In the words of the infamous Farmer Fran, “We lib ta pay anodder day.” Or better said by one of the few offensive players who didn’t see himself smothered by Hellhounds all day long, “We live to play another day.”
Yes…we lost. Yes… it sucks. And yes, for those of you counting, that puts our losing streak at 5 straight now!. But before you go off and demand a trade for a “championship caliber team,” please, hear me out, as I begin to break down this loss the best I can for those of you that weren’t carried out on a stretcher.
Alright, let’s break it down, game by game…or loss by loss, however you want to look at it, glass half empty or glass knocked to the floor…
Game 1 @ Waco Davidians (5-0) – FINAL – Loss: 65-0
I won’t even begin to tackle this one, because, well…I wasn’t on the team at the time. And considering I am currently the defensive coordinator, I’m not going to go into something I wasn’t a part of. In short, Waco is 5-0, and has defeated three of the better teams in the league. We are definitely NOT one of the three better teams in the league, so yeah…65-0 seems about right when you are overmatched in every single aspect of the game. Except maybe losing in stride. I’m guessing we were pretty good sports about that. I challenge the Waco Da vidians to handle a 65-0 loss the way our sobbing players did!
Game 2 Vs. Chicago Clams (1-4) – FINAL – Loss: 7-9
Ah yes! Our home opener! Fans from all across the metropolis of Grand Haven Michigan squeezed their way through the rusty turnstile gates of Death Valley Stadium and headed to their paint-peeled bleacher seats only to witness a game that will surely go down as the most embarrassing loss on the season of any team in the USA #7 West! Now, once again, I take no credit on this loss, as this was my first game with my lone Level 1 quarterback…who rode the bench like a champion. Holding a team without a touchdown is impressive. Many teams in this league can boast about it for multiple weeks at a time. We succeeded in this aspect and it seemed we would have our first win on the season with a solid defensive effort. But then the clouds hovering over the north goalpost suddenly parted and God himself lifted the ball off the toe of the Clams nervous punter, sending it straight through the uprights to leave our team in the shadow of a 9-7 loss to the worst team in the league.
Game 3 @ New Brunswick n00bs(3-2) – FINAL – Loss: 3-20
Fresh off a humiliating loss, it was time to turn things around. At this point our general manager had established an offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator…I was lucky enough to be given the title of defensive coordinator. In a game that seemed at least someone feasible to win, we prepared our strategies and made sure every player on the team had a good night’s sleep, whether that meant leaving the closet light on or singing a soft lullaby to our 6’-2’’ 300 pound offensive lineman. Unfortunately, during the weak of practice, we forgot to run any plays that resulted in a march past the goal line. The coaches, of course, took the blame for this. But it left our fans watching the play by play updates onlineMEMO: To All Units on Defense
Subject: Week 4 Pregame Strategy
From: Defensive Coordinator - C. Smith
Alright, I’ve watched a bit of film on the Pirates...and I have developed a game plan for this week's game against Denver. From what I can see, in their two blowout wins, it was more the fault of the opposing defenses that won their games as opposed to their efforts of the Pirates' own offense.
The clams had 28 missed tackles against the Pirates in last week’s game (yes...28 freakin' missed tackles!). We had just 4 last week. I am hoping that this week's strategy will keep us from letting the Pirates slip through our fingers.
The clams also played off their man, by about 5 yards throughout the game. Lesson Learned: We cannot do that against this team, unless we want every pass 10 yards or less to be completed. I have confidence that we can deflect a fair amount of passes. The clams had just 2 passes deflected in their weak defensive scheme.
Against a much stronger opponent, the Pirates struggled offensively. Waco played an “in your face” style of defense, keeping little distance between themselves and their opponent. We shall do the same.
Waco ended up with 7 deflected passes, 1 INT, and 7 missed tackles.
After watching film and reviewing the stats, I learned that the Pirates absolutely LOVE to throw the ball, and my gut tells me that when they see our renewed strength on the D-Line, they won’t want to rush the ball anyway. And though there are games where they run more than they pass (such as games where they win 44-0, running it up in the second half) we are going to concentrate on the pass, because that's what they'll come at us with straight out of the gate. We are not preparing this defense to defend a massive running attack due to a strong passing attack in the first half.
So, here is where I am at in our defensive game plan.
We have the advantage on the D-line. Our DEs should be able to press by their OTs, meaning that if they try to run outside, or pitch, it won’t be going for long. The Pirates have very little depth, with several guys playing second string at multiple positions, meaning some players will be forced to play out of position for the Denver offense once their starters are tired (We have slowly built A LOT of depth on defense).
I’m not going to release the specific percentages on the game plan, but we are running less of a blitz than we did last week. We played against a much weaker O-line last week and couldn't manage a sack, and we can’t take a chance of anyone breaking free for a long gain this week...the Pirates have done it too many times before.
We will be concentrating on the Pass more than the run...
We will be running a heavy zone, with occasional Man-to Man
And we are defending the short and medium passes strong, with less emphasis on the long ball. They don’t throw deep; it’s their receivers who make the long run after the catch and score the long TDs for their team.
And last but not least...
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS: ADVANCED TACTICS
<------VERY IMPORTANT! PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS!!!------>
CORNERBACKS:
1. Running Style: Power (Can't afford to lose the receiver)
2. Tackling: Wrap-up (Goal: No missed tackles!)
3. Defensive Focus: Pass (Let the D-line focus on the run)
4. Man Coverage Distance: Close (We can’t afford to get beat)
5. Coverage Style: Loose (We still can’t afford getting beat!)
SAFETIES:
1. Running Style: Power (Take off your skirt, play hard)
2. Tackling: Wrap-up (Do not let go, no matter what!)
3. Defensive Focus: Balanced (be prepared for the pass, and the run)
4. Man Coverage Distance: Close (don’t give them any room to break free)
5. Coverage Style: Loose (our corners are going to be too busy to have your back)
LINEBACKERS:
1. Running Style: Power (Kill them)
2. Tackling: Wrap-up (no one is missing their assignment)
3. Defensive Focus: Balanced (That Lv 10 running back will eventually come your way)
4. Man Coverage Distance: Close (zero distance…please)
5. Coverage Style: Medium (If someone has your back, then go for the pick)
DEFENSIVE TACKLES:
1. Running Style: Power (You-are-a-fricken'-truck)
2. Tackling: Wrap-up (stay with your man)
3. Defensive Focus: Balanced (your going to see about the same amount of run and pass)
4. Man Coverage Distance: Close (only leave your man if he’s lying on the ground, crying)
5. Coverage Style: Loose (You plan on picking someone off? Didn’t think so…)
DEFENSIVE ENDS:
1. Running Style: Elusive (let’s put that blazin' speed to work! Sack that QB!)
2. Tackling: Wrap-up (can’t let go of that RB)
3. Defensive Focus: Balanced (yeah…your going to be busy with both)
4. Man Coverage Distance: Close (Just get the freakin’ QB already!)
5. Coverage Style: Loose (See above…)
And that's what I got for this week's game. The team managers will meet again for a final discussion on the game plan, and I will let you know of any changes...just check the forum for updates.
We played our hearts out in that last game. Looks like most everyone recovered well and should be more than ready for our game against the Pirates. Lets make a statement against this "power house" offense!
Defensive Coordinator – C.Smith
To All Units on Defense
Week 4 Defensive Recap
Defensive Coordinator - C. Smith
Well…A team that put up 13 points on league powerhouse Waco, and we gave up 20. If we’re going to take a loss, I’ll take pride in this one. As far as the defense aspect of the game is concerned, we were the strongest unit this team has faced on the year (Waco held them to 13, but that was 2 games ago, against lesser talent).
I’ll focus on the many positives of this game first…and don’t get too down about starting 0-4…once the offense comes around (and trust me, we are slowly building our offense up…just as we did our defense) the victories will come.
THE GOOD
1. RUSH AND PASS – We held the Pirates to just 2.6 yards per rush on 49 attempts, and held the passing game to just 163.5 yards holding the quarterbacks to a dismal 28% pass completion percentage!
2. ENDURANCE – The Pirates had the ball…A LOT. In fact, they put together 29 drives on offense (14 more than last week!). Of those 29 drives, they scored on just four of them (2 touchdowns, 2 field goals and 2 missed field goals). That’s a 14% scoring percentage when their offense is on the field. The Pirates were forced to punt the ball 20 of their 29 trips on offense. Excellent work indeed, considering their field positioning was usually on our half of the field.
3. THREE AND OUT – 29 drives, and on 17 of those drives the Pirates couldn’t move the chains.
4. THIRD QUARTER – In the third quarter, the Pirates were on the field eight times and managed just 2 first down in one drive. The other seven drives were all held short of the first down, and on all eight drives the Pirates were forced to punt. We held the offense to just 50.5 yards in the quarter. Amazing.
5. BACKFIELD BARRAGE – Though we didn’t force a turnover in this game, we did manage 8 tackles for a loss, with one sack. That’s an area of improvement, as we have had trouble breaking through the line in previous weeks.
6. RED ZONE – The Pirates reached the red zone four times (starting field positioning in red zone one of those times). That means we kept them out of the red zone 25 of 28 drives. It’s only a matter of time before teams won’t be able to score on us at all.
THE BAD
1. …………..what do you want me to say? We were a dominate unit against a much better team. Had our offense been able to move the ball, the Pirates field positioning wouldn’t have been nearly as good as it was, and that first touchdown and two field may never have happened. As soon as our offense improves (and it will…are coach is working as hard as we can on that) we will raise our expectations to holding teams to just field goals, and eventually shoutouts.
PROUDEST MOMENT
Third Quarter! Just look at the drive chart below. The third quarter is a work of art. I want it framed and hung on my living room wall so I can marvel at its brilliance each and every day! It is simply beautiful. We need that kind of play EVERY QUARTER!
Offensive Drives: DENVER PIRATES
Drive 1. Plays - 5 - yards – (16) - Red Zone – NO - PUNT
Drive 2. Plays - 1 - yards – (13) - RZ – YES – 13 YD TD RUN
Drive 3. Plays - 6 - yards – (24) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 4. Plays - 3 - yards – (9.5) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 5. Plays - 3 - yards – (2.5) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 6. Plays - 12 - yards – (52.5) - RZ - YES – 6.5 YD TD PASS
------------------2nd QUARTER------------------
Drive 7. Plays - 3 - yards – (2) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 8. Plays - 3 - yards – (0) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 9. Plays - 5 - yards – (11.5) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 10. Plays - 9 - yards – (34.5) - RZ - YES – FG (20 YDS)
Drive 11. Plays - 3 - yards - (8) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 12. Plays - 3 - yards – (5) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 13. Plays - 3 - yards – (-1.5) - RZ - NO - PUNT
Drive 14. Plays - 3 - yards – (8.5) - RZ - NO – END OF HALF
------------------3rd QUARTER------------------
Drive 15. Plays - 3 - yards – (3) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 16. Plays - 3 - yards – (0) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 17. Plays - 3 - yards – (9) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 18. Plays - 3 - yards – (7) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 19. Plays - 3 - yards – (4) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 20. Plays - 8 - yards – (27.5) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 21. Plays - 3 - yards – (-0.5) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 22. Plays - 3 - yards – (0.5) - RZ - NO – PUNT
------------------4th QUARTER------------------
Drive 23. Plays - 5 - yards – (12.5) - RZ - NO – MISS FG (40 YDS)
Drive 24. Plays - 7 - yards – (18.5) - RZ - NO – MISS FG (38 YDS)
Drive 25. Plays - 3 - yards – (0) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 26. Plays - 3 - yards – (7.5) - RZ - NO – MISS FG (37.5 YDS)
Drive 27. Plays - 6 - yards – (17.5) - RZ - NO – PUNT
Drive 28. Plays - 4 - yards – (7) - RZ - YES – FG (30 YDS)
Drive 29. Plays - 1 - yards – (3) - RZ - NO – FG END OF GAME
------------------FINAL – LOSS 20-0------------------
And to close, I’m giving out a few game balls….
Most Valuable Player:
Nobody stood out (I refuse to hand out an MVP award to a CPU for most tackles). We worked as a collective unit, and played extremely well…I will however, hand out the MVP award to someone on special teams….
Mario Plumer (P) – 25 Punts (yes, 25…I’m pretty sure his leg is waist deep in an ice bath), 585 yards, 23.4 avg.
Butterfingers…tisk, tisk:
DAVE STEVENSON (CB) – 2 tackles, 6 missed tackles, 1 pass defended.
Our team totaled 10 missed tackles in the game, which means you accounted for 60% of the missed tackles on the team! Not to single anyone out here or anything, but if you don’t raise your tackling ability the next time you level up, prepare to ride the bench.
And that’s all I got for now. I’ll have a game plan for the hellhounds posted sometime tomorrow. Nice work everyone. Way to kick some ass. Let’s do it again next week!
Defensive Coordinator – C.Smith
