Black Tide At Sabers

Black Tide 27 - Sabers 6

Well boys, it had to happen sooner or later.I wish I could say it wasn’t predictable and deserved. Every write up I’ve done this season I’ve written that BT is not focused. Endless warnings that changed nothing in our behavior. Past years Championships don’t help us win this year. If anything, they actually hurt. They make us complacent and put a bigger target on our back.

So let’s start with myself. I’m the head coach and OC. When we’re not locked in, that falls on the head coach. When our offense can’t score points, that ultimately falls on the OC. Our offense hasn’t been shut out since Mustangs (the only time we’ve been shut out in 7 years). There’s a lot of fingers to point, and point that 1 big finger toward the top. We returned very few offensive guys. (Most our O skill guys are sitting on the Dors bench). So we’re not grasping the offense. And that’s not the players fault. Crap flows uphill, I’m the one responsible for you to learn, so it’s on me to adapt to you. So we will. Now, from a head coach perspective. We struggled more than we should have with the Whawks. We needed to get to practice, and show up to the locker room on time to get ready. Followed that with our lowest practice turnout of the season, showed up late, and almost lost to the Alphas. And again, reminded you we need to do better. And pleaded you to show up to practice and the locker room on time. So this week we had what, 20 guys at practice? Where were the other 20? Do you not hear us? Or do you just not care? How do I get you guys to turn words into actions? And if I can’t motivate you, maybe I shouldn’t be in charge. At that practice I urged you guys to control what you could, to do everything to prepare, so that Saturday, win or lose we’d have no regrets. Andmeet in the locker room at 11:30AM. So like 15 of us did. We go out to the field late, half the team trickling out of the locker room halfway through stretches. Dors already on the field warming up for 15 mins while we’re dicking around trying to get our pads on between jokes. And we became the joke. Do you feel you did everything you could have to prepare? I don’t. Do you have regrets? I do. And what will you do differently now? Will you be at practice? Will you show up to the locker room on time Saturday? I will.

Further, we’ve now had 2 sideline incidents that coaches can’t control guys. I spent the preseason asking everyone to not act like fools, and telling our guys we hold a higher standard, and that we’re more under the microscope than any other team. But shoot, we fight in practice, we fight at games. With each other. Realistically, can I guarantee it won’t happen again? It’s embarrassing. But it all points back to lack of leadership. I freaking love you guys so much, but I’m embarrassed at my own inability to hold ourselves to our standard. Definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. I’m going to do my part to be accountable and adapt. And if I can’t, then fire me. So the past is on me. I’ll take that on the chin. But going forward, how will you do your part? Change is needed. Adapt or regret. Those are the only 2 options.

Ok, now let’s talk game plan. Here’s our current offensive production. You tell me what you’d call. Passes w/ Cross at QB: 5.3 yards per play, 8% chance turnover. Passes w/ Ferrell QB: 3.4 yards per play, 9% chance turnover. Ball in Proffit hands: 8.9 yards per play, 2% turnover. Quincy: 5.7 yards per touch, 0% turnover. Swain: 7.3 yards per touch, 0% turnover. Now that there’s a sample size, the numbers speak for themselves. Expect a lot of changes on O. Starting at practice tonight. Cuz I don't like humble pie. I want more cocky pie. I said it. You heard me.

On defense, you guys do what you do. We turned it over 5 times and put you guys in terrible situations all game. And you still only gave up 9 points. That should always be enough to win a football game. That one is on us (me), and we won’t do that stuff again. 22 at RB, 9 & 15 at WR. OL big with stone feet, can’t move. Blah blah, you guys already know all this stuff.

Keys: 

1. Go to practice. 

2. Watch film, learn, condition on your own. You have to know how to line up, what your route is, and who you’re supposed to block. 

3. Show up to locker room on time.

Ok Sabers, the blue print has been laid. All you have to do is force BT offense to turn the ball over 5 times. You’re fresh off a bye, undoubtedly the Dors biggest cheerleaders last weekend, hopefully you learned a thing or 2 about a thing or 2. Watch that film over and over. Hope that you can replicate Dors production and that BT doesn’t learn from their mistakes. Getting Jiovanni Santacrose back from the pro’s is a good start. Can he replicate Cole Nicholson? I’ve never seen him play, so I’m not sure. Your LB’s need to have their best game. You guys are decently physical, but a lot of guys going both ways takes a toll. Cam Hale is your X-Factor, so as little as BT throws the ball, you should probably bring him into the box. On O you have a few options at QB. Which is good, gives us more to prepare for between Hayden, Spencer, and Johnson. I’m guessing you’ll go with the lefty. But we will prepare for all 3 just in case. I know I give your OL a ton of crap, but I do think they’ve been improving week to week. It’s just above mid level, probably the 4th best OL in the league. Their struggle this week will be figuring out who to double team. If you watched that Dors film, the answer is obvious. I can’t do all your work for you. At RB, a hefty mix of 20, 0, and 22. I see 20 going both ways (along with 9). 22 is the one BT will key on. Call it PTSD, but they don’t want him getting loose. BT corners are well aware of #9, and Fisher has specifically requested to follow him, after his week 1 ball flip. 15 we know and love. So 3/7/23 better set down the butterfingers and learn how to play football real quick. This is the one you guys asked for all preseason. The Trident ya snapped in your lil’ hype video. It’s here. And we’re happy to be another teams Super Bowl. You guys currently sit at 6th in the standings (head to head over Savage). Assuming you lose this one, you’ll be 3-4 going into Warhawks. You’d need them to lose to Aztecs this weekend, but then beat the Alphas. You need the Alphas to lose out (Warhawks, Aztecs, Dors) because they hold tie breaker over you. Savage will win 2 of their next 3. So there is still a path, but you need some help.

Keys: 

1. Take away Kohl Proffit (#26). Hold him under 60 yds and a TD. 

2. Ball in Bunns hands. The only (active) player on your team that has beaten BT. If you’re saving him for something, it’s this. He should have 25 touches this week. And BT doesn’t throw anyway so you don't need him on D. 

3. Give QB (whoever) time. BT is still one of the worst teams at generating Sacks. But they’re always in the QB’s face. #95/3/22/74 are coming.

Best Match Up – Saber WR’s vs BT DB’s. Fisher vs Brig.

Biggest Mismatch – BT trenches vs Saber hogs

Bold Prediction – Sabers come out amped. Trash talk galore, cute team cheers, the whole 9. (Remember when the Duckz came out with all those whistles and sprinted at us trying to replicate Rocky Mountain intimidation in the pregame before getting boat raced by 40? Lol) They get the ball first. They get 1 first down and celebrate. Quick 3 and out from there, and wind quickly removed from sails as BT scores on that impending punt. The rest goes about as you’d expect. 

Warhawks at aztecs - game of the week!

Warhawks 14 - Aztecs 33

Warhawks, you guys are in pretty decent position. Currently in 5th, but you still play the 4th and 6th place teams and control your own destiny. You’re probably not going to win this weekend. Notice I said “probably” because I don’t necessarily think it’s out of the realm of possibility. You guys actually match up decently well, if Lopez plays. Your defense is stingy and can be a thorn in the side of Hull/Barber/Colon. But your offense has to figure out how to move the ball on a very physical defense. As you probably know, avoid #9. He’s one of the best blitzers/tacklers in the entire league (23 tackles). Not a good match up for Parham. #7 has been their playmaker on D with 2.5 Sacks, 2 INT, and a Def TD. Aside from him, LB’s #17 & 3 have been their top Sackers. On D, you’re going to get a heavy dose of #20. He’s the only player even close to as many carries as Parham. They pound the crap out of him (50 carries this season), and nobody else on the Tecs has even 1/3 as many touches as him. Receiving game is a 2 man show. They’ve gotten good at making teams focus on Hull (3 catches for 23 yards per game) while Colon does the real damage (5 catches for 75 yards per game). Like I said, they’ll be heavy favorites, but I’m taking y’all against the spread. You guys match up well. But I’m still waiting for Davis Eckebrecht to lead the league in receiving (1.5 catches for 29 yards per game).

Keys: 

1. Have your OLB (preferably Papa Roach) jump swing routes from backfield. They love that 2 back, cross play action, dump to the back in the flats. If you jump em’ you’ll get a pick 6. 

2. Focus on #20. He’s going to get his touches, but you gotta make sure they aren’t productive. Hold him under 4 yards per carry. (currently avg 6.9 ypc). 

3. Attack downfield. You guys can’t play conservative afraid to make a mistake. Parham won’t win you this game. You have to be aggressive and take shots (like I'm going to that night).

Life is good in Aztecia. The last remaining undefeated team in the land. Scored more points than everyone in the league, given up less than everyone in the league. The statistical best team. As far as I know, everyone is healthy and fresh. Not a care in the world. Remaining schedule is Warhawks, Bye, Alphas, BT. All winnable, none guaranteed. And honestly, who am I to tell you guys what to do? You guys have a better record than us. Maybe if Joe was writing these, he woulda told us how to beat the Dors last week. You guys are humble, and I know you’ll respect every opponent in front of you. You guys are a team of stars, but need more role players. Depth matters in the playoffs, and there’s a huge drop off from your 10 best players to the remaining 25. Colt is leading the league in passing TD’s, but all 8 are to 2 guys. Id like to see him get a 3rd or 4th guy in the endzone this week. I do think there’s a lot of mileage on Barber, but the Bye next week will help with that. On defense you guys could use some more statistical production from Gusters & Gilbreath. The Warhawks defense fly’s around but stopping their offense is easy. It’s just keep everything contained. QB want’s to roll, and let coverage break down. Make him stay inside pocket and throw, their WR’s aren’t better than your DB’s, and more often than not you’ll find yourself in a pile with dive specialist RB #11 anyway (59 att all between the tackles). I think you guys win this game, but don’t fall into that trap of overlooking people because the Warhawks are delusional and fully expect to beat you guys this weekend.

Keys: 

1. 1 Receiving TD for someone not named Hull or Colon. 

2. 10+ carries for someone not named Barber. 

3. 3 players with 5+ tackles not named Hoffman.

Best Match Up – Warhawk D vs Aztec O

Biggest Mismatch – Aztec D vs Warhawk O

Bold Prediction – Warhawks expose a few cracks in the perfection.

Matadors AT Guardians

Matadors 1000 - Guardians 1

Props Matadors. You defeated the evil empire (but just like Star Wars, they'll Strike Back. We will meet again this year). You dumped the water jugs on your coach, you held a ring ceremony, and I can’t wait to see you guys hang your banner for your regular season win. It was your Super Bowl. And don’t get me wrong. I know the feeling. I remember how it felt when we finally beat the Tribe… in the regular season. Before they then knocked us out of the playoffs later that year. Seriously, huge props to Jared Smith hanging in there delivering 17/26 with Scale lurking. We knew grant was the guy and still couldn’t stop him from hauling in 9 catches. Hope that collar bone is ok. You've been hyping Segali, and he did have a pretty nice game on Carlen. And helluva game to Cole eating our lunch and causing numerous turnovers. But the irony is you guys are BT fans from here. You don't control your destiny. You're a #2/3 seed unless BT beats Aztecs, and by how much. But seriously, jokes aside, Congrats Lab, Tay, Gabe, Ben, Sam, Oz, and Kadun. You guys were on the team that finally got us once. Remaining schedule: Guardians, Bye, Warhawks, Alphas.

Keys: 

1. Show up to the game. 

2. Don't forget your uniform. 

3. Uhhhh....? Don't get the entire team ejected in pregame.

Guardians, let’s just for fun pretend this is going to be a game and not a massacre. Let’s pretend game planning matters. Let’s talk about how you’re going to upset the Matadors this Week!!! Ok, the Dors are currently attempting 32 passes per game to 20 rushes per game (62% Pass). When they do throw, QB has a good IQ so you’ve got to mix coverages. #2 (if he plays) is the go-to target and best WR. 4 catches per game for 60 yards. #3 is the quick little slot that gets 3 catches for 21 yards per game. #18 plays outside and gets 2 for 16 per game. #4 is their tall WR that has struggled with drops all year but is catching 1 for 22 this year. #5 is a bit of an undersized TE that is pulling in 1 for 15 per game. And finally #17 is averaging ¾ of a catch for 11 yards per game. When they do run the ball, #11 is the starter. He’s been picking up 11 touches for 58 yards per game. His back up is #20 at 5 touches for 23 yards per game. And their Impact Player #23 is racking up 4 touches per game for 20 yards per game. The best OL is 93, he’s a standout. So what did you learn?

On offense you got to double team #9 (which we made the mistake of not doing) the league leader in Sacks at 8. Their top tacklers are all LB’s 6/34/22. #7 and #28 are lanky LB’s great at causing TO’s. Best bet is to take shots at the corners. They’ve been the weak spot all year. Congrats Guardians. You're ready to #HornsDown the Perennial and still #2 team in the league.

Best Match Up – Who scores more points between Matador O or Matador D.

Biggest Mismatch – Guardians Reggie vs Matadors Chavez. In a ping pong tournament.

Bold Prediction – Matadors are UPSET!!!! ….that they had a running clock before halftime.