So much went wrong for the University of Delaware Blue Hen football team in their 35-30 loss at New Hampshire on Saturday that, at times, it was hard to imagine this was the same team that had cruised through its first five ballgames unscathed. There were just too many mental mistakes, missed assignments, and missed tackles. The team also had poor communication, poor protection, too many penalties, and one very costly turnover.
During warm-ups before the game, tight-end Robbie Agnone felt like something was off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it at the time, but, in retrospect, he felt like the team was over confident.
"There was a different attitude", Agnone said on Monday, "but I thought we could overcome it once the game started."
Unfortunately for Delaware by then it was too late.
Two consecutive plays late in the first half epitomize Delaware's problems on and off the field. Facing a fourth down and five at the fifty yard line, the Hens sent out their punt team. Head Coach KC Keeler had alerted his coaches that he might want to try a fake. The Delaware coaches up in the booth and on the sidelines, who were having problems with their headsets throughout the entire game, thought they heard Keeler call for a fake when in fact he had called just the opposite. While the Hens were confused and snapped it to the upback, New Hampshire's defense was not in the least bit confused or surprised as they tackled Fred Andrew behind the line of scrimmage for a five yard loss.
On the very next play UNH backup quarterback RJ Toman, playing for the injured Ricky Santos, brought his offense out to the line of scrimmage and as the Delaware coaches were screaming to remind their players about "sudden changes", Toman threw a lateral pass to Keith LeVan who then threw it forty-five yards downfield to Mike Boyle who was standing all alone for a touchdown. Just like they draw it up on the sandlot.
The fear for Delaware fans is not that the Hens lost, after all it was on the road against a tough conference opponent that had backed itself into a corner with two early conference losses. It was how they lost. They were unprepared to play and came out flat. Perhaps the team had become too enamored with itself and its 5-0 record, or perhaps they thought they could just to show up and win as they seemingly had in their first five games.
After the game, Coach Keeler told us on the radio that he thought New Hampshire had a "nice ball club, but they are not quite up to the level that we are."
The problem is that we are not exactly sure what that level is yet.
We know that Delaware is a good team. There is just too much talent for it not to be. But what we don't know yet is whether Delaware is a championship team.
Championship teams don't stall three first half drives because of procedure penalties. They don't let opposing quarterbacks scramble consistently for first downs and touchdowns. And they don't get stuffed on a must have fourth and one using a play that they practice so much the players must see it in their sleep.
On Monday Keeler told his team that they can't let New Hampshire beat them twice. He is right. Since championship teams rarely go undefeated, one thing they must always do is bounce back after a loss.
The Hens will have that opportunity this Saturday in front of a huge homecoming crowd at Delaware Stadium when they play a Northeastern team that gave James Madison fits and is apparently better then their 1-4 record.
If Delaware can rebound and take care of Northeastern this weekend, they would be 6-1 going into the bye week, and still be in a position to achieve everything they want and dream of this year. However they must play better. Because while championship teams can often survive the mishaps and mistakes of a game like Saturday's once.
They rarely do twice.
Bill Komissaroff
www.billkomissaroff.com
Showing posts with label UNH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNH. Show all posts
Monday, October 08, 2007
Monday, October 02, 2006
A Night to Remember
Sometimes wanting it more is not enough, then again, sometimes maybe it is.
Not many people thought Delaware’s Football Team had much of a chance going into their game with the University of New Hampshire at Delaware Stadium on Saturday Night. The Hens, despite their 2-1 record and their Number 17 Ranking, hadn’t looked real sharp for a whole game yet during the 2006 season. Even during their victory at Rhode Island the previous week the defense looked shaky at times, giving up too many big plays against the Rams triple option attack while the offense took just about the entire third quarter off before deciding to start moving the ball and scoring points again in the fourth.
New Hampshire meanwhile had cruised through their first three ballgames en route to the Nation’s top 1-AA ranking putting up gaudy numbers against little sisters Stoney Brook and Dartmouth while also posting an impressive win over Big Ten Power-Mouse Northwestern.
Joe Flacco wanted it. Perhaps more than anyone else on the Delaware Sidelines. Even though the Delaware quarterback had certainly played well in the first three games of the season the offense still looked, as News-Journal Reporter Kevin Tresolini jotted down in his notebook during the Rhode Island game, “deliberate” at times. The Junior Transfer from Pitt, no doubt already wondering when the “Transfer from Pitt” part will be dropped from his title, played at his best against UNH firing with patience, precision, and accuracy while, surprise surprise, his receivers even made some catches.
Ben Patrick also wanted it. Patrick, trying to do for Duke tight-ends what Shawn Johnson did for Duke defensive-ends three years ago, came to Delaware with the hope of winning some ballgames for a change and maybe getting a fresh look from the NFL scouts before next year's draft. It didn’t matter where he lined up on the field tight, slot, or split, the result was usually the same as Patrick caught more footballs than anyone in the stadium Saturday Night including New Hampshire’s, not-quite-in-the-record-book-just-yet, David Ball.
Rashad Woodard wanted it. Woodard tracked down the aforementioned Ball on a pass play on the game’s opening drive by running across the entire field and somehow catching up to the Speedy receiver and at the last second knocking him out of bounds at the one yard line preventing him from scoring his record 51st career touchdown. Then late in the fourth quarter after New Hampshire had gone up 45-34 Woodard, barely able to muster the energy from his exhausted body to get back on the field, snapped off a 76-yard kick-off return giving Delaware a ray of hope to try and pull off a miracle at the end of the game.
Of course, Omar Cuff wanted it because, well, Omar always wants it. The Legend continues to grow with each game. At one point he actually rebuked the Training Staff who wanted him go back into the locker room for x-rays after injuring his foot.
“I know my body,” he told us on the radio after the game, “I knew I could get back into that game. I knew I needed to be out there.”
Ken Hale wanted it, making play after play on Special Teams. Garrett Schultz, who has not so quietly made himself a force in the Delaware Defensive Secondary, surely wanted it. As did Keon Hendricks, Mike Byrne and the rest of the offensive line. Head Coach KC Keeler wanted it especially after being out coached two weeks previously during the Albany game.
There is little doubt that the Delaware players, the coaches, and the twenty thousand plus fans all wanted it for their team on Saturday Night at Delaware Stadium. All rose to the occasion and showed their best.
Unfortunately, for those players, those coaches, and those fans University of New Hampshire Quarterback Ricky Santos wanted it just a little bit more.
Bill Komissaroff
www.billkomissaroff.com
Not many people thought Delaware’s Football Team had much of a chance going into their game with the University of New Hampshire at Delaware Stadium on Saturday Night. The Hens, despite their 2-1 record and their Number 17 Ranking, hadn’t looked real sharp for a whole game yet during the 2006 season. Even during their victory at Rhode Island the previous week the defense looked shaky at times, giving up too many big plays against the Rams triple option attack while the offense took just about the entire third quarter off before deciding to start moving the ball and scoring points again in the fourth.
New Hampshire meanwhile had cruised through their first three ballgames en route to the Nation’s top 1-AA ranking putting up gaudy numbers against little sisters Stoney Brook and Dartmouth while also posting an impressive win over Big Ten Power-Mouse Northwestern.
Joe Flacco wanted it. Perhaps more than anyone else on the Delaware Sidelines. Even though the Delaware quarterback had certainly played well in the first three games of the season the offense still looked, as News-Journal Reporter Kevin Tresolini jotted down in his notebook during the Rhode Island game, “deliberate” at times. The Junior Transfer from Pitt, no doubt already wondering when the “Transfer from Pitt” part will be dropped from his title, played at his best against UNH firing with patience, precision, and accuracy while, surprise surprise, his receivers even made some catches.
Ben Patrick also wanted it. Patrick, trying to do for Duke tight-ends what Shawn Johnson did for Duke defensive-ends three years ago, came to Delaware with the hope of winning some ballgames for a change and maybe getting a fresh look from the NFL scouts before next year's draft. It didn’t matter where he lined up on the field tight, slot, or split, the result was usually the same as Patrick caught more footballs than anyone in the stadium Saturday Night including New Hampshire’s, not-quite-in-the-record-book-just-yet, David Ball.
Rashad Woodard wanted it. Woodard tracked down the aforementioned Ball on a pass play on the game’s opening drive by running across the entire field and somehow catching up to the Speedy receiver and at the last second knocking him out of bounds at the one yard line preventing him from scoring his record 51st career touchdown. Then late in the fourth quarter after New Hampshire had gone up 45-34 Woodard, barely able to muster the energy from his exhausted body to get back on the field, snapped off a 76-yard kick-off return giving Delaware a ray of hope to try and pull off a miracle at the end of the game.
Of course, Omar Cuff wanted it because, well, Omar always wants it. The Legend continues to grow with each game. At one point he actually rebuked the Training Staff who wanted him go back into the locker room for x-rays after injuring his foot.
“I know my body,” he told us on the radio after the game, “I knew I could get back into that game. I knew I needed to be out there.”
Ken Hale wanted it, making play after play on Special Teams. Garrett Schultz, who has not so quietly made himself a force in the Delaware Defensive Secondary, surely wanted it. As did Keon Hendricks, Mike Byrne and the rest of the offensive line. Head Coach KC Keeler wanted it especially after being out coached two weeks previously during the Albany game.
There is little doubt that the Delaware players, the coaches, and the twenty thousand plus fans all wanted it for their team on Saturday Night at Delaware Stadium. All rose to the occasion and showed their best.
Unfortunately, for those players, those coaches, and those fans University of New Hampshire Quarterback Ricky Santos wanted it just a little bit more.
Bill Komissaroff
www.billkomissaroff.com
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Through the Looking Glass
“We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”
–George Bernard Shaw
“See, the thing about the old days -- they the old days.”
-Slim Charles (from HBO’s The Wire.)
The University of Delaware will try and defend its home field this week when the top ranked team in the country comes to town, The University of New Hampshire Wildcats, and depending on how you look at it, Delaware will try to either reverse history, repeat it, or choose to forget it.
Back in 2000 Delaware was riding high. Ranked 2nd in the country coming into Week 9 of the season, everything had gone perfectly for the Hens as their 8-0 record reflected. They were coming off three impressive yet difficult wins at Richmond who was ranked 16th at the time, at William and Mary, and James Madison who was ranked 15th. The Hens featured one of their most potent offensive squads in years led by Matt Nagy and Jamin Elliot, and a hard-hitting intimidating defense featuring the likes of Brian McKenna, Bashawn Dixon, Mike Cecere, and Los Hermanos Pinckney.
New Hampshire wasn’t really even on their radar that year. Why should they be? The Cats were 5-3 losing three of their last four ballgames two of them to teams, James Madison and Richmond, who Delaware had just defeated. Besides, Delaware had history on its side. Sure New Hampshire had some success against Delaware in the late eighties and early nineties, but the Hens had won four in a row verses New Hampshire by a combined score of 114-49.
The 2000 game started out as expected with Delaware jumping out to an early advantage leading 21-3 at the half. Delaware padded its lead at the start of the second half on a 60-yard scoring strike from Nagy to Craig Cummings and on their next possession added a 40-yard field goal from Scott Collins, which seemingly iced it. The Hens led 31-3 midway through the 3rd Quarter as many fans started heading back out to the lots to celebrate. Those who left early missed a remarkable UNH comeback sparked by Quarterback Ryan Day’s 426 passing yards en route to a stunning 45-44 Overtime victory. The loss, Delaware’s only during the regular season, would cost the Hens a chance to grab the top seed in the I-AA Tourney which would go to Montana, and would force Delaware into the same bracket as defending national champion Georgia Southern who Delaware would have to face in the Semi-Finals where Delaware’s bid for a title that year would end.
“There is no way they are going to lose to NEW HAMPSHIRE,” WRDX play-by-play man Mike Corey told me prior to the start of the 2004 season, “not again”. The Hens were opening up the 2004 campaign as the defending national champs and the top-ranked team in the land, and New Hampshire was, well, New Hampshire. No way, indeed.
Mr. Corey was obviously no student of history because lose Delaware did and once again in stunning fashion.
Before the start of the season opener that year no had ever heard of New Hampshire Quarterback Ricky Santos except maybe Mr. and Mrs. Santos and I am not even so sure about that. Santos was so deep on the UNH depth chart that he practically had to leap frog over Five Guys Named Moe just to get to the number two spot. Mike Granieri, a three-year starter and widely considered to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league, blew out his knee and his career midway through the second quarter of the game. Hasan Noble, the second-stringer, was also injured which left second year head coach Sean McDonnell little choice but to reach down his bench for an untested Santos. I remember the panic in the press box that night at Delaware Stadium as everyone was scrambling to try and figure out who the heck was playing QB for UNH since Santos’ name was no where to be found in any of the game notes or in the UNH Media Guide.
Unfortunately for Delaware fans we learned a lot about Ricky Santos that night as he came in and coolly completed 10 of 11 passes including a 44-yard touchdown dagger to then Sophomore David Ball leading the Wildcats to a fourth quarter come from behind 24-21 win at Delaware Stadium. Proving it was no fluke, Santos, the following week, threw five touchdown passes at Rutgers, and the legend was born.
Which brings us to Week 4 of the 2006 season, and how the tables have turned. It is New Hampshire that is riding high coming into this match-up at Delaware Stadium. It is New Hampshire that is ranked Number One in the polls. It is New Hampshire Quarterback Ricky Santos, now a Junior, that is poised to become one of the great I-AA players of all-time. It is New Hampshire Receiver David Ball, now a Senior, that will this week likely break Jerry Rice’s I-AA record of 50 career touchdown catches.
Yes, the tables have indeed turned because this year it is Delaware that is coming into this game with an unheralded squad which is young, thin at many positions, banged up and un-proven.
Will Delaware learn from the lessons of the recent past and come out ready to play unlike the Albany game two weeks ago? Will history repeat itself and once again let the underdog prevail in this series? The difference of course this year is that the underdog on their own field is Delaware. How will the Hens react under the lights against a veteran team that clearly is ready for primetime?
I can’t wait to find out.
Bill Komissaroff
www.billkomissaroff.com
–George Bernard Shaw
“See, the thing about the old days -- they the old days.”
-Slim Charles (from HBO’s The Wire.)
The University of Delaware will try and defend its home field this week when the top ranked team in the country comes to town, The University of New Hampshire Wildcats, and depending on how you look at it, Delaware will try to either reverse history, repeat it, or choose to forget it.
Back in 2000 Delaware was riding high. Ranked 2nd in the country coming into Week 9 of the season, everything had gone perfectly for the Hens as their 8-0 record reflected. They were coming off three impressive yet difficult wins at Richmond who was ranked 16th at the time, at William and Mary, and James Madison who was ranked 15th. The Hens featured one of their most potent offensive squads in years led by Matt Nagy and Jamin Elliot, and a hard-hitting intimidating defense featuring the likes of Brian McKenna, Bashawn Dixon, Mike Cecere, and Los Hermanos Pinckney.
New Hampshire wasn’t really even on their radar that year. Why should they be? The Cats were 5-3 losing three of their last four ballgames two of them to teams, James Madison and Richmond, who Delaware had just defeated. Besides, Delaware had history on its side. Sure New Hampshire had some success against Delaware in the late eighties and early nineties, but the Hens had won four in a row verses New Hampshire by a combined score of 114-49.
The 2000 game started out as expected with Delaware jumping out to an early advantage leading 21-3 at the half. Delaware padded its lead at the start of the second half on a 60-yard scoring strike from Nagy to Craig Cummings and on their next possession added a 40-yard field goal from Scott Collins, which seemingly iced it. The Hens led 31-3 midway through the 3rd Quarter as many fans started heading back out to the lots to celebrate. Those who left early missed a remarkable UNH comeback sparked by Quarterback Ryan Day’s 426 passing yards en route to a stunning 45-44 Overtime victory. The loss, Delaware’s only during the regular season, would cost the Hens a chance to grab the top seed in the I-AA Tourney which would go to Montana, and would force Delaware into the same bracket as defending national champion Georgia Southern who Delaware would have to face in the Semi-Finals where Delaware’s bid for a title that year would end.
“There is no way they are going to lose to NEW HAMPSHIRE,” WRDX play-by-play man Mike Corey told me prior to the start of the 2004 season, “not again”. The Hens were opening up the 2004 campaign as the defending national champs and the top-ranked team in the land, and New Hampshire was, well, New Hampshire. No way, indeed.
Mr. Corey was obviously no student of history because lose Delaware did and once again in stunning fashion.
Before the start of the season opener that year no had ever heard of New Hampshire Quarterback Ricky Santos except maybe Mr. and Mrs. Santos and I am not even so sure about that. Santos was so deep on the UNH depth chart that he practically had to leap frog over Five Guys Named Moe just to get to the number two spot. Mike Granieri, a three-year starter and widely considered to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league, blew out his knee and his career midway through the second quarter of the game. Hasan Noble, the second-stringer, was also injured which left second year head coach Sean McDonnell little choice but to reach down his bench for an untested Santos. I remember the panic in the press box that night at Delaware Stadium as everyone was scrambling to try and figure out who the heck was playing QB for UNH since Santos’ name was no where to be found in any of the game notes or in the UNH Media Guide.
Unfortunately for Delaware fans we learned a lot about Ricky Santos that night as he came in and coolly completed 10 of 11 passes including a 44-yard touchdown dagger to then Sophomore David Ball leading the Wildcats to a fourth quarter come from behind 24-21 win at Delaware Stadium. Proving it was no fluke, Santos, the following week, threw five touchdown passes at Rutgers, and the legend was born.
Which brings us to Week 4 of the 2006 season, and how the tables have turned. It is New Hampshire that is riding high coming into this match-up at Delaware Stadium. It is New Hampshire that is ranked Number One in the polls. It is New Hampshire Quarterback Ricky Santos, now a Junior, that is poised to become one of the great I-AA players of all-time. It is New Hampshire Receiver David Ball, now a Senior, that will this week likely break Jerry Rice’s I-AA record of 50 career touchdown catches.
Yes, the tables have indeed turned because this year it is Delaware that is coming into this game with an unheralded squad which is young, thin at many positions, banged up and un-proven.
Will Delaware learn from the lessons of the recent past and come out ready to play unlike the Albany game two weeks ago? Will history repeat itself and once again let the underdog prevail in this series? The difference of course this year is that the underdog on their own field is Delaware. How will the Hens react under the lights against a veteran team that clearly is ready for primetime?
I can’t wait to find out.
Bill Komissaroff
www.billkomissaroff.com
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