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O-Line Problems

https://sandiegostate.rivals.com/ne...contain-defensive-stunts-becoming-major-issue

Nice article Ruben, but it shouldn't have stopped there. Our tailbacks look afraid or unwilling to block and our FB wiffed on so many blocks I stopped counting.

Can't win if you can't or won't block. And as far as Penny's NFL stock goes, if you are that bad at blocking, forget it.

As bad as the team looked, I still think they win out.

Malik gets some love

I was a little shocked by two MWC players being in the TOP 10 draft.

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...raft-rankings-best-seniors-college-basketball

For those that can't view it

9. Malik Pope
SDSU
Age: 21.2
SF

Height: 6-foot-9 | Wingspan: 7-2

Pope has underachieved for the better part of his career at San Diego State, but there is some hope he can finally put things together as a senior. It's difficult to find 6-9 combo forwards with a 7-2 wingspan and 9-1 standing reach who make nearly 40 percent of their 3-pointers.

Scouts will want to take a close look at the knee that sidelined him for part of last season and get a better feel for his personality, as he has always lacked toughness, confidence and physicality in a major way. Even if he goes undrafted, he's the type of player teams will continue to monitor, as he's a very young senior.

DW Update

So much for DE Demitri Washington....he's going to Boise State

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/high-school-preps/sd-sp-preps-notes-1027-story.html

Just my opinion...the SDSU/BSU game was CRUCIAL for any recruits on the fence between the Aztecs and Broncos. Maybe a Bronco loss may not have swayed Washington, but I am curious to see how many more recruits deciding between the 2 will pick who (WR Ke'von Ahmad being one player of interest)

Tuesday practice notes (injury updates)

Parker Baldwin didnt have leg wraps on either leg. Either his knees are feeling much better or he didn't practice again today. I should have a bwttwr idea tomorrow since they didn't do 7v7s or anything during the open portion.

The o-line went through pulling drills and Antonio Rosakes looked horrible, but I'm that's because he's still practice through serious pain.

On the DL, Damon Moore was wearing a huge elbow brace and left practice early. Didn't practice at all sue to the elbow injury on Saturday. As of now it looks like Jon'Darius Gardner will be the backuo to Sergio Phillips at nose tackle.

I also didn't see Myles Cheatum at all. Either he just didn't go out to oractice and was getting treatment, or the team trainers decided he may have to have surgery on his foot now instead of waiting until the end of the season. I think it's the former though. Or maybe I just didn't see him on the field.

My guess is that Dakota Turner will atart at his home state this weekend and Chibu Onyeukwu will be his backup.

SDSU has been rotating it's defensive line more and more as of late. So it sucks to see that they've been building experienced depth but now are losing two of the key backups.

Third string backup center Garrison Young was wearing a No. 8 jersey on the scout team to replicate Hawaii DL Pentito Faalologo

Another note is that the QBs qere working on rollot theows where Chapman had to throw on the rimun with Ciach Morgan chasing him, hands in the air.

Monday practice (Hawaii)

So practice started a little earlier than usual so by the time I got there the media was already getting escorted out. They were nice enough to let me get a peek inside just to confirm some things.

For what I'm guessing is the fourth straight Monday, Parker Baldwin didn't practice and instread shadowed the defensive backs.

On the o-line, it looked like both tackles Pope and Roemer were in with the first team, as was Daishawn Dixon.

RG Antonio Rosales did drills but still seemed limited.

My guess is that the depth chart at center and left guard spots this weekend will be:

Center
Gudino
Gerhard

Right guard:
Ismael OR
Rosales.

My guess for how this plays out is that if both Ismael and Rosales are healthy enough to play on Saturday, Ismael would move back to starting at center. But if Rosales struggles at some point during the game and has to be pulled out, the coaches would send Ismael back to right guard where he played against Boise State, and slide in either Gudino or Gerhard to take his spot at center.

Let Me Make A Very Unpopular Statement...QB

First of all Christian Chapman is our best QB. Christian Chapman is a winner. Christian Chapman has won something like 18 of 21 starts. It doesn't get much better than that.

If Christian Chapman had an experienced OLine that can pass block and run block, he would have the most wins of any QB in Aztecs History.

I am a big fan of Christian Chapman. I love the guy and believe in him.
_______________________________________________________________

Here is the problem...

Chapman needs time to throw and he isn't getting the time.

Chapman is running for this life being opponents rushes.

Chapman is a decent scrambler who sometimes makes the right decision scrambling, yet is not real fast while scrambling. I love his grit but sometimes when he should get 10 yards, he gets 4 yards.

When Chapman throws he is very accurate, but our WR aren't getting open and Chapman doesn't have time to throw.
________________________________________________________________

My unpopular comment...

Right now is the time to make a change. Agnew should be the starter for the rest of the season (if he excells).

Agnew doesn't throw as well as Chapman but it doesn't matter. There is no time to throw any way.

90% of our passing plays right now (and there are many because we can't run)...the QB has no time to throw and the receiver don't seem to be able to get open.

To put it in simple Coaches terms right now (and they can deny if they want, as well as fans)...Agnew gives us the best chance of winning "right now" (maybe not next year)...because of his running ability.

And his passing ability is not horrible, but his scrambling would make up for his lack of passing ability.

Now...I think with a years experience in the Oline Chapman would probably be back as a starter his senior and do great things.

Fact...With the way our Oline has played the last 2 games, our only chance of winning was with a QB that can scramble...And Ryan Agnew is that QB.

You want changes in the offense that can make a difference? That is the change.

SDSU-Fresno. State visitors

This might be a positive.

I can't come up with a good reason, but I basically saw zero recruits of importance during pre-game warmups tonight. I was pretty befuddled by it.

The best reason I could come up with is that the recruits are damn band wagoners!

Jokes aside, I didn't see any of the commits there or any of the local targets that normally show up.

The only notables were


Alemany DB Steven McIntosh, who holds four offers and likes SDSU.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/steve-mcintosh-46251

And Fontana running back Tyler Allgeier. He's not getting much recruiting interest but he's put up big numbers in HS so maybe he's a walk on candidate?
Login to view embedded media .

Brutal schedule

So, the only "gimmie" game the Aztecs have played this year was against Davis in week 1. Ever since then, the Aztecs have played one physical team after another and no early or even a mid-season bye. This season has been an absolute meat grinder. The ramifications of this are evident in the injuries sustained by the Offensive line - one of the primary reasons this team is currently struggling. I get that you don't always have control over the schedule, but if you do, you want to try and balance it out so your team gets a damn rest once in awhile. This is crazy.

I hope whoever does the scheduling learns from this. It's hurting this team's chances for a conference championship.

My two cents worth!

We lost the game no tears or bad thoughts Boise won fair an square. Now I have coached football 30 + yrs and I understand playing to,your strengths but after the 3rd series of downs it was clear to me as I sat @ Charly bar in rosa rito Saturday evening this was a game when I coached THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PASS TO SET UP THE RUN. Also use our tight ends to chip the defense end on the right tackle sided just maybe screen to them also. Lastly no way I would let a FRESHMAN safety not be tested deep all night. That's it my fellow Aztec fans, let's go and win vs Fresno state. Go Aztecs!!!

Tuesday practice (UNLV week)

New:

Trey Lomax had his pinky taped but practiced.

Ron Smith had his calf wrapped but practiced. He probably just has a stiff calf.

Updates:

Parker Baldwin (knee, cloth wrap on right knee) was fully dressed but remained limited during practice. Like yesterday he was shadowing the defense again during team periods.

OC Keith Ismael strecthed on the sidelines during warmups again with OL Antonio Rosales and Douglas Tucker.

Ismael looked pretty good to me during individual drills - including the QB-center exchanges segmemt - but had his right foot (ankle) heavily wrapped. Also, when Ismael jogged to different spots on the field his limp was noticeable.

I'm guessing that the staff expects Antonio Rosales to play Saturday because Dom Gudino was the first team center and Nick Gerhard was the backup center.

Remember, Gerhard is the short snapper on the field goal team team so he's a pretty consistent snapper with a big body.

Extras:

Because SDSU loss this weekend, they switched up the routine for their practice periods today. I was only allowed to watch about 10 minutes of practice so I caught a short glimpse of the change at the very end, which was OL-DL one on ones and 7v7s at the same time. Normally they hage gone with technique drills during that portion of practices.

Anyway, like always, Fred Trevillion and Tim Wilson stood out. Ethan Dedeaux also looks like a future playmaker in the offense.

On the OL-DL, it was obvious that Noble Hall continues to be the most effective lineman. He destroyed Ryan Pope during his reps.

Walkon Damon Moore definitely deserves his playing time at nose tackle and he does well despite having much weight on him.

I should also point out that LT Kyle Spalding continues to look like a potential starter. He has improved so much since fall camp.

Monday practice updates/injuries

New: Starting center Keith Ismael was dressed but looked like he sat out practice today. He stretched on the sideline and not with the team for the first time this season.

Ismael had surgery on his shoulder during the summer but I don't think he reaggrevated it. Today he had a slight limp so it was probably his ankle, maybe his knee.

For comparison, Antonio Rosales (ankle) had more of a limp than Ismael. Rosales' ankle struggle looks just about where he was last week.

-LT Tyler Roemer (ankle) practiced but I could tell his get off was slower and weaker.


-With Ismael out today, it looked like Dom Gudino and Garrison Young were set to split reps at center in case Ismael isn't ready by Saturday.

Gudino has mostly been practicing at guard while Young has taken mostly second team reps at center. If anyone can transition to center, it's Gudino considering his high school background at center.

-However, let's say Rosales can't go at right guard and Ismael can't go at center this week.

Would Gudino start at RG again, or will the staff give Young his first start (remember he has only been here since the spring)?

OR will Gudino move to his natural position at center and the coaches have Nick Gerhard start at right guard for the first time? That's a new possibility developing.

-And if that's ends up being the case, SDSU's o-line would consist of:

a junior right tackle with one free hand

a sophmore getting his first start at left guard (Gerhard has played on the FG team this year)

a true freshman making his first start at center (
Gudino started at RG in place of Rosales)

a true sophmorein in Daishawn Dixon

a true redshirt freshman at left tackle with a bad ankle.


-BTW, if you've kept count, Dixon is now the last starter standing on the OL in terms of dealing with an injury this year.

-ILB Temerick Harper was back in practice and with the two-deep group. I can see him contributing.

-Aztec safety Parker Baldwin was dressed but didn't have a hekmet. His right knee was lightly wrapped so I'm guessing he was getting a rest day. Should be fine. He was shadowing the defense back behind them with Coach White/Gonzales/McGarry.


-FB Nick Bawden and Ryan Pope are still wearing clubs. Pope looked good during individual drills. So did Dominic Gudino.

Note: Still no sign of Randy Ricks at practice but I have seen him in the football building lately. Maybe doing tutoring or something?
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