Ribbon board and random thoughts

On the run.

Just some random notes from the weekend:

• What did folks think of the new “ribbon boards” which now hang on the lip of each upper deck? I thought they were a nice addition, though I’d like to see more stats and less advertisements. The lyrics during the Alma Mater and the Star Spangled Banner were nice, except for some curious punctuation during the national anthem. Seriously, how many question marks did you think were in that song? Apparently quite a few. Hands down the highlight of the new scoreboard is that when Devine makes a big play the first thing the fans are treated too is a fifty foot shot of his gold grillz. Nice touch U.
• I didn’t have this forum last season, but the University slighted some seriously hardcore Mountaineer fans by doing away with the standing room section which was in the vicinity of the Touchdown Terrace and team shop. I think a decent standing room section is a must. It was such a treat to know exactly where you could find a good view of the game and a great place to meet friends. I’m even more pissed about it because during the first half of the game Saturday I was reminded that I’m too old to be up in the student section. The irony, of course, is that it wasn’t students who were the most foolish people around me this weekend, but folks a little older than me “re-living” their time in Morgantown. I’m a peaceful guy, but I was this close to throwing an elbow to bloody some chud’s nose.
• Would anyone else love to see us run a two-qb system? I sure would. It definitely jeopardizes J.B.’s ability to be an effective back-up to #5, but it could be absolutely lethal. Imagine White, Brown and Devine breaking the huddle with an opposing defense with no clue who would take the snap, run the ball, or line-up at receiver. I think that fraction of a second would be all it would take to see us running roughshod over opponents again.
• How great was it to see Owen Schmitt back at Mountaineer Field? I swear the rowdiest the student section got during the second half was when they showed him (still rockin’ the mohawk!) on the video board.
• Another great day in the League for Steve. Our boy Slaton racked up 116 total yards on 10 carries and 8 receptions which included catching a 30-yard TD pass to find paydirt for the second consecutive week. Highlight’s are here. Downside, of course, is that his Texans are win-less at 0-3.
• Finally, check out the Hurting Dolphins podcast. It’s hosted by my friends Pat and Mike, and it’s pretty damn funny. I can’t say their podcasts are about anything in particular, but it had me laughing all morning while I put off working on my Master’s Thesis. For doing such a good deed, they deserve a link.

Boys in the Bigs: Slaton’s coming out party

Stevie muscles past a defender on a 50 yard dash

So, it was a pretty bad weekend of football for me. The Mounties embarrass themselves in the Rockies and the Steelers can’t keep the pass rush off of Ben in Filthadelphia. To add insult to injury, both of my Fantasy Football teams are hanging by a thread going into tonight’s Monday night tilt. That said, there was one Mountaineer who had a good weekend, and that was Steve Slaton.

Slaton got his first career start against the Tennessee Titans yesterday (though he carried most of the load in Week One as well) and he turned in a gem. Against a stingy Titans defense Steve carried the ball 18 times for 116 yards and a Touchdown, as well as catching four passes. He tore off a 50 yarder in the first half, and picked up his first career TD on a six yard power run.

Watch the highlights here.

The Houston Texans’ official website shows that people in Texas are a little excited about their rookie runner:

Rookie Steve Slaton proved on Sunday that he is going to be something special. In his first NFL start, the running back rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown.

He did all of this against the a Tennessee defense that came into the game ranked second against the run, allowing only 60.5 yards rushing per game. The Titans defense also boasts three Pro Bowl linemen, including ends Jevon Kearse and Kyle Vanden Bosh and tackle Albert Haynesworth.

“He played a lot of plays,” head coach Gary Kubiak said of Slaton. “We were going to rotate him, but he played so well we kept going with him. I liked the way he broke tackles. He just kept going and gave us a chance to make big plays.”

Slaton’s longest run came on a 50-yard scamper in the first quarter when he bounced off the defensive line and sprinted up the sideline for the second-longest run in Texans history.

In the second quarter, the rookie came up with a clutch first-down conversion when the Texans were fourth-and-one at Tennessee’s 11-yard line. On the next play, Slaton got into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown.

By halftime Slaton had racked up 104 yards on the ground, but he was used less in the second half when quarterback Matt Schaub started connecting with his receivers.

“We probably got away from the run game too quick in the second half, in all honestly,” Kubiak said. “We ran the ball good in the first half. He has a chance to be a fine player; he’s just got to keep going.”

“He has that speed and with our system he can break one at any time and I think he proved that. I wish we would’ve been able to get him the ball more in the second half.” – Eric Winston on Steve Slaton
The head coach wasn’t the only Texan praising Slaton.

“I knew Slaton was good,” offensive tackle Eric Winston said. “We all knew. He has that speed and with our system he can break one at any time and I think he proved that. I wish we would’ve been able to get him the ball more in the second half.

“I think he’s a guy that can just light (up the scoreboard) at any point. You’re going to see a lot more of him. I thought he showed a lot of heart out there. He ran tough. He’s a tough kid. He’s not big, but he took some shots and kept plugging his legs. I know he got a lot of respect out of us.”

Slaton’s banner day, however, was clouded by the offense’s struggles in the red zone where the Texans were 1-6 and forced to settle for two field goals instead of touchdowns.

“I think you can take a little joy out of it,” Slaton said. “As an offense, we have to work on the red zone and putting points on the board. If we do the same thing we did today but come out with six points instead of three, I think we’ll be doing a lot better.”