Whew! That was way too close for comfort. All credit to Navy for playing the Bucks so tough.
There’s not much we can take away from this game going into the USC game, but there are a few things of interest.
1 ) The Offense as a whole is very hot and cold. Occasionally they look spectacular, especially when Pryor is free to work his magic (no surprise there). Unfortunately, they can look very mediocre too, especially in the standard up-the-middle running game. I feel like this mostly has to do with…
2 ) The Offensive Line. It lived up to it’s name, because it was just that, Offensive. Sometimes they looked like they gave decent protection, but it was rare as Pryor and Bauserman both looked like they were being harried often – sometimes without Navy even bringing extra guys. The O-Line even struggled to contain a 3 man line for long. This problem just does not seem to want to go away.
3 ) The Defense made some huge plays. Thaddeus Maximus stepped up and forced some fumbles and made some TFL’s (in fact, props to the entire Defensive Line for looking pretty solid all game). Kurt Coleman was a monster with an Interception and a Forced Fumble. Big Props to Brian Rolle for his work today, including that massive play to help seal the win on the 2-point conversion attempt. Nathan Williams with a great tackle in the backfield by dragging the player down by his jersey shoulder.
4 ) The Defense also seems to have a couple problems. Austin Spitler looks very slow. Anderson Russell gave up two touchdown passes by being out of position and going for the pick rather than the big hit. Some weak arm tackling, and several players out of position. Letting Navy drive 99 yards for a touchdown was just brutal to watch.
5 ) Special Teams look fantastic. Sanzenbacher kept looking like he was going to take a punt back. The Kick return game looked pretty solid all game, including the interesting reverse on the first return of the day that put the Bucks at great starting field position. Excellent punt coverage, including pinning Navy inside the 1 yard line.
6 ) Terrelle Pryor looks to be much the same as he did last year. Lots of exciting plays, but several young mistakes. He appears to be consistantly throwing it too high, and we saw what can happen if he continues to do that with that late interception when it bounced of Sanzenbacher’s hands. The offensive line absolutely needs to give Pryor more time for us to be able to see the kind of passing the Coaches raved about all year.
7 ) The Wide Receivers were pretty good. Posey, Carter, and Sanzenbacher looked great catching balls all day. Few passes were dropped by those three. Taurian Washington continues to have problems, dropping 2 passes that were through his hands. If Washington catches those balls, Navy doesn’t get a chance to close the score against us. We really seemed to spread the ball around, with 7 receivers getting touches, and most getting around 2-3. More of that, please!
8 ) We have Tight Ends!? 4 passes for 68 total yards (3 to Ballard, 1 to Stoneburner). The TE’s were almost looking dominant today. I really hope we don’t go away from this.
9 ) The Running backs had their moments. Brandon Saine looked a lot like the player we saw in 2007 when he first appeared. Saine showed an elusiveness and speed that the Bucks are going to need to have this year, especially with the line underwhelming all day. Boom Herron, unfortunately, did not look so solid running up the middle all day, but did show good things when taking pitches to the outside. Herron seems to have trouble escaping the first hit.
I will grant you that this is Navy and that there is only so much we can take away from the game, especially defensively. However, it’s clear to me that Jermaile Hines should be the starting Free Safety instead of Anderson Russell. Hines looked great today in tackling, pursuit and coverage (when he was in). Russell gave up several big plays, and has continued his streak of not living up to his potential. Perhaps I’m being a little harsh here, but it’s time we sit Russell down and give someone else a chance to perform.
Lets end this with some quick offensive stats for the game:
- Pryor: 14/21, 174 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. 6 Carries, 30 yards, 1 TD
- Herron: 17 Carries, 72 yards, 1 TD (4.2 ypc). 4 Catches, 29 yards
- Saine: 9 Carries, 53 yards (5.9 ypc). 2 Catches, 21 yards
- Sanzo: 2 Catches, 57 yards, 1TD
- Carter: 3 Catches, 21 yards
- Posey: 2 Catches, 14 yards
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