TCY: Navy Midshipmen Football

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Week 6 thoughts...

Very tough loss to a rival who was heavily favored. We hung in for the whole game but really a few plays made the difference..

A missed FG by Quinn Blackwell on the opening drive ended up being big.

Patrick Cobb gets stuffed on 4th and 1 from our own 40 with the game tied late in the 2nd quarter.

Air Force converts three 3rd downs on the opening drive of the 2nd half and scores a TD.

Quentin Bush is sacked late in the 4th quarter effectively ending a possible go-ahead scoring drive.

The play calling has not been good. It seems our OC is incapable of understanding who is hot and whats working and whats not. We had success throwing the ball but didn't continue to do it.

Kerry Bradley did not play well. He converted only 1 key block on 15 opportunities. We will struggle anytime that's the case.

The run defense was **better**. Allowing 183 yards total and 4.3 YPC.

Patrick Cobb has lost his starting job for the time being. Michael Hicks has consistently outperformed him and he'll begin to get the greater percentage of carries.

A disappointing loss but an improvement over last week. Now we've got a week off to get a little healthier and stop the losing streak.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Rufus Ingersoll is the definition of a sleeper find. I'm confident if he played at a bigger high school he'd be at least 3 stars. Great size at 6'4" 240. Another great attitude, high effort kid. Has 70 tackles, 10 sacks and even an interception this season at Ardsley. He's still raw in his pass rush but should be a help early to our porous run defense.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

We continue to strengthen our front 7 with the addition of Ian Tate. He's a little undersized at this point, but I think he'll be in the 210's by the time he's getting significant time for us. All-State player in New York and can really run. He can play man-to-man against backs out of the backfield and he'll have a role. 87 tackles, 11.5 sacks and 3 INT in his senior year so far. Another high energy, great mentality kid.

[alexr5111]

[QuikSand]

This is great stuff, I am not cut from the cloth to do this sort of pace and analysis, but as a reader it's :chefskiss:

ANCHORS AWEIGH BABY

[alexr5111]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

This is great stuff, I am not cut from the cloth to do this sort of pace and analysis, but as a reader it's :chefskiss:

ANCHORS AWEIGH BABY

Thanks...I doubt its sustainable but it's been the perfect combo of mindless and interactive for me after work every day. It got much easier after I had the format for everything after the first week.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Peter Nance is a solid player from Iowa. Obviously not a state known for its skill guys but Peter's been productive. He's got 995 yards rushing through 9 games. He is a threat out of the backfield too, with 25 catches this season. He's really not going to be your between the tackles guy but will be able to contribute in a more dynamic-type role. Our goal is to bring in one more RB in this class

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Andrew White is kind of an interesting prospect. He's almost skinny at 264 lbs right now. Really has some ability in shutting down the run with his long arms and strength. Should help us to continue to build up that Front 7.. Comes from more of an athletic powerhouse than anybody else in this class so far. Not quite the high motor, go-getter type that we're used to but we think we can get him there.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Wade Lake really kind of epitomizes what we were looking to add to our defensive backfield. He's real long at 6'1" with a frame to put on more weight. Already physical enough to get involved in the run game but also a ballhawk who has 9 Ints this year for Tabb HS. Another kid from the region from a nice school.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Upcoming Week 8 thoughts....

Notre Dame is the most talented and well balanced team we'll play all year. They're 13 point favorites. They're ranked #30 overall and their two losses have come to two Top 15 teams in Michigan and Washington.

They've got a really good senior QB in Jerry Bronson and a solid run game with Les Schneiter.

They do have a tendency to turn the ball over as their turnover ratio is -6. If we're going to win that's going to need to fall in our favor. If it doesn't, things could get ugly.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Week 8 thoughts...

Another dud in the books. This one was 17-0 at halftime but we never stood a chance.

A terrible offensive performance. 8 total first downs and 147 total yards. The offseason can't come soon enough so I can fire OC Darrin Stephens.

WR Mel McWilliams returned to action but was a non-factor, catching 1 pass for 4 yards.

Considering our numbers, the offensive line didn't play that poorly. Randy Bartee and Howard Scott in particular were not bad. This one looks to fall more on new starting RB Michael Hicks.

The defense struggled to stop any Notre Dame offense but they did come up with 5 sacks on the day.

Freshman LB Irving Nelson has been a bright spot over the past few weeks. He's getting comfortable in his role in the middle of the defense and has performed well.

After playing arguably our three toughest opponents in the last 3 games, it's time to get back in the win column next week.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Dixon Horner is a huge get for us. A nationally ranked skill guy at a massively important position. He's right from our backyard at Bowie...just an absolute cupcake as a football program but obviously brings the academic pedigree. He's a high character kid and has over 2400 yards from scrimmage this year. After him and Peter Nance, we're done at the tailback position.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Sedrick Minter is a bit outside the mold of the rest of the class so far. A little lower academically than we'd prefer but sometimes you need to make exceptions to get those country-strong, midwestern offensive linemen. He's strong in the run game. A future *anchor* in the middle.

[alexr5111]

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[alexr5111]

Week 9 thoughts...

Inconsistency continues to plague the team. Darrin Stephens must have read my threats last week as we went out and scored 44 points this time around.

Quentin Bush could've been more efficient but it was a slight step forward without turning the ball over and getting both Rufus Johnson (3 catches 44 yards) and Mel McWilliams (3 catches 55 yards) involved.

Finally the breakout game we were waiting for from Michael Hicks. Pat Cobb added 85 yards himself. Not too often you lose when rushing for 360 yards.

Quinn Blackwell missed 3 FG's and it ultimately cost us the game.

The pass rush continued to improve with 4 more sacks on the day.

Both Randy Bartee and Kerry Bradley had huge games, combining for 16 key run blocks.

We just couldn't do enough to stop drives. Rice QB Craig Palmer threw for 330 yards and was 18 for 25. They picked on OLB Arnie Reinhardt in particular. Today was the first game we matched up CB Alonzo Barnes with the oppositions top WR and it didn't go very well.

Even though it's a tough loss to an average-at-best team, there is a bit to be encouraged about after this week. The offense had been anemic and they burst out with this performance. If we can continue to get pressure on the QB it's hard to think we won't break out of our slump.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Think "Rodney Harrison" when it comes to Bennie Contreras . He's the big physical presence we were looking for at safety. His strength is in the box but he's entirely capable defending the pass as well. 6 sacks and 7 Int's on his stat line this season. He also comes from a pipeline in Frederick Douglass HS which has produced 2 current Midshipman, including FR WR Dana Beyer.

[alexr5111]

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[alexr5111]

Week 10 thoughts...

Another egg as the season begins to circle the drain...this one was close in the 1st half and then went off the rails.

Before the season I made a comment about what would happen if we ever lost DE Leonard Johnson to injury. He left the game late in the 1st half with broken ribs and NM State scored on 4 second half drives, including three drives of over 70 yards. Johnson is out indefinitely.

Michael Hicks ran well early but the whole offense fizzled out in the 2nd half. We had 135 yards in the 1st quarter and just 100 total the rest of the way.

QB Quentin Bush was Quentin Bush-like. Completing 28% of your passes will get the backup QB's more work in practice this week.

No pass rush this time around. Our defense managed 0 sacks on the day and just 1 hurry.

That's 5 losses in a row after a 3-0 start.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Sean Villars is a kid with a nice frame who didn't get much recognition because he's playing at a poor athletic program in northern PA. He's a great student with a great attitude and should dominate in the run game.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Courtney Guffey won't be punting for us for at least 2 years but we think he can be an asset once he is. He's got a booming leg and is a former soccer player with little experience. He's averaged over 40 yards a punt with Olentangy in his senior season.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Arguably the biggest commitment of the class so far, Paul Gillespie was being recruited by Air Force but we were able to get in on him late. He's got play-now size and has 62 tackles and 9 sacks this year for Gunnison. It's good to continue to work our way out West for prospects, as well.

[alexr5111]

[alexr5111]

Back to back big commitments with the verbal from Indiana DT Isaac Roberson. He's similar in build to Andrew White. He plays all along the D-Line for Highland HS and has 81 tackles and 9 sacks in his senior season.

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[alexr5111]

Week 11 thoughts...

This one is tough to swallow as we lose in the last minute to Tulane.

The defense allowed 68 yards on the first two plays of the game but then stiffened and forced a missed FG. It was an early win.

Michael Hicks was outperformed by Patrick Cobb. It seems they're rarely both on their A game at the same time.

Quentin Bush played much better this week despite the poor numbers. He didn't turn the ball over and he was clutch when it was needed. He'll survive to start another week.

Harvey Davison must've saw the news of Courtney Guffey's committment because he was booming punts all day long. Averaging 44.5 ypp.

The linebacking corps has quietly become the strength of the defense, with Kevin Wright having another solid game.

The offensive line play was inconsistent. Kerry Bradley played well but Les Dicaprio struggled, allowing 2 of the 4 sacks allowed on the day.

10 penalties for 70 yards in this one. Undisciplined performance.

Another one in the loss column. It was a gutsy performance with a game tying TD and 2 point conversion in the final minutes, but we just couldn't hold on to finish it off. A bye week awaits.