1. Defense was outstanding. Armstrong did a really good job getting the guys to play hard. They were wore down and that was when the cramping started. Sykes was a beast all day.
2. Offense was not good yesterday. 9 sacks is terrible. Going back and watching the film, there were 4 or 5 of those sacks that were caused by Keyes holding on to the ball too long. When a DL is getting after you the way Troy was, you have got to get the ball out quick and can't hold on to it. Keyes is a good athlete, but FBS DL are just as fast as he is. He will learn this over time. There were some drops, but some of those drops were because of the ball thrown and having to make adjustments. Troy is a really good defense and held Liberty to 21 points, still the line has to block better, it is bad what we are seeing now.
3. With weather limiting practice Tuesday and nothing more than a glorified walkthrough on Wednesday inside the Payne Center, it looked as if Keyes only knows a minimum amount of plays. That will certainly limit what adjustments can be made at the half. Not once did USM take a snap under Center. That has been 50% of the offense this season.
4. Too many times the Tackles were getting beat, chip them with a TE, do whatever you have to to get them back inside. After the game, this week, find some Tackles that will at least get a pad on a DE.
5. This team will have growing pains and wins will be hard to come by this season.
6. The reason the running game couldn't get going was that Troy was putting 7 in the box, blitzing every play, and daring Keyes to beat them with his arm. Can't block 7 when you only have 5 OL.
2. Offense was not good yesterday. 9 sacks is terrible. Going back and watching the film, there were 4 or 5 of those sacks that were caused by Keyes holding on to the ball too long. When a DL is getting after you the way Troy was, you have got to get the ball out quick and can't hold on to it. Keyes is a good athlete, but FBS DL are just as fast as he is. He will learn this over time. There were some drops, but some of those drops were because of the ball thrown and having to make adjustments. Troy is a really good defense and held Liberty to 21 points, still the line has to block better, it is bad what we are seeing now.
3. With weather limiting practice Tuesday and nothing more than a glorified walkthrough on Wednesday inside the Payne Center, it looked as if Keyes only knows a minimum amount of plays. That will certainly limit what adjustments can be made at the half. Not once did USM take a snap under Center. That has been 50% of the offense this season.
4. Too many times the Tackles were getting beat, chip them with a TE, do whatever you have to to get them back inside. After the game, this week, find some Tackles that will at least get a pad on a DE.
5. This team will have growing pains and wins will be hard to come by this season.
6. The reason the running game couldn't get going was that Troy was putting 7 in the box, blitzing every play, and daring Keyes to beat them with his arm. Can't block 7 when you only have 5 OL.
