hsfbinsider10

Yeh, he's playing at Carson-Newman and has a linebacker's personality.

I like Meadows and would like him to finally have a "W", but losing is a hard thing to turn around and with the schedule they've played, there might not be much fight left in the Govs. McMinn 28 Hapless Govs 27

Is this the Campbell County coach trying to get the team revved up? Or a player? Of course, there is some truth here--Jeff County 35 CC 0.

I heard the line will change again this wek because somebody missed practice. Any truth to this rumor?

Duran is good but great players make great plays under pressure. 70 yards passing, 2 ints, no tds against Jefferson County (and don't use rain as an excuse--it didn't rain until the end of the game). Anyone with average athletes playing the same kind of defense the Pats used against him could hold him to average numbers. Don't get me wrong, he has size and a great arm--only a state championship could change my evaluation at this point for me to call him Mr. Football--all state maybe, but not Mr. Football.

SC has suffered three straight shut-outs--it sounds like somebody is hurt!

I don't think JCHS will beat them 49-0 again. SC was supposed to be better this year and has been up and down. If they do try to stretch the field, it will make me a little nervous--a lot can happen in a one-on-one down the field. I think we need to practice discipline and take it to them early on in a smashmouth display. If they start stacking the line, start throwing some. The Pat d-line needs to get pressure on the QB (like the DB game) and we'll have very few problems on defense. Maybe Coach U will pull another rabbit out of the bag. I bet the Science Hill coach about fell over when we had a return on for the first punt. Ben looked much more comfortable and I believe Coach will feel more comfortable doing some other things with him--how about the option? We ran it once last game and it worked nicely! Little by little, the bag of tricks is filling up! Pats - 31 Smoked Bears - 7

Congrats Campbell County!! Well done--as a JCHS fan I knew you were better than what you showed against us.

I think you are right but the coaches had started to make a change even before the Rhea County game. I know Crouch was going both ways but was pulled off of defense before the first game and little Acuff put in--it scared some of us to death at the time but seems to have worked out just fine--not sure about a couple of the linemen. Some of us were just remembering secondary problems from the year before and that early change stuck out like a sore thumb but the coach's decision seems to have worked out and hasn't cost us at all. The platoon system is supposed to help us in the fourth quarter and we did almost make a frantic comeback in the last game! Maybe having fresher legs will be a big advantage by year's end. Now let's kick some SH butt!

Never said you couldn't disagree with the coach's decisions--just do it in a way that shows respect and humility. The things some fans were saying the other night were indefensible and unnecessary. Losses are only one way a team suffers. If you go through a tough season but hang in there together, the players have won regardless of the record. But if you go through a tough season and everything turns negative, everybody loses. I'm just asserting that a lack of respect that begins to infect the players will kill the rest of this season when they are capable of winning out and surprising a few folks in the play-offs. Are they better than 3-3? Of course, but I haven't seen the coach make one tackle, one block, one run, or one pass this season--players have to execute regardless. Missed tackles and missed blocks cost us the last game--there's little coach could have done during the game to change that. Do I wish we had a little more balance on offense? Of course, just read my past posts. But I also know Rome wasn't built in a day and I saw a few things last game that indicate to me that we are working on a opening some things up. The kind of offense we run is not complicated and does depend on the tailback to carry the ball 25-35 times a game. That will not change. We've average 24 points a game--not what I would exactly call an anemic offense. In the DB game we had it in the red zone three times in the first half, Shivy had over a hundred yards but we didn't execute when the chips were down. In the second half, just one block on a linbacker and Shivy's off to the races. I don't believe that coach has ever had the wrong game plan (the closest would be the 2nd half of the DB game); we've just failed to execute when the pressure is on. BTW, Acuff was wide open on the two point play--one missed block, a failure to execute, changed it all.

Michael Cox from Jefferson County has the leg and the accuracy to go D1 tomorrow. If he learns to drop consistently, he could go beyond D1. A stud punter!

Great post! I think the o line will continue to improve. Pass blocking is tough to learn--especially maintaining a block long enough to allow the receivers to get into their patterns. Stanley coming in at TE was a good move and Ben seems to be more comfortable throwing (Yes Barnyard, he doesn't throw like Elway or Marino, but Sonny J and Theisman didn't throw the ball the right way either and they were successful--as long as the ball gets there is the point). I think the offense will continue to improve and be a little more balanced just in time for the playoffs. The cracks in team unity do bother me and are probably the result of two things: an intense, emotionally draining, game and the constant sniping at Coach U by coaching wannabes that some players read or hear. I heard that some players were bothered by some of the comments they were hearing from the stands last Friday night. If we want this team to stumble the rest of the way, the surest thing we can do to make sure that will happen is to keep criticizing the coach publically. NOT ONLY DO WE NEED TO PROTECT THIS HOUSE, WE NEED TO PROTECT THIS TEAM. There are ways to disagree that show respect and a degree of humility and there are also ways to disagree that say more about the critic than they do about the one being criticized. Such was the case last Friday night as a group of fans demonstrated a lack of class that will keep this program from ever having the perennial success of a DB or Maryville. Some folks just need to grow up!

As Reagan said to Carter: "There you go again." Barnyard, you are relentless in your criticism of our QB. The fact is, he is the best QB that is still playing for the team. 'Nuff said!

Ask Carson-Newman how valuable a holder is. Their holder got hurt in their game against Newberry. The third string QB came in to hold and fumbled two straight snaps on PAT attempts. In a close game, those two points would have been critical. I bet they work all week on developing a new holder!

I think we can presume that the passing game will not be as strong as it was. Surely, they'll try to get the ball in the hands of their best player who is a WR (3 td's against Bearden). I don't think they'll be able to stretch the field with him but will try little dump passes, delay screens, slants, etc. Of course, they'll have to run the ball but it'll be hard to rely on something that has not been a strength against a team that does well against the run. Unless the new QB has a career night, there couldn't have been a much bigger blow to SC unless the WR himself had been hurt. As we have seen this year, WRs are ineffective if you can't get the ball to them. This changes the complexion of the game completely. I say we go after the new QB hard and often--maybe even a jailbreak or two. If he is rattled from the start it could be a long night for SC. Maybe, our defense will do something it hasn't done this year--score off of a turnover.

As you can tell from my previous posts I am hesitant to say anything negative about a specific player. I will say that our enthusiasm sometimes gets in the way of our common sense. Our OLBs can be seriously hyper at times and overreact to a play. A player must play within himself to be good every play, using his head as much as his heart. Playing under control is a virtue of all good players.

JC4Life--good post--you said what I have suspected for a while. A lot of Shivy's yards are due to his own elusiveness and ability to make a tackler miss. The offensive line isn't performing as nearly as well as the running yardage might indicate. Pass blocking has been horrible and cost a touchdown the other night. On the INT, the WR had left the corner holding his jockstrap--but as fate would have it, the ball then found its way to the corner who had just been beaten badly because we didn't hold a block for more than a second and Ben was hit as he threw. I also think the d line will pick it up. Luther actually had a great night but couldn't do it all himself. I believe our outside linebacker play has been a little suspect lately. And our tackling was pretty bad--I doubt that will happen again.

Let's talk game strategy--how do you build confidence back in our defense after Karns puts up 24 against us (though two scores came ona short field because of turnovers)?

Well, one of two things will happen following JC's tough loss last Friday night--either we hang our heads and get our butts handed to us or we get angry and play with an intensity we've yet to play with. If we do the latter, I'd hate to be Science Hill. If we do the former, I'd hate to show up for Coach U's practice the following Monday. Let's see, kick Science Hill butt or face Coach U? Sounds like a no-brainer to me! JCHS 35 SHHS 10

Well, as usual, Barnyard is out there spreading false optimism (For those of you not familiar with this guy, this statement is meant to be a sacrcastic joke.). I wonder about this guy's youth--was he abused as a child? He always sees the glass half empty and will because he has to justify his feelings about a player who quit during the season. In his opinion, this kid would have been the best QB in east TN and a better receiver than any on the team, therefore he has to bash our current QB and receivers every chance he gets. Let's see, it took the sixth game of the year for him to finally be able to say something about a WR dropping a pass (it happened twice). The poor QB has his best game of the year throwing and this guy blames him for an INT that was the fault of an offensive lineman who couldn't hold his block for more than a second. It's hard to throw an accurate pass when your getting smashed by a defensive lineman as you throw. He especially dislikes Coach U because as the head coach he had to make personnel decisions that didn't go to Barnyard's liking. So anytime the coach does anything he has Mr. Green Jeans second guessing him. Though he makes some good points (about our o and d lines), I get a little tired of him picking on specific players without impunity. These are 16-18 year olds and they know how to read. Barnyard, save your negativity for those golden years when you can't get out of bed.

There's an old axiom "Go for the win on the road and the tie at home." The reason for this truism is the fact that when you're on the road you are at a distinct disadvantage in an OT situation because of the surroundings (and the officials!!). I don't fault coach for going for the win--I do wish he had used our strength to try to accomplish it by running Shivy toward the pylon for those few yards. With those zebras, one holding call in OT and we're toast. By the way they flagged us all game and marked the ball on Karns' long TD drive in the third quarter, or missed Elder's out of bounds step on his last TD run, I wouldn't have trusted them in OT. I remember a number of great coaches going for two at critical times in their coaching careers--Sparks, Fulmer--two local college football coaching greats come to mind. Besides, our defense wasn't stopping Karns anyway. Just my humble opinion.

This game was not lost at the end of the game--it was lost at the beginning of both halves. At the start of the game, we turned the ball over on our first series, gave them a short field to draw first blood on and gave them motivation and momentum. The beginning of the second half Karns drove the ball eighty yards down out throats and chewed up almost all of the third quarter, keeping Shivy and company off the field and regaining the lead for good. I'd have gone for two as well at the end of the game--just may have used our strength--Shivy on a sweep to get to the corner. Karns won in the trenches--their o line against our d line--who'd thought they could score 24 against Smoot and company? What was really bad, probably more so than losing, was having the JC players more upset at the end of the game about what fans were yelling from the stands directed at Coach U. Maybe what he did could be argued, but what fans were yelling has no defense! Be adults for the sake of your kids.

This game was not lost at the end of the game--it was lost at the beginning of both halves. At the start of the game, we turned the ball over on our first series, gave them a short field to draw first blood on and gave them motivation and momentum. The beginning of the second half Karns drove the ball eighty yards down out throats and chewed up almost all of the third quarter, keeping Shivy and company off the field and regaining the lead for good. I'd have gone for two as well at the end of the game--just may have used our strength--Shivy on a sweep to get to the corner. Karns won in the trenches--their o line against our d line--who'd thought they could score 24 against Smoot and company? What was really bad, probably more so than losing, was having the JC players more upset at the end of the game about what fans were yelling from the stands directed at Coach U. Maybe what he did could be argued, but what fans were yelling has no defense! Be adults for the sake of your kids.

May I suggest that you read this comment of mine again. Some of you are beating a dead horse--grieve on your own time and not in a public forum where players can read the negativity. If they start doubting the coach, this season is over

BTW, I'm sick of the bashing of Coach U. I liked Meadows but the wing-t would not have worked with this bunch. And there would have been no Smoot. Who knows what would have happened with Meadows this year but Meadows is gone and Coach U is here and is doing a good job. I support him even if I disagree with his offensive philosophy at times. PLAYING FOOTBALL IS MORE THAN WINNING GAMES, IT IS LEARNING HOW TO BE A BETTER PERSON--HARD-WORKING, DISCIPLINED, WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR OTHERS, ETHICAL, LOVING, AND RESPONSIBLE. I truly believe these boys are learning more than football under Coach U and I am willing to take a loss or two and see young men become the kind of people who will continue to make this the greatest country on the face of the earth. I say, keep the negativity to yourself for the sake of the team and this season. At the end of the season, make your case.