Grading the Bucks: Week 1--Florida Atlantic

Talk about a tale of 2 games.  The first only lasted 8 min and 10 secs, but man was it explosive.  Plenty of things need shoring up, but there were positives as well.

Offense: B-
Grade seems low but I have my reasons.  First, the grade out of the gate was an A+++.  Everything was clicking beautifully.  The receivers looked crisp, Fields was decisive, and it was just plain easy.  Much of this was tempered in my mind with the fact that FAU was absolutely horrible.  Missed assignments, falling down...it was a comedy of errors.  Then reality set it.  For his first start Fields did pretty well but he needs to make quicker decisions.  When confident in the throw, he delivered a nice ball on time.  Even when Victor broke completely open, he made sure to hit the receiver when many QBs get excited and overthrow.  After the 4 TD barrage wore off, he had happy feet in the pocket (more to come) and simply held the ball too long.  It seemed that he expected the receivers to always be completely open like the beginning and he waited for it.  The major point of concern (other than the fumbles) was some lackluster offensive line play.  It was clear early on in the game that FAU was physically overmatched.  There was no reason for them to get ANY pressure based on the athletes, especially when not sending extra guys, and yet Fields was consistently diving out of the pocket.  The push in the running game was also missing.  The line play is very concerning moving forward.

Defense: A-
While all this is taken with a grain of salt (see above that FAU is horrible), the defense played quite well (as they should have).  The dink-and-dunk was the only success as the QB had to get rid of the ball very quickly due to the pressure.  Any time you can enter halftime holding the offense to negative yards, you have to be doing something right.  The second half was a bit more lackadaisical, but that's what happens in games like this.  The secondary was out of position a bit, but it was tough to truly gauge the improvement/lack thereof of the defense against this opponent.  Given the circumstances, I'm pleased.

Special Teams: B+
FAU did a nice job avoiding McCall which led to him getting into trouble on the sidelines (and replaced).  I thought it was just nice directional punting.  No missed kicks or problems in the return game.  There's also a little shake in the return game which I think will be important in the future.

Coaching: A-
Ryan Day and Co. dialed up a brilliant beginning to the era.  Can't fault much in the on field coaching, but I certainly hope the drop off in performance isn't the norm.  When the Owls started to fight back, I was a little concerned with the response of the Scarlet and Gray.  Instead of shutting the upstarts down, they played content.  A mental shift needs to occur to prevent this in all games.  The killer instinct must be at full capacity to compete with the best.  I think the coaching staff is going to keep them ready, but the laziness was noticed.

Overall: B+
Line play, line play, line play.  Perhaps the style is a more strategic attack rather than a physically dominant one, but can't it be both?  Fields needs to maintain confidence in his arm and receivers.  I've seen many a talented QB wait for the wide open receiver.  In today's game, risks are a necessity.  I trust in the offense and the offensive staff, but the growth needs to continue.  As for the defense, I'm still waiting for the next test.  I think Cincy will provide a nice measuring stick next week.