In no particular order:
1) A healthy Cade Ballard should be the starting QB. TT is a close #2 who should still play a few series each game.
2) Andre Carter is still Andre Carter. He’s a really amazing player for us. During the first half at Coastal he was in the backfield on every play but Coastal deliberately ran at the hole he left behind. Since then he’s been put in better situations. Against UTSA, Andre rushed, played the run, and even dropped back a few times in coverage. He’s much more effective when the other team does not know for sure what he’s doing on every play. So hopefully that continues…
3) Coach Monken is an expert at sending multiple messages in his post game pressers. Let me help decode him for you: His message to his players is that their level of effort is great but they are making their position coaches look bad with their miscues and mistakes. His message to his coaches is that their players are being taught the correct techniques and assignments in practice but are failing to use them well in the games. Finally, his message to the athletic department is that this is what happens when the budget you gave me does not let me hire coaches as talented as the ones we lost after last season.
4) Opposing offenses are going to go for it on 4th down now on any play under 10 yards within 40 yards of the goal line. Especially in the second half.
5) Is Boobie Law even dressed for these games? It seems that our run game cannot sustain long drives without him in the lineup. We really miss him.
6) Tyrell Robinson’s other bad play last Saturday was under throwing a wide open Tyhier Tyler. Hitting TT in stride would have been a terrific play - he was uncovered.
7) Is Donavan Platt the next Elijah Riley? ER was the last plebe I can recall starting at CB. I hope that’s what it is. Because if not, then the three recruiting classes before Donovan are not as great as some might have believed.
8) UTSA’s hurry up offense defeated Army’s defensive line by committee strategy. Their hurry up - with no substitutions - was a brilliant way to prevent us from rotating D lineman. It prevented us from compensating for talent with rest. Expect to see more future opponents use this technique at crucial moments of games.
9) What happened to FB by committee? Army had been playing 4-5 FBs per game since the Woolfolk era. Does the change have anything to do with Mike Viti moving to be O line coach? I realize we did lose one really good FB last winter to “something” we cannot talk about here. But we still should have produced some new FBs who can play. Maybe Jacobi Buchanan fumbled that one ball last week because he was tired. Something is wrong with the fullback depth this year. Is it a recruiting fail? Injuries? What?
10) Army slot backs seem to be catching more deep balls this season. We have great players at this position. Could this also be an unintended side effect of the new cut block rule? Either way I do miss being able to see our SBs destroying opposing safeties with cut blocks.
11) Isaiah Alston is still a very good bet to come down with any 50/50 ball and/or draw an interference penalty on the play.
12) Zach Harding, Nolan Cockrill, Malkelm Morrison, and Arik Smith are greatly missed. Coach Monken used to say that when Arik hits an opposing player, that player goes down.
1) A healthy Cade Ballard should be the starting QB. TT is a close #2 who should still play a few series each game.
2) Andre Carter is still Andre Carter. He’s a really amazing player for us. During the first half at Coastal he was in the backfield on every play but Coastal deliberately ran at the hole he left behind. Since then he’s been put in better situations. Against UTSA, Andre rushed, played the run, and even dropped back a few times in coverage. He’s much more effective when the other team does not know for sure what he’s doing on every play. So hopefully that continues…
3) Coach Monken is an expert at sending multiple messages in his post game pressers. Let me help decode him for you: His message to his players is that their level of effort is great but they are making their position coaches look bad with their miscues and mistakes. His message to his coaches is that their players are being taught the correct techniques and assignments in practice but are failing to use them well in the games. Finally, his message to the athletic department is that this is what happens when the budget you gave me does not let me hire coaches as talented as the ones we lost after last season.
4) Opposing offenses are going to go for it on 4th down now on any play under 10 yards within 40 yards of the goal line. Especially in the second half.
5) Is Boobie Law even dressed for these games? It seems that our run game cannot sustain long drives without him in the lineup. We really miss him.
6) Tyrell Robinson’s other bad play last Saturday was under throwing a wide open Tyhier Tyler. Hitting TT in stride would have been a terrific play - he was uncovered.
7) Is Donavan Platt the next Elijah Riley? ER was the last plebe I can recall starting at CB. I hope that’s what it is. Because if not, then the three recruiting classes before Donovan are not as great as some might have believed.
8) UTSA’s hurry up offense defeated Army’s defensive line by committee strategy. Their hurry up - with no substitutions - was a brilliant way to prevent us from rotating D lineman. It prevented us from compensating for talent with rest. Expect to see more future opponents use this technique at crucial moments of games.
9) What happened to FB by committee? Army had been playing 4-5 FBs per game since the Woolfolk era. Does the change have anything to do with Mike Viti moving to be O line coach? I realize we did lose one really good FB last winter to “something” we cannot talk about here. But we still should have produced some new FBs who can play. Maybe Jacobi Buchanan fumbled that one ball last week because he was tired. Something is wrong with the fullback depth this year. Is it a recruiting fail? Injuries? What?
10) Army slot backs seem to be catching more deep balls this season. We have great players at this position. Could this also be an unintended side effect of the new cut block rule? Either way I do miss being able to see our SBs destroying opposing safeties with cut blocks.
11) Isaiah Alston is still a very good bet to come down with any 50/50 ball and/or draw an interference penalty on the play.
12) Zach Harding, Nolan Cockrill, Malkelm Morrison, and Arik Smith are greatly missed. Coach Monken used to say that when Arik hits an opposing player, that player goes down.
