GAHS FOOTBALL 2012

[JLHWSSGGAHS]

We should have won a couple more games last year, but we lost a few games because our playing calling and game preparation sucked. In year 4, Eddy needs to get this team into the playoffs and competing for a league Championship. I honestly feel, the past 3 years had enough talent that they should have made it into the playoffs. And I may get critized for saying this, but oh well. I think the previous staffs under Saunders and Boko would have gotten those teams into the playoffs. Please don't get me wrong, I wish nothing but the best for these kids and want to see them have success on the field and in life. So no matter what I am going to Cheer them on to victory.

[GAHS83]

Eddy has had 4 years to get this team vying for a league championship, and into the playoff's. I personally feel that the previous coaching staffs would have had the teams of the past 3 years, competing for the opportunity to win the league and get into the playoffs. So I ask, what is different between Eddy's Staff and the previous Coaching Staffs of Saunders and Boko? From my perspective, the previous staffs were excellent at using the strengths of their players, and putting them in situations to excel. In high school you must be able to adjust your scheme to the personel you have, and that is the big question mark I have on Eddy. Yes the players seem to respond well to him and work hard for him, but if you are not making the decisions to set them up for success, then everything else is irrelevent. I am very curious how Eddy's new staff will work out. Will they be able to make the adjustments necessary? Please do not get me wrong, I want nothing but the best for GAHS this fall and hope they win everything, but I am spectical because of the high standards that was set under Coach Saunders and previous staffs.

I thought that Coach Eddy's teams have been very prepared from a physical standpoint. I like what he has done in terms of strength and conditioning and I also think that the defense has been prepared in most games.

From an offensive standpoint, we've fallen woefully short. You can point to two years ago how many points we scored, but I firmly believe that most of that offense just came from us "out-athleting" the other teams. In the games we lost that year, the teams focused on taking Wilson out of the game and we weren't able to adjust.

Last year, we completely refused to adapt the offense to the strength of the team. We weren't fast and we didn't have the personnel to throw the ball without some kind of play action and just refused to line up in two tight ends and run between the tackles until we were sure nothing else would work. I'm convinced that our offense gameplanning and inability to make any offensive adjustments cost us three games last year. The only team that I though was obviously better than us was Jackson.

[kvnchambers]

I disagree about play calling costing us 3 games last year. In the Athens game this team just could not take advantage of the opportunities it was given. And i believe that it was almost all execution. In the Ironton game, i believe the running game was opened up by the way we stayed committed to the pass if we would of just of caught 2 or 3 of the 10 or more passes that hit people in the hands or face mask we would of kept drives alive and that game would of been ours. To me all execution. The Logan game i don't think it would of made a difference what we would of called as a team we just did not show up that night. The same was true for the chillicothie game a year earlier.

Last year i think this team truly lacked quality skill players ready to perform on every down. we seemed to have one. This year what might be this teams biggest asset is the lack of a superstar. I think we have a lot of above average skill people so we will be able to spread the ball around.

I thought last years team had a lot of great young men that were willing to work hard. I think they lacked a little bit of leadership though. Even though i am talking about a group of kids that most of i would be proud if mine turned out as well, it didn't seem like they rallied around each other well when they were up against the wall. It seemed to me that this team was to quick to point a finger instead of picking the kid up and supporting him. Now this is from a total outside perspective that could be totally wrong just my opinion.

[superblue]

I have to agree with 83's assessment of last years team. Past coaching staffs were great at making halftime adjustments. Last year it seemed we ran the same plays over & over again hoping they would eventually work. I also believe the I-town loss took its toll on the team. I still believe if we hand the ball to Taylor between the tackles, we win the game. That's all history now.. Need to get away from our smorgasbord offense. We run multiple schemes and are not very good at it. Choose an offensive scheme and stick with it.

I like KV's spin on next years team. Not saying I agree, but I like it....LOL.... Not picking on ya KV but how many quality skill players did we have last year? By your answer are ya saying we had only one? If so, where are we getting a lot of above average skill people next year??? I kind of understand your point about not having a superstar. Been to a lot of state championship games the last 20 years and every team that wins a state title usually has a superstar or two. Not sure what you are calling a superstar player.. Just hard for me to understand how not having a superstar could be an asset..... Let me take a Quote from you last post and apply it to myself, " Now this is from a total outside perspective that could be totally wrong.".....LOL X 2.....

[bevo]

Should have decent speed,maybe lack some size this year
What does the rest of the Seoal look like

[kvnchambers]

No problem superblue, this is all about having a little fun on here. I did not reread my post so maybe i didn't say it properly. What i thought my post said is we had one skill player who was ready to go on every play. Not that the other one's were not skilled or talented but that they all seemed to take some plays off or not be prepared to give 100% each play. Now i do think that was partially the coaches fault. when you call that high of percentage of plays to one player or one option then the other players are not really ready when there number is called. The prior year Wilson got a lot of touches but so did a lot of other players compared to last year. I can't remember when it was last year but Taylor had to come out of game with a shoulder or something. We looked like we had no one ready for that and had no offense.

I think this years team we may lack a player to center are offense around such as a Wilson or a Taylor but i think as a whole the 5 or 6 people getting touches this year are more equal and maybe a little more explosive then last season. I think they kind of have a nice problem to have.

Now i could be wrong when you have a group that appears to me like this group appears to me you have one of 2 things. You have quite a bit and depth and talent or you have a lot of mediocre players i am choosing to believe it is choice A.

I think the big question will be the offensive line. I don't think these guys are going to be able to just line up and blow people off the ball. They don't appear big enough. So they are going to really have to execute schemes correctly to open holes. i think they are strong but if we go against really big fronts execution will be key.

And once again i can be totally wrong, When i go to a varsity football game i spend as much time keeping track of my younger girls in the stands and hanging out with their friends to make sure their safe and out of trouble as i do watching every play on the field. I know much more about any college or pro game i watch because there i see all of every play and i am not distracted. It is why i can tell you more about any away game or jv or freshmen game i scene last year then a varsity game because the girls stayed at home those nights. i.e. that is my excuse if the team makes me look like an idiot this year!!! ha! ha!.

[superblue]

Nice breakdown KV.... So if I understand ya we will have an offense by committee this year...LOL... Our Soph QB did a descent job last year and gained a lot of experience. Anytime you have a returning QB to run the offense it usually turns out to be a positive... With multiple players getting touches on offense the play calling could determine how effective this offense will be.. Brandon also holds most of the field goal records and will be missed on our special teams...

[kvnchambers]

Actually i think offense by committee is a pretty good way to describe it. Of course it is still early and who knows what team will look like by late August. I think the team had a pretty good team camp at RIo there were approximately 55 boys there and i know we had a few missing that will definitely play this fall. I think we will be more personnel by set is the way i would see it.

I think when we go to power formations we are going to have some guys in there that will not be in there when we spread it out. At least i hope so. But if you guys are right and this staff is not great at matching play calling to team strength then i could be totally wrong. We have some guys that i think will be able to get outside this year. But those same guys may not be great between the tackle runners.

As far as quarterback goes, i am hoping last year was a growing year for him and we do see real progression. I think a lot of times last year on read plays we did not make the correct read but that comes from experience and feel and you only get that by playing.

[superblue]

Tell me something about the Rio camp... Is this something new? Did we do this last year? Were other teams present? How long was the camp? How much did it cost? Reason I ask is that we were headed to cow town and saw a sign at Rio stating that the dorms were open for the football campers....

[kvnchambers]

Rio camp is something they started when coach Eddy came, so i guess they have done it for 4 years. I think the cost is $75.00. They use 3 of their 10 days of summer coaching. As far as on the field stuff goes they basically put in the base offense and defense and then run a ton of drills with the kids and work on a lot of technique. They also break down and have position meetings and do a lot of stuff.

They also have guest speakers come in and talk to them about various things. But what the camp is, is a bonding opportunity for the team. It is my understanding no cars no cell phones for the 3 days. Seniors room with sophomores and freshmen room with juniors to get the kids to hang out with people they would not normally hang out with.

If you go to the blue devil facebook page it gives some comments and a few pictures. I had the opportunity to watch most of one of the practices on day two. It was pretty intense. I also had the opportunity to hang out with the team for a little while on the night of day 2 after the last practice as i was one of the parents helping to provide their after practice meal that evening. It was sort of neat to watch them all hang out as a team.

This years theme i think was chain-ged. Not sure exactly what it all means. I guess sometime i think maybe the second night or last morning the seniors all got up and coach had them go through their strengths and weaknesses. I think as an example of their strong and weak links. I guess the kids were very forth coming and honest and it was an emotional time for players and coaches.

I think it is a pretty cool idea. It really sets the tone for them for summer before vacations, fairs and all the summer distraction starts. But i think the biggest thing is the bonding though. i think the kids that have been through this 4 years and the coaching staff all get that this is year 4 and they have high expectations for themselves

The most impressive part to me was on the field and at night when i scene them was no egos and i did not see anyone resting on their laurels or looking like they had been through it a bunch of times and just going through the motions and when someone was having a problem with a technique or doing something wrong there were 2 or 3 other boys jumping in and showing them the right way.

Maybe they always look and feel this way when they leave camp. Wasn't around the team much last year as it was my boys first year ever playing football as a freshmen. Honestly when he went to camp i don't think he knew the difference between offense and defense so he had a big learning curve. But i think as a team they will perform well. but the question will remain if the talent and experience is there.

[superblue]

Sounds like a great camp for the kids. Hopefully it will pay benefits this coming season.. Only one thing I would dispute about the camp...There is NO WAY high school students can go 3 days without a cell phone.....LOL..... I bet that rule was violated a few times.... Are you aloud to divulge what kind of offense we will be running this year.. Hopefully no more Wing-Tee....

[kvnchambers]

superblue i will only say 2 things on that subject first is, this is the first year that camp was not called wing-t camp. Maybe that means absolutely nothing this year it was simply called rio camp. Secondly the playbook is thicker then last years. I have to say last year i never opened his playbook so i cannot tell you what differences are at all. Besides that i don't believe it would be my place to say what formations or plays or sets are in it. I can tell he is a little bit more ready to go because this year he has me asking him what his assignments are on each play and i have been helping him learn them

[galliagrad89]

If this means anything or not the OC is RVs former HC.

[superblue]

If it wasn't called the wing-tee camp, that is a good thing... Wasn't asking you do divulge any top secrets about our offense.. I understand your position as a parent but was just looking for a generic comment about our offense... As far as the playbook being bigger than last year, to me that is a bad thing..... Big play books lead to confusion among high school athletes, not enough time to learn and execute that many plays... Keep it small & simple.... JMO....

[superblue]

If this means anything or not the OC is RVs former HC.

I have no problem with this.... Just because he didn't have much success at RV doesn't mean he can't be an effective OC.... I have met this person a couple of times and think he will do a descent job...

[galliagrad89]

I hope so but time will tell.

[91blue14]

i was in his football meeting and he said they are running the WING T. i know that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy superblue.

[superblue]

i was in his football meeting and he said they are running the WING T. i know that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy superblue.

Thanks for the update 91... We may not have an offense but we sure have some neat slogans for our team.... Ring the Bell, Pound the Rock, Fist Up, and Chain Gang, not many schools can claim that...LOL... Sounds like we are headed for another season of the smorgasbord offense.... Wonder what the role will be for the Offensive coordinator.... Will he really call the plays or just make suggestions to the Head man, and then the head man will make the call... Didn't Coach Eddy come from the Big Red of Parkersburg.... Wonder if they ran the Wing -Tee????? I would bet NO, but its only West Virginia Football and who knows....

[seoal83]

I don't know if it is parkersburg or parkersburg south but one of them does run the wing =t. I don't really see what your guys problem is with the wing-t. It is the core of most offenses out there. Most teams that run the pistol. Run it with wing=t concepts and blocking. I just don't get it. What offense do you think they should be running? A team can score 30 to 40 points a game running wing-t just as easy as any other offense. When this team had multiple weapons in 2010 look at points it put up. This offense does not work if it is going to be a one man show. several Ohio teams made the playoffs running the wing-t so it works in Ohio football also.

[superblue]

"several Ohio teams made the playoffs running the wing-t so it works in Ohio football also." Really??? Approx 720 schools field football teams in Ohio... How many top notch programs in Ohio run this offense.... If it such a great offensive scheme tell me how many major college and pro teams run it? You know 83, I may be completely wrong about the wing tee, maybe it is a great offense... But why hasn't it worked for us... Don't say it worked in 2010, there were other reasons we scored many points that year... Maybe its the play calling and overall coaching strategy, maybe we just don't have the personal to run it or maybe its just not suited for us....