Comments on: NAVY 33, AIR FORCE 27

By: jimbear

jimbear — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:24:23 +0000

After 25+ years of watching Navy football and seeing many ugly losses there is no such thing as an ugly win. David Hills was the last FG who kicked to a very high percentage. However Harmon FGs have been under more pressure for a lot better team.

Go Navy Beat Everyone

By: Team Team, Damn Team!

Team Team, Damn Team! — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:00:24 +0000

I completely agree with and am elated by the fact our program has been developed to the point that we can beat a team like Air Force with “half our offense tied behind our back”. As a 97 grad, I remember watching Navy teams that could not afford to make a mistake and expect to beat a DII school (at least not unit the mightly 96 Aloha Bowl Champs turned it around!).

It would be nice though to get that blow out game against AF to help ease to pain of watching them whoop up on us for so many years while they talked more trash than waste management. But if I can take the emotion out of it, I will take six years in a row over one blow out any day!

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:39:31 +0000

Gotta love academy rivalry games. Always the unexpected happens when they meet, and this past weekend was a great example of that.

By: Observer

Observer — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:06:22 +0000

“Only so many guys can be prepped.”

Agree, 100%

I have always had concerns about our roster size. Anyone else notice we went from 147 in 2007 to 160 in 2008. Player development suffers when you’ve got that many bodies on the practice field.

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:45:30 +0000

I wasn’t saying Dobbs won’t be good – I think he will be very, very, good. At least I am hoping that.

I’m saying a QB (JB) that either can’t run the offense as designed, or the coaches won’t allow to run it, plus fumbles well more than his fair share…….maybe Dobbs ought to be getting some game experience right now. The reason he isn’t ready is probably that the coaches haven’t spent enough time to get him ready. Only so many guys can be prepped.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:42:42 +0000

Air Force made just as many plays with their QB under center as in the shotgun.

It really isn’t a question of “superiority” as much as it is a question of taste. There are positives and negatives in everything. One thing you want to do is force the defense to commit as soon as possible, and you force the issue more with the QB under center. The fullback is also a bigger factor since he hits the LOS about a second after the snap. And some coaches don’t think it makes sense to start off a running play going backwards 5 yards.

By: EKW JR

EKW JR — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:37:05 +0000

Spot on analysis.

The thing that caught my eye was how well the AF offensive scheme got the ball to their pitch men in space, and the shotgun snap gave their QB more time to make decisions before some defensive player was near him. The AF scheme appeared to let a team with inferior skill player talent than what I think that we have make plays. Imagine what Shun and Kettani would have done to us had they been on the other side of the ball.

I would appreciate some words of wisdom as to why taking the snap as Navy does is a superior approach.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:55:59 +0000

Remember that Dobbs is only a sophomore. Aaron Polanco got a start his sophomore year and the offense had probably the worst performance in school history. But he turned out OK.

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:17:04 +0000

Good analysis as usual. Spot on the 2 pt conversion try. Made no sense to kick it.

I know I am not the only one thinking this – how freaking “he’s not ready” must Ricky Dobbs be to be less capable at running this offense than what we see from JB? JB is a Warrior and a leader, no doubt, but as a QB – is this really as good as it gets? It sure seems to be.

By: NavyFan

NavyFan — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:49:40 +0000

Air Force ran more option than they had all year. Agree on Harmon.