Category: navy football

GAME WEEK: TOWSON

On By MikeIn navy football9 Comments

For those who do not already know, I graduated from our fair academy in 1999. ’99 was the incredible shrinking class, dwindling to less than 900 by the time we graduated. In fact, an unusually high number of ’99ers were separated in the few weeks preceding graduation. The joke around the class back then was that graduation better get there soon, because at the rate things were going there wouldn’t be anyone left to graduate. I find myself feeling the same way now, as the beginning of another Navy football season is finally upon us after a slew of injuries in practice. Most offseasons tend to be pretty dull, but not this year. With coaching upheaval, ASO drama, and injuries galore in fall camp, the last 8 months have been a confusing and occasionally frustrating time. Usually people get fired up with the start of a new season, but this year it’s almost calming to finally be able put aside everything else and simply focus on one game and one opponent. And in week one, that opponent is Towson.

Any time Paul Johnson wanted to knock his Navy teams down a peg or two, he’d gather them up after practice and ask “how many of you were recruited by Maryland” or “how many of you were recruited by Duke” or whoever the opponent happened to be that week. Nobody would raise his hand. PJ’s point was to show the players that the teams Navy plays each week are usually more talented; and if you aren’t going to out-talent a team, you had better outwork them. Unfortunately for Coach Niumatalolo, it’s a motivational tool that isn’t available to him this week; Towson probably recruited several of Navy’s players, at least the ones from the Mid-Atlantic states. So perhaps motivation is the reason why Navy can beat Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, but lose to Delaware. Or why Navy can go 10-2 and finish at #24 in both polls, but struggle to put away Northeastern. Or why a one-point squeaker over UMass is sandwiched between victories over a Pac-10 team and a bowl-bound Conference USA team. Or maybe it’s because the talent level isn’t as different as we want to think. Either way, except for a 37-10 win over VMI in the 2003 opener, Navy hasn’t exactly played its best football against I-AA opponents.

That said, I don’t want to start going overboard Lou Holtz-style here. Towson is a work in progress, both as a football program and as a university. The school is growing, having been tasked by the state system in 2003 with expanding its enrollment to 25,000 students over 10 years. The plan to make that happen is called “TU 2010.” Part of the plan is to “develop a Towson ‘Brand’ to bring the Towson story to the external community,” and to “make the arts and athletics key components of campus life and use both as links to the external community.” Translation: fire up the football program! And they have. Towson (or Towson State back then) was once a Division III team that saw occasional success at that level, even advancing to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in 1976. From 1979-1986, the team played in Division II, and was a playoff regular towards the end of their run at that level. In 1987 the team made the jump to I-AA. Towson was a member of the non-scholarship Patriot League from 1997-2003. They joined the cream of the I-AA crop, the A-10 (now CAA), in 2004. This will be their second season with the full compliment of 63 scholarships. The Tigers have had some modest success, too, with winning seasons in both 2005 and 2006. A lot of that success, though, came from a less-than-stellar non-conference schedule. And last year, when there wasn’t enough scholarship depth to make up for a rash of injuries, the team struggled to a 3-8 record.

Nevertheless, the theme for Towson football is growth, and their game at Navy is a big part of the plan. Those non-conference schedules are getting a jolt. This weekend’s contest at Navy will be the first game against a I-A opponent in Towson history. It’ll be the first of several, with games against Maryland, Northwestern, and Indiana on tap for the future. Towson will get some cash from these games, of course, but they’ll also help to raise the profile of the school. It’s a big deal, and Towson fans know it; they’re apparently coming by the busload. Good for them if they can pull it off. Good for us if they buy tickets and spend money! But enough of that namby-pamby, feel-good nonsense. There’s a football game to be played!

Towson is a good opening opponent for the Mids. Navy should win, but not before Towson puts them to the test on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Towson does exactly what Navy couldn’t handle last year: throw, throw, run a draw play, then throw some more. Towson’s entire offense ran for fewer yards (754) than either Kaipo or Eric Kettani last season; on the flip side, the Tigers threw 38 passes per game, including a Hawaii-like 60 attempts in the season finale against James Madison. This presents a tremendous opportunity for the Navy defense to show how far it has come since the nightmare of 2007. Navy couldn’t stop much of anything last year, but what it really, REALLY couldn’t stop was a controlled, short-yardage passing attack. Delaware, North Texas, Ball State… All of them utilize the same kind of spread-em-out-and-throw-it-around style that Towson does, and all of them moved the ball at will against Navy and their 119th-ranked pass efficiency defense. Towson doesn’t have the same talent as these schools (although they certainly played better defense than Navy did against Delaware), but schematically they are more or less identical. So it won’t take long to be able to tell if the defense has made the kind of improvement we think it has.

Sean Schaefer
Sean Schaefer

Towson is led by the QB-WR tandem of Sean Schaefer and Marcus Lee. Schaefer is a four-year starter who leads all active I-AA quarterbacks in career passing yards and will become the most prolific passer in Towson history barring injury. Schaefer completed 61% of his passes last year, but 19 were to the wrong team. Bad decisions come when pressure is applied, so it’s no surprise that where there are a lot of interceptions, there are a lot of sacks. Towson’s injury problems were particularly bad on the offensive line last year, and Schaefer went down 39 times. While they’re healthy now, Towson is still starting three sophomores up front. With the pass rush being the #1 problem on Navy’s defense last year, this could be a good chance for the defensive line to gain some confidence to start the season. Getting pressure on Schaefer might not mean that all of Navy’s problems are solved, but not getting pressure on the Towson signal caller could mean big trouble with Nate Davis waiting next Friday night.

Lee is a preseason all-conference selection after catching 66 passes for 680 yards in 2007. A prototypical posession receiver, the 6-2, 202 lb. Lee is remarkably consistent; he caught at least 5 passes in 8 of Towson’s 11 games last year, including three 9-catch games. He’s joined in Towson’s 3-receiver lineup by what has to be the biggest physical contrast of any receiving corps in college football. Tommy Breaux is a 6-8 forward on the Towson basketball team that gives Schaefer a huge physical mismatch with pretty much anyone, especially in red zone jump-ball situations. Healthy again after missing most of last season with a foot injury, Breaux is a fade pattern waiting to happen. At a lower altitude is the 5-9 Dave Newsom, a transfer from regular NAPS rival Nassau CC. Newsom turned heads at Towson’s spring game, catching 7 passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns. The three of them combine to form a receiving corps that gives opponents a little bit of everything to deal with.

The stereotypical college football team that likes to chuck the ball around as much as Towson does usually has a pretty lackluster defense. But that wasn’t the case here; Towson had a top 50 I-AA defense in 2007, and was top 30 in scoring defense. That performance earned defensive coordinator Bob Benson an associate head coaching job at the D-II Colorado School of Mines. Replacing Benson is former Yale assistant Jeff McDonald. McDonald is keeping Benson’s 3-4 scheme, which probably means Ivin Jasper will see a lot of odd-man fronts. This puts Ken Niumatalolo’s decision to move Ricky Moore to center in the spotlight right away. Moore, at 6-4, 295, is a lot bigger than Antron Harper or any other Navy center of the last few years. Niumat moved him from tackle to center specifically to handle odd-man fronts, where the nose guard is usually lined up directly over the center. He felt that Moore’s size would help neutralize the big interior linemen that Navy will face. That theory gets its first test on Saturday as Moore will line up opposite Yaky Ibia, Towson’s 6-2, 295-pound nose guard. Moore has reportedly struggled against Nate Frazier in practice and has been a focal point of the offense’s problems in fall camp. How he handles Ibia will be a good indicator of whether Moore is struggling, or if Nate is just that damn good.

The biggest question on offense, though, is at quarterback. Kaipo is reported to be making progress with his hamstring, but hasn’t practiced in pads in quite some time. Jarod Bryant has been getting all the snaps at QB with the 1st team offense and will probably start. Bad news? No. It isn’t good news, of course– I’m sure everyone here is well aware of my Kaipo-worship, and he is without a doubt the best quarterback on the roster. And everyone is also well aware of my criticism of Jarod in the past as not being as sharp in handling the offense. But that was then, and this is now. One of the patterns that we’ve seen over the last 6 years is the maturation of Navy quarterbacks between their junior and senior years. In 2002, Navy was a fumble factory. Fans were calling for Craig Candeto to be benched in favor of Aaron Polanco. Then Polanco got the start against UConn, and the offense laid an egg in a 38-0 loss. After Candeto graduated, fans wondered how Navy would replace him. But Polanco stepped up to deliver one of the most clutch seasons in Navy history in 2004. Then we had Brian Hampton, who received the exact same criticism as Bryant his sophomore and junior years– he just didn’t have a handle on the offense. But once it was his turn to start in 2006, he ran the offense just fine. It isn’t magic. It’s just the result of getting one more season of reps in practice. I’m confident that we’ll see the same thing in Jarod Bryant. He won’t be as good as Kaipo, but there’s no reason why he won’t be every bit as good as Candeto, Polanco, Owens, and Hampton. And that’s good enough. That said, we clearly want Kaipo back so both of them can get onto the field. But with the offense likely safe in Jarod’s hands, it isn’t worth risking Kaipo for the season by rushing him back for the first game.

A healthy Towson team is clearly better than last year’s 3-8 record. They aren’t the most talented team Navy will face this season, obviously, but they have a capable offense and a proven defense. They will put Navy’s 2007 weaknesses to the test right away. Close your books, sharpen those #2 pencils, and add whatever other test-taking cliche you can think of. It’s time to get started!

LOLZ

On By MikeIn army, navy football18 Comments

http://forums.recordonline.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?nav=main&webtag=th-army&entry=236

“Collin Mooney is probably better than any Navy fullback we’ve ever faced,” Army defensive coordinator John Mumford said. “Not to compliment Navy but that’s a compliment to Collin.”

Remember Last Year?

On By MikeIn navy football2 Comments

You know, when our offense was OMG TEH AWSUM and our defense made little children cry? Yeah, about that…

“We stink on offense right now,” said Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo. “That is two weeks in a row the defense has come out and whipped the offense’s butt. I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a scrimmage here where the offense hasn’t scored at least one touchdown. I’ve been here 11 years and this is the first time that has happened. The defense played great and the offense has a long ways to go.”

So, was your first reaction the same as my first reaction?

I mean, that’s two scrimmages in a row now. Our offensive line can’t block anyone, our quarterbacks are dropping like flies, we don’t have a clear backup fullback, and we’re turning to freshmen to give us slotback depth. And this is against a defense that was atrocious last year. But haven’t we heard this all before? Hmmm…

Q. Why don’t you just kind of tell us what you thought about today?

A. I don’t think we’re very good.

Q. Why do you say that?

A. Well, did you watch the scrimmage?

Q. Yes.

A. That’s why I said it.

Q. Too many mistakes and not executing?

A. It’s pretty hard to play when the offensive line is just turning people loose. They’re not even getting in the way of the defense. I hope we’re good on defense.

That is, of course, an exchange between Bill Wagner and Paul Johnson following the second fall scrimmage… of 2004. As you’ll recall, that season Navy ended up 10-2 and ranked in the top 25 of both polls. So I haven’t gone base jumping without a parachute just yet. Things aren’t looking so good, but a wise man once said that things are never as good or as bad as they seem. This definitely does NOT mean that past performance is indicative of future performance. But it might mean that the world isn’t ending. If anything, it’s nice to see the defense getting fired up. That doesn’t mean I don’t have my concerns…

Kaipo’s injury is a bad thing. Not necessarily because we’ll suffer at quarterback, but because we’ll suffer at slotback. Jarod Bryant was turning heads with AND without the ball. With injuries to Andre Byrd and Greg Shinego, that put him on top of the depth chart opposite Shun White. But with Kaipo hurt, Jarod is playing quarterback… and all those injuries are creating a vacuum that might have to be filled by freshmen. Fast & talented freshmen, mind you– but still freshmen. Freshmen filling prominent roles is rarely a situation you want to face.

I say “rarely” instead of “never” because another freshman, Alex Teich, has risen to #2 on the fullback depth chart. If a freshman is going to play, you rather it be because he performed too well to be denied rather than filling a role by default. And the former is certainly what we see here. Both Teich and #3 fullback Wes Holland have reportedly impressed coaches with their quickness, not surprising considering they are both former slotbacks. They’re a definite change of pace from the typical bruising Navy fullback, not that there’s anything wrong with those. Coach Niumatalolo hinted on media day that Kettani might not split very much time this year, but it might be interesting to see how the fullbacks are used if he does.

KAIPO HURT– TRUCK JUMPS OFF BRIDGE

On By MikeIn navy football18 Comments

Bill Wagner broke the news that Kaipo is sitting out practice with a bothersome hamstring. Those of you looking to jump off the Bay Bridge are going to be stuck in traffic for a while, since an 18-wheeler got a head start on you. (It isn’t known if the driver of the truck was motivated by the news). Too early to panic? Yeah, probably, although it’s bad enough that Kaipo went in for an MRI and might miss the opener. Hamstrings are the kind of thing that tend to linger, so who knows how long this will last.  Jarod Bryant has moved backfrom practicing full-time at A-back to quarterback.

The coaches have a lot of confidence in Jarod Bryant. And given the recent trend of Navy seniors rising to the starting quarterback role, it’s hard not to. Still, even the most hard-core of the Hoover High School Fan Club (Annapolis Chapter) would admit that the offense is best served when Kaipo and Jarod are BOTH on the field. Especially now, since Jarod had risen to the top of the slotback depth chart with injuries to Greg Shinego and Andre Byrd. While the coaches are apparently pleased with the performance of Cory Finnerty, it’s hard to believe that the slotbacks aren’t going to suffer when three of the top four players going into the season are either out or moved.

Bryant can do the job at quarterback, but he was really impressing people at slotback. That, and Kaipo is probably the best quarterback at Navy since Alton Grizzard. Hopefully it isn’t too long before we get them both on the field.

Small Miracles

On By MikeIn navy football18 Comments

Consider the following:

— The Naval Academy is a small, undergraduate-only school of about 4000 students that only puts out about 900-1000 graduates every year.

— While the average state school dumps thousands of graduates into its region each year, Naval Academy graduates are immediately sent away from Annapolis and cast to all corners of the country, and even the world.

— Within a 45-minute drive of Annapolis, you have:

  • Two NFL Franchises
  • Two Major League Baseball franchises
  • A large, BCS-conference state school
  • an NBA franchise
  • an NHL franchise

…all of which have seasons that at least partially overlap with Navy football season.

Considering all that, it’s amazing that Navy has topped 23,000 season ticket sales, breaking its record for the fourth straight year. Winning is good!

And We’re Underway

On By MikeIn navy football6 Comments

Media Day is in the books, and practice is underway. I was waiting to see if the SID staff was going to put out a media day transcript, but it doesn’t look like they’re going to. No biggie, as our own Adam Nettina gave a great recap of all the big points covered at the press conference writing for College Football News. Some good stuff was batted around about the defense, the race for #2 fullback, and what Coach Niumatalolo is like in practice compared to Paul Johnson. Worth the All-Access subscription, as are the player interviews with Pete Medhurst (Shun White in particular).

As I watched the press conference, one thing that I noticed was how much more comfortable Ken Niumatalolo looked in front of the media compared to just a few months ago. Since taking charge last December, Coach Niumat always looked a bit uneasy when answering questions or talking in front of the microphone. I’m sure a lot of that was because the events leading to his promotion all happened so quickly, but regardless, things have changed. Last week, coach was smiling, cracked a few jokes, and gave very frank, straightforward answers. He looked like a man in charge. Maybe this is just me reading way too much into minutiae the way I always do, but it was very noticeable.

Anyway, with practice having started, that means the return of the practice pressers! Presser #1 came on Friday, with Wagner firing off a few questions for the Navy head coach:

Wagner: What are some of the question marks you have in your mind? You talked yesterday about the backup fullback; I know that is one of them. Who is in the mix to back up Kettani?

Niumatalolo: Kevin Campbell, Vince Murray, Wes Holland and a freshman from the prep school, Alex Teich. Those are the guys we are looking at.

Wagner: Teich was listed as a slot back, was that a mistake?

Niumatalolo: No, he was a slot back but we just moved him. He is a pretty physical kid and we liked the way he tested. We want to see what he can do.

Wagner: I don’t have the stats in front of me, but I don’t believe any of those guys you mentioned carried the ball at all last year.

Niumatalolo: Backup fullback was a big question in the spring, but we were very pleased with the way Campbell and Murray played. It is still an open battle and those guys know that the number two spot is still up for grabs. We moved Holland and Teich from slot to fullback to up the competition.

The #2 mythical creature in the Navy offense (#1 being the super-athletic quarterback with the howitzer arm) is the second coming of Adrian Peterson; the fullback that’s not a fullback as much as a traditional tailback. The guy that’s as big a threat on the outside as between the tackles. Navy’s fullback have been more of the bruiser, up the middle variety. Now, I’m not even pretending that Holland and Teich are Adrian Peterson. But maybe bringing switching a couple slots to fullback is an attempt to see if we can get that different element out of the position. Coach Johnson tried it a little when he moved Trey Hines to fullback, but Hines never really had an opportunity to learn the position. Holland and Teich will. I fully expect Campbell and Murray to be on the 3-deep this year, but this will be something to watch as time goes on.

Wagner: What other questions do you have on offense? How about the offensive line?

Niumatalolo: We are looking for a third guard and a third tackle. We are also trying to find a backup center.

Wagner: Lark hasn’t proven himself, has he?

Niumatalolo: I’m starting to like what I see. He’s a pup at center right now so he is running around like a chicken with his head cut off, but he plays with great intensity and he is very strong. I like what I see out of him.

If all we’re looking for is a 3rd guard and 3rd tackle, then we must be doing OK. It’s good that Lark is making some progress at center.

Wagner: On defense, Nate Frazier looks great out here. I heard he made all of the workouts this summer.

Niumatalolo: Defensively, we are looking for some young guys that can step up. We have a ton of guys back from last year that we are excited about. We have an experienced group coming back. We have a pretty good idea who we have on defense, but we want to see if any of the young guys can step into the mix.

I don’t know about you, but I got my fill of young guys stepping into the mix last year. I’m ready for some old, grizzled veterans on defense.

Lots more covered in that transcript, so read up!

The Science and The Art

On By MikeIn football, Ivin Jasper, navy football, Paul Johnson17 Comments
The end result of a plan coming together.
The end result of a plan coming together.

Ivin Jasper has some big shoes to fill.

Not that he really needs anyone to remind him. The future of Navy’s offense in the post-Paul Johnson world has been on everyone’s mind since the former head coach in Annapolis moved on to face new challenges at Georgia Tech. The offense has been Navy’s calling card; it’s what made Navy, Navy. Under Johnson, the Mids never finished lower than third in the country in rushing, and they became the first team to lead the country in that category for three consecutive years. So far, Ken Niumatalolo has fielded most of the questions from the press about the future of the offense. But when Towson comes to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on August 30 it’ll be Jasper that’s under the microscope. The new offensive coordinator is, after all, carrying out the gameday duties Navy’s former offensive messiah. Paul Johnson was a master of both the science of designing plays for his offense, and the art of knowing just how to unleash those plays at the right time. Fortunately, while Jasper might not have been calling the plays, he was already a significant factor in Navy’s recent offensive success– both as the quarterbacks coach and as Paul Johnson’s gameday eyes in the booth. Jasper would relay what he was seeing from his perch above the stadium to Johnson, who called plays based on that input. Jasper was part of the decision-making process. That, plus his experience as a player in this offense (at two different positions), makes Coach Jasper about as prepared as one can be to get behind the wheel of Paul Johnson’s offensive machine. So it will be both nerve-wracking and exciting to see where the similarities and differences will be with Jasper running the show on game day. His X & O mastery is without question. But what about his style?  His creativity? How will he make this offense his own?

Some people don’t think it’s possible to have much style or creativity in such a “boring” option offense, but style is something that sets Paul Johnson apart. One of the more fascinating things about the way Paul Johnson calls games is seeing how far ahead he thinks. He’ll spend an entire game– hell, sometimes an entire season– setting up one play. He is very conscious of what he puts on film, and knows what his own tendencies are. He uses that to his advantage. I remember reading one of his press conference transcripts after the Notre Dame game a few years ago, talking about a play he called on third & short. He commented that he made a point to do repeat one particular play in that down & distance situation all year in order to give the Irish coaches something to pick up on in the film room… Just so he could call something different on that day and hopefully catch them off guard. It didn’t work in that case, but sometimes it works to absolute perfection. Perhaps the most easily illustrated example of this is the 2006 game at Connecticut.

Navy fans remember the game, but I’ll give a quick recap for the Georgia Tech fans that will inevitably find their way to this post. The Mids had over 600 yards of offense against the Huskies in their 2006 meeting. Quarterback Brian Hampton and slotback Reggie Campbell both had over 100 rushing yards, with Campbell’s yardage coming on only 5 carries. Navy was plagued by penalties, but still rolled to a 41-17 win thanks to big plays. The Mids’ first play from scrimmage was a 77-yard TD pass from Hampton to Campbell. Reggie followed up on that play with a 68-yard TD run on the first play of the second half. (WARNING: GRATUITOUS HIGHLIGHT)

Fullback Adam Ballard had an 81-yard run. Shun White caught a pitch and took it 27 yards. Brian Hampton had three touchdown runs, the longest coming on a counter option in the 4th quarter that went for 52 yards.

It’s that last play that is the subject of this post. Paul Johnson spent an entire quarter setting up that play. How did he do it? Let’s begin with breaking down a basic Navy counter option play to find out.

The Science

Before every game, opposing coaches and players are asked about what it takes to stop Navy’s option offense. The answer is always the same: “discipline.” But if that was the case, shouldn’t Navy’s offense get shut down more often? How hard is it to teach defenses a little bit of discipline? The truth is that it’s a lot easier said than done. To demonstrate this, we’ll start with Navy’s bread & butter, the triple option:

So here’s your basic triple option play against an even front, being run to the left (my apologies for the crude diagram). The backside slotback begins his tail motion based on the quarterback’s cadence, usually a second or so before the snap. This happens right in front of the face of the backside 5 technique, in this case a defensive end. When the 5-tech sees the slotback go in motion, he knows that the play is going to go in the same direction. So what does he do? He starts to cheat that way, especially if the fullback keeps getting the ball. It’s hard not to when you see the same thing happening over and over and over again. This is why disciplined defense is so challenging. You can preach it to death in practice, but during the game, when you’re on the field for 5-6 minute drives as the offense in front of you is gaining 3-4 yards on every play, you start thinking that maybe it’s up to you to do something to force a 4th down. Or maybe you just get tired from being out there for so long and lose your concentration. Either way, that DE starts cheating inside, sometimes without even realizing it. And when that happens, Ivin Jasper sees it from his press box perch. Enter, the counter option:

Once that 5 technique starts cheating inside, he becomes an easy target for a pulling guard to seal off and trap. And that’s the heart of the counter option play. The numbering for reads is done the same way as with the triple option (if you haven’t already, I suggest reading this post from last year for an explanation on the numbers). The same A-back goes into tail motion just as he did on the triple option play. But this time, he pivots and reverses direction on the snap. Instead of being the pitch man, he carries out an arc block to the run support (#3). The playside 5 technique sees the tail motion before the snap and cheats inside. When he realizes that the play is going the other way and changes direction to pursue, he’s met by a pulling guard that traps him. This leaves the quarterback free to get upfield and read his pitch key.

The quarterback has his own set of concerns. At the snap, he turns in the same direction as the tail motion to carry out the triple option look. At this point, he has his back to the pitch key. This makes him vulnerable; the pitch key is unblocked and can uncork a monster hit on the quarterback if he comes in on a blitz. Because of this, the quarterback should find a “soft” #2 to run the play towards. “Soft” meaning that before the snap, he doesn’t look like he’s going to blitz (speaking of easier said than done). If the pitch key does come in and attack the quarterback, the QB will pitch the ball to the backside slotback.

The Art

It’s one thing to just take what the defense gives you. On this day, Paul Johnson pulled a playcalling rope-a-dope that made the defense give him what he wanted, and then delivered the knockout blow. After Reggie’s touchdown run to open up the second half, the Mids began mixing in plays on from a new formation on their next couple of posessions, with twin wide receivers on one side. Like so:

Other than a couple of pass attempts, Navy almost exclusively ran option plays out of this formation. And on every single option play, they ran the play towards the side of the field where the wide receivers were lined up:

This went on for a whole quarter. But on Navy’s first full 4th quarter drive, PJ dropped the bomb. The Mids ran the counter option, faking towards the wide receivers then turning around and running the play the other way. You’re going to have to watch this clip a few times. The first time, watch the playside defensive end (towards the top of the screen) bite hard on the fake and charge towards the fullback. Antron Harper is the pulling guard and completely cuts him off. The second time you watch the video, notice how the linebackers and safety also completely buy into the fake. It leaves them so off balance that the outside linebacker gets blown away by a beastly block from the left tackle, while the safety panics and overruns the play, whiffing on the tackle.

The fake was so good that even though the play wasn’t perfectly executed (Zach Gallion couldn’t maintain his block and Matt Hall couldn’t get through the line of scrimmage to block the backside linebacker), it still went the distance. With a little bit of speed and the ability to make people miss, that’s the sort of thing that can happen in this offense when a play is set up so beautifully.

And that was PJ’s style. In his best games, he didn’t just take what the defense gave him. He found ways to indirectly control the defense. We saw games where PJ liked to grind it out, and games where PJ would swing for the fences. Now it’s Coach Jasper’s turn in the lab, and we’ll probably see the same thing– at least on a macro scale. But the beauty lies in the details of just how to set up for that home run, and that’s where style comes in. Coach Jasper finding his style– his way of dictating the game–will be the story of the offense in 2008.

VICTORY OVER THE BLUE SCREEN

On By MikeIn army-navy, navy football, navy lacrosse11 Comments

I’m probably the most technologically backwards blogger on the internets. I built myself a computer four or five years ago, and at the time it was a mack daddy machine. It’d still be a competent appliance today if only it had lasted that long; a little more than a year ago it decided that it had better things to do than to carry out my bidding and just quit working. Since then I’ve been using my work laptop, in all of its Windows 2000 glory. An abacus would’ve been as effective a computer at this point. Now that I mention it, that’s actually true. On Wednesday, my trusty corporate relic bit the big one and gave me the dreaded blue screen of death, making it a big, gray paperweight. The “fatal system error” message contained in that doomsday screen hinted at the disaster churning inside, as the hard drive had gone and charbroiled itself into oblivion. So while Army-Navy news was buzzing all week, I was silent. But not anymore! Last weekend I ordered my Apple-powered electronic savior, and it arrived yesterday morning. So while I may be broke as hell now, at least I’m connected. Lucky you!

So what about that Army-Navy news, anyway? We’ll start with lacrosse.

Army-Navy lacrosse is moving to Baltimore next year. The Birddog Says: Meh.

Inside Lacrosse magazine, who brought you this year’s “Face Off Classic,” is at it again. Their new event is the “Day of Rivals,” and it’s a doubleheader featuring Army-Navy and Maryland-Hopkins at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. There are two ways of looking at this. If you’re just a lacrosse fan, unaffiliated with either team… It’s great! The two games were played on the same day last year, and several area lacrosse fans made the trip for both. Putting both games in one place just makes things easier for people who’d otherwise consider making the trip.

If you’re a Navy fan… well, let’s just hope this doesn’t become a trend. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is already about as great a venue as there is in lacrosse. Playing the game in front of 45,000 empty seats might seem like the “big time” to some people, but not to me. Not that I mind throwing a bone to the local lacrosse fan once in a while, but does it have to be the Army game? Anyway, while it isn’t something I’m looking forward to, it isn’t the end of the world, either. Maybe there’s a little bit of money to be made on the deal. If anyone’s pissed about this, it’s Army fans– this is a two-year deal, meaning an Army home game is being played in Baltimore. Sucks to be them.

Army-Navy coming to a city near you? The Birddog says: I’ll believe it when I see it.

Bidding for the privilege of hosting the Army-Navy game was last done in 2003. Back then, 15 cities across the country threw their hats in the ring only to see Philadelphia walk away with the prize as usual. It’s that time once again for groups to submit their proposals, and the buzz is already starting about the possibilities. Army-Navy in Dallas? Tampa? San Antonio? Chicago? Yeah, sure. Back in 2003, if you’ll recall, one of the strongest bids was actually submitted by Seattle. A lot of good it did them. It’s tough for a city outside the eastern seaboard to make a competitive bid since the host is responsible for paying travel costs for 4,000 midshipmen and 4,000 cadets. Yet even though Seattle supposedly found a way to make it work, it didn’t do them any good. Putting the game out of reach for tens of thousands of season ticket holders is something that each institution’s respective AD is naturally hesitant to do. So while I expect a lot of noise to be made about how many cities are submitting bids and how competitive the process is, I doubt that it’ll be anything more than a strong hint to Philadelphia to make sure their bid is up to par and their stadium isn’t in such disrepair that railings are held up with duct tape. Expect to be grabbing steaks at Pat’s after the Army-Navy game for years to come, with the occasional bone tossed to Baltimore.

(When the time comes for bidding to be opened for the 2026 game, I hope it goes to Chicago for the 100th anniversary of the original “game of the century.” God help me if I’m still blogging by then. Although I’ll probably be using the same computer…)

The other change that is on the horizon for Army-Navy is the possibility of a presenting sponsor. I’m all for it. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see “The Poulan-Weed Eater Army-Navy Game” any more than you do. But if it’s “The Army-Navy Game, presented by Northrop Grumman,” would that be such a disaster? Maybe if you work for Lockheed, but other than that it would just mean more money to pay coaches, recruit nationwide, and upgrade facilities. That = good. So if corporate sponsorship is indeed headed our way, here’s hoping it’s done the right way.

Hi. I’m The Birddog.

On By MikeIn going pro, navy football, navy lacrosse14 Comments

You might know me from such blog posts as “UNAPPRECIATED WARRIORS” and “Five Myths of Paul Johnson’s Offense.”  Then again, as infrequently as I’ve been posting lately, maybe you don’t remember. I would apologize for my absence, but somehow I think you’ve all been able to go on with your lives. But still, what kind of blogger would go silent for so long when there’s so much happening? My lazy ass, that’s who. I guess that’s what happens when the paying job gets in the way. In my defense, I actually have been working on the blog… Just not on anything you can read yet. I have quite a lovely post all dolled up and ready to go, but to truly unleash its greatness I need video. Which means I either need to fix my desktop machine or get a new one. It’s looking more and more like the latter, which makes my bank account weep the tears of an infinite sadness. Fortunately, the glory and the heaps of cash that come from having a blog more than make up for it.

Anyway, there’s a ton of stuff to get to. The biggest news that you already heard is that UNC’s search for a lacrosse coach has come to an end. UNC is a team that has had a reputation for having exceptional talent that never reached its potential. Richie Meade is a coach with a reputation for getting the most out of the talent he has on hand. And he’s a UNC alumnus! A match made in heaven? Apparently not, as Chapel Hill’s overlords chose instead to nab another Tar Heel, Ohio State coach Joe Breschi.

So why didn’t Richie get the job? In his own words:

“We both saw that at the present time I wasn’t a fit,” Meade said. “I went down there with a lot of respect for everyone at North Carolina and I now have an even greater respect for them. At the same time, I very much appreciate my athletic director, Chet Gladchuk, and his willingness to let me investigate the opening. He encouraged me to do it, and not because he wants me out the door. He was interested in me professionally.”

I’m not sure I buy the “mutual decision” thing, but I don’t really care. I’m just glad that Richie isn’t going anywhere. As much as I worshipped Paul Johnson, I always figured that he would eventually leave. But with Coach Meade I’ve allowed myself to fall head-first into “true believer” mode. You know… As in, “OMG MY SCHOOL IS SO SPECIAL AND UNIQUE WHY WOULD HE WANT TO LEAVE!!!” I just never envisioned the possibility of Coach Meade coaching anywhere else. Now that I’ve been whacked back into reality, I’m happy that things turned out the way they did.

The other big news is on the football side, with the Texas Bowl announcing that they’ve reached an agreement with Navy for the 2009 game. Or maybe it’ll technically be the 2010 game if bowl organizers achieve their goal of securing a New Year’s Day time slot. Along those lines, the game’s director took a shot at Navy, probably without even realizing it:

“If we have a situation where we can sell out a game with the eighth selection from the Big 12 against a Conference USA team or Navy, just imagine what we can do if we have two Top 10 teams playing each other every year,” Texas Bowl director David Brady told The Chronicle.

Really, dude? “If we can sell out with these scrubs, imagine what we can do with the teams we actually want!” I mean, I know the point he’s trying to make, but geez… It’s obvious that Texas Bowl organizers want Navy because they know that the Mids will provide their half of a sellout crowd. While the Texas Bowl is technically a different event than the Houston Bowl that Navy went to in 2003 (the Houston Bowl folded when it lost its sponsorship– this is a different ownership group), I’m sure T-Bowl organizers are well aware of the 20,000+ tickets that Navy sold for that game. Everyone else in the bowl world is too. No need then to make us out to be some anonymous upstart with no following. You aren’t fooling anyone.

But putting all that aside, and assuming that Navy will even be bowl-eligible in 2009 (the likelihood of which we’ll have a better idea of once the revised schedule is unveiled), it’s another good deal for Bill the Goat’s minions. If you get DirecTV, anyway, since the game is broadcast on the NFL Network. But you don’t need to worry about TV, right? You’re going to go to the game, aren’t you? That’s right, you are. Because the fact that Navy fans keep going to the games is the reason why these opportunities open up for us. Besides, it’s fun. The last time we went to Houston, I watched the team practice at Rice, ate at a great Cuban restaurant in Rice Village (El Meson for the win!), went to a Rockets game, and spent New Year’s Eve downtown. That’s on top of official bowl events like the rodeo and the luncheon. And although it’s easier on the team to play the game before Christmas (so they can actually have a few days of leave afterwards), it sure is a lot easier for fans to get to a game around New Year’s.

The Texas Bowl used to pay different amounts depending on the participating conferences. The Big 12 team would get $750,000, while the Big East got only $500,000. No word yet on how Navy would fit into that mess. Anyway, on to other things.

Since you know I can’t go more than two posts without mentioning Caleb Campbell, I might as well get it out of the way. Those who care about the topic have probably already ready this column by David Teel on the subject. The Navy’s hard stance on the Mitch Harris situation has caused a Teel and others to contrast that with the Army’s handling of Caleb Campbell. There are still arguments for and against the Army policy, and I’m not going to go back into those here. But regardless of how people feel, the one thing that has become clear is that people aren’t buying the Army party line that Campbell is serving, but just in a different way. As Teel says:

The policy could affect recruiting and morale. But that’s not the point.

The point is, in times of war, duty calls.

But playing football IS serving! Haven’t you heard? Anyway, that’s enough of that for now.

Back on the football front, we have the announcement of the Navy Football Luncheon Series:

The Navy Football Luncheon series will debut Monday, August 25 at 11:30 a.m. in the N-Room at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The luncheon will allow Navy fans to get the inside scoop from head football coach Ken Niumatalolo before some of Navy’s biggest games of the year.

Chalk this one up to “things you’d never see Paul Johnson do.” I’m not sure if this is a case of Coach Niumat being a more fan-friendly guy, or if Chet can just get him to do more stuff than he could get PJ to do. Either way, breaking down highlights with Coach Niumatalolo? I’ve never been more pissed to live in Florida. What a great deal. One of you guys need to go to the August luncheon so you can report on its awesomeness.

In a bit of tangential good news for Navy, NBC and Notre Dame have extended their contract through 2015. Hey, if they’re making money, then we’ll keep making money when we play them.

And finally, we have this piece in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin about Ken Niumatalolo as college football’s first Polynesian head coach. It’s a big deal on a few levels. I know I mentioned this before, but it really was something to see how many of Utah’s players wanted to shake hands and get their pictures taken with Coach Niumat. Maybe it isn’t a huge headline grabber, but in the context of the Naval Academy story it means a lot. USNA’s history of racial integration is not a proud one. I wanted to write about this when the Wesley Brown Fieldhouse opened, but I coudn’t find a way to do it without sounding even cheesier than I usually do. But to see the Naval Academy on the leading edge of something like this… It’s important. Not as important as the the fact that he is the right man for the job, but important nevertheless.

I’m going to be on vacation next week, so there’s a chance that I’ll have another posting dry spell. Try not to let your emotions get the best of you.

In the news…

On By MikeIn lacrosse, navy football, navy lacrosse5 Comments

Christian Swezey, settling into his new gig at Inside Lacrosse, updates us on the UNC coaching search and tells us that Richie Meade has, in fact, been contacted. Bad news?

Meantime, UNC officials contacted Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk for permission to talk to Meade about their opening, Gladchuk said. Gladchuk said he met with Meade on Tuesday.

“I met with him just to have some dialogue,” Gladchuk said. “His heart is at Navy, he made that perfectly clear. But North Carolina is his alma mater. Even if he’s not talking to them about their opening, at least he might be able to advise them.”  

I certainly hope that’s all there is to it. I maintain my state of nervousness.

In other lacrosse news, the long-rumored addition of lacrosse as a Big East-sponsored sport has finally come to fruition. Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova will begin play as a conference in 2010. Providence and Villanova better step up their games in a hurry.

Finally, there’s some more news on the Ohio State game. USA Today is reporting that Navy will earn $1.4 million for its 2009 date in Columbus. That’s one hell of a payday. There’s no mention of how much Navy will pay for the return trip in 2014, but we might have more of a clue about the ’09 schedule:

Ohio State’s Gene Smith calls the Navy payout a “special situation” and says he doesn’t plan to pay that much at least until after 2014 because his schedule is set till then. The Navy payout came because another school pulled out of a contract with Ohio State, leaving the Buckeyes with a hole in their schedule. But Navy had to buy its way out of a contract in order to come. Ohio State’s guarantee will in effect cover Navy’s buyout as well.

But which game is it? Hawaii was originally supposed to be the season opener, but we already know that the game against the Warriors was moved to November and not bought out. Regardless, we know that Western Kentucky is replacing someone as well. So it appears that Chet is making good on his promise to lighten the load a bit in ’09. Depending, of course, on who exactly is getting replaced.