Unfortunately this preformance is what I feared with Howard being named starter.

[The Bell Tolls for Thee]

First and foremost, the biggest downfall is the same ol', same ol' for WVU ... offensive line cannot block anyone with a pulse. That being said I had hoped I was proven wrong in those first 3 games, but the glimpses were there (not progressing through reads, getting happy feet, not knowing when to throw it away, wildly inaccurate). Unfortunately, I fear that Howard's weakness in pocket presence and accuracy (especially across the middle or on seam routes) are unlikely to be resolved this season. The most frustrating thing is this cycle of JUCO transfers who only put in one year. If he were a sophomore, I'd at least take comfort in the fact that lumps taken by the key position for this offense now might pay dividends next season.

Defense got some weaknesses exposed, but it seems like some of that can be fixed since it was blown coverages and being out of position. I did like that the defense responded well to getting slapped around in the first half with the opening of the second half. They got put in a bad spot by the offense, although that 70 yard touchdown ultimately makes this a sour performance for the D.

 

[southernwveer]

I like Skylar. He has the right attitude and is a decent player. It is just hard to imagine that as talented as Crest is that he can't wrap his head around this offense enough to be more productive than Skylar has been in big games.

 

[The Bell Tolls for Thee]

I agree on Crest. I thought Howard being named starter was more of a negative on Crest than a positive on Skylar. Its frustrating that if Crest at this point is not able to compete with Howard, then I feel it is not a great sign for Crest taking over next year and improving the QB situation. Something could just click and if given the chance Crest emergences as the clear cut started ala Pat White over Bednarik in 2005. Although I think with Crest having been in the system rather than being a true freshmen, makes that less likely.

 

[spartansstink]

Agree somewhat with the line... but it wasn't as bad as it seemed. The Striker kid is a stud - no doubt. But today, the problem was twofold. First, we tried to use Cajuste to block him and that just didn't work. Cajuste got abused by a more experienced, talented player. Not saying Cajuste is terrible, right now he looks like what he is... a freshman. He'll get better.

Pankey replaced him and did a little better but that changes things all the way around on the line. On the sack and scoop and score in the 4th, that was Wellman's whiff that caused that. Add to that, WVU never caught on the whole game to what Striker was doing. On power I plays he free blitzed off the back side - he had no containment responsibilities whatsoever. Instead of doing something to neutralize him, or at least slow him down a little (run a counter back at him, bootleg and keep, etc.) WVU allowed him to run free all game and he was constantly wreaking havoc by coming untouched and making tackles down the line of scrimmage.

Second, fans who know a little something should notice Howard's weakness. You did, (the throws over the middle), but I don't think you realize why its a problem. If you notice, he doesn't have any trouble throwing towards the sidelines being high or inaccurate, its really only over the middle. The reason - he's too short and can't see over the line. That is why his release point is so high and the ball sails on him (it could also do the opposite - nosedive into the dirt). I think now you see why he wasn't really recruited heavily out of high school. It isn't because of ability, it was more because of the intangibles - mainly height.

 

[southernwveer]

Yes I realized that, that is why I didn't jump ship too bad last year. I assumed the staff could help correct this. It just isn't happening and what's worrisome is that I don't know if it will. Its just disappointing after the huge expectations of Crest to think he can't take the job. Skylar struggles more than just the throws over the middle but that is far and away his biggest weakness.
You are correct on the game plan against Striker. It would've helped to slip a back out there to throw in the flat out of the 2 back sets. Honestly I'm not sure how well it would've worked though because they are athletic enough behind that to make a play.
The line didn't play great but they didn't play bad enough to take the blame for skylars numbers either.

 

[Papillion]

First and foremost, the biggest downfall is the same ol', same ol' for WVU ... offensive line cannot block anyone with a pulse. That being said I had hoped I was proven wrong in those first 3 games, but the glimpses were there (not progressing through reads, getting happy feet, not knowing when to throw it away, wildly inaccurate). Unfortunately, I fear that Howard's weakness in pocket presence and accuracy (especially across the middle or on seam routes) are unlikely to be resolved this season. The most frustrating thing is this cycle of JUCO transfers who only put in one year. If he were a sophomore, I'd at least take comfort in the fact that lumps taken by the key position for this offense now might pay dividends next season.

Defense got some weaknesses exposed, but it seems like some of that can be fixed since it was blown coverages and being out of position. I did like that the defense responded well to getting slapped around in the first half with the opening of the second half. They got put in a bad spot by the offense, although that 70 yard touchdown ultimately makes this a sour performance for the D.

Howard certainly had a bad game but his toughness shouldn't be questioned. He hung in there right before the half and made a couple terrific throws while hanging in the pocket and i didn't see jittery feet. Also, I give him a lot of credit in chasing down runners on two of those TO's and helping to make the tackle. He didn't quit.
There were two things that stood out to me: I think our offensive coaches got out coached against their defense and Dana's playcalling, which he took blame for.
There wasn't a screen play, which has been a big positive in this offense, called until late in the game. And only two swing passed that I remember for the entire game.
I thought we should have nickle and dimed OU but for some reason our coaches weren't countering Howard's weakness of over throwing by calling a shorter game when needed. I think we'll see this from now on.
But over all, this was an implosion where Howard was only part of the problem. Even our terrific punter shanked two punts. It was just a failure all the way around.
Two things OU had going for them that we were up against that I feel our fans over looked. One was that OU was fairly battle tested by that big comeback win at Tenn in front of 100,000 people.Plus, they were at home and we hadn't played a road game yet and it showed.
The season is young. A win next week and we're 4-1 and back on track. We need to be patient because Howard did show something positive as well. We have what it takes to win big this season but the coaches are going to have to call the game to match the players skills, especially where it involves Howard and they didn't. They basically set him up to fail in many situations.

 

[spartansstink]

You really can't help correct height problems except to roll him out of the pocket. However, teams realize this too and try to keep him in the pocket where he can do the least damage.

The problem today, and basically all year, is we kept rolling him out to the right. We never roll him out to the left. I would assume part of that is because of Cajuste. However, if I can see it you know every B12 defensive coordinator can see it also. Expect a lot of outside and backside pressures in the future. Dana's going to have to come up a scheme to either handle that or counter that or its going to be a long season. Throws out to the back could work, so could draws. We'll see next week, Okie State doesn't have a Striker and looked very beatable today against KSU.

The bubble screens were there today. Unfortunately, we looked downfield too much today and didn't take what they were giving us.

 

[spartansstink]

Howard certainly had a bad game but his toughness shouldn't be questioned. He hung in there right before the half and made a couple terrific throws while hanging in the pocket and i didn't see jittery feet. Also, I give him a lot of credit in chasing down runners on two of those TO's and helping to make the tackle. He didn't quit.
There were two things that stood out to me: I think our offensive coaches got out coached against their defense and Dana's playcalling, which he took blame for.
There wasn't a screen play, which has been a big positive in this offense, called until late in the game. And only two swing passed that I remember for the entire game.
I thought we should have nickle and dimed OU but for some reason our coaches weren't countering Howard's weakness of over throwing by calling a shorter game when needed. I think we'll see this from now on.
But over all, this was an implosion where Howard was only part of the problem. Even our terrific punter shanked two punts. It was just a failure all the way around.
Two things OU had going for them that we were up against that I feel our fans over looked. One was that OU was fairly battle tested by that big comeback win at Tenn in front of 100,000 people.Plus, they were at home and we hadn't played a road game yet and it showed.
The season is young. A win next week and we're 4-1 and back on track. We need to be patient because Howard did show something positive as well. We have what it takes to win big this season but the coaches are going to have to call the game to match the players skills, especially where it involves Howard and they didn't. They basically set him up to fail in many situations.

Agreed. Good points all around. Also, it should be added that Oklahoma had a bye week to work on a lot of things that weren't positives for them before this game.

 

[southernwveer]

Someone needs to get Drew Bees on the phone and get some pointers.

 

[southernwveer]

Someone needs to get Drew Bees on the phone and get some pointers.

Or Johnny Manziel. Or Case Keenum. Lots of guys who benefited by moving outside the pocket but were pretty good in the pocket too.

 

[southernwveer]

Troy Smith. Russell Wilson. The size is a challenge but it is correctable. It just has not been corrected. Heck it just became an issue again. Its not a problem when you are destroying teams that aren't complete cupcakes.
The problem is there is a very highly recruited physically gifted qb on the sidelines who the coaches have nothing but praise for. No disrespect but if say...Paul Millard was the number 2 we probably wouldn't be so quick to complain.

 

[mountainear]

Sills is the future folks! I know.....I know, someone's always proclaiming who the next best thing is. He needs to put on some wt but he's gonna be a very good one! As of right now though, I couldn't care less about next yr! I wanna be relevant now!

 

[southernwveer]

I absolutely hate Marshall but can you honestly say that if Cato was our Qb in the Liberty Bowl last year that you think we would have lost? The guy just gets too up or too shaky or whatever in big games against teams that are talented. When the game speeds up he loses his fundamentals somewhat and nerves kill his accuracy. I hope it gets better and quick, because like I said all the fans know is there is a 6'3 athletic beast watching him throw all these incompletions and it makes us all wonder what went so wrong in that situation.

 

[southernwveer]

Sills is the future folks! I know.....I know, someone's always proclaiming who the next best thing is. He needs to put on some wt but he's gonna be a very good one! As of right now though, I couldn't care less about next yr! I wanna be relevant now!

That is what its about. Now. I'm guessing Skylar is far and away the best option everyday in practice and we don't see that. I'm sure something sets him above the rest. Its just disappointing with what we expected from Crest.

 

[southernwveer]

I think he has the work ethic to improve every aspect of his game. Hopefully he has the nerves to translate the improvement to the game against tough competition. It is early in his career and he does a few things very well. I would like him to bounce back and be throwing darts on slants and crossing patterns the rest of the year. But today and in previous games his accuracy has hurt us much worse than the wv media or coaches have let on. I'm not sold he will ever be top notch but I think he will put then work in needed to be. So hopefully it will fix itself and he will raise a big 12 trophy sometime. I just had to voice my frustrations from every game he's played in and concerns for the future. Like I said I hope he gets it fixed and tears up the big 12. As long as hes a mountaineer in will be a fan, its just frustrating to watch him do much harder things and struggle with this.

 

[mountainear]

I agree w/ your sentiments southernwveer! I just think Dana is asking him to do too much! 30+ attempts is not what his stat line should read. And apparently its not what r oline is built for at this point!

 

[southernwveer]

I agree somewhat. He had a couple of bad picks today but one was late when we were forcing everything. If he can start completing those intermediate passes it will make 2nd and 3rd downs more manageable which may lead to more opportunities to run the ball. He makes good reads and a lot of good decisions he just doesn't execute afterward. It just stalls this offense so bad. Pitch and catch costs us probably 10-21 points a game. Smallwood is running hard and Shell looked like he may have figured out how to hit then running lane again today. Hopefully those guys can help share the burden in the upcoming weeks.

 

[southernwveer]

Its just tough to watch the kid make decent reads, throw fairly good balls on tougher routes, escape pressure decently, and run well enough to give a wrinkle that defenses must be aware of, then just make god awful throws on the basics. He will never be a superstar stud but he is really close to being productive and efficient enough to give this team a chance deep into every game.
Just get the damn ball down on routes over the middle shorter than 20 yards. That's it. Its frustrating.

 

[southernwveer]

On another worrisome point. The special teams looked a little rough today. These players gotta learn that there's a reason coaches have taught heels on the ten forever.

 

[mountainear]

I understand that the numbers get inflated if you're playing catch up. And i understand the concept of taking what the defense gives you. But there's a couple times a game I find myself saying run the ball! And I'm a former receiver!

 

[EEReverent]

When the game speeds up he loses his fundamentals somewhat and nerves kill his accuracy

This.....

 

[VaultHunter]

When WVU wins opponents weren't that good.

When WVU loses opponents weren't that good.

Actually it's a great stance to take because your never wrong and the adjustments you would make from your couch seem intelligent.

 

[Wvu21795]

It just seems we either win in a blowout or lose getting blown out.....maybe that's just being in the big12

 

[irishladdy]

I think now you see why he wasn't really recruited heavily out of high school. It isn't because of ability, it was more because of the intangibles - mainly height.

Height is a tangible attribute, all it takes is a tape measure. Intangibles would be things you can't measure (i.e. Heart, poise).

 

[spartansstink]

Yes, I knew that. I noticed it later but was too lazy to correct it.

Although he may be lacking in height, I like his intangibles.