The Good, The Bad, and The Fugly. Game 4.

[Vapoke]

Every game is winnable just like every game is losable. Coach Bohl doesn't make excuses. The reality is Wyoming could very well be in a championship discussion simply because they do not quite they grind it out break the will. I will be up late watching the game next week.

[SlowPoke]

..... there have been ten times our opponent has been in the red zone. In those ten tries, they've come away with just 35 points .... Bend, don't break.

I don't think "bend, don't break" is Bohl's style of defense. His style defense is more like begrudging the opponent every yard down the field. "Bend, don't break" defense is a version of the losing defense invented by the Minnesota Viking known as the "prevent defense" which allows the opponent to march down the field in a lot of short steps. A mature Bohl defense won't give the offense any steps if possible.

Considering this is a whole new coaching staff working mostly with players recruited by Christensen, using a new defensive scheme and concept, it has been remarkable. It's more like a foreshadow of what's to come.

[DVDA]

Since no one else has said it, I will. Woods constantly was out-kicking his coverage. His poor punts nearly cost Wyoming the game. I'm hoping they get that fixed; Wyoming has to win the field position battle to win in conference.

[Asmodeanreborn]

Since no one else has said it, I will. Woods constantly was out-kicking his coverage. His poor punts nearly cost Wyoming the game. I'm hoping they get that fixed; Wyoming has to win the field position battle to win in conference.

...and on the topic of punts. I think we need a different punt returner.

[WyoExpat]

The Good:
Our kicker nailed some clutch FGs, including a 50 yarder.
Wick and May both had good days, with Wick getting another 100 yard game and both getting TDs.
The defense allowed only 1 TD all game, and that was with a lot of bad spots.
The defense also forced and recovered 3 fumbles.
Our run blocking is still good.
Rufran is still a good reciever.

The Bad:
The defense was gashed several times on the ground, generally with read options.
Our pass blocking is still pretty bad.
Kirk does not like to throw the ball away.
Our special teams coverage, which had been pretty good, let some big plays happen. Not many, which is why they are only here, but still.

The Ugly:
Offensive playcalling. Our first drive of the game results in a TD due to good power running and a couple of well timed play action passes. From there on, Vigen tried to get cutesy and it nearly cost us the game. Truth be told, it would have any other day, but he lucked out big time near the end with a fumble by FAU and a BIG play by Dominic Rufran. When Bohl came here, he said he was bringing smash mouth, ground and pound, grind'em up football on both sides. The defense is well on it's way there, but Vigen is trying his hardest to make a liar out of Bohl for the offense.

I have been following these message boards (Slider, Rivals, WyoNation) for a long time now and about the most consistent thing I have seen is that, but for the offensive play calling, we would probably be undefeated over the past 15-20 years. When was the last time we had a game when the offensive playcalling was not awful, ugly, and didn't cost us the game. As a student, the crowds consensus was that Tiller needed firing based on a .500 career record and the incompetent offensive play calling on every down. Rarely did I hear cheers from the student section for the team--during seasons that we went to bowl games and were in the Top 25.

What does a well-called offensive game look like? Clearly we have not had one since I was old enough to pay attention.

[American Horse]

@Wyoexpat
Great post. Every person that coaches knows the TRUE best coaches are those sitting in the stands (the fans.). However I will describe two scenarios to help answer your final question.

Team "A" runs two plays off tackle, gaining 4 yards each down. On 3rd and 2 a deep pass is called, protection holds up, pass is on target, receiver open....70 yard touchdown! Great call by the OC. Defense wasn't expecting that. He is a genius.

Now repeat the exact same scenario but this time the QB under throws the ball, resulting in a pick. OC is now an idiot. Why were we throwing when we are gaining 4 yds. a carry?

THAT is the difference between great play calling and poor play calling!

[gbpoke]

@Wyoexpat
Great post. Every person that coaches knows the TRUE best coaches are those sitting in the stands (the fans.). However I will describe two scenarios to help answer your final question.

Team "A" runs two plays off tackle, gaining 4 yards each down. On 3rd and 2 a deep pass is called, protection holds up, pass is on target, receiver open....70 yard touchdown! Great call by the OC. Defense wasn't expecting that. He is a genius.

Now repeat the exact same scenario but this time the QB under throws the ball, resulting in a pick. OC is now an idiot. Why were we throwing when we are gaining 4 yds. a carry?

THAT is the difference between great play calling and poor play calling!

So the moral of the story is that it all comes down to execution by the players on the field.

[joshvanklomp]

I don't think "bend, don't break" is Bohl's style of defense. His style defense is more like begrudging the opponent every yard down the field. "Bend, don't break" defense is a version of the losing defense invented by the Minnesota Viking known as the "prevent defense" which allows the opponent to march down the field in a lot of short steps. A mature Bohl defense won't give the offense any steps if possible.

You mean the Minnesota Viking defense that was commonly referred to as the Tampa-2 defense, run by Mike Tomlin, Leslie Frazier and Alan Williams from 2006-2013? That one?

Ask Craig Bohl the style of defense he runs, and he'll tell you: Tampa-2.

[SlowPoke]

You mean the Minnesota Viking defense that was commonly referred to as the Tampa-2 defense, run by Mike Tomlin, Leslie Frazier and Alan Williams from 2006-2013? That one?

Ask Craig Bohl the style of defense he runs, and he'll tell you: Tampa-2.

No, Minnesota would use a defensive alignment that tried to prevent the offense from completing a long pass or scoring a touchdown in a single play. They backed up so far that they concede short-yardage plays, to ensure that no receiver will be uncovered downfield or can get behind them. They typically used it when they had a lead, but almost alway turned the lead into a loss because it conceded momentum to the opponent which would prove impossible to get regain.

Actually, I believe the roots of the Tampa 2 system are in the Steel Curtain days of Pittsburgh football. The term, Tampa-2, describes the defensive scheme used by coach Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, but was based on Steeler's scheme under Chuck Knoll. But, I do agree with you that Bohl teams use the Tampa 2.

[TSpoke]

We didn't throw any screens even when it was obvious they were blitzing. Would have taken pressure off of Kirk a bit. Make FAU back off. Especially on 3rd downs where they really went for blitzes.

I've seen this mentioned a couple times but I distincly remembe at least 2 screen passes to May. They were prepared for them so they didn't work. ONe was either incomplete or tackle for loss and the other May ended up picking up a 3rd down and short just because of his speed, they had it sniffed out. The last one could have been a just a dump off but I remember it as a screen pass. I think FAU saw the Oregon tape and was ready for the screen everytime we tried it so we didn't try it much.

[Wyo2dal]

We didn't throw any screens even when it was obvious they were blitzing. Would have taken pressure off of Kirk a bit. Make FAU back off. Especially on 3rd downs where they really went for blitzes.

I've seen this mentioned a couple times but I distincly remembe at least 2 screen passes to May. They were prepared for them so they didn't work. ONe was either incomplete or tackle for loss and the other May ended up picking up a 3rd down and short just because of his speed, they had it sniffed out. The last one could have been a just a dump off but I remember it as a screen pass. I think FAU saw the Oregon tape and was ready for the screen everytime we tried it so we didn't try it much.

Most of those passes were just awful, You can't make a defense respect you as a QB is you can't hit a receiver. They weren't all about coverage some were just flat out poop passes and by some I mean most.

[WyoBrandX]

@Wyoexpat
Great post. Every person that coaches knows the TRUE best coaches are those sitting in the stands (the fans.). However I will describe two scenarios to help answer your final question.

Team "A" runs two plays off tackle, gaining 4 yards each down. On 3rd and 2 a deep pass is called, protection holds up, pass is on target, receiver open....70 yard touchdown! Great call by the OC. Defense wasn't expecting that. He is a genius.

Now repeat the exact same scenario but this time the QB under throws the ball, resulting in a pick. OC is now an idiot. Why were we throwing when we are gaining 4 yds. a carry?

THAT is the difference between great play calling and poor play calling!

So the moral of the story is that it all comes down to execution by the players on the field.

I'd have to agree here. In its simplest form, it is pretty predictable. You only have 3 groups of plays you can choose from. Run the ball. Throw the ball. Kick the ball. Seeings how nobody kicks the ball until 4th down, you have a 50% chance of predicting the group. Of course there are quite a few subsets of each group, but much of that depends on how much success they are having with each group.

[WyoBrandX]

You mean the Minnesota Viking defense that was commonly referred to as the Tampa-2 defense, run by Mike Tomlin, Leslie Frazier and Alan Williams from 2006-2013? That one?

Ask Craig Bohl the style of defense he runs, and he'll tell you: Tampa-2.

No, Minnesota would use a defensive alignment that tried to prevent the offense from completing a long pass or scoring a touchdown in a single play. They backed up so far that they concede short-yardage plays, to ensure that no receiver will be uncovered downfield or can get behind them. They typically used it when they had a lead, but almost alway turned the lead into a loss because it conceded momentum to the opponent which would prove impossible to get regain.

Actually, I believe the roots of the Tampa 2 system are in the Steel Curtain days of Pittsburgh football. The term, Tampa-2, describes the defensive scheme used by coach Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, but was based on Steeler's scheme under Chuck Knoll. But, I do agree with you that Bohl teams use the Tampa 2.

I believe it is actually a hybrid Tampa-2 system that Bohl uses. He has adapted it somewhat to keep it from getting stale.

[WyoBrandX]

We didn't throw any screens even when it was obvious they were blitzing. Would have taken pressure off of Kirk a bit. Make FAU back off. Especially on 3rd downs where they really went for blitzes.

I've seen this mentioned a couple times but I distincly remembe at least 2 screen passes to May. They were prepared for them so they didn't work. ONe was either incomplete or tackle for loss and the other May ended up picking up a 3rd down and short just because of his speed, they had it sniffed out. The last one could have been a just a dump off but I remember it as a screen pass. I think FAU saw the Oregon tape and was ready for the screen everytime we tried it so we didn't try it much.

Most of those passes were just awful, You can't make a defense respect you as a QB is you can't hit a receiver. They weren't all about coverage some were just flat out poop passes and by some I mean most.

I think Vigen was trying to make the defense respect the pass as much as possible. We weren't having much luck throwing the ball regardless. All passes and screens are pretty easy to pick up when you telegraph where you are throwing the ball for the preceding 2 seconds to release.

[Wyo2dal]

Ya a good pump fake or 3 receiver progression would do wonders for making a defense behave.

[kansasCowboy]

I don't think it's fair to blame Kirk for the fumble in this last one. 73 totally blew his block and that LB was right up in Kirk's face before he even new it. And he got blasted on that hit. I couldn't quite tell, but I think he was already in his throwing motion which means he didn't have a great grip on the ball when he was smashed. I'm definitely blaming 73 for that one.

[WYCowboy]

I don't think it's fair to blame Kirk for the fumble in this last one. 73 totally blew his block and that LB was right up in Kirk's face before he even new it. And he got blasted on that hit. I couldn't quite tell, but I think he was already in his throwing motion which means he didn't have a great grip on the ball when he was smashed. I'm definitely blaming 73 for that one.

#73 is Jake Jones. I don't think he played last week, but I might be wrong. He was supposed to be back this week. I agree with you though, whoever it was missed the block.

[CowboyNV]

I think #72 is Jake Jones, #73 is Roullier.

[WYCowboy]

I think #72 is Jake Jones, #73 is Roullier.

You are right - my mistake.

[stymeman]

just hope all this ugliness doesn't come back to embarrass us esp this weekend, i hate big $$ games for potential whoopings that may come up, but usually we cover and hope we do!!