Dukes Fall in Frustrating Fashion
Yes, yesterday’s game at ODU was a terrible, gutwrenching, cringeworthy, and potentially disastrous loss for the Dukes. Even worse, on the offensive line JMU lost tackle Josh Wells to a broken leg, right guard Matt Krout to a concussion, and tackle AJ Scott to what Mickey described as “tore up his knee there.” But if you’re looking for a gloom and doom or coaching change or sky is falling predictions based solely on yesterday’s game, you’re in the wrong place (and I’m writing instead of Rob).
Here’s the thing. So far this year it’s taken trick play on a two-point conversion in OT from the CAA’s best team (Maine) and yesterday’s combination of a completely fluke play on 4th down giving ODU a TD in the first half and a typical CAA phantom horseshit pass interference call late to beat the Dukes. So let’s all just settle down. We’re not quitting on this tough-minded, extremely talented team and you shouldn’t be either! Anyone criticizing “halftime adjustments” or “playcalling” in the second half just wasn’t paying attention. The Dukes lost THREE offensive lineman and the starting tailback (although this is a much less serious injury long-term given the depth at that spot) before the third quarter was over. What the hell is any coach going to be able to call with confidence after that?! In the first half, I’d certainly be inclined to pick the nit of the 3rd and goal wildcat call before the half were it not for the fact the Dukes scored two TD’s and two FG’s on four first half possessions, all on long drives. Tough to argue with that.
ODU’s freshman QB was great, and I’m guessing he’s never giving back that starting gig to the placeholder-turned-hero-against-weak-competition DeMarco at this point. He made that play on fourth possible and killed the Dukes with his scrambling all day. But for my money, there’s a lot of distance between the Monarchs and Maine. Alright, enough about ODU (at least until the Dukes get another shot at them).
The simple fact is this: Everything is still out there for the Dukes and there is a TON of football still to be played. More than a quarter of the season in fact despite that it feels later than that. The Dukes are 5-3, 3-2, and still in decent shape IF, and yes, it’s a sizable but not unthinkable IF, they can somehow patch the O-Line and find two wins in the last three games. The schedule gives them great opportunities too. Maine is now alone in first and looking good to stay in at least the top two. Towson fell to Delaware yesterday and travels to Maine next week. They could easily join the two loss group with ODU and JMU. ODU now has head-to-head with JMU but let it play out – UR and WM may look easy for ODU, but as we saw yesterday for the Dukes, attrition in this conference is key and those injuries that JMU couldn’t expose in ODU’s secondary may show up a lot larger against Aaron Corp and the Spiders. One thing we never seem to learn is how little we can all predict about the CAA late in the season.
UNH is the key. If the Dukes can get it back together this week, you’d have to love their chances at home against Rhode Island after that. Noon start. MadiZone or selected viewing parties only I think. So fire up the laptop or come to Bailey’s/Bandito’s, but don’t transfer all your energy to hoops just yet!
One last note: JMU men’s soccer is tops in the CAA and has earned the right to host the CAA tourney. It’s going to be at JMU the same weekend the football Dukes are hosting URI for Senior Day. Dukes will play in the semis Friday and potentially the Final on Sunday. Just saying if you so choose, you can really turn this into an epic tailgating weekend in the ‘Burg!
That phantom PI call was a double slap in the face after we didn’t draw the same call earlier when there was an obvious PI.
It’s easy to point out a few isolated plays and pretend how things would have turned around had the plays gone differently. You can do that for pretty much any football game. The fact is ODU made the plays it had to, JMU didn’t, and the rest is history.
JMU only had 36 yards on 6 2nd-half drives before the final 2 minute offense. If that’s because the offense just couldn’t execute w/o the starters, then the backups better improve drastically before Saturday. If it’s because Mickey was too nervous to call anything but the most vanilla offense (run-run-go deep), then for once I’m with the Mickey doubters. You gotta give the guys on the field a chance to make plays.
The whole season is now on the back-up o-line. Hope they come together quickly.
“ODU’s freshman QB was great”
All opposing QB’s are great against our pass “defense”.
Jace missed 3 wide open (I mean nobody within 10 yards WIDE OPEN) guys in the 4th quarter, and he had time on all of those throws. Just make a decent throw on 1 of 3 and the Dukes are in good shape. When a guy is wide ass open you don’t lead him 10 yards, you under throw a bit and take the 30-40 yarder as worst case. Inexperience yes, but got to make some of those throws to get in the playoffs.
I was at the game and delighted to see Mickey Zorn having to blow 4 of the team’s 6 timeouts on getting in the play call late. And settling for the field goal right before the half after having a 3rd and 1 from the 2 yard line was the difference in the game. I’d like to coin a new phrase for games like this…”getting Mickey’d”.
I agree with Frosty…I was at the game as well. I said to the people around me that settling for the field goal before half-time was going to bite us. I can’t understand why, on 3rd and 1 from the 2 yard line, we try to run outside (I believe with the wildcat). Run it up the gut!…get stuffed? Oh well run it again…You should at least be able to pick up a first down in that situation and then have multiple chances to punch it in. Going into halftime with 7 there would have been huge. And the management of timeouts really hurt as well. I’m not taking anything away from a talented ODU team but I definitely feel as though we let one slip away.
Here’s to hoping our O-line can figure it out and a team that has shown a lot of promise this year can close out the season with at least 2 if not 3 W’s.
A few thoughts:
1) Rob – I hear you about isolating a single play, but that PI call was a killer – it completely affected the outcome of the game. It allowed ODU to kill another 2+ minutes of game clock, and left us trying to kick a 47 yarder in the rain instead of having time to drive for the end zone or settle for a much more reasonable kick.
2) Also, given how bad Edwards was on the deep balls all day (how did Long get that open on the last drive?), I am left to surmise that Billy Cosh must have done something terrible to Mickey’s dog.
3) Was it just me, or did ODU seem much more sure-footed all day? It looked like our defense (and offense) were on roller skates all day long, but ODU didn’t seem to have the same problem – or at least not as bad.
4) Sadly, JMU has pretty much regressed from a team who would win the big games to a team that finds a way to lose them all.
Valid point Matt. The PI did have direct impact, but I think JMU had plenty of other opportunities to make plays.
I think Jace looked great in the first half with the exception of the underthrown ball to Brown. Luckily we scored on that drive a few plays later. He didn’t play well in the 2nd half and really struggled throwing deep. Hopefully it was just an off day. He’s a redshirt freshman, it happens.
I also agree that the JMU players seemed to be slipping. I commented at one point that the D looked like the keystone cops, the way they were running into each other and falling down as ODU ran around.
Just wanted to say thank you to all the commenters today! This has actually turned into one of the better days since we started this thing thanks to you despite the trepidation about the season. So glad that this seems to have become a decent forum for thoughtful, civil discourse between knowledgable fans and I don’t have to make myself miserable all day on the CAA Zone Message Boards. (We need and love those boards and I love them too, but I just wanted to stab myself with a spork at the shortsightedness after losses). Honestly, Rob and I have been arguing more ridiculously and less rationally offline today than the kind folks on here. Thanks everyone!
I’ll start by saying I’m not a Mickey guy. I know guys that played for him and none of them have nice things to say about him.
So now that I got that out of the way, why the hell did Mickey call a timeout before attempting the 51 yard field goal that our kicker had a 1% chance of making? Turns out that TO could’ve been useful on the final drive. At the 34 yard line we had to go for it. The offense hadn’t done anything in the 2nd half and we weren’t going to get that kind of field position again (started at their 38). Come on, be honest, who thought we were going to make a 51 yarder in those conditions? A 51 yarder is a hail mary. Picking up a 4th and 6 was the higher percentage play.
Edwards is not the answer, and it isn’t his fault.
Let me elaborate: not saying he might not one day be an answer, but in Mickey’s current offense Edwards doesn’t stand a chance. Watch him on passing plays, he almost always stares down his desired target the entire play. When the pocket/play collapses, he always looks frantic because he has tunnel vision. It doesn’t appear he’s going through progressions or anything of that nature.
Now, he’s a redshirt fr. and this isn’t the FBS, so it is expected that development will take time. That’s understandable and perfectly reasonable. While ODU’s QB is a natural passer, the system that Wilder runs over there gives him a chance to make plays and be competitive. The system that Edwards is in does not give him this. Mickey has to be aware of how badly he has gotten out coached all year on offense. Matthews still seems reluctant to call a balanced offense, and still too often puts 3rd and 6 or more on the kid’s back. This is hard enough in a balanced office, with no rhythm and a predictable barely run on 1st and 2nd down, it is near impossible. Edwards doesn’t have the mechanics and awareness yet to be able to step up and consistently make those high pressure throws, and that’s not his fault.
If this is because Mickey doesn’t trust him to make a throw unless he has to, then get him out and put Cosh in. If not, give the kid a chance and let him develop. Right now he isn’t being given one. Watching his mechanics, I don’t think he’s the answer long-term, but I’d like to give him the chance to show and prove that he is. It is obvious that we’re more predictable than a CW television show and that teams aren’t that scared of our offense anymore. Unless we have a clear talent advantage (like we did over Richmond, Nova, and will have over RI) and can just beat around a team physically, we’re in big trouble.
I just don’t see how anyone can defend Mickey anymore. And please, for the love of God, ditch the Wildcat formation. It hasn’t worked all year and just further hinders Edward’s rhythm.