GAME #3: Valpo @ Truman State, 9/21 7:00pm

[valpotx]

Seewald > Duncan.  Simple as that, regardless of which defense was in at the end.  Duncan can't throw it within 10 feet of his WRs, and just looks lost.  Apologies if he is your relative, but I wouldn't be sad to see him transfer.

[JD24]

Fox is in a very tough situation this year to enable success, and I feel bad for him as he seems genuine and not a flake. Regarding Duncan, he may be a great kid, but nothing personal about him was brought up. He is struggling out there, and It is quite certain a healthy Seewald would be best at QB. I am not even sure Seewald can even play a full game. Todd Ickow proposing a QB controversy after a TD drive against Truman's third string defense was a little bizarre. This football team in a state of disarray, which is nothing unique for those on the board.

If, and it is a huge if, Seewald is healthy enough to grab and keep the QB1 position, I suspect the offensive unit's overall confidence will grow significantly. Unit play reflects its leader (i.e., the QB).  If the QB is confident and leads with cool authority and execution, the unit as a whole plays better. The converse is also true. A nervous, less than confident QB who has trouble making quick decisions or executing will cause the whole unit to play tentatively as well. The kids know Jimmy's capabilities and need only go back to the 2017 campaign to validate his leadership and skills.

Even last year it seemed as if the offense would immediately play better when Seewald came in the game with a bad wing.

With that said, the rest of the offense needs to pick it up (coaches included) and one guy can't be the only guy who can play QB for this team as has seemed to be the case for the last 4 years or so.

[VULB#62]

Yesterday, even the few runs on which Seewald handed off, it seemed like the line blocked better and the backs ran harder. And I don't think it was my imagination.

BTW, I really appreciated seeing the game on the TSU feed, but compared to our ESPN+ multi-camera, and replay capability, it was just single camera rudimentary with no replays that I recall. I understand that from the TSU side it was a blow out and the announcers were searching for things to say, but they talked right over some important things like penalties which I wanted to know about.

[usc4valpo]

62 - be aware that Seewald was in against Truman's third string defense.

[IndyValpo]

We can disagree about our football team but I think we can all agree that USC should stop calling us the Saders.

[VULB#62]

62 - be aware that Seewald was in against Truman's third string defense.

Been reading dcannon much?   .  That doesn't matter. I was watching the OL explosion and the determination of the RBs.  The entire O unit was down and listless up until the change in QBs.   But as soon as Jimmy entered the huddle, I thought I saw a change in demeanor both in pass protection as well as run blocking.  To be sure, he will make mistakes and he has limited mobility, but our kids will play better with Jimmy in there.

[usc4valpo]

As long as people quit calling USC "Southern Cal" ala Lou Holtz, I can cease to persist.

[usc4valpo]

62 - agreed, I just wonder if Seewald with all his injuries should be playing. As you know I have been a Seewald fan since he won Pioneer Player of the Week after a great performance over Trinity of Deerfield. I just hope he is being smart regarding this.

[VULB#62]

I thought that Fox's decision to take him out and put in Nimz for the  final series was an indication that the staff is still concerned about preserving Seewald's health. 

OTOH, I was a bit miffed that with a minute to go there was no effort to even practice a 2 minute offense under game conditions. But the kid has never seen the field before, so I guess that's asking too much.

[chef]

According to the official Play-by-play, 14 of the 20 tackles made while Seewald was in the game were made by players listed as 1st or 2nd teamers on the Truman State pregame depth chart. Maybe this will put to bed the "Seewald did it against the third team defense" narrative.

[VULB#62]

Thanks for that tidbit, Chef. Long time since we've heard from you. Welcome back      Looking forward to your PBP on the ESPN+ feed.

[usc4valpo]

Chef, 62 - fair enough, but it is also fair to say he was playing during garbage time when the game was out of reach