FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[thewaterboy]

You can't just pass the ball and beat Mount.  If 633 and 8 doesn't win, that should tell you something.  The team that runs the ball more effectively and doesn't turn it over will win this week.  Running effectively keeps the other QB off the field. That's the formula for success IMO

Im sure the 6 turnovers (4 picks) had something to do with it too

[Small but Slow]

  They literally rushed 2 linemen for much of the game as a way to slow down the passing game of Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, James Lofton.  Dropped 10 in coverage and only let one receiver behind them all game. 

This could work if Mount pulls out the old "5-2-5."

[jaypeter]

That's what I get for posting past my bedtime.  Worst part is I think I used bad math more than once in the post.   

[USee]

You can't just pass the ball and beat Mount.  If 633 and 8 doesn't win, that should tell you something.  The team that runs the ball more effectively and doesn't turn it over will win this week.  Running effectively keeps the other QB off the field. That's the formula for success IMO

Im sure the 6 turnovers (4 picks) had something to do with it too

can't throw an INT if you run the ball though.

[mtfan]

Skunk-sidekick, HsCoach, Ric and others,
Planning on our semi-final get together for Friday night at Rey's about 7:00 if that works! 
PM me if your planning to come so I can get a count for wings and things! See you guys then!

[Dr. Acula]

I know I'm a couple days late, but I was in attendance and had a couple comments on the game.

The only thing that I can come up with is that one of the reasons that the D is so good against the run, but so poor against the pass is because a lot of the DB's are actually better in run support than they are in pass coverage.  I'm fine with this for someone like Kocheff who is basically playing that hybrid spot manned by the Driskill type who is as likely to have a TFL as he is a pass break up.  But when your base D has 5 DBs the other 4 need to be solid. 

In defense of the DBs their pass rush has been inconsistent.  Save for the occassional individual play from Lally or Rosalva they just don't get a ton of pressure with the front 4.  But what happened Saturday was mind blowing.  I saw two things happen REPEATEDLY.  One, as has been mentioned Wesley back shouldered them to death because the DBs were not looking for the ball.  They'd have great coverage and then the WR would just hit the brakes and catch the ball.  The other thing was time and again they'd blitz from the edge, Callahan would step up and flip it 5-10 yds to a guy running across the middle and he'd gain 15 yds every time.  And those guys were wide open.  Things definitely snowballed on them.  I wonder how much of the issue is also that the best guys on that defense are all young guys.  It's basically all the sophomores.  They seem to lack upperclassmen like Dieuseul and Driskill to step up, take control and make a big play to stem the tide.  I take for granted that we always seem to have those All-Americans to make plays when we need.

Enough of that, now the positives.  First, that defense IS young.  There are a TON of young guys starting and even more rotating in.  I noticed freshman Rockhill Brown has been getting snaps at DE now too.  These guys are taking their lumps now.  They're going to learn from it and get better.  They are going to be tough as they mature together.

Burke is once again Burke.  You need a score to calm things down and regain a comfortable lead?  Boom.  Long TD pass.  The kid just makes plays.  And hat tip to Wilkinson for making sure he goes out like a champ in his senior year.  What a cool story his playoff run has been.  Finally, good job by the O line.  Wesley got to Burke a few times, but with their athletes that's bound to happen.  There were many times where Burke had forever to scan the field and throw.  Good job by the big guys up front with that.

[skunks_sidekick]

Skunk-sidekick, HsCoach, Ric and others,
Planning on our semi-final get together for Friday night at Rey's about 7:00 if that works! 
PM me if your planning to come so I can get a count for wings and things! See you guys then!

Skunk & I will be there! 

[theaprof]

Skunk-sidekick, HsCoach, Ric and others,
Planning on our semi-final get together for Friday night at Rey's about 7:00 if that works! 
PM me if your planning to come so I can get a count for wings and things! See you guys then!

Skunk & I will be there!

Me too.

[wesleydad]

You can't just pass the ball and beat Mount.  If 633 and 8 doesn't win, that should tell you something.  The team that runs the ball more effectively and doesn't turn it over will win this week.  Running effectively keeps the other QB off the field. That's the formula for success IMO

I think the game this week had little to do with the lack of running and more to do with the 6 turnovers.  Int return for a TD was the difference.  If the game had been close, 31-0 lead to all the passing, then I agree that you have to be able to run the ball some.

The worry that Mount should have is that they knew that Wesley was throwing and could not stop it.

[Craft_Beermeister]

I know I'm a couple days late, but I was in attendance and had a couple comments on the game.

The only thing that I can come up with is that one of the reasons that the D is so good against the run, but so poor against the pass is because a lot of the DB's are actually better in run support than they are in pass coverage.  I'm fine with this for someone like Kocheff who is basically playing that hybrid spot manned by the Driskill type who is as likely to have a TFL as he is a pass break up.  But when your base D has 5 DBs the other 4 need to be solid. 

In defense of the DBs their pass rush has been inconsistent.  Save for the occassional individual play from Lally or Rosalva they just don't get a ton of pressure with the front 4.  But what happened Saturday was mind blowing.  I saw two things happen REPEATEDLY.  One, as has been mentioned Wesley back shouldered them to death because the DBs were not looking for the ball.  They'd have great coverage and then the WR would just hit the brakes and catch the ball.  The other thing was time and again they'd blitz from the edge, Callahan would step up and flip it 5-10 yds to a guy running across the middle and he'd gain 15 yds every time.  And those guys were wide open.  Things definitely snowballed on them.  I wonder how much of the issue is also that the best guys on that defense are all young guys.  It's basically all the sophomores.  They seem to lack upperclassmen like Dieuseul and Driskill to step up, take control and make a big play to stem the tide.  I take for granted that we always seem to have those All-Americans to make plays when we need.

Enough of that, now the positives.  First, that defense IS young.  There are a TON of young guys starting and even more rotating in.  I noticed freshman Rockhill Brown has been getting snaps at DE now too.  These guys are taking their lumps now.  They're going to learn from it and get better.  They are going to be tough as they mature together.

Burke is once again Burke.  You need a score to calm things down and regain a comfortable lead?  Boom.  Long TD pass.  The kid just makes plays.  And hat tip to Wilkinson for making sure he goes out like a champ in his senior year.  What a cool story his playoff run has been.  Finally, good job by the O line.  Wesley got to Burke a few times, but with their athletes that's bound to happen.  There were many times where Burke had forever to scan the field and throw.  Good job by the big guys up front with that.

Great Post.

Unfortunately I was out of the country and missed the game, but from what I was able to read, view on tape and from talking to those that were at the game your account above seems to be pretty much dead on.

I will add that this year's Mount Union team is in a reload and rebuilt mode this year and that they have achieved much more this year than those in the know expected.  The amazing thing with the Mount Union record of championships is that they have been good at over the years being able to move in new players to replace graduating seniors and not miss a beat.  However last year's team was special in that it was a senior dominated team, which is just like the team NCC who they play Saturday.  The turnover and rebuilding needed for this year's team is probably the highest ever for a Kehres coached team.  With the need to replace all of the starting WRs and DBs this year I wonder if more of the higher skilled WR/DB types ended up being assigned to the offensive side during the preseason camps and doing so had an impact on overall experience/skill/development at DB. 

In any event,  it probably is too late for any major tweaks to the defensive scheme and Mount's D will have to buckle-up the chinstraps tightly and play as strongly as possible against a very senior laden NCC team.   I think Mount Union has a chance but it will be a though battle and probably will be the underdog in this game.  It will be very interesting to see how much fight the dog will have in it.



 

[edward de vere]

"I think Mount Union has a chance"

Pretty far out on a limb, eh?

[skunks_sidekick]

I don't know, maybe I am just too simple to understand the why/how that is going into our defense.

If the same guy seems to be getting beat play after play, I think maybe you change his coverage rules to the following.

1.  No more press coverage.  Play 5-7 yards off, and err on the side of NOT GETTING BEAT DEEP.

2.  Have the rest of the defense yell BALL!!!!! when the ball is in the air, and when said defensive back hears that...TURN AROUND.

Those are my very insightful, detail-oriented coaching points for this week.   

[USee]

You can't just pass the ball and beat Mount.  If 633 and 8 doesn't win, that should tell you something.  The team that runs the ball more effectively and doesn't turn it over will win this week.  Running effectively keeps the other QB off the field. That's the formula for success IMO

I think the game this week had little to do with the lack of running and more to do with the 6 turnovers.  Int return for a TD was the difference.  If the game had been close, 31-0 lead to all the passing, then I agree that you have to be able to run the ball some.

The worry that Mount should have is that they knew that Wesley was throwing and could not stop it.

Isn't it possible if Wesley was able to run the ball more effectively they may not have had 6 turnovers? Maybe the pick 6 would have been a run vs a pass? If you have 20 less passes in a game it stands to reason the turnovers attributed to passing would be proportionately lower?  That's my point. If you can run, you pass when you want to, not when you have to.

[USee]

"I think Mount Union has a chance"

Pretty far out on a limb, eh?

and "...probably the underdog this week"

C'mon man!

[Raider 68]

I know I'm a couple days late, but I was in attendance and had a couple comments on the game.

The only thing that I can come up with is that one of the reasons that the D is so good against the run, but so poor against the pass is because a lot of the DB's are actually better in run support than they are in pass coverage.  I'm fine with this for someone like Kocheff who is basically playing that hybrid spot manned by the Driskill type who is as likely to have a TFL as he is a pass break up.  But when your base D has 5 DBs the other 4 need to be solid. 

In defense of the DBs their pass rush has been inconsistent.  Save for the occassional individual play from Lally or Rosalva they just don't get a ton of pressure with the front 4.  But what happened Saturday was mind blowing.  I saw two things happen REPEATEDLY.  One, as has been mentioned Wesley back shouldered them to death because the DBs were not looking for the ball.  They'd have great coverage and then the WR would just hit the brakes and catch the ball.  The other thing was time and again they'd blitz from the edge, Callahan would step up and flip it 5-10 yds to a guy running across the middle and he'd gain 15 yds every time.  And those guys were wide open.  Things definitely snowballed on them.  I wonder how much of the issue is also that the best guys on that defense are all young guys.  It's basically all the sophomores.  They seem to lack upperclassmen like Dieuseul and Driskill to step up, take control and make a big play to stem the tide.  I take for granted that we always seem to have those All-Americans to make plays when we need.

Enough of that, now the positives.  First, that defense IS young.  There are a TON of young guys starting and even more rotating in.  I noticed freshman Rockhill Brown has been getting snaps at DE now too.  These guys are taking their lumps now.  They're going to learn from it and get better.  They are going to be tough as they mature together.

Burke is once again Burke.  You need a score to calm things down and regain a comfortable lead?  Boom.  Long TD pass.  The kid just makes plays.  And hat tip to Wilkinson for making sure he goes out like a champ in his senior year.  What a cool story his playoff run has been.  Finally, good job by the O line.  Wesley got to Burke a few times, but with their athletes that's bound to happen.  There were many times where Burke had forever to scan the field and throw.  Good job by the big guys up front with that.

Great Post.

Unfortunately I was out of the country and missed the game, but from what I was able to read, view on tape and from talking to those that were at the game your account above seems to be pretty much dead on.

I will add that this year's Mount Union team is in a reload and rebuilt mode this year and that they have achieved much more this year than those in the know expected.  The amazing thing with the Mount Union record of championships is that they have been good at over the years being able to move in new players to replace graduating seniors and not miss a beat.  However last year's team was special in that it was a senior dominated team, which is just like the team NCC who they play Saturday.  The turnover and rebuilding needed for this year's team is probably the highest ever for a Kehres coached team.  With the need to replace all of the starting WRs and DBs this year I wonder if more of the higher skilled WR/DB types ended up being assigned to the offensive side during the preseason camps and doing so had an impact on overall experience/skill/development at DB. 

In any event,  it probably is too late for any major tweaks to the defensive scheme and Mount's D will have to buckle-up the chinstraps tightly and play as strongly as possible against a very senior laden NCC team.   I think Mount Union has a chance but it will be a though battle and probably will be the underdog in this game.  It will be very interesting to see how much fight the dog will have in it.



 

Great posts, IMHO, as I mentioned before, we will not likely see a repeat of last Saturday in terms
of the pass defense for the Raiders. North Central has a more balanced attack then the other
playoff teams Mount has faced. North Central will try to establish the run, hold the ball while
keeping K. Burke on the sidelines. That will allow them to control the game if they score while doing it.

I would think the play selection will be key to keeping the Raider defense honest with play action
passing vs. snapping the ball and heaving down field. For the Raiders, their offense will try to keep
the ball as well, but hit the big play if the movement of the chains bogs down. Like so
many big games, turnovers will have an impact. North Central is very good at limiting them,
1 INT only, and the Raiders have improved in this area. The other intangible, is which
coach adjusts better and the game goes on. Last Saturday, Wesley did a far better job
than Mount did, IMHO.