Navy Game Summary

Well, USC killed us once again. Virtually any chance of making it to the national championship game was erased Saturday when USC lost to Oregon State. It will take an implosion of several teams to get us there now. I'm not so sure I'd want to play in it anyway given our recent performance against quality opposition.

Saturday, as much as any other weekend of college football this year, proved that there really aren't any great teams (minus perhaps OSU) out there this year. Every team in the country is beatable. Good coaching can really make that happen. Personally, I wouldn't want to play Tennessee, WVU, Florida, Auburn, LSU, Texas, or Louisville. But they are all beatable.

Offense

Brady had arguably his best game of the year. A couple (two actually) of poor throws barely tainted an otherwise brilliant performance. He showed increased mobility and made several throws that are difficult, to say the least. Throwing across his body the last two weeks has been one of his strengths and his (recently improved?) ability to read the blitz, react quickly, and make the defense pay was on display Saturday. I don't think Quinn should win the Heisman Trophy (I didn't before the season nor at any time during it) but the ABC/ESPN campaign to anoint it on Troy Smith is undeserved. Troy Smith is a fantastic player and as clutch as they come. But the people around him are what make him good. It just shows that the Heisman is about perception and effective isn't necessarily what wins. Troy's big touchdown run is what wins Heisman Trophies. Never mind the fact that Quinn doesn't have a Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, or an offensive line. It was the same way with Matt Leinart. The best player in the country is Calvin Johnson. If Peterson hadn't gotten hurt there may be an argument for him as well.

David Grimes had another solid game. I hope the evolution continues because we will need someone to develop for next year.

Darius had a solid game. He ran much more North/South in this game and got the tough yards to finish runs.

Aldridge looks timid at times (probably the side-effect of being a freshman). That said, he runs downhill and has a very physically imposing physique. Once he learns he needs to run lower he will become even more effective.

The offensive line played better in this game getting to the next level and making solid blocks on the linebackers. John Sullivan had a particularly good game. I do wonder why we didn't just cave them down and kick out the outside defender with McConnell though.

John Carlson is earning himself (with Weis' help) a big time NFL paycheck. It isn't that he is great, he isn't. But he is solid, capable, and versatile. And in a year when there aren't any tight ends out there, he could likely be the first one chosen if he enters the draft.

Defense

Giving up greater than 200 yards rushing in a game, let alone in a half, is completely inexcusable. There is no excuse for the way we defended the option in the first half and even less of an excuse for not stopping the jet sweep they kept running. It looked like we were in a split-6 defense (modified 4-4) in the first half. We used our outside backer or Duke, depending on which side the play was to, to take the QB on the option. As my esteemed colleague (Panzer) informed me, that's just stupid. I think Minter et. al. was too focused on taking away the fullback. After we adjusted in the second half the play was much better.

Speaking of the second half, we once again held the opponent scoreless. Minter is money on the halftime adjustments thus far in the season.

Duke, Lambert, Crum, and Richardson like to hit.

Lambert is playing like a very solid corner. He has proved in recent weeks that his cover ability is pretty dang good. He proved this week he can support the run and lay the wood on people. I think he could become a very good secondary player in the future. He definitely has the speed.

Frome had a pretty poor game.

Abiamiri played very well. If we had any sort of respectable pass rush from the other side that prevented teams from doubling him all the time, he would be a 12-15 sack DE.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Zibi sitting next game. He seems to be in pain. He didn't play particularly well and tackled poorly also.