LS71 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:26 pm
cox'n wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:09 am
LS71 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:22 am
Mistakes and mental errors…let’s fix those and the rest will take care of itself.
No coach teaches kids to to make stupid mistakes.
Agreed. I’m certainly no expert on how to do it, but I’d like to see the staff work to help players with their focus so there are fewer penalties…like the one running into the punter. I know he was going for the block but that one really hurt the team. They had a little mo going, especially since they had just gotten the ball back after coughing it up and holding them to a 3 and out. I thought..they’re in this one with a legit chance to win it. That penalty killed that chance IMO.
The running into the kicker penalty was a bummer, but they got the ball back on the very next play in probably better field position than they'd have had on the punt. They were then driving to score and the receiver fumbled around the EMU 15 yard line. It was that fumble that destroyed the momentum, not the penalty. In fact, I was gratified how the defense rallied and continued to hustle after that gaffe, but the fumble definitely took it's toll.
I agree with you, they were both mental errors, and these are the things I'd expect the coaching staff to work on with the players. However, I feel as if our overall penalties have dropped this year, especially on things like illegal motion, off-sides, and particularly stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that really killed us in the Whipple era. Sure, there's still some of that happening (and it probably always will, no team commits zero penalties), but I feel like discipline is far better this year under Bell than I've seen in a long time. Obviously, we need to see how that plays out over the rest of the season, but for me it's an area I consider improved so far.