PN-G @ Huntsville

[NDNmom91]

Unless someone goes incognito, not sure they will sell tickets on that side. I think they are relatively strict in keeping the sides separated.

Tickets can be purchased for either side…you just won’t be allowed to sit on the Home side if you have a Visitor ticket and vice versa.

 

[Rez]

Indeed. In short it's called "ball control". We used to call it "running the ball down their throat". In my very short stint as a defensive lineman, it was the thing that I hated the worst.

In some games last season you could practically watch the other team’s spirit break in real time. I guarantee we weren’t fun to play. Every other team was throwing it around and trying to score quickly (which basically amounts to a rest play for half the defense) and we said “we’re going to run the same play we did last time, we’re going to hit you with all 11 guys, it’s going to hurt, we don’t care if you stack the box, we’re not going to do you any favors by throwing incompletions and stopping the clock, and we’re going to move the ball anyway.” That stubbornness is why Shea Adams was able to run that td in for the state championship - SOC had to stack the interior because we had proven we were crazy enough to run up the middle again, and because we had proven we could succeed at it. So, SOC left the entire outside wide open.

 

[IndianFan]

Now the Indians have the same ball control offense. Even running a two tight end and h-back formation. But it’s so good that it blasts cave openings in the defense allowing backs to run almost untouched. Maybe sometimes perfection can become imperfection. I think tightening up the defense and special teams will go a long way towards making it all ok.

 

[Usedtocould]

We can just have the RB fall down after a set amount of yards
Say 10?
Sorry I know what y’all are saying but the most important stat is points not time of possession. Ideally yes if you were guaranteed a TD at the end of the drive yes that would be fantastic
But trading TOP for points
No thanks I’ll stay with the points.

 

[Usedtocould]

That’s like saying because roulette is either black or white that it’s 50-50
But it’s not
Why?
Because of the green spaces
Fumbles, penalties, bad snaps, - those are the green spaces
And in a long drawn out possession
You don’t always gain 3.3 yards per play (sometimes you do) but occasionally you run into a non converted third down and have to punt
Would you guys really rather trade that for a TD? That makes no sense
That’s the ultimate purpose of any drive score a TD
sometimes it takes 1 play sometimes it takes 15 plays
I like both
But the TD is the goal of any drive with 0.1% exception.

 

[Usedtocould]

In fact if you gave me the option of
No offense
But every time we gain possession without even running one play (maybe kick the PAT)
Put a TD on the board and go directly back to defense
I’ll take that deal immediately.
Who wouldn’t
If you don’t take that deal you’re fired from your coaching job where I’m the imaginary AD lol
(It’s all fun)

 

[IndianFan]

My fear as a fan is we’ll start seeing those ‘run straight up into the line, dance and go nowhere’ plays. And then a punt.

Having the high octane/power offense will win a lot of games. And the passing attack has barely seen the light of day yet.

If the defense can improve 10% and get a few more stops in a game, it will be tough to outscore the Indians.

 

[Usedtocould]

Today when I rubbed the lamp and the genie asked I wished for a TD on the first play every drive haha
Sorry not sorry
Can’t tell anyone what the other two wishes were
Gotta go Sofiah Vergara is calling haha JK

 

[Rez]

We can just have the RB fall down after a set amount of yards
Say 10?
Sorry I know what y’all are saying but the most important stat is points not time of possession. Ideally yes if you were guaranteed a TD at the end of the drive yes that would be fantastic
But trading TOP for points
No thanks I’ll stay with the points.

My complaint isn’t with scoring quickly if the play opens up - If you get the opportunity to score, get in the end zone. Points are always good.

But it’s one thing to score quickly because your offense executed a play well. It’s another to be calling plays as if you NEED to score quickly. More directly, I’m concerned with calling pass plays that are more likely to shorten drives in situations where we don’t need to do so.

Specifically, our choice of when to pass the ball has been bizarre all season. There’s often no rhyme or reason to it, other than we want to pass the ball. Against Klein Oak we threw a bomb (incomplete) on 2nd and 3 (after a seven yard run) even though we could have easily used the next two plays to get three yards. We were already winning and had no reason to try to throw a 70 yard touchdown (we ended up punting and KO scored on the next drive). Against La Porte we threw on 1st and 5 (incomplete, we ended up punting). It’s like we’re randomly handing the playbook to Coach Faircloth. Ok, we won those games. What about in a game where the other team is more talented than us and us keeping their offense on the sideline will be the difference between winning and losing?

We are perfectly positioned to only throw (1) when we absolutely need to or (2) when the matchups give us easy passes (which usually happens after we’ve forced them to move a safety up into the box). We don’t need to roll the dice unless we need to, and I guarantee other defenses are praying we’ll roll the dice instead of just running the dice down their throats behind our excellent o-line.

So, I’m fine with scoring on the first play from scrimmage if that’s what we can do. But we don’t need to try for home runs in the air when getting to first base will do and when running is already working. And, I hope to not sound too negative - Most of what our offense is doing is good. I just think they can help the defense out a lot more.

 

[IndianFan]

Makes sense.

 

[Usedtocould]

Agree with all of that

We just seemed to be breaking long runs VS LC which
YES PLEASE
haha

 

[tony79]

Stepp is thinking upset by Huntsville.

Around 42:00

 

[NDNmom91]

Play calling does seem questionable at times but we’ve had some changes with the coaching staff so that could be part of the reason. However, it also took a bit before the offense really started clicking the last 2 seasons so I’m confident they’ll be fine.

 

[Rez]

Stepp is thinking upset by Huntsville.

Around 42:00

His reasons make sense. If a team with a questionable defense and a great offense is up against a team with a good enough offense and a decent defense, I’d pick the second one. If they can stop us even a little more than we can stop them, we’re in trouble.

The question of the day is of course how much our defense can step up. There’s a few guys out there who seem to be walking around, or haven’t learned how to make their reads right yet. There’s a passiveness among some of them that really concerns me. They almost look like they hope the ball doesn’t come to them. I’m hoping the problems are a function of inexperience among the new starters that can be cleaned up on the mental side as they settle into their roles. In some cases, maybe there’s someone hungrier on the bench who needs a chance. In any case, if we can start to show more consistency on defense I’m optimistic about Friday night. I just can’t imagine this coaching staff isn’t going to figure out how to put a good defense on the field. It just depends how quickly they can do so in the next two days.

 

[IndianFan]

You can bet your last dollar that Huntsville is watching that game film to identify PNG’s bread and butter plays, and will sell the house to crash down on those lanes. This is where it’s important to be prepared to mix up the play calls. IF the bread cannot be buttered. We will see early in the game how that LOS battle works out. Tyson Henry MUST be the featured back. He’s geared to gain the tough yards and can break it long. Ball control, first downs, long drives and TDs will do it.

 

[prepballfan]

I think this is a good matchup. Huntsville has stated that due to graduation they are fairly weak in the center of their o line. This will Help our defense. Remember we have a really good front 7. The QB from Huntsville isn't in the same ball park as the one we just faced when it comes to throwing the ball. They are very much more one dimensional than MLC. Its flipped around to a good defense with an average offense in Huntsville. I believe that plays more into our strengths than theirs. If we only mainly have to focus on the run we will probably look better on defense this game. Remember two seasons ago we were 2-2. This seasons first 4 games are much tougher than those 4 were.

 

[NDNzeke]

My complaint isn’t with scoring quickly if the play opens up - If you get the opportunity to score, get in the end zone. Points are always good.

But it’s one thing to score quickly because your offense executed a play well. It’s another to be calling plays as if you NEED to score quickly. More directly, I’m concerned with calling pass plays that are more likely to shorten drives in situations where we don’t need to do so.

Specifically, our choice of when to pass the ball has been bizarre all season. There’s often no rhyme or reason to it, other than we want to pass the ball. Against Klein Oak we threw a bomb (incomplete) on 2nd and 3 (after a seven yard run) even though we could have easily used the next two plays to get three yards. We were already winning and had no reason to try to throw a 70 yard touchdown (we ended up punting and KO scored on the next drive). Against La Porte we threw on 1st and 5 (incomplete, we ended up punting). It’s like we’re randomly handing the playbook to Coach Faircloth. Ok, we won those games. What about in a game where the other team is more talented than us and us keeping their offense on the sideline will be the difference between winning and losing?

We are perfectly positioned to only throw (1) when we absolutely need to or (2) when the matchups give us easy passes (which usually happens after we’ve forced them to move a safety up into the box). We don’t need to roll the dice unless we need to, and I guarantee other defenses are praying we’ll roll the dice instead of just running the dice down their throats behind our excellent o-line.

So, I’m fine with scoring on the first play from scrimmage if that’s what we can do. But we don’t need to try for home runs in the air when getting to first base will do and when running is already working. And, I hope to not sound too negative - Most of what our offense is doing is good. I just think they can help the defense out a lot more.

I agree wholeheartedly with most of what you are saying. However, I also think that play calling of pass vs run can be a bit tricky if you view it from a longer term perspective. Specifically, I think that even a great running team will need a good passing game at some point during the playoffs, and the only way to really develop it is to practice it in a game setting. So I think the real trick is to call plays that allow you to “practice” the passing game and still win the game in which this practice occurs. For example, in a 1st and 5 or 2nd and short situation, with a great running game the obvious call would be to run the ball and “go ahead and get the first down.” However, one could also argue that these would be the very best times to call a passing play because (1) the defense is probably also thinking you will most likely try a running play to “go ahead and get the first down” and also because (2) being a great running team means you still have that in your pocket to get relatively short yardage in the succeeding one or more additional downs. On the other hand, in some games (like the LC game) you probably need to stick with your bread and butter for the most part and hope that the passing game comes thru for you in situations where you absolutely need it (which it fortunately did on the 4th down pass to Nunley). Additionally, I have also questioned the need to “go for the home run” via the passing game at times this season. However, I guess you can never get good at it if you never try it, so I guess the most important issue is whether you can either (1) afford to try it or (2) need to try it in the context of a given time during a particular game. I do not always agree with the decisions of the coaching staff regarding play calling (e.g., the fake punt during the LC game), but I do trust that, especially as the season progresses, they will make the right call the vast majority of the time.

 

[Eazy Money]

The fact that Huntsville has an average offense is good news for the Hornets. Since 2018, they have had a great defense but not much offense, yet they have done quite well. Back in 2019/2020, offensive success was not fumbling and getting the punt away and let the defense work. In those two years, Crosby was the only opposing team to score 30 points.

This Hornet defense probably isn’t as good as that one, but I expect by playoffs, they will be on all cylinders. Huntsville has a good running game and they will want to continue that. They can pass if they need to, but establishing the run is what they want to do. I think PNG will have similar offensive aspirations. We will see who executes their game plan best. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a great game. It’s only October and who knows, these two teams might see each other in December for all the Region 2 marbles.

 

[IndianFan]

Huntsville has always been a tough opponent. The first matchup was 1946 and the Indians carry a slim 3-2-0 head to head record against the Hornets. The winner and loser of this game will both make noise in the playoffs. It should be a great game.

 

[Usedtocould]

I think they’re also remembering last year at NRG where they severely stifled our running game
I think we will run on them this time