Friday, September 28, 2012

Air Force-CSU...Why Does This Game Worry Me?

   With good reason. Like last week with UNLV I think the Rams are better than 1-3. They have been inconsistent, and have been missing their top rusher Chris Nwoke (Wo-kay). But he is healthy and will start Saturday. If I'm Coach Jim Mclewain watching tape of Air Force losing to UNLV I will try and run the ball all day. Nwoke had 249 yards rushing against the Falcons last year. The smallest guy on CSU's offensive line is 297 pounds. Quarterback Garret Grayson could give Air Force problems as well. He has 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and he spreads the ball all over the field. The Falcons have had trouble all year defending the pass, and getting to the QB. To be fair, the Rams offensive numbers are bad-98 yards rushing a game, 17 points a game, which is 113th in the NCAA. But the Falcons have to play better defense than last week.
    Colorado State is giving up 27 points a game, and I think Air Force will be okay running the football. But in my opinion the Falcons need to throw a bit more, and use more formations to spread out the Rams defense. The Falcons have hurt themselves with penalties on the offensive side of the ball. They can't do that Saturday. Drives need to be efficient and wind up in the end zone and not with 3 points.
    Look for a high scoring game, with Air Force winning 40-27. But this game still worries me.

Monday, September 24, 2012

What Happened?

      Some have called it the worse loss of the Troy Calhoun era at Air Force. I won't go that far, but Saturdays 38-35 setback to UNLV was a stinker on a few fronts. I was one of the few who expected a close game, because the Rebels were better than their 0-3 record. They have good talent, especially on offense and showed it off Saturday. After the Falcons scored late in the first half to lead by 11,  I thought Air Force was in good shape. They then start driving in the 3rd quarter and get into field goal position when Tight End Marcus Hendricks fumbles the football. UNLV recovers and is in the end zone 5 plays later. That was a HUGE momentum swing. Air Force did little after that.

    Concerns.....on defense, several. The Falcons had no pass rush on Nic Sherry the other night, and if you take into account all 3 games they have played, Air Force has been easy to pass on. And I was surprised how the Rebels offensive line dominated in the second half. Troy Calhoun also mentioned they didn't tackle well. Add all that up and its going to be tough to win.

   On offense I thought the Falcons looked very average in the second half. After the Hendricks fumble it seemed they could do nothing to sustain drives Air Force needs to be a bit more creative. They need to get their play makers, Cody Getz, Ty Macarthur and Jon Lee, in the open field and let them make plays.

  Football is a game of a few key plays. The Falcons could be sitting at 3-0 today. But they have come up short on those key plays and instead are 1-2.

I'll talk about Colorado State later this week.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Thur 9-20-12

UNLV


     Saturday's Air Force football game at UNLV will be the 7th Mountain West Road opener for the Falcons. They have won the previous 6. They meet a Rebels team that is desperate and under pressure to get a win. They lost their first 3 games (all at home) by a combined 14 points. Clearly UNLV is better than a year ago, but so far they have nothing to show for it. Not only are fans calling for Bobby Hauck (one of the real good guys in college football) to be fired, many are suggesting the school drop football entirely. Even though UNLV is only giving up 127 yards a game rushing, I don't think the Falcons will have trouble moving the ball on the ground or through the air. On defense Air Force must slow running back Tim Cornette, a very talented, experienced, bruising running back. He's good enough that UNLV could play keep away and force the Falcon offense to watch from the sidelines. The Rebels start a freshman at Quarterback, Nick Sherry. I imagine Air Force will blitz a lot and give him a lot of fake looks to take advantage of his inexperience.

     You can catch the game on TV  and turn down the volume to get your hometown coverage Saturday night at 8 on Colorado's 740 KVOR.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Mon 9-17-12 UNLV

   I hate byes 2 weeks into the College Football season. Its like starting all over again. But Air Force had to deal with it and now they're on the other side, getting ready to go to UNLV Saturday. This will not be an easy game. The Rebels are 0-3 with all 3 losses coming at home. I watched most of their game Friday night against Washington  State. There's no question the Rebels are better. They just need that 1 win to break through. For the Falcons, is there any kind of positive carryover after playing Michigan so tough but losing two weeks ago? I think there is, but it has to play out on the field for it to become apparent.

  More on this game Thursday.

Monday, September 10, 2012

So Many Plays.......



9-10-12



     Air Force had so many chances to win Saturday at Michigan. There's a coaching adage that's says you never know which one play will make a difference in a game, which is why every play is so important. There were several that stood out Saturday that, had they gone the other way, the Falcons are the talk of the nation today.  #1-Parker Herrington missing a chip shot field goal on the first drive of the game. The Air Force had opened the game with a solid drive to the Wolverines 19. But the normally reliable Herrington missed the field goal. In these types of games you can't play from behind. The Falcons did the whole game.
#2-On a 4th and goal on the Michigan 4 on the second drive of the game the Falcons elect to take a field goal rather than go for it. Troy Calhoun is always a risk taker, but maybe felt it was too early to go for it. Herrington dropped one in from 22 yards. #3 On a 4th and goal from the Michigan 3 in the 3rd quarter Air Force lined up for a field goal, but faked it, with Quarterback Tucker Tipton trying to run it in. He was stopped at the 1. David Baska is the normal holder and a great athlete. In hindsight I thought, if you are going to fake it, get your normal holder out there. Or, let your offensive go for it on 4th down. The Falcons did that a series earlier from the Wolverines 1 and Cody Getz scored. There was too much thinking on the fake field goal. #4-On the above mentioned drive Ty Macarthur was wide open down the middle and Connor Dietz got him the ball. But Macarthur took his eye off it for a second. He made the catch but in juggling it fell down. If he stays up and catches it clean its a touchdown. Instead, with the fake field goal you get no points on the drive.

    So, you lose 3 points on the opening drive, perhaps 4 if you go for it rather than settle for a field goal on the second drive, and you get nothing off the Macarthur bobble and catch and fake field goal. Losses like this hurt because the Falcons realize all of the above. It was another gutsy effort, full of heart and determination. But every plays counts. Its a tough lesson learned in Ann Arbor.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Michigan

Do the Falcons have the Wolverines right where they want them? Michigan is a 20 point favorite to win Saturday in their College Football match up in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines were humiliated last week by Alabama. For Air Force, I've always thought playing a FCS team opening day does not get you ready for
big name opponent the following week but it is what it is. Some thoughts:

Air Force is due for a big win-They were close against Oklahoma, Minnesota and, a few years ago, Tennessee. But the Falcons in recent times have not pulled off the shocker they were occasionally known for.

Some thoughts on Saturdays game

1) Air Force needs to keep a tremendous pace with their offense. Get back to the line of scrimmage and run another play. I thought they were excellent at that against Idaho State.

2) The Falcons need to strike early. Air Force can't play from behind, and it could take Michigan a quarter or a half to settle in against the option.

3) The Falcon defense has to slow Denard Robinson. Last week Alabama kept him the pocket and made him throw the ball. He's not that good of a passer. Let's see what the Falcons can do against him.

4) Add to that, Air Force may use their linebackers to "spy" Robinson and follow him all over the field.

5) Michigan will want to pound the football with its running game. If Air force can get key stops, they have a shot.

Watch the game Saturday, but turn down the volume and get your hometown coverage on Colorado's 740 KVOR. Pregame at 1130, kickoff at 130.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Now the Season Starts


9-3-12


Air Force was expected to win Saturday, and did, beating Idaho State by 28. But now a truer measure of this years team awaits in Ann Arbor Saturday as the Falcons play at Michigan. Can the Falcons win? Sure.
Do they have to play a near perfect game?  No question. More on that later this week. Some of the highlights from Saturday:

RB Cody Getz:  218 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns-He had great blocking all day long. The yards might be tougher this weekend.

QB Connor Dietz: Love his leadership. Was 8-11 passing for 142 yards. We may see more of him running this Saturday.

RB Jon Lee: 69 yards rushing on 7 carries. Averaged 7.7 yards every time he touched the ball. He is a star in the making.

WR Ty Macarthur: had 26 yards rushing and another 78 on receptions before gong out with whats believed to be a concussion. Can be a big weapon this year. Questionable for the Michigan game.

The defense: I thought they did a great job all day. I have heard some fan complain about giving up 3 touchdowns, but Idaho State adjusted in the second half and threw quicker passes so the Falcons rush could not get to QB Kevin Yost. And they were content to take 5-8 yard pass plays. Not easy to defend.

Steffon Batts the cornerback was our defensive player of the game with 11 tackles and an interception. Talked to him after the game. He is confident and fearless.

Thought Defensive Lineman Nick Dejulio had a sold game with 6 tackles and a pass breakup.

Good win, as was expected of the Falcons. Later this week, my thoughts on how you can shut down Dennard Robinson and the Michigan offense, and the blueprint Alabama gave Air Force to do it with.

Final thought; Tough loss of Center Michael Husar Jr to a severe knee injury. He is out for the year. He might be the best lineman the Falcons have had in the last several years.