Guest Blogger: The Doctor Is In

As an officer in the armed forces, I am constantly responsible for maintaining what we refer to as “situational awareness”.  This is the idea that to effectively maintain unit readiness and effectively respond to threats, you must always be aware of the situation around you.  Sometimes, you can be so caught up in the details that is behooves you to take a step back and figure out how you got into the current situation and whether you are headed in the right direction.  Let’s check that compass and wind it back to our most successful season (2004) and see how we got here…

 Offense 2004

The 2004 team was built around the offensive line.  The line consisted of three (yes, three, the youngest of which signed with the Buffalo Bills) HUGE tackles, and three interior linemen that would rather punch you in the face than block you (see: Burns, George: Kidney Punch).  Additionally, the “6th man” was 6’5”, 285 with about 2% body fat and literally bent and broke equipment in the weight room.   The backfield consisted of a balanced RB (signed w/ New York Jets), a power runner, and a 3rd RB who came out of nowhere and made big plays when he was needed (Furman, 4th and Goal).   Additionally, the offense was operated by a transfer QB who had the ability to read coverages, throw the deep ball, run the option and (gasp) read the defense and call his own audibles.  The WR’s stepped up and made big time plays when it counted (Maine, Furman).  We ran variations of the following formations:  I-Formation, Shotgun and One-Back (2-tight).  Every 4 downs, it was a lock that we were going to run either the power or the zone run (successfully) at least once.  3rd and short was a guaranteed 1st down because smash mouth football was our bread and butter.  It was a JMU football tradition for the offense and defense to get in a sideline-clearing brawl on the first day of full-pad practice.

Offense 2011
In my opinion, the 2011 team is built around one or two players.  It appears to me that the entire offense is (was) built around Dae’Quan Scott and/or Justin Thorpe.  If we look back, this approach all began during the Rodney Landers era.  The idea is that you get a stud athlete that is far better than the competition and let him go make plays.  Obviously, this worked (sort of) during the Landers Era. This tactic is common with teams like the Indianapolis Colts (Peyton Manning), Michigan Wolverines (Denard Robinson), and various pop-warner teams.  The problem with this tactic, as we found out in 2008 against Montana (and the colts found out this year), is that if (when) that player is injured, your offense tanks.  The other glaring problem is that the defense only has to shut down one guy to effectively kill the offense.  There is no “I” in TEAM, as they say.

The second issue (aside from the hideous all-white road uniforms) is that this offensive setup is completely void of any legitimate passing attack.  Not only does this make the possibility of recovering from a deficit almost impossible, but it puts ridiculous pressure on the defense.  If you can’t score in a hurry, or manage the clock when you are short on time (via passing), the defense is forced to play lights-out and keep it close every single week with no room for error.  Additionally, when the opponent has no respect for the passing game (and they shouldn’t this season), they can load up the box with 8 or even 9 guys.  At that point it is simple math.  You have 5 linemen and one or two other players to block 8 or 9 guys.  Ain’t happening.

The last major difference between the 2004 team and the recent teams is simple: Attitude.  There is a complete lack of playmakers.  To quote Coach Matthews: “Players make plays”.  3rd and short is an attitude play.  It is the essence of football.  You line up across from the other guy and say “I’m better than you and here I come.”  I haven’t seen that at all in recent years.  Our offense relies on gimmicks (Wildcat) and trickery/misdirection rather than having an identity.  We go out, roll the dice, and hope something works.  That is a far cry from saying “We are the JMU Dukes, and we will run the _____ and we will score points.  Try to stop us”.  This lack of attitude is evident in the receivers dropping balls, the coaches calling random plays, and even in the defense.  Nobody is scared of the JMU defense anymore. The defense plays ok, but I can count on one hand the number of times they really brought the wood on someone.  Is the hit stick broken, guys?   I’ve also noticed that a QB sack consists of wrapping the QB up and sort of holding him until the whistle blows.  Our defense used to knock QB’s out of games….regularly.

Wanted: Playmakers

Prescription
I feel like I’m giving someone a cancer diagnosis, but I’m afraid the JMU program has gotten too Hollywood.  We built the best facilities in the country, filled them up, and became a national powerhouse.  That doesn’t mean its ok to take off your hard hat and put down your lunch pail.  To quote Coach Matthews (again): “You think you’ve arrived??  I want competitors.  It’s easy to break up a pass.  A competitor goes for the interception.”  The 2004 team had none of these luxuries, but had a giant chip on our shoulders. Every Saturday afternoon, we were straight up pissed off.  Part of it was not being taken seriously as a program, and part of it was the constant full pad practices and screaming of the coaches.  It might have also been the 5am “fun runs” during the off-season (uphill both ways in 20 feet of snow).  I don’t know.  What I do know is that preseason polls, cutesy plays, nice uniforms and a ridiculous stadium don’t win championships.  Playmakers with attitude do.

Pack your lunch pails and grab you hard hats, boys.  It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get dirty.

Note: Consequently, the 2004 JMU Dukes will be in attendance this weekend against Rhode Island as part of the new BFS inaugural season festivities.  I encourage everyone to offer them free food and adult beverages.