National Championship Postives

[PapaG]

If your assessment on Gronowski is how he played in the first half yesterday (or even the first half against the Cats) and then saying look at how Tommy played against NDSU you are hand picking games to support your opinion. I told my dad at halftime yesterday this thing is over. The Jacks played one of their worst halves of football yesterday and still have the lead at half time.
How MG played yesterday was not how he played all season and how Tommy played versus the Bison was his best game all season. Does MG benefit from playing with a ton of talent around him, yes. But so does TM.

And you knuckleheads with an ax to grind on Housewright are just idiots. We had one of the most prolific offense in all of the FCS. We had some of the best defenses heads spinning and had as much success versus the Jacks as any team. If you want him fired for other reasons I can see that but griping about the offensive play calling means you aren't paying attention and should get zero respect here.

My assessment of Housewright is heavily weighted by who he is as a coach to some players and also his completely stupid actions in the car wreck incident and subsequently trying to not take any responsibility for what happened. That he tries to get too cute at times with misdirection early in games is also considered. I don’t think he’s miles ahead of other OCs and his immaturity off the field and interactions with players on it soured me on the guy to be a representative of MSU. That said, his offense produced so firing him for performance would be without merit and wouldn’t make sense without the other factors.

[Prodigal Cat]

If your assessment on Gronowski is how he played in the first half yesterday (or even the first half against the Cats) and then saying look at how Tommy played against NDSU you are hand picking games to support your opinion. I told my dad at halftime yesterday this thing is over. The Jacks played one of their worst halves of football yesterday and still have the lead at half time.
How MG played yesterday was not how he played all season and how Tommy played versus the Bison was his best game all season. Does MG benefit from playing with a ton of talent around him, yes. But so does TM.

And you knuckleheads with an ax to grind on Housewright are just idiots. We had one of the most prolific offense in all of the FCS. We had some of the best defenses heads spinning and had as much success versus the Jacks as any team. If you want him fired for other reasons I can see that but griping about the offensive play calling means you aren't paying attention and should get zero respect here.

My assessment of Housewright is heavily weighted by who he is as a coach to some players and also his completely stupid actions in the car wreck incident and subsequently trying to not take any responsibility for what happened. That he tries to get too cute at times with misdirection early in games is also considered. I don’t think he’s miles ahead of other OCs and his immaturity off the field and interactions with players on it soured me on the guy to be a representative of MSU. That said, his offense produced so firing him for performance would be without merit and wouldn’t make sense without the other factors.

And if read my post I said "If you want him fired for other reasons I can see that". I just think play calling is a crutch that keyboard warriors like to use when their team loses. The facts bear out that the Cats had a top 3 offense in the country all while playing a top 5 hardest strength of schedule.
The truth is except for one game when pretty much the whole team stunk it up, the offense put the team in position to win those games. It was refs in one case and special teams in the other 2 that lost those games.
And when it comes to interactions with players there are multiple Cat players that vocalized their support for him. Your only interaction with him is through interviews so i'll take the players side who are with him daily on that one.

[BelligerentBobcat]

And you knuckleheads with an ax to grind on Housewright are just idiots. We had one of the most prolific offense in all of the FCS. We had some of the best defenses heads spinning and had as much success versus the Jacks as any team. If you want him fired for other reasons I can see that but griping about the offensive play calling means you aren't paying attention and should get zero respect here.

House has some share of the blame for our late season collapse, and you giving him a complete pass is just as idiotic.

Our offense was good for sure. But that's due to the talent level just as much than anything Housewright did. Plus, a ton of the points we scored were against bad teams. We ran it up against Poly, ewu and nau but we scored 7 in Missoula, which was less than every other team the griz played this season except unc. Idaho State's offense performed better in Missoula than MSU did. We scored 16 points at sdsu and you're using that as an example of how great our offense was?? I don't want House fired or anything, but come on, is he your uncle or something? With the talent we had on offense, ANY decent football mind could do what House did last season.

40 points at Weber was impressive. That was really the only impressive offensive output against a decent defense. Am I forgetting anything?

16 points against SDSU was almost double their season average. Was it a high amount of points? Obviously not, but compared to what SDSU allowed, it was certainly quite good.

Nobody is denying the UM game was a disaster, in all facets of the game. Half of the Idaho game was bad defensively. Everything else was good.

[91catAlum]

And you knuckleheads with an ax to grind on Housewright are just idiots. We had one of the most prolific offense in all of the FCS. We had some of the best defenses heads spinning and had as much success versus the Jacks as any team. If you want him fired for other reasons I can see that but griping about the offensive play calling means you aren't paying attention and should get zero respect here.

House has some share of the blame for our late season collapse, and you giving him a complete pass is just as idiotic.

Our offense was good for sure. But that's due to the talent level just as much than anything Housewright did. Plus, a ton of the points we scored were against bad teams. We ran it up against Poly, ewu and nau but we scored 7 in Missoula, which was less than every other team the griz played this season except unc. Idaho State's offense performed better in Missoula than MSU did. We scored 16 points at sdsu and you're using that as an example of how great our offense was?? I don't want House fired or anything, but come on, is he your uncle or something? With the talent we had on offense, ANY decent football mind could do what House did last season.

40 points at Weber was impressive. That was really the only impressive offensive output against a decent defense. Am I forgetting anything?

16 points against SDSU was almost double their season average. Was it a high amount of points? Obviously not, but compared to what SDSU allowed, it was certainly quite good.

Nobody is denying the UM game was a disaster, in all facets of the game. Half of the Idaho game was bad defensively. Everything else was good.

I think Housewright is a solid OC for sure. But I don't think he's beyond criticism by any means, and I think its pretty silly for posters to call other people "idiots" who deserve "zero respect" for criticizing him as an OC or a play caller.
That's mostly what I was responding to.
If anybody wants him fired for on-field performance, then yes that is also silly and a bad take. But he's fair game for some criticism.

[catatac]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

[84CatGrad]

"I just think play calling is a crutch that keyboard warriors like to use when their team loses."

Couldn't agree more. No doubt on eGriz the biggest idiot in the world this morning is frizzzzzz OC Brent Pease.

[Catsrgrood]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

That’s not seeing the full picture either. I’m not calling for him to be fired for offensive production necessarily, but just looking at year end stats doesn’t paint the full picture.
At times the offense was unstoppable, and certainly racked up some points and stats against inferior competition.
But there is no denying that at times the offense was a jumbled mess. No flow, going 3 and out more often than they should have at the wrong times, etc. there is certainly room for some criticism.

[Au Blue]

Two words: Empty backfield

[BelligerentBobcat]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

That’s not seeing the full picture either. I’m not calling for him to be fired for offensive production necessarily, but just looking at year end stats doesn’t paint the full picture.
At times the offense was unstoppable, and certainly racked up some points and stats against inferior competition.
But there is no denying that at times the offense was a jumbled mess. No flow, going 3 and out more often than they should have at the wrong times, etc. there is certainly room for some criticism.

Absolutely room for criticism, but find me an OC who doesn’t have those issues.

I don’t care what level of football you coach, coaches have bad moments, bad halves, bad games. Every. Single. One.

[aucat]

What is most disappointing to me is the fact that at the beginning of the season we were absolutely as good as SDSU. This was going to be our year. The second time we played SDSU in Frisco we would prevail. I remember going to Spectators with a friend to watch our game AT Weber. After that 40-0 beatdown I was convinced more than ever. We continued with several more impressive wins. THEN IDAHO HAPPENED. And we never seemed to recover. Injuries, playcalling, whatever, we just never were the same team that we had been during the first half of the season.

This season will always stick out as terribly disappointing because the stars were lined up to be our year. Who knows what next season will bring with our O line lost to the portal.

[VimSince03]

What is most disappointing to me is the fact that at the beginning of the season we were absolutely as good as SDSU. This was going to be our year. The second time we played SDSU in Frisco we would prevail. I remember going to Spectators with a friend to watch our game AT Weber. After that 40-0 beatdown I was convinced more than ever. We continued with several more impressive wins. THEN IDAHO HAPPENED. And we never seemed to recover. Injuries, playcalling, whatever, we just never were the same team that we had been during the first half of the season.

This season will always stick out as terribly disappointing because the stars were lined up to be our year. Who knows what next season will bring with our O line lost to the portal.

We could have the same starting OL as 2022 other than Reimer as Conner Moore is the LT now...and was a freshman All-American. My point being I really don't think the offensive line is taking a step back. Valdez was a bigger loss and we need to replace him with a strong rotation which I think we have now in Brott, Black, and Eckert opposite of Schmidt.

[91catAlum]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

That’s not seeing the full picture either. I’m not calling for him to be fired for offensive production necessarily, but just looking at year end stats doesn’t paint the full picture.
At times the offense was unstoppable, and certainly racked up some points and stats against inferior competition.
But there is no denying that at times the offense was a jumbled mess. No flow, going 3 and out more often than they should have at the wrong times, etc. there is certainly room for some criticism.

Absolutely room for criticism, but find me an OC who doesn’t have those issues.

I don’t care what level of football you coach, coaches have bad moments, bad halves, bad games. Every. Single. One.

That's fair. However I would still have a few criticisms of House and not for the times he just had a bad day or a bad call. For example - we had a serious lack of creativity in goal-to-go situations. Can anyone deny this? Chambers up the middle 4 times is not a bad day, it was a constant, and every opponent knew it was coming. Even Utah Tech stuffed it. Its part of the reason we lost at sdsu. I sure hope that changes, I don't want us to just find a Chambers replacement and continue it. Also, throwing sideline fade routes on 3rd and short... its a low percentage play call, especially when you consider MSU was the #1 rushing team in the nation and one of the worst passing teams. If you wanna throw it there once in a while, great - but make it a high percentage throw, not a 50/50 fade ball to a 5'11" wr. I sure hope that changes as well.

[Cataholic]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

That’s not seeing the full picture either. I’m not calling for him to be fired for offensive production necessarily, but just looking at year end stats doesn’t paint the full picture.
At times the offense was unstoppable, and certainly racked up some points and stats against inferior competition.
But there is no denying that at times the offense was a jumbled mess. No flow, going 3 and out more often than they should have at the wrong times, etc. there is certainly room for some criticism.

Absolutely room for criticism, but find me an OC who doesn’t have those issues.

I don’t care what level of football you coach, coaches have bad moments, bad halves, bad games. Every. Single. One.

That's fair. However I would still have a few criticisms of House and not for the times he just had a bad day or a bad call. For example - we had a serious lack of creativity in goal-to-go situations. Can anyone deny this? Chambers up the middle 4 times is not a bad day, it was a constant, and every opponent knew it was coming. Even Utah Tech stuffed it. Its part of the reason we lost at sdsu. I sure hope that changes, I don't want us to just find a Chambers replacement and continue it. Also, throwing sideline fade routes on 3rd and short... its a low percentage play call, especially when you consider MSU was the #1 rushing team in the nation and one of the worst passing teams. If you wanna throw it there once in a while, great - but make it a high percentage throw, not a 50/50 fade ball to a 5'11" wr. I sure hope that changes as well.

You are 100% correct. And those were not simply moments, they were regular events. And the first half at Idaho was a disaster on the offensive side. I think the first three drives were 3 and out with 12 yards of total offense.

[BelligerentBobcat]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

That’s not seeing the full picture either. I’m not calling for him to be fired for offensive production necessarily, but just looking at year end stats doesn’t paint the full picture.
At times the offense was unstoppable, and certainly racked up some points and stats against inferior competition.
But there is no denying that at times the offense was a jumbled mess. No flow, going 3 and out more often than they should have at the wrong times, etc. there is certainly room for some criticism.

Absolutely room for criticism, but find me an OC who doesn’t have those issues.

I don’t care what level of football you coach, coaches have bad moments, bad halves, bad games. Every. Single. One.

That's fair. However I would still have a few criticisms of House and not for the times he just had a bad day or a bad call. For example - we had a serious lack of creativity in goal-to-go situations. Can anyone deny this? Chambers up the middle 4 times is not a bad day, it was a constant, and every opponent knew it was coming. Even Utah Tech stuffed it. Its part of the reason we lost at sdsu. I sure hope that changes, I don't want us to just find a Chambers replacement and continue it. Also, throwing sideline fade routes on 3rd and short... its a low percentage play call, especially when you consider MSU was the #1 rushing team in the nation and one of the worst passing teams. If you wanna throw it there once in a while, great - but make it a high percentage throw, not a 50/50 fade ball to a 5'11" wr. I sure hope that changes as well.

You are 100% correct. And those were not simply moments, they were regular events. And the first half at Idaho was a disaster on the offensive side. I think the first three drives were 3 and out with 12 yards of total offense.

If they were regular events we wouldn’t have a top 5 offense in the nation.

[Cataholic]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

That’s not seeing the full picture either. I’m not calling for him to be fired for offensive production necessarily, but just looking at year end stats doesn’t paint the full picture.
At times the offense was unstoppable, and certainly racked up some points and stats against inferior competition.
But there is no denying that at times the offense was a jumbled mess. No flow, going 3 and out more often than they should have at the wrong times, etc. there is certainly room for some criticism.

Absolutely room for criticism, but find me an OC who doesn’t have those issues.

I don’t care what level of football you coach, coaches have bad moments, bad halves, bad games. Every. Single. One.

That's fair. However I would still have a few criticisms of House and not for the times he just had a bad day or a bad call. For example - we had a serious lack of creativity in goal-to-go situations. Can anyone deny this? Chambers up the middle 4 times is not a bad day, it was a constant, and every opponent knew it was coming. Even Utah Tech stuffed it. Its part of the reason we lost at sdsu. I sure hope that changes, I don't want us to just find a Chambers replacement and continue it. Also, throwing sideline fade routes on 3rd and short... its a low percentage play call, especially when you consider MSU was the #1 rushing team in the nation and one of the worst passing teams. If you wanna throw it there once in a while, great - but make it a high percentage throw, not a 50/50 fade ball to a 5'11" wr. I sure hope that changes as well.

You are 100% correct. And those were not simply moments, they were regular events. And the first half at Idaho was a disaster on the offensive side. I think the first three drives were 3 and out with 12 yards of total offense.

If they were regular events we wouldn’t have a top 5 offense in the nation.

With the weapons we have on offense and the line they run behind, we should be a top 5 offense. You make it sound like House is solely responsible for the success. Quite frankly, any competent OC should be successful with our guys. The fact is that we have questionable play calls every single game on a regular basis. That is a concern. And they really bit us in big games against top opponents.

[BelligerentBobcat]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

That’s not seeing the full picture either. I’m not calling for him to be fired for offensive production necessarily, but just looking at year end stats doesn’t paint the full picture.
At times the offense was unstoppable, and certainly racked up some points and stats against inferior competition.
But there is no denying that at times the offense was a jumbled mess. No flow, going 3 and out more often than they should have at the wrong times, etc. there is certainly room for some criticism.

Absolutely room for criticism, but find me an OC who doesn’t have those issues.

I don’t care what level of football you coach, coaches have bad moments, bad halves, bad games. Every. Single. One.

That's fair. However I would still have a few criticisms of House and not for the times he just had a bad day or a bad call. For example - we had a serious lack of creativity in goal-to-go situations. Can anyone deny this? Chambers up the middle 4 times is not a bad day, it was a constant, and every opponent knew it was coming. Even Utah Tech stuffed it. Its part of the reason we lost at sdsu. I sure hope that changes, I don't want us to just find a Chambers replacement and continue it. Also, throwing sideline fade routes on 3rd and short... its a low percentage play call, especially when you consider MSU was the #1 rushing team in the nation and one of the worst passing teams. If you wanna throw it there once in a while, great - but make it a high percentage throw, not a 50/50 fade ball to a 5'11" wr. I sure hope that changes as well.

You are 100% correct. And those were not simply moments, they were regular events. And the first half at Idaho was a disaster on the offensive side. I think the first three drives were 3 and out with 12 yards of total offense.

If they were regular events we wouldn’t have a top 5 offense in the nation.

With the weapons we have on offense and the line they run behind, we should be a top 5 offense. You make it sound like House is solely responsible for the success. Quite frankly, any competent OC should be successful with our guys. The fact is that we have questionable play calls every single game on a regular basis. That is a concern. And they really bit us in big games against top opponents.

How did I make it sound like House is solely responsible for the offenses success? Details, please.

Who is an OC that doesn’t have questionable play calling? Names, please. How do you know those questionable play calls are on the coach and not the players? Details, please.

I think people don’t realize that calling plays isn’t the easiest thing in the world. House and the offense has been so good that people expect 500 yards. 40 ppg, 480 yards per game, 8 yards per play, and people just bitch about all the things that went wrong. Do you expect positive yards on every play? That we’ll never punt? Zero bad calls per game? I mean, what is the expectation for you?! And again, details, please.

I don’t think House is perfect. Clearly makes mistakes, clearly has disjointed game plans at times. All the same, pretty hard to argue with the results. I’d argue he’s the best OC we’ve had here since Brian Wright. I just have a hard time when people who wouldn’t know a post from a flag talking about all the things a coach calls wrong. It’s nothing but reactionary, in the moment ******.

[tdub]

My complaint about House is that play calling was very disjointed. It’s like on one drive they decide “we are going to run no matter what”. And the next drive looked like they were forcing the pass no matter what, even if they just ran all over them the previous drive. And it didn’t seem to coincide with down/distance or field position. And it seemed to drastically disrupt the rhythm of the offense. And it was greatly exaggerated in big games and big moments. So even though stats were through the roof, the big play was rarely made in big spots.
What I have envisioned to say probably still isn’t being communicated well. It just never felt cohesive. Like they could put up strong stats, but never felt the confidence like the guys on the field knew the play call would work when they needed that key first down or score. Like a lack of identity. And I do put that on the OC, it’s his responsibility.

[gris_h8er]

They have 34 seniors, dunno how many still have a year left. I was disheartened to hear that Gronowski has another year if he so chooses.

Gronowski might be the most overrated player in the FCS.

Name an FCS team he could transfer to where he isn't the starter immediately. And let me save it for you: we're not one of them.

You would take gronowski above Tommy? As in the guy I watched get timed with a calendar when he was running today?

Exactly. If MG were the Cats starter, House might call a handoff to one of the All American running backs on the Cat roster. Plus, Tommy for all his positives is still a long way from an FCS level passer.

When you can run like that why would you want to pass. One of the biggest things the offense and Tommy struggled with this year was trying to turn him into a pocket passer. News flash he’s not a pocket passer and never will be if you want a pocket passer go recruit one. Use him for what he’s good at and stop trying to force him to be something he’s not. He’s proven he can win games on the ground let him do it.

[gris_h8er]

They have 34 seniors, dunno how many still have a year left. I was disheartened to hear that Gronowski has another year if he so chooses.

Gronowski might be the most overrated player in the FCS.

Name an FCS team he could transfer to where he isn't the starter immediately. And let me save it for you: we're not one of them.

You would take gronowski above Tommy? As in the guy I watched get timed with a calendar when he was running today?

Exactly. If MG were the Cats starter, House might call a handoff to one of the All American running backs on the Cat roster. Plus, Tommy for all his positives is still a long way from an FCS level passer.

Yes. I would take gronowski for his senior year as starting qb over Tommy. For 1 year. And i would never second guess the decision. JMO.

That’s a hot take after the games I saw gronowski in. And I disagree. If you’re only after a passer maybe gronowski is the guy but I wasn’t very impressed with his passing either. Tommy wasn’t utilized properly this season, specifically when they got it in their heads that he has to be a pocket passer which is an ill informed decision and assumption on all levels.

[gris_h8er]

We've had a VERY prolific offense the past couple years, top of the FCS. If anyone wants to get rid of House for off the field stuff, totally understandable. If you want him fired for offensive production... well that's just silly - and be careful what you wish for.

It has nothing to do with stats or overall production because the stats are very good. Honestly great but stats are for losers and can be misleading. And everything to do with random misguided play calls that killed drives when drives needed to continue. Specific example:

EMPTY BACKFIELD.

Housewrong did it multiple times this season with Tommy and chambers. Not just in the NDSU game. And it was stupid everytime. Everyone knows it’s a two web offense and they’re both run heavy qbs running empty sets on short yardage third downs is not giving the offense a high probability of success.