TwelfthMan

Spring practice will be in May this year and will wrap up with the Blue-White game. As far as scrimmages, I've not heard anything yet as to who, when or where.

I for one am excited about the upcoming season. I agree with linemanpat when he talks about wake-up calls and getting folks' attention. Aren't all of us guilty of complacency in our daily lives? We get into our routine and we roll along with the flow until something huge happens to get our attention. We see it every day: someone who was athletic and active in high school graduates, goes to work, lives life, gets comfortable and stops working out every day, stops making healthy choices in their diet and maybe other day-to-day decisions. Then one day, that visit to the doctor for your physical required by your workplace, or maybe just a visit for a nagging health issue that turns out to be something major. The doctor gives you the diagnosis and POW! Wake-up call. You start exercising again, watching your diet....all because something happened to get your attention. Why then should we expect teenagers to be any different? It shouldn't be as big a surprise to find a certain level of complacency among the young. After all, life is the greatest teacher, is it not? Last season was a huge lesson for this team. Many of the starters were part of an undefeated freshman team. They were also part of a JV team that lost only two games. This all came after major accomplishments at the middle school level. Why wouldn't they get complacent? These young men have had success after success. Last year was their wake-up call. Life taught them a lesson. Every single Patriot fan needs to cut this team, and the coaching staff some slack. Give them an opportunity to take the lessons of last season and use them to mold this team. Jumping on coaches seems to be a favorite past-time of a few folks here. And apparently some feel it's their right to jump on the players. People, you need to remember these are 16, 17, and 18 year old KIDS! They are also human! They're going to make mistakes. They're going to mess up. It's what they learn from those mistakes and how they use what they learn to improve themselves in the coming months as they prepare for this season that is important. From what I'm hearing out of the Valley, these guys are hungry and they are working hard to get better. Give them a break! Give them an opportunity. Don't defeat them before they ever take a snap in spring practice!!!! GO PATRIOTS!!

OHSGrad, Sunshine1, and HeadBusta....well said gentlemen. EastTennessee needs to get over his 'hater' attitude. My wise old Daddy used to tell us, "If you can't say anything positive, keep your trap shut." The Patriots have shown great growth this season. Let the hateful, stupid comments of some folks roll off your backs like water off a duck. Know that more people are pulling for you there are 'hating' on you. Keep your focus this week and don't let SD sneak one in on you. Too many times, teams take a winless team for granted and it bites them. Hang tough and take nothing for granted!!!! GO PATRIOTS!

I have to say after T. Howell ran that 82 yarder on the first play from scrimmage Friday night I was afraid it was going to be a long night. We should all be very proud of how this group of young men stood strong and held on to win the ballgame. The defense played outstanding!!!! My only concern was that our coaches may have tried to get a little cute on those 4th down plays where we went for it instead of going for the sure thing with Schuchart kicking the field goal. I mean think aboout it. We could have had a 6 point lead before that last TD was ever scored. I understand 4th and inches at the goal line if you are 100% confident that our O-Line is going to open up the hole for the back to score. And while the O-line played well, there have been some instances (against West for example) where the O-line struggled at times. Maybe I'm too cautious, but I'd think it would be better to go for the 'sure thing'. Regardless, it all worked out in the end and Jeff Co had an awesome win! Hats off to Damien Harmon for the killer play against "The Goose". I'll bet this week that young man straps his shoulder pads down. I have to say that's the first time in all the years I've watched football that I've seen a player tackle another and remove his pads, jersey and helmet in the move! On to another topic, the powers that be at Morristown need to get over the 'no parents on the field after the game' thing. I heard the police officer tell some of the parents that East didn't want them on the field because they were afraid they'd mess it up. My heavens. They'd just played 4 quarters of football, in the RAIN, but they were afraid a few parents in tennis shoes would damage the field. If I'm not mistaken, Morristown-Hamblen has 4 middle schools that play on that field in addition to the two high schools' varsity and JV teams. I don't think allowing parents on the field could hurt anything. Besides, I seem to recall their student section was standing on the field prior to the game. Oh well. Just one more reason to dislike Morristown I guess. Again, great job Patriots on the win Friday night! Regardless of what some of the naysayers post on here, (EastTennessee) I for one am proud of you and the progress you've made this season. GO PATRIOTS!

I have been a Patriots follower for several years now. I've sat through the highs of the Meadows Era and the lows of the Euverard Era. I've cheered, fussed, wondered and scratched my head through the Anderson Era. I sat through the weather fiasco Friday night and boy am I glad I did! The Patriot team that showed up to play at Cherokee was awesome! This team is growing and maturing right before our eyes! I think adding Mason to the backfield definitely added a whole new dimension to the offense! The one-two punch he and Wright deliver, along with the option threat from Goins makes for hard work on the part of our rivals' defensive coaches. We have a receivers corps that is quick, a phenomenal ground attack, and a defense that will not quit. Sounds like a pretty good combination to me. Good luck Thursday Patriots. Stay focused and believe. Then we can celebrate the victory over West.