Careless Football

[RobertoGato]

These types of things happen early in the year and can be cleaned up. 6 + games in, they don’t get fixed. That’s just who the Cats are. Call it lack of coaching, lack of discipline/focus on the players, whatever it is if it isn’t fixed by now it ain’t happening

Rovig learning to eat a sack can't happen 6 games in? A long snapper operation error can't be corrected 6 games in? They can't learn from a bad 4th and 1 play call this week, but four weeks ago they could have? This comment doesn't make sense to me.

[LIBBYCAT]

The logic and thought processing here baffles me sometimes.

[ilovethecats]

The logic and thought processing here baffles me sometimes.

Me too.

[Phat Daddy]

I hadn't thought much about the careless angle, but I think it has legs. Our ST have been careless all season and eventually that will contribute heavily to a loss if there isn't a heightened attention to focus and detail.

Careless or not, the inability to be balanced and pass the ball with even mediocrity, coupled with an inability to get off the field on third downs is what contributed to the Sac State loss. I have much more faith in our defense to get the train back on the tracks than I do our passing game.

All that said, Cats are 5-2 (2-1) with a loss to a power 5 school and the #15 team in FCS. With 5 games remaining, I think it is reasonable for them to figure out how to grind to 8-2 (5-1) at North Dakota, Southern Utah and at Northern Colorado. What happens from there on the road at Cal Davis and home against West Bonner JC will be what defines the season. Go Cats!

[BozoneCat]

I have felt all season that our biggest problem so far has been the sporadic self-inflicted errors we have made in every single game that have really put us in difficult situations. These errors are well chronicled in this thread. We are talented enough to overcome those errors against most teams, but they will be lethal against good teams, as we saw last weekend. NDSU is good enough to overcome those kind of errors too, yet they are disciplined enough that they rarely make them, which I think is the #1 reason why they are so good.

Last weekend could have been an entirely different game had we been able to punch that first drive in for a TD - up to that point, the drive was a thing of beauty and SSU couldn't stop us. We get a fantastic 3-and-out hold on defense and get good field position, then turn it over again with the worst 4-and-1 play call I can ever remember. SSU gets a short field and punches it in, has momentum and belief, and the rest is history. SSU made a good play on that interception, you have to give them credit for making a play there, but there was some carelessness on our part as well, not to mention some questionable play calling (why even try to pass there when we had run it down their throat the entire way down the field?). Hopefully this loss will be the punch in the gut this team needs in order to truly regain focus on the fundamentals that are affecting us every week, and we come out stronger for it. This team has the potential to be great, but has a long ways to go before getting there. I am optimistic that we will see a different team in 2 weeks and UND won't have a clue what hit them.