Thoughts

[Coach MC]

First, that was a really exciting game. Not the cleanest performance by either team and there were no amazing athletic plays being made, but just a tough back and forth slugfest that went right down to the last play. Like some of the more recent games, with maybe even a little more suspense. I have said many times when these two teams get together, throw out the records and whatever is going on with each program. Anything can happen. I thought we were definitely the better team, and the game was a little closer than it needed to be, but that's what these games are about. The national significance, the ceremony, the fact that so many alums and dignitaries are in attendance and the game itself, it was a perfect day of football. If you watch the teams run on the field, the flyovers, the invocation, etc and are not inspired by that, then not sure anything can motivate you.

Make no mistake, all our flaws notwithstanding, this Army team was markedly better over the last half of the season than the beginning. To the point where I would say had we made a bowl, not a whole lot of G5 teams would have wanted to play us, and maybe a few high majors too. While I'm really disappointed we didn't handle business in the regular season and get that bowl berth, there were a lot of good things to take away from the year, especially the Air Force and Navy wins and the CIC trophy. This season was difficult on so many levels: roughest schedule in recent memory, at least four games in a row against bowl teams, and several games played in adverse weather conditions. All while implementing a new offense.

Bryson Daily is one tough kid. He runs hard, makes no excuses, and is a leader. You need tough, durable QBs who run with attitude and dish out as much punishment as they receive to play in a run based option offense. The guys who play dinged up and play the same way week after week. Bradshaw played like that. He has some things to work on, but I think we are in good hands with this kid moving forward. Just have to develop some backups. Our backs run hard and don't waste time going east and west. Defense has answered the bell the second half of the year, particularly in the takeaway department. Ciarlo and Lowin were very solid, Hammonds has been strong all year and while I thought DiDomenico left some plays on the field this season, he was very good against Navy. Fortner has the looks of a star in the making and could continue the tradition of great Army LBs. Moretzki continued to improve each season and 12 of 14 FGs is a great stat. Overall, our kids were resilient and really showed great character down the stretch of this season. This year could have gone off the rails, and they didn't let that happen.

I did continue to yell at the television Saturday, which has been a recurring theme this year. We do some things that just defy explanation at times. Why do we continue to give enormous cushions to receivers, and allow those quick short throws. The whole rush 3 and drop 8 in zone thing has never worked for us because we don't get proper depth in drops and cover boundary. And QBs who can layer throws at different levels have hurt us. But Navy was no threat to throw downfield, so jump the short routes. Or play press man, disrupt receivers at the LOS and bring 4 or 5 rushers. They ran the same thing darn near every play for those last two drives and the fact that there were zero adjustments made was really disappointing. Even Gary Danielson was pleading for something to be done. The fact they tried a QB sneak from 2 yards out was really questionable, otherwise this game could have gotten even crazier.

The offensive play calling continues to be mystifying. Too much insistence on throwing the ball at times, putting us behind the chains. And on really short yardage downs, staying in the gun doesn't make sense.
I also thought that despite being a consistent player and a Ross Tucker favorite, Finucane really struggled this game. 2 or 3 false start penalties, and on one play that was blown up in the backfield, he never got out of his stance. The ball carrier was tackled, and he literally was still in his stance looking back to see what happened. He never got off the ball. If it was any other team, it would have been funny. Also, the punter Allen has struggled all year long. The inconsistency is really noticeable and poor punts have hurt us in crucial moments this year. Not sure if it's mechanics or what, but we should have had a backup in place just in case. The way we play, field position is often a crucial issue and not being able to flip the field just can't be part of the equation.

I think there is a lot to build on, but where to start? Will it be under center, operate out of the gun, or a combination of both? We lose 33 seniors I believe, many of whom have played crucial roles. But so many returnees have been starters or at least part of the two deep and gotten valuable reps in important spots. We also return our QB and a lot of talent in the skill position group. The key will be improving both lines. Everything for us begins on the line of scrimmage and the ability to move people in the run game offensively and stop the run defensively. Moving to a conference will be more daunting, but I think we can compete with a lot of those teams as it is structured right now. Will be really interesting to see how the off season goes.

[USMAPAFAN]

I don’t agree that we were that much better in the second half of the season. Our second half record was 4-2 so that was better. We didn’t score a point against LSU, lost to Umass and barely beat Holy Cross. We got a gift from AF and beat CC when we reverted to an under center offense. Then we beat Navy in a nail biter.

I was super happy we beat AF but we have to stop showcasing that win as something that was dominant. It wasn’t. We were handed that win on a silver platter and AF will probably never give us that many turnovers again.

[Coach MC]

Come on. Air Force and Coastal were solid wins, they were no gifts. BC barely beat Holy Cross. Navy win is a Navy win. No excuse for UMass loss. But you seem to have an excuse for every win. 4-2 is a darn good second half, especially considering we could have packed it in.

[wpgrad]

Come on. Air Force and Coastal were solid wins, they were no gifts. BC barely beat Holy Cross. Navy win is a Navy win. No excuse for UMass loss. But you seem to have an excuse for every win. 4-2 is a darn good second half, especially considering we could have packed it in.

Spot on. ‘An excuse for every win.’

How about “we held Air Force to 3 points and 150 yards rushing.”

All this board chatter about how awesome AF was, how THEY can still run option, THEY execute, some vaunted coach does a video talking about how great navy and Af are and how army sucks and has no coaching and a few folks on here use it as gospel……and then we beat them both…..and now it was because navy sucks and AF gifted us

[kfan12]

I don’t agree that we were that much better in the second half of the season. Our second half record was 4-2 so that was better. We didn’t score a point against LSU, lost to Umass and barely beat Holy Cross. We got a gift from AF and beat CC when we reverted to an under center offense. Then we beat Navy in a nail biter.

I was super happy we beat AF but we have to stop showcasing that win as something that was dominant. It wasn’t. We were handed that win on a silver platter and AF will probably never give us that many turnovers again.

It is gonna be ok. I think everyone understands there are folks who can't stand winning or losing while the offense isn't what they want it to be. It is ok that Army won Saturday anyway, right? Can't be too disappointed that Army won the last four even though only in one game the offense was under center.

The second half of the season was much better, largely because we got the turnover bug a lot more under control.

Think we are fortunate Air Force wanted Army to win that game and have their lowest point total of the season. Our guys got to stay home, rest and get ready for Holy Cross.

Probably worth thinking about whether we win that Coastal Carolina game if they'd known for even two weeks that Army would be playing under center. A game that was decided by a blocked punt, not by Army outscoring them on offense.

....

Great write up. Thank You. I think Daily’s growth this season focused as much on what not to do in the passing game than anything else. He seemed to reduce the number of forced/errant throws a bit as the season went on.

Probably could have thrown three or four less passes in the second half, but they seemed pretty critical in the first half in loosening up the Navy D.