HaveitYourWay

It was at Cleveland. A playoff game and you guessed it a running play. If they can't stop it why change. I'm not making it up. Who ran the ball for them 22 straight times ZCAR? That's really impressive(or batty) if that indeed was the case and Cleveland couldn't figure it out!

I think everyone appreciates you're lack of quoting me about the qualification that Gibson is most certainly an athlete. Conveniently overlooked! But let's look at a few facts ourselves. The stats you quote can be accurate or inaccurate. Fact! It has been common practice in this area for the home team to report both teams stats. Fact! No one really knows the stats because people have complained for years that their boys stats weren't right one way or another. Fact! Those stats may also be skewed quite drastically based on when the carries were in a game (i.e. mop up duty for or against a player) and they may be skewed based on just what this coaching staff is trying to do. Fact! Who knows what that is exactly? No one! They may also be skewed simply based on an opponent one way or another. Fact! Now for the superior athlete comment...with the numbers I've been hearing from some kids I'm close to...6 ran under a 4.5 this year while 3 ran over a 4.6. 4.6 is good, in fact really good for the school and area, but it's not under 4.5 the last time I checked. Also, the last time I looked on a field, that .1+ of a second equated to about 5 yards on the field. 5 yards goes a long way when trying to defend a pass or beat a defender. Note: that's based on sheer athletic ability not how either performs. Both have appeared to be burnt on the pass at times which happens to the best of kids. The teams best defenders of the pass most certainly have appeared to be 10 and 37 this year overall. I believe at one point I made a statement about how 6 should get 25 touches a game and everyone thought I was crazy. Well just how crazy is that really? You anticipate there being 3-4 kickoffs and 5-6 punts. So right there that's 8-10 touches you want to try and get the kid (because he has the playmaking ability to take it the distance on kick returns) thus leaving between 15-17 touches (on offense...out of what? 50-60 plays in theory...25%?). You would think, or I would think that 6-8 of the remaining touches would be in the passing game (the same amount for #10 and probably 3-5 for 37 in the passing game if not more), which would leave #6 touching the ball in the running game 9-12 times, something like that. 9-12 times isn't that many touches as far as running the ball goes really. With this stuff being said, I don't think 3 or 6 should run the ball in the Halls system. 3 is smaller than 6. In fact 7 is smaller than both those but makes up for it in his Long attitude. That kid plays like he's 225. But anyways, with the type of kids Halls has had this year they should have been in some sort of spread. Spread the field out, which means the defenses have to widen out and then you get your athletes running around some seams and let them do what they do. At one point I was told Halls was looking to go to the spread. Imagine with me if they had Now with the way this season has played out and using the eyeball test on all the kids, I would think that 34, 46 and 7 should run the ball when they're healthy right now in the jacked up system. They've ran it the best/hardest in my opinion. So there, how's that for saying something positive for 3 kids in spite of 2 others! Oh and #7 (a soph) might be our best overall player if #10 isn't. Please compare me to moronicus again!

Best post award. Neither O'laughlin & Gibson who are great kids need the hatred spewed on these boards the past few years about them. The posters know who they are. Shame shame shame. I agree ZCAR, which is why I said what I said. I maybe shouldn't have put the thing about Gibson in that context exactly, but the point I really wanted to make was that all the O'Laughlin haters seem to be awfully quiet. The truth be told neither of those kids will thrive in the current offensive system, nor will many kids that keep coming through the program in its current state (nor would have Blakely probably). Anyways, there's not a kid on that team currently that I can think of that I would say that I don't like. I guess I just spouted off at the mouth after sitting here for so long and watching all these people hate on a kid on behalf of another kid when the first kid is a far superior athlete. The boy showed that earlier this year when he returned a kickoff without much blocking in front of him. That doesn't mean that Gibson isn't an athlete because he most certainly is. But I'm not about to sit back and watch people hate on a kid because they have selfish motivations for another. It's time for adults (or kids) on these boards to grow up and remember that the people wearing numbers on the field (KIDS) during the games are trying to do what they've been coached to do by the people under the headsets. It's not one kids fault or another if a system is broke. It's not a coaches fault if a kid fumbles. But a coach can work on better ball security in traffic if that isn't worked on! Anyways, the game Friday is the only game I've seen this year where I felt the coaches had the kids in positions to win, but execution of ball security killed the coaches and the team. The rest of the games I feel like you can look out there and say..that's a coaching problem.

Anyone ever thought that Kilgore might've done the kid a favor? No matter what the context was that Kilgore told Blakely that if he indeed did...looks to me like he did the kid a favor. Where's all the O'Laughlin haters at? What about the Gibson supporters (same people as the haters)? Two weeks with 6 on the sideline not dressed out and 3 has looked incredibly unimpressive. The best runners of the ball we have right now are 34, 46 and 14 in no particular order with 7 not dressed out. But to my memory I don't believe 34 carried it Friday night. What a shame! He showed everyone what he could do with that catch and run down the field for the only score on the night. He also ran the ball really well last week against Oak Ridge. Oh well, what do I know?

I don't know if he's hurt or not, but if not and this is the Halls coaches gameplan then they're crazy! They ought to be run out of town if they don't give O'Laughlin 20+ touches a game, or whatever 60-70% of the offensive plays per game would be, whether it's screens or whatever. The kid is the real deal and he had what, 1 play out of 9/10 that they called his number? That's just crazy! You can't really say it looked like they were working on something else either. It all looked like the same stuff as the previous years. Nothing new going on formation wise or playcalling wise. Here's a question for you! Was O'Laughlin's run the only play Halls gained yards aside from the penalty? I guess they might've gained 1 or 2 yards on a fb dive looking play, but that won't cut it. I hate to say it just because the man is so old school, but bring Ward back. He at least seemed to work to get the ball to the best players. On top of that, move Kilgore back to RB coach. Last year was the only year I've seen the RBs for Halls block for each other in recent memory. The year before Halls only had one feature back really and the other wb blocked ok it seemed. Neither one of the current backs look like they know what blocking is this year. That RB block is huge for Halls offense. Obviously Hasel moving to QB coach has worked because the QBs have looked better this year than they ever have that I can remember. Even the two last night looked ok, just some jitters it looked like to me. If the situation remains status quo with how Halls is going to coach it then we better hope for everyone's off night and get a couple pick 6s per game. 20+ really??? come on now. keep in mind ole wes kitts only averaged 11 caries a game his senior year. To double that for an under sized junior would be crazy. and no he wasnt hurt 3 is just faster then he is, I used to see the 2 run track and gibby beat him everytime. Yes 20+, Kitts didn't get enough touches. O'Laughlin is also better in the passing game than Kitts was, hence saying 20+touches and not 20+ carries. Also, you should see the 2 run now. O'Laughlin ran track as a freshman, but did not as a sophomore. You also should see the 2 standing beside one another. One has added muscle; the other, not so much. Let's also keep in mind that UT tried to get the ball to Leonard Scott because he was so "fast." What everyone forgets is that it's not how fast you are necessarily, but how well can you see the field. There's no question to 99.9% of people in East Tn who have a clue about football on who should be getting the ball majority of the time. O'Laughlin can do things you just can't teach. My last point. Devron Young of Bearden was the main focus point for the Bulldogs last season. He was smaller than O'Laughlin last year. He got the ball 20+ times a game easy as an undersized sophomore.

I don't know if he's hurt or not, but if not and this is the Halls coaches gameplan then they're crazy! They ought to be run out of town if they don't give O'Laughlin 20+ touches a game, or whatever 60-70% of the offensive plays per game would be, whether it's screens or whatever. The kid is the real deal and he had what, 1 play out of 9/10 that they called his number? That's just crazy! You can't really say it looked like they were working on something else either. It all looked like the same stuff as the previous years. Nothing new going on formation wise or playcalling wise. Here's a question for you! Was O'Laughlin's run the only play Halls gained yards aside from the penalty? I guess they might've gained 1 or 2 yards on a fb dive looking play, but that won't cut it. I hate to say it just because the man is so old school, but bring Ward back. He at least seemed to work to get the ball to the best players. On top of that, move Kilgore back to RB coach. Last year was the only year I've seen the RBs for Halls block for each other in recent memory. The year before Halls only had one feature back really and the other wb blocked ok it seemed. Neither one of the current backs look like they know what blocking is this year. That RB block is huge for Halls offense. Obviously Hasel moving to QB coach has worked because the QBs have looked better this year than they ever have that I can remember. Even the two last night looked ok, just some jitters it looked like to me. If the situation remains status quo with how Halls is going to coach it then we better hope for everyone's off night and get a couple pick 6s per game.

Well, way I see it is this. The 3A job you speak of was a done deal. Everyone knew Gibbs would do what it did and hire from within. Everyone who interviewed pretty much did it just for interview experience from what I've heard. Now, concerning experience as a coordinator. I don't buy that experience should put one guy into a position and another in a different position. There are too many variables that go into being a coordinator. For one, does the person calling the plays know what the O-line will be doing verses varying defenses? Secondly, does the coordinator understand how to manipulate defenses with his offense? For example, can he communicate with the kids on the field to change plays based on looks he's getting. Or can he force an opposing defense to change what it's doing to try and stop what he's doing? Thirdly, based on this so called experience, why was Halls unsuccessful this past year with a veteran offensive line, a 2nd year QB, etc.? Fourthly, just how successful has Williams been at other schools that have put him in the position of coordinator? Fifthly, a coordinator should look at spacing on the field. What I mean by this is a coordinator for any school in any offensive scheme should be able to spread a defense out by formation/plays. If you don't do this, then you have no shot at being successful every single week if you play in a difficult region. Spacing includes WR position on the field, OL splits, left/right hash, position of the Line of Scrimmage on the field (are you in the middle of the field, going in/out?), kids who aren't afraid to get lost in the middle of the LBs, etc. These are all variables that the OC has to figure out in order to make the defense do things it doesn't normally do against other opponents. These are all questions that should be looked at in my opinion. There are more as well I'm sure, but this is what sticks out to me. One last thing about OL coaches being coordinators. Go ahead and correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Phil Fulmer a coordinator? Isn't the new OC at UT an OL coach? The point is there are many OL coaches who are coordinators. The reason being that the OL coach understands what's going on up front better than many other coaches. And, if you can't solve the problem up front or get into a good protection, then any chance at passing is out the door. The same can be said about the running game to a certain extent. Granted Hassel hasn't been the OL coach at Halls to my knowledge, but I believe he played center for the Red Devils in the early 90s. So I'd say, given that Halls offense hasn't appeared to change much since the '96 state championship game, Hassel still has a great working knowledge of O-line play since most centers are the smart guys who have to tell the rest of the OL what to do every play. Well that's what I have for now. I look forward to hearing back from you guys with some good discussion foreseeable.

ZCAR, do you think there's anyone on staff who doesn't fear the incomplete pass or has the guts to call anything at any time? Is there anyone on staff that has the innovation or smarts about 'em to find a way for Halls High School to complete more passes? The kids ultimately have to execute but the coaches have to be able to get them in a situation to execute with a fighting chance.

Just who would you have run the offense then?

It might be that he's the most well-rounded coach on the staff, from a philosophical coaching standpoint. It's tough to say who the most well rounded coach is from a physical point. If Polston was still coaching there'd be no doubt, but since he's not, there's a tight race among the coaches with Kirby probably leading the pack. My main question is if Hassel's moved to the QB coach, what happened to the rest of the staff? I don't imagine Williams coaching the D-Line. How would he show the taller linemen proper hand techniques and placement? Are step ladders legal equipment during practice? Who will coach the Dline? Will Hurst move over from O-line to D-line or perhaps even do both? Or will Julian relinquish all the LB duties to Kirby and/or Kilgore and take over D-line? With all these coaching vacancies popping up around the area, are any of the coaches thought to be looking around? Is Hassel applying for head coach at AC or D-Coordinator at Catholic? Or anywhere else for that matter? Can some of you more in the know Halls guys help us out?

Old skewl vs new skewl new skewl wins for sure

The head coach must've thought the assistants ran out of luck with that state championship.

From what I hear, Chief Wahoo could still take you to the woodshed. Better hope he doesn't get on here, which I seriously doubt.

da Bears

Anyone know what the redistricting has done to the Knox Halls schedule for next year?