Cujo
10-09-2005, 01:00 AM
Ok.....so as not to be labeled as a newbie to JT and Tx HS football, and therefore some fair weather fan jumping on their bandwagon, perhaps I should give a little background of myself….. I played 2 years of football for Boswell HS then decided I wanted a chance at a ring, so I moved to JT and played in ’96. Deciding not to play my senior year, I became a fan and a loyal one at that. Case in point, I have attended 40 of the last 42 games John Tyler has played at Rose Stadium in the last 8 years. I also went to over half of their away games during that time as well. So for all of you that complained that all the fans abandoned JT the last 3-4 years; I take great exception to that. I have been on the 50 yd line every home game with my season tickets from kickoff to the playing of the school song after the game, come win or loss, since at least 1998. Also, I discovered this website in the 2000 season during JT’s State run, and have been a “lurker” ever since; so I know many of you very very well. I say all this to show that I know John Tyler football like the back of my hand – I may not know every player and their number, but I know the team and what they can do as a whole.
Anyhoo, I was convinced last night to stop lurking after 6 years and represent my team that is seemingly flying completely under the radar (not that that’s a bad thing, but I think this team deserves to be recognized). I know some of ya’ll are talking about them and what they could do, but I think everyone has been conditioned, as I was, from these past 4 years that JT would do good against mediocre teams then fade during district. It’s apparent that there was one main reason for that, and he still isn’t fit to coach even a middle school Canadian football team, much less a HS team here in Texas, and thankfully we got rid of him. But what I saw last night convinced me enough that John Tyler is back.
Now I’m not naïve enough to think that JT can contend for a state title, or even a district title, considering I think Longview (along with Lufkin and SLC) is one of the top 5 teams in the nation; but I do believe JT is on par with Dallas Carter and other second tier good teams around the state. The reason I say this, and that their success is not just some fluke, is primarily because of JT’s passing game. That is something I thought would NEVER work in a JT offense, mostly because I was brought up with the Hammer run style of play of JT in the 90’s, but with the implantation of the spread offense and the threat of a VERY good mobile QB in Maddox, defenses are going to be hard pressed to stop JT from this point. The reason that JT hasn’t been using the passing game as much and therefore haven’t been blowing opponents out earlier this season, is because, I believe, Coach Brooks was trying to be more of a run oriented team and used Hunter and Maddox on the ground as much as he could. But now that he’s been forced to concentrate more on passing (because of Hunter’s injury) it has really opened up the offense. Now I know I’m basing all this one game, but because of everyone thought Mesquite was a decent to good team and that they would most likely contend against JT for the 2nd spot in district (now that Lee has fallen), I feel confident in saying all this from the way JT totally dominated Mesquite Friday night on both sides of the ball. JT’s defense is pretty much the undisputed 3rd best in East Texas behind Longview and Lufkin (they held Mesquite to -26 yds rushing for crying out loud), but JT’s offense was just as excellent, going through Mesquite’s defense like a hot knife through butter. Again, had this been against a team like Arlington Bowie, it would be expected, but not from a team thought to be the caliber of Mesquite.
Anyway, I just wanted to say it now that I truly predict the next 3 games of JT’s will be about the same as the last, even against Lee; and I also will predicted that Allen Wilson will be facing his old team for the first time in the second round. If I’m totally wrong, I’ll be glad to take my crow medium rare, and trust me, I hate to eat crow, but it’s because of JT’s overall game (a like I have never seen in 12 years of watching John Tyler) that I have the confidence in going out on this limb. Granted, the entirety of JT’s season all rest upon the play of Maddox – he went out with an ankle injury right before the half and unfortunately his backup Allen isn’t as capable a threat at throwing as Maddox, even though he’s wicked fast. But with Maddox out of the game, JT wasn’t nearly as dominating. So if he or JT’s new beast of a WR in Ernest Smith (who has the exact same frame as David Warren) gets injured, then JT’s season would be essentially over, just as it did when Mickey Jones got injured in '95. But anyway, I might be full of it, but I think I’ve had ample exposure to JT football to know that this is the best passing game they’ve ever had, one of the best defenses, and an adequate but fast running game that JT is always known for.
Also – just another thought I had – I think everyone is VERY slow to believe in this JT team because of last year. They played 2 very good 4A teams, which they could easily have won, beat a Jamaal Charles-less PA Memorial team, and handled Bowie, only to go to North Mesquite and be totally shell shocked and routed. They then played Mesquite and gave up a big lead to lose that game as well. Their record was then 2-4 and without the proper leadership of a coach and a demolished confidence, JT just gave up. Notice Lee’s record is now 2-4 as well and they are starting to follow the exact same path that JT did last year. I’m no stranger to Lee football either (I went to at least 6 of their games last year and keep up with them as much as I do as JT), but they are headed down the same slippery slope. Now I think their coach can provide the leadership, but with no defense, and with a chink in their offense armor, I don’t think there’s much chance of a turnaround. I hope for the best, because I certainly want to see all East Texas teams in the playoffs, but I won’t be holding my breath despite some people on here thinking they still have a chance at a state title.
I’m sorry for writing a book, but I guess I’ve bottled up a lot to say in the last 6 years :p I’ll try not to be so long winded next time. lol
Anyhoo, I was convinced last night to stop lurking after 6 years and represent my team that is seemingly flying completely under the radar (not that that’s a bad thing, but I think this team deserves to be recognized). I know some of ya’ll are talking about them and what they could do, but I think everyone has been conditioned, as I was, from these past 4 years that JT would do good against mediocre teams then fade during district. It’s apparent that there was one main reason for that, and he still isn’t fit to coach even a middle school Canadian football team, much less a HS team here in Texas, and thankfully we got rid of him. But what I saw last night convinced me enough that John Tyler is back.
Now I’m not naïve enough to think that JT can contend for a state title, or even a district title, considering I think Longview (along with Lufkin and SLC) is one of the top 5 teams in the nation; but I do believe JT is on par with Dallas Carter and other second tier good teams around the state. The reason I say this, and that their success is not just some fluke, is primarily because of JT’s passing game. That is something I thought would NEVER work in a JT offense, mostly because I was brought up with the Hammer run style of play of JT in the 90’s, but with the implantation of the spread offense and the threat of a VERY good mobile QB in Maddox, defenses are going to be hard pressed to stop JT from this point. The reason that JT hasn’t been using the passing game as much and therefore haven’t been blowing opponents out earlier this season, is because, I believe, Coach Brooks was trying to be more of a run oriented team and used Hunter and Maddox on the ground as much as he could. But now that he’s been forced to concentrate more on passing (because of Hunter’s injury) it has really opened up the offense. Now I know I’m basing all this one game, but because of everyone thought Mesquite was a decent to good team and that they would most likely contend against JT for the 2nd spot in district (now that Lee has fallen), I feel confident in saying all this from the way JT totally dominated Mesquite Friday night on both sides of the ball. JT’s defense is pretty much the undisputed 3rd best in East Texas behind Longview and Lufkin (they held Mesquite to -26 yds rushing for crying out loud), but JT’s offense was just as excellent, going through Mesquite’s defense like a hot knife through butter. Again, had this been against a team like Arlington Bowie, it would be expected, but not from a team thought to be the caliber of Mesquite.
Anyway, I just wanted to say it now that I truly predict the next 3 games of JT’s will be about the same as the last, even against Lee; and I also will predicted that Allen Wilson will be facing his old team for the first time in the second round. If I’m totally wrong, I’ll be glad to take my crow medium rare, and trust me, I hate to eat crow, but it’s because of JT’s overall game (a like I have never seen in 12 years of watching John Tyler) that I have the confidence in going out on this limb. Granted, the entirety of JT’s season all rest upon the play of Maddox – he went out with an ankle injury right before the half and unfortunately his backup Allen isn’t as capable a threat at throwing as Maddox, even though he’s wicked fast. But with Maddox out of the game, JT wasn’t nearly as dominating. So if he or JT’s new beast of a WR in Ernest Smith (who has the exact same frame as David Warren) gets injured, then JT’s season would be essentially over, just as it did when Mickey Jones got injured in '95. But anyway, I might be full of it, but I think I’ve had ample exposure to JT football to know that this is the best passing game they’ve ever had, one of the best defenses, and an adequate but fast running game that JT is always known for.
Also – just another thought I had – I think everyone is VERY slow to believe in this JT team because of last year. They played 2 very good 4A teams, which they could easily have won, beat a Jamaal Charles-less PA Memorial team, and handled Bowie, only to go to North Mesquite and be totally shell shocked and routed. They then played Mesquite and gave up a big lead to lose that game as well. Their record was then 2-4 and without the proper leadership of a coach and a demolished confidence, JT just gave up. Notice Lee’s record is now 2-4 as well and they are starting to follow the exact same path that JT did last year. I’m no stranger to Lee football either (I went to at least 6 of their games last year and keep up with them as much as I do as JT), but they are headed down the same slippery slope. Now I think their coach can provide the leadership, but with no defense, and with a chink in their offense armor, I don’t think there’s much chance of a turnaround. I hope for the best, because I certainly want to see all East Texas teams in the playoffs, but I won’t be holding my breath despite some people on here thinking they still have a chance at a state title.
I’m sorry for writing a book, but I guess I’ve bottled up a lot to say in the last 6 years :p I’ll try not to be so long winded next time. lol