Let’s Talk About the Shotgun

On By MikeIn navy football4 Comments

Navy’s coaches make little tweaks to the offense every year. Most of the time, they’re too subtle for any of us to really notice. Over the last two years, though, we’ve seen some changes that even those of us in the oblivious masses were able to pick out.

The first is the introduction of a lot more zone plays. The zone dive has always been a staple of the offense, but over the last few years we’ve seen a lot more zone blocking in the option game as well. Coach Jasper started using it a lot in goalline situations in 2010, and last year we saw it extensively against both Air Force and Army. It was effective in both games, and I’m sure we’ll see more of it as this season rolls on.

The other obvious thing that we’ve started seeing more and more is the shotgun. Last year we saw it once or twice in hail mary situations. Against Notre Dame the Mids used it mostly in the passing game, with one or two runs mixed in for good measure. Last week it was featured much more extensively, with triple option plays being run out of the gun as well. It’s clear that this is becoming a bigger part of what Navy does, so let’s take a closer look at it.

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PENN STATE 34, NAVY 7

On By MikeIn navy football17 Comments

Paul Johnson’s first season at Navy was not a pretty one, as the Mids sandwiched a 10-game losing streak between a pair of wins back in 2002. The following season was a completely different story; Navy finished the regular season 8-4 and earned a berth in the Houston Bowl, where they fell to Texas Tech. It was one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football history, and the formula for achieving that success was surprisingly simple. The biggest difference between the frustration of 2002 and the success of 2003 was giving up fewer turnovers on offense and fewer big plays on defense.

Given that Navy is playing like they did in 2002– they’ve given up 8 turnovers and 4 plays of 30+ yards already– it’s no surprise that they’re getting 2002-like results. Navy followed up its season-opening trouncing at the hands of Notre Dame with another afternoon of misery, this time courtesy of Penn State. The loss was Navy’s 9th in their last 12 games going back to last year, and dropped Navy to 0-2 for the first time since 2005.

That’s what happens when you open the year with your two toughest games, I guess, although you’d hope to do a little better than 50-10 and 34-7.  I expected the worst when I popped in the DVD of the game. Strangely, the worst isn’t quite what I got. Not that Navy played well, or anything close to it; but the problems in this game were a lot different from the problems we saw against Notre Dame.  I actually feel a little more confident in the rest of the season after watching it.

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Big East hung up on 14th member

On By MikeIn air farce, army, Big East, navy football1 Comment

… says Brett McMurphy. He follows that up with the usual talk about BYU, Air Force, and Army. For the most part it’s everything you already know. But at the end, we get this bit:

When the Big East grows to 14, league officials already have had discussions how to split the divisions. The most popular 14-team model, sources said, would be “Red” and “Blue” divisions that are non-geographic.

The Red Division would consist of Louisville, South Florida, Connecticut, San Diego State, SMU, Navy and Memphis. The Blue Division: Cincinnati, Central Florida, Rutgers, Boise State, Houston, Temple and the 14th team.

Each team would play six league games within its division and two games against the other division, including one permanent cross-division rival game. Those annual cross-division matchups would be: Louisville-Cincinnati, USF-UCF, UConn-Rutgers, San Diego State-Boise State, SMU-Houston, Navy-Temple and Memphis versus the 14th team.

Well there’s something new to talk about.

Geography-based divisions were off the table pretty early. Neither Cincinnati or Louisville wanted to be in a “West” division, and the new conference members didn’t want to play in a division by themselves without really integrating with the “old” Big East. This is the first report we’ve seen of a possible divisional alignment, and while it’s possible that it’s subject to change, I like this setup. For Navy, anyway. We’d keep our developing rivalry with SMU (GANSZ TROPHY FOREVER!), gain a permanent presence in California, and have the fringe benefit of playing in places where there are a lot of Navy fans when we hit the road (San Diego and Memphis). I don’t mind playing Temple as our cross-divisional rival, although I might prefer Rutgers only because they’ve become more of a rival recently. That’s splitting hairs, though, since we’re no stranger to Temple either. If Air Force becomes the 14th member then it wouldn’t matter either way since we’d play them instead.

The only downside in this alignment is not having an annual game against UCF. I was hoping to start a rivalry with them, with the trophy being George O’Leary’s severed head on a stick. It’s not too late to make it happen, Big East!

What would your ideal divisions look like?

This Week in Service Academy Football

On By MikeIn air farce, army2 Comments

Air Force (1-1) – Bye. I think they were supposed to play Nicholls State or something but Troy Calhoun cancelled the game because of “academics.”

Army (0-2) – Lost to Northern Illinois, 41-40. NIU’s option defense was as vanilla as it gets, lining up in a 5-man front and not giving Trent Steelman much to think about as far as reads go. Army’s offense took full advantage, running for 486 yards while Steelman, Larry Dixon, and Raymond Maples all topped the 100-yard mark individually. Even if NIU’s defense was lacking, Army gets credit for doing exactly what good offenses should do to bad defenses, and for once they did it without turning the ball over. They did put the ball on the ground three times, though, which is still troubling.

The real story of the game was the Army defense, which did not look good at all. Whenever NIU found themselves in a pickle, they just lobbed the ball downfield and let their wide receivers run past Army’s DBs to catch up to it. Four of the Huskies’ six touchdown drives consisted of five plays or less, and while one of those drives was capped by an 88-yard run by NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch, they also averaged a whopping 19 yards per completion.  The Army secondary was left in a lot of one-on-one situations and just wasn’t fast enough to keep up. It isn’t unusual for Army’s secondary to be short on speed, but in the past they have been able to make up for it somewhat by putting pressure on the quarterback. They weren’t able to do so on Saturday.

Stat of the game: TOP – Army 42:33, NIU 17:27. That’s not a lot of time to pile up 515 yards. Pretty much tells you how the game went.

Game Week: Penn State

On By MikeIn football, navy football3 Comments

The last time Navy started 0-2 was in 2005. The Mids opened with a heartbreaker in Baltimore against Maryland, then fell just short in a back-and-forth shootout with Stanford at home. The team rebounded to win the next four in a row before finishing at 8-4, blasting Colorado State in the Poinsettia Bowl. Happy times.

When the 2012 schedule was released showing the Mids leading off against Notre Dame and Penn State, a lot of people probably penciled Navy in for another 0-2 start this year. I’m not so sure they can afford one.

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Navy-Penn State Drinking Game

On By saltysam98In navy football5 Comments

For this weekend’s game, all Navy fans are encouraged to do the following when the announcers say or do the following:

1.  Penn State players overcoming adversity. ==>  Drink two sips of beer and eat a Tostito chip. Say hi to your child or wife or whoever.

2.  “They have so much pride in their school (Navy or Penn State).”  ==> Drain your drink, eat Tostitos and use the head.  Soothingly sing “Troy Calhounnnnnnnn protects his players from the media swoonnnnnnnnn” while using the head.

3.  “There’s no quit in these Midshipmen! They play all 60 minutes.”  ==> Slap yourself, call your Grandma, and do a shot of Jack Daniels.

4.  “Navy’s defensive line is outweighed by an average of 30 lbs!”  ==> Do 10 pushups, drink half a beer, make grunting sound.

5.  Mentions Joe Paterno’s legacy. ==> Roll eyes, sigh, say “whatever!” really loud, and of course – take a drink.

6.  Mispronounces Ken Niumatalolo’s name.  ==> Shake head with an attitude, drunk text your neighbor and drink.

7.  Mentions that the student body was really hard on the PSU kicker last week.  ==> One “waaa”, two “deal with its”, and three gulps buddy.

Notre Dame To The ACC (Sort Of): The Knee-Jerk Reaction

On By MikeIn Big East3 Comments

Notre Dame is leaving the Big East and taking its non-football (and non-hockey) programs to the ACC. Some thoughts:

— Get ready for another round of “OMGLOL @ THE BIG EAST!” in the media. It certainly isn’t a good thing for the Big East image-wise, but I don’t think it’s a disaster, either. Obviously, the first thought is how this will affect the Big East’s upcoming negotiations for its new television contract. It shouldn’t make that much of a difference. Notre Dame basketball isn’t exactly the crown jewel of the whole media package the Big East is selling. The Big East is still a premier basketball league, and football is still the primary driver in all of this. NBC and FOX’s desire to get a foothold in that market– and ESPN’s desire to keep them out– is still what will drive the value of the deal.

— The big “if” in all that is assuming that the ACC stays at 15 for basketball and doesn’t add another basketball-only member from the Big East. If the ACC goes after, say, Georgetown or St. John’s, then that would be a pretty serious blow to the basketball side of the conference. That is pure speculation, though. I have no idea if the ACC sees any appeal in adding another Big East school for any reason other than symmetry. In a larger sense you have to wonder what the overall reaction of the basketball schools is to this, but I don’t think this is the catalyst for a split. They have nowhere to go and aren’t as valuable financially when separated from the football schools.

— Losing the “or Notre Dame” option doesn’t do the Big East any favors in trying to secure bowl partners. The flip side of that is that they won’t have to worry about conference members getting shut out of games in favor of Notre Dame either. Still a net loss for the Big East in my opinion. Having the Notre Dame carrot definitely made the Big East more attractive to bowl games.

— While Notre Dame remains independent in football, they will schedule 5 games per year against ACC opponents. Navy and Notre Dame are scheduled to play through 2026, but it’s only natural to wonder if Notre Dame’s new scheduling obligations will have any affect on the series after that.

— Along those lines, this is particularly noteworthy:

https://twitter.com/DanWetzel/status/245885869662289920

If changes in college football are making Notre Dame feel scheduling pressure, then that should silence any doubters who didn’t believe that similar pressures are part of what drove Navy to the Big East. It’s very real. I don’t know what this means for BYU or Army, but if they aren’t feeling that pressure now, they probably will soon. I’m sure the Big East has a place saved for either of them.

— Finally, Big East lacrosse is nothing special anymore with the losses of Syracuse and Notre Dame. After adding Loyola, the Patriot League is arguably the (distant) #2 lacrosse conference now. Not that it means anything.

NOTRE DAME 50, NAVY 10

On By MikeIn navy football10 Comments

Before the season opener against Notre Dame, I felt that there was no way that Navy could play any worse against the Irish than they did last year. They didn’t, but saying that they didn’t play any worse just means that “every bit as bad” is still on the table. Maybe the game didn’t go exactly as it did in 2011, but 50-10 is 50-10. I doubt anyone really wants to split hairs.

Ha! Who am I kidding? Splitting hairs is all I do here!

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