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Post by Sons of Vaval on Oct 21, 2023 21:04:03 GMT -5
I believe what has made Bob Chesney such a fantastic coach during his time at Holy Cross is his teams doing the little things to win games. When the little things are added up, they become not so little. There’s a reason we have found ways to win so many tight games…and games that we seemingly shouldn’t have won, but have found a way to.
Here are some of these things —
- Forcing turnovers
- Turnover differential
- Kickoff coverage
- Sacks / QB hurries
- Field goals
- Defensive 3rd down %
You can say the offense is a little too one-dimensional and relies too much on one player, but they’re still putting up about 40 points / game. Today, Sluka had one of the greatest individual performances in HC football history, but the offense sputtered for the first half putting up only seven points and we were forced to play from behind all game. But, offense isn’t the problem here.
Last season, we were among the best in the nation in forcing turnovers and protecting the football (turnover differential). We “stole” possessions, which isn’t happening this year. Minus two in turnover differential.
Kick coverage — something that is pretty basic stuff here…especially in today’s game where touchbacks and fair catches happen frequently. I don’t know if this is a lack of focus, kids over-pursuing trying to make a play and not staying in their lane, or what it is…but I can think of three very critical big returns that have hurt us. 1) Opening return against Harvard, 2) First return of the second half against Lafayette when we sorely needed to get the ball back in good field position, 3) After we scored a TD to get it to 24-14, Lafayette has a big return to start on the plus side of the field.
We know our defensive line is young. I do think this group has a bright future. This doesn’t change the fact we haven’t gotten to the QB this year, which is problematic as our secondary has many holes in it.
Placekicking — someone posted recently that we are going to need Luis Palenzuela to hit a big kick at some point, and we don’t really know if he can. Chesney has only looked his way a few times this year. Is it because he doesn’t have confidence in him or because we have so much confidence in Sluka to advance drives? Regardless, today’s game is much different if we got into the half trailing 21-10. Chesney passed on a 40 yard field goal attempt and heaved the ball into the endzone instead.
Opponents are converting on nearly 50% of their third downs. Last season, it was ~38%.
—
We brought back so much talent on offense and “big names” on defense back that preseason expectations were sky high. Talking of reaching Frisco seemed realistic. I think we might not have realized how difficult it would be to replace guys like Liam Anderson, Walter Reynolds, John Smith, Jake Reichwein, Dan Kuznetsov, and Terrel Prince. It’s not like this is anyone’s fault. We are expecting some young and inexperienced guys to step in and play meaningful snaps.
The pundits and fans may have mismanaged expectations. We have a national championship offense and an average Patriot League defense.
That said, despite our youth on defense, special teams has been supremely disappointing. We haven’t found an edge in this department and it’s hurt us.
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Post by bfoley82 on Oct 21, 2023 21:12:04 GMT -5
I probably have seen returns on less than 10 percent of kicks this year. That is concerning that HC isn't getting touchbacks
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 21, 2023 21:21:53 GMT -5
SOV, you put all my observations and concerns in one, concise package.😢
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Oct 21, 2023 22:57:34 GMT -5
Very nice analysis, SOV
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Post by hc87 on Oct 22, 2023 0:31:00 GMT -5
Watching Montana St-Sac St now....both teams just seem much more athletic overall than we do this year.
We have players that would be some of the best guys on either MSU or Sac St but it seems we don't have the depth overall these teams have....particularly compared to MSU.
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 22, 2023 5:13:00 GMT -5
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Post by kaftan12 on Oct 22, 2023 9:03:51 GMT -5
Not a fan of sayin it is what it is when talking about how you lost. Lafayette had no problem throwing or running ball. They didn’t seem to have a problem with field. We didn’t get PI’s because we didn’t throw ball so don’t know if that could have been a factor. Little things matter and we played not to lose keeping ball on ground, not kicking FG and fair catching kickoffs. Yesterday coaches seemed more intimated by weather than team on field. Is what it is I guess…tough loss that will sting for a long time.
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Post by newadvisor on Oct 22, 2023 10:10:24 GMT -5
It's always easy to be an arm chair QB after the fact. Not sure who or what is the root cause for the team struggling early in games either..
My take on game plan from yesterday after watching game again;
Special teams are no longer special.
The lack of communication in the secondary is an issue.
Gap control was terrible yesterday leading to the long runs.
Offense is so one dimensional they are easy to scheme against.
Not sure if this group of D linemen will get constant pressure, play too high and stop their feet on a regular basis. Dobbs is getting swallowed up in the wash, thus hard to blitz him and be truly effective. The corners are just not playing very well at all.
Special teams are pitiful, no gap integrity on kickoffs. That's something most of them should have learned in youth or high school. Not sure of range of Palenzuela, not sure we will find out if we keep chasing points on scoreboard either.
Offense, this is a hard one due to the fact we are scoring so many points. We have the potential to loose almost ALL starters at the end of this year:
Entire offensive line gone
Coker moving to larger program/increases his NFL hopes.
Shorter, why stay when your not really part of the offense/touches.
At minimum 3 TE will be gone to graduation and why should Petersen stay when the TE is not a part of the offensive game plan.
Sluka, does he move to bigger program? Does he shoot for the moon and declare for the draft? No reason to stay with all those guys moving on from offense.
The coaches banked on the COVID kids/ don't use the portal like other teams. Offense will be like defense this year, with very few game experienced players. Will Kennedy leave, making that a new offensive coordinator for the fifth straight year?
Only my arm chair analysis, hopefully boys pull it together and play as a TEAM and win out. From there it's up to the committee to decide. Yesterday was monumental loss for our chances to get into post season.
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Post by hc2020 on Oct 22, 2023 13:48:50 GMT -5
Lots of freshmen on special teams. While they may be athletic, there is something to be said for special teamers who have experience based upon being immersed in the program for multiple years, know their individual assignments and are probably less likely to make mental errors that result in big plays. Then again, the long return on the kickoff that was a big play at the time and gave Laffy the ball at midfield was a result of #3 (a senior DB) literally running right by the ball carrier instead of simply tackling him around the 20. Unfortunately, no definitive answers, but perhaps it’s
time to shake things up on ST…
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Post by midwestsader05 on Oct 22, 2023 20:50:38 GMT -5
If only we traveled 5th and 6th stringers next week and gave them a shot on Special Teams so many problems would be solved.
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Post by hc2020 on Oct 23, 2023 5:28:33 GMT -5
If only we traveled 5th and 6th stringers next week and gave them a shot on Special Teams so many problems would be solved. Whatever you say, Lombardi. I forgot that there is only one poster on Crossports whose opinions are always spot on. Forgive the rest of us… |
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Post by cruskater31 on Oct 23, 2023 5:31:01 GMT -5
Just beat Fordham. ST is a piece of the puzzle. Blocked punts, kicks, kick coverage, etc. That being said, ST would not matter as much if our D held their own more. With so many youngsters, I wouldn't be surprised if the D took a lot more time, energy, and effort from the staff (and less time on ST)
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 23, 2023 6:34:26 GMT -5
Someone who is closer to the team than I can confirm or refute this but my memory was that Bob Chesney coached the Special Teams personally. Was that in fact ever the case and, if so, is it still true or has someone else taken over?
Second observation: though I don’t think he’s usually on kickoffs, I noticed while watching the replay that on the onside final kick that Jake Dobbs was in the scrum for the ball which leads me to believe that different players may be on Special Teams under various conditions.
Third observation: while Special Teams may not make much difference when the two teams are significantly different levels and abilities, in a closely competitive contest, they can make a huge difference with a tipped punt, a roughing the kicker penalty, a blocked extra point, a dropped punt or a return for a TD, etc. They don’t call it “Special Teams” for nothing!😊
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Post by timholycross on Oct 23, 2023 8:40:02 GMT -5
Someone who is closer to the team than I can confirm or refute this but my memory was that Bob Chesney coached the Special Teams personally. Was that in fact ever the case and, if so, is it still true or has someone else taken over? Second observation: though I don’t think he’s usually on kickoffs, I noticed while watching the replay that on the onside final kick that Jake Dobbs was in the scrum for the ball which leads me to believe that different players may be on Special Teams under various conditions. Third observation: while Special Teams may not make much difference when the two teams are significantly different levels and abilities, in a closely competitive contest, they can make a huge difference with a tipped punt, a roughing the kicker penalty, a blocked extra point, a dropped punt or a return for a TD, etc. They don’t call it “Special Teams” for nothing!😊 HC got outplayed at Lafayette in 2022; moved the ball a hell of a lot better Saturday than in that game; even w/o the passing game* clicking very much Saturday. A blocked punt was a major difference maker. * my guess is LC took the same approach HC did against Fordham last year; i.e., defend the pass and allow the run. Kind of hard to give up that many yards on the ground and win. |
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Post by midwestsader05 on Oct 23, 2023 8:47:44 GMT -5
If only we traveled 5th and 6th stringers next week and gave them a shot on Special Teams so many problems would be solved. Whatever you say, Lombardi. I forgot that there is only one poster on Crossports whose opinions are always spot on. Forgive the rest of us… So here’s the issue. There’s a big difference in most on the board that log on to share thoughts and opinions b/c they love their alma mater and enjoy success. Some know more about football or the team than others and that’s fine, it’s a college message board. Then there’s others. Those that talk tough about a generation of participation trophies and then turn into helicopter daddies when their personal vested opinion is someone is being slighted. Someone that has weirdly droned on about the same 3 themes for years often in bad faith. So a couple questions for you Varsity Blues, 1) Did you really not think many of us would find it strange for someone to repeatably complain about the team’s personnel & travel proclivities? Maybe that’s a really bizarre hill to die on w/o sounding like a hack? Especially when they are the same as nearly every FCS program in the country. 2) Did you not think it might be insulting to the memories or intelligence to many that we didn’t pick up on the same name drops, or not so inconspicuous compliments of player(s) that most on this board don’t know exist? We could have let it go and continued the collective eye rolls, but the “inexcusable” comment last week was just so bad. You want to Monday morning quarterback, fine. But to call something “inexcusable” when literally most every team in the country, from HS to NFL, doesn’t sub out their Defensive starters on PATs after TDs? Plus, you don’t think Haskins would be on the field if we called for a PAT/FG block?! He was the best kick/punt blocker we’ve had in a generation. “No one cares, get better”. We all have emotional blind spots with personal vested interests, but some self-awareness goes a long way. |
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Post by midwestsader05 on Oct 23, 2023 8:50:30 GMT -5
As for Laffy and where we go from here, I wasn’t able to watch the game live but watched later in the weekend. SOV initial post here is really good. It was an interesting experience to know the final score and then watch the game thinking you probably knew how it went. However, I was surprised by a few things. More for later.
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Post by dharry13 on Oct 23, 2023 9:04:43 GMT -5
I believe what has made Bob Chesney such a fantastic coach during his time at Holy Cross is his teams doing the little things to win games. When the little things are added up, they become not so little. There’s a reason we have found ways to win so many tight games…and games that we seemingly shouldn’t have won, but have found a way to. Here are some of these things — - Forcing turnovers - Turnover differential - Kickoff coverage - Sacks / QB hurries - Field goals - Defensive 3rd down % You can say the offense is a little too one-dimensional and relies too much on one player, but they’re still putting up about 40 points / game. Today, Sluka had one of the greatest individual performances in HC football history, but the offense sputtered for the first half putting up only seven points and we were forced to play from behind all game. But, offense isn’t the problem here. Last season, we were among the best in the nation in forcing turnovers and protecting the football (turnover differential). We “stole” possessions, which isn’t happening this year. Minus two in turnover differential. Kick coverage — something that is pretty basic stuff here…especially in today’s game where touchbacks and fair catches happen frequently. I don’t know if this is a lack of focus, kids over-pursuing trying to make a play and not staying in their lane, or what it is…but I can think of three very critical big returns that have hurt us. 1) Opening return against Harvard, 2) First return of the second half against Lafayette when we sorely needed to get the ball back in good field position, 3) After we scored a TD to get it to 24-14, Lafayette has a big return to start on the plus side of the field. We know our defensive line is young. I do think this group has a bright future. This doesn’t change the fact we haven’t gotten to the QB this year, which is problematic as our secondary has many holes in it. Placekicking — someone posted recently that we are going to need Luis Palenzuela to hit a big kick at some point, and we don’t really know if he can. Chesney has only looked his way a few times this year. Is it because he doesn’t have confidence in him or because we have so much confidence in Sluka to advance drives? Regardless, today’s game is much different if we got into the half trailing 21-10. Chesney passed on a 40 yard field goal attempt and heaved the ball into the endzone instead. Opponents are converting on nearly 50% of their third downs. Last season, it was ~38%. — We brought back so much talent on offense and “big names” on defense back that preseason expectations were sky high. Talking of reaching Frisco seemed realistic. I think we might not have realized how difficult it would be to replace guys like Liam Anderson, Walter Reynolds, John Smith, Jake Reichwein, Dan Kuznetsov, and Terrel Prince. It’s not like this is anyone’s fault. We are expecting some young and inexperienced guys to step in and play meaningful snaps. The pundits and fans may have mismanaged expectations. We have a national championship offense and an average Patriot League defense. That said, despite our youth on defense, special teams has been supremely disappointing. We haven’t found an edge in this department and it’s hurt us. So the question for me is - Can we beat Fordham. It's one game at a time at this spot cuz looking forward beyond that is an exercise in futility. I believe we have another injury in the DB field. We are already playing a ton of Frosh. Fordham has a legit RB and can throw. I personally do expect HC to win because this team has pride and are lead by excellent coaches. Let's go 5-3. But for my money the game was lost after 31-28. Laf goes 9 plays for 75 yards for a TD. That one drive encapsulates the last few weeks. |
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Post by hc1996 on Oct 23, 2023 9:12:22 GMT -5
Of course we can beat Fordham. The team will respond to this loss the same way they responded to the BC loss. Yale is still bruised from that beating. Honestly, we beat them so badly I believe we may have changed their entire season. Fordham is not looking forward to the team that is showing up in the Bronx on Saturday.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Oct 23, 2023 9:43:36 GMT -5
Of course we can beat Fordham. The team will respond to this loss the same way they responded to the BC loss. Yale is still bruised from that beating. Honestly, we beat them so badly I believe we may have changed their entire season. Fordham is not looking forward to the team that is showing up in the Bronx on Saturday. Like us, Yale got hit by the injury bus. Was down 3 starting OL last 2 weeks including the All-American LT who is the number one FCS NFL prospect by many. He’s apparently done for the yearw with a torn quad and will turn his attention to rehabbing for the combine/pro-days. |
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Post by dharry13 on Oct 23, 2023 9:45:09 GMT -5
It's always easy to be an arm chair QB after the fact. Not sure who or what is the root cause for the team struggling early in games either.. My take on game plan from yesterday after watching game again; Special teams are no longer special. The lack of communication in the secondary is an issue. Gap control was terrible yesterday leading to the long runs. Offense is so one dimensional they are easy to scheme against. Not sure if this group of D linemen will get constant pressure, play too high and stop their feet on a regular basis. Dobbs is getting swallowed up in the wash, thus hard to blitz him and be truly effective. The corners are just not playing very well at all. Special teams are pitiful, no gap integrity on kickoffs. That's something most of them should have learned in youth or high school. Not sure of range of Palenzuela, not sure we will find out if we keep chasing points on scoreboard either. Offense, this is a hard one due to the fact we are scoring so many points. We have the potential to loose almost ALL starters at the end of this year: Entire offensive line gone Coker moving to larger program/increases his NFL hopes. Shorter, why stay when your not really part of the offense/touches. At minimum 3 TE will be gone to graduation and why should Petersen stay when the TE is not a part of the offensive game plan. Sluka, does he move to bigger program? Does he shoot for the moon and declare for the draft? No reason to stay with all those guys moving on from offense. The coaches banked on the COVID kids/ don't use the portal like other teams. Offense will be like defense this year, with very few game experienced players. Will Kennedy leave, making that a new offensive coordinator for the fifth straight year? Only my arm chair analysis, hopefully boys pull it together and play as a TEAM and win out. From there it's up to the committee to decide. Yesterday was monumental loss for our chances to get into post season. I have to take exception to this post regarding the offense. The entire OL isn't gone. Schon, MacAuley, Kelly, Newman could come back - we don't know yet, but they could - so your comment is incomplete. Yes, Coker could leave. Shorter is going to leave with 1 year left to get his degree? I guess this could happen but I find it ridiculously sky is falling mentality. At a minimum 3 TE could be gone? We don't use them that much so this is a huge deal? And again - Lane and Dickson could come back - just like the OL. Peterson is going to go like Shorter after knee surgery and 1 TD catch? Sluka - could also go, yes. This is what happens with good programs. I mean - talk about painting the worst case scenario - which is highly improbable. It's the coaches job to reload. HC is hopefully looking at an 8-3 season or 7-4 (i'd like to think it won't be 6-5) this season. Still good but I definitely want playoffs every year. I think it's great where the program is currently at where the expectations have changed. That's a good thing. Coaches have to just continue to go out and get talent and coach it up like they have done. And we have no idea how many 5th years will come back but I fully expect 10-12 to return, many on the offense. |
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Post by midwestsader05 on Oct 23, 2023 9:56:19 GMT -5
Someone who is closer to the team than I can confirm or refute this but my memory was that Bob Chesney coached the Special Teams personally. Was that in fact ever the case and, if so, is it still true or has someone else taken over? Second observation: though I don’t think he’s usually on kickoffs, I noticed while watching the replay that on the onside final kick that Jake Dobbs was in the scrum for the ball which leads me to believe that different players may be on Special Teams under various conditions. Third observation: while Special Teams may not make much difference when the two teams are significantly different levels and abilities, in a closely competitive contest, they can make a huge difference with a tipped punt, a roughing the kicker penalty, a blocked extra point, a dropped punt or a return for a TD, etc. They don’t call it “Special Teams” for nothing!😊 1970, good questions. Coach Canan has always been the ST coordinator. Chesney just has a brand for focusing his personal time more with ST’s than most head coaches. For the entire 5-6 years, most different ST groups have consisted of 50% starters and 50% top reserves. Dobbs for example has been on the punt team as an “up back” for most of his career. He’s not on the kickoff team but was on the on-side kick team (As was Dickson) because you want you hardest hitters as a few key spots on that team mixed with a couple “hands guys” And your third observation is spot on. Some of you might remember the 2002 parents weekend game v Fordham. Beautiful Day and Brian Hall and David Kasouf lit up the Rams with over 500 yards of total offense. We dominated the stat sheet, however gave up a punt return for a TD late that cost us the game in a close one. One of several that sits with you for a long time. |
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Post by hc1998 on Oct 23, 2023 10:40:09 GMT -5
I believe what has made Bob Chesney such a fantastic coach during his time at Holy Cross is his teams doing the little things to win games. When the little things are added up, they become not so little. There’s a reason we have found ways to win so many tight games…and games that we seemingly shouldn’t have won, but have found a way to. Here are some of these things — - Forcing turnovers - Turnover differential - Kickoff coverage - Sacks / QB hurries - Field goals - Defensive 3rd down % You can say the offense is a little too one-dimensional and relies too much on one player, but they’re still putting up about 40 points / game. Today, Sluka had one of the greatest individual performances in HC football history, but the offense sputtered for the first half putting up only seven points and we were forced to play from behind all game. But, offense isn’t the problem here. Last season, we were among the best in the nation in forcing turnovers and protecting the football (turnover differential). We “stole” possessions, which isn’t happening this year. Minus two in turnover differential. Kick coverage — something that is pretty basic stuff here…especially in today’s game where touchbacks and fair catches happen frequently. I don’t know if this is a lack of focus, kids over-pursuing trying to make a play and not staying in their lane, or what it is…but I can think of three very critical big returns that have hurt us. 1) Opening return against Harvard, 2) First return of the second half against Lafayette when we sorely needed to get the ball back in good field position, 3) After we scored a TD to get it to 24-14, Lafayette has a big return to start on the plus side of the field. We know our defensive line is young. I do think this group has a bright future. This doesn’t change the fact we haven’t gotten to the QB this year, which is problematic as our secondary has many holes in it. Placekicking — someone posted recently that we are going to need Luis Palenzuela to hit a big kick at some point, and we don’t really know if he can. Chesney has only looked his way a few times this year. Is it because he doesn’t have confidence in him or because we have so much confidence in Sluka to advance drives? Regardless, today’s game is much different if we got into the half trailing 21-10. Chesney passed on a 40 yard field goal attempt and heaved the ball into the endzone instead. Opponents are converting on nearly 50% of their third downs. Last season, it was ~38%. — We brought back so much talent on offense and “big names” on defense back that preseason expectations were sky high. Talking of reaching Frisco seemed realistic. I think we might not have realized how difficult it would be to replace guys like Liam Anderson, Walter Reynolds, John Smith, Jake Reichwein, Dan Kuznetsov, and Terrel Prince. It’s not like this is anyone’s fault. We are expecting some young and inexperienced guys to step in and play meaningful snaps. The pundits and fans may have mismanaged expectations. We have a national championship offense and an average Patriot League defense. That said, despite our youth on defense, special teams has been supremely disappointing. We haven’t found an edge in this department and it’s hurt us. Its the defense...and I do not say this to be negative or critical...its just a simple fact that we lost a ton on the defense and have struggled through some injuries as well this year. Our defense the last few years was special, we can no longer say that. In addition to missing out on making stops, we just simply aren't forcing any turnovers. I feel even the worst defense in the world would recover more turnovers than we have just through lucky bounces or deflections, etc. Our t/o ratio last year was 23-6, this year...5-7. Keep all of our turnovers, but just let us recover 5 more so the ratio is 10-7...if those 5 were recovered at certain key times we could be undefeated right now. Hopefully all of the chips fall where we need them to to get a playoff invite and the D tunes up and tightens up a bit in the coming weeks...I still think this squad can make some noise in the post season. |
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Oct 23, 2023 12:03:01 GMT -5
Someone who is closer to the team than I can confirm or refute this but my memory was that Bob Chesney coached the Special Teams personally. Was that in fact ever the case and, if so, is it still true or has someone else taken over? Second observation: though I don’t think he’s usually on kickoffs, I noticed while watching the replay that on the onside final kick that Jake Dobbs was in the scrum for the ball which leads me to believe that different players may be on Special Teams under various conditions. Third observation: while Special Teams may not make much difference when the two teams are significantly different levels and abilities, in a closely competitive contest, they can make a huge difference with a tipped punt, a roughing the kicker penalty, a blocked extra point, a dropped punt or a return for a TD, etc. They don’t call it “Special Teams” for nothing!😊 1970, good questions. Coach Canan has always been the ST coordinator. Chesney just has a brand for focusing his personal time more with ST’s than most head coaches. For the entire 5-6 years, most different ST groups have consisted of 50% starters and 50% top reserves. Dobbs for example has been on the punt team as an “up back” for most of his career. He’s not on the kickoff team but was on the on-side kick team (As was Dickson) because you want you hardest hitters as a few key spots on that team mixed with a couple “hands guys” And your third observation is spot on. Some of you might remember the 2002 parents weekend game v Fordham. Beautiful Day and Brian Hall and David Kasouf lit up the Rams with over 500 yards of total offense. We dominated the stat sheet, however gave up a punt return for a TD late that cost us the game in a close one. One of several that sits with you for a long time. I seem to remember Jake taking a direct snap out of a punting formation and running for a key first down a while ago....maybe even pre Covid year? While they haven't needed something like that this year, I have to admit that on Saturday I wondered why they didn't trying squibbing the ball on a kickoff, with a wet field and ball. Or maybe try to pop a kickoff into no mans land (I know, not easy) where the Pards return team had to move either backwards or laterally to field the kickoff. Just SOMETHING to try to create a turnover. |
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Post by midwestsader05 on Oct 23, 2023 12:15:43 GMT -5
So as for the game, it came down to ~10 plays like most competitive games do. I will say that I don’t know how we can be that critical of the offense when they dropped 514 yards and 35 points against a Top 20 FCS defense. If someone would have told me that we ran for 429 yards, I would have guessed we had controlled the clock enough to grind out a W. By way of comparison, Monmouth has had one of the top FCS rushing attacks for the past 2.5 seasons and Laffy held them to 59 yards on the ground.
Sluka didn’t look comfortable throwing in the downpour v UNH last year either. The nature of his release and velocity just might not be suited for really wet games. Designed QB runs with “the best RB in the country that just happens to play QB” - (Coach Smith) gave us the best chance to win. Fuller also went for 95 yards on 16 carries (~ 6 YPC). Phenomenal against that Laffy front 7. While we would have definitely been more balanced on a dry day, the O-line played outstanding.
I would have never have guessed we would have had more TFLs (5) than them (4).
So for the D: the trenches were not good but knowing the outcome before watching the game, I actually thought they would be worse. The young and depleted secondary was the story of the game. I firmly believe we win that game with Jarmo and Haskins. It is what it is.
Big plays:
1) Open Laffy drive - Frosh safety falls down on slant route that goes for ~45-50 yards setting them up inside the 5.
2) Late 1st Q - 3rd and 9 - Spence has very good coverage in man to man (which is the hardest thing to do in football esp on a wet field). Tip of the hat to Laffy, perfectly thrown ball and sideline catch. Sometimes the other guys can just win the battle.
3) Deep post TD pass to TE - same Frosh Safety stumbled in his turn.
4) I didn’t have a huge problem with not going for 3 at the end the half. Into the wind at that end zone and same kick/angle that Ng came up short v. UNH last year in a kick that was headed right down the middle. Plus snap and hold in weather a gamble. Ng with an injured plant foot late last year probably similar distance capability to Luis has now. Tough decision either way.
5) Fuller illegal Chop block on Sluka ~20 yard run. I guess the right call with the rule change but drive killer.
6) Phantom hold on Sluka ~65 yard run. I saw the illegal blind side block by Schon at the end of the run so maybe worst case ball is on the Laffy 40 instead of their 20 but I re-wound and watched the LOS 3 times. Only 3 Laffy DL were engaged and none were held. Ref didn’t call out the number of the offending player either.
7) Big kick-off after we score to put us within 10 as others have pointed out.
8) A different Frosh Safety gets caught looking in the back field on the play action and another big TD pass over the top.
9)The must stop drive after game 31-28. 2nd series: James dials up a blitz (we called pressures all day FWIW. Monte Dobbs and Kane when he played. At least one came almost every time in a run stunt or blitz v the pass) Again, Frosh safety comes untouched off the edge and for some reason takes the QB at the mesh point. Even if he has “contain”, gotta try and make a play on Curtis there as it was his legs killing us and who they wanted to ride on that drive, not DeNobile. Much different if Laffy looking at 2nd and 12 there vs 2nd and 4.
10) As for the PIs, it did look like Jalen was held on the near sideline no-call. Interesting the the official on the other sideline called Eli for PI which looked similar. Tough break.
How did the D get here:
It’s helpful to take a step back to remember. Some have mentioned recruiting holes that happen on every team. I only count 3 non Freshman players that were expected to be starters or the top reserve at their respective positions and haven’t been…from some mix of underperformance and repeated injuries. (2 DL and 1 Safety)
So Preseason, we bring in a Junior - John Wood - starter from SHU to compete/provide depth as an overhang safety and likely start at Nickel S in Dime packages. He goes down to a season ending injury in the Spring. Junior DT - Josh Williams (played ~30% of NG snaps last year) no longer with the team come late spring for personal issues. DE Osa Nowura forced to take year off. A reminder to not take Chem, Bio and Calculus in the same semester as a Frosh when assimilating to college ball time management. Hopefully he’s back in 2024 as he’s physically different. 5th year safety/nickel Kam Molton just hasn’t been able to recover fully from the leg fracture suffered late against G’Town last year. He can play some STs but the time table was too quick a turnaround for the strength needed to play DB.
So now your down a total of 7 key D players for various reasons. FS Jarmo (who had put on 15 lbs of muscle in the off-season and looked great first 2 games) goes down v Yale. While Haskins wasn’t having the same production this season, he’s still way different than the rest of the roster from a talent, experience and upside potential stand point. Injured v Colgate, misses Harvard game and then more serious injury v Bucknell. So now you’re down 9.
Junior S Curtis Harris Lopez (now 10) comes up lame with what looks like a hamstring pull with 13 min left to go in the 3rd quarter. I look across the D-backfield and now it’s 4 freshman and T Spence. Then one of those Frosh (Eli) goes down with a shoulder injury in the 4th quarter.
One last note about the end of the game. Spence was absolutely right to get in that kid’s face that started dancing on the midfield logo and then tearing into it with his cleats while another joined in. Several of us played with a few guys that would have punched that kid in his throat. Spence actually showed restraint IMO. I’m guessing that video will be aired during Laffy week many times in 2024.
As for Fordham, I’m guessing we have to score in the 40’s to win this one. Some TO’s would be huge. These kids won’t quit. Bet on that. The football gods gave us tremendous fortune last few years (sans Dobbs injury in 2022), maybe they will take a break on collecting this year. Geez.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 23, 2023 12:51:51 GMT -5
Wow
Thanks for giving us these important facts.
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