GA State - Louisiana

[mike87]

As long as the SBC game isn't on a Tuesday, App wins it. Tuesday is a practice day.

[Stonewall]

I'm ok with them winning out and being ranked when we go down there and spank them.

[AppSt94]

Weren’t we down to basically one running back in that game? Makes a huge difference to have Cam, DH, Castle (still not understanding why he wasn’t used) along with Nate. Smith has been a curious deal. Seems like the staff speaks highly of him but in a few key games when we were out Cam and Daetrich he barely saw the field.

Disclaimer- I don’t know crap about coaching football.

I get it. I don’t have the answer to your question, but the conclusion that I draw from that is that Castle isn’t a RB1. Castle is a decent to good back, but if he is taking meaningful snaps at this point in his development, we have issues. He is a load, but is he more effective against second level defenders than he is against guys at the point of attack? As for Smith, I’ve heard the same comments that you have about his ability to contribute and I get the frustration. I will say this about coaches comments and this is in NO way, in reference to Smith. If there are behind the scene issues, you aren’t going to hear any commentary publicly.

My point is that there are probably really good answers to your questions. And they probably make sense. They just aren’t going to say it publicly or on any type of record.

[AppStateNews]

Sure, LaLa blew us out, but it was really 2-3 plays that sealed the game. The fade to Sutton on our first drive that just missed, the shot to Virgil to start the second half, and the fumble/lateral to Noel.

If we hit on 2 of those three, I fully believe we win the game. They made Brice beat them with his arm and he just wasn't hitting the shots like he has been every other game.

Also, after this game, the captains sat down with Clark in his office for a good hour to hour and a half. I don't know exactly what was said since I wasn't in the office, but it was from that point on we've been more aggressive on offense and looked more prepared for teams. Take that how you will...

[AtlAppMan]

You know we often say, that team played out of their minds when they played us, we played poorly when we played them, etc. etc.

Well there is something to be said about that, it cannot be used as an excuse but it has merit. So I was thinking, if I rank how App played in each of their games, regardless of how competition played I would say the following:

ECU - B
Miami - B+
Elon - B
Marshall - B+
Georgia St - B
UL - D
CCU - A-
ULM - A first half, C- second. B- overall

This same grading must be applied to the opponent to see how the head to head works out. Fact is nobody plays the same level every week.

[AppSt94]

You know we often say, that team played out of their minds when they played us, we played poorly when we played them, etc. etc.

Well there is something to be said about that, it cannot be used as an excuse but it has merit. So I was thinking, if I rank how App played in each of their games, regardless of how competition played I would say the following:

ECU - B
Miami - B+
Elon - B
Marshall - B+
Georgia St - B
UL - D
CCU - A-
ULM - A first half, C- second. B- overall

This same grading must be applied to the opponent to see how the head to head works out. Fact is nobody plays the same level every week.

You must have some tough criteria.

[AppGrad78]

The key for App — in addition to limiting turnovers — is keeping Levi Lewis bottled up. We didn’t do it last year or this year. Teams (like Arkansas State and Georgia State) that have had success against Louisiana have kept him from doing damage with his legs. We make him look like Barry Sanders.

[AtlAppMan]

You know we often say, that team played out of their minds when they played us, we played poorly when we played them, etc. etc.

Well there is something to be said about that, it cannot be used as an excuse but it has merit. So I was thinking, if I rank how App played in each of their games, regardless of how competition played I would say the following:

ECU - B
Miami - B+
Elon - B
Marshall - B+
Georgia St - B
UL - D
CCU - A-
ULM - A first half, C- second. B- overall

This same grading must be applied to the opponent to see how the head to head works out. Fact is nobody plays the same level every week.

You must have some tough criteria.

What is your grading? This is subjective I freely admit. A few pieces of logic I use, if you turn the ball over several times, that should lower your rating, regardless. If you don't play up to your ability for sections of the game, that lowers grade. Just a few keys to my thought process. Certainly not an exact science.

[bigdaddyg]

Weren’t we down to basically one running back in that game? Makes a huge difference to have Cam, DH, Castle (still not understanding why he wasn’t used) along with Nate. Smith has been a curious deal. Seems like the staff speaks highly of him but in a few key games when we were out Cam and Daetrich he barely saw the field.

Disclaimer- I don’t know crap about coaching football.

I get it. I don’t have the answer to your question, but the conclusion that I draw from that is that Castle isn’t a RB1. Castle is a decent to good back, but if he is taking meaningful snaps at this point in his development, we have issues. He is a load, but is he more effective against second level defenders than he is against guys at the point of attack? As for Smith, I’ve heard the same comments that you have about his ability to contribute and I get the frustration. I will say this about coaches comments and this is in NO way, in reference to Smith. If there are behind the scene issues, you aren’t going to hear any commentary publicly.

My point is that there are probably really good answers to your questions. And they probably make sense. They just aren’t going to say it publicly or on any type of record.

Totally agree with what you said. It gets a little puzzling when even on the weekly coaches show a guy like Castle gets talked about- called Little Riggins, etc and we get into a huge game without our main back and we don’t use a bigger (assuming available) guy on several short yardage situations. I also agree that Castle isn’t a 20 carry guy (unless we play Campbell) but I’m sure many of us were puzzled that he didn’t get a few plays especially in short yardage. Like you said stuff goes on that we don’t know about. Guess I’d feel better if nothing was said about a guy. Kind of like with CMC and the Panthers- we get reports he’s practicing, looks good then he’s out again.

[AppSt94]

Weren’t we down to basically one running back in that game? Makes a huge difference to have Cam, DH, Castle (still not understanding why he wasn’t used) along with Nate. Smith has been a curious deal. Seems like the staff speaks highly of him but in a few key games when we were out Cam and Daetrich he barely saw the field.

Disclaimer- I don’t know crap about coaching football.

I get it. I don’t have the answer to your question, but the conclusion that I draw from that is that Castle isn’t a RB1. Castle is a decent to good back, but if he is taking meaningful snaps at this point in his development, we have issues. He is a load, but is he more effective against second level defenders than he is against guys at the point of attack? As for Smith, I’ve heard the same comments that you have about his ability to contribute and I get the frustration. I will say this about coaches comments and this is in NO way, in reference to Smith. If there are behind the scene issues, you aren’t going to hear any commentary publicly.

My point is that there are probably really good answers to your questions. And they probably make sense. They just aren’t going to say it publicly or on any type of record.

Totally agree with what you said. It gets a little puzzling when even on the weekly coaches show a guy like Castle gets talked about- called Little Riggins, etc and we get into a huge game without our main back and we don’t use a bigger (assuming available) guy on several short yardage situations. I also agree that Castle isn’t a 20 carry guy (unless we play Campbell) but I’m sure many of us were puzzled that he didn’t get a few plays especially in short yardage. Like you said stuff goes on that we don’t know about. Guess I’d feel better if nothing was said about a guy. Kind of like with CMC and the Panthers- we get reports he’s practicing, looks good then he’s out again.

Yep. It’s a delicate balance between building hype without creating expectations. Unfortunately, the expectations create the assumption that parts become completely interchangeable and they aren’t. But if you give nothing, you get the fans, like us, wanting more on the depth guys.

[AppSt94]

You know we often say, that team played out of their minds when they played us, we played poorly when we played them, etc. etc.

Well there is something to be said about that, it cannot be used as an excuse but it has merit. So I was thinking, if I rank how App played in each of their games, regardless of how competition played I would say the following:

ECU - B
Miami - B+
Elon - B
Marshall - B+
Georgia St - B
UL - D
CCU - A-
ULM - A first half, C- second. B- overall

This same grading must be applied to the opponent to see how the head to head works out. Fact is nobody plays the same level every week.

You must have some tough criteria.

What is your grading? This is subjective I freely admit. A few pieces of logic I use, if you turn the ball over several times, that should lower your rating, regardless. If you don't play up to your ability for sections of the game, that lowers grade. Just a few keys to my thought process. Certainly not an exact science.

Your logic is fair. I’m certainly not going to disagree with your grading. As you said, it’s subjective. I would have to sit and think about it and I’ll get back to you. I guess the only one I would question is the playing to the ability. How one defines that is completely subjective and a fan bases that off of an expectation. Coaches are going to positive an pump in the sunshine, but in reality, they have a good idea of the outcome based on prep and film study.

I’m heading out for Arkansas soon and I’ll give it some thought, but one that I can grade now is ECU. “B” seems a little low to me. The game was in control late into the second quarter. I realize the play on the field may have looked different throughout the game, but ECU had no answers to what we were doing. I would have given it an A-.

[pop5app]

You know we often say, that team played out of their minds when they played us, we played poorly when we played them, etc. etc.

Well there is something to be said about that, it cannot be used as an excuse but it has merit. So I was thinking, if I rank how App played in each of their games, regardless of how competition played I would say the following:

ECU - B
Miami - B+
Elon - B
Marshall - B+
Georgia St - B
UL - D
CCU - A-
ULM - A first half, C- second. B- overall

This same grading must be applied to the opponent to see how the head to head works out. Fact is nobody plays the same level every week.

[Yosef84]

I strongly disagree that the turnovers were the cause of the loss against them. They certainly didn't help, but we lost because they were better that night....by far. Lewis played the game of his life, and our DB's had the worst games of their lives, and our lines played the worst games of their lives. Turnovers only exacerbated all that.

Regardless, they look terrible in this game.

Hard to ignore the short field that resulted in 20 points (with the missed extra point) being part of the loss. You're right though....they played lights out that night and we phoned it in. The turnovers were a side-effect of our lack of focus (or whatever you want to call it). Louisiana has looked under-whelming most of the season but they were making plays that night. Lewis was throwing perfect passes, and their receivers were pulling them in.

I do not believe App will be off again if we meeting in the CCG. Also, we should have a full and healthy stable of running backs. Payback is Hell!

GO APPS!

[Cro-Magnon App]

Peoples, Harrington and Noel. These are who we ride with. The others must wait for their time. And develop.

As for grading (and as a high school coach for 40 years this is just my opinion and way of working), it’s on Pass/Fail. We win = Pass. We lose = Fail. But no matter the outcome or level of play, we always must be dissatisfied because this is what drives us to get better. We are always in search of the perfect game. And though it’ll never happen, that’s what we must reach for, train for, strive for - with relentlessness and perseverity.

[AtlAppMan]

You know we often say, that team played out of their minds when they played us, we played poorly when we played them, etc. etc.

Well there is something to be said about that, it cannot be used as an excuse but it has merit. So I was thinking, if I rank how App played in each of their games, regardless of how competition played I would say the following:

ECU - B
Miami - B+
Elon - B
Marshall - B+
Georgia St - B
UL - D
CCU - A-
ULM - A first half, C- second. B- overall

This same grading must be applied to the opponent to see how the head to head works out. Fact is nobody plays the same level every week.

You must have some tough criteria.

What is your grading? This is subjective I freely admit. A few pieces of logic I use, if you turn the ball over several times, that should lower your rating, regardless. If you don't play up to your ability for sections of the game, that lowers grade. Just a few keys to my thought process. Certainly not an exact science.

Your logic is fair. I’m certainly not going to disagree with your grading. As you said, it’s subjective. I would have to sit and think about it and I’ll get back to you. I guess the only one I would question is the playing to the ability. How one defines that is completely subjective and a fan bases that off of an expectation. Coaches are going to positive an pump in the sunshine, but in reality, they have a good idea of the outcome based on prep and film study.

I’m heading out for Arkansas soon and I’ll give it some thought, but one that I can grade now is ECU. “B” seems a little low to me. The game was in control late into the second quarter. I realize the play on the field may have looked different throughout the game, but ECU had no answers to what we were doing. I would have given it an A-.

Your point is fair on ECU. IMO, we played very well but still made mistakes of our own and could have done better but it was first game and I don't hold it against them. We had game in hand.

For me on UL, I have seen UL play several games and they definitely played the best game of the year against us. We definitely played the worst. Perfect storm.

Marshall, we made several mistakes that hurt us but we overcame. Marshall appears to have played one of their better games that night based on what I have watched from them in sampling of other games. They did not turn it over any. They have in most other games. I think they played one of their better games that night yet we still overcame with a very good game but not perfect game.

ULM did not play near as good against us as I have seen in their recent games. They also played poorly in early games this season. We also played well in 1st half that made them look very bad. We didn't in 2nd half and they played better, ran up 21 pts and over 300 yrds so you get the point.

This is just a few examples of how I am rating.

[AppSt94]

I don’t give any consideration to how a team has faired outside of our game. It has zero affect on the outcome. Teams just match up differently based on strengths and weaknesses. I also don’t get too wrapped up in performance once the game is in control. Backups shouldn’t be expected to maintain the same level of production that starters do. They are backups for a reason. They are typically working more base stuff against the opposition that is still working their stuff. I would have given Marshall and Covid the same grade.

[Saint3333]

The last thing ULL wants to see 12/4 is a healthy App team, 1-0 today is one step closer.

[Stonewall]

In the famous words of LS,"You got that right!"