09.01.06
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Ten things to take from the Buffalo game

By Mike Gibson
I’m a bottom-line kind of guy and I’m not happy unless Temple University wins in football.
Unfortunately, in a city with so many entertainment options, Philadelphia fans demand results and not promise.
The worst thing about losing to Buffalo is that a crowd of 25K for Louisville might drop below 20K, perhaps to as low as 15K.
A win over Buffalo, even in overtime, might have meant 30K.
Temple fans are not going to support a loser.
It just ain’t happening.
The best thing about a 9-3 overtime loss at Buffalo might have been that new Temple coach Al Golden appeared as ticked as I was, something you could never say about his predecessor.

I’ve got to hope Buffalo is better than the 118th team in the nation.
Ten things to take from Thursday night:
1. Golden yelling at the team and the team all pumped up for the hoped-for touchdown drive.
2. Awful offensive line performance in pass protection. It would have be nice to see new quarterback Adam DiMichele with a four-second look at the secondary.
3. Defense came up big in four quarters, but not in overtime.
4. Defense would have come up with a fumble in OT, but Buffalo was called for a false start.
5. If the offense responded with their backs to the wall, driving 75 yards, why didn’t they show that sense of urgency earlier?
6. Got to get the ball more to Tim Brown and Mike Holley IN SPACE. That means Brown on screens and Holley on 8- or 9-yard slants. It also means Brown, not Page, on punts and kickoffs. Spell Brown more with Jason Harper during plays from scrimmage to get Brown the space that punts and kickoffs allow.
7. Pass to tight end Ben Hendy was open all day. Might have worked on play-action fake to Brown at the goal line.
8. Great games by Walter Mebane, Junior Galette, Ryan Gore, Phil Simpson.
9. Need a pick from the secondary, especially when two guys are draped all over the Buffalo guy who catches a ball.
10. The animation and the caring on the TU sideline was definitely a 100 percent turnaround.

2 thoughts on “Ten things to take from the Buffalo game”

  1. yea i couldn’t understand why they couldnt find someone down field the whole time. it seemed like DiMichele didnt wanna throw down field, instead he hit players like Brown and Hendy on delayed and flat/swing routes. It didnt seem like he had the right decision making. I agree with you about the offensive line, Brown should have been able to break more runs if he had a better push. Also, in the red zone, I dont think running up the gut on 3rd down was a bright idea. maybe a toss play? or a short pass to a Hendy?

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  2. I believe Adam WANTED to throw down the field, but he only had one second or so on every down. When the guy’s got to complete passes off his back foot, that’s a bad job by the offensive line. Loosen the defense up by dropping Adam way back and bringing that over-aggressive pass rush to him, then dumping off screens to Brown and Harper. Watch how fast that pass rush backs off. At the goal line, they were so Brown conscious, I would have run-faked to Brown on first down, freezed the defense and hit Ben Hendy all alone for the six. Temple, 7-3. That’s the way it should have ended.

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