Post by Aggie One on Sept 28, 2006 12:38:53 GMT -5
Better to Get the Bad News First
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
Well things are a changing just a little worse seemingly every day with the North Carolina A&T football team. Just three games into the season and defensive coordinator Tom Lavinge has parted ways from Coach Lee Fobbs staff just after A&T’s 48-7 road loss to Division One Louisiana-Lafayette so that he could concentrate on taking care of the serious personal business of trying to pick up the pieces of his family well being after Hurricane Katrina virtually left he and his mother completely homeless.
If that wasn’t bad enough the Aggies have lost starting freshman defensive end Trye Glasper to a broken leg for what is almost certainly to be for the rest of the season.
Linebacker Brandon Long, one of the few Aggies on that side of ball with any real playing experience will be out for at least 3-4 weeks with a knee injury.
And now leading tackler sophomore Davion Hemphill may or may not play in this week as the Aggies travel up to Norfolk State to take on a much improved and extremely dangerous Spartan football team under second year head coach Pete Adrian.
Injuries are indeed part of the game but for a defense that has rendered over 400 yards in each of its first three games; it’s beginning to become downright depressing when you begin to look down the depth chart looking for able body replacements.
There really isn’t much there in the way of finding people who can step in and step up but given the current circumstances it might not matter who moves up into the starting lineup. It’s all going to be new territory anyway Fobbs and Adams decide to go.
Now anytime you lose any coach once the season starts, it puts an extra burden on the staff left behind. So now in steps newly designated defensive coordinator Demetrius Adams who last year this time was the defensive guru as Ouachita Baptist’s defensive coordinator. Adams is a Southern Miss graduate and had previous stints coaching defense both at junior college power Pearl River (MS.) and at Jacksonville State before spending the last four years at NAIA Quachita.
He will also remain responsible for coaching the defensive line much like his boss who also doubles as the head coach and the offensive coordinator. That's really stretching things out. They might want check for uclers by midseason.
Fobbs has been spending an increasing amount of time on the defense to help find some sort of combination or alignment that will help A&T slow down the rushing attacks of their upcoming opponents, which all except one are MEAC foes the rest of the year.
So far the Aggies have been run over, around and through by its first three opponents on the ground giving up over seven yards per carry and 300 yards per game.
Now statistically speaking, that has helped the defensive backs make some headway with its pass coverage although they have spent most of their time having to chase down running backs 20 yards downfield rather than concentrating on picking off passes.
If A&T is going to make any headway this season it must find a way of making some defensive stops sometime somehow in some form in order to have a chance at being in a position to win any football game.
The offense, although not necessarily setting the world on fire, has shown that if given the opportunity can more the ball fairly effectively if given decent field position. The Aggies have an above average passing attack but still needs work on its ground game.
Still, even against a vastly superior Lafayette team, the Aggies did crack the red zone four times but only came away with seven points because of a couple of freshmen quarterback mistakes, a missed block, and a untimely penalty that killed three drives inside the ten yard line.
Norfolk State is coming off a heartbreaking last minute loss to Bethune Cookman who is on a three-way collision course with both Hampton and Delaware State to see who will reign supreme in the MEAC this season.
A big part of that equation will be settled this weekend when the Pirates and Hornets meet this weekend. The Hornets have stung the Pirates before so this is by no way a “gimme” for Joe Taylor’s 10th ranked Hampton squad.
Coach Alvin "Shine" Wyatt, the most flamboyant coach in all of black college football, is prepping his Wildcats to make a serious run at the championship after simply destroying everyone’s preseason favorite South Carolina State two weeks ago on the road.
As far as the Aggies are concerned, this is probably one of those game that if the Aggies can find a some way to cut their run defense yardage given up figure in half, they might have a chance to pull a real big surprise Saturday afternoon at the annual Fish Bowl.
Although Norfolk took BCC to the 11th hour in a 22-21 nail bite, Now anyone with any common sense would have expected such a tussle since Adrian spent 11 years calling the defense for Wyatt’s team. Think he knows his playbook fairly well?
So after such an emotional game, will the Spartans be a little flat or even overlooking this A&T team picked to be last in the league in 2006 or will they be remembering how they let a victory literally slip through their fingers last year in Greensboro but botching a easy punt catch in their own end zone which turned out to be the winning turnover?
Probably a little bit of both. Expect this game to be interesting for a half or even perhaps even into the fourth quarter before the Spartans wear down a very thin A&T team and blow the thing wide open.
The Aggies will have to wait another week to have a real legitimate shot at gaining that first win. But you can never tell so we play the game. My heart is always with the Aggies but my objective mind says otherwise.
No fun in being logical.
Norfolk State 45
N.C. A&T 20
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
Well things are a changing just a little worse seemingly every day with the North Carolina A&T football team. Just three games into the season and defensive coordinator Tom Lavinge has parted ways from Coach Lee Fobbs staff just after A&T’s 48-7 road loss to Division One Louisiana-Lafayette so that he could concentrate on taking care of the serious personal business of trying to pick up the pieces of his family well being after Hurricane Katrina virtually left he and his mother completely homeless.
If that wasn’t bad enough the Aggies have lost starting freshman defensive end Trye Glasper to a broken leg for what is almost certainly to be for the rest of the season.
Linebacker Brandon Long, one of the few Aggies on that side of ball with any real playing experience will be out for at least 3-4 weeks with a knee injury.
And now leading tackler sophomore Davion Hemphill may or may not play in this week as the Aggies travel up to Norfolk State to take on a much improved and extremely dangerous Spartan football team under second year head coach Pete Adrian.
Injuries are indeed part of the game but for a defense that has rendered over 400 yards in each of its first three games; it’s beginning to become downright depressing when you begin to look down the depth chart looking for able body replacements.
There really isn’t much there in the way of finding people who can step in and step up but given the current circumstances it might not matter who moves up into the starting lineup. It’s all going to be new territory anyway Fobbs and Adams decide to go.
Now anytime you lose any coach once the season starts, it puts an extra burden on the staff left behind. So now in steps newly designated defensive coordinator Demetrius Adams who last year this time was the defensive guru as Ouachita Baptist’s defensive coordinator. Adams is a Southern Miss graduate and had previous stints coaching defense both at junior college power Pearl River (MS.) and at Jacksonville State before spending the last four years at NAIA Quachita.
He will also remain responsible for coaching the defensive line much like his boss who also doubles as the head coach and the offensive coordinator. That's really stretching things out. They might want check for uclers by midseason.
Fobbs has been spending an increasing amount of time on the defense to help find some sort of combination or alignment that will help A&T slow down the rushing attacks of their upcoming opponents, which all except one are MEAC foes the rest of the year.
So far the Aggies have been run over, around and through by its first three opponents on the ground giving up over seven yards per carry and 300 yards per game.
Now statistically speaking, that has helped the defensive backs make some headway with its pass coverage although they have spent most of their time having to chase down running backs 20 yards downfield rather than concentrating on picking off passes.
If A&T is going to make any headway this season it must find a way of making some defensive stops sometime somehow in some form in order to have a chance at being in a position to win any football game.
The offense, although not necessarily setting the world on fire, has shown that if given the opportunity can more the ball fairly effectively if given decent field position. The Aggies have an above average passing attack but still needs work on its ground game.
Still, even against a vastly superior Lafayette team, the Aggies did crack the red zone four times but only came away with seven points because of a couple of freshmen quarterback mistakes, a missed block, and a untimely penalty that killed three drives inside the ten yard line.
Norfolk State is coming off a heartbreaking last minute loss to Bethune Cookman who is on a three-way collision course with both Hampton and Delaware State to see who will reign supreme in the MEAC this season.
A big part of that equation will be settled this weekend when the Pirates and Hornets meet this weekend. The Hornets have stung the Pirates before so this is by no way a “gimme” for Joe Taylor’s 10th ranked Hampton squad.
Coach Alvin "Shine" Wyatt, the most flamboyant coach in all of black college football, is prepping his Wildcats to make a serious run at the championship after simply destroying everyone’s preseason favorite South Carolina State two weeks ago on the road.
As far as the Aggies are concerned, this is probably one of those game that if the Aggies can find a some way to cut their run defense yardage given up figure in half, they might have a chance to pull a real big surprise Saturday afternoon at the annual Fish Bowl.
Although Norfolk took BCC to the 11th hour in a 22-21 nail bite, Now anyone with any common sense would have expected such a tussle since Adrian spent 11 years calling the defense for Wyatt’s team. Think he knows his playbook fairly well?
So after such an emotional game, will the Spartans be a little flat or even overlooking this A&T team picked to be last in the league in 2006 or will they be remembering how they let a victory literally slip through their fingers last year in Greensboro but botching a easy punt catch in their own end zone which turned out to be the winning turnover?
Probably a little bit of both. Expect this game to be interesting for a half or even perhaps even into the fourth quarter before the Spartans wear down a very thin A&T team and blow the thing wide open.
The Aggies will have to wait another week to have a real legitimate shot at gaining that first win. But you can never tell so we play the game. My heart is always with the Aggies but my objective mind says otherwise.
No fun in being logical.
Norfolk State 45
N.C. A&T 20
