So ... haven't read any articles yet - but probably helplessly masochistically do so at some point.
Couldn't go, or even watch in real time due to Yom Kippur ... and thank goodness. This was the worst game RU has played in 2 years - yes, worse than last season's Maryland game.
There was a total failure in every facet of RU's game, with the POSSIBLE exception of few penalties ... and a couple of Kaliakmanis option runs.
I will say this: RU's CEILING is 7 wins, but playing like this they won't beat ANYONE left on the schedule. A terrible disappointment, given pre-season and even post Washington expectations. I hope the basketball season expectations and hope do not turn to crap also.
Not even sure where to start:
1) OL: Oh my gosh ... how awful was the OL ... who would have thought that the key OL player in this unit was ... Felter. The OL has fallen apart without Felter - and yesterday's Wisconsin performance was even worse than last weeks at Nebraska. Chin was ... let's be kind ... not ready. Taj White was not as bad, but ... not very good. Pierce is not making an impact lately, frankly, and if he is not careful will not be a draft pick. Even Zilinskas was often driven backward. In all fairness to the RB's and AK, the OL was dominated by the Wisconsin front 4, let alone their front 7 ... the RB's had literally no chance to gain yards, as nearly every play the OL was allowing 2-3 yards of DL penetration behind the LOS ... and no lanes sealing ANY creases available for runs ... and often AK was running for his life - and it has been proven AK has trouble with accuracy while on the move.
2) WR's: Uh ... awful. Very few times were the WR's able to get any separation, or get open. And even when they did, and even when AK had time to find them ,,, the DROPS .... The announcers counted 6 drops in the 1st half alone. The 2nd half was more of the same, but by then it didn't really matter.
3) TE: Fletcher was simply bad. Several drops, and I stopped counting at his either missed blocks or time he HIT the block but was driven back, either blowing up the running play or completely exposed AK to quick pressure. The other TE's ... no impact.
4) Special Teams: Ouch. bad snap and bad hold resulting in a blocked FG (not Patel's fault). Punting was ... bad ... a shank, and several other inadequate punts.
5) Defense: Rather than deal with each position group individually, which would require a much closer 2nd look at the game than I wish to subject myself to, I would say that except for the 2nd quarter, the defense basically lay down supine. On the bright side, there were not as many missed tackles as against V. Tech and Washington. Because that would entail actually being in a position to make a tackle. So either pretty much the entire defense was in the wrong position too many plays, or the entire defense was effectively blocked nearly every play. And practically no pressure against the QB - and when there was pressure, he made a good throw and/or the Wisconsin receivers made great catches. Djiabome made some decent plays, and it appeared Loyal made some good plays. But with so many chunk plays allowed, plus 6-8 yards per NON-chunk runs, hard to say any defensive players are worthy of compliments.
6) QB: Obviously, we have to mention AK. And equally obviously he had a poor game. Still, his 1st half was not quite as bad as it appeared due to 5-6 dropped passes, and few open receivers ... and running for his life. He made several poor choices in the 2nd half, as the pressure to make plays increased. He got very little pass protection, and the few times he DID get some protection and had time the receivers rarely got open, it looked like.
So ... for some semblence of fairness, the team began the game handicapped even further, especially on defense: Powell and Longerbeam out, Dixon far less than 100% (this on top of losing Toure before the season started for the year) ... And Lewis hurt early (did he come back). That is down 4-5 starters if you count Toure, 1 less if not including him. And of course, Felter out. Still, the defense was awful.
Also, without reading any articles, I feel horrible for Brown - that injury LOOKED bad ... again, without reading any updates it would not surprise me if he is done for the year. Those who wanted to see him will now get a real look at Raymond for the rest of the season if Brown is out for the year.
Couldn't go, or even watch in real time due to Yom Kippur ... and thank goodness. This was the worst game RU has played in 2 years - yes, worse than last season's Maryland game.
There was a total failure in every facet of RU's game, with the POSSIBLE exception of few penalties ... and a couple of Kaliakmanis option runs.
I will say this: RU's CEILING is 7 wins, but playing like this they won't beat ANYONE left on the schedule. A terrible disappointment, given pre-season and even post Washington expectations. I hope the basketball season expectations and hope do not turn to crap also.
Not even sure where to start:
1) OL: Oh my gosh ... how awful was the OL ... who would have thought that the key OL player in this unit was ... Felter. The OL has fallen apart without Felter - and yesterday's Wisconsin performance was even worse than last weeks at Nebraska. Chin was ... let's be kind ... not ready. Taj White was not as bad, but ... not very good. Pierce is not making an impact lately, frankly, and if he is not careful will not be a draft pick. Even Zilinskas was often driven backward. In all fairness to the RB's and AK, the OL was dominated by the Wisconsin front 4, let alone their front 7 ... the RB's had literally no chance to gain yards, as nearly every play the OL was allowing 2-3 yards of DL penetration behind the LOS ... and no lanes sealing ANY creases available for runs ... and often AK was running for his life - and it has been proven AK has trouble with accuracy while on the move.
2) WR's: Uh ... awful. Very few times were the WR's able to get any separation, or get open. And even when they did, and even when AK had time to find them ,,, the DROPS .... The announcers counted 6 drops in the 1st half alone. The 2nd half was more of the same, but by then it didn't really matter.
3) TE: Fletcher was simply bad. Several drops, and I stopped counting at his either missed blocks or time he HIT the block but was driven back, either blowing up the running play or completely exposed AK to quick pressure. The other TE's ... no impact.
4) Special Teams: Ouch. bad snap and bad hold resulting in a blocked FG (not Patel's fault). Punting was ... bad ... a shank, and several other inadequate punts.
5) Defense: Rather than deal with each position group individually, which would require a much closer 2nd look at the game than I wish to subject myself to, I would say that except for the 2nd quarter, the defense basically lay down supine. On the bright side, there were not as many missed tackles as against V. Tech and Washington. Because that would entail actually being in a position to make a tackle. So either pretty much the entire defense was in the wrong position too many plays, or the entire defense was effectively blocked nearly every play. And practically no pressure against the QB - and when there was pressure, he made a good throw and/or the Wisconsin receivers made great catches. Djiabome made some decent plays, and it appeared Loyal made some good plays. But with so many chunk plays allowed, plus 6-8 yards per NON-chunk runs, hard to say any defensive players are worthy of compliments.
6) QB: Obviously, we have to mention AK. And equally obviously he had a poor game. Still, his 1st half was not quite as bad as it appeared due to 5-6 dropped passes, and few open receivers ... and running for his life. He made several poor choices in the 2nd half, as the pressure to make plays increased. He got very little pass protection, and the few times he DID get some protection and had time the receivers rarely got open, it looked like.
So ... for some semblence of fairness, the team began the game handicapped even further, especially on defense: Powell and Longerbeam out, Dixon far less than 100% (this on top of losing Toure before the season started for the year) ... And Lewis hurt early (did he come back). That is down 4-5 starters if you count Toure, 1 less if not including him. And of course, Felter out. Still, the defense was awful.
Also, without reading any articles, I feel horrible for Brown - that injury LOOKED bad ... again, without reading any updates it would not surprise me if he is done for the year. Those who wanted to see him will now get a real look at Raymond for the rest of the season if Brown is out for the year.
