the keys to the offense. Came in late & showed pretty well. They came out with their hair on fire when they played OSU last year & made it interesting for awhile. I could see that happening again, but what scares me is Alabama wearing them down with their combination of physical play & speed & things getting ugly in the 2nd half. They'll need a couple three turnovers & we haven't been able to generate them all that much. And somehow make Milroe a pocket passer on some predictable down & distance passing situations, which means the D-line has to at least occupy some blockers on early downs. About a 26-pt spread. Hope I'm wrong.
  4. Jim French Stepstool
    Nice of him to give Peguero a vote of confidence like that.
  5. Jim French Stepstool
    I would've pulled him before his last hitter. But it would've made for an interesting dynamic because Payamps was set for the 6th & Koenig the 7th. Very similar to his fifth inning vs Colorado, lots of hard contact. Sometimes the bear eats you, and sometimes...........
  6. Jim French Stepstool
    Was wondering the same. I'm assuming they would've pulled him for Josh Bell or Grichuk. Kind of a gray-area decision for me.
  7. Jim French Stepstool
    It might call for a lot of antacids, but if we make a run in the post-season the last two wins are what I think it's going to have to look like. Starter "good enough" for 4 or 5 innings, BP stepping up, and one or two guys running into a HR---we have enough people that can do that---and hopefully when the HR happens someone, or a couple someones, find a way to reach ahead of it, be it a bunt, walk, whatever. I won't get too critical of Chourio leading off even though I hate it, since the alternatives seem a little paltry. But Mitchell hitting 2nd vs a LHP is asinine. If Chourio is going to hit leadoff you might as well just go total bar league & hit Contreras 2 & Adames 3. Ton of credit to Frelick for going up there for the 1st time all night & having to face a lefty. Put a good swing on the ball. Bauers deserved better, too. Mitchell getting picked off 1st, with a runner ahead of him, is high school stuff. Also, Garrett, I realize you don't make out the batting order & it isn't your fault you're hitting 2nd tonight, but realize who you are, who you're facing & what the situation is in the 1st inning & just lay one down. Kinda felt it might be our night when Megill got Pederson to start the 8th. Assuming they hit for him if Koenig started the inning? Serious pen work vs a hot team. And kudos to Freddy for working through some of the same chronic problems but not imploding.
  8. Jim French Stepstool
    FWIW, I think they could've easily had 3 or 4 more hits each of the last two nights. Swinging the bats a little better from what I've seen. Of course you're facing a LHP with mediocre numbers tonite, so flip a coin.
  9. Jim French Stepstool
    What, you don't want us to defend better than them?😁
  10. Jim French Stepstool
    All season long teams would've given their right arm to play LA & have them pitch & defend as poorly as they have the last two nights. Really astounding how bad they've been. The loaded bases in the 9th came via three walks.
  11. Jim French Stepstool
    That's a pretty good breakdown. What I sensed was that Williams & Contreras didn't relish facing Canha & were quite careful there, and put a lot of stock in Fitzgerald never having faced Williams before. Not ideal since the walk moved the runner up to 2nd but that's how it appeared to me anyway.
  12. Jim French Stepstool
    I get the impression they had high hopes for John Pius on the outside but so far that hasn't come to fruition. Witt certainly could be a factor if he can stay on the field.
  13. Jim French Stepstool
    Pretty sure the only way you see JL back in Madison is if he has success in the NFL & Fickell is deemed a failed hire after another couple years. Even then, there's the question of his relationship with Macintosh & vice versa. So pretty slim. I'd like to say the two DL look is a byproduct of a lack of depth there, but it isn't. I'll feel better about it if they can keep Alabama from gashing btwn the tackles on Saturday, but there won't be much keeping their O-Line from getting a hat on our LBs, and while there's some talent there ( I wonder if both Curtis & Alliegro will be ahead of Jake Chaney in a few weeks) I just don't see much ability to fight off blocks & be physical. This is what they're selling: speed, quickness, athletes on defense. OK, but if that doesn't result in a marked improvement in sacks, TFLs & turnovers I think it spells trouble. I hope I'm wrong but this game looks like a bad matchup for smallish receivers like Kekahuna & Pauling.
  14. Jim French Stepstool
    They could slow-play Hudsons' return, leave him in Nashville until the last 5-10 days of the regular season and then, if they still think Milner is worth keeping around as insurance, let him stay & remove Peguero. All that would really say, is they think there's a 3% chance of Hoby helping them in October, with Peguero at something like 0.5%. Just spitballing. A DFA or return to the IL is also very, very possible.
  15. Jim French Stepstool
    In the post season I assume they'll want 3 LHP they can go to from around the 5th inning on. They can use DL Hall in this role as well but I get the feeling they're viewing him more as an early inning go-to, perhaps even a starter. So Koenig, Ashby & Hudson. Milner is here while Hudson "refreshes" in Nashville, and would only be around in October in the event something happens with one of the other lefties--and after his outing on Sunday, maybe not even then.
  16. Jim French Stepstool
    Thinking more along the lines of a Koenig facing Nimmo & turning Lindor around, although I see Lindor has been pretty potent both ways. So never mind. And no real advantage in doing it vs ATL. He just seldom seems able to take advantage when ahead in the count, is my issue. And his bad misses seem to over-compensate into delivering a hittable pitch--and there doesn't seem to be a pattern, it can be FB, slider, even the changeup. And I mentioned yesterday about the back-to-back walks to the 8 & 9 hitters, forcing him to face Blackmon w/the bases loaded. Whatever the reason(s), there's just too much all-over-the-map stuff from someone in his what, seventh season?
  17. Jim French Stepstool
    Has Peralta ever started in the second or third inning, behind an opener?
  18. Jim French Stepstool
    I've seen this from time to time last year & saw it again yesterday in a 2nd half drive--it's as if we're suddenly reminded that there might be some QB or wideouts watching on TV that we're recruiting, so we better start throwing the ball again. Sometimes down & distance dictate it, sometimes not. Just odd. I'm sure there are fans who think South Dakota, FCS team, & feel it's a failure if you don't win 45-7. Truth is, the top 20 or so FCS programs are pretty much on a par with a large # of the average-or-below FBS teams. So not a rousing success, but not an embarrassment. I'm just concerned about how un-physical this group is. Especially on defense, Save for Wohler & Hills. 'Bama, if we can be assignment sure, might be kept from running the ball at will, and if UW can force them into throwing more than they'd like, that's IMO the best chance we have to hang around. But their combination of quickness & physical play on defense leads me to believe we need to hope for some breakdowns to get scores. And we haven't shown much propensity, so far, to turn people over so I have trouble seeing where the points will come from.
  19. Jim French Stepstool
    I was a proponent of Collins over Charles Hicklen all along, even though you knew Hicklen would get 1st crack when he was added to the 40. The versatility, close splits & combining a nice OBP w/a little pop is what does it for me. And as you mentioned, Hicklen was mostly coming here cold.
  20. Jim French Stepstool
    They like a bench guy that can play SS, even though Turang & Ortiz can slide over. That's what keeps Mona here, and what brought Capra here when they were short-handed. Collins still would have a shot due to keeping fewer pitchers in the post-season, which I believe is still a thing.
  21. Jim French Stepstool
    What sucked about the top of the 5th was Murphy was sort of put in a box there. The situation screamed for a LH out of the BP & the only other option was going to DL Hall w/ three days rest after pitching four innings Wednesday. Obviously they didn't want to do that. Otherwise it's roll with Peralta, who was facing guys for the 3rd time & in the inning had faced four men-----three base hits & a fly to the warning track in CF. If anything, Murphy should be jumped on for using Koenig for two innings on Saturday, therefore putting him down today. This was a different animal for Milner than vs STL as he actually got to face the LH as opposed to a RH PH. No excuses. Another clear illustration as to why Freddy is no ace, Brian Anderson babbling notwithstanding. With the runner on 3rd & two outs he loses the 8 & 9-hole hitters on walks & has to face Blackmon. He got him, but that whole sequence just speaks volumes.
  22. Jim French Stepstool
    South Dakota......an FCS program, but a pretty good one. Air Raid, shotgun, throw the ball down field, behind your back or between your legs, whatever. What I most want to see is UW control the line of scrimmage today, on both sides of the ball. If anything keeps them from winning some of the 'gettable' games down the road, it would be failing in that regard.
  23. Jim French Stepstool
    So hard to 'splain that. It suggests resiliency, along with the obvious talent that you can't be 21 games over .500 without, regardless of how you got there. I'll beat the same drum I always have.....inconsistency. Given the youth of the player position group it should be expected, I guess. One thing I hoped they'd settle into is the knack of making pitchers work hard for their outs. It eventually makes a starter crack & has served us well earlier in the year, but due to the inconsistency of youth it often disappears. We were entertaining yesterday so I didn't get to watch as closely as I usually do, but I noticed Feltner was around 46 pitches through 2 innings, and after that it drastically changed. IMO that's where the Turangs, Frelicks, Ortizes, Perkins & Mitchells come in. When the tough extended ABs aren't there it seems to become an epidemic.
  24. Jim French Stepstool
    On a sports message board, I'd give that a silver medal. I still give a slight edge to 'cromulent'.
  25. Jim French Stepstool
    I think someone said he's played there once in his career. And I don't want to disparage what he's done since being brought up, but there's a lot of swing & miss in his game & if he played more regularly I believe that would catch up to him.
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