Roadblocks to Frisco
Ok, so I am a Project Manager and look at things differently than most. If the project was to win the MVFC and get to the FCS national championship game a briefing to the stakeholders would include risks to achieving this goal and also suggestions for improvement to mitigate those risks. Some of my thoughts at this point in the season are as follows.
Great to see the Bison at 9-0, but seems like the Bison rely too much on turnovers, defense rising to the occasion, and other teams mistakes for too many of those 9 victories. Yes, some of the ball bouncing the right way is part of college football, but I see many weaknesses on this Bison team that could prevent a perfect season and / or a long run in the playoffs. Here are some risk / issues and maybe some ideas to make things better. Please add your comments:
1. Offense needs to finish drives and score more often. Too many stalled out drives, often on the opponents side of the field. At least 3 of them in the Indiana State game. Seems except for the occasional flea flicker the play calling gets too predictable. Also untimely penalties are a factor. The offense needs to have better focus and a killer instinct to get the job done. Another benefit of sustained drives is the defense gets a good rest and the opponents offense is off the field.
2. Defense gives up the big play and is on the field too long. Breakdowns in secondary coverage and too soft of coverage are a problem. Why are the Bison playing 10 yards off the wideouts all the time? Just like giving the opponent 5 yards if they want it. Also when NDSU blitzes to get pressure on the QB 90% of the time its up the middle which often gets picked up. Just like with the offense the Bison are too predictable on defense. Not enough 3 and outs for the other teams. At the same time Bison offense is on the sideline getting cold.
3. Catch the ball. When you are wide open you can't be dropping a pass. Holloway I am talking about you. You need to have Smith give you some of the finer points of how to make a catch. Has Smith dropped one yet this year? Most of his catches are unbelievable. So who is Moody kid from ND. Did a great job yesterday. 3 catches for 30 yards and then I think he got hurt. Hope he is OK. I would bench Holloway and start Moody for YSU. The Bison need receivers that are clutch not clutz's.
4. Open up the passing game. Anybody notice how other teams have learned to throttle the Bison dink n dunk passing game? Also notice how the mid range passes (if not dropped) are going well for the Bison. Funny how most Bison scoring drives involve the passes downfield. I think the passing game needs more variety and should be mixed up with more emphasis on downfield passing. This would blow open games for the Bison as the running game and dink n dunk passes would go for 8 yards everytime. Also need to start using the TE on some short to medium passes over the middle, not along the sidelines.
5. Hit the hole faster on short yardage. The Bison have to stop with the deep handoffs when its 3rd or 4th down and 1 yard to go. Instead use quick hitting plays with the FB, or how about a QB sneak? Bison really need to do a better job converting on short yardage. Definitely a weak spot for this team.
6. More contributions from special teams. This is not really a weakness, but great teams benefit a lot from special team efforts and nothing crushes the opponent better than a quick score. Bison have had a few big special team plays this year, but need a bunch more on the way to Frisco. Put Williams in for all kickoff returns. How about trying out Voitlander's ability to pull off a fake punt? Also try more all out rushes to block punts.
In summary, the Bison are on a roll and seem to have a great deal of confidence to win games. If anything is holding back this team it appears to be the overly conservative game plan of the coaches. Not that coaches should suddenly change everything and do things radically different. Just be innovative and build on what is working, not just run the same 5 or 10 plays. The biggest concern is what happens if the Bison have a game where turnovers are not in their favor, or the defense doesn't make that big play. Can the conservative offense come through with enough scores, or make a game winning drive at the end of the game?
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Originally Posted by RowdyRabbit
