It is delightful to see we have such a solid offense but that defense, if you can even call it that, is atrocious. We may win a couple of games just from getting lucky and outshooting someone, but without defense I can’t imagine it will be many Ws
1. There is a spelling deficiency in our program: there is no "D" in Southern Illinois.
2. We need more Florida players because they're way better than those Midwest farm boys and neighbor hood kids who have been beating us over the years. Everybody says so...
I don't see a lack of opportunities available for Southern Illinois kids if they are good enough. Our head coach is from DuQuoin. We have brought in kids from schools like Chester and Johnston City, schools that play in the Black Diamond, which has to be one of the weakest high school football conferences I've ever seen.
Go back and listen to the interview with Reis and Jordan Berner. 4.0 GPA kid who is one of the defensive starters, who said that people in this region don't understand the level of commitment needed to play Division 1 football. I'd say he's right. Given that context, it's understandable that Hill has to go to Florida to fill out a roster. I wish football was better at the high school level here but until that happens we are going to have to go out of state for recruits. We did it in the Kill era when we were getting kids out of the Kansas community college system. We will still have to do it for the conceivable future unless there is a massive unforeseen population spike in this region.
Another point: even if we had held on, I'd still not be happy about this performance. If the D doesn't get seriously adjusted, it will be a very long year.
I agree completely. Semo runs the same play up the middle for huge yardage over and over and our defensive coach never seems to adjust to the play.
I'm not calling for Paulson to be fired, but I've always thought he is a little slow at making adjustments. SEMO periodically put as many as 7 in the box. Then zone blitzed with 1 to 3 guys. Can be difficult for OL's to count at times. There were times when we did have problems. And I feel our OL is coached incredibly well. We, almost exclusively, stay in our base 4-3. We basically simply go from base to nickle -- and back. Not a lot for the O coordinator to keep track of. Why can't we mix it up. Especially when the second half rolled around and it became very apparent we had no chance at stopping them from scoring. Why not bring a different player on a blitz on every play. We certainly weren't getting close to the QB in the second half. SEMO's QB appeared to be incredibly comfortable in the pocket. No push, at all, from our DT's up the middle.
Now finally to your point of the big runs continually given up. These show not only how an upgrade at DT is needed but I would argue a slightly different approach in our base package is also needed. Our DE's now line up always outside of the tackle (when there is no TE) and almost always outside the TE (when there is one). This is a result of our DE's not being able to set the edge in the recent past. It was a huge problem. It makes it easier to set the edge, but generates other problems. The first problem with this is that a simple wall block keeps our DE's out of any play that is in the A-C gaps. Fundamentals of the DT become more important when this happens. Hence, the second problem. Our DT's seem to lose their fundamentals far too often. The DT's have to keep their shoulders square when their responsibility grows to the A-C gaps. The second thing you teach the fat kids on defense, even when they are 7 or 8 years old, is to keep their shoulders square. As soon as they turn, they are out of the play. Again, a simple wall block is all that is needed. Our first level is now completely ineffective. This happened far too often. To compound this, our LB's seemed out of position. They were not as they moved along with their assignments in our D scheme. SEMO simply used formation to move our LB's in the second level. So with the DE's and DT's blocked, and the LB's moved out of the way, it was perfect for a dive play. And their back hit the hole fast. And in no way can one blame the secondary for having trouble catching a fast RB with a 20 yard head of steam by the time he hits the third level. I could go on with my complaints about our D scheme. But I won't. I'll simply address the running plays that gashed us.
Full disclosure, I'm not a fan of the 4-3 which is Paulson's base D. I would argue that, at this level, the hardest group to recruit quality players is the DL. Simply look at the last 4 years. The DL is the main reason we've had losing records. Even this year, this group is considerably upgraded, but it's still the weakest group on the team. Athletic LB's are easier to get. That's why I prefer the 3-4 for most teams under the FBS level. But I digress.
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
I too think Paulson is slow in adjusting during a game. Although he can't change the shortcomings of the D-line during a game he can make adjustments to the LB's to counter the dive play. I thought he would correct that at halftime but their RB, who was very quick, would shoot through a gap with no LB close just as he did the 1st half. The SEMO OC out-coached Paulson the whole game.
I think that the biggest disappointment from Saturday's loss is not just losing to a middle-of-the-road OVC team AT HOME but it's the realization that this program might not have improved as much as would have been hoped for this season.
I think that the biggest disappointment from Saturday's loss is not just losing to a middle-of-the-road OVC team AT HOME but it's the realization that this program might not have improved as much as would have been hoped for this season.
I agree with you OBD -- 100%.
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
I think that the biggest disappointment from Saturday's loss is not just losing to a middle-of-the-road OVC team AT HOME but it's the realization that this program might not have improved as much as would have been hoped for this season.
I agree with you OBD -- 100%.
Looks like we may struggle to even match the last two 4 win seasons .
I think that the biggest disappointment from Saturday's loss is not just losing to a middle-of-the-road OVC team AT HOME but it's the realization that this program might not have improved as much as would have been hoped for this season.
I agree with you OBD -- 100%.
Looks like we may struggle to even match the last two 4 win seasons .
We have got to get the DL fixed. No way we move forward with the defensive struggles we've had for basically the last 5 years.
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
SEMO RB Terry receives the National Offensive Player of the Week award for all of FCS this week. With 300 plus yards, he deserves it.
SEMO RB Terry receives the National Offensive Player of the Week award for all of FCS this week. With 300 plus yards, he deserves it.
This kid will be in a NFL camp.
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
Preseason All-American tailback Marquis Terry rushed for a school and Ohio Valley Conference record 311 yards and scored four touchdowns, to help give Southeast Missouri (2-1) a 48-44 win over rival Southern Illinois (1-2) Saturday. Terry was ill prior to the game, but had 166 yards in the first quarter alone. He ended up with a 438 all-purpose yards, also a SEMO and league record.
Looks like SIU's soft defense was just what Terry needed to make a record or two.
Preseason All-American tailback Marquis Terry rushed for a school and Ohio Valley Conference record 311 yards and scored four touchdowns, to help give Southeast Missouri (2-1) a 48-44 win over rival Southern Illinois (1-2) Saturday. Terry was ill prior to the game, but had 166 yards in the first quarter alone. He ended up with a 438 all-purpose yards, also a SEMO and league record.
Looks like SIU's soft defense was just what Terry needed to make a record or two.
Marquis Terry is an absolute stud. Problem is he shouldn't have had holes to run through as big as he did. Some of them were big enough to fit a Mack truck through. I don't think that's on our players. That is on the scheme.
It looked like one of those videos where they give the ball to a handicap kid and stayed out of his way to make him feel like he was really doing something great.
“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.”
-- Al McGuire
I think that the biggest disappointment from Saturday's loss is not just losing to a middle-of-the-road OVC team AT HOME but it's the realization that this program might not have improved as much as would have been hoped for this season.
Yup, this game was quite alarming. Hoping Hill and Co. figure things out quickly because the dynamic of Hill being evaluated by Jerry Kill could get awkward in a hurry if the program doesn't get turned around in the next year or two.
Then again, SIU seems to be OK with the flagship men's basketball program doing nothing for a decade-plus at a time, so why not football, I suppose ...
