Tough times for the Bulldogs indeed. I kind of think they were fortunate not to play St X this year.

 

Ballard also seems to have righted the ship a bit.

Why is Male down? I haven't followed them this year.

Ballard was without any coach from December until March, part of that time they were doing "the mating dance of the stork" with Bob Redman. The new coach, Jackson, is introducing a new offensive system (spread) that is new to him, too. He said the first 5 games would be "ugly", actually the first 4 were. The team has some talent, particularly on the skilled side. New QB (sophomore) seems to be improving.

Why is Male down? I haven't followed them this year.

QB, or lack of an effective one.

I agree. Look at the difference the Seneca QB has made for them.

Coach J,

 

Great win, it will be a tussle next Friday, good luck!!!!

How is Male's district seeding going to play out?

I wonder if Ballard is the 'Bean' team this year.

 

(NERD ALERT: This is likely a very obscure reference. In the Orsen Scott Card novel "Ender's Game", boy genius Ender Wiggin is sent to a military academy that incorporates a game that tries to pick out the best leaders for a very important military campaign. Ender becomes the first and only player to never lose the game, no matter how many obstacles are thrown in his path. However, a side character nicknamed 'Bean', becomes somewhat of Enders shadow... after a series of sequels about Ender's continuing adventures, Card decided to explore the character of Bean further, in the book appropriately titled Ender's Shadow. In this novel, we see what happens when Bean takes over his own team in the game, among other things. Unlike Ender, Bean uses his first 5 games as testing the waters to to speak, observing the weaknesses of his team and losing all 5 games... only to win the rest of them with considerable ease.)

 

Okay, I never actually READ Ender's Shadow, but that's what I heard.

 

Yes, I'm obviously that bored.

 

This is quite a shocker of a score. I thought Male would have this easy.

Why is Male down? I haven't followed them this year.

 

Maybe Ballard and Jackson did a good job against them. Has anyone thought of that. Ballard has the talent to compete with Male and showed it Friday.

Maybe Ballard and Jackson did a good job against them. Has anyone thought of that. Ballard has the talent to compete with Male and showed it Friday.

 

To be honest, Ballard's record this season hasn't given anyone a great reason to think of that. Glad they could get a convincing and big win here, though.

To make matters worse, Justin Green and Stewart Brown (Male's RB's) both suffered knee injuries. Both (according to Male staff) will miss significant time, possibly the rest of the season.

Edited October 6, 200818 yr by Ram
Rule 13

Why is Male down? I haven't followed them this year.

 

Several issues here, IMO. One, Male's talent continues to be on a downward spiral. The once-dominant Bulldogs could count on "Several" talented players, now find themselves extremely 1-dimensional in terms of offensive production. Justin Green can not carry this team alone and no one else seems to really be stepping up.

 

2) Male's offense has become too predictable. When you know that the majority of their offense is going to be centered around one guy (Green) be it a run (usually a sweep) or a screen pass (to Green), its just hard to get anything going.

 

3) Defense: As mentioned here numerous times, Male's defense isnt what it used to be. The "pressure defense" isnt doing the job it once was designed to do. Not to mention that it requires and relies on so much speed up front. I watched the game against Fairdale earlier and Fairdale did exactly what they had to do. They gave teh QB just enough time to throw a deep ball to a taller receiver downfield. Most of the time, the CB's found the ball too late and it resulted in a large gain and/or TD.

 

Bottom line is that Male isnt that dominating team it once was. Gone are the days where they could line up and run what they want. In the past, Male could rely on pure talent and speed to run through their opponents. But as time has passed, Male has failed to practice and prepare a solid game plan, trying to rely on what has worked in the past. Now, teams are no long intimidated by Male. Male has become, dare I say, nothing more than just an average team. The gimmick plays no longer work. I've always said that if a team is talented enough to stuff up the middle, and get enough speed to prevent their RBs to get to the corner, then Male would struggle. Good teams have figured this out. It's sad because I like Male a lot. I hate to see them go down like this. But the truth is, now that their teams are not overloaded with speed and pure D-1 level talent, they struggle in games because their players are used to just showing up and running wild. They lack the experience in dealing with adversity against teams they normally would beat. Grinding out wins and not going for the big plays are not what they are used to.

Personally, I feel that if Male is to be successful, they need to re-tool their offense to be more physical upfront. Dont expect the QB to make 15-20 yard passes, but 5 yard passes. Sustain drives, and let the game come to them instead of trying to make the homerun plays all the time. Defensively, I personally think they have to get more physical instead of relying on a defense that puts too much pressure on small CBs to play man to man. Male doesnt have that "swagger" anymore and that downward spiral could continue for a long while. They may do well in their district considering who is in there, but the bottome line is, against competition that is equal, Male will continue to struggle. The old Male could be gone. Can a new Male ever be as good as they once were? Stay tuned...

Just saw this. I met Coach J this past winter at a FCA event, really enjoyed speaking with him. My kid is 11 and can't help the Dawgs right now.