Post Idaho Thoughts

[daddyhoosier]

September 11, 2022 | DaddyHoosier

Originally published at iufb.net

In the world of social media, talk radio and online message boards it seems everybody has a take that is hyperbolic. Either everything is great and you’re bad for suggestion otherwise or everything is bad and you’re bad for suggesting otherwise.

But that’s not how it actually works – reality tends to lie somewhere in the fuzzy middle ground. Last week after Illinois I posted Observations Not Conclusions. This week we are still observing but we have a little bit more data to work with.

Positives to Build On

This team has shown good character and mental toughness. They’ve fought through adversity and ‘found a way’. When things get tough they aren’t gonna hang it up and roll over.Connor Bazelak is streaky but has delivered when in counted.Baze has at least three reliable targets to go through the air – Cam Camper (15 rec, 199 yds), D.J. Matthews (10 rec, 160 yds, 2 TD) and AJ Barner (7 rec, 82 yds, 1 TD)Indiana rushed for 239 yards against Idaho. Shaun Shivers had 20 carries for 155 yds and a TD while Josh Henderson had 7 carries for 58 yds and a score.IU only has six penalties in two games.The Indiana Defense is only allowing 21 points per gameThe Defense has given up 419 yards on the ground but they are only allowing 3.5 yds per rush.Defensive Havoc Plays so far – 14 TFLs, 6 sacks, 3 QBH, 4 BU, 3 FF, 3 FR, 1 INT, 1 SAFCam Jones – the guy’s just a beast, do I need to elaborate?Dasan McCullough – doing things you don’t normally see from a Freshman Edge guy – 11 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 1 QBH. Expect some growing pains but this guy is already good and is going to be a freak.Lots of guys stepping up on D – Aaron Casey, Noah Pierre, Josh Sanguinetti, Beau RobbinsDonaven McCulley – He had a big catch that kept a drive alive and that 4 yard TD run from the Wildcat. When they’ve called his number he has shied away.

Causes for Concern

Baze has been inconsistent and inaccurate. He only has a 54 percent completion percentage rate and has thrown several balls high. One resulted in an INT last night and that will happen more if this continues.Running for 200 yards against Idaho is one thing, but establilshing the run against Big Ten East opponents is something entirely different. Can the Offensive Line get the job done?Pass Pro – When Baze has a clean pocket he can make things happen with his arm. But how much time will he have as competition increases.For the rest of Indiana’s schedule, including Western Kentucky, the Hoosiers can’t afford to play badly for big chunks of the game. If they do it is not likely to end well.The defense hasn’t been bad but they have looked more vulnerable than I think many expected, including the highly touted secondary. Not overly concerned here but there is enough anxiety to register on the proverbial radar.At times Walt Bell’s play-calling has seemed predictable. I’m not sure if this is bad execution, defenses guessing correctly, or actual tendencies being exploited. But something to keep an eye one.Charles Campbell missed two FGs last night although technically only one counted. Hopefull that doesn’t get in his head.

The bottom line is that there is still a lot to figure out. This next game will mark the first quarter mark of the season. With three games under Indiana’s belt we can do a First Quarter Report Card.

As always I’ll continue to look at both scheme and analytics / advanced stats to see what insights can be gleaned. Stay tuned!

 

[Walt542]

September 11, 2022 | DaddyHoosier

Originally published at iufb.net

In the world of social media, talk radio and online message boards it seems everybody has a take that is hyperbolic. Either everything is great and you’re bad for suggestion otherwise or everything is bad and you’re bad for suggesting otherwise.

But that’s not how it actually works – reality tends to lie somewhere in the fuzzy middle ground. Last week after Illinois I posted Observations Not Conclusions. This week we are still observing but we have a little bit more data to work with.

Positives to Build On

This team has shown good character and mental toughness. They’ve fought through adversity and ‘found a way’. When things get tough they aren’t gonna hang it up and roll over.Connor Bazelak is streaky but has delivered when in counted.Baze has at least three reliable targets to go through the air – Cam Camper (15 rec, 199 yds), D.J. Matthews (10 rec, 160 yds, 2 TD) and AJ Barner (7 rec, 82 yds, 1 TD)Indiana rushed for 239 yards against Idaho. Shaun Shivers had 20 carries for 155 yds and a TD while Josh Henderson had 7 carries for 58 yds and a score.IU only has six penalties in two games.The Indiana Defense is only allowing 21 points per gameThe Defense has given up 419 yards on the ground but they are only allowing 3.5 yds per rush.Defensive Havoc Plays so far – 14 TFLs, 6 sacks, 3 QBH, 4 BU, 3 FF, 3 FR, 1 INT, 1 SAFCam Jones – the guy’s just a beast, do I need to elaborate?Dasan McCullough – doing things you don’t normally see from a Freshman Edge guy – 11 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 1 QBH. Expect some growing pains but this guy is already good and is going to be a freak.Lots of guys stepping up on D – Aaron Casey, Noah Pierre, Josh Sanguinetti, Beau RobbinsDonaven McCulley – He had a big catch that kept a drive alive and that 4 yard TD run from the Wildcat. When they’ve called his number he has shied away.

Causes for Concern

Baze has been inconsistent and inaccurate. He only has a 54 percent completion percentage rate and has thrown several balls high. One resulted in an INT last night and that will happen more if this continues.Running for 200 yards against Idaho is one thing, but establilshing the run against Big Ten East opponents is something entirely different. Can the Offensive Line get the job done?Pass Pro – When Baze has a clean pocket he can make things happen with his arm. But how much time will he have as competition increases.For the rest of Indiana’s schedule, including Western Kentucky, the Hoosiers can’t afford to play badly for big chunks of the game. If they do it is not likely to end well.The defense hasn’t been bad but they have looked more vulnerable than I think many expected, including the highly touted secondary. Not overly concerned here but there is enough anxiety to register on the proverbial radar.At times Walt Bell’s play-calling has seemed predictable. I’m not sure if this is bad execution, defenses guessing correctly, or actual tendencies being exploited. But something to keep an eye one.Charles Campbell missed two FGs last night although technically only one counted. Hopefull that doesn’t get in his head.

The bottom line is that there is still a lot to figure out. This next game will mark the first quarter mark of the season. With three games under Indiana’s belt we can do a First Quarter Report Card.

As always I’ll continue to look at both scheme and analytics / advanced stats to see what insights can be gleaned. Stay tuned!

Good write up. One of the bright spots to me is that there is still plenty to improve on but we are 2-0.

 

[IUNY]

My biggest concern is tackling once the runner gets past the line of scrimmage, especially for a veteran defense. Guys are leaving their feet too soon and not getting good angles. This doesn't bode well for the Big Ten East. I think the offense will be OK, and it's good to see he started using the other backs like Lucas and Howland.

 

[Jackskip23]

I thought we played well on both sides in the second half last night. It’s not hard to see why CB was both praised and criticized at Mizzou. . . He’s a streaky player who needs to get in a rhythm. He tends to string a few incompletions together and then flips it and goes on a hot streak. A good running game, which we were able to have last night, will take some of the pressure off of him to make plays and force throws.

 

[Fenny72]

It seems a lot of people want to be the first ones to say that IU will have a bad year, instead of letting the games play out. Obviously, the first two games have mixed results, but we found a way to win both of them. We do have a lot of new coaches and players, so I did expect some learning curves, especially with the offense. New QB and several new WRs need time to get their timing down. Baze has been inaccurate more than we like, but has came through and put the ball where it is needed when it counted. Need to make sure he keeps DJ and Barner engaged, no targets for DJ in the first half last night.
We are 2-0 and working on getting that winning mindset/edge back that we lost last year. I'll judge each game after they are over and expect to see continued progress from the offense.

 

[td75]

Bazelak's struggles in the first half were due to the monsoon. His second half performance was on point because it seemed like the rains subsided. He even stated that he struggled throwing the slippery ball.

That being said, he needs to come out and be precise/accurate next Saturday. Bell needs to dial up two or three easy completions that will allow CB to find his groove. The kid has a pretty damn good arm, can he improve his accuracy is the money question.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Bazelak's struggles in the first half were due to the monsoon. His second half performance was on point because it seemed like the rains subsided. He even stated that he struggled throwing the slippery ball.

That being said, he needs to come out and be precise/accurate next Saturday. Bell needs to dial up two or three easy completions that will allow CB to find his groove. The kid has a pretty damn good arm, can he improve his accuracy is the money question.

Well, I hope the wet ball played a role because for 45 minutes he was not sharp. The two late TD's the D gave up were inexcusable. Outside of the offense for 10 minutes in teh third quarter this was not good outing.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

I have not had a chance to watch the replay of look at the box score but one player that played well most of the game IMO was McCullough.

 

[grammy2]

Having Allen take over the defense again is big. He's probably top 3 in the conference in that position. He seems a lot more involved too. Last year he looked all bunged up, not knowing what to do. He has too much energy, and defensive knowledge, to just stand there like a head coach.

 

[mushroomgod_1]

September 11, 2022 | DaddyHoosier

Originally published at iufb.net

In the world of social media, talk radio and online message boards it seems everybody has a take that is hyperbolic. Either everything is great and you’re bad for suggestion otherwise or everything is bad and you’re bad for suggesting otherwise.

But that’s not how it actually works – reality tends to lie somewhere in the fuzzy middle ground. Last week after Illinois I posted Observations Not Conclusions. This week we are still observing but we have a little bit more data to work with.

Positives to Build On

This team has shown good character and mental toughness. They’ve fought through adversity and ‘found a way’. When things get tough they aren’t gonna hang it up and roll over.Connor Bazelak is streaky but has delivered when in counted.Baze has at least three reliable targets to go through the air – Cam Camper (15 rec, 199 yds), D.J. Matthews (10 rec, 160 yds, 2 TD) and AJ Barner (7 rec, 82 yds, 1 TD)Indiana rushed for 239 yards against Idaho. Shaun Shivers had 20 carries for 155 yds and a TD while Josh Henderson had 7 carries for 58 yds and a score.IU only has six penalties in two games.The Indiana Defense is only allowing 21 points per gameThe Defense has given up 419 yards on the ground but they are only allowing 3.5 yds per rush.Defensive Havoc Plays so far – 14 TFLs, 6 sacks, 3 QBH, 4 BU, 3 FF, 3 FR, 1 INT, 1 SAFCam Jones – the guy’s just a beast, do I need to elaborate?Dasan McCullough – doing things you don’t normally see from a Freshman Edge guy – 11 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2 Sacks, 1 QBH. Expect some growing pains but this guy is already good and is going to be a freak.Lots of guys stepping up on D – Aaron Casey, Noah Pierre, Josh Sanguinetti, Beau RobbinsDonaven McCulley – He had a big catch that kept a drive alive and that 4 yard TD run from the Wildcat. When they’ve called his number he has shied away.

Causes for Concern

Baze has been inconsistent and inaccurate. He only has a 54 percent completion percentage rate and has thrown several balls high. One resulted in an INT last night and that will happen more if this continues.Running for 200 yards against Idaho is one thing, but establilshing the run against Big Ten East opponents is something entirely different. Can the Offensive Line get the job done?Pass Pro – When Baze has a clean pocket he can make things happen with his arm. But how much time will he have as competition increases.For the rest of Indiana’s schedule, including Western Kentucky, the Hoosiers can’t afford to play badly for big chunks of the game. If they do it is not likely to end well.The defense hasn’t been bad but they have looked more vulnerable than I think many expected, including the highly touted secondary. Not overly concerned here but there is enough anxiety to register on the proverbial radar.At times Walt Bell’s play-calling has seemed predictable. I’m not sure if this is bad execution, defenses guessing correctly, or actual tendencies being exploited. But something to keep an eye one.Charles Campbell missed two FGs last night although technically only one counted. Hopefull that doesn’t get in his head.

The bottom line is that there is still a lot to figure out. This next game will mark the first quarter mark of the season. With three games under Indiana’s belt we can do a First Quarter Report Card.

As always I’ll continue to look at both scheme and analytics / advanced stats to see what insights can be gleaned. Stay tuned!

I could get interested in this team if the OL wasn't such a problem, and Shivers was as good as I thought he would be. Those are such limiting factors. We have some legit talent in guys like Jones, Camper, DJ Matthews, McCullough, and Mullen and the other DBs. More legit talents than we're used to. And two good kickers.