2023 Game 6: Arkansas State

[stevemaz]

Put Steve Maz in charge...oh wait thats me..

[stevemaz]

Seriously though.. our defensive backfield has been decimated so it is no surprise that the backups would struggle (2 tds were horrific mental errors at least). I question why do we always have so many injuries? Facilities? Strength coach? Training staff? what the hell is the issue?

That said, we have no choice but to stay the course through one more recruiting cycle and keep building. This was going to be a 3 or maybe 4 win team from the outset and it is too bad they totally blew the E Mich game. The truth of the matter is that Puma's knee injury did in fact sink the season. I give the young man a lot of credit for going out there yesterday and playing well with an obvious injury. There were several times where he would have gashed Ark St with huge scrambles up the middle, but he couldnt. I dare say that a healthy Puma and we are 4-2 or 3-3 right now.

[Juice Stand]

... The truth of the matter is that Puma's knee injury did in fact sink the season. I give the young man a lot of credit for going out there yesterday and playing well with an obvious injury. There were several times where he would have gashed Ark St with huge scrambles up the middle, but he couldnt. I dare say that a healthy Puma and we are 4-2 or 3-3 right now.

I see a lot of this, but blaming Puma's injury for the poor performances is a cop out. Give Carlos Davis some credit, he was pretty darn good in his 3 starts: 61% completion, 6TD/3int, and they averaged over 25 points in those starts. The offense hasn't really been a problem, it's been the defense and penalties. They've given up way too many big plays, even when their secondary was healthy, and these constant 15-yard penalties are killers and show that the team isn't disciplined at all. Overall, they look totally unprepared for their opponents.

I had them down for 3 wins, but right now, it feels like it's over. They might still get there, but today it just feels like more of the same no matter who's in charge.

[LS71]

^I blame the terrible defense more than anything else. UMass should have won each of the three games after Auburn but they couldn’t hold leads. Even against New Mexico State, they had to keep scoring to hold on because the D could not make a stop. Yesterday it was as if New Mexico was scrimmaging against the JV. They scored at will. It was an embarrassingly bad loss.

[kdogg8173]

2nd to last in the country in defensive yards per play. Only going to get worse after Toledo and Penn state. They’ve had some historically bad defenses in the past but when you consider the opponents this might be the worst defense they’ve ever had. The defensive backfield is the worst I’ve ever seen. The long TD pass after the longTD was such bad coverage it was like having a linebacker in coverage.

[dennisdent]

When Brown was at Michigan the knock against him was that the game had passed him and his defense by and he couldn't or wouldn't change. Last season UMass ran a ball control offense that burned time and protected the defense by keeping it off the field. This season the offense has opened up with better QBs and WRs and has exposed the defense and all its problems. Brown said that they "protected" Puma by not having him run...why even play him then in this offense that relies on the QB being mobile???? Play Haston, move Camp back for this game, as they did well last season against ASU... ASU can't stop the run so UMass comes out passing with a QB that can't run!!!! Bad coaching!

[Berkman]

Little or no pass rush, only one sack if I can remember correctly leading to poor pass coverage. Too many face mask penalties.The only good thing for me is that living in NC I don't have the 1:20 min drive home after the games.

[UMass1927]

When Brown was at Michigan the knock against him was that the game had passed him and his defense by and he couldn't or wouldn't change. Last season UMass ran a ball control offense that burned time and protected the defense by keeping it off the field. This season the offense has opened up with better QBs and WRs and has exposed the defense and all its problems. Brown said that they "protected" Puma by not having him run...why even play him then in this offense that relies on the QB being mobile???? Play Haston, move Camp back for this game, as he did well last season against ASU... ASU can't stop the run so UMass comes out passing with a QB that can't run!!!! Bad coaching!

I avidly follow Michigan and that is not really what was said. The Michigan defense dominated for almost the entirety of his tenure. The problem is when you're predictable on D and you can't overwhelm your opponents with talent, great teams can get after you. He never had an answer for the speed at WR of OSU. They would expose the blitzing with slants and crossers all day long.

His system works. Aggressive defense can work. But when it isn't working, you really feel it. And at the highest of the highest levels, when the other team knows what's coming on a consistent basis, it's almost impossible to have success with overwhelming talent.

For UMass right now, if you're going to put really bad DBs on an island consistently, you better get home or you're going to get destroyed.

[dennisdent]

When Brown was at Michigan the knock against him was that the game had passed him and his defense by and he couldn't or wouldn't change. Last season UMass ran a ball control offense that burned time and protected the defense by keeping it off the field. This season the offense has opened up with better QBs and WRs and has exposed the defense and all its problems. Brown said that they "protected" Puma by not having him run...why even play him then in this offense that relies on the QB being mobile???? Play Haston, move Camp back for this game, as he did well last season against ASU... ASU can't stop the run so UMass comes out passing with a QB that can't run!!!! Bad coaching!

I avidly follow Michigan and that is not really what was said. The Michigan defense dominated for almost the entirety of his tenure. The problem is when you're predictable on D and you can't overwhelm your opponents with talent, great teams can get after you. He never had an answer for the speed at WR of OSU. They would expose the blitzing with slants and crossers all day long.

His system works. Aggressive defense can work. But when it isn't working, you really feel it. And at the highest of the highest levels, when the other team knows what's coming on a consistent basis, it's almost impossible to have success with overwhelming talent.

For UMass right now, if you're going to put really bad DBs on an island consistently, you better get home or you're going to get destroyed.

Does this look and sound familiar to what we are seeing now at UMass:
"The Wolverines looked undisciplined, with missed tackles and blown coverages, and struggled all season long. The issues began against MSU — when Michigan's secondary was torched repeatedly while playing man coverage — and continued in games against Indiana — allowing more than 140 yards to a single receiver before halftime "

Michigan is much better without Brown and his defense....

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/coll ... 016084001/

[LS71]

And those penalties….

Yesterday they lost 132 yards on 13 penalties.

In contrast, they gained 112 yards on 25 rushes.

[Old Cage]

One item not mentioned so far: During the first period, when on D, we were continually trying to get 4 fat guys into the game and 4 fat guys out of the game way too late. The opposing qb was already in place and was starting to run the play before the four late arrivals (and probably others) on our side were ready. Down 17-nil in a blink. We did stop trying to do that, but the horse had long left the barn.

[minutefanjsf]

One item not mentioned so far: During the first period, when on D, we were continually trying to get 4 fat guys into the game and 4 fat guys out of the game way too late. The opposing qb was already in place and was starting to run the play before the four late arrivals (and probably others) on our side were ready. Down 17-nil in a blink. We did stop trying to do that, but the horse had long left the barn.

I mentioned this during the game to the people I was with. We clearly have a run stop and passing defense and each time we subbed, Ark state ran the opposite style play to which defense we had in. If Wooden was not in, they ran it, etc. I understand switching to nickel and dime packages, but the wholesale line changes is weird, IMO.

[Jack]

Whoever is in charge of that PA needs to be fired. "Yeah Buddy", an announcer screaming like a caricature of himself and obnoxious bad music every 15 seconds leads to a horrendous experience. Just terrible. Does Bamford ever actually sit in the stands and listen to that garbage for himself?

[Old Cage]

^ Just a few minutes ago, I echoed the exact same thought in response to the "fan experience" email that arrived today. I don't have the words to describe how degrading that music is.

[Old Cage]

On the plus side for me, I just laughed my way through a bunch of posts by a guy on twitter (that I have not seen there before) who seems to be serious about advocating that our uniforms are one of the main reasons for our FBS failures. I do wish that we would burn a few of them - especially the greys - but this was quite over the top.