My thoughts on today (yeah, a bit long, but the ride home gave me time to write it up)...
West Point was an incredible experience, even before the game itself. Michie was very nice, but the campus was just amazing. More impressive than the campus were the Army fans. They were the nicest and classiest I have ever encountered (granted, I figured they would be civil, but they exceeded those expectations). I don't think I could recommend a better place to bring the family to see a game (other than Lavalle, of course).
As to the game...
The four fumble recoveries were a product of the "first guy grab, second guy strip" philosophy we've seen all season long. The defense stepped up, didn't allow much breathing room, and kept their discipline. Outstanding all around.
Coker did what he does, which really started to wear down the morale of the opponent. On one play, I counted 8 guys bringing him down. Thats just ridiculous. He may not get the sexy numbers, but I have a feeling we're not going to see him fade into the background. Dude is legit.
Norrell kind of surprised me. He put up good numbers, but the sheet doesn't tell the whole story. He basically commanded bracket coverage by running a few early 9 routes on clear run plays. That kept the box free of the deep safety, who needed to shade his direction all day. That opened up a bunch of solid 6-10 yd runs that would normally only go for 3-4. Not huge, but it moved the chains and kept our offense on the field. Also, he showed a lot of "football IQ" in the final few minutes by diving to keep himself inbounds on one play, and by breaking off his route to secure the catch and keeping the clock going instead of running the deeper route and risking an incompletion. Out of all the guys today, I think Norrell should get a game ball. Just not THE game ball.
THE game ball has to go to Maysonet. I'd offer commentary, but to be honest, I don't really know what to say other than "Wow".
In regards to Army, their squad was downright tiny compared to ours. The biggest dudes on their d-line were only about 20lbs heavier than Coker. That is a function of being a military academy, and having size restrictions, but it still makes things really tough on them. They played with a ton of heart, discipline, and intelligence, but the intangibles can only do so much when you're giving up 50+ lbs per guy on the line. This is one of those situations that I just don’t know what the answer is.
SBU travelled insanely well today. It was almost like a home-game for our guys. That has to be a tough situation to be in as a home team. Hopefully, Seawolf Nation never lets that happen to us.
On a side note, there was not one injury stoppage the whole game (I didn't notice it, my wife brought it up, and looking back she was right). Never seen that before, just thought it was odd (and great, never want to see a dude get hurt).
I commend all players on both sides. They played clean, played hard, and put on a performance that won't be forgotten.
Home
Search
Login
Register