jrdaniel
09-03-2005, 02:05 AM
First off, heck of a defensive game. Big hits all around the field. Congrats to Cove on winning a great contest.
Cove surprised me with their discipline on the defensive side of the ball. They played the gaps very well and took away the outside runs also. Some receivers were open, but I'd leave them open too if the opposing QB can't get the ball there. The Cove D looked a bit undersized, but tackled extremely well. Trey Henderson was in on a lot of solo tackles that could have been back breakers had he not got the job done.
Cove offense, while also undersized compared to the Judson defense, played good enough to win. Donald Buckram never went down with the first hit and seemed like we needed 3 or 4 to get him down. QB needs to work on his accuracy on the long ball, but his scrambling ability is top notch. I think Judson was in the backfield all night and I doubt we got more than 1 or 2 sacks if any at all. That brings me to the line. This was the only real weakness I saw in the Bulldawgs. Running plays with an average RB would have been blown up as the D line was constantly getting by the blocker. Buckram made them pay for their aggresiveness with his speed and tackle breaking abilities.
Judson defense looked just the same as the scrimmage against Marshall. They are very athletic and aggresive, but that can bite them. I am not sure if they would have stayed more in their gaps they would have stopped Buckram or the other running backs. It seemed like they would shoot through the line and the running back would cut right through the same hole. DB's looked okay, they let a couple of pass plays happen in the second half, but you can't expect them to stop everything. I liked Tony Harp's willingness to throw his body at any ball carrier and be in on every tackle.
Judson offense looked great...the first 4 plays. I assume the constant rain before and during the first half made them go away from the passing attack I have heard about but haven't seen yet. I think the lack of offensive production had more to do with great defense than bad offense. It seemed like McDaniels could never turn that corner because Cove had him contained so well. He and Jose Mendoza occasionally broke a nice run, but for the most part they were stuffed with great tackling and disciplined defense. I hear Judson is looking for a minor league baseball player that never completed his high school eligibility to play QB. Just kidding. The rain I think had a lot to do with the lack of a passing attack for QB's not used to throwing even when the ball is dry.
Kicking is horrendous for Judson - with the exception of kickoffs.
Coaching decisions played a key roll in this game. Rackley gambled 3 times on 4th and goal and won all 3 times, but in my opinion blew to big decisions. The 43 yard field goal try when you have had one extra point squeak in and another miss is puzzling. Surely playing field position would have been a better option. The other thing that I can't get rid of is the last Judson possesion. With ~1:30 left and on your own 10 yard line with a 6 point lead, I thought hiking the ball to the punter (who is standing on the goal line) and having him run in the endzone and finally take a safety would have been the obvious call. You would still be up by 4, and now you get the free kick at the 20 with around a minute left, right? Seems like a no brainer to call that as opposed to making your already shaky punter kick from the goal line and risk a nice return or great field position and set up what eventually happened, maybe someone can see something I am missing.
BTW, sorry for the long post, just thought I'd give my shot at the game for those that couldn't be there.
Cove surprised me with their discipline on the defensive side of the ball. They played the gaps very well and took away the outside runs also. Some receivers were open, but I'd leave them open too if the opposing QB can't get the ball there. The Cove D looked a bit undersized, but tackled extremely well. Trey Henderson was in on a lot of solo tackles that could have been back breakers had he not got the job done.
Cove offense, while also undersized compared to the Judson defense, played good enough to win. Donald Buckram never went down with the first hit and seemed like we needed 3 or 4 to get him down. QB needs to work on his accuracy on the long ball, but his scrambling ability is top notch. I think Judson was in the backfield all night and I doubt we got more than 1 or 2 sacks if any at all. That brings me to the line. This was the only real weakness I saw in the Bulldawgs. Running plays with an average RB would have been blown up as the D line was constantly getting by the blocker. Buckram made them pay for their aggresiveness with his speed and tackle breaking abilities.
Judson defense looked just the same as the scrimmage against Marshall. They are very athletic and aggresive, but that can bite them. I am not sure if they would have stayed more in their gaps they would have stopped Buckram or the other running backs. It seemed like they would shoot through the line and the running back would cut right through the same hole. DB's looked okay, they let a couple of pass plays happen in the second half, but you can't expect them to stop everything. I liked Tony Harp's willingness to throw his body at any ball carrier and be in on every tackle.
Judson offense looked great...the first 4 plays. I assume the constant rain before and during the first half made them go away from the passing attack I have heard about but haven't seen yet. I think the lack of offensive production had more to do with great defense than bad offense. It seemed like McDaniels could never turn that corner because Cove had him contained so well. He and Jose Mendoza occasionally broke a nice run, but for the most part they were stuffed with great tackling and disciplined defense. I hear Judson is looking for a minor league baseball player that never completed his high school eligibility to play QB. Just kidding. The rain I think had a lot to do with the lack of a passing attack for QB's not used to throwing even when the ball is dry.
Kicking is horrendous for Judson - with the exception of kickoffs.
Coaching decisions played a key roll in this game. Rackley gambled 3 times on 4th and goal and won all 3 times, but in my opinion blew to big decisions. The 43 yard field goal try when you have had one extra point squeak in and another miss is puzzling. Surely playing field position would have been a better option. The other thing that I can't get rid of is the last Judson possesion. With ~1:30 left and on your own 10 yard line with a 6 point lead, I thought hiking the ball to the punter (who is standing on the goal line) and having him run in the endzone and finally take a safety would have been the obvious call. You would still be up by 4, and now you get the free kick at the 20 with around a minute left, right? Seems like a no brainer to call that as opposed to making your already shaky punter kick from the goal line and risk a nice return or great field position and set up what eventually happened, maybe someone can see something I am missing.
BTW, sorry for the long post, just thought I'd give my shot at the game for those that couldn't be there.