Saturday, November 17, 2018

Saturday New & Notes: Beat Colgate!

Hey folks.  The Saturday Celebration posts weren't doing a lot over at AFF, so we tried something new and moved that particular discussion to Thursday.  I'm not sure it did any better on Thursday, but the end result freed up the Saturday spot here, and here we are.

Some of the stories I'm following this weekend are after the jump.

Forecast: Snow. Result of 6 Inches: Chaos. Why? (NY Times)
The storm was unexpected but not especially powerful. As a result, the havoc that unfolded in New York City and beyond appeared to highlight the fragility of the region’s transportation system, showing how aging infrastructure has become increasingly unreliable, from the subway to buses to commuters railroads and train and bus stations...

 Virtually every mode of transportation is at full capacity and dependent on brittle infrastructure, some of it built more than a century ago. The commuter train and bus networks, held together by crumbling bridges and tunnels, are often just one derailment or pileup away from a breakdown.

 The storm had a ripple effect across seemingly every means that people rely on to travel. Snow piled up on roads that went unplowed in the city and suburbs. That snarled city buses, which serve more than two million New Yorkers each day.

 The road conditions prevented New Jersey Transit buses from reaching the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Commuters abandoned the terminal, turning to trains that were overloaded and delayed.

This is one of those deals that is probably not a big deal outside of New York, but boy, it was a disaster Thursday night and into Friday in the City.  I've seen NYC ride out 10+ inches of snow with barely a delay on the streets, but for whatever reason, we got about 3 inches Thursday afternoon and evening, and the entire road network plunged into chaos.  I think they tried to get away with essentially no response--to try to saving a little money--but then there was a 20-car pileup on the G.W. Bridge, and chaos ensued.

Pics from the Port Authority were actually horrifying.  Personally, I'm a little insulated from all this being a Metro-North train commuter, but ouch!




‘Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D’ Renewed For Season 7 By ABC (Deadline)
Ahead of its sixth season premiere this summer, ABC has renewed Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a seventh season. It is believed to consist of 13 episodes, on par with Season 6.

 The timing of the early renewal is likely tied to the cast’s option coming up. Along with picking up the actors’ options, ordering Season 7 ahead of time would allow for the two shorter seasons to be filmed back-to-back, which helps to reduces costs.

Probably also helps mitigate some of the bad buzz surrounding Marvel's stuff getting canceled over at Netflix.  Seriously hoping they don't cancel Daredevil too, but it's not looking too good, honestly.




Upending Pattern, Gun Control Groups Top N.R.A. in Election Spending (NY Times)
Two groups that are focused on gun control, Giffords and Everytown for Gun Safety, spent at least $37 million at the state and federal level in the midterms, compared with at least $20 million by the N.R.A. The figures are incomplete, because some of the spending done by such groups is not required to be disclosed, but all sides agreed that the N.R.A. was outspent, stemming a trend of financial dominance for the N.R.A. going back years.

I will agree that this is how you create change in American politics.  However, I find the bottom line dubious at best.  The biggest problem with the mainstream media is that they keep falling for trend-type stories that they want to believe are true.

Hot-tip: Wish fulfillment reporting is not actual reporting.


Army is Three Losses Away from a New Year’s Six Game (AsForFootball)
So do you listen to the As For Football College Football Podcast? If you did, you would already know that Army has a realistic shot at a New Year’s Six Bowl this year. Yes, you heard me correctly, New Year’s Six and Army. If you didn’t know, the highest ranked Group of Five Champion earns an automatic berth in a New Year’s Six Game. This includes Independents (excluding Notre Dame) and is the highest water mark achieved for any Group of Five team.

I've said a few times that I think Army needed to beat either Duke or Oklahoma to have a realistic shot at a New Year's Six Bowl.  Folks have been arguing over some of the language in the rules, but bottom line, this stuff says what the NCAA wants it to say.  These guys should not be confused for honest brokers.

With that in mind, The Powers That Be would love to knock the American Athletic Conference and especially UCF down a couple of pegs.  I personally think they would jump at the chance to choose Army at 10-1 with Army-Navy left to play.  However, Army's strength-of-schedule is hurting without a Power 5 win, especially following Buffalo's loss to Ohio.  A win against Colgate certainly won't hurt, but it's not gonna help all that much, either.

My personal belief is that if UCF stubs its toe, Utah State--or whoever wins the Mountain West--will pick up the ball.  However, this particular article has done a ton of traffic on the site, making me think I should maybe write more super-hot-takes just to get the name out there and generate traffic.  Alas, that's not who I want to be as a writer, but it would probably help the site.

While we're talking all things AFF, you might've noticed that the YouTube version of the podcast never made it online.  From what I understand, the guys were struggling with some of the audio files last night, making it tough (impossible?) to sync the audio with the video.  It's not really my area of expertise, but they were not too happy, believe me.

Regardless, we talked on the podcast about our Option Offense Play of the Week.  That's a new feature, and I think it's one you guys will like if we can get it going consistently.  This week, I pointed to a triple-option QB Keeper by Georgia Tech QB TaQuon Marshall.  It's a great play, but the implication as we were talking about it was that you would see it, too.  Not a problem if the video gets released, but on the off-chance that it doesn't, here's the play:


As I said during the show, the point of showing this to you was to highlight both the play's design and execution and Marshall's individual effort.  As designed, this play is gonna go for maybe five or six yards.  Marshall gets good blocks up front, and then the linebacker cheats and plays the pitch, allowing him to cut inside and get upfield.  But there's a safety about six yards deep who's in position to make a tackle.  Bottom line, if Army (or Colgate for that matter) runs this play, they're gonna get those five or six yards.  That's what's there based on precise execution of the initial concept.

But because Marshall is a badass, he makes a guy miss and runs it in for a touchdown.  Granted, he gets a good block downfield from his wide receiver, but still.  It's his individual effort and athleticism that make the play explosive.

Neither Army nor Colgate have guys like TaQuon Marshall.  They therefore have to succeed by getting those first five or six yards and then lining up and doing it again.  That's what's unique about Army's offense, not that it's explosive but that it's so disciplined time after time after time.  That's not nothing, but it's a little easier to explain by exception.  Thus, this week's choice of our Option Offense Play of the Week.

* * *

It's Senior Day at Michie Stadium.  It's hard not to be inspired by some of the stories.




I've been concerned about this game for some time, but Army beat writer Sal Interdonato had some interesting facts this week, and I've found myself getting more confident as the week has progressed as a result


Interdonato predicted Army 38, Colgate 13 over on his Army Football Insider blog.  Personally, I think SB*Nation statistics analyst Bill Connelly is probably closer with his pick--Army 23, Colgate 7.

Holy Cross moved the ball reasonably well against Colgate, and not surprisingly, they have the best offense the Red Raiders have faced this season.  Moreover, Army's defense is also very good, especially against the run, and Colgate runs the ball a lot using a zone-read power running game.  That's probably the least effective thing they could do against the Black Knights' defense.

I'm not going to predict a final score, but I do think Army will cover at -11.

Last note: I saw this result yesterday on Instagram via USMAPS Quarterbacks Coach 2LT Ahmad Bradshaw.  But Interdonato has the best pic:


Three straight wins for USMAPS gave Army two straight wins at Army-Navy.  So...

Go Army!  Beat Navy!!!

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