Post by coachdoug on Aug 28, 2010 20:56:24 GMT -6
Well, I wasn't expecting much for game 1. I knew we were facing one of the best teams in our league (probably #2), and I knew we were way behind, but even still, it was ugly. I'm not even sure what the final score was - 30-something to nothing, and it wasn't as close as the score would indicate. I think they had 4 or 5 TDs called back by penalties. I think we only got one first down - on the first play of the game on which we threw a pick-6, but they got flagged for 12 men on the field. I just watched the video and not only did they not have 12 on the field - they only had 10!!
We should have scored, though. On a 4th down play, they threw a pass right to our guy and there was no one between him and the end zone. I think our player was trying to be smart - he knew it was fourth down - so he just knocked the ball down. If he would have caught it, it almost certainly would have been a TD.
Anyway, I'm pretty depressed at the moment. I went to scout our next opponent after our game. I know they only won a couple games last year and didn't make the playoffs. I don't know if they got a bunch of new players or what, but they looked much better than I expected. They lost to the defending champs 26-12, but it was 19-12 in the 4th quarter - a pretty close game actually. They have at least 3-4 players that are head and shoulders above anyone we've got. I know our team is young (mostly 7th graders in an age division dominated by 8th graders), but I really thought we would be able to compete for a playoff spot. Right now, I don't know if we'll win any games at all this season.
We're so far behind on so many things that I'm not sure what we need to work on first. We had defensive breakdowns in outside containment, tackling, gap responsibility, attacking downhill, pursuit angles, etc (and I'm not even supposed to have anything to do with the defense, but obviously these problems need to be addressed). On offense, we had missed assignments galore - blockers not pulling when they were supposed to, people blocking the wrong man, people blocking no one and watching their man run around them to the QB/ball carrier, receivers running the wrong routes, RBs going the wrong way, slots going in motion at the wrong time and/or in the wrong direction. In general we had confusion with subs going into the game - players not hustling in and out - a general lack of intensity and desire. It was a complete cluster-f*** and I'm embarrased to be part of it. I haven't been part of a loss this bad in at least 5 years (probably a lot longer). I have a lot of work to do, I don't intend to suffer through an entire season like this.
There are a million excuses (I only joined the team 2 weeks ago, we're young, we're small, we're slow, we have no talent, we have no heart, etc. etc. ), but that's just BS. We, as coaches, (and I, especially) have to do a better a job of getting these kids to play to their potential. Maybe this team doesn't have a legitimate shot of making the playoffs, but there is no excuse for us not be able to compete.
Okay, my rant is over. I'm getting back to work watching this video.
We should have scored, though. On a 4th down play, they threw a pass right to our guy and there was no one between him and the end zone. I think our player was trying to be smart - he knew it was fourth down - so he just knocked the ball down. If he would have caught it, it almost certainly would have been a TD.
Anyway, I'm pretty depressed at the moment. I went to scout our next opponent after our game. I know they only won a couple games last year and didn't make the playoffs. I don't know if they got a bunch of new players or what, but they looked much better than I expected. They lost to the defending champs 26-12, but it was 19-12 in the 4th quarter - a pretty close game actually. They have at least 3-4 players that are head and shoulders above anyone we've got. I know our team is young (mostly 7th graders in an age division dominated by 8th graders), but I really thought we would be able to compete for a playoff spot. Right now, I don't know if we'll win any games at all this season.
We're so far behind on so many things that I'm not sure what we need to work on first. We had defensive breakdowns in outside containment, tackling, gap responsibility, attacking downhill, pursuit angles, etc (and I'm not even supposed to have anything to do with the defense, but obviously these problems need to be addressed). On offense, we had missed assignments galore - blockers not pulling when they were supposed to, people blocking the wrong man, people blocking no one and watching their man run around them to the QB/ball carrier, receivers running the wrong routes, RBs going the wrong way, slots going in motion at the wrong time and/or in the wrong direction. In general we had confusion with subs going into the game - players not hustling in and out - a general lack of intensity and desire. It was a complete cluster-f*** and I'm embarrased to be part of it. I haven't been part of a loss this bad in at least 5 years (probably a lot longer). I have a lot of work to do, I don't intend to suffer through an entire season like this.
There are a million excuses (I only joined the team 2 weeks ago, we're young, we're small, we're slow, we have no talent, we have no heart, etc. etc. ), but that's just BS. We, as coaches, (and I, especially) have to do a better a job of getting these kids to play to their potential. Maybe this team doesn't have a legitimate shot of making the playoffs, but there is no excuse for us not be able to compete.
Okay, my rant is over. I'm getting back to work watching this video.