See Cliff's article, mentioning how Riley has once again made changes to practice this year.
Remember last year when Riley made changes, and fans were like, "Hey, he's adjusting to the modern game, yada yada"? How did that turn out?
The reality is that Riley is making changes just to look proactive. I wrote this comment on Cliff's blog:
Riley makes a change that doesn’t work every year just to look like he’s doing something pro-active. This will fail, too, because he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. Success starts with recruiting. Riley can’t recruit. He also can’t even put the best players on the field (#28, Pankey, R. Robinson, etc).
I think that sums it up. New year + same philosophy hidden behind "new changes" + same head coach = same capped results. I'll stop criticizing when he puts the 11 best players on the field, has an ideology change, understands the importance (and value) of recruiting talent vs "coaching up", etc. Slowing down practice to focus on detail a year after he thought speeding up practice because he believed reps were important doesn't scream "man with a refined football philosophy."
Now granted, I've been harping that his teams have no attention to detail, so that part is good, but the point is that Riley is all over the map, and it comes off as change for the sake of change, to rally his supporters by suggesting that with the "changes" this year it's going to be different, or to have tangible effort to show Bob D when they sit down at season's end. You're already seeing the media buy in: (paraphrasing) "Riley is changing around practice, and he looks invigorated!" These people have to sell content. Riley can't even put the best players on the field, and the media is too dumb to realize that and question it, yet I'm supposed to believe their reports? Give me a freaking break. This is the same coach pulling the same "I'm a nice guy who's adapting to modern football" illusion he's been pulling for the past three years–ever since the Pac got stronger and exposed him for what he's always been–a mediocre, aging coach.
Speaking of changes, here’s a list of gameday changes: http://www.osubeavers.com/ot/orange-perspective.html
Better than a lost & found, but still feels Bush League IMO.
That BDC report is some weak sauce. So they are ignoring calls for an open Truax? Instead we get an escalation of the police state in Reser. Now everyone is an alcohol monitor through Text-to-Care…yuck. The percentage of people who like or need seeing Closed Captioning on TV is extremely low. But BDC sells getting to see closed captioning as one of the big game day improvements. Riley is out of touch and this shows BDC is even more clueless to generating buzz around the program. This report and the program right now are stuck on Snooze.
Instead we get an escalation of the police state in Reser. Now everyone is an alcohol monitor through Text-to-Care…yuck.
Right? It’s like Nazi Germany where neighbors reported neighbors to the gestapo. My first reaction to reading that was the same as yours…
Might be funny if fans decided to overload the Test-to-Care line with text messages claiming alcohol is being consumed, but sending the keystone cops to empty seats in Reser. Then on TV, we can watch them run around the stadium trying to catch the bad guys.
sure, this is subject to abuse, but “report knuckleheads” is standard fare at most modern stadiums, including, for example, the Seahawks.
I think my favorite new addition is the “endless popcorn.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten to the bottom of my popcorn bag and wished it would just keep coming. I love me some popcorn.
We’ll see how endless it is now that corn has spiked due to drought….
More Beaver bad luck???
Definitely, next we’ll hear about a shortage of chainsaws.
LOL!!! You guys are killin me…
What do you mean they are ignoring calls for an open Truax? BDC just wrote that it is open for tailgating. Don’t be pissed off that they didn’t do this years sooner. They’re doing it now. You sound like a prick.
But I do agree with you regarding the texting. Most of the older Oregon St fans probably won’t be able to figure it out anyway, though.
When I first clicked that link, the first page did not render. Go back to it and see what your impression would be if you thought Page 2 was everything and the big kickoff to the announcement was the marching band and closed captioning. Now that I see Page 1 it is at least a start as far as Truax. I like that there will be big screens but the lemonade thing is dull. Looks like BDC scrapped the beer?
Are Text-to-Care fans going to tell others to sit down now too?
It said there will be a beer garden in there too. Along with tacos and nachos. You guys complain away but I think it sounds fantastic.
concur. The cougs have a program like that in their old gym. On a lousy day it’s a good place to hang out.
Perhaps the closed captioning is an indication of the age of the fan base. That might explain the lack of need for much excitement. Old folks can’t handle too much excitement.
I don’t get it. If you’re at the game and watching it, do you have time to go find a TV so you can read, ” ?”
Wouldn’t you be smart enough to look around at everyone clapping and yelling and understand they were making noise?
Interesting apparently you can’t use in brackets. It was supposed to read [clapping] and [crowd cheering].
Damn! Note to self. Don’t use < and the other side in a closed bracket, or they and all text inside them will disappear from your post.
Maybe not if you’re old enough to have fought in the Civil War.
My son is deaf. He keeps the CC on everything he watches except sporting events because he says it’s pointless. He prefers to just watch the game. Trying to read through the CC to find out a referee’s bad call explanation or something like that is a waste of time.
I’m still confused. I understand the poor quality of CC in most cases. I think they need a fan of a sport to communicate that sport just as if they were calling it on the radio.
But what are we talking about here? Are we talking CC for people at the game? I don’t think that’s necessary. Maybe put a board up which explains calls in detail and in summary after the fact. I think most people who don’t need CC would be better off reading something concise on something like operas do with electronic librettos.
Now, if we want to get real fancy, we can start talking about the newer seat-back libretto displays and how we can wire a whole stadium with that and every other doo-dad gadget connector there is.
I think the closed captioning is mainly intended for when the announcer comes on and makes in game announcements and there are probably deaf people who attend the games too you know. Keep in mind that there are all kinds of people who attend games. I went to the ASU vs. OSU game last year in Arizona, and they had closed captioning on one of their “big screens” and it was actually helpful because it’s true, in some areas of the stadium, it really is hard to understand the PA system and what the announcer is trying to say. So this is a good thing.
I say upgrade your sound system.
Camp Randall has smaller tv’s all over the stadium so if you can’t see the big screen you can still see what’s going on on the tv near you.
Ease up on the Closed Captioning, folks.
It wasn’t a choice. It’s a lot cheaper to implement it than to pay fines, as it is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I’m normally loathe to defend the campus and athletics administration, but for this game day element your complaints should go to your Congresscritters on Capitol Hill, not Gill.
Seriously – game day experience? I would happily pay full price for a second bag of popcorn if I was confident about getting a shot at a W as part of the game day experience.
Smoke and Mirrors. You don’t fool me, Oz.
The truax is a little over-rated. I had won a free pass last season- but they stop serving beer about an hour and a half before kick off. And we all know that beaver football requires, wait, necessitates beer. It is cool to walk around the facility, but that novelty wears off and you are left with dimly lit projection tvs and a retirement center crowd.
Eventually we skipped it altogether in favor of the Alumni Center where there was beer flowing and a more enthusiastic group of fans.
Touchdown Tailgate Zone, Beaver Walk, Beaver Fan Fest?!? Did a coach’s middle school kid come up with these names? Combine this with “Powered by Orange” and Oregon State is officially dork central when it comes to marketing.
Also, nothing gets fans to come together like ratting out your fellow fan via a text message! We should all try to jam up their system with a fire BDC text during the first game. Even those of us that are not at the game can do that.
a fire BDC text during the first game
Genius. Let’s do it.
Also, the names are HORRIBLE.
Anybody who has ever tried to send a text while on Reser knows this plan wont work. youre lucky to get cell reception because cell towers get overloaded.
Very good point. Frustrating when you’re trying to meet friends.
I agree, many times I try to provide clarification to angrybeavs.com readers during the games when I can tell that something has happened that wasn’t explained on the telecast but the service is just too slow. I guess that’s more of a verizon 3G thing though, not totally sure how that works.
4G available in Corvallis now. I’m sure it’ll be better
:::cough, cough:::
Again, at the ASU game, they had this feature and it’s real intent is for harrassment, overly drunk and obnoxious fans. Also, I’ve seen plenty of people with flasks last year up in the donor section on the East side and nobody cared. Infact, last season during the washington game, a girl behind us snuck a beer in and put it in the cup holder and security came to kick her out(she was a UW fan). So ya, the alcohol monitors do a decent to good job, but the real purpose is to provide safety and overall access to get someones attention discretely.
…and can someone explain to me why it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs and not the Leaves?
French Canuck owner (or clerks) had a less-than-stellar mastery of la langue Anglaise when filing corporate papers.
Snap!
Who are the current 2’s and 3’s that should be the starters on the depth chart?
Zimmerman > Watkins
Anyone > Rueben Robinson
Gavin Andrews > Colin Kelly (Though Grant Enger should be moved to T, and Isaac to G, and Sapolu or Bays to C).
Colby Prince is the #1 TE right now. That has to be Smith or Stanton.
I like your line changes. They are NOT getting the most talent on the field with the approach they are taking now. Isaac’s best chance for early success is at guard, and the interior of OSU’s line would sure benefit from a mean, strong middle (Isaac and Andrews at guards). Currently, the offensive strength is on the edges, so establishing the threat of an inside run game with Brown/Woods would be tremendously beneficial.
The knock on Sapolu is he’s undersized, but I think C is the one line position where size matters least, especially with Isaac and Andrews on both sides. Plus, they could just run more pull plays where he’s blocking an OLB, CB, etc. I like what I saw of Sapolu coming out of HS. I think he can play.
I think Sapolu’s experience is more valuable than Isaac’s greater size, and allows Isaac to play more more free and mean. Plus, emphasizing and strengthening the inside running game takes some of the pressure off the tackles, which are going to need some time.
Hey! Don’t forget my man Clute!
From what I’ve been told, Dylan Mafi is looking good thus far. I’ll happily eat crow for doubting his abilities when he was signed. And does anyone have any news on Josh Williams? Jabral Johnson?
TZ would have been playing S at Oklahoma or Texas if he didn’t want to be a WR so bad. We got a steal in him.
Clute hahaha.
Mafi…he tackles high and plays out of control. We’ll see if that’s improved…to me Mafi is too raw and out of control to be a legit player. Put him on special teams, let him go wild.
Don’t forget Richie Harrington
Oh yeah. How could I forget him??
If Harrington got Mannion’s reps he’d be a great starter. I’m convinced. But right now Mannion is the play.
Haven’t seen too much of Harrington live, just a couple youtube clips, doesn’t look bad. So if we take what Riley has been saying with Vaz having starter abilities and what you see in Harrington. We look pretty solid at the QB position.
Yes, QB is fine.
I like Vaz a lot. I wish we could trade Mannion for a DT and go with Vaz/Harrington…
Whats wrong with Mannion? You were all high on his potential last year and now you want to dump him?
I like Mannion.
I am saying we need a DT and have a surplus of QBs, so trading would be nice. I think this team would be better with Vaz and a 4-star DT than Mannion and Castro/a walk-on DT (Andrew S).
Riley’s gonna start Mannion against Nicholls St for two plays then pull him for Harrington.
clute and hamlett are probably both better than prince too. also as i understand it robinson is a 2 right now with the starters being welch, doctor, and unga.
I think this year is out of his hands as far as the general attitude of the team. He has successfully recruited some players, not enough for perfect depth, but enough for them to take charge on their own.
It’s why we’ll see some 10 or better win seasons in the future under him. It’s also why we’ll see more losing seasons eventually. He is who he recruits, and a stopped clock….
If Riley were proactive, he’d be averting problems, not reacting to them, which he clearly is.
Also, there was supposed to be a systematic review of “everything” this off-season because of the 3 wins last year, and subsequent changes were to be made to improve team performance. I am annoyed the media have let Riley off the hook on this one – WHAT specifically did you evaluate, what problems did you identify, what changes did you make to your program to address those problems? Nobody is asking.
For a recent example of the reactionary approach – look at Jashwa James from MLB to D-Line back to MLB…..he’s a 249 pound linebacker who should be second string and ahead of Reuben Robinson on the depth chart at MLB because of his size and Robinson’s demonstrable lack of ability and production. Yeah, James requested the move to DL, but it’s the coaches job to make the decision for the appropriate reason.
Agree at TE too. If you don’t have a play-maker, then start with those most physically gifted and give them the reps and experience. No offense to Prince, but is he a starter just because he’s older? I get that he has to know the offense better than the true FR, but does he create any match up problems for opponents? No. Does he give OSU an advantage? No. So respectfully move him to back up.
It’s difficult enough to win with a lack of talent and depth, and the non-strategic coaching just makes winning that much more difficult.
If Riley were proactive, he’d be averting problems, not reacting to them, which he clearly is.
That’s why I said to “seem” proactive. Do you have a more accurate title?
Proactively Challenged?
I was agreeing though I could see that in a literal sense, reading what I wrote could so as if I were disagreeing. I didn’t have a disagreement with the thread title…I’m in full agreement on this one.
I would go on Cliff’s blog and check it out but I think I’ve hit my monthly limit.
Delete all your gazettetimes.com, mvonline.com, or leeenterprises cookies when you hit the limit. It’s a pain in the ass, but it’s free…
Name change proposals:
1. Narc-to-tattle
2. Care-to-Narc?
3. Fire-your-Neighbor
4. Down-in-Front!
Oh!
5. Stoolie-says-What?
This criticism is unbelievable. You have been on Riley for not paying attention to the details; that he’s depressed; he says the word neat too much; he should take up chess; the team should get a psychologist; they need to improve the game day experience; he needs to put the best players on the field….then he does these things and you complain that he….. what the fuck are you complaining about? You’re speculating that he is trying to trick “beaver nation” so he can fool his boss into giving him another year? That’s fucking crazy, man.
He has slowed practice to put more of a focus on the details, his father died the other day yet he is at practice and talking to the reporters and overall seems to be in pretty good spirits, he has been active and vocal in practice, I don’t recall him saying the word neat this week – which sucks because I like that about him. The game day experience has clearly just been improved with the opening of the field house for drinking and watching other games on big screen televisions (I believe it was that beaverbyte guy who was harping on the TV thing). All of last season was about putting the best players on the field starting with QB. This was a major factor in the shitty record which could have been slightly less shitty if he had gone with experience rather than develop new talent.
I understand that you need to maintain the premise of your URL, but you need to learn to give credit when credit is due. Otherwise you guys are just hypercritical dickheads.
I understand that you need to maintain the premise of your URL, but you need to learn to give credit when credit is due.
You’re missing the point. We gave him credit last year for his “changes”, and now this year he’s doing exactly the opposite and slowing down practice instead of speeding it up. It means he has no clear ideology and is just trying things for the sake of it.. Yes, he should have paid attention to detail earlier, and it’s better he is doing it than not, but how the hell do fans know the coach should pay attention to detail, yet the coach himself only realizes this in the tenth year of his career? It also implies he wasn’t paying attention to detail in the past (shocker, I’m right again, but go on and call me crazy).
Your comprehension is the problem here, not what I wrote.
You are going on the premise that this was not in his plans last year. Maybe he thought they needed more repetition last year because of all the youth and then this year he felt that they needed more fine tuning.
I’m speculating here, much like everyone else without specific first hand knowledge is doing. I like the discussion and the knowledge that gets passed around on this site, but I occasionally feel the frustration of hellobeavers because there is nothing that Riley can do that doesn’t get shredded on this site.
Well, he does a lot wrong: butchers time management/doesn’t challenge plays (possibly cost the team wins vs UCLA and Cincy), doesn’t retain his best recruiter, nepotism, no ideology, terrible record in big games, poor recruiting strategy and execution, doesn’t put his best 11 on the field, etc. What is frustrating is how easily solvable many of the issues are, yet it takes him years and sometimes decades to correct them…
You’re frustrated with me; I am equally frustrated with Riley.
In my opinion it’s not fair to say that he has no clear ideology because he is tweaking the way he conducts practice. He got in more reps last year and there were more mental mistakes as a result. The benefits (if any) that were achieved last year from a faster practice must not have been worth the cost. So he tweaked it again….but it doesn’t sound like he is back to status quo.
I would just really like to see this team get out of fall camp without any key injuries. I feel like they’re going to be pretty good this year.
I like this team too. But the marketing gloss laid over the real swagger this team is trying to lay down is a step backward. I think Riley himself has responded to his players. But I think there’s too much group think going on when it comes to the AD taking on that same attitude.
So tell us… how was your gameday experience?
Last year was about what? Did you see our O-line play? The current O-line at the school where some of those guys played in HS is better than they are/were/will ever be.
I do disagree about any criticisms about Mannion. I think that kid will be a star on this level and the next. And I think the changes occurring are better than what we had… in some instances. But halfway there is a poor substitute for all the way there when both cost the same in terms of time and money.
Talking change is a start. i agree we should probably wait and see how change is truly implemented before we complain. but the same is true of any praise for the same.
For the record, I didn’t criticize Mannion…not sure if that is directed at me.
I think he should be the starter, and will be great if the O-line improves (via attrition) like I think it will this year.
Edit: I see people confused the statement above about trading Mannion and reading that as me disliking him. I like Mannion. I am saying we need a DT and have a surplus of QBs, so trading would be nice.
Not at you specifically. But others take praise of Harrington as license to knock Mannion for being a frosh last year.
I personally see something in Mannion which I’ve never seen in an OSU QB ever. He has magnificent feel for the pocket and seemingly slow feet which slide him out of trouble in a magical way. That was the one fun thing I saw last year was that he should have been sacked about 90 times but found a way to get out of it (and always kept his eyes downfield) most of the time. If the game slows down for him, he can be scary good.
For the record, I like Harrington too. I love the teardrop passers with great footwork and pocket presence. I can only imagine he lacks the arm to make the sideline plays. But maybe with age and strength training he gets there.
I’ve never really liked Vaz, not because of him per se. I just don’t like the QB’s who sling it. There’s something in his abilities to make plays, or he wouldn’t be where he is. But I think his style of play lends more to broken plays and boom and bust cycles.
Gotta second your motion on Mannion. Nearly every time I’ve heard him this season he mentions working on his footwork, I think with his pocket presence he is only gonna improve in the “matador” aspect of being QB, and, by attrition, its likely he will have better protection this time. I don’t think you can discount the advantage of being a coaches son either.
Focusing on a few players like Mannion during games last year was about the only way to watch. The potential he showed, his poise, his arm – so many times the play ended with people around me saying, “if only Mannion had a line…”
The proof will be in the Sept 1 pudding – are we mixing all the right ingredients this year – because we sure have a few good bases from which to start. Which puts a ton of pressure on the coaches. If the team performs, then it means the coaches have finally figured out the game they are supposed to be teaching.
Oddly, my gameday experience last year was surprisingly good. I will admit that I’m probably in a different place than most on here, I bring my 4 kids and my wife to every game, which gives me a little different perspective than if I was just there as a sports fan. My kids enjoy the jumphouse stuff, the player’s walk and the weather for all of the games last year was amazing. No rain, sunny, early enough in the day that I could get back to Southern Oregon before 2AM…
I don’t think many of you realize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the “gameday” experience. Ultimately, the gameday experience is always going to be better if the product on the field is better. But, barring that, you are never going to make everyone happy.
+1 for great weather last year. If anything it was too hot at a few games.
I think they should encourage camping and RV’ing more. There’s nothing like an established group of fans squatting before and after games win or lose. I would consider taking my kids to game where we could set up a tent and be a part of one big party. Right now it’s drive for an hour, avoid pissing anyone off while you navigate a surly crowd, go home.
There seems to be no “I’m here to have fun no matter what… dammit!” attitude at Reser. There only seems to be a segregated fan base who wanders in and wanders out.
Exactly.
Fans are in their little groups…never invite strangers into their tailgate, etc. Every game I went to I pissed off the surly crowd by just standing up and cheering. Also tried to high five some strangers after a TD, and they gave me the death glare.
I’ve wondered that about Corvallis in general. People are very nice, but everyone sticks to their own social bubbles. There’s little overlap. It’s kind of strange.
I havent been close enough to Corvallis to go to many gamess since college (been out six yrs now), but how do people typically react if you approach and try to join their tailgater?
I’m early 30’s, so I typically gravitate towards the younger crowds. In my experience most people are friendly and more then willing to toss out a beer. If there q’n it up, invite you to try a drum stick or what have you. I have become the “Have a blast at the game” regardless of how the team is playing type. The worse the outing, the more beer consumption and socializing.
Win or lose, beavers booze.
Could you imagine what it would be like if we were byu fans, I wonder how they cope?
Byu… That was a difficult game to keep your head up at. Good thing the weather was beautiful. That one took a lot of beer. Probably shouldn’t have returned to my seats at halftime.
I think you guys are WAY off on the attitude of the tailgaters in Corvallis. I am in the RV crowd at the fairgrounds so we party until about 2 hours before kickoff then ride the $5 shuttle to Reser.
Now we’ve got 2 hours to keep our buzz going so what do we do? Waltz up to ANY tailgate and offer someone $5 for a beer. They won’t accept it and will usually insist that you join them. Not once in the last several years have I EVER ran into a non-friendly tailgate at Reser. If that is happening to you, I’m betting it’s your attitude.
I always end up trying to find the guy that actually paid for the beer and insist that he take my money.
This has led to many friendships being formed with fellow Beaver fans.
It works so well that we do the same thing on the road, even Eugene. We’ve never had to pay for beer and usually end up with too much booze before kickoff because people are happy to have someone new join their party. We’ve done this at Boise, Madison, and Seattle.
I take exception with anyone who says Corvallis tailgaters aren’t friendly.
agreed. The Forestry Lot under the oak trees is one of the best game day tailgate scenes in the Pac.
@hellobeavers: You left out the part about Riley and Banker liking to take showers together.
It’s probably too soon for that kind of humor.
Not sure if it’s ever too soon if the material is funny. This joke just isn’t funny and doesn’t really make sense.
Noted
I hoping the changes to practice this year are the right ones. This season it appears to be a quality over quantity approach to practice. Which for this offense is the right move. Even if we run 5 plays, we had better execute those plays perfectly. It is near impossible to stop a perfectly executed play. I am upset that these changes didn’t happen a year ago when our team was pretty much a freshman team. Making changes each year isn’t a bad thing, as long as it fits the teams needs. In a year or two I am hoping we don’t need to slow down and teach.
This is bullshit.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pac-12/index.ssf/2012/08/pac-12_unlikely_to_have_tv_networks_available_on_a.html#incart_river_default
I still don’t know if I should order Comcast because I don’t know if I will get OSU games in CA each week. I don’t want to spend the money for the P-12 and then get stuck watching Tommy Trojan dance around like a dandy
Exactly what I was saying would happen about a month ago when the topic was brought up. If they don’t have deals with the satellite providers yet, they’re not going to get them in time for the season to start. This way they can tighten the screws on Dish and Directv with the threat that subscribers will leave for Comcast. Eventually the satellite providers will have to cave and pay more to the pac 12, or not have Pac-12 sports at all.
In addition, Comcast isn’t available in much of the state outside of Portland and the larger towns, so the fans who rely on satellite for their tv will get screwed.
Outlying cable providers have signed on, so rural Oregon should be served well. I talked to someone at Directv in length about the deal, and in not so many words he said there would be a deal with the Pac 12. I’ve heard Dish is screwing themselves in the same category.
If Directv comes through, then it’s a boon for fans. I believe you can order your viewing preferences per your zip code. This was true several years ago when I had them (and I still do), but I worked graveyard. I ordered a NYC zip code, and I saw prime time three hours early. I also had to watch news and weather from NYC local channels. But I wasn’t worried about that so much.
So, if they haven’t changed it, you can plug in 97330 for your service and get the Oregon/State channel.
You’ll have to watch KVAL for your weather in Minnesota/SoCal/NoCal/etc. But you’ll get what you really want out of your service.
Re “Pac-12 unlikely to have TV networks available on all major providers”
Could this impact the Pac-12’s TV revenue if it continues?
So basically, Riley can’t please you. On one hand, he’s apathetic and reluctant to adapt to a changing football system. On the other, you trash him for making some needed changes. I just don’t get it. Your thought process here has several holes in it, so quit contradicting yourself.
Oh, and congratulations, you were able to leave a comment on Cliff’s blog.
What is the reading comprehension level of some of the posters on this site?
He’s new to this. Let him get his sea legs.
I guess that was a little harsh. Reading Angry’s post in a vacuum would come across as overly critical and possibly being anti Riley just for the sake of it. When you read it in the context of multiple post over the years it has a much different meaning.
Message from BDC on the new game-day experience
http://www.osubeavers.com/ot/orange-perspective.html
you can tell the new season is near. The energy level in this thread is off the charts (compared to the off-season norm).
The off-season was such a bore… I would check quite often to find, well, find nothing!
Right now Riley and the athletic department at osu are talking the talk. I can see why fellow beavers are not buying into it during the first week of practice, Riley has failed to walk the walk before. If Riley can get his players to buy into the vision he has for them I think this team can do some good things this season and in the future, I’m hoping the players can buy into this team because there is some real talent. This year more than ever Riley is going to have to walk the walk.
Hey, the Nicholls State game just got a lot more interesting, prospectively. The Honey Badger got kicked off LSU and may end up there.
hahaha, Luck of the Beavers
Great the honey badgers week one and the badgers week 2.
Looks like McNeese St will get him.
I am excitedly reserved about the season. I love the football, and growing up a Red Sox fan every Spring you felt “this will be the year”. I used to feel the same way about the Beavs, but I am a little non-commital at the moment. I see to many weaknesses. First, the offense COULD be explosive if they can get the OL figured out. I will reserve judgement on starting Isaac at Center until I see how they do, but my first instinct is that it is not the best place for him as a player. But I do appreciate that we have two 4star recruits on the line (Isaac and Phillipp). Some like Juice, others dislike him, I think he was inconsistent because he was hurt last year, a healthy Andrews and I like his nastiness. I am not impressed with Kelly (see ASU game) and think he is the weakest player on the line, just ahead of Enger. They both have experience, so if they show some growth maybe they are ready this year, but hearing that Enger is getting pushed by Michael Beaston is concerning.
I like the talent at QB and RB.
I think the wideouts are less talented and unproven. There’s potential there, but it also seems like they just are not as good as others in the league. Wheaton is decent, he’s not a game breaker, and his hands have been iffy at times (see Utah, WSU games).
TE I have to admit I don’t know much about, it seems to the me though its lacking in playmaking ability, both blocking and catching. Hopefully, Caleb Smith is the real deal.
Defensively, IF the DL can stay healthy – which requires multiple PRODUCTIVE rotations I think they could be very solid. If Castro can make a difference and not just take up space, I like Seumalo and Wynn and Crighton alot. Any kind of injury to those guys and its not to pretty.
Linebackers I don’t like. Unga is serviceable, and a good tackler, but at times I feel like he doesn’t see the play quick enough (maybe this is where Bray will help?). Reuben Robinson is a backup who can spell, but is a liability, but I like his motor. Doctor and Welch seem undersized to me, and although they show good instincts and speed they often times overrun the play and over pursuit across the field (see UW, UO).
Secondary will be fun to watch this year. Poyer is a stud! Reynolds is very underated, but there is no depth. Safety, I don’t like very much. I think we will have to see how Zimmy can learn the position, but I haven’t even seen him play at this level yet, he does seem to tackle well. The others breakdown mentally all too often, getting sucked up and caught inside on runs and not containing (see Wis). Coverage wise I their are average.
It should help to have Poyer and Reynolds back there to take some pressure off, but unless we have good linebacker coverage on the underneath routes teams will sit on the crossing routes for guys to break free.
Special teams seems a litlle shakey to me. Romaine does not seem to be as good as advertised, but I am willing to forgive and forget and give him another shot as I remember what Serna did after his tough Freshmen year. But I would have a short leash on him. Punting I have no clue.
I like Bruce Read, and we seem to cover kicks much better last year, and we made some plays on special teams (CLayton Yorks blocked punt TD), so I am pretty confident about that group. What I am not sure I see is any playmakers for returns, unless they put a Woods or Brown on Kickoff. Poyer is our best returner, but Riley wants to keep him rested for defense, so I don’t know how often we will actually see him back there.
I think this team could have enough to surprise, and overcome some of their glaring weaknesses if they can stay healthy and get some LUCK. Otherwise, it might another long season.
my 2 cents. getting excited though- the Ticket Release Party is next weekend!!
Can’t be any worse than last season right (See Sac St.)? So there is something to hope for, right?
Go Sox.
I look at Sept. 1 the same way I look at Opening Day: Hey – we’re undefeated!
Let’s just hope October for Beaver football doesn’t feel like August baseball this year…
Someone explain the Riley ideology thing. I thought he let the TEAM decide THEIR ideology. The whole –letting the players grow and find themselves– thing. So I thought he didnt try to impress any personal ideologly on them.
As to being fair in criticisms of Riley….lol…. we went from a near conference championship to a 3-9 season, going steadily downhill. What the hell is not justified in criticism?
But maybe Riley can lift it out of the ashes. If he does he has resumed to his expected role as a good football coach. What he should have been doing all the time. If he doesnt, ….well, the polyannas are gonna be really desperate.
We’ll know in a few weeks.
Reading all these post’s is a hoot. You will see what I know in about 3 months. Have fun in the meantime. Oh, by the way, all Duck fans love Mike Riley.
Yes, we know. You are all seeing and also have your finger on the pulse of all that is Duck High. I can’t wait for you to come back and say “I told you so”… because we all know you won’t be here (with the same name) if you’re wrong.
Looks like there will be an extra incentives to win this season.
FightingBeaver thinks….well, I got nothing to say, but I am a typical Duck fan, so I gotta find some way to be a dickhead….
Was curious about Katz’s progress and found this old article:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/mar/20/sdsu-becomes-second-life-qb-katz/?page=1#article
With Rocky Long at HC, and Katz at QB, it would have been nice to have San Diego State at Reser this year instead of Nicholas St(?)….
“@beaverkman: @JamesDockery31 how do you think the Beavers do this year? Still #Beavlieving” their going to be a surprise! Very creative
Here’s what Doc had to say about this year’s team, ever the optimist!! Meanwhile, he had a rough first pre season game, but the Browns won.
Does anybody else see that the OSU webcam for basketball facility is grayed out? Looks like they don’t want us watching practice from afar.
You guys all notice the dueling Rogers return team tandem the other night. James ran back 3 for 57 yards. Can’t express how proud I am to have those 2 rep the school!
?@JHuntweet At practice this morning…Storm Woods, Jovan Stevenson among the kick returners in special teams drills…
Stevenson might be a good pick for a return guy.
I still remember one of the (very few) good moments from the 2011 CW…Mannion tossed a short pass to Stevenson, and he turned it into a ~65 yd TD. Very good vision and patience. Didn’t bounce to the corner and just run like most guys, cut across the field a few times and followed blockers.
Agreed. Good hands and is fast enough once he’s up to speed.
http://oregonstate.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1395249
Notes from Blitz, FWIW: more two TE sets than usual, and, “I asked Riley if there was something wrong with freshman Isaac Seumalo because of his absence from those drills and he said he didn’t know anything about that. We’ll wait and see if anything is up, but it’s doubtful it was an injury situation.”
Wha?? Isaac sets out majority of drills and Riley unaware? Its concerning that Riley (who MUST be aware) didn’t have a quick non-answer.
Anyone here have more info, seen other reports?
Not good that WR Mullaney may have broken his hand by getting it caught up with a helmet. Now you have to strongly consider a redshirt depending on what we find out in the next couple of days. I wouldn’t want to spend a year and only see him enter half of the games or fewer. He could be pretty productive for OSU in coming years.
Didn’t he already use up his redshirt last season? Or can you have multiple redshirts?
Yes he did redshirt last year. So if he did break his hand we either use him for half a season or apply for a medical redshirt. I believe you can do that. Maybe it will come down to if he misses more than 4 games. 4 or less and I expect he will get used this year.
Do you think they will grant him medical redshirt? They are usually pretty picky with those.
The injury has to happen in the first 4 games or earlier I think and then you can’t play after that. That is the key aspect. If you want to take extra time to heal it is usually fine so long as you are done for the season. He would be an older senior though down the line so unless he can wrap his head around grad school already I suspect he will for sure want to play. Coaches likely prefer to play him but it will be less than ideal if he misses like 5 games. Let’s hope it isn’t broken.
You can only apply for a medical redshirt if you suffer a season ending injury and have played less than 25% of the season. A broken hand would probably be a 4-6 week recovery time so Mullaney wouldn’t be eligible. But this is all for not as Mullaney was back practicing today.
That’s good. I have seen a lot of injuries though where the guy could have returned but didn’t. They give you ample leeway in judgement there as they usually just consider it being cautious. The case of a broken hand is interesting. Not sure how many cases there are where schools have streched that to a redshirt. A guy who is just starting to contribute and not at the top of the depth chart would be the prime case. Mullaney should be good. Glad he appears to be not too badly hurt. They better make sure he isn’t developing a stress fracture and not at risk of reinjury.
I attended most of the Beavers’ midday practice today/Saturday at Prothro Field (11 am to 1:15 pm). I spent most of my time focusing on the O-line.
Freshman o-lineman Gavin Andrews participated in the first part of practice, until his head started hurting. He sat down on a half wall near the sidelines, looking dazed and sick, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands. Head Trainer Arika Iso came over and talked with him for about five minutes. From the parts of the conversation I could overhear, it seems that Gavin banged his head hard in practice yesterday/Friday, but didn’t tell the trainers. He is now suffering from what may be a concussion, and was taken to the training room for further tests and observation (after a lecture from Arika Iso about the need to tell the trainers immediately about this sort of problem in the future).
A kinder, gentler Coach Cav was on display for at least the first half of practice today. He was doing a lot of teaching during O-line drills, in a relatively calm voice. Towards the end of practice, during 11-on-11 drills, the old Cav emerged and did some yelling. But overall Cav seems to be trying to do less screaming and cursing, and trying to be more constructive with his criticisms.
I spent a lot of time watching Isaac Seumalo today. Isaac is playing center with the first unit, and looks surprisingly comfortable in that position. QBs were taking most or all snaps with their hands under center, and Isaac appeared to be doing a reliable job with the snaps. After snapping the ball, Isaac was getting off the line quickly, and up into the pads of the d-line. During 11-on-11 drills, Isaac held his own against Castro Masaniai, and the other interior d-linemen. In fact, I only saw Isaac get beaten a few times all day (and it was a long practice). Isaac also did a nice job in 11-on-11 drills releasing from his initial block and picking off linebackers on draw and screen plays. If there was anything negative to say about Isaac, perhaps it was that, during blocking drills early in practice, Isaac did not look so sharp on shotgun snaps (but, in fairness, the shotgun snaps were being snapped back to an OSU assistant, and were not at all the point of the drill). From what I saw today, I expect that Isaac will be OSU’s starting center on September 1, and will do a good job.
The O-line first unit today included Mike Philipp at LT, Josh Andrews at LG, Isaac at center, Grant Enger at RG, and Colin Kelly at RT. When I wasn’t watching Isaac, I was watching Mike Philipp. I thought MP looked good — certainly better and healthier than last year. Again, just from what I saw today, I expect MP to bounce back and have a good season at LT for the Beavs. At the very least, MP will represent a major upgrade from last year’s LT, Mike Remmers (although that’s not saying much, of course….)
Garrett Weinrich played LT with the second unit during today’s practice. GW doesn’t seem to get off the ball quite as fast as Isaac Seumalo, and got beaten a bit more often as a result, but still held his own most of the time against various D-linemen (including Dylan Wynn). GW appears to have good size and strength already (and will presumably improve in these areas). He also seemed already to know his assignments — I don’t recall GW getting yelled at much today by Cav, or by other coaches.
Nolan Hansen is a freshman offensive lineman from Corvallis HS. NH is listed at 6-6 and 250, but looked lighter than that. If NH is going to play o-line for OSU, he will need to add 50 pounds and a lot of strength. His main role today was as a blocking dummy. At best, he’ll be given a chance to redshirt this season and to hit the weights (and the training table) hard. No help coming from NH in the near future.
Apart from the O-line, I only have a few other observations from today’s practice:
Rashaad Reynolds looked good at CB all day. I think his one-on-one pass coverage — and especially his press coverage — will be significantly better this season than last season. Today he showed an ability to come up close to the line, then backpedal quickly, and stay with Wheaton and Cooks on most pass routes, keeping tight coverage all the way down the field. This was true even though RR had his right knee wrapped in an athletic bandage (suggesting that he wasn’t 100%). Perhaps I’m imagining this, but RR seems — at least to me — to be more confident, and mentally tougher, than he was a year ago. If RR and Poyer stay healthy, OSU should be in good shape this season at CB.
Mannion seems to be throwing his short passes (10-15 yards) with slightly more velocity, and also more accuracy, than last year. He seems to be making an effort to keep the ball down — letting fewer balls sail on him (which was sometimes a problem last year). In the short passing game, Mannion also seems to be making decisions and getting rid of the ball a bit more quickly. So far, so good.
Oh, and Richard Mullaney participated fully in practice today and looked good (so the hand injury he sustained yesterday probably was not too serious).
Great analysis.
Thanks for taking the time to write all of this, this is the kind of info I don’t hear on Olive.
David ajamu to the beavs, believe he’s a tight end from Washington. Unimpressive offer list, anyone seen him play? I believe he could play d-end as well, 6’4, 238.
?@JHuntweet New LB coach Trent Bray likes physical, mental skills of frosh LBs Joel Skotte, Caleb Saulo: “They might be able to help us this year.”