Mini Hard Knocks....From Camp to Champ II

The end of the Road

2007-12-12T11:41:00.001-08:00

So it took me a Little while to get over the sting of the loss.

The season ended in the semi finals of the playoffs.
We lost to the undefeated Vikings 7-0. The game was maybe the best defensive game I have ever coached.

The play calling was perfect. The scheme was perfect. Te execution was nearly perfect.

The issue sadly came down to two blown calls by the referees.

The game was tied 0-0 until 3:23 left in them 4th quarter.

The 1st gaff in the 1st quarter was when my FS stripped the ball from the viking runner and ran 45yds for a touchdown, only to have the ref say "Forward motion had been stopped" (Although the play had not been whistled dead until after the strip and my player was 5 yards from the end zone.

Offense was stagnant all day as defense ruled on b oth sides of the ball.

Late in the 4th quarter we lined up to punt and had it blocked, giving the Vikings the ball on out 30yd line. On 3rd and 15....we sacked the QB for a loss and at the last second he lateraled to a RB (Ref blows the whistle inadvertently). The RB is tackled for a two yard loss leaving it 4th and 28. The referee says that due to the inadvertent whistle, we will replay 3rd down. I argued, complained, nearly got tossed. The players were beside themselves and on 3rd and 15 again we gave up a 20 yd run to the 8 yd line. Tack on half the distance to the goal due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the coaching staff, and you can see how the game pretty much ended.

Sad, but this was an amazing team that didnt hit its stride until the end of the year, I look forward to bringing them back for another run next season

The Civil War

2007-10-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Knights Red 12

Knights Gold 0

Knock down, hard fought Game. Offense pounded the ball with Ground control. Ate up clock in the second and 4th quarters with long drives resulting in TDs by our FB Jake. The vaunted Gold Offense, which scored 28 points per game, was shut out and never crossed the 30yd line. Defense collected 3 sacks and limited their "Passing attack" to one completion for 15yds on the last play of the game.

6 in a row

The Gold team was out muscled, out classed, out worked, and out coached by the Red Team.

Next up is a rematch of out 1st game opponent, the 8-0 Vikings. the #1 Seed in the playoffs. I think we are ready for a rematch. Defense has stepped up and offense is clicking. Rather than having all the pressure of the last week (Playing the arch rival gold) we are loose and ready. We need a good week of practice and go out there and fly around

Dont just back into the playoffs...knock the frickin door down

2007-10-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Knights 34-Spartans 24

The Spartans had more to lose and needed a win to get into the playoff hunt, we needed to make a statement. The offense got back on track and out running game. However this game showed the teams character, as they came back from 6-0 1st quarter deficit, and being down 24-20 at halftime. Peyton scored 2tds rushing and Jake had 3 more. The offense had a great 2 minute drive at halftime scoring with 17 seconds left. A fluke TD on a fumble return game the Spartans a 24-20 halftime lead, however they were shut out in the second half.

A big win as the 1st season comes to a close and the second season (post season) begins. In a weird scheduling quirk, we play the Knights in the 1st round. See our teams were split due to size and the other team (Called "Gold"...we are called "Red") and they were placed in a different division. Well as things turned out they went 6-1 and are the #2 seed and we are #3. We scrimmaged them several times during the season at practice and always seemed to get the best of them. I'd say we beat them 12 out of 13 times. Their head coach seems obsessed this week with beating me, even telling some of my parents "We are going to kill you guys Saturday". He scouted the spartan game, marking down every play we ran. (Of course he has seen every play we run in our scrimmages). Well. Almost every play. I may have a few tricks up my sleeve.

Regardless the game will be good for the system because one team for the Knights will advance. Since I am the lower seed, I will be the visiting team. That will be odd if we play at the High School. I'll be on the opposite sideline.

The Pick 6 and the end of 0-8

2007-10-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

So the CP Cougars have always been a thorn in my side. Im 0-8 in my career and things need to change. This week we both enter the game 3-2 with eyes on the playoffs. With my offense putting up 30 points a game I didnt expect a defensive struggle.

The game was a ground out, punch out, hard hitting affair. Teams traded blows around mid field for most of the game. Ian recovered a fumble stopping a Couger drive, and Cal made 2 sacks in the 1st half. One which forced a fumble. We turned that into a short drive and a 6-0 lead with about 2 minutes left before half. Thet drive from thier 40 to our 5 with 2 seconds left before halftime and call timeout. I tell my kids in the huddle to look for a trick play. They pitch to the TB, Eric slams him from DE and forces an errant pass, my Weakside LB (Jake) picks it off at the 4 and races 96yds for a TD with the game clock expired and a 12-0 halftime lead. Its the type of play that changes a season for a defense that has given up 25 points per game (Including 49 in week 2)

The second half offense has pretty much sputtered and stopped. We had a total of 120yds in the whole game. The cougars have driven the field for 1 TD in the 3rd quarter making the score 12-7. After our new punter Eric pins them back at their own 25 with a great punt, they drive 7 yards in three plays, 4th and 3, they call timeout. Deja Vu. I tell Peyton my FS to watch for a quick pass.

Their QB drops to pass, Eric again gets free on a rush and forces a high 5yd out patter, with enough float to have Peyton pick it off and run 36yds for a TD. 19-7. Offense runs out the clock and at 4-2 we earn a spot in the playoff potentials. A win vs the spartans next week and we are in as a #3 seed, a loss means we are probably in, but other things can happen

Back in the Playoff hunt

2007-10-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

It feels good to be above .500. 3-2 after a 38-6 win over the Islanders.

Defense player another superb game, accounting for 5 turnovers, 4 INT's and a Fumble. Peyton picked off 2 (he could have had four but dropped 2 easy ones) CAL even got his second. The biggest was from my Rookie CB Brian, who intercepted his 1st and ran it 55yds to the one.

Offense scored 3 times via the pass, Two passes to Kyle our TE (his 1st career TD's) and One TD to our WR Jason on a Reverse Wingback pass). Jake scored two more TD's (Bringing his season total to 15) and Adam even scored on a 12yd Run as a HB.

Practice this week has been average at best. The team seems to lack fire for this weeks game. Im worried they have become a little complacent after winning 3 in a row. I would normally think a whuppin might do them good, however we dont have any losses to give after our 0-2 start.

The cougars stand ahead of us, sitting at 3-2 and waiting for a showdown. I am 0-8 against the Cougers in my career. This may be the biggest game of all

Back to .500

2007-10-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

The Knights crawled out of an 0-2 hole and evened their record at 2-2 with a 39-19 win over the Eagles. Paced by over 300yds rushing (200 by our FB Jake) the Knights outscored the Eagles in the second half 19-6, widening a 20-12 halftime lead.

The game was the best by the Knights all year. Jake ran all over the Eagles in the 1st half. We even managed to get the ball with a 13-12 lead with 1:41 to go in the half and ran our 1st two minute drill, scoring on a Peyton to Justin TD pass with 45 seconds left. Peyton also had the play of the game in the 4th quarter. With about 3 minutes left we faced a 4th and 1 at the Eagles 45. We ran a QB sneak behind Cal, they read it perfectly and Peyton was knocked back 2 yards into the backfield, kept his balance, ran off the end, broke 3 tackles and ran 45yds for the nail in the coffin TD.

Defense played well and didnt give up any big plays. Cal even made his 1st career Interception off of a screen pass from the Nose Tackle position. Sean had a great game at LB and the defense collected 5 sacks, even with out on of our best DE's out with illness.

This week we play the 0-4 team from the Island. We are going to be aggressive and try to get back into the playoff hunt. The win over the eagles gives us a tiebreaker over them. We play the hated Cougars next week. A team I have never beaten in my 11 years coaching. I am focused and am going to make sure we dont overlook this weeks opponent.

No Mas...No Mas

2007-09-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

So week 3 is in the book and the Knights post a 38-6 win over the Cougars. The game lasted 3 quarters and 2 minutes.

So the Knights took a 25-0 halftime lead. Our changes to the offense, especially the WB worked like a charm. They could not stop Aaron and our Rocket Sweep. He scored 2 TD's of 40yds, has a third TD called back. He ran for about 150yds on 7 carries. Jake ran for about 160 and scored 3TDs. Even our HB ran for about 50yds. (He's mostly a blocking back)

Defense only gave up 1 TD at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, when our second team offense was stopped on 4th down at our own 20. After Jakes third TD put us up 32-6 the Cougars has the ball on our 40 when they ran a halfback option.

This was the weirdest play of the season. 1st our QB and new FS Peyton (also the teams shortest player) leaped high on the overthrow and picked it off at the 22...running it back 78yds for the nail in the coffin TD. 38-6. On the play the defense hit the RB who threw the ball...he was knocked out, on the return the starting and backup QB (playing WR) were knocked out as well. The field looked like a M*A*S*H unit after the INT. The other coach looked at me and said "No more". He didnt have a QB or RB. The game ended 38-6.

I've been teaching the defense the concept of swarming, the example I keep telling them is the USC/WASH Todd Marinovitch game "ALL I SAW WAS PURPLE" . After this game Im sure the Cougars were saying "All I saw was Red"

Big win for the knights. Have to keep the focus this week, as the Eagles at 2-1 come to town.
I've never seen a team not finish a game. This will forever be known as the "No Mas" game.

Weeks One and Two

2007-09-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Well I have been neglecting the updates, and you now know why. The Knights have started the season 0-2, both losses to Playoff Caliber teams. 33-19 in the 1st game and 49-27 in the second. Defense is having issues. Lets get a quick recap

Week One - The Knights fall behind quickly on two long touchdown drives by the Vikings. 14-0. Jake breaks off a beautiful 55yd TD Run with a crushing lead block by the HB, Adam. 14-6. The Score rises to 27-6 by halftime as the Knights Defense has issues stopping the run. Two TDS, A Peyton TD pass and a Sean broken play 60yd TD run on a busted WB pass narrows the score to 27-19 before the Vikings score late. Final 33-19

Week Two. The Steelheads. I didnt think it could get worse. We give up a 60yd TD pass on the 1st play of the game, fall behind 18-12 (Even a TD by Sean on a KO Return). We then give up 5 more TD's and lose the game 49-27. Defense has Breakdown after Breakdown, Coverage mistakes, and poor tackling. The team is really down and practice this week is going to be a bitch.

So some wholesale changes are being made. We are Benching Aaron at FS and moving him to WB. (Sean is making too many mental mistakes at WB) He's taking this move pretty hard. Peyton with now go both ways at FS/QB. I dont want him to get hurt. DL played better and CAL is making some plays at NG. We play the cougars this week. I hate this team from years past. We play them at home and they are 0-2 as well playing both the teams we played. They have a combined 7 points in those 2 games. I need defense to play its heart out this week. Maybe our 1st home game mixed in with the changes will help.

Offense has looked good and both out running and passing games are clicking. Unfortunatley I need to weaken the offense to shore up the defense. Lets hope the balance works

Camp Week 2 and Jamboree

2007-08-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

Practice
Week 2 went into the books with mostly prep for the Jamboree. Getting a few plays to run and run correctly is the main purpose. Not to show to much, but to at least see how the kids to vs a different team. It is also the 1st opportunity to get the full defense together. Practice during the week was good, we got some players back from vacation. One of them, Brian looks like he will be my solid #2 cornerback. He made some big plays during practice, especially on run support.
Personally I dont show much during Jamboree since they are scouted. also dont mind a good butt whuppin as it usually get the kids more focused. Jordan is coming along as my Mike LB. Kyle is showing too much hesitation as the Will.
So far the defense stacks up like this
LB's
WillLB Kyle
MikeLB- Jordan
SamLB- Jake
DTs Jeremy and Isaiah
DE's Sean and Eric
FS Aaron
CB's- two rookies, Ian and Brian

The Jamboree
The first time the team dons the Scarlet and Gold. they look like CRAP in pregame warmups. Not awake, not hitting and no excitement. I throw up beforehand as I usually do before any game, so my nerves are shot. Good thing today doesnt count.

1st Offensive Series. TEAM 1
We drive from the 40 yard line down to the 10. A good solid 4-5 yards a pop. My FB fumbles the ball inside the 10. It will be a long day.
2nd Offensive series
We drive from the 40 to the one and score on a QB Sneak. Nothing looks better than little Peyton sneaking behind big Cal
3rd and 4th offensive series. We drive 15-20 yards each time. Passing looks poor, but we are getting good 4-5YPC

The 1st 2 defensive series went great vs TEAM 1. We stopped them cold on all run and pass plays and even forced and recovered 2 fumbles.
The third series they broke a 35 yrd run on a missed tackle and scored on 4th down run inside the 5.
The 4th series included another missed tackle on 3rd and long from the 42 with a long TD run. Still a good defensive performance overall.

Team 2 was the defending League champions. For some reason I wasnt as impressed with them. Offensively we moved the ball well include a great 30yd catch from my WR Jason. 3 Drives ended with fumbles. They didnt stop us, we beat ourselves

Defense looked awesome against the run. No gains on any of their 20 plays. Then their QB lit us up on two deep passes for TD's (Both with my Backup FS in the game, he bit both plays on the shorter patters, leaving the deep man one on one)

All in all the team looked good. Our mistakes were our own, and it looks like with one week left of camp and our 1st game week prep, we should be ready for the Vikings in Week one

Camp, Week 1

2007-08-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

So week one of training camp is in the books. Hours of tacking and blocking drills, tons of agility. The team is starting to shape up and come together.An odd fact of this season is that no one wants to play Quarterback. However it looks like last years Backup QB has the edge on this years job. He has really stepped up as a leader, and with a name like Peyton, he has the credentials
One of the most interesting players has to be Cal. At the tender age of 10, Cal is 5'7 155lbs And not fat. Solid, Quick and dwarfs every other player on the team (and maybe the league)Cal is an immovable object. He thus far cannot be blocked and is a plow at blocking
In a Sumo type blocking event (blocking out of a circle) both sides ended with a tie and the teams chose one player as a sudden death playoff. Cal was chosen and easily defeated Peyton. Choosing a rookie was an odd move for any team.
We are in the process early in the season of breaking down position, finding our backfield and sizing up some positions for the defense
The blocking looks good, tackling needs some work

The 1st post of the 2007 Season

2007-08-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Knights 2007 story.

Inspired by the HBO special "Hard Knocks" I decided as the head coach of the 2007 Red Squad I would keep an ongoing blog of the season, starting from camp and hopefully ending with a championship.

Camp officially starts on August 15th and the season runs to Thanksgiving. I will keep ongoing weekly update of the team progress, issues, depth charts, position battles and anything else happening with the team.

Last Names have been ommited to protect the innocent.

The coaching Staff consists of the following

Coach Jeff - 11 year head coach, Defensive coordinator. Creator of the Newport Gambler 46 (Inspired by Coach Callende)

Coach Ryan- 7 year assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and dubbed "Rain Man" by coach Jeff

Coach Jonathan.- Has son Adam on team, will be QB and Backfield Coach

Coach Gerald- Has son Peyton on team (Peyton wants to be QB) He is new to the staff. I am unsure what his strengths are.

Coach Jim. His son Jake is on the team. Jake was last years fullback. Jim will be assisting me with the defense.

I feel like I have a great staff put together. The team consists currently of 23 players. Last year this group went 7-1 and went to the playoffs, winning its 1st game but losing the conference Championship. I feel a little like Norv Turner, inheriting a team that seems to only have 1 step forward to take, but could take two steps back.