In my short lifetime I have witnessed one player change the course of a season for an entire team. Usually that one player is the QB when talking about a football team. This was evident when Utah State knocked off Fresno State two weeks ago. Utah State brought in a new QB which seemed to energize the team leading them to a very important win over Fresno State. Do I believe Sean Norton is capable of the same type of energy towards the Bulldogs? Yes, I do feel he brings an entirely different aspect of football to this team and will change the overall outlook of the Bulldogs a whole. Do I feel Fresno State will win most of their games with Norton at QB? No, because the defense is still terrible and unfortunately Norton has nothing to do with the defense. However there is a side effect that the defense will see if the offense is more productive. If Norton comes into the game and can give the Dogs 4-5 scoring drives a night they will end up with somewhere between 28-35 points or so. That in turn means our defense will not be on the field as long, nor will they be counted on to hold the opposing offense to such a low scoring output. The upcoming game against LSU will be a perfect opportunity for a guy like Norton to show if he is ready to play against the big time teams of the college football. Will he succeed? I have no idea but you have to figure he is going to have to be ready because his first two games are going to be against nationally ranked Boise State and LSU.
Norton does change our offense and gives us the opportunity to run the option as well as throw downfield. Hopefully in the end this will all work out for the better and he will be able to stay healthy. The Dogs are a much better team on offense with Norton in, but their defense is just as bad and that will not change anytime soon. I wrote about what I thought needed to be changed on defense, what does everyone else think we should do to make the defense better overall or is it even fixable at this point? If you can leave comments, the more the better as opinions are always welcome here. We are all Bulldog fans and we all want to see the team win. Here's to a great game between Fresno State and LSU this Saturday.
5 comments:
It's never going to happen and we don't have time to change the offense this year but if Norton succedes the rest of the season I think we should run the option next year. Smallish QB with good speed and good scrambling ability. A tight end with great hands and stable of very good new WR's and RB's. If done right we wouldn't have to worry about Norton's height. His stature could be regarded as an advantage with the option and by would it be FUN to watch!!
If the QB was the only problem on our team then one player can change a team but our defense is so bad we still might not win another game.
Remember, Dilfer and Volek were option QB's out of high school and they did well in Fresno's system so you can't completely change your offensive philosophy just because you have a QB that can run but i do think there should be some option plays and designed runs for Norton to keep defenses honest because with his ability he might take a couple to the house.
At this point the defense is playing so poorly that a win against Boise or LSU is laughable.
I'm not going to single out any individual players on this because they have all made mistakes. However, I think all would agree that Defensive coordinator should be replaced first and foremost.
If the Dogs don't get pressure on the QB with some more effective rushers or blitzing then defense will not improve. Also the whole defense must start hitting and wrapping low, not just going for bit hits and letting the receiver continue on his way down the field.
It's great if SN plays well and leads the team like a QB should [You can already tell from watching the game that SN took charge and commanded at the line much better, with more confidence than TB], it still won't matter w/ a defensive unit playing as bad as we have this season. But at least there is some positivity here. PH needs to really shake things up come this off season.
Formerdog is exactly right. Just got through watching the past three games, defense only. The bulldog defense is horrible. They can't hit,can't tackle and they can't react because they are too slow. #4 Mays makes one tackle on the Hawaii sidlines and start taunting them. What a clown!! where was he the rest of the game and the also the prior games? Dan Brown and a few others on the defensive staff must go!! Hill must take action because watching that defense is embarrassing. That is not a D-1A defense out there I can assure you. A total embarrassment to fresno St. football!! A total embarrassment to college football!!
Hi.I am looking for a copy of the 1986 Fresno State-Utah State Game in which Kevin Sweeney broke the passing record...either dvd or vhs.I will pay a reasonable price.My e-mail is dkptrox@comcast.net.Thanks!
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