Well, we had a tough outing against McDaniel this past weekend. After an impressive goal line stand the Hounds played an even first half at 14-14. But McDaniel just had too much for the us in the last thirty minutes.
This was by far the best McDaniel team that I have seen in the five or six seasons associated with Moravian football. They had a large contingency of seniors including several three-year starters. That is really an important factor in football – well experience in any business is key.
And on the other side of the coin – we are young and inexperienced in many key positions. The only thing that will cure this situation is what I call “sun ups and sun downs” – or time. And, what we get done during those “sun ups and sun downs” is what will develop this team.
You have to give them credit – McDaniel played a very solid game from the start til the final whistle. They played hard and it was the physical game that we had anticipated from them.
We also played hard – we were both tough and had great enthusiasm. But some very fundamental mistakes added up throughout the game. Defensively these breakdowns are what keep drives alive and ultimately what allows scoring.
On offense obviously the converse is true. Breakdowns are going to lead to the offense getting “behind on the chains.” (Commentators on TV love to say things like that). When you get behind on the downs – well you have to force the issue at times. That can lead to mistakes and sometimes put our inexperienced players in bad positions.
As pretty much everyone knows I am a “fundamentalist” when it comes to football. If you cannot line up correctly, read your keys and accomplish your responsibilities – well some bad things are bound to happen. Unfortunately we had too many to allow us to win.
Trust me, we have some very talented players at Moravian and eventually this is going to be a very competitive team. But, first we must stay on our basics – blocking and tackling, throwing and catching, kicking and running etc. These are the keys to having a successful team.
As coaches we understand that there is a learning curve when it comes to the process of absorbing our offensive and defensive schemes. That takes concentration and study. Outsiders often do not understand the complexity of competing in team sports and the amount of work that a player puts in. Hours in the meeting room coupled with more hours on the practice field and training in the weight room.
I once explained to my father – who is a very smart man and an electrical engineer – that I felt football may be the best taught subject in any school. (And professional football is even more well taught because of the time available to work with the players). He scoffed (how do you like that for a college word “scoffed”) at me.
A Footnote here – my Dad still doesn’t believe that I graduated from college. In reality I don’t have any proof since I did not attend my graduation. No, they never sent me a diploma either. Well too late now I am retired (semi that is!)
So I explained to him the very simple version of what goes on. I did this when I was coaching with Detroit so my explanation was much more in depth than what follows.
But, for perhaps the only time in my lifetime, he eventually saw my point. Just think how many hours a “normal” college class meets per week in college. What a total of three hours – then maybe some have a two hour lab? Piece of cake.
For football at Moravian we meet with our players Tuesday thru Thursday for an hour each time. We teach and the players learn football. Then we have two hour practices (I try to keep Jeff under that two hour time – but most of the times fail) four days per week.
We also give the players scouting reports and tip sheets throughout the week so that they can be prepared for the upcoming game. Naturally like all students in any discipline – some are more diligent than others. Some will really delve into the information while others just toss it in their locker with their dirty socks and jocks.
Then every Saturday for ten weeks we have a test – a game.
We “ask” our players to do this at Moravian. Remember in division III there are no scholarships…the players do this because they want to play ball. Well, occasionally we do try to help their “want to” by telling them that they are going to spend some time on the bench if they don’t follow thru on their”required tasks” here.
In the bigger (scholarship) schools the requirements and demands are much more intense. The players spend much more time preparing to play football and the experts available to them are almost too many to count.
Professional football – well that is a whole different animal – as I tell people there is a reason they call it “professional”.
I really admire our guys. They have a commitment to each other and really it is their accountability that makes it so much fun to work with these young guys.
Sure some work harder than others. But for the most part the majority of our guys are extremely diligent and try to do the things we ask of them.
There are still going to be some frustrating times. It is inevitable as we grow through this stage of our football development. But there are great things on the horizon.
The things that I see in these guys makes me excited for the future here at Moravian. Having players like this – guys who really care and want to succeed – paints an exciting picture here in Bethlehem.
GO HOUNDS!
Being a defensive coach I do have to mention some really exciting things I did see on Saturday. Think about these things.
A tremendous Goal Line stand right before halftime that kept us alive and shows us that things that we are working on are coming together. It was an observation from the coaching booth and Jim Newhard, Shaun Daignault and Evan Harvey to set up a strong blitz that ended the scoring threat as the clock ran out.
Some really hard hitting from out secondary and safeties Nick Zambelli and Jackson Buskirk in particular. Wow…some really great play going on back there.
Pursuit – hell – Foud Haddad and Nick Tone were running down plays all over the field.
Joe Milano gets back on the field and his aggressive play gets the team fired up.
These are just a few of the reasons why I am so excited about this team.
Yup…gotta get ready starting tomorrow for our next game – in Baltimore against the Johns Hopkins.