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Jim French Stepstool

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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool

  1. Jim French Stepstool
    This is one of those things that isn't splashy AFA off-season moves are concerned, but extremely important. Keep the behind-the-boxscore mechanicals in place. Very good news.
  2. Jim French Stepstool
    And that was with the built-in recruiting advantage, both from the program itself & the media hype machine they can always count on. I still remember the B10 Network coverage when he was hired. I've seen installation of popes given less attention.
  3. Jim French Stepstool
    Agreed. What has pleasantly surprised me a bit, is that attracting skill position people is to be expected given the 'air raid' hype. But if you want to believe the recruitniks they've done a pretty nice job attracting offensive lineman as well, and adding A J Blazek to the staff might just be a home run hire. Also, customizing a particular QB to your offense & then losing him to injury two years in a row doesn't help. I was dubious about the staff, and overall program, moving forward. I feel much better about things now, even though it wouldn't surprise me if they're 5-5 after the next two games.
  4. Jim French Stepstool
    All very good points, except I can take the red pants seeing as how it was Halloween.😛
  5. Jim French Stepstool
    Actually, you sound like a lot of the lamenting that fans have expressed in the 1st fifteen or so games of this regime re offensive identity. The mix btwn run & pass was pretty good in the past 3-4 weeks. Yesterday, PSU really shut down the run game, and their defense was much too good--and our pass pro too shoddy--for us to simply be one-dimensional in the opposite direction. IMO the offensive identity started to emerge recently but they just ran into a defense that was too good to handle, and had too much depth up front for us to be able to wear them down. In other words, not a good game to be the only one you tune in to☹️.
  6. Jim French Stepstool
    I Agree. He was a good instinctive runner, and came in right around the time their offensive line started to gash us up front. Bad combination. And those two elements made it pretty easy for him to throw.
  7. Jim French Stepstool
    Beau Pribula (the PSU backup QB) is in his 3rd season in college. If we had him as an option I'm sure we'd use him. Due to his running ability he'd probably be starting. I know people don't like to hear this, but Mettauer was in HS 6 months ago, and I trust the coaches that see him every day that throwing him out there wouldn't be constructive. He was supposed to be the #3 guy. Van Dyke got hurt. Sometimes stuff just sucks. Mettauer can play in four games & still maintain a redshirt. His not playing really doesn't have anything to do with redshirting (or not).
  8. Jim French Stepstool
    To win this game, it needed to be a continuation of what we saw in the 1st half---not many points & hopefully a couple TOs or special team gaffes by PSU, which was unlikely. Quite possibly the biggest factor was Allar having to leave the game, and Pribula coming in & actually playing better than him. He's a runner, and you couldn't really afford a spy on him because there was too much talent elsewhere on the field. Throw in their O-line starting to establish itself in the run game, and there was a lot of pressure taken off the kid. THAT'S how you go 10-12 or whatever he was. Needed to run the ball at least at a mediocre level & that never happened. Locke, or any other QB, isn't going to beat this team when you can't run the ball. Under 3 YPC for Walker, and we had to throw it 42 times. That's a killer, especially when your guy isn't mobile. Disappointing day for the O-line after some good work the last few games. I thought the Badgers' D-line lack of depth really showed up in the last 20-25 minutes of game time.
  9. Jim French Stepstool
    The FB or H-back is a thing of the past in this offense. Nowakowski is a FB left over from the previous regime, and he's now a TE. I guess you could say in certain rare formations they use him or Jackson Acker in the backfield as a psuedo-FB, But it isn't a regular thing anymore.
  10. Jim French Stepstool
    Yes. And by definition, the 'someone better' would've been the #3 QB going into the season. People need to remember that.
  11. Jim French Stepstool
    Locke is their best option at the position right now & it isn't particularly close. You needed him to play better than he did to beat the #3 team in the nation, but that's just one item on the list. But of course he's the QB, so he's always going to shoot to the top of said list. 1st half drops didn't help. & not being able to run the ball is going to make his job tougher, even if you're playing Purdue or Rutgers much less these guys. Van Dyke or Mordecai add a dimension that might help you mask that deficiency. Locke doesn't have that, and with a true freshman behind him I'm not sure how often they'd want him running anyway. The coaches see Mettauer every day. If/when he's deemed ready I imagine we might see a package for him here & there. The sun hasn't risen on that day, yet. And Locke not being as good as we'd like him to be most likely isn't going to expedite it.
  12. Jim French Stepstool
    It would be great if PSU looked ahead, but they're coming off a bye week so It just seems to me that would lessen the possibility. IMO we need to, among other things, find 2-3 turnovers to pull off the upset. Tall task. I'll always think of that 2010 matchup as the JJ Watt game. Seldom have I seen a DL make so many huge plays in one game. The Schabert-to-Evans game was pretty memorable too. Took me a few days to drip dry after that one.
  13. Jim French Stepstool
    I was thinking the same thing reading the list. "These guys are 11-15?" The organization is really building some quality depth from the bottom up. Lots of people (Bitonti, Adams, Mike Boeve, Brock Wilken) that decisions will have to be made on regarding WHICH corner they eventually call home. Interesting, exhilarating times.
  14. Jim French Stepstool
    I also don't see them protecting Capra, but if he stays around I don't think it's too farfetched to imagine him winning a spot over Monasterio.
  15. Jim French Stepstool
    Besides, we have Wes Clarke for organizational depth at C.
  16. Jim French Stepstool
    That actually raises an interesting point. With different variations of the recruiting pitches made by the armed forces, you'd think there would be some NIL opportunities. I mean actual opportunities to be a part of the ads & be compensated for that, not the current garbage where NIL is just used as an excuse to cut someone a check after they commit. Of course as you alluded to, these guys have vastly different priorities than NIL opportunities. Otherwise, as long as their talent allowed it they'd be at a P-5-type school.
  17. Jim French Stepstool
    The 'five shooters on the floor' thing is relatively rare for them but a good point. I suspect there will be times you'll see Klesmit running point w/Blackwell & Tonje on the wings vs opponents that don't pick you up 28 ft from the hoop & force the issue. But if we learned anything from the scrimmage & early practices it's that McGee is the starter at PG, for now & maybe for the season. I agree that he, Blackwell & Klesmit are an excellent defensive trio. But Freitag earned a solid rep as a prep for his defense due to his length, anticipation & propensity to flip the court by creating turnovers. With the attitude he displays I'm confident his trajectory will lead to decent minutes. Hunter is an interesting case. It's up in the air as to whether he'll be more of a factor on or off the ball (I'm guessing off). If he keeps his head screwed on & works he could contribute. I'm just hoping he didn't come here w/the attitude that Hepburn left, Storr left, so there's an easy path to 32 minutes & 17 shots per game.
  18. Jim French Stepstool
    I would've remembered if at the time I wasn't so obsessed with Popeye cartoons & studying for my kindergarten entrance exams. Even though their schedules are mostly modest, it's still good to see success coming from programs that aren't filled with mercenaries looking to cash a check while they 'play school.'
  19. Jim French Stepstool
    Yeah. It seems to me the front seven even going back to last year was oftentimes about "we're athletic, we're going to fly around & make plays", w/not nearly enough concern to being in the right spot, then reading and as you said, trusting the read.
  20. Jim French Stepstool
    Agree with @RedStickBrew. Freitag will get more minutes than 5 max. And they'll have missed the mark on Hunter in a big way if he isn't a rotation piece (although he has a lot of competition for minutes). @Oxy raised a good point earlier--McGee & possibly Gilmore will be seeing minutes early. A key will be how guys like Amos, Hunter & Freitag acclimate as the season unfolds. Will they earn more time 5, 10, 12 games in? Even Winter falls into that group---how much growth is there for him at the four?
  21. Jim French Stepstool
    It's like a light has come on for some of the LBs. People like Thomas, Pius & Chaney, it was almost laughable how badly they were over-pursuing, being out of position & not filling gaps earlier in the year. It's looked night-and-day better recently; Alliegro has looked great & now you have Sebastian Cheeks stepping up & making plays too. The lineman have done a better job of getting a push & occupying people too, which helps the LBs immensely. Barten has always been a plugger; now Curt Neal has taken some baby steps & Dillan Johnson is starting to provide some quality relief. Hills has just been a playmaker pretty much all season. A great find from the FCS level.
  22. Jim French Stepstool
    Yeah, Penas' ability to make ultra-consistent contact, speed &, at the very least, gap power make him very, very intriguing. I can see pumping the brakes just a bit on the enthusiasm since he has yet to play full-season ball, but I say rank him 16-20 while you can because there's a good chance that'll be in his rearview mirror soon. Also, how cool is Hunts' quick ascension? Major kudos to scouting for seeing the potential there.
  23. Jim French Stepstool
    If the Middies had 1 or 2 losses I could see ND overlook them a bit & be in for a dogfight. But with Navy being unbeaten they have their attention. Still an interesting matchup though.
  24. Jim French Stepstool
    Glad you mentioned him b/c I neglected to. In the little bit I saw of the scrimmage footage, you can tell he has a European-style game to him. A passer & mover. Made one or two real nice feeds from the high-to-mid post area. I just think he's lacking in the strength & (obviously) experience areas to see meaningful minutes. Lotsa competition among the bigs, and even the much maligned guys like Ilver & Gilmore have the edge in system knowledge. But we'll see. Great kid from the interviews I've seen; would love to see him succeed.
  25. Jim French Stepstool
    With his ability to score & his versatility on both ends I think Blackwell averages a fair piece more than 25 minutes. And if Freitag improves his comfort level as the season goes on his # could wind up being higher & McGees' a bit lower. IMO twenty-some MPG are there for the taking for either Winter or Amos if either separates from the other, but who knows if that will happen? But other than Blackwell, I think you nailed where everyone is right now pretty closely.
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