{"id":4579,"date":"2012-10-28T16:37:18","date_gmt":"2012-10-28T20:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4579"},"modified":"2012-10-28T17:17:02","modified_gmt":"2012-10-28T21:17:02","slug":"jmu-squeaks-by-georgia-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4579","title":{"rendered":"JMU Squeaks By Georgia State"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Say it with me folks, “a win is a win”. I’ve been muttering that to myself repeatedly like some sort of freak show for about 18 hours. It hasn’t done much good though. Obviously, the important thing is that the Dukes notched another win and moved to 6-2 on the season. There is no column in the standings for style points, so that’s really all that matters, right? With that being said, let’s just jump right in and try to break down the good, bad, and ugly from JMU’s 28-21 win over Georgia State.<\/p>\n

The Good<\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s not a whole lot to include here. Much like he did last week, Dae’Quan Scott managed to play well in an otherwise uninspiring performance by the JMU offense. He rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight week and eclipsed 2,000 yards rushing for his career. And he looked very good running between the tackles and going North-South. Which of course makes us wonder why the heck the coaches ever went away from that philosophy in favor of all the sideways crap.<\/p>\n

And because I’m feeling generous, let’s put the fact that JMU managed 3 sacks in the “Good” category. The Dukes have sorely been lacking a pass rush all season. Even if Georgia State isn’t the world’s most powerful offense (gross understatement), it was nice to see JMU get to the QB a few times.
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\nThe Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n

We love Cameron Starke and he’s had an excellent year, but he had a rough day yesterday. He uncharacteristically missed 3 FG. We’re confident he’ll bounce back and that it was just one of those days. And truth be told, we would have preferred that he not even be put in the position to attempt a few of those kicks. If the JMU coaches have any faith at all in this team, they simply had to go for it on 4th and short in Georgia State territory. We were frustrated by many aspects of yesterday’s playcalling (see below), but the failure to get aggressive and go for it repeatedly frustrated us more than anything.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t decide if the defense should be here or down in “Ugly” below. They don’t deserve to be beaten up too bad though, because they were pretty good for stretches when they got into a rhythm. Unfortunately, they also had stretches where they looked completely out of sync. The Georgia State offense has been virtually impotent for much of this season. Yet they marched down the field with ease several times yesterday. If not for the fact that they kept shooting themselves in the foot with mistakes, they might have pulled off the upset. Yes, the d-line is banged up. And yes, JMU’s defense has been very good statistically this year. Something about it just doesn’t seem right though. The bend but don’t break philosophy has been good for JMU for years. It just doesn’t seem appropriate to play that sort of D against teams like Georgia State that the Dukes clearly out match. Take it to the weaker teams and stop with the 10 yard cushions on receivers. And the poor tackling has become a real concern.<\/p>\n

The Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s hard to imagine what was the ugliest aspect of the Dukes’ offensive performance yesterday. The fact that 6 drives ended in 3 and outs? The 3 of 13 on 3rd down conversions? The playcalling? This might be harsh, but let’s just go ahead and say that yesterday was pretty ugly for the offense altogether. Anyone who really believed that JT was the one thing holding JMU back, might have had a bit of a wake up call yesterday. That’s not to say that Birdsong was terrible. He wasn’t. He was OK. And he’s a true freshman. It’s just that this team’s offense, perhaps due to coaching philosophy, has been sort of stagnant for weeks now. We remain convinced that there is talent on the offense, but the coaches don’t seem to be able to take advantage of it all the time. When they do, like when they call some North-South running plays on the second TD drive, the Dukes move the ball. When they don’t, like when they revert to that East-West nonsense, the offense sputters. In any case, the JMU was outgained offensively by a Georgia State team that has struggled to do much of anything all season.<\/p>\n

The 6 Headed Monster Medusa Warts And All Hideously Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We’ll talk about it, we haven’t ruled it out.” That was Mickey’s response, as reported by Chase Kiddy of the Breeze<\/a>, to questions about if he plans to stick with Birdsong or return to Thorpe at QB. Just stop it. Stop. It wasn’t Thorpe’s fault and it isn’t Birdsong’s fault either. JMU has been lost in a sea of pseudo QB-controversy since Rodney Landers graduated. Pick a guy and move on please.<\/p>\n

Your Mileage May Vary<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m sure lots of people think I’m reacting too negatively to yesterday’s game. Todd for instance, has a much more positive outlook on things. The truth is that I’m not really frustrated by yesterday’s game. Georgia State is terrible. Really terrible. But I honestly didn’t expect JMU to blow them out. As you might recall, I said that JT was getting a raw deal and didn’t deserve to shoulder the blame for the Dukes’ struggles. I stand by that. There are a number of issues this team has to work out and there is probably too much focus on the QB right now. I actually love the move to the Ginger Giant because I think it’s better for the long haul. My gut tells me that unless the coaches do something to fix the offensive game-planning and playcalling, this team probably has a 1 playoff win ceiling at best. And that’s regardless of who lines up behind center. I think Birdsong has real talent though and if they start to shift to a new offensive philosophy with him at QB, the sky is the limit before he graduates. So pick a QB and pick an offense that suits his strengths and go for it. All of this waffling about who starts is just distracting folks from the real issues at hand.<\/p>\n

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