Thursday, October 4, 2007

Could Mumme be blowing smoke?

Me and veteran Sun-News writer Steve Ramirez discussed this last night and it makes sense.

Practice has been closed and the coach wants to keep Boise off balance. Why not throw some BS my way and have the Broncos guessing.

Now I'll say that I actually felt like coach Mumme was sincere when he told me the situation facing his team. But any coach wants a competitive advantage and having Boise guessing doesn't sound like a bad plan to me. Chase did look hurt the other night, but he's a warrior and the team wants this game badly. If they start McDermott, the chances of them winning are slim to none.

I just think it's something worth considering.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think Mumme's BS us.

Chase was hurting pretty bad. People say he got the wind knocked out him.
Does this pain last for a few minutes or a few days?

I doubt Chase will play this weekend.
Good luck to JJ and Co. They will need it!

Anonymous said...

Great point, I think there is a possibility that Mumme is bluffing on this one. On the other hand, even though Chase is tough, he might sit him anyway. This was a game that nobody in Las Cruces thought we were going to win anyway, even with all the pre-season hype. Now, after seeing the Aggies against Auburn (who Boise is just as good as, if not better than), it was relatively clear that we did not have a chance with a full squad.

This is a good week for McDermott to get thrown in the fire, get knocked around a bunch, throw 4 interceptions, and become accustomed to elite college football so that he can know what to expect the year after next.

Regarding the AJ and Cleaver, I don't know how much that will hurt the Aggies. AJ is great, but Buckner and Nieman have stepped in nicely. I have been less than impressed with Cleaver. He has a lot of catches, but he has had some critical drops, especially against UTEP, that almost cost NMSU the game. Nelson doesn't look that good either, but how much of a loss is Cleaver?

I think our chance to stay with Boise is in our defense. The problem is, there defense appears to be very low risk. For instance, you hardly ever see Boise in 3rd and long situations. The Aggies, on the other hand, are high risk. One dropped pass, one missed block, etc., could be fatal to the Aggie offense.

With all that said: go Aggies!

Chile Duck said...

Do you really think Boise St would prepare a lot differently one way or the other? I'm not sure why Mumme would "blow smoke" as you say, other than to exercise his need to be in control. I doubt "surprising" Boise with Holbrook would be that effective. I also think that without Clever and AJ Harris our chances on the Blue Turf, even with Chase, are pretty slim.

Teddy said...

I think coaches look for any competitive advantage they can get. And not revealing who's playing is a big competitive advantage. If he was so concerned, why has he been so tight lipped leading up to the game. The difference between all the players is big. Chase is obviously head and shoulders above J.J. at this point. And A.J. and Cleaver are way better than the other guys who are in there too. I just think that coaches, especially football coaches, are crazy about stuff like this. I just wouldn't discount the idea.

And I honestly feel like if all of them were healthy, the game would be competitive. I would give NMSU's chances of winning there, with everyone available, between 30-35 percent. Without them, it plummets well below 10.

Anonymous said...

The chance that Mumme is blowing smoke is what keeps me interested in this game. I agree wholeheartedly with Teddy that we have a figher's chance with Chase in the game and next to none without him. I just would hate for this team to get dealt a blow-out loss to Boise due to injuries, but I can also understand that Chase, AJ, or Nick getting hurt worse would be a more negative consequence.

I would just love for Boise to approach us the same way we approached APB, and that may be what coach Mumme is attempting to stimulate.

By the way, Nick Cleaver is an excellent tight end. He has been a constant in this offense for two years and a couple dropped balls in one game does not change that. The tight end does more than just act as a receiver; Mumme has given Cleaver many accolades for his blocking.

Anonymous said...

Actually I had bruised ribs before, and they did feel like they were broken. I took a helmet shot to the ribs. I was in a lot of pain, but I still played in our game against Artesia two days after it happen, but I never missed a game. The pain was their for 3 or 4 weeks but it was painful. I couldn't sleep lying down, so I had to sit up on my bed just to fall asleep lol

Anonymous said...

Yea, he's blowing smoke alright. But what is that he's smokin?