serious question

anacondagriz · Post by **anacondagriz** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:17 pm

Cat fans:
Would you guys consider this season a success if you beat the Griz on Saturday, even though you will not make the playoffs nor own a share of the Big Sky title. Just curious on your thoughts.

velochat · Post by **velochat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:24 pm

Absolutely. The offense made great strides this year. A talented defense was devastated by injuries. We would be state champs and bring the conference title to Cheney.

GreatLakesCat · Post by **GreatLakesCat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:33 pm

Definately a success...I'm glad to see that the program is moving towards, not only being satisfied with a W over the jizz, but also a playoff birth...and being disappointed when we don;t reach these goals.

The season will be a success, and all our seniors as well as alot of other people will be able to sleep better this offseason.

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:34 pm

Yep you betcha!
I am looking for the program to continue to develope, dispite the record I think this years team is better than last year. There could be some changes I might want to make if I was the football god but, beat the Griz and it a success.

But then again I am a basketball!

Post by **SonomaCat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:39 pm

That's a hard question to answer. To some people, if you say that any season that doesn't end with a national championship was a success, they will claim that you have a loser attitude. To others, any year that isn't repeat of the 1-10 (or was it 0-11? My brain is blocking out that season) fiasco is a successful season by contrast.

This question is also kind of a trap in many cases by Griz fans, as somebody will inevitably post something stupid about being inferior for taking pleasure in a season that doesn't even include a playoff run (even if we beat the Griz). It's a no-win situation in terms of low grade bulletin board smack logic.

In my mind it's more of a scale from 1 to 10, with 1984 being a 10 and the 1-10 season being a 1. A win over the Griz would bump us up from about a 6 to an 8. I would say anything over 5 is successful season, and anything under 5 is a disappointing season in absolute terms.

Robcat · Post by **Robcat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:45 pm

The Universe never fails to show us truths that are hidden, it
always surfaces on the moment when we most need to see it!"

anacondagriz · Post by **anacondagriz** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 3:55 pm

Bay Area Cat wrote:That's a hard question to answer. To some people, if you say that any season that doesn't end with a national championship was a success, they will claim that you have a loser attitude. To others, any year that isn't repeat of the 1-10 (or was it 0-11? My brain is blocking out that season) fiasco is a successful season by contrast.

This question is also kind of a trap in many cases by Griz fans, as somebody will inevitably post something stupid about being inferior for taking pleasure in a season that doesn't even include a playoff run (even if we beat the Griz). It's a no-win situation in terms of low grade bulletin board smack logic.

In my mind it's more of a scale from 1 to 10, with 1984 being a 10 and the 1-10 season being a 1. A win over the Griz would bump us up from about a 6 to an 8. I would say anything over 5 is successful season, and anything under 5 is a disappointing season in absolute terms.

are you talking about the 0-11 the cats posted in Kramers first season, 2000?

CARDIAC_CATS · Post by **CARDIAC_CATS** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 4:01 pm

A SUCCESS YES. It was/is fun watching our new/young players grow this year. It was hard to take early on but I told everyone to let this team get some chemistry and see where it will take us.

The Sac State loss to me was VERY DISSAPOINTING though. That game still gets me worked up. EW you have to give them credit for making plays and keeping their head up in the 3rd quarter. That team has some definate leaders on it and after all is said and done I wish them the very best. I will be pulling for them in the Playoffs. You have to admit with our injuries in the secondary this year/youth it might have been a stretch to get in the playoffs and go a long ways. Next year we will have a full secondary that should be very deep. Having these 2 freshman play early on could/should be a blessing in disguise for this team in the future. And how many are REALLY shocked about how our OL has played this year? This was a weakness coming into the year and it has been SOLID the last 6-7 games I think. KUDOS to those guys. OL should be a ROCK for us next year.

So in short, this year is definately a SUCCESS (but not quite yet .. 4 more days to go

), but it is also very dissapointing to not make the playoffs. There should be some definate EXCITEMENT heading into next year though as our offense pretty much stays in tact. We 'should' get out of the gate fast next year on offense where we have been usually slow in that area the last 2 years. All in all it was a fun year hitting MSU games in Bozeman. I had a blast.

My wish list for this next year is another stud RB transfer (change up back, one with power and speed to break it to the outside), WR (although I am ready to see what Alley/Sherman can offer), and maybe a TE (BARNHARDT looks like he can definately fill the shoes for the future though), DL (we need 1 maybe 2 more DL transfers like Rogers this year). Hopefully Otoole will make strides this year as well. I like our starters on the DL next year, but I also like depth there as that is a spot where injuries always happen.

BozoneCat · Post by **BozoneCat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 4:14 pm

I agree that the season will be a success, but not solely because we beat the grizzlies. For all the reasons others have posted on here - I agree mostly with the fact that our team has gotten much better this year, and looks to be really dangerous heading into next season. Can you imagine what our team could have done the last two years if we had this offense to go with those defenses?!? We still are left wanting far more, and by no means are any of us satisfied - we have tasted the playoffs, and we want and expect to go back to them. So, the season will be a success, but there is definitely much room for improvement.

Beating the grizzlies will just be icing on the day-old cake.

WYCAT · Post by **WYCAT** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 4:17 pm

Well said Cardiac. Overall, I think the holes in the secondary were really the achilles heal for this team. We never got a chance to see Eddie Smith or Kahiam Hunter who I would have said would be the two corners before the season started.

And I think another big thing not mentioned very often is the lack of a return man. Eddie Smith was supposed to fill the void left by Corey Smith and the lack of a return threat really hurt as well.

We have some definate holes to fill before next year but not as many as in years past. Our offense really took off the last 1/2 of the season and left us with a promising offseason. I think a 7-4 season with a win over the griz should be considered a successful season.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 4:21 pm

anacondagriz wrote:
Bay Area Cat wrote:That's a hard question to answer. To some people, if you say that any season that doesn't end with a national championship was a success, they will claim that you have a loser attitude. To others, any year that isn't repeat of the 1-10 (or was it 0-11? My brain is blocking out that season) fiasco is a successful season by contrast.

This question is also kind of a trap in many cases by Griz fans, as somebody will inevitably post something stupid about being inferior for taking pleasure in a season that doesn't even include a playoff run (even if we beat the Griz). It's a no-win situation in terms of low grade bulletin board smack logic.

In my mind it's more of a scale from 1 to 10, with 1984 being a 10 and the 1-10 season being a 1. A win over the Griz would bump us up from about a 6 to an 8. I would say anything over 5 is successful season, and anything under 5 is a disappointing season in absolute terms.
are you talking about the 0-11 the cats posted in Kramers first season, 2000?

Yeah, that's the one. I was getting confused with the story about Graybeal resigning this week and his record this year. That was probably a good low water mark. Although, in that year, I was actually optimistic after it was over as we could see so much potential for improvement, so maybe my scale does need another level of complexity. Maybe a season where a supposed strong team turns out to be in decline would be a better 1 on the scale (such as Weber this season), while a team that was expected to be bad and simply matches those expectations would be a 2 or a 3 (such as MSU in Kramer's first year). It gets complicated....

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 4:35 pm

Here is a post I made over at http://www.anygivensaturday.com

This year wasn't supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Cats, and I don't consider it one... just a dissapointment. I know Griz fans will jump all over me for this, but we had a lot of key injuries this year. Our top 2 CBs went down for the season, a starting LB, a starting WR, a potential starting RB (no started had been named just yet), a starting OL... too many to name really. We had enough depth to make a winning season out of it, but we missed the playoffs with a defensive let down late in the year. Good news is, only ONE player on offensive leaves (our top WR Sullivan), but we have sme great players waiting on the sideline to fill his void. The #2 player in the country for total yards (Travis Lulay) returns for his senior season, and expect us to finally start strong on offense losing probably only one non-conference game (hopefully) to Oklahoma State.

The big question next year is the defense. We lose some great players, including Roger Cooper. I expect the DB to be much better next year with the return of some of the injured CBs and the improvement of the freshman CBs. Though we lose Cooper, we have some talent at LB that can not take his place (who could), but could work together better as a group.

Yes, next year certainly looks bright for the Cats, especially that people are starting to see how great Travis Lulay really is. Even with the slow start to this year, the Cats finished 6th in the nation in passing yards per game. If we had the defense we had two years ago, this team would be in the NC I am sure of it. Hopefully the D can match the O in skill, and we can find ourself in the playoffs again.

Bleedinbluengold · Post by **Bleedinbluengold** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 6:44 pm

It's disappointing from the standpoint that the Cats were oh so close to playing for the conference championship. But I didn't expect them to get this far this year. There were just too many question marks on the O line and in the secondary. A winning season is pretty good, and they'll be better next year.

Post by **rtb** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 6:54 pm

I won't call this season a success if we beat the Griz, but the season isn't a total failure either. Going with BAC's scale, I put this season at a 6 if we beat the Griz and a 4 if we lose.

Being my first year away from attending every home game and not being able to have watched the offense grow and improve I am disapointed that we didn't make the playoffs. I guess I just expected we would be there again. Overall I don't look forward to the coming months. The Bobcats look good on paper, but I don't want to wait to see how they look on the field. Can we start the new season in January?

Overall it was a good year for the Cats, but I am expecting much more next year!! Lets finish this baby off right. Cats 34 Griz 24

jagur1 · Post by **jagur1** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 6:55 pm

rtb: Lets not and say we did. Isn't that the cat way?

Post by **rtb** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 6:56 pm

jagur1 wrote:rtb: Lets not and say we did. Isn't that the cat way?

What?

Helcat72 · Post by **Helcat72** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:32 pm

Next year we will still have to contend with EWU. Both Meyer and Kimble will be back, however if we can cover Kimble and rush Meyer without running out of gas or getting run down, I think we can take care of them even in Cheney.

Bcat · Post by **Bcat** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:56 pm

Success, yes. While this was esteemed to be a good team, my perception was that this year was a stepping stone for next year. While the jizz are boasting of next year, has anyone stopped thinking about what we have sitting in the Red Shirt laundry basket. Very impressive, yet very unnoticed! If this year was to be the exquisite year, some of the Red Shirts would have turned Blue to bail out this years short falls. Based on that fact, I think this year was a disappointing success, yet a stepping stone for what appears to be an all the eggs in one basket next year. Just an opinion from a geographically separated fan.

suckitgriz · Post by **suckitgriz** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 9:27 am

absolutely not a successful season even if we beat the jizz. ask any of the current seniors and they would be the first to tell you that they do not feel like they accomplished any of their long- term goals. We need to quit turning to the CAT-jizz game as a reason for having success. Hell, I for one would rather lose to the jizz and go to the playoffs with a chance at the NC. Beating the jizz is a great feeling, maybe the best venue that I will ever go to, but everyone on this board knows that we had the talent and did not get it done. We should have a great chance this weekend and I think that we will walk out of Washington/jizzly stadium on top. GO CATS!

CARDIAC_CATS · Post by **CARDIAC_CATS** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 10:03 am

suckitgriz wrote:absolutely not a successful season even if we beat the jizz. ask any of the current seniors and they would be the first to tell you that they do not feel like they accomplished any of their long- term goals. We need to quit turning to the CAT-jizz game as a reason for having success. Hell, I for one would rather lose to the jizz and go to the playoffs with a chance at the NC. Beating the jizz is a great feeling, maybe the best venue that I will ever go to, but everyone on this board knows that we had the talent and did not get it done. We should have a great chance this weekend and I think that we will walk out of Washington/jizzly stadium on top. GO CATS!

We have talent no doubt, but your only as good as your weakest link. And we have been up and down this year with our young corners. Those guys are fighting as hard as they can and believe me THEY WANT TO DO WELL! But MSU uses a man to man (Cover 1) scheme so those guys are pretty much on an island most of the game. So its gonna be hit and miss I think. And it has shown the last 2 games on game we should have won.

Kramer said he is NOT going to change the scheme either ... MSU WILL RUN AN AGGRESSIVE ATTACKING DEFENSE ..... and they will live and die by it as well.

serious question

serious question

I am torn