Some Options
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The home game against Sacred Heart this Saturday has to be seen as a golden opportunity for Columbia to try some new strategies in hopes of salvaging the season.
The Pioneers are an out-of-conference, first time opponent, and the game is on Yom Kippur which guarantees thin attendance, (that said, if you DON'T observe the holiday, PLEASE make it your business to be there!).
And, the pressure to beat Sacred Heart has been greatly diminished now that the Pioneers have already knocked off Dartmouth and beated a good Central Connecticut State team.
The point is, the shame of losing to Heart is pretty much gone... and six crucial Ivy games loom just beyond this contest.
Here are a few of the options the Lion staff could try in this final "doesn't count in the Ivy standings game":
1) Rest Brackett
Now we know for sure that Columbia QB Sean Brackett is indeed playing hurt. I doubt he will be 100% recovered by this Saturday either. He is obviously tough enough to play right now, but why not let him get fully better in time for the big nationally televised Homecoming game against Penn the following week?
Why not give senior backup QB Jerry Bell a chance to run a pass happy offense and see what the receivers can do with the deep ball all day?
2) Blitz, Blitz, Blitz
With the exception of a stretch or two against Fordham, the Columbia defense has not really gotten any pressure on opposing QB's.
Sometimes, this becomes a habit and defenses lose their aggressive edge.
Why not send the house after the Pioneer QB's all day and take the gamble on a passing attack that isn't too dangerous. Sacred Heart isn't Brown, for instance.
3) Give it to Gerst... 20 times or more
Since the Norries Wilson era began at CU, the team has never featured a "feature" back. For whatever reason, the strategy has never been to let one RB take the ball 25 to 30 times a game and see what happens.
Unless Gerst is hurt, why not see if he can carry the load?
4) Pull out the tricks
Columbia has a speedy WR in Paul Havas who is a former QB who could go out of the wildcat and burn a defense with his feet and arm in a big way.
That's just one scenario that seems to have little downside if the Lions try it on Saturday.
I'm sure all of you can think of 2 or 20 more.
5) Let Brackett call his own plays... all game
If Brackett is going to start, let him take the leadership role he needs and run the offense his own way the entire game.
Columbia could do worse.
posted by Jake @ 7:43:00 AM
28 comments
28 Comments:
Let's make some changes and move forward! " we can't go back and start a new beginning, but we can start now and make a new ending" . Coach Wilson the ball is in your court, make the necessary changes! Go Lions!
I like the "Blitz, Blitz, Blitz" concept with one big addition. Keep someone back to cover the RB. In every game so far when we do an all-out blitz no one has covered the RB. A quick side pass to him or a hand off and run to a completely empty secondary killed us. The other thing that happened was the QB running with no containment. Blitz absolutely, but, not everyone. You still need to contain.
QB execution has been poor so far. Maybe a change is due not just to rest him.
As far as RBs are concerned how about trying Choa? The others haven't been able to do much and he looked really good at the spring game.
Remember the good old days when you actually knew whether a player was injured or not before a game is played. Where they are followed today, the privacy laws have sucked the common sense out of college football. Go Lions!
Hallelujah to getting Gerst the ball...Probably doesn't happen with Marino at the helm..
Some of these comments and ideas are beginning to sound more appropriate for the overnight show on WFAN. First Time, Long Time!
Is the "Sit Brackett" suggestion based on anything coming from the coaches? Or is it simply Jake's view?
We all know Brackett can play....but he must be hurt. Maybe that's why we have not seen him do that scrambling for first downs that frustrates defenses.
Who knows, but something is definitely not right in Lion country
right now, a 4-6 season that we all would have condemned in August as failure is looking like a miracle.
I would now take a 4-6 season . It would be a miracle and a failure at the same time.Meanwhile I am still depressed.
Doc/jock
One of the problems with this fan base is a lack of realism. Given that superior teams in 09 and 10 each went 4-6, there was never any likelihood of this team being better than 5-5. Given our losses to Fordham and Princeton, probably the two weakest teams on the schedule, there currently is no possibility of 4-6. What we should be watching for going forward is whether the team shows resiliency and improvement or whether they roll over. You can deal with adversity two ways and it will be interesting to see how our coaches and players respond.
I like the idea of using non-conference games for genuine experimentation. Usually, they are used to fine-tune before conference play. But now we know that this car does not need to be fine tuned; it needs to be overhauled, ideally in the span of only one game. Jake's suggestion is right on target.
Brackett isn't getting any yards on the ground because opposing defenses are putting 8 and 9 guys in the box. That's because opposing defensive coordinators think we do not have a passing game which can stretch the field. Unless and until we find receivers who can run the deep route we are doomed repeat the offensive play calling drudgery which has been the hallmark of this season. Onan unrelated note, why did Gerst get a grand total of one carry last week?
Good question about Gerst...especially when we are told he's healthy....once and for all lets see what he can do with 20 touches...In very limited action he has always averaged 5-6 yards a carry...In the only game he got 15 touches didn't he go for 130 yds against Princeton ???
Can we say that about any other back we have seen on the last 5 yrs
Im all for getting Gerst the ball 40 times in the game, that way you guys can see he's know better and we can move on. It sounds crazy Marino dont want be play this kid because he didn't bring him in. Let's stop with guessing or some making excuses. Gerst got the ball two times for -1 and also got Bracett hit by getting blown out and missing his block. Just maybe Marino did the right thing. I'm all for trying something different but lets be real about it.
Game notes are posted on gocolumbialions.com
Great Posting
Jake, make up your mind. Pass happy Jerry Bell or 20 carries for Gerst? Previous poster is right, Gerst literally got picked up and dumped into Bracketts lap on one sack. Those who look for reasons might look for those things. In a one back set you gotta pick up a lot of pass protection.
Dabull:
I was thinking kind of either/or. And I have seen Gerst block well in pass pro in the past. He is not always a liability.
I know we all kill Marino, and justifiably so, but where is the O-Line coach in all of this? They are averaging 6'5"/6'6" 300lbs, we should be running all over people! As far as pass blocking. All they have to do is hold hands and let the defense go around them!
Speaking of Defense, are THAT good that we cannot afford to play out Texas A&M transfer. I am sure that we can put him someplace. How did he do in the JV game?
Tellier is on Dr. Murphy's staff, why doesn't he act as a consultant to Norries. I'm sure that Ray can offer some insight into coaching/team management. That would show us fans that Dr. murphy is listening. If not, then Bollinger needs a consultant or a new AD search!
How are we on the Blog funding to buy out Norries' contract? I'm in, just need to know if Jake will house the funds and if we can get a meter of some sort that highlights the progress...
Now theres a great idea... Every time a player misses a block bench him the rest of the game. Are you kidding me... The whole freaking line can't block...
Agree with the last post..kid misses a chip block on a 2 step pass play and the kid gets benched for the rest of the game..Thats absurd..Meanwhile bracket has to get rid of the ball on a 2 step release. The real issue is put Gerst in a position to succeed based on his speed along with every other player.
Gerst's speed and history are evident to the coaches, too, I can't see Marino holding back an effective running back because he didn't recruit him -- that's ridiculous, as well as the idea that the rest of the staff and Wilson would allow Marino to jeopardize their collective livelihood that way. Nope. Gotta be either Gerst is not durable enough, or he doesn't get some aspect of what is expected of a running back in CU's offense, whether it's blocking, hole recognition, or something else. Or Garrett is simply better, and the cause of the running attack's failure lies elsewhere.
Don't be nieve...Talk to the palyers both past and present and they will tell you what goes on with Marino...Its no secret anymore
I agree don't see Wilson or the other coaches going for Marino playing DADDY ball. Lets be real
You can agree and disagree all you want. Go talk to the players...This program needs a major overhaul
Say what you want but if you have the time to be in New York,talk with past AND current players about MARION then I DON't Know
Just Saying
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