From someone who was tied up and couldn't watch, the Maine highlight video features a ko return to our own 27, includes at least 1 W&M play of 5 yards or less, and is overwhelmingly dominated by stellar defensive plays. I believe that sums up our season to date.

I enjoyed seeing Caskin back, a downfield completion 9along with a few short throws), and Funderburke moving a pile of defenders on offense, along with the fake punt. The defensive highlights were many. Bill Murray's sack was awesome.

I'm disappointed I'll miss UNH, but I'm looking forward to seeing Towson. Onward and upward.

I couldn't agree more with the shift from offensive focus to defensive focus that seemed to take place when Bob Shoop was here and has continued since. I agree with the statement that defense wins championships, but offense puts butts in seats. Coach Holtz said the same in 1971.

This pretty much says it all:

Players of the Week from Maine game

Defense - DT Bill Murray
Special Teams - P Will Michael

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Ouch.

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(10-29-2017 10:49 PM)Rocco Wrote:  

(10-29-2017 09:39 PM)ttgwm02 Wrote:  

(10-29-2017 07:46 PM)TribePride91 Wrote:  I might be wrong, but in 30 years of watching Tribe football, I think the line of demarcation was 2009. Up until that time, I remember being the Tribe being very innovative on offense nearly all of the time and able to score 30 points very often. The 2009 defense was so dominant, even from the first game that it caused our offense plan to go conservative. It might be argued that we were so conservative that we lost both to Richmond and to Villanova in the playoffs that season by not attacking the defenses enough. I myself was so stunned at the total quality of the season's defense that I could hardly second-guess the strategy at the time. We were a converted fake punt from a likely national title that year in large part to the defense. However, The offense was very capable with Archer, a good line, Grimes, Varno and good WR's.

2010 saw more conservative play offensively, including the game at UNC where we failed to score after halftime and the Homecoming game which ended in a 17-16 classic against Delaware. Again, we had a great defense with a great defensive coach, but we also had good players on offense including Grimes, Callahan and Paulus. The defensive puzzle was solved by Ga Southern(or perhaps we just could not stop them). But, the defense was very good. Since 2010, we have had only 1 year with a defense close to that team(2013). The offense has been in steady decline since that time. 2015 with Cluely, Abdul-Saboor, McBride and Kendall Anderson is the one exception. That year, the defense was not nearly as good in many spots(as shown by the over 40 points it gave up 3 times in the final 6 weeks).

But, we had no stability at QB from 2011 until Cluely in 2015. Last year, Cluely struggled some, but so did the defense especially against the run. The 2-9 years(2012, possibly this year) we had a weak offense with no stability at QB. It is very, very difficult to win in FCS when you cannot throw the football. This is not a criticism of any of our QB's from 2009-2017, we are young and inexperienced this year and we were in 2012 thanks to a rash of injuries at the QB position which this Board has discussed before. For me, the biggest concern is that offense sells. I agree with Rocco that defense is vital to actual winning(both in football and basketball), but if the offense is boring and fails to score(or even move the ball), fans lose patience fast. There are many P5 school fans frustrated with the lack of offense too. But, I would imagine that it is much worse for the coaches and players. I think they will be significantly better next season. I do feel bad for the seniors, but that is always the case whenever you have a rough season. If the offense shows as much improvement in 2018 as the defense did in 2017, we will be competing for the title next season(assuming we have good special teams as well). But, the offense for football has a longer way to go than the defense for basketball. I never thought I would say that. From a fan's perspective only, I feel the basketball team has an offense that is exciting and gives us a chance to win. Even when we lose(like against UNCW in the tourney last year), it is still very entertaining. But, to reach a championship level, you almost always need both ends of the floor(or sides of the ball) playing at a high level. It also helps to have some luck and a call or two. If we can see it, you know they already do and are working to get it turned around. Hopefully, we will be patient with our young basketball squad.

I agree with this completely. The 09 offense had an NFL-caliber quarterback, am NFL running back, four great receivers, two great tight ends and one of the most athletic tackles we ever had. Coach became very conservative even when injuries (Pradhanag, O'Brien, Robertson) thinned the defensive depth. He plays 80s Laycock ball that year we win the NC. Archer was really good. I look back at some of his throws and think we really missed our chance. Things have not gotten better since. The only QB that really gave me hope was Ortiz; Cluley never really seemed to have the full package. Callahan was consistent but did not have a big league arm; Paulus suffered under Williamsburg's equivalent of a witch doctor. Know Im incurring the wrath of Rocco hete, but I felt Ortiz had huge upside.

Ortiz's upside was Steve Cluley.

Disagree. Ortiz was bigger, faster and had a stronger arm.

(10-30-2017 09:52 PM)ttgwm02 Wrote:  

(10-29-2017 10:49 PM)Rocco Wrote:  Ortiz's upside was Steve Cluley.

Disagree. Ortiz was bigger, faster and had a stronger arm.

They were the same height. Ortiz was a little heavier- it's unclear if he was weighed while wearing his shoulder harness.

Cluley: 6'3, 215 lbs
Ortiz: 6'3, 225 lbs.

Ortiz also had negative pocket presence and thought he could cross the line of scrimmage then tag back up and throw downfield. His numbers in 2012 were pretty similar to Cluley's in 2014- lower completion percentage, marginally higher YPA, similar efficiency ratings. Both had big arms but didn't always hit their underneath passes. If Ortiz had stayed healthy he'd have been coached by Rogers, made better decisions and put up similar numbers to what Cluley put up before the brain parasite in 2016 that rendered him incapable of distinguishing colors or whatever it was that caused all the INTs.