| 09 September 2009
Watch where you step! I may have dropped some knowledge over there. I traded emails with BJ from FalconBlog, a Bowling Green blog. We got to know each other in a very non-sexual way...I'm talking about our teams. His questions and my responses are over at FalconBlog, and his responses to my drivel are below.
1). With the Falcons having a new coach in Dave Clawson, an offensive mind, what changes have you seen one game in to the Clawson Era? New offensive or defensive scheme?
Well after a year of reading horror stories from Knoxville, I expected to see a defense only Marilyn Savant could understand. As it turns out, normal humans can grasp the Clawson attack--perhaps the Volunteers had other problems. Clawson says he is not a "system guy" and will the plays that get his best players the ball in space. With that in mind, we certainly ran a hybrid offense with lots of spread sets but also some more "West Coast" sets. We were supposed to run more, though you didn't see that against Troy. What you did see what remarkable success along the line of scrimmage--perhaps the best performance on the line of scrimmage that I can recall going back to the Meyer years. You also saw the passing offense go deep a lot more than it used to. On defense, we blitzed a lot more than we did previously, and had more success pressuring the QB against Troy then we have in a long time.
2). The MAC has always had a strong crop of QBs. Where does Tyler Sheehan rank in MAC QBs for '09?
Going into the season, I thought Tyler was the third best QB in the MAC, behind Dan Lefevour of CMU and Tim Hiller of WMU. Neither of those guys had good starts to the year, but at the same time, they were playing on the road against BCS Competition. If Tyler continues to produce as he did last week, he has the ability to be as good as Hiller, and as good as Lefevour when he isn't running, which it appears he is not. Sheehan is already on target to be the most accurate QB in school history and if he can start to add some yards to that total, he could have a very exciting senior year.
3). If I read this correctly in Street and Smith's Preview, BGSU has all new players on the DLine and at LB. How will this inexperienced line stop Derrick Washington, one of the better backs in the B12, with one of the best OLines in the Big 12 Conference in front of him?
That's pretty much correct, the entire front seven either graduated or "left" the program with the exception of LB Jerrett Sanderson. The answer to your question is that I didn't know how we were going to handle Troy's line, so I'm sure I don't have any idea how we will handle Missouri's. (When asked how BG would handle Troy's strong D-Ends, Coach Clawson said "We need to block them" so you can tell I don't have a lot to work with here).
In other ways, though, this is not a new story. BG has won games at BCS schools over the past few years, including a LeSean McCoy led Pitt team. In all cases, we are facing bigger lines and quality backs. I think the answer is partly that we try not to get in a slug-it-out game, we try to control the ball on offense, and perhaps most importantly of all, our players bring their very best for the biggest stage. On at least a couple of occasions (two years ago @MSU and last year with Minnesota, those teams tried to play their offense for the first half, and then when faced with a close game, they lined it up and smacked it between the tackles.
Finally, the front four is new. However, one of the linebackers is a returning, and Cody Basler (MLB) had some very high quality games as a reserve, and the third LB is a JUCO transfer. Our linebackers have the potential to be a pretty strong element, in fact.
4). Josh Harris was to Bowling Green as Brad Smith was to Mizzou. Any clue what Josh is doing now? The guy was automatic in NCAA '04 for me.
That's a great analogy. Josh Harris was an incredible player and winner for our program. I remember one game when we needed a TD in OT, and Meyer ran Harris on every play until we scored and won, and Meyer just said afterwards that no one else was going to touch the ball. He carried teams on his back like that.
After bouncing around NFL training camps, Josh lives in the Columbus area where he works in sales. I know he and his wife have started a family as well.
5). As a Mizzou fan, we've seen several previews that had the Tigers finish anywhere from 1st to 4th in the B12 North. We think that's pretty crazy, but then I've seen BGSU predicted anywhere from 1st to 6th in the MAC East. Realistically, narrow this down...where will the Falcons finish?
I picked the Falcons to finish fourth. I'm feeling a little better than that after the Troy game, but that was only one game. The real reason for the disparity has more to do with the divisions than it does with BG. The MAC East is very soft. Every team has flaws, and, with the exception of Miami any team could win the East. It will come down to health and some luck. Also, BG's cross over games with the West include CMU, which will be a tough assignment.
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