Sunday, October 20, 2013

Offensive Offense

I

This is what the CU offense feels like



Penn 21 Columbia 7



Why Penn Won

The Quakers dominated the stat sheet, holding Columbia's offense to just four first downs, while converting an amazing 50% of their own 3rd down plays. Penn was characteristically inconsistent overall, but at their best in the clutch.


Why Columbia Lost 

Save for one spectacular sequence, the Lion offense never got going and wasted a tremendous effort by the defense. Columbia was a stunning 0 for 13 on 3rd downs and the play calling again seemed to be made by coaches who refuse to work with the personnel they have.


Key Turning Points

-With Columbia leading 7-0 and just under five minutes to play in the first half, Penn faced a tough 3rd and 12 at the Lion 17. But QB Ryan Becker was able to spot Mitchell King step-by-step in coverage with the much shorter CU corner Trevor Bell. Becker tossed the ball just out of Bell's reach, into King's hands for the TD.

-Penn got the ball back with 1:50 left in the half at their own 36 and promptly marched right down the field for the go-ahead TD. A key play on the drive was a simple roll out pass to RB Kyle Wilcox for 32 yards. Another key play was a missed interception by LB Brian East who had the ball in his hands and lots of real estate in front of him, but he dropped the ball.

-Columbia's defense kept the Lions in the game, and gave them another good chance when Jeremy Mingo picked off Billy Ragone's pass at the CU 28 just a few seconds into the 4th quarter. But on the very next play, Columbia QB Kelly Hilinski threw the ball right back to Penn on an INT by Evan Jackson. The Quakers eventually scored the icing TD on the ensuing possession.

Columbia Positives

-The defense played tough all four quarters and Chad Washington, Zach Olinger and Mingo had outstanding games.

-The flea flicker from Hilinski to fellow freshman Cameron Dunn was a pretty play that got the crowd going and set up a TD one play later.

Columbia Negatives

-RB Marcorus Garrett never had much room all day and he was held under 50 yards rushing for the game.

-The offense was inept, but not so much because of poor offensive line play. The play calling is especially egregious with a freshman QB and a mostly freshman WR corps. The coaching staff just doesn't seem to allow Hilinski to throw it short, throw screens or run out of trouble more often. Calling for longer pass after longer pass when the receivers can't get separation and the QB can't zip the ball is a recipe for diaster.

Columbia MVP

-Punter Paul Delaney was named the official John Toner MVP of the game, and I agree with that call. He was a big reason the CU defense was able to hold Penn off the scoreboard for so long.






67 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jake,
I disagree about the defensive play. Once the ball carrier gets past the LOS the first tackler NEVER brings him down.
GP

Anonymous said...

Agree with GP comment. We were talking in the stands about the failure to wrap up -- in contrast to what we saw from Penn.

Anonymous said...

Fire M now. It's too stressful to detail this coaching debacle.
Every aspect of the coaching is ridiculous. The only normal
function by this team is the punting and the coaches had
nothing to do with that.

Anonymous said...

Fire M now. It's too stressful to detail this coaching debacle.
Every aspect of the coaching is ridiculous. The only normal
function by this team is the punting and the coaches had
nothing to do with that.

Anonymous said...

This program has loss for decades and you want a coach in his second year fired? You my friend are an idiot.

Anonymous said...

I find it very hard to believe how anyone could criticize the Defense yesterday. From what I observed, the defense came off the field for a drink and a very short break , only to be called out again. What I observed about the Offense was that they couldn't get a running or passing game going. They never moved on the field , it was not only boring when the offense was out there it was really sad. It's pretty bad when the fans start cheering for the defense to score for the team . I would be embarrassed and humiliated if I were the OC .

Anonymous said...

No, no, let's keep a guy who has lost the team, doesn't teach tackling and has scored UNDER 50 points in 5 games. I repeat, scored UNDER 50 points in 5 games! By all means give him a contract extension! Now who is the moron? Go look in the mirror!

When Pete got the job, he said that he had a 4-year plan. How's that working out? Seriously, have we not learned anything from keeing vcoaches too long? See Tellier and Norries for reference!

Hot Dog Committee are you listening???!!! You know what, WHY do I even reference them? They have an inate ability to do nothing!

Anonymous said...

No, my friend, you are the idiot...also one of the newer graduates who never heard of the word or function of hyperbole, although I'm not exaggerating that much.
M is not a second-year coach, he's a 30- plus year coach in
the NFL and college including an Ivy stint. I know he is not going to be fired this year by the customer-information clerks in Mumbai, Murphy and Bollinger. But why does every new hire have to reinvent the square Columbia football wheel?

Anonymous said...

The offense is bad because the O-Line is inexperienced, pourous and weak. They didn't drive anyone off the ball, they gave up numerous sacks and they looked afraid out there!

Anonymous said...

Great, he's a 30 year (plus) choach who talks "at" players and not "to" them. Let me know if I need to use crayons to explain them to you.

This is what I've seen since Pete's been here... The kids are not prepared (see margin of losses (opponents 177, CU 45 points). He is inflexible about his system(refuses to adjust to personnel), and he blames the kids, not himself, the coaches, or the "system" for these losses.


So if we go 0-10, it's all part of Pete's Master Plan? Silly me... How's that working out for him?

Anonymous said...

Because they were outweighed by 30 lbs per man. Although in general I agree it's too early to give up on the hc and you can't turn a losing program around in a year, this team in all aspects, especially attitude which trickles down from the top, is the worst, least competitive and poorest prepared I have seen in last 4 years. Not a good sign. PM did better with NW's guys on the field!!

Anonymous said...

Because they were outweighed by 30 lbs per man. Although in general I agree it's too early to give up on the hc and you can't turn a losing program around in a year, this team in all aspects, especially attitude which trickles down from the top, is the worst, least competitive and poorest prepared I have seen in last 4 years. Not a good sign. PM did better with NW's guys on the field!!

oldlion said...

The heart of the problem is the offensive line. No push and minimal pass protection. To what extent is this the fault of the coaches? And if all it took was to change the play book I would think that we would have done so. PS, I was baffled by the final two time outs. Bags was trying to run out the last 90 seconds, he had the ball deep in our territory, and we almost seemed as if we wanted to give Penn a chance to tack another 7 on us.

Anonymous said...

Heard Robt.Kraft was at the game . Seems to me that it was a perfect opportunity for our very generous alumni or even you Jake to speak to him about what bothered you this season.

Anonymous said...

It most certainly is the coaches fault re the o line. It the same group we had last year with a whole year of training and being in the system and they are worse than last year.

Anonymous said...

Old Lion I agree that there is no push but there is plenty of pass protection.

Anonymous said...

Are we at 4 years yet or can you not count calendar years moron. The start of the second year of a four year plan. Overreaction is what your vocation must be. Or "head jerk".

Anonymous said...

Looked afraid? What a crock of sh?;t. Pass protection was adequate. I agree no push. 3 sacks given up on the day is not a plethora.

Anonymous said...

Line looked much better yesterday. Much better.

Anonymous said...

TOAL! Wake up Bollinger!

Anonymous said...

TOAL! Wake up Bollinger!

Anonymous said...

There are three freshman starting on the OL. Same as last year? What are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

What O-Line were you watching yesterday? They were HORRIBLE!!! 118total yards speaks volumes! These are facts, not a subjective opinion. Did they open up holes? Yes, and Penn's defense went right through.

Freshmen may be able to play in the skilled positions, but but they have no right to play on the O-Line. they're just too small, weak and intimidated. Thius is the 5th week that we keep talking about the same things.

This is NOT a question of getting rid of Argast and things will all of a sudden get nbatter. If Pete want's to stick with theis underclassmen line, then SIMPLIFY the game plan so that they can actually execute. It's embarassing to watch 118 yards throughout the game (and 1 play was a 46 yard trick play).

The OC and Pete need to go!

Anonymous said...

Is 0-10 acceptable? If so, I’ll get in to coaching as well. How could I be any worse?

Seriously, what is the threshold for saying enough is enough. Quite frankly, I’m getting tired of the excuses “this is only Pete’s second year” and “believe in the system”. Well, it’s hard to do both when we haven’t seen any improvement. So when people tell us to be patient, PLEASE tell me what is acceptable? 3-7 last year, 0-10 this year, what next year?

Anonymous said...

TOAL

Anonymous said...

Not sure we are all watching the same team. See D and O stats, both very poor.

GP

Anonymous said...

Delaney earned MVP honors and should be first team All-Ivy. His stats overwhelm nearest competitor. Watch it go to penn or Harvard punter tho. Zach Olinger's tackle numbers are off the charts too. Marcorous is best back in the league. Please Support the players on this blog and wherever else you can.

Al's Wingman said...

It will be interesting to see who steps up on the "day of giving" which is this coming week. O)r at least who is public about what they gave. Same old people or who exactly is in Pete's camp? Who believes in this guy and the subpar staff he has assembled? On one hand it is fair to say he inherited not enough talent to compete but he has failed to do what good coaches do and that is create an atmosphere everyone believes in. Even in losses there is a belief that perseveres. I'm not in the locker room obviously but it does not seem the team or the fans are behind this program. How can the donors be or what donors specifically are?

Anonymous said...

Excellent point Wingman. I will not be giving to football. People on this blog talk a big game. Time to hold on to your wallets!

Anonymous said...

Keep going Loins. Keep working. It will come together. As for you nagging nannies, knock it off!

Anonymous said...

I bet you know a great deal about being intimidated since you constantly refer to this. How do you know what's in their heads? They gave up 3 sacks. If they were intimidated then Penn should have had 20 sacks. Leave your dime store psychology to YOUR patients only.

Anonymous said...

What an excuse for not giving money!!

Anonymous said...

With as much as this team drops back to pass, 2 or 3 sacks is not a lot to give up. We don't give the ball to Garrett enough.,

Anonymous said...

I'll be giving money but not to Football. Don't penalize other athletes and programs because football has been horribly mismanaged.

By the way, the O line sucks horribly and yet Pete was the O Line coach at Tampa Bay. Looks like Morris was correct in firing him.....and it took a sucker like Murphy to pick him off the scrap heap

Anonymous said...

Pete just took over the ol to be fair. They have improved in the two weeks he has had them. Nice try though coach who didn't get hired . Sour grapes!!

Anonymous said...

Players are going to rise to the occasion . They are working and not giving up. They want to prove you ney sayers wrong !

Anonymous said...

We should all go back and closely inspect Pete's NFL record. Upon examination his offenses were horrible when he was offensive line coach. Very similar to the pattern here. Coaches were all fired for poor offenses very shortly after his arrival.
The exception was New England where he had a smaller role as the tight ends coach. The team was good but Dante Scarnecchia was clearly in charge of the offensive line.
Pete's record really needs closer inspection. His accomplishments are not clearly there. I have to question the standing of his accomplishments. He was in the NFL but there was not much success directly attributable to him.

Anonymous said...

Only 3 sacks. Adequate? 8 throws. Get real! One of those was untouched that could have killed the QB,

Anonymous said...

It seems like most of you need a life ! This bashing is really low rent and is not helping our players.

parent of player

Anonymous said...

Underclassmen (Freshmen) should NOT be on the offensive line! They should be playing JV so that can get stronger, gain experience, and . Oh wait, we don't have a JV program!!!

Anonymous said...

Interested to know how the freshman offensive lineman has been such a detriment to the team. Personally, I just haven't seen it. The majority of rushing yards and TD's have come on his side, I don't think I've ever seen him penalized and he's holding his own against seniors and even 5th year seniors. Googling him I see that he came out of the 6th strongest HS football conference in the country according to Bleacher Report and Max Preps. Granted he could be stronger but he must have been as strong or technically sound as any of the upperclassman and frosh recruits. Just my take.

Anonymous said...

Well we have one at the most important position on the O-line and he's playing pretty damned good. So much for your outdated proclamations. There are freshman ball players all over the country playing in all positions so why should this be any different if he can do the job? The left tackle at Alabama (kwanjo) started as a freshman and coincidentally comes from the same league/conference as our freshman starter.

oldlion said...

Pace also has a huge upside. He just turned 17 and is big and athletic. I wish we had five of him.

Anonymous said...

Nothing on pace directly, but cu had a kid from new mexico that was an all american in high school according to those publications and he wouldn't have started on a high school jv team...granted he was 150 pounds and around 5. 6 at tailback and didn't haveblistering speed or many cali kids from years past that were in similar spots, but just weren't that good so I, personally, tend to doubt the publications. Each player is his own entity regardless of how highly or lowly touted their high school league was.

Anonymous said...

I still haven't heard any comments from the homecoming dinner? I did hear anonymous bloggers are frowned upon...lol

Anonymous said...

Good coaches are hard to find, of course. A very high-profile, well-paying job at USC went to someone who had to be fully vetted but who's been fired at mid-season.

And, who was available when Columbia was looking? That's not to suggest Mangurian was the only one and had to be taken, but there are circumstantial limitations, especially for a job at a school with Columbia's history.

oldlion said...

Football dinner report: Bill C gave an impassioned speech urging patience and support. Pete M gave a detailed informative presentation in which he went through what he is trying to achieve. According to one of the attendees, who has been highly critical, Pete actually was very impressive in his command of the subject and his candor.

Anonymous said...

Then Pete is one of the best salesmen in the country. He's selling ENRON stock and Alumns are eatiung it up. We're stuck with him for at least two more years because BILL C doesn't want to admit (another) mistake.

When I played on the O-Line we had one of the CO-MVPs from Emmet Smith's HS at CU (USA Today's #1 team in the nation), All-State (in Florida no less), and he never cracked the 2nd string. So much for your polls and ratings.

Anonymous said...

If you had 5 Pace playing O-Line, the ER room would be full. He should be playing JV and that's it. Hopefully, someone will teach him technique, footwork and to hit the weights this off season.

Anonymous said...

118 TOTAL yards speaks volumes about the O-Line. This is very difficult to refute. Poor Garrett. he might be one of the best RBs in the League, but we'll never know. He has the most potential, but this is a league (like all others) based on statistics. he can't run if people don't block.

Anonymous said...

Patience and support echoed by Bill C, huh? Is this 1987 (McElreavy)? 1997 (Tellier), 20003 (Shoop), 2010 (Wilson), and now, 2013 with Pete. Do you see a pattern here?

Bill, do us all a favor, keep your money (blasphemy, I know). Get your nose out of the football business. Leave us alone so that we can pick a good coach and let us win. YOUR formula hasn't worked in 3 decades. Thanks for everything, now move on...

Anonymous said...

Every week the same cry babies complain about something that has been transpiring for years and act like Mangurian is at fault. Wake up and deal with it. #76 is a beast at barely 17 years of age and it sounds like the sooner the negative Nancy's accept it the better because you can't change the coach or the line up. GO LIONS

Anonymous said...

Bill Campbell nixed Greg Toal!

CULionPride said...

My only comment is that when the punter is the MVP of the homecoming game, enough is said. Delaney is an outstanding punter, but in my opinion a punter should not be the MVP of a game, but then again he did punt 12 times. Enough said.

Anonymous said...

1.) Get over Toal. That ship has sailed. So what if Don Bosco's line is bigger than ours. So what if they have 3 Div-1 recruits on their line! We're leaner... now what?

2.) that's right Pace is barely 17. next year he'll be barely 18 (insert new excuse here). And the following year, and so forth... Agreed woith the previous post-er. He should be playing JV. Pete will ruin his confidence by the way he is playing aganst men.

oldlion said...

Fordham also took a pass on Toal. He may be a great HS coach, but he could have also been the second coming of Jim Garrett. Remember that he ran Jabril Peppers off of Bosco, and Peppers may be the best D1 prospect to come out of Bergen County in my very long memory. This isn't a jab of Toal, just a cautionary note that what works at a powerhouse high school which can pick and choose its players may not work at the college level.

Anonymous said...

Pace will be all Ivy. What will he see next year that he won't have already seen? If he stays healthy the sky's the limit for that student athlete.

Anonymous said...

He will only get bigger and stronger. Could grow several more inches too.

Anonymous said...

Jake,

you hit it when you said the receivers can't get separation. I still don't know why. The QB could have made better decisions but HOW MANY times are we supposed to put FROSH OLINE, REC and QB and ask them to thrown BOMBS once a series? I get that MG wasn't as sharp? if that's even fair-the adjustments made by Penn WOWRKED! We looked like a team in the 1st Q that could compete!!

then Penn adjusted

then we stopped throwijng short, med passes, they blitzed and a 6'6" QB can only "move" so much to avoid the jail break rush when a 5 step 50 yard bomb is the play!

where is the check down?

would love to know why we didn't make the same adjustments and keep the play calling alternating in a high percentage option pass...Kids got an arm but we dropped a few good ones and probably could have used 2 plays to get ten instaed o fone to get 15...

OH YEA,

whose faults is it when a team is penalized so heavily?

the kids again I guess.

wow-started with so much energy and promise

ended with a beat up QB, exhausted D who played their asses off for being on he field so long.

I can only hope for intervention in play calling- we have the basis for a good team in 2 years...but have to get the confidence by being competitive NOW

Anonymous said...

OldLion- Peppers left Bosco for a very sensitive incident (insert Marcellius Wiley refere here). the School recommended they they part ways, NOT Toal. I know that you are a factual guy, I just wanted to set the record strait.

Anonymous said...

Are we still talking about high school coaches and players. Let get back to finding fault with our freshman lineman..
WTF
ps it is still sarcasm even if you don''t get it!

Anonymous said...

Earlier poster said we have "the basis for a good team in two years." Not without a tailback, and finding one or two to replace Garrett won't be easy, never has been at CU.

Anonymous said...

And so, the Homecoming losing streak continues. Can we start calling this the Curse of 9/11 being that the Lions haven't won a Homecoming since since-2000, post-9/11/01.

Anonymous said...

I'll trade a senior RB for a QB, o-lineman and receivers...go with an empty backfield and throw it all the time...oh wait, that's what we are doing now. still like it better than one great back. so will you in 2 years

Jake said...

In the last seven years, we have wasted the talents of three players who were either the best in a generation at their positions for CU or in the top 2. WR Austin Knowlin, RB Marcorus Garrett and QB Sean Brackett.

Anonymous said...

Jake, I don't think you can say we "wasted" their talents. How can you say that about Knowlin who became our all-time leading receiver? Brackett looked terrific until he was hemmed in by the coaches his senior year, okay, I guess you can call that season a waste. And if you mean that we didn't have winning records with these guys, okay again, that would certainly apply to Garrett. But as we've learned many times you need more than a couple of stars to light up the sky at Baker.

Anonymous said...

Looking online at FCS offensive stats and Columbia is right at the bottom in many categories. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Hank Trumbull taking snaps as QB before this season is over. If I'm Columbia, I'd think about firing the offensive coaches.