Sunday, October 1, 2017

Quick Thoughts: Army vs. UTEP

Coach Jeff Monken said before the game that his offense had worked on passing with about 30% of their practice reps this week.  It showed.  Army didn’t have its best stuff on defense yesterday, and it also gave up quite a few costly penalties, but Bradshaw went 3/5 passing for 80 yards and a touchdown, and as they have all season, the offense ran with authority.  That was enough to give the Black Knights a decisive win over a UTEP team that came into Michie Stadium determined to make a statement.

Summer has lingered in the Northeast this year.  We saw highs in the mid- to upper-80s through mid-week with wet and nasty humidity making for sticky, uncomfortable nights.  It finally cooled off some on Friday, but Saturday was our first true autumn day, and it came as a shock to the system.  As late as Wednesday, weather forecasts were calling for partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-60s.  I expected the game would actually be warm.  Instead, we got a decidedly gray, overcast day in the mid- to upper-50s, intermittent drizzle, and maybe 15 to 20 mph of wind coming up off the Hudson River.  Army hasn’t always played its best in those conditions at Michie, and I don’t think it played particularly well yesterday--at least not in all phases.
Sally had to work yesterday morning, Emma had dance, and I put in some 3500 yards in the pool.  We all met back at the house at a quarter-to-noon, hurriedly packed, and got off just before 12:30.  We had to fight the typical traffic through coastal Connecticut, but getting onto post has been pretty easy this season.  West Point has changed its parking procedures, so now if you’re coming in on a General Parking Pass, you enter through Washington Gate.  Pretty much the only people coming in on Thayer Road these days park at either Buffalo Soldier Field or up near Trophy Point.  This has eliminated the massive game day parking lines at the main gate, making the total experience infinitely more efficient and pleasurable.  We crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge maybe twenty minutes after one and were parked and tailgating by 2:05.
Bundled!
Hannah with pretzel.
Bagpipers pre-game.
But it was cold up on Thayer roof.  There was no sun anywhere, and the wind was brisk coming up off the river.  We got the grill set up quickly enough, but even with nothing more complicated than hamburgers, hot dogs, and corn-on-the-cob, we still had to hustle to get everybody bundled up, settled in, and fed.  The hamburgers were okay, as were the Stone IPA and the Bengali IPA from Brooklyn’s Sixpoint Brewery that Sally picked up for me on Friday at Trader Joe’s.  However, I burned the crap out of the hot dogs, and the travel grill is not well configured for indirect heat, so I had to put the corn back on before Sally and Emma would eat it.  I could have avoided all of this with a little more time and deliberation, but the 3:30 pm kickoff made parallel food preparation a necessity.  I’ll own that I’m also not yet proficient using the travel grill’s temperature gradients.
Anyway, I had a hamburger, an ear of corn, two hot dogs, and two beers before we headed up to the game.  I was a lot of things, but hungry was not one of them.
We breezed through security and sat down just before kickoff.  Army deferred, immediately forced a 3-and-out, nearly blocked the punt, and then pushed the return back up to about midfield.  Things looked great until special teams was called for running into the kicker.  That’s a 15-yard penalty, and it gave UTEP new life.  That was a harbinger of things to come.
Despite the penalty, Army again forced a punt.  They got the ball at their own 35, and it looked like we were in business.  But Bradshaw dropped back for a pass on the first play from scrimmage, and though he dropped the ball right in the bucket over SB Jordan Asberry’s shoulder, Asberry couldn’t bring it in.  
That was a terrible drop.  Just God awful.  Bradshaw threw 5 passes in yesterday’s game, and he hit on all of them.  He was 3/5 passing only because of some truly egregious drops.
Army punted, and that’s when all Hell broke loose.
The Corps
UTEP driving. 
UTEP is 0-5 this season for three reasons, only one of which is actually valid.  First and most importantly, their defense is terrible.  It was terrible yesterday, too.  Also important, however, has been the fact that their best offensive player, RB Quadraiz Wadley, has been hurt.  He was 100% for the first time all season yesterday, and boy, did it show.  Finally, UTEP hasn’t been able to decide who they want at quarterback, either, with their coach playing junior Ryan Metz in favor of the much more accurate senior Zack Greenlee for reasons that I simply do not understand.  
Regardless, yesterday’s first half clearly came as something of a surprise for the Army defense.  Wadley came out and ran all over them, with Metz making just enough throws to keep the defense honest.  UTEP drove straight down the field with their second possession and scored a touchdown.  I suspect that they used some formations that the Black Knights hadn’t seen previously on film.  Army answered with a 5-play scoring drive of its own, but the real difference came on the next possession.  Metz was forced from the game.  This brought in the far more talented Greenlee, who--again--Army hadn’t really seen on film.  Army again forced a punt, but now we were headed into the second quarter, and the Black Knights had barely held the ball.  The game was tied, but Army had run all of 8 offensive plays.  The defense looked shaky at best against Wadley, and if the Black Knights couldn’t find a way to turn around UTEP’s time-of-possession advantage, things might yet get out of hand.
But UTEP is terrible for three reasons, and they could only really address two of those before this game.  They could change their quarterback and get Wadley healthy, but their defense remained vulnerable to a talented rushing attack.  Army got the ball at their own 7 yard line and drove 93 yards in 12 plays, taking 7:30 off the clock.  They worked the Fullback Dive hard until UTEP started to close it up.  Then Bradshaw bounced outside for 15.  Two plays later, he took ball outside again, got swarmed by defenders, and pitched late to FB Calen Holt.  19 yards later, the score was Army 14, UTEP 7.  
We had 2:30 left in the first half; things looked well under control.
UTEP answered in 8 plays, 2:04, using a good mix of clock management, Wadley running the ball, a 26-yard Greenlee pass to get a good chunk of yardage when it counted.  Both offenses were moving the ball well, but neither defense seemed able to answer.  Worse, Quadraiz Wadley had gained over 100 yards rushing.
Coach Monken and Defensive Coordinator Jay Bateman have been very good about making halftime adjustments this season, and yesterday was no different.  I think that Army just started keying on Wadley, forcing Greenlee to make plays with his arm, and that this effectively shut down UTEP’s offense, but there may have been more to it than that.  Regardless, Wadley torched the Black Knights for the first 30 minutes of the game, mostly between the tackles.  He did jack shit in the second half, however, and that was the ballgame.
It’s worth noting here that Army’s defense is not exactly the veteran unit we expected to see before the season.  LBs Alex Aukerman and Kenneth Brinson are out there, and they’ve got some experience along the D-Line, but Army’s been playing some youngsters at inside linebacker, and without S Rhyan England and CB Elijah Riley, the secondary is pretty much all new.  Even yearling S Jaylon McClinton, who was himself a new starter this season, hasn’t been playing much following a foot injury suffered at Ohio State.  In some cases, Army is playing backups to its backups in its secondary, and it’s shown at times.
In that, this defense reminds me a bit of the 2015 defense.  They have some talent, but they’re still sort of searching for an identity.  Moreover, they don’t have the kind of senior leadership this season that they had last, and it looks like coaches are having to pick up some of the slack.  
When they get England and McClinton back and move James “Gibby” Gibson back to his more natural role in the nickel, they might play better.  In the meantime, though, young guys are getting reps that may well be valuable later this season and into next.  That’s valuable, too, especially if you’re still winning games.
The second half was all Army.  Army got the ball and scored on a 5-play drive, following an Ahmad Bradshaw run outside for 42 yards.  The defense forced a 3-and-out, and Army scored again, this time on a long passing play to Asberry that he didn’t drop.  One more series like that, and it was Army 35, UTEP 14 with about 5:30 left to play.  Kell Walker had a terrible drop on that drive, but WRs Jeff Ejekam and Jermaine Adams both had catches, and the offense itself looked really good.
Personally, I’d like to see Ejekam get a little more involved.  Army lined Asberry up outside pretty frequently yesterday, but although I like him in the slot, he’s not nearly the receiver that Ejekam is.  Asberry dropped a gift yesterday, and Walker did, too.  Adams at least caught the gift he got, while Ejekam made the only catch yesterday with even a moderate degree of difficulty.
I get that Ejekam has been in the doghouse, but if he’s out there, they ought to use him.  He’s a good player, and the passing game could really use his help.
Winning game, happy family.
Rabble Rousers
The Fullback Dive was working yesterday.
Coach Monken put the second team offense in to finish the game, and for reasons that I will never understand, QB Luke Langdon threw a pass to start his possession.  He was miserably high and off target on a quick out, and the receiver compounded the error by tipping the ball up.  UTEP came down with it on the boundary, but Army couldn’t seem to get him out of bounds, and two seconds later, the score was Army 35, UTEP 21.
Terrible.
Army recovered the inevitable onside kick, but the game ended with entirely more excitement than necessary.  A win is a win, but man, this offense needs Ahmad Bradshaw.  I don’t know that I ever need to see another pass from Langdon.
West Point at night.  Pic didn't quite turn out as well as I'd hoped.
We’re on to Rice next week.  The Owls haven’t had a lot more success than the Miners, but Army has plenty of mistakes to clean up regardless.  We need to play a little smarter as we head into the heart of the season.  There’s not a lot of margin for error right now.
Go Army!  Beat Rice!!!
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