Furman @ WCCC Oct. 21st

[FUwolfpacker]

I feel like this almost deserves q separate thread.… any guesses which receiver was thrown to the most in the Western game?

That would be Colton Hinton. By my count, 6 passes. He shoulda coulda had two touchdowns. Colton also started.

I'm thinking about a few things.

I think Furman sandbagged a bit on how they were playing Hinton. He was getting some PT at receiver and had caught a couple of passes, but we mainly saw him running a reverse or a jet sweep until Saturday.

Western's athletic DBs had a hard time matching up with Colton. No doubt he will attract more attention from opposing defenses. That is exactly what Coach Roper wants. I think the arrival of Hinton as a receiving weapon will open up things for Harris, Dean, and Shiflett. Not to mention Ben Ferguson.

I also think Furman sandbagged a bit on how they would and will deploy Pline. A 6-7 tight end that can run that well and appears to have very good hands — lookout.

Last thought. Remember what appeared to be a timeout Furman took when they couldn't get a play in? The following play was a flea-flicker to Pline for a big gain. I think this was planned.

I will add Coach Roper is as calm as ice on the sidelines, he's got some ice in his veins.

Probably could have had 3 Astro. That slot fade early in the first quarter was very close to being a TD. Hinton is impressive as a WR considering he came from a mostly running system (I think). Jackal is right that he was in single coverage on a safety on the TD. That safety was all-conference Andreas Keaton I believe. Looking forward to seeing how his role in the offense continues to grow.

I agree on Pline. After everything we heard in the offseason, we didn't see a lot of Pline early in the year. You had to figure/hope that they had a plan for him. Looking at a picture of the TEs, Pline is an absolutely dominating figure in a lineup that includes 3 other guys that are 6'4" or taller.

[AllTimeFU]

Also, some credit were due.

A lot of ink has been spilled on Furman’s lapses in pass defense. However, the last two weeks Furman has played two of the nations best offenses and other than the opening drive against Samford, gave up very little downfield in the passing game.

Western was forced to dink and dunk the ball. The times they threw downfield were usually well covered and twice ended in picks.

Pass rush has a lot to do with that. Gonzalez looked like a QB that wasn’t used to getting banged around back there and was rushing a lot of his throws and not able to take as much time to check down his receivers. He wasn’t used to the sort of pressure Furman was putting in his face.

3 and 6 on the back end seems to be a great combination. We have a really physical group on D across the board.

[The Jackal]

Going back and watching the game something that is really noticeable was Huff's accuracy on the play action boot stuff. Huff has, at times, struggled with his accuracy when throwing on the run this season. He didn't Saturday.

WCU's defense is certainly improved and more physical than they have been, but Furman had them guessing a lot of the afternoon. We were throwing out of run looks, running out of passing looks, zigging when they thought we'd be zagging.

Maybe the prettiest play of the day was the touchdown throw to Hinton for our second score. WCU has no idea where the ball is going and ends up in what appears to be man coverage with a safety against Hinton. That's going to be advantage Furman 10 times out of 10.

I feel like this almost deserves q separate thread.… any guesses which receiver was thrown to the most in the Western game?


That would be Colton Hinton. By my count, 6 passes. He shoulda coulda had two touchdowns. Colton also started.

I'm thinking about a few things.

I think Furman sandbagged a bit on how they were playing Hinton. He was getting some PT at receiver and had caught a couple of passes, but we mainly saw him running a reverse or a jet sweep until Saturday.

Western's athletic DBs had a hard time matching up with Colton. No doubt he will attract more attention from opposing defenses. That is exactly what Coach Roper wants. I think the arrival of Hinton as a receiving weapon will open up things for Harris, Dean, and Shiflett. Not to mention Ben Ferguson.
I also think Furman sandbagged a bit on how they would and will deploy Pline. A 6-7 tight end that can run that well and appears to have very good hands — lookout.

Last thought. Remember what appeared to be a timeout Furman took when they couldn't get a play in? The following play was a flea-flicker to Pline for a big gain. I think this was planned.

I will add Coach Roper is as calm as ice on the sidelines, he's got some ice in his veins.

Couple of thoughts on this:

1. I'm not sure we appreciate how good Hinton can be. He's broken in as a starting WR on what is arguably the deepest group we've had at that position since the early/mid-2000s. He's another thing defenses have to deal with against Furman.

2. I absolutely think we've been holding back on Pline. We knew in the preseason they were willing to run him downfield, we just haven't seen it yet. On several of his catches the defense just lost track of him because he feigns to block and then takes off downfield. That requires a ton of discipline on a defense to keep a body on him.

Remember, too, Roper was really good at scheming open Ryan Miller, especially down on the goal line. I was constantly surprised how often defenses would leave Miller open in the end zone, when you know he's the most dangerous receiver on the team. I believe the TD catch from Pline Saturday was either exactly the same play or close to the same play we threw a TD on against Wofford last year.

[FUwolfpacker]

That stalk and go by Pline was beautiful. Pline stays in the fake stalk block (that's how I've heard it described) until the WCU player commits and then it's already over. WCU did seem to hold his ground for a second but when Huff runs towards the LOS, he has to go as I don't think anyone else is there. Furman basically schemed up a 2 on 1 against that defender. It was the equivalent of a Bothwell/Slawson 2 on 1...there was only going to be one result.

[AllTimeFU]

That stalk and go by Pline was beautiful. Pline stays in the fake stalk block (that's how I've heard it described) until the WCU player commits and then it's already over. WCU did seem to hold his ground for a second but when Huff runs towards the LOS, he has to go as I don't think anyone else is there. Furman basically schemed up a 2 on 1 against that defender. It was the equivalent of a Bothwell/Slawson 2 on 1...there was only going to be one result.

You’ll also notice 6 sells it big time. He has the football briefly tucked for a full collision prior to the pass.

[gofurman]

Levy has been the punter all year and has done a great job but after he had the one yard shank he was replaceced by Williams who proceeded to have a 13 yd. shank. Anyone know why Levy was replaced?

Thought about that - could be he wasn't 100%

He was sick before the game.

Ah, well don't want him sick but that beats injured. Glad we have a week to work on this and hopefully Leavy is ok anyway but maybe have Williams practice some?

[The Jackal]

On the flea flicker, a few thoughts:

I cringed as soon as I heard the word "reverse." Furman has a terrible history of attempting a reverse.

This was again another play set up by WCU's fear of letting Roberto take over the football game. Again Furman catches the Catamounts overcommitting to stop the run game and losing their assignments.

First off, despite a slow developing play, no WCU defender comes anywhere near the backfield. Even after leaving Roberto and Shiflett to pass block, they had no one to block. Excellent job in pass blocking.

I think the play design is to first look to Ferguson on the deep post. WCU keeps a safety deep and that is covered up, so the next look is the outlet pass to Pline.

I also like that Pline and Roberto essentially switch responsibilities. Pline is initially pass blocking and Roberto is running to the flat. When Roberto carries out his fake, Pline releases and Roberto pass blocks. Against some coverages, that's going to confuse the linebackers.

Bottom line, WCU defenders at the second level have no idea what's going on. Three guys sell out to cover what they think is a reverse. There's no pressure on the QB. No one covers Roberto. No one covers Pline.

Again, I think the Catamounts were so dedicated to trying to stop Furman from running the ball at them that they consistently got themselves out of position by overcommitting to where the play wasn't going.

[The Jackal]

Watching that game, Western Carolina tried to out-athlete Furman. Furman out-coached and out-executed WCU.

[gofurman]

Also, some credit were due.

A lot of ink has been spilled on Furman’s lapses in pass defense. However, the last two weeks Furman has played two of the nations best offenses and other than the opening drive against Samford, gave up very little downfield in the passing game.

Western was forced to dink and dunk the ball. The times they threw downfield were usually well covered and twice ended in picks.

Pass rush has a lot to do with that. Gonzalez looked like a QB that wasn’t used to getting banged around back there and was rushing a lot of his throws and not able to take as much time to check down his receivers. He wasn’t used to the sort of pressure Furman was putting in his face.

Absolutely!!! You know I love the sacks or QB pressure. They are drive killers. Early in the game we got a lot of pressure on him and we pulled ahead... then it subsided a bit and they came back... and then it picked up and we pulled ahead for the W. Coincidence? I think not.

I expected some at Samford (their OTs must be lacking or the OL picking things up as they seem to give a lot of sacks) - but not NINE FREAKIN SACKS !!! that was almost a record for us !!!

Then WCU had only 2 sacks comiogn into our game (per announcers on youtube) and we got 2 or 3.

This increased pressure is HUGE in both helping pass coverage and stopping drives . LOVE IT !!!

[gofurman]

On the flea flicker, a few thoughts:

I cringed as soon as I heard the word "reverse." Furman has a terrible history of attempting a reverse.

This was again another play set up by WCU's fear of letting Roberto take over the football game. Again Furman catches the Catamounts overcommitting to stop the run game and losing their assignments.

First off, despite a slow developing play, no WCU defender comes anywhere near the backfield. Even after leaving Roberto and Shiflett to pass block, they had no one to block. Excellent job in pass blocking.

I think the play design is to first look to Ferguson on the deep post. WCU keeps a safety deep and that is covered up, so the next look is the outlet pass to Pline.

I also like that Pline and Roberto essentially switch responsibilities. Pline is initially pass blocking and Roberto is running to the flat. When Roberto carries out his fake, Pline releases and Roberto pass blocks. Against some coverages, that's going to confuse the linebackers.

Bottom line, WCU defenders at the second level have no idea what's going on. Three guys sell out to cover what they think is a reverse. There's no pressure on the QB. No one covers Roberto. No one covers Pline.

Again, I think the Catamounts were so dedicated to trying to stop Furman from running the ball at them that they consistently got themselves out of position by overcommitting to where the play wasn't going.

same here... I was thinking PLEASE NO

[gofurman]

Going back and watching the game something that is really noticeable was Huff's accuracy on the play action boot stuff. Huff has, at times, struggled with his accuracy when throwing on the run this season. He didn't Saturday.

WCU's defense is certainly improved and more physical than they have been, but Furman had them guessing a lot of the afternoon. We were throwing out of run looks, running out of passing looks, zigging when they thought we'd be zagging.

Maybe the prettiest play of the day was the touchdown throw to Hinton for our second score. WCU has no idea where the ball is going and ends up in what appears to be man coverage with a safety against Hinton. That's going to be advantage Furman 10 times out of 10.

I feel like this almost deserves q separate thread.… any guesses which receiver was thrown to the most in the Western game?


That would be Colton Hinton. By my count, 6 passes. He shoulda coulda had two touchdowns. Colton also started.

I'm thinking about a few things.

I think Furman sandbagged a bit on how they were playing Hinton. He was getting some PT at receiver and had caught a couple of passes, but we mainly saw him running a reverse or a jet sweep until Saturday.

Western's athletic DBs had a hard time matching up with Colton. No doubt he will attract more attention from opposing defenses. That is exactly what Coach Roper wants. I think the arrival of Hinton as a receiving weapon will open up things for Harris, Dean, and Shiflett. Not to mention Ben Ferguson.
I also think Furman sandbagged a bit on how they would and will deploy Pline. A 6-7 tight end that can run that well and appears to have very good hands — lookout.

Last thought. Remember what appeared to be a timeout Furman took when they couldn't get a play in? The following play was a flea-flicker to Pline for a big gain. I think this was planned.

I will add Coach Roper is as calm as ice on the sidelines, he's got some ice in his veins.

Great point. I was personally SHOCKED we never threw or carught a pass by Harris ! Me and my injury thing I started to worry he wasn't out there. But he was and I think he looked fine. And I consider Dean our number 2 guy. He had one reception. If you told me that pre game I woulda thought we lost. 1 reception between Harris and Dean? Crazy. The radio guys did note that WCU seemed to put an extra guy towards Harris on occasion leaving the other guys w one on one.

RECEPTIONS
Mason Pline 4 (for 88 yards)
Ben Ferguson 2
Colton Hinton 2
Wayne Anderson 2
Luke Shiflett 1
Kyndel Dean 1
Myion Hicks 1

[FUBeAR]

Also, some credit were due.

A lot of ink has been spilled on Furman’s lapses in pass defense. However, the last two weeks Furman has played two of the nations best offenses and other than the opening drive against Samford, gave up very little downfield in the passing game.

Western was forced to dink and dunk the ball. The times they threw downfield were usually well covered and twice ended in picks.

Pass rush has a lot to do with that. Gonzalez looked like a QB that wasn’t used to getting banged around back there and was rushing a lot of his throws and not able to take as much time to check down his receivers. He wasn’t used to the sort of pressure Furman was putting in his face.

Exactly correct. Go back and watch WCU against Arkansas. They were able to get pressure and the QB play quality was far less effective than in every other game the Cantamounts have played. They played 2 or 3 and none of them looked comfortable when the burner was turned up higher than warm.

FUBeAR wonders…As a Coaching staff, WCU’s Coaches are very, very proud of their Offense. Not only proud, but really more like ‘in love’ with their Offense. When interviewed they talk about it like it’s their hot side piece…or their favorite grandchild. Reckon if their practice habits, when really put under a microscope, don’t include any (or enough) elements that might make their Offense / Mistress / Grandchild look bad…so, when they’re facing live fire, it’s fairly unfamiliar to them.

FUBeAR is familiar with this behavior from a Coaching perspective. Other than hurting the Team on game days, it becomes toxic overall. Coaches need to love their Players and their fellow Coaches; not their schemes. Schemes don’t love you back.

[The Jackal]

Also, some credit were due.

A lot of ink has been spilled on Furman’s lapses in pass defense. However, the last two weeks Furman has played two of the nations best offenses and other than the opening drive against Samford, gave up very little downfield in the passing game.

Western was forced to dink and dunk the ball. The times they threw downfield were usually well covered and twice ended in picks.

Pass rush has a lot to do with that. Gonzalez looked like a QB that wasn’t used to getting banged around back there and was rushing a lot of his throws and not able to take as much time to check down his receivers. He wasn’t used to the sort of pressure Furman was putting in his face.

Absolutely!!! You know I love the sacks or QB pressure. They are drive killers. Early in the game we got a lot of pressure on him and we pulled ahead... then it subsided a bit and they came back... and then it picked up and we pulled ahead for the W. Coincidence? I think not.

I expected some at Samford (their OTs must be lacking or the OL picking things up as they seem to give a lot of sacks) - but not NINE FREAKIN SACKS !!! that was almost a record for us !!!

Then WCU had only 2 sacks comiogn into our game (per announcers on youtube) and we got 2 or 3.

This increased pressure is HUGE in both helping pass coverage and stopping drives . LOVE IT !!!

WCU is similar to Samford insofar as the QB is usually trying to get rid of the ball in a hurry. Both QBs play behind big offensive lines, though WCU's appears to be more talented and athletic than Samford's.

Going into Saturday, WCU had surrendered only 3 sacks - two to Arkansas in the first week of the season, and one to Charleston Southern.

Furman recorded three sacks Saturday, which was the most surrendered by WCU in a game this year.

Furman had four QB hurries, which was the most surrendered by WCU in a game this year.

Furman had two interceptions, which was the most surrendered by WCU in a game this year to an FCS opponent.

[gman84]

Jackal, just copy/paste the FU news and notes.

[The Jackal]

Also, some credit were due.

A lot of ink has been spilled on Furman’s lapses in pass defense. However, the last two weeks Furman has played two of the nations best offenses and other than the opening drive against Samford, gave up very little downfield in the passing game.

Western was forced to dink and dunk the ball. The times they threw downfield were usually well covered and twice ended in picks.

Pass rush has a lot to do with that. Gonzalez looked like a QB that wasn’t used to getting banged around back there and was rushing a lot of his throws and not able to take as much time to check down his receivers. He wasn’t used to the sort of pressure Furman was putting in his face.

Exactly correct. Go back and watch WCU against Arkansas. They were able to get pressure and the QB play quality was far less effective than in every other game the Cantamounts have played. They played 2 or 3 and none of them looked comfortable when the burner was turned up higher than warm.

FUBeAR wonders…As a Coaching staff, WCU’s Coaches are very, very proud of their Offense. Not only proud, but really more like ‘in love’ with their Offense. When interviewed they talk about it like it’s their hot side piece…or their favorite grandchild. Reckon if their practice habits, when really put under a microscope, don’t include any (or enough) elements that might make their Offense / Mistress / Grandchild look bad…so, when they’re facing live fire, it’s fairly unfamiliar to them.

FUBeAR is familiar with this behavior from a Coaching perspective. Other than hurting the Team on game days, it becomes toxic overall. Coaches need to love their Players and their fellow Coaches; not their schemes. Schemes don’t love you back.

Over the years, I've seen it play out where a seemingly unstoppable offense struggles when faced with a little bit of adversity. They are so used to everything being so easy that they can't seem to get on track when it isn't.

Furman's defense announced their presence. WCU's ballyhooed offensive line wasn't able to move our defensive line off the ball. Our DBs were coming up and hitting their receivers harder than they wanted to be hit. The coverage was there all afternoon. The QB, who was used to a clean pocket and open receivers, was having to speed up his processing with covered receivers and a relentless pass rush in his face.

I also expect it's tough to prepare for a team that essentially two platoons their defense. There's a constant rotation of fresh players every series or even every few plays.