Game Time Thread: UL vs UNT

[Hammer58]

_ Glad to see the Cajuns pull this one out. We were anemic on offense and our defense played poorly, except of course for the TD from the int. I'm not too surprised by the offense, but I thought the defense would play better. We will need to get better quick, or we will find ourselves on the wrong side of our upcoming games. Where did the defense go? _

I thought our defense looked to be playing to react to NT rather than being aggressive and get after them. That is a coaching scheme and not the player's decision. When we did get after them we were pretty effective in disrupting their passing game. On offense, I think it is obvious the team plays with a spark with McGuire in there. Chris may technically be a better passer but right now McGuire is the better leader and football player. Chris made a few good plays but they were two few and two far between to consistently move the team. Bustle should have made the switch earlier and he should not be pulling Brad on passing plays, IMO. It smacks of Baldwin.

[CajunCool]

It's nice to be on this side of an ugly win.....we've been on the other side before. A win is a win is a win, and I'll take it. Still, in the interest of improvement, I thought we were way too vanilla offensively and defensively. We were out-schemed and out coached. We looked like we were playing not to lose instead of playing to kick their butts.

Offensively, it seems clear we have to let McQuire have a little more playing time. Secondly, either our receivers are awfully slow, can't run routes, or our play design is atrocious, because we just don't get open. Masson has to make some really precise throws to get a completion.

Defensively, we seemed confused and out of sinc. We didn't take advantage and put pressure on them, even when we got the momentum. We laid back, gave them some easy ones, and gave them back the momentum. The blitz seemed non existent.

Most surprising to me though, was N Texas controlling the line of scrimmage and how much faster they appeared.

[zephyr]

_ I thought our defense looked to be playing to react to NT rather than being aggressive and get after them. That is a coaching scheme and not the player's decision. When we did get after them we were pretty effective in disrupting their passing game. On offense, I think it is obvious the team plays with a spark with McGuire in there. Chris may technically be a better passer but right now McGuire is the better leader and football player. Chris made a few good plays but they were two few and two far between to consistently move the team. Bustle should have made the switch earlier and he should not be pulling Brad on passing plays, IMO. It smacks of Baldwin. _

It was a smart move to insert McGuire in for a while to see if there was a spark that could be ignited and it was. It just pains me to see people all of a sudden saying that this is a better team with McGuire in the game when he's played a series. We are not a better team necessarily and I think it is unfair to Masson to assume so. Masson has played a lot better than his numbers have indicated due to drops and inconsistency in route running by his WR's along with ultra conservative playcalling by the coaches. Remember, he did not turn the ball over like his counterpart Dodge did last night and while the offense was stagnant, he did not hurt us turning it over. McGuire was used in one dimension only and that was running the ball. The coaches didn't ask him to pass the ball and that tells me something. I don't think he is necessarily the better "player" at this time as his time was only spent running the ball and that will only last for so long over the course of the game.

[CajunSaint]

i think we must be cautious with this talk of inserting this or that backup qb into the game. the last thing we need right now is a qb "contoversy." i keep reading how this one is the better passer, and that one is a better leader. the coaches evaluate proficiency at the position during practices. i can't make the practices, so i really can't tell what any of our qb's look like there. i have to believe that they make the choice they believe gives us the best shot at victory. hell, i'd like to see gauthier in there in the "wild cajun" formation. as far as leadership goes, has anyone polled the players? how can you say that one is a better leader? or this one? what tangible evidence exists? you may feel this, or have an opinion on this, but to state it as fact is a questionable position. let the coaches make these decisions. let our players know that we are behind them no matter who is in the game. geaux cajuns!