Ji Burton at Union

[UNION#ATW 105]

What is everyone thoughts on this game? I feel after seeing the last two weeks of what Union's done in the scrimmage and the benefit game, and what I have saw people post on the message boards about them we are in pretty good shape. I've not herd or seen much about Ji Burton, I feel that the first half will be exciting that Union will pull away the second half. Final score 35-14, in my opinion, Please let me know what you think or please post.

[GoBearsGo 142]

I think this will be more of the same from the last few years. IMO Union is to big and strong up front on both sides of the ball and will control the line of scrimmage. I don’t think it’ll be a high scoring game, I see Union grinding a lot of long drives out on the ground. Burton has a good RB but I think Unions strength on D will be against the run. From what I understand this is the last time these two will play and I say the Bears sweep the all time series and win 28-7. 

[CriticalNoise 182]

Who is Burtons RB this year ?@GoBearsGo

[Union_Fan 2,155]

Culbertson is the returning FB. He's pretty good. Their RB from last that I was excited to see, Tyree Bolling, transferred. Their QB is pretty good. Watched some of his highlights from last year. I think Union will probably use this as a 3rd scrimmage, like they have the last 2 years, to try some kids at different positions.

[Falcon Mania 235]

Unon is to big as a whole.  Fatigue will play a major roll on JIB and lack of depth.

Bears    46

Raiders 14

[CriticalNoise 182]

1 hour ago, Union_Fan said:

Culbertson is the returning FB. He's pretty good. Their RB from last that I was excited to see, Tyree Bolling, transferred. Their QB is pretty good. Watched some of his highlights from last year. I think Union will probably use this as a 3rd scrimmage, like they have the last 2 years, to try some kids at different positions.

Yeah i knew he (bolling) transferred to pigeon forge, i forgot about the culbertson gentleman. Was it last year ir the previous year, their QB (thacker) broke his collarbone?

[Hokie101 153]

Union will win but I don't think the score will reflect how dominant they will be over Burton.

[Union_Fan 2,155]

4 minutes ago, CriticalNoise said:

Yeah i knew he (bolling) transferred to pigeon forge, i forgot about the culbertson gentleman. Was it last year ir the previous year, their QB (thacker) broke his collarbone?

2016 I believe.

[Bearcat Dad 439]

This is no contest

 

Union - 6,422

JIB - 4

 

GO BEARS!!

 

(in all seriousness, Union by 3+ scores)

[CHS90 63]

Union 48

Burton 12

[swva_havok_fan 1,261]

Jimbo cries that Union's players play dirty and sends in goons to try and do damage in the second half.  Doesn't matter.

Union 45, Burton absolutely nothing.

[chipinbogey 150]

1 hour ago, swva_havok_fan said:

Jimbo cries that Union's players play dirty and sends in goons to try and do damage in the second half.  Doesn't matter.

Union 45, Burton absolutely nothing.

Jimbo does love to whine. IDK if he has enough bodies left to send in the goons though.

Union 38, JIB 0

Union could score more, but as someone noted above, I look for them to get the bulk of their points on big plays, and running sustained, clock burning drives.

[trumpet1988 289]

Union 44, Burton 7. Burton is outmanned and outmatched. Burton score will come against Union reserves during garbage time. 

[Ryan4VT 4,552]

10 minutes ago, trumpet1988 said:

Union 44, Burton 7. Burton is outmanned and outmatched. Burton score will come against Union reserves during garbage time. 

We are out gunned. Out manned. Out numbered. Our planned. We gotta make an all out stand. 

 

Sorry. Hamilton on the brain. 😂

[Unionguy_2017 288]

Union 45

Burton 13

[GoBearsGo 142]

I’ll be the first to chime in on tonight’s opener. Not a great start for Union but not a bad one either. The first half was about ball control. Union only had 3 drives and scored on 2. The offense looked good, especially the run game. Good group of backs. They were primarily run but did have some success with the pass. Turner seemed a little off. The over throw to a wide open Falin is one he usually makes. Union really dominated the 3rd quarter and pulled away. Jenkins had a great game running the ball, Polier is a stud on both sides of the ball, and the kicking game with Falin was a weapon. Biggest thing they gotta improve on IMO is pass coverage. Burton did have some success throwing. Burton scored twice after Union starting subbing to make the score 35-20. Decent start, could have been a little sharper in a few areas. Cleaning up some penalties and secondary and the Bears will be a tough match up. 

[Union_Fan 2,155]

JIB may not have a lot of kids, but the ones they do have play hard. The QB is patient in the pocket and scans the field well. They're going to make a little noise in 1A if they can avoid further injuries. 

It definitely seemed like Union was playing their 1st game. Of course, it was like that the last 2 years against Burton and then they came out the next week against Richlands looking like a different team.

Some flashes of great potential from the Bears once they clean up a few things and get settled on a rotation in a few spots.

[sup_rbeast 296]

Union was spotty tonight, and definately a work in progress. On D the thing that jumped out at me was the CBs. It would probably help to line them up in a position where it is easier to deny slants or crossing routes and attempt to force the WR toward the boundary. Then, just let them run with the WR and make athletic plays on the ball. The way they are playing the front 7, that seems to me to be the most sensible thing to do. Also, the tackling in the secondary has to improve. On O, it’s a mixed bag of highs and lows, but the one constant is that 43 is a force out of the backfield. In the short term, Union would be best served to grind it out on O and try to limit teams on D. I don’t think the play we saw tonight will resemble the play in mid season. They have enough talent at the right places, just have to get in sync and play hard and they should be fine. That said, I could see this team going anywhere from 10-0 to 6-4 depending on circumstances and/or injuries. They played well enough to win tonight but were really sloppy in spots. A win is a win, though...on to week 2.

[Ryan4VT 4,552]

How did the pass D look? I’ve heard some Union fans say if you’re going to beat the Bears, you have to pass. Is that still the case? If so next week could be a shootout at Ernie. 

[Union_Fan 2,155]

https://www.heraldcourier.com/sports/union-pulls-away-in-third-quarter-to-down-j-i/article_344a9f24-a754-11e8-90f6-1b6066378b07.html

http://www.timesnews.net/Sports/2018/08/24/div-class-libPageBodyLinebreak-Bears-ground-and-aerial-attack-too-much-for-Raiders-div.html?ci=stream&lp=1&p=1

[Union_Fan 2,155]

2 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

How did the pass D look? I’ve heard some Union fans say if you’re going to beat the Bears, you have to pass. Is that still the case? If so next week could be a shootout at Ernie. 

Union needs to work on pass D, and I think the stats from the articles above will tell you that. It's not last year's D, but it's still pretty good with potential to be very good. Biggest improvement in a season is supposed to be between week 1 and 2. I guess we'll find out next week where this unit is.

[goose111874 967]

13 hours ago, Ryan4VT said:

How did the pass D look? I’ve heard some Union fans say if you’re going to beat the Bears, you have to pass. Is that still the case? If so next week could be a shootout at Ernie. 

You've heard right the pass D is our weak spot but Norton's QB was on.  Hopefully you guys have an off night in the passing game next week.

[BigWinners 1,643]

Thacker is an experienced QB that doesn't get rattled but Union was not great defending the pass. Too many times a WR was wide open bc Union relies on that 4-4 with only two corners and one safety with Union never getting physical trying to jam WRs at line. Jenkins plays at one CB, he is not likely to get outran by ANYONE, why not have him jam the receiver? If they get by, his speed allows him to close quickly. Made no sense to me. If Union doesn't get pressure (which at times last night we couldnt), Richlands could score pretty easily.

 

[sup_rbeast 296]

4 hours ago, BigWinners said:

Too many times a WR was wide open bc Union relies on that 4-4 with only two corners and one safety with Union never getting physical trying to jam WRs at line. Jenkins plays at one CB, he is not likely to get outran by ANYONE, why not have him jam the receiver? If they get by, his speed allows him to close quickly. Made no sense to me. If Union doesn't get pressure (which at times last night we couldnt), Richlands could score pretty easily.

 

That’s spot on. With 8 in the box, the CBs are going to have to be on an island with the widest receivers...and be up close and physical off the line. No way around that unless you want to give up easy throws and catches. The OLBs are going to have to be able to cover as well ...which they did pretty well last night. That D is great if you have the personnel to run it, though. Time will tell.

[BigWinners 1,643]

14 hours ago, sup_rbeast said:

That’s spot on. With 8 in the box, the CBs are going to have to be on an island with the widest receivers...and be up close and physical off the line. No way around that unless you want to give up easy throws and catches. The OLBs are going to have to be able to cover as well ...which they did pretty well last night. That D is great if you have the personnel to run it, though. Time will tell.

 

My biggest worry is that Jimbo saw and designed routes to take advantage of the Union defense and it's unwillingness to change, hell we saw it on their first pass when they came out with the WRs stacked. The OLB isn't over far enough to play man and it seems like Union never goes full zone. If Burton, who only has like 30 kids, can pinpoint that weakness and attack, I guarantee Mance and Richlands are gonna let Moir attack those areas early and often. 

Burton was also smart enough to keep enough in to block most of the time. Rarely did they send the RB out on a route unless it's a screen, using him as an extra blocker, because they knew that if given the time, an OLB doesn't have the speed to track a WR all the way across the field. And on the outside, not getting physical with the WRs at the line just seems silly. When you have speed like Jenkins on the outside that can make up yardage in a blink, why in the world is he not jamming a WR to throw off timing and foul up his route? Giving that much cushion makes sense if you're afraid of getting beat deep, but with elite speed you can take more chances. 

I was impressed when Union made some changes, most notably having Guerrant move into more of a strong safety position as opposed to an OLB. Just moving him around allows him to get a cleaner look at the formation. Not often will a good team change their formation in a game, but the best teams always make changes based on personnel. A 4-4 with 8 in the box makes sense if you're facing a run heavy team, but against a team that is spreading the field with four and five receivers, a 4-4 is too slim on athleticism and speed to try and play man coverage. Run a Cover II and make them beat you down the seam or over the top, don't let a team just keep making easy yards underneath. If you're not gonna sub or move guys around to match a formation, then you gotta call plays that keep you from being exposed. 

Maybe some of that was simply first game jitters and the defense will be much sharper next week. I hope so. If not, Union is gonna struggle stopping a good QB from picking them apart.