More Than Words? Video From Saturday

So we’ve all had Saturday night and Sunday to overanalyze, examine and basically vent over the state of the program.  We’ve let you have your say, and it’s been wide open in comments.  That will, hopefully, always be the case.  But seriously, let’s just back down on the hate stuff right now.  After another day to put it all in perspective, about how WSU barely beat Montana State and how flat the team looked for three quarters, let’s just move past it.  You saw it or heard it, you vented, and it’s a new day. 

With that, I know that Comcast basically screwed the pooch on the broadcast.  Many of you never saw anything but a black screen until the very end, others of you who actually had the channel come in saw NCAA soccer (??).  The word is that rain in Texas killed the broadcast, something like that.  But FSN, Comcast, whoever blew it, at least they rebroadcast the thing yesterday afternoon.  And with that, I was able to grab-n-rip about 13 minutes and change of video from the game. 

Some things to pay close attention to from the video:

1)  James Montgomery, welcome back. Not only was the long run a thing of beauty, but there is another run on the video where he absolutely punishes the tackler after a 10-yard gain.  I know the running game was pretty inconsistent on Saturday, but Monty flashed some of that excellence that we are going to need the rest of this year.

2)  Brandon Rankin, hello!  There are a couple of clips later in the video that you need to see.  One clip has Rankin absolutely clubbing a Montana State blocker – WITH ONE ARM – and then coming in to help on a tackle, all the while the MSU ball carrier loses his helmet!  And there is another shot by Rankin, where he blows up the lineman, and then crushes the young QB, right up in his face.  Unfortunately it drew a personal foul penalty, as he made contact with his helmet, but WOW, that’s a punishing shot.  Once again you can see why the buzz is so strong on Rankin.  He’s got the whole package of strength and quickness.  I figure by midseason, after a few more games to get used to the speed of Pac-10 football, he’s going to be a terror inside.

3)  CJ Mizell, hello!  Big plays from the frosh, and now you have to wonder what the depth chart looks like this week.  Yeah, he’s not 100% all in during some moments during practice, and that will have to change.  But yeah, the kid’s a player isn’t he?  He delivers some big hits too, and of course, the INT that he nearly took back to the house.  Future is bright with this one, as long as he can stay focused and those close to him are there to help him on his journey! 

4)  The kid QB from Montana State? REALLY good.  This is a WSU highlight, so no, you won’t see some of the plays he made…..but McGhee is a name to tuck away.  Just his second-ever start, and you can see the tools.

5)  Watch the sideline during the Mizell intecerption. Do you think anyone has quit or given up?  Neither do I.

6)  I TIP MY HAT TO THE HOME CROWD! I would have loved to have been there myself, but scheduling conflicts made it impossible.  But from the broadcast, I have to say that the crowd looked really, really good.  I was expecting the stadium to be half-filled, but instead we saw a beautiful September Saturday out on the Palouse and the fans helping out the team.  You didn’t care that we were “only” playing Montana State, you made noise and supported the team every step of the way.  For that, we salute you!

Check out the video, AFTER the read more of course….

NOTE – I apologize for the quality.  It looks good on my local PC, but something happens along the way to Youtube.  If you are a video person and have some tips on making higher-quality clips, please let me know! 
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOCIKJa5AV8&w=425&h=344]

All for now.  GO COUGS!