Observations not Conclusions

[daddyhoosier]

So at this point I'm mainly observing and taking in data. It's healthy and valid to point out flaws and weaknesses both in terms of strategy and execution. It's also perfectly fine to ask questions. I would even say it's necessary. But to make blanket statements that apply to the whole of the 2022 campaign seems hasty and frankly a bit silly. So, that said here are some observations from last night.

First of all Indiana found a way to win. I said all week (to myself) I didn't care how ugly it was I just wanted to win the game. I was almost expecting an ugly win. To do it after what happened in 2021 and against an Illinois team that showed it could win Big Ten ball games last year - that speaks to the culture CTA is and has been building. Seems to be an early indication that Coach Allen still has the locker room. Obviously that is absolutely essential.

Oline Run Game - There was just nothing there all night. Bell tried to skin the cat in several ways but nothing really ever worked. The question I'm asking myself today - how much of it was Illinois, how much of it was the offensive line, how much of it was the running backs, and how much of it was scheme / play calling related? I don't think I'm alone on this, the 'Baze option' can be erased from the playbook permanently. I have no idea what purpose that would serve. (That is a blanket statement I guess lol.) I think Shivers and the run game will look pretty good next week vs. Idaho but I'm more concerned about how they look against B1G competition.

Oline Pass Pro - I thought it was a mixed bag. Baze certainly had some clean pockets and was effective when he did. But there were also a couple of jailbreaks where Baze had to run for his life and chuck it out of bounds. Obviously the health of Bedford is a concern, hopefully he can be back in three weeks but idk - didn't seem to be a contact thing which often times isn't good. But we'll see.

Dline - Run Fits - I would not grade them very high but that Illinois rushing attack will be one of the best we'll see all year. A little worried here but I think CTA knows how to tweak things to make his D more stingy in this department

Pass Rush - We got some pressure but it mostly seemed to come on blitzes. That's better than nothing but you'd like to see a guy who can beat the tackle one on one off the edge. But again let's give it another game or two and see how it unfolds

Baze - overall pleased with the QB play. The deep ball threat is there, I thought he made good decisions with the ball all night long, and he has some weapons to get the ball to. There were some inaccurate throws, especially high - hopefully he'll get that reigned in as he gets more comfortable in this system.

I want to ask because I didn't really get much of a feel either way - how do you guys think the Mike LB did? Obviously C4 was lights out but what about A. Casey / Jennings Jr. I remember Casey making a couple plays but I really didn't watch that position at all (I should have).

The bottom line is that 'Indinia' got the win in what almost seemed like a must win game. After last season they really needed to get started on the right foot and establish something to build on. That's what happened. I think CTA said it best in the Post Game, "We need to get better and we will." For me it's enought to leave it at that. I see no need at this point to hyperanalyze things and make blanket statements that play well on social media (and message boards) but in reality are rooted more in emotion than in objective fact.

 

[TMFT]

So at this point I'm mainly observing and taking in data. It's healthy and valid to point out flaws and weaknesses both in terms of strategy and execution. It's also perfectly fine to ask questions. I would even say it's necessary. But to make blanket statements that apply to the whole of the 2022 campaign seems hasty and frankly a bit silly. So, that said here are some observations from last night.

First of all Indiana found a way to win. I said all week (to myself) I didn't care how ugly it was I just wanted to win the game. I was almost expecting an ugly win. To do it after what happened in 2021 and against an Illinois team that showed it could win Big Ten ball games last year - that speaks to the culture CTA is and has been building. Seems to be an early indication that Coach Allen still has the locker room. Obviously that is absolutely essential.

Oline Run Game - There was just nothing there all night. Bell tried to skin the cat in several ways but nothing really ever worked. The question I'm asking myself today - how much of it was Illinois, how much of it was the offensive line, how much of it was the running backs, and how much of it was scheme / play calling related? I don't think I'm alone on this, the 'Baze option' can be erased from the playbook permanently. I have no idea what purpose that would serve. (That is a blanket statement I guess lol.) I think Shivers and the run game will look pretty good next week vs. Idaho but I'm more concerned about how they look against B1G competition.

Oline Pass Pro - I thought it was a mixed bag. Baze certainly had some clean pockets and was effective when he did. But there were also a couple of jailbreaks where Baze had to run for his life and chuck it out of bounds. Obviously the health of Bedford is a concern, hopefully he can be back in three weeks but idk - didn't seem to be a contact thing which often times isn't good. But we'll see.

Dline - Run Fits - I would not grade them very high but that Illinois rushing attack will be one of the best we'll see all year. A little worried here but I think CTA knows how to tweak things to make his D more stingy in this department

Pass Rush - We got some pressure but it mostly seemed to come on blitzes. That's better than nothing but you'd like to see a guy who can beat the tackle one on one off the edge. But again let's give it another game or two and see how it unfolds

Baze - overall pleased with the QB play. The deep ball threat is there, I thought he made good decisions with the ball all night long, and he has some weapons to get the ball to. There were some inaccurate throws, especially high - hopefully he'll get that reigned in as he gets more comfortable in this system.

I want to ask because I didn't really get much of a feel either way - how do you guys think the Mike LB did? Obviously C4 was lights out but what about A. Casey / Jennings Jr. I remember Casey making a couple plays but I really didn't watch that position at all (I should have).

The bottom line is that 'Indinia' got the win in what almost seemed like a must win game. After last season they really needed to get started on the right foot and establish something to build on. That's what happened. I think CTA said it best in the Post Game, "We need to get better and we will." For me it's enought to leave it at that. I see no need at this point to hyperanalyze things and make blanket statements that play well on social media (and message boards) but in reality are rooted more in emotion than in objective fact.

I thought the MLBs were fine. They were in on plays. C4 is clearly who the D is going to rely on (for emotional intensity as well as play quality). But I felt that the mikes were fairly interchangeable with no real difference or drop off, which bodes well for 4th quarter legs.

I thought there was more stunting than blitzing, but I could be wrong. And it was fairly effective. We still have to give it a few weeks to see how teams look this season. People that rely so much on the previous year’s results are misguided.

 

[Walt542]

So at this point I'm mainly observing and taking in data. It's healthy and valid to point out flaws and weaknesses both in terms of strategy and execution. It's also perfectly fine to ask questions. I would even say it's necessary. But to make blanket statements that apply to the whole of the 2022 campaign seems hasty and frankly a bit silly. So, that said here are some observations from last night.

First of all Indiana found a way to win. I said all week (to myself) I didn't care how ugly it was I just wanted to win the game. I was almost expecting an ugly win. To do it after what happened in 2021 and against an Illinois team that showed it could win Big Ten ball games last year - that speaks to the culture CTA is and has been building. Seems to be an early indication that Coach Allen still has the locker room. Obviously that is absolutely essential.

Oline Run Game - There was just nothing there all night. Bell tried to skin the cat in several ways but nothing really ever worked. The question I'm asking myself today - how much of it was Illinois, how much of it was the offensive line, how much of it was the running backs, and how much of it was scheme / play calling related? I don't think I'm alone on this, the 'Baze option' can be erased from the playbook permanently. I have no idea what purpose that would serve. (That is a blanket statement I guess lol.) I think Shivers and the run game will look pretty good next week vs. Idaho but I'm more concerned about how they look against B1G competition.

Oline Pass Pro - I thought it was a mixed bag. Baze certainly had some clean pockets and was effective when he did. But there were also a couple of jailbreaks where Baze had to run for his life and chuck it out of bounds. Obviously the health of Bedford is a concern, hopefully he can be back in three weeks but idk - didn't seem to be a contact thing which often times isn't good. But we'll see.

Dline - Run Fits - I would not grade them very high but that Illinois rushing attack will be one of the best we'll see all year. A little worried here but I think CTA knows how to tweak things to make his D more stingy in this department

Pass Rush - We got some pressure but it mostly seemed to come on blitzes. That's better than nothing but you'd like to see a guy who can beat the tackle one on one off the edge. But again let's give it another game or two and see how it unfolds

Baze - overall pleased with the QB play. The deep ball threat is there, I thought he made good decisions with the ball all night long, and he has some weapons to get the ball to. There were some inaccurate throws, especially high - hopefully he'll get that reigned in as he gets more comfortable in this system.

I want to ask because I didn't really get much of a feel either way - how do you guys think the Mike LB did? Obviously C4 was lights out but what about A. Casey / Jennings Jr. I remember Casey making a couple plays but I really didn't watch that position at all (I should have).

The bottom line is that 'Indinia' got the win in what almost seemed like a must win game. After last season they really needed to get started on the right foot and establish something to build on. That's what happened. I think CTA said it best in the Post Game, "We need to get better and we will." For me it's enought to leave it at that. I see no need at this point to hyperanalyze things and make blanket statements that play well on social media (and message boards) but in reality are rooted more in emotion than in objective fact.

It always intrigues me when fans expect the OL to consistently provide a good pocket but get concerned when the DL cannot get a pass rush without blitzing. You know there was another fairly good Big Ten team on the other side trying to do the same with their guys?

I thought it played out pretty well for IU both ways. They are going to have to blitz to get pressure. ( although that sack by Robbins late was beautiful). The other team is determined to protect their QB and have scholarship kids who are determined to do that. On the other hand the other team is going to have to blitz as well. Sometimes it will get picked up and sometimes not. The question is weather the IU QB and WRs can make them pay for it. They did a little.

these are the things that make the game interesting to me. But no team not named Ohio St. is going to dominate the lines both ways.

 

[frikkenfrakken]

Sanguinetti's pick came on a rushed throw from a blitz as well.

I'm not surprised our 4-2-5 struggled against their run attack. We basically run a nickel defense all game and dare people to try to run for first downs. Illinois took us up on the offer, but we still won.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

I like that the used Dasan right out of the gate. Kid is lanky with long arms. Moves well. Was in on one of those early sacks.
Aaron Casey had a good game. He was all over the field. The other Casey from UK played a bunch and Jennings had a big sack on a blitz.

The big concern I saw was their ability to get the ball out in the flat to guys and nobody out there.

 

[Fenny72]

Jennings had a couple nice plays, sack and TFl. Tevis made a couple plays, when we needed them.

Gave up a lot of yards to a good RB, but kept him out of the endzone when it counted. He got too many 9-11 yard runs (only 1 20+ I think). Most of his longer runs were when our LBs left a hole and he ran right through it.

Defense came through with Takeaways and a stop when really needed (especially after the Muller PI call).

The run game was facing a stacked box all night long and we didn't have an answer. Would have liked to see more passes in the second half or more creative run plays to get things moving. Got a couple yards on the last play when needed, so something to build off.

QB - Baze was inconsistent, but at least most of the bad throws were out of bounds and not to ILL. The only Int should have been caught. He had to rush a few of those, timing/communication was off, and probably trying not to throw a pic all had something to do with his accuracy. But he came through big when they needed him and had a some nice throws to Camper/DJ in the first half.

Overall, we are 1-0 and hopefully come out of this healthy ( Jones, Bedford hopefully minor injuries). Definitely looking to build off this game and correct some of these issues before we play Cincy and the rest of the conference schedule.

 

[turney333]

Jennings had a couple nice plays, sack and TFl. Tevis made a couple plays, when we needed them.

Gave up a lot of yards to a good RB, but kept him out of the endzone when it counted. He got too many 9-11 yard runs (only 1 20+ I think). Most of his longer runs were when our LBs left a hole and he ran right through it.

Defense came through with Takeaways and a stop when really needed (especially after the Muller PI call).

The run game was facing a stacked box all night long and we didn't have an answer. Would have liked to see more passes in the second half or more creative run plays to get things moving. Got a couple yards on the last play when needed, so something to build off.

QB - Baze was inconsistent, but at least most of the bad throws were out of bounds and not to ILL. The only Int should have been caught. He had to rush a few of those, timing/communication was off, and probably trying not to throw a pic all had something to do with his accuracy. But he came through big when they needed him and had a some nice throws to Camper/DJ in the first half.

Overall, we are 1-0 and hopefully come out of this healthy ( Jones, Bedford hopefully minor injuries). Definitely looking to build off this game and correct some of these issues before we play Cincy and the rest of the conference schedule.

Baze had a career 66% completions at Mizzou, so definitely think the issue was mostly timing with a new scheme and new WRs while also splitting time with Tuttle in fall camp.

 

[turney333]

Baze had a career 66% completions at Mizzou, so definitely think the issue was mostly timing with a new scheme and new WRs while also splitting time with Tuttle in fall camp.

He also went 7-10 when it really counted on the last drive.

 

[TMFT]

He also went 7-10 when it really counted on the last drive.

Here’s a Pollyanna stat to cheer up those disappointed by CB’s completion percentage.

Against PSU to start 2020, MP was 19/36 total (52.8%). That includes going 5/6 on his last drive in regulation and 3/3 in OT. Which is to say that going into the last drive he was 11/27 (40.7%).

Two points in summary, (1) the 2020 offense wasn’t as good as people remember it as because of the number of points scored and (2) people still had ultimate faith in MP’s ability, not his durability, and there were some real crimson shades glasses out there on that part.

 

[turney333]

Also, penalty situation was great especially for a first game. Only 3 penalties, one of which was an intentional and inconsequential delay of game on a 4th down. Another was a unsportsman, that while probably by the letter of the law a penalty, but what actually happened is a no call 9 times out of 10

 

[Baller23Boogie]

As far as Illinois goes, their running back is one of the best in the country. He just happens to play for Illinois, so he won't get the pub he rightfully deserves. They are, in my mind, a top 3 rushing attack in the league. They are going to run on just about every team they play. What they did to us, they are going to do to a lot of teams. They're qb play is what will hold them back.

I thought our defense played well for the first game. We stepped up when we needed to. We got stops, we got takeaways. We got SOME pressure. I liked what I saw from some of the new guys.

Overall, it was a good, solid first win.

 

[iubud]

So at this point I'm mainly observing and taking in data. It's healthy and valid to point out flaws and weaknesses both in terms of strategy and execution. It's also perfectly fine to ask questions. I would even say it's necessary. But to make blanket statements that apply to the whole of the 2022 campaign seems hasty and frankly a bit silly. So, that said here are some observations from last night.

First of all Indiana found a way to win. I said all week (to myself) I didn't care how ugly it was I just wanted to win the game. I was almost expecting an ugly win. To do it after what happened in 2021 and against an Illinois team that showed it could win Big Ten ball games last year - that speaks to the culture CTA is and has been building. Seems to be an early indication that Coach Allen still has the locker room. Obviously that is absolutely essential.

Oline Run Game - There was just nothing there all night. Bell tried to skin the cat in several ways but nothing really ever worked. The question I'm asking myself today - how much of it was Illinois, how much of it was the offensive line, how much of it was the running backs, and how much of it was scheme / play calling related? I don't think I'm alone on this, the 'Baze option' can be erased from the playbook permanently. I have no idea what purpose that would serve. (That is a blanket statement I guess lol.) I think Shivers and the run game will look pretty good next week vs. Idaho but I'm more concerned about how they look against B1G competition.

Oline Pass Pro - I thought it was a mixed bag. Baze certainly had some clean pockets and was effective when he did. But there were also a couple of jailbreaks where Baze had to run for his life and chuck it out of bounds. Obviously the health of Bedford is a concern, hopefully he can be back in three weeks but idk - didn't seem to be a contact thing which often times isn't good. But we'll see.

Dline - Run Fits - I would not grade them very high but that Illinois rushing attack will be one of the best we'll see all year. A little worried here but I think CTA knows how to tweak things to make his D more stingy in this department

Pass Rush - We got some pressure but it mostly seemed to come on blitzes. That's better than nothing but you'd like to see a guy who can beat the tackle one on one off the edge. But again let's give it another game or two and see how it unfolds

Baze - overall pleased with the QB play. The deep ball threat is there, I thought he made good decisions with the ball all night long, and he has some weapons to get the ball to. There were some inaccurate throws, especially high - hopefully he'll get that reigned in as he gets more comfortable in this system.

I want to ask because I didn't really get much of a feel either way - how do you guys think the Mike LB did? Obviously C4 was lights out but what about A. Casey / Jennings Jr. I remember Casey making a couple plays but I really didn't watch that position at all (I should have).

The bottom line is that 'Indinia' got the win in what almost seemed like a must win game. After last season they really needed to get started on the right foot and establish something to build on. That's what happened. I think CTA said it best in the Post Game, "We need to get better and we will." For me it's enought to leave it at that. I see no need at this point to hyperanalyze things and make blanket statements that play well on social media (and message boards) but in reality are rooted more in emotion than in objective fact.

One thing I noticed from the stands was that our offense wasn't crisp and sharp on the snap of the ball. The offense knows the snap count. They should move at the same time and fire off the LOS. Our line is either incredibly slow or we have some slow reaction times. Illinois OL fired off the ball and the unit looked sharp. Maybe it is the stance the line uses, but it looked like UI knew the snap count and we didn't.

 

[vesuvius13]

I am thrilled that IU won this first game as it comes against a talented B1G team. IU now has two weeks to get game action to improve against teams with not as much talent as B1G teams.

Our defense played solid and hard for the game. We need to clean up passes in the flats that were so open and shore up the run defense, but they played very well when it was needed.

The passing game looks like it could be a real threat for IU. I would like to see more WR/TEs flash on the field as Matthews and Camper were really the only two that did.

Illinois' defense seems to be building on the good defense they had last season making it tough for IU to consistently have success.

I would like to see more players really flash on the field for IU showing they are the best on the field. We had a few do exactly that Friday night we just need more consistency like Tevis attack the QB or Robbins with his sack at the end. Noah made some very good plays in the game, and you can't say enough about the game C4 had as he was all over the field making plays.

IU can build on this and the next couple games to get good enough to defeat Cincinnati.

 

[So.In.Hoosier95]

I am thrilled that IU won this first game as it comes against a talented B1G team. IU now has two weeks to get game action to improve against teams with not as much talent as B1G teams.

Our defense played solid and hard for the game. We need to clean up passes in the flats that were so open and shore up the run defense, but they played very well when it was needed.

The passing game looks like it could be a real threat for IU. I would like to see more WR/TEs flash on the field as Matthews and Camper were really the only two that did.

Illinois' defense seems to be building on the good defense they had last season making it tough for IU to consistently have success.

I would like to see more players really flash on the field for IU showing they are the best on the field. We had a few do exactly that Friday night we just need more consistency like Tevis attack the QB or Robbins with his sack at the end. Noah made some very good plays in the game, and you can't say enough about the game C4 had as he was all over the field making plays.

IU can build on this and the next couple games to get good enough to defeat Cincinnati.

Agree on each comment…

I know I know, “one game at a time” but getting a W against ILL in game 1 changes the entire dynamic of this season. Now this team can go and work out some kinks against less talented teams at Home and get prepared for the gauntlet starting at Cincy.

 

[turney333]

I rewatched the first half, and the OL run blocking wasn't as bad as my impression from watching live. Certainly not great, just not as bad as I thought initially. Only ran the ball 11 times in the first half. 3 were decent runs of 4+ yards.

Of the 8 other runs
4 had late blocks or whiffs by the TE (I think 2 by Barner and 2 by Bomba) - either TE's assignment made the tackle or the RB had cut back into the scrum
2 were outside zone runs, but the defense was moving in the direction of the run before the oline moved and the snap, and beat the oline (either there was a tell and defensive knew what was coming or they just guessed correctly)
1 was a poor blitz pick up by Katic
On the option play, Bedford should have blocked the LB, but double teamed the DE instead

Also, not technically a run play, but the first offensive play where Shivers got drilled on the screen pass, the CB went right between Matthews and Swinton and both seemingly expecting the other to make a block

 

[CaptainZigZag]

Agree on each comment…

I know I know, “one game at a time” but getting a W against ILL in game 1 changes the entire dynamic of this season. Now this team can go and work out some kinks against less talented teams at Home and get prepared for the gauntlet starting at Cincy.

Bump for “less talented “ inanity