Kiss The Guelph Witches Thread, Vol. 4

Overall, a solid effort. I wish the offense could have kept on the gas through the third quarter, but I can't complain with 400+ yards offense and a W. I am proud of how the defence has come together. Congrats to Luca Congi for 1000 points scored in the league. We are .500 and Evil Incarnate is wounded. It makes for a great fall IMHO.

Oski Wee Wee,

Russ

The D has done a complete 180, they are really coming into their own, best part is, they are still underestimated by other fans and teams.....

The O needs to work on a 60 minute game, overall though, a real solid effort!!

I love the work of both Orlondo Steinhauer and Dennis McPhee in particular. Guys are believing in the system. Somewhere in Ohio, Sudsy must be pleased!

Some thoughts on the game:

  1. Our 3-game winning streak is now the best streak in the league.

  2. Gable is really coming along nicely these past few games. He's quietly scored 7 TDs this season, which is second in the league, pending this afternoon's game.

  3. Nice to see the defence hold up late in the game, when the offence was "taking a break," and those of us who are prone to panic were having visions of a humiliating comeback.

  4. It sure feels a lot better when the DBs can hang on to interceptions, than it did to see them bounce off their hands.

  5. Great return by McCullough - led the team with 8 tackles.

  6. I'll feel a lot better when we can beat a winning team, but this is obviously a great start. Next 3 games (BC, BC, Toronto) will tell us a lot about where we stand.

  7. At the start of August, how many of us believed we'd go from being 1-4 to a .500 record in the span of three weeks?

  1. In the past 5 or 6 years, I don't think we were ever as messed up as Winnipeg now seems to be. There's not a lot for them to be hopeful about, other than the fact that it can't get much worse.
  1. Good game by Burris, though I'd still like to see more consistency throughout the 4 quarters. His stats may suffer a bit from the team's habit of inserting LeFevour when we get near the goal line, but I'll take the score however we get it.

  2. Could this be the year where the Ticats can finally claim the Eastern All-Star QB spot? May depend on whether Ray misses many games. Someone with better web-searching skills may know better, but the last two times I remember us claiming this honour was McManus in 1999, and Hobart in 1985. Not sure if Kerrigan ever got it. I think Clements probably grabbed it in 1981.

Although he suffered with the "dropsies" I really like the debut of Tavoy Moore. He showed flashes of brilliance. I think the "fumblitis" he displayed was due to nerves caused by his first pro game. Although physical talent can compensate for a lot, football is still a very cerebral game. Just look at number 67 - Canada's smartest person. :wink:

I agree with all of your points especially #6 although I had a feeling we would see a turnaround by Labour Day which is just around the corner. Have to play better in BC which will be much more of a challenge> Leos are usually pretty dominant in their own house but we came within 3 of beating them early last season there when we had a team that wasn’t nearly as good and theirs was maybe a bit better than what they have now.

This thread is just no fun. I miss the vituperation.* :smiley:

*[url]http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vituperation[/url]

Was he injured in the 4th? I seen him limping on the sidelines and then he was only in for one or two more plays and I didn’t see him after that.

Never mind, just watched Austins post game and heard him mention he was dehydrated.

Lately, we've gone through a player and/or coach overhaul every off-season with this past being no exception. That means the start of the season is an extended training camp to work out kinks, get accustomed to new schemes, tendencies, rules, field, etc. I'm sure if we played the Toronto and Edmonton games over the result would be different today. Hopefully with Kent Austin in charge we'll not have to rebuild every off-season thus committing to nearly unavoidable slow start.

It seemed to me the bummers quit in the second quarter so our side let up. Hey, why not? If the other side wants to mail it in then let them. It's hard to get a read on how our team performed when the other stinks as badly as Winnipeg does right now.

For a guy in his first professional game Moore looked impressive. I think this is the best receiving corps we've had in a long time. Figueroa is a beast. The DLine has come together nicely although I'd still like to see a more intense pass rush. We'll know how much the Secondary has improved next week.

TiCats face BC and Calgary twice next month. I'm not going along with the media's story of the West being the big dog on the league porch. Riders were lucky to beat their divisional bottom rung and BC got beat by a limp squad in the belle province. I'm predicting we sweep the indoor kitties.

So...we're .500 going into the Labour Day nonClassic and currently the host for the Eastern Division Final. I think that calls for a celebratory Oskie Wee Wee!

I previously stated in this forum that I would not pass judgement on the Austin era until Labour Day (in spite of a great temptation to judge when they went 1-4!) I am now "cautiously optimistic" about the Austin era. "Optimistic" because the team is recovering injured players and improving, especailly on defence. "Cautious" because they havent yet proven themselves against a top team like BC, Saskatchwan or Toronto. Hopefully, after the 2-game BC series, I can remove the "cautious" adjective.

BTW it was an awesome weather day at Guelph yesterday: a little hot but with a nice breeze occasionally. No poncho needed!

Oskee Wee Wee!

One thing that puzzles me is just having ONE punt returner. The guy sometimes has to run half the width of the field just to get to the ball, then his momentum is not going in the right direction. Two guys would be better, even try three. Once in the air they know who will catch the ball and the other backs can then get in on the blocking down where the returner is with less chance of blocking from the rear, and in better position to back up a dropsie.

Another puzzler is if a punt returner is standing on one hash mark why would a punter punt the ball to that side? Punting to the other side of the field would make the returner have to run 30 or so yards just to get the ball. By the time he gets it the coverage team (knowing the plan) would be almost meeting him at the ball. Since he has already run the 30 or so yards, he wouldn’t likely have much left in the tank to break a big one. I know the punt would probably not go as far downfield as one kicked parallel to the sideline (straight downfield) (not including possible roll of the ball if not caught by the returner) but it would likely be a benefit knowing the returner has less of a big return possibility.

The punt returner generally, if not dare I say, always, positions himself mirroring the punter. If the punt is in the middle, he’s in the middle, if on left hash, he’s on the same hash. The only time the returner may choose an adjustment is in a cross wind or the “footedness” of the punter. Punters don’t like to have to “positional” kick off their outstep or off the outside of their foot as that can produce a shank more times than not. When a punter is looking to place the ball, they kick it straight on while turning their body or give it a slight outside-in spin which is like drawing a ball in golf. Kicking on the outer edge of the foot is like slicing or fading a ball in golf.

As far as coverage goes. It’s all about shortest path from A to B. You want to kick to the shortest or boundary side of the field. It’s the shortest route for you “gunners” to get downfield as well as the shortest distance for your contain as well as shortest distance for your second interior wave who usually makes the tackles.

Little know fact; Why is it that the 40 yard dash is the standard for measuring speed in football? Because of the kicking/punting game. Punting averages are around 40 yards. Football personnel people wanted/want to see who could get downfield quickest over 40 yards to cover kicks!

As far as putting more than one returner back on punts, it all comes down to numbers & the ability of laying a solid block in open field.

In a standard set, 11 guys + 1 punter vs. 11 guys + 1 returner, the numbers are balanced. If you put an additional returner back there, you lose a man.

It's far easier to pick up your man on punt return as they leave the line of scrimmage. Interfere with them as they run down on coverage. Move them to one side or the other depending upon the return call whether it be Boundary or Field.

It's very, Very, VERY hard to pick off a guy coming right at you in punt coverage. The guy is coming at you with full momentum and can see the returner with the ball & where he's going, which you can't, all the while you're not going at nearly the same speed as the coverage. They've had 40 yards of momentum and can't see everything. You've had 10 yards of momentum and are blind.

Just think about how many bone crushing blocks that occur on kick returns happen mono-et-mono, straight up, in open field versus guys that get blindsided at an off angle or turned and picked off at a changed of direction/angle.

Ooooooooooh I'm excited! I sense a ST's thread coming soon!

Correction: next 3 games are BC, BC and Calgary, but your point still stands. Well put.

Post Of The Year Candidate.

Sorry FGuy, but there are still 11 blockers. One just happens to be back with the returner. As for being 'blind' to the returner's route - blocker just has to defeat the leading tackler on the scene, or do some prearranged action.