The Bobcat Nation

I was sitting back and thinking what we need to do to win this game, so I went out and started studying the eagles stats. Here is what I have found and here is the link http://websrv.ewu.edu/groups/athletics/ ... m#TEAM.TEM

They look suspect especially in there special teams coverage. I think we have to take the ball instead of deferring. I think we should go pin it on them right away. They are allowing 25 yards on kick returns and we have been close a couple of times, maybe we can break on on htem right off the bat.

We can't forget about Groves, I will bet they are scratching their head a little bit this week. I feel if we keep things some what balanced about 60-40 or even 55-45 that we will keep them off balance. It looks like they like to blitz as they have 39 sacks this season, so we can keep them in check with the short dump off passes to Grove and the recievers, If they are going to pin hteir ears and send 6 guys.

We need to KEEP the penalties cleaned up (great job last week). Don't go and convert a long 3rd down for them. Let Kolone, Lowe and company take care of that. On the same note lets not get ourselves into 3rd and long. I have never been their but it looks like they only average about 7200 at each game and I think we might have 1000 of them there. So the line just needs to concentrate.

Last week it almost looked like Travis was a little hesitant to take off and run. He can't do this this week if it is there he has to take it.

PLAY ALL 60 Minutes. We thought we had them last year but I think we all remember what happened, don't let that happen again.

I have a lot of respect for Meyer, Kimble, and the rest of the offense but I am hoping with our CONSTANTLEY IMPROVING defnse that we can force at least 2 turnovers and hold them at bay.

***side question who do we match up on Kimble???

I think you're right on - this game can be won in the first quarter - put them behind and our pass defense should be able to keep thier high octane offense in check. If the game's close in the 4th quarter - I'm really worried about our chances.

IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG WEEK!

1) No turnovers or max 1

2) Special teams solid everywhere (especially kicking/kick coverage). If you give Meyer a short field it's just going to be that much easier for him.

3) Keep down stupid penalties/drive killers. (These are HUGE as it kills our offense drives and also keeps our defense on the field).

4) Create our own turnovers. This team has fed off anything thrown their way this year so if we can get some TO's it will be huge.

We score more points than EWU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saw this posted on a big sky site by a EWU fan...advantage cat passing game.

"I've just been informed we may have lost our 15th starter for the season with a blown knee. The All-Conference Safety, Brandon Keeler, injured it with less than a minute to go in yesterdays game..."

This is true. I found an article by Dave Timmer who follows them closely. He went out with minutes remaining on the clock Saturday night.

bronco wrote:Saw this posted on a big sky site by a EWU fan...advantage cat passing game.

"I've just been informed we may have lost our 15th starter for the season with a blown knee. The All-Conference Safety, Brandon Keeler, injured it with less than a minute to go in yesterdays game..."

confirmed...obzerver has posted that in another thread...

and since the cat's d is not really that good...yet

msu 50 ewu 49

TL and EM break NCAA record for total O in a game combined
hell's discovers that Kalua and coffee arent good together after his 100th cup

We need to put consistent pressure on Meyer. Lay him on his butt a few times and get him looking over his shoulder and hurrying some throws. We do that, and I think we win this game. Eastern has an amazing offense, and they are going to score some points, but if we can force them to make a couple mistakes by hurrying throws, we will win.

Does anyone remember the game UM played against BSU back in the old days when the griz had Dickenson? UM came to Boise flying high and were huge favorites, but BSU pulled it all together and put Dickenson on his back on almost every single play. BSU absolutely killed them that day. I would love to see MSU do something similar.

In some ways I think our defense has been retooled just for EWU. Last season our light d-linemen chased Meyer all over the field for 3 quarters-and knocked him silly a couple of times. But by the 4th quarter we were so tired we couldn't do anything and they draw played us and passed us to death like we weren't even on the field. Our new defense (which has been frustrating to watch at times) is designed to keep a team like EWU in front of us. They'll have to march it down the field 5-10-15 yards at a time-all the while risking interceptions, fumbles, penalities. Also, their o-line will have to be on the field longer and pass block longer and maybe tire out. Furthermore, we will limit the effectiveness of screen passes and draw plays. If we pin our ears back and chase Meyer all over the field all we'll do is get tired and be gutted in the 4th quarter.

Our offense will have to do their part and then some. We'll have to score a lot of points to win.

Perhaps the worst thing we could do is get off to a big lead and start feeling good about ourselves. EWU sometimes starts slow, but when they get it rolling they are impossible to stop. Maybe it's better in the long run to keep the game close-force their play calling to be more cautious.

Maybe the Mick Durham theory of road games is the best philosophy for at EWU. Keep the game close, hang-around, and hope you have a chance at the end to win it.

To win we must avoid turnovers, eliminate special teams blunders, and score an awful lot of points.

Sounds great, Bozone, but will be nearly impossible to accomplish unless some of those injuries have been to Eastern's offensive line since the Griz game.

Meyer may not run as much as Lulay, but he's probably better than Big Red at eluding a pass rush. I think it's safe to say that the Griz are better at rushing the QB than we are, yet they only sacked him twice and didn't get consistent pressure on him all day.

If our coverage guys can keep a blanket on Kimble & Vijil (and don't forget what McIntyre did to the Griz), then MAYBE delayed blitzes by our LB's will have some success. I think we'd do better that way because if an O-lineman doesn't have a guy to block when the ball is snapped, his tendency will be to "gang up" on our 3 D-lineman & it's then tougher for him to release that block & come off to a LB flying in.

I don't want to sound too pessimistic here, but I do believe it's going to be difficult if not impossible for our D to hold the Eagles to fewer than 40 points. That being said, EVERY offensive possession for us will be critical; IMO, if Travis punts more than 3 times, we will be in trouble; even 3 might be too many!

BozoneCat wrote:We need to put consistent pressure on Meyer. Lay him on his butt a few times and get him looking over his shoulder and hurrying some throws. We do that, and I think we win this game. Eastern has an amazing offense, and they are going to score some points, but if we can force them to make a couple mistakes by hurrying throws, we will win.

Does anyone remember the game UM played against BSU back in the old days when the griz had Dickenson? UM came to Boise flying high and were huge favorites, but BSU pulled it all together and put Dickenson on his back on almost every single play. BSU absolutely killed them that day. I would love to see MSU do something similar.

Joe O'brien played in that game and sacked Dickinson a couple of times. One thinkg that Meyer has over Lulay is speed. He is the fastest QB in the BSC, but not as good a broken field runner

Helcat72 wrote:

BozoneCat wrote:We need to put consistent pressure on Meyer. Lay him on his butt a few times and get him looking over his shoulder and hurrying some throws. We do that, and I think we win this game. Eastern has an amazing offense, and they are going to score some points, but if we can force them to make a couple mistakes by hurrying throws, we will win.

Does anyone remember the game UM played against BSU back in the old days when the griz had Dickenson? UM came to Boise flying high and were huge favorites, but BSU pulled it all together and put Dickenson on his back on almost every single play. BSU absolutely killed them that day. I would love to see MSU do something similar.

Joe O'brien played in that game and sacked Dickinson a couple of times. One thinkg that Meyer has over Lulay is speed. He is the fastest QB in the BSC, but not as good a broken field runner

Don't know where you heard that because he's not faster. Meyer ran in the 4.9 + area for pro day last year and had one of his 40's timed over 5. Lulay's faster.

Let's really mess with their minds. First series: one down lineman and 10 D-Back's. Series two: seven down lineman and 4 D-Back's. They may win but boy will they be confused!

I think what could kill the Cats is the run. Both teams are pretty balanced other than that. If Cole for EWU has success he could be the X factor. I know the Cats had a good running game last week but that's one game and that's against Suc St. I'll believe the Cats found a running game when it's against somebody good. Who ever has the ball last will probably win. This game is huge for the Cats in my opinion. Cats have struggled with everybody ranked this year except NDSU. I think this will show the Cats are better than advertised with a win and scare the hell out of me for Cat/Griz or over rated with a loss.

gtapp wrote:Let's really mess with their minds. First series: one down lineman and 10 D-Back's. Series two: seven down lineman and 4 D-Back's. They may win but boy will they be confused!

That's funny, but true. We will have to go 3-4 the whole game with a ton of blitzing. Put the pressure on Meyer early and often, possilbly forcing some early mistakes to capitalize on. Don't give up the big play. If we make them work for every score we have a chance at keeping them under 35. If they score more than 35 I don't like our chances.

Speaking of big plays, I think this is the week where Travis connects on a few of those 50 yard bombs.

1) a factor to consiter is that eastern has 15 players not playing due to injury including their top people in the d backfield *trufaunt* and a safety whos name excapes me but the fact that he is the big skys leader in tackles

2) this is the same d that let dom have 150 yards rushing and made him look like peyton? with improvments mind you but still..

i brought that up because i have an idea

if the cats get...lets say a 14 point lead on eastern would we have to worry about cole?

HB, we're missing our two safety's in Gregor Smith(hardest hitter on the team) and now Brandon Keeler(leading tackler). Secondary will have their hands full and TL will take advantage. Weather could be a little wet and running the ball(surprising enough ) could be the difference in this game. RB Ryan Cole shouldn't have even played last week, he has an infection in his leg which caused it to swell up as if he took an injection of Viagra instead of Cortisone. Our backup is a true freshman walk-on as the four other RB's in front of him are out due to injury. Our one backup may be back(Dale Morris, brother of the RB Morris from the Seahawks) and he should help a bit...Don't blink in this the game or you'll miss something!

Obzerver wrote:HB, we're missing our two safety's in Gregor Smith(hardest hitter on the team) and now Brandon Keeler(leading tackler).

i was also under the impression that trufant was either hurt or out...im guessing he must be playing this weekend...my bad

Secondary will have their hands full and TL will take advantage. Weather could be a little wet and running the ball(surprising enough ) could be the difference in this game. RB Ryan Cole shouldn't have even played last week, he has an infection in his leg which caused it to swell up as if he took an injection of Viagra instead of Cortisone.

oooh man pardon me while i laugh....damn! poor kid

Our backup is a true freshman walk-on as the four other RB's in front of him are out due to injury. Our one backup may be back(Dale Morris, brother of the RB Morris from the Seahawks) and he should help a bit...Don't blink in this the game or you'll miss something!

at least you guys are healing up a bit...from what you have described the eagles were snake bit this year...possibly bad luck i hope

he has an infection in his leg which caused it to swell up as if he took an injection of Viagra instead of Cortisone

I didn't know I could blow beer through my nose. Thanks.

if the cats get...lets say a 14 point lead on eastern would we have to worry about cole?

That's a good question, how many points would the Cats need to be up before they relaxed and felt they had the win in hand?