Post by PAmedic on Nov 16, 2005 12:30:03 GMT -5
this will be an ongoing thread- 'til next fall, but here's the initial thoughts- courtesy of our guy CHRIS:
Where did Flames football fail?
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 16, 2005
Liberty University's 2005 football season started in September with promise and some bawdy talk of Big South championships and Division I-AA playoff berths.
Instead, the season has been a nightmare of blowout losses and blown games.
So where did everything go wrong for the Flames? It's hard to pinpoint just one problem area.
From seniors not playing up to expectations, the early failings in the running game and the awful play of Liberty's field-goal kickers, the season has been miserable from the start.
Liberty's struggles against Concord, a Division II team which finished 4-7, in the season opener should have been a tip off that the Flames' season would be a struggle.
They trailed that game 6-0 at halftime and didn't take the lead until late in the third quarter. They won 17-6, marking the last time they were on the winning end of a final score.
The Flames have lost nine straight games since in every fashion.
They went three weeks without scoring, surrendering more than 40 points in all three routs. They hit a goal post on a 28-yard field goal attempt that would have sent the VMI game into overtime. They blew fourth-quarter leads against Coastal Carolina, Chattanooga and Charleston Southern.
"I've coached a long time and I've played a long time," Liberty coach Ken Karcher said. "It's definitely been one of the most unique years I've been around."
Several key factors contributed to this swoon. A quick recap:
Senior Kevin Inge was a preseason All-Big South pick at left guard, but he hurt his knee in the preseason and never regained confidence in his play once he returned. At one point, he fell completely off LU's two-deep.
"That's been very disappointing for us and very disappointing for Kevin," Karcher said. "I almost want to say it's a head thing. He hasn't played well, and he'll be the first to tell you that. Why he has not played well, he can't tell us the answer.
"It's probably lack of confidence in himself. That's the best way I can describe it. He's a better player than he probably thinks he is."
Other seniors made too many mistakes. C.J. Moore failed to cover his man on a Charleston Southern fake punt attempt. Brock Farrel made bad reads on pass plays and threw crippling interceptions. Jared Brogden was used as a punching bag by opposing pass offenses. Chris Green took a knee at the 1-yard line on a kickoff when no one was within 10 yards of him.
"Those are things that you go crazy about as a coach if a freshman makes them," Karcher said. "But as a senior, you can't have it happen. There are no excuses. It doesn't mean they're bad kids. But as a senior, you can't make those mistakes."
The run game didn't develop quick enough. The unfortunate by-product of losses to UConn, Youngstown State and William & Mary, in which LU was outscored 157-0, was that Liberty played from behind so much that it took nearly a month to figure out that the Marcus Hamilton-Rajive Otah tandem in the backfield simply wasn't going to work.
Once those two struggled again in the loss to VMI, Karcher made the decision to move quarterback Zach Terrell to tailback. It's easy to look back and say the move should have been made earlier, but Karcher cautioned against that judgment.
"When we recruited him, we told (Terrell) he'd play quarterback, and he wanted a chance at quarterback," Karcher said.
Too many players simply waffled at making key plays at key times. In other words, the Flames consistently failed in the clutch.
Against Chattanooga, Ben Beasley missed a field goal that would have given the Flames a 10-point cushion in the fourth quarter. LU failed to score in three overtime possessions against Coastal Carolina. The Flames blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead at Charleston Southern with seniors making mistakes on key plays.
"I don't know. It may be a lack of focus for some guys. Maybe it's a mental thing," LU linebacker Manny Rojas said after the Charleston Southern game. "To pinpoint certain things, I couldn't tell you."
Put those factors together, and this could be the worst season in the program's 33-year history. A loss Saturday at Norfolk State would give LU its first 10-loss season.
Despite losing four conference games by a combined 15 points, it's been a miserable ride for the Flames.
"You are what your record is. I'm not na?ve about this," Karcher said. "But we've had every chance in the world, and we can be sitting here 4-0 in the Big South and 6-4 (overall). Everybody that's watched the games knows this."
Where did Flames football fail?
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
November 16, 2005
Liberty University's 2005 football season started in September with promise and some bawdy talk of Big South championships and Division I-AA playoff berths.
Instead, the season has been a nightmare of blowout losses and blown games.
So where did everything go wrong for the Flames? It's hard to pinpoint just one problem area.
From seniors not playing up to expectations, the early failings in the running game and the awful play of Liberty's field-goal kickers, the season has been miserable from the start.
Liberty's struggles against Concord, a Division II team which finished 4-7, in the season opener should have been a tip off that the Flames' season would be a struggle.
They trailed that game 6-0 at halftime and didn't take the lead until late in the third quarter. They won 17-6, marking the last time they were on the winning end of a final score.
The Flames have lost nine straight games since in every fashion.
They went three weeks without scoring, surrendering more than 40 points in all three routs. They hit a goal post on a 28-yard field goal attempt that would have sent the VMI game into overtime. They blew fourth-quarter leads against Coastal Carolina, Chattanooga and Charleston Southern.
"I've coached a long time and I've played a long time," Liberty coach Ken Karcher said. "It's definitely been one of the most unique years I've been around."
Several key factors contributed to this swoon. A quick recap:
Senior Kevin Inge was a preseason All-Big South pick at left guard, but he hurt his knee in the preseason and never regained confidence in his play once he returned. At one point, he fell completely off LU's two-deep.
"That's been very disappointing for us and very disappointing for Kevin," Karcher said. "I almost want to say it's a head thing. He hasn't played well, and he'll be the first to tell you that. Why he has not played well, he can't tell us the answer.
"It's probably lack of confidence in himself. That's the best way I can describe it. He's a better player than he probably thinks he is."
Other seniors made too many mistakes. C.J. Moore failed to cover his man on a Charleston Southern fake punt attempt. Brock Farrel made bad reads on pass plays and threw crippling interceptions. Jared Brogden was used as a punching bag by opposing pass offenses. Chris Green took a knee at the 1-yard line on a kickoff when no one was within 10 yards of him.
"Those are things that you go crazy about as a coach if a freshman makes them," Karcher said. "But as a senior, you can't have it happen. There are no excuses. It doesn't mean they're bad kids. But as a senior, you can't make those mistakes."
The run game didn't develop quick enough. The unfortunate by-product of losses to UConn, Youngstown State and William & Mary, in which LU was outscored 157-0, was that Liberty played from behind so much that it took nearly a month to figure out that the Marcus Hamilton-Rajive Otah tandem in the backfield simply wasn't going to work.
Once those two struggled again in the loss to VMI, Karcher made the decision to move quarterback Zach Terrell to tailback. It's easy to look back and say the move should have been made earlier, but Karcher cautioned against that judgment.
"When we recruited him, we told (Terrell) he'd play quarterback, and he wanted a chance at quarterback," Karcher said.
Too many players simply waffled at making key plays at key times. In other words, the Flames consistently failed in the clutch.
Against Chattanooga, Ben Beasley missed a field goal that would have given the Flames a 10-point cushion in the fourth quarter. LU failed to score in three overtime possessions against Coastal Carolina. The Flames blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead at Charleston Southern with seniors making mistakes on key plays.
"I don't know. It may be a lack of focus for some guys. Maybe it's a mental thing," LU linebacker Manny Rojas said after the Charleston Southern game. "To pinpoint certain things, I couldn't tell you."
Put those factors together, and this could be the worst season in the program's 33-year history. A loss Saturday at Norfolk State would give LU its first 10-loss season.
Despite losing four conference games by a combined 15 points, it's been a miserable ride for the Flames.
"You are what your record is. I'm not na?ve about this," Karcher said. "But we've had every chance in the world, and we can be sitting here 4-0 in the Big South and 6-4 (overall). Everybody that's watched the games knows this."