Football 101 for some SP fans

[team69]

I tune into this comic book from time to time. I have no problem with UC giving some of the Pirate posters on here a dish of STFU. Bottom line we got beat by a better team. They beat us like we use to beat people by running the ball down our throats(ALL THE SCHEMING IN THE WORLD WOULDN'T HAVE HELPED). Even though I hate losing more than anything I was very impressed with UC's football team. What impressed me the most was the discipline they played with. So congrats UC.

JMO, for those that run their mouth and I have read it all year is that you need to take a course in football 101. The first lesson is keep your mouth shut when you don't have a clue about how the game is played. Second lesson, NO EXCUSES OR BLAME it's a team sport and that includes bad mouthing everyone from the managers to the Coaches. Third Lesson, when you get beat by a better team suck it up and learn from it. Then be willing to admit you got your butt handed to you.

On my opinion of what lays in store for next year is that I have no doubt that we will be competitive and I will be there supporting the Team,Coaches, and even the managers. We are South Pittsburg and the players and coaches that have built our tradition over the years don't have to run their mouths to anyone. It's very simple just let the games do our talking. As far as the Championship game goes UC has the stage for now.

[bossbro]

Bravo,team69. Where the heck have you been? Let's hope to whom this thread applies pays attention! I've

been saying player's that wev'e had over the past 2yrs. Don't come around every yr. Yes we have good talent.But great talent and team chemistry brings championships. Losing being blamed on individuals is just cowardice. Teams win and lose not individuals. Good points team.

[UncleDave]

UncleDave agrees with most of your opinions, but the one I don't agree with is coaching. I am one of the last to bash coaches....#1 because I don't see everything that they do.....but the loss in the state game and the loss to Trousdale last year both were due to being outcoached. Three down linemen against a power running football team won't cut it. Now, the players have to come thru on their assignments or coaching don't mean squat. I am proud of the young men that have played for the Pirates the last few years, but they are no better than ones that have played in the past in my opinion. We have had numerous players that should have played at the next level. We have also had teams just as good that played much tougher competition thru the regular season and playoffs. Just UncleDave's opinion for what it is worth.

[OLD PIRATE]

UncleDave agrees with most of your opinions, but the one I don't agree with is coaching. I am one of the last to bash coaches....#1 because I don't see everything that they do.....but the loss in the state game and the loss to Trousdale last year both were due to being outcoached. Three down linemen against a power running football team won't cut it. Now, the players have to come thru on their assignments or coaching don't mean squat. I am proud of the young men that have played for the Pirates the last few years, but they are no better than ones that have played in the past in my opinion. We have had numerous players that should have played at the next level. We have also had teams just as good that played much tougher competition thru the regular season and playoffs. Just UncleDave's opinion for what it is worth.

 

Old Pirate says 3 DL with 3-4 LB coming every play from different directions is more confusing and presents more concerns than 6-7 linemen noseup. Don't agree with you UD, fact is they were bigger and we needed to score when given the opportunities, and we didn't.............................JOPO

[MOTO24]

UncleDave agrees with most of your opinions, but the one I don't agree with is coaching. I am one of the last to bash coaches....#1 because I don't see everything that they do.....but the loss in the state game and the loss to Trousdale last year both were due to being outcoached. Three down linemen against a power running football team won't cut it. Now, the players have to come thru on their assignments or coaching don't mean squat. I am proud of the young men that have played for the Pirates the last few years, but they are no better than ones that have played in the past in my opinion. We have had numerous players that should have played at the next level. We have also had teams just as good that played much tougher competition thru the regular season and playoffs. Just UncleDave's opinion for what it is worth.

 

Old Pirate says 3 DL with 3-4 LB coming every play from different directions is more confusing and presents more concerns than 6-7 linemen noseup. Don't agree with you UD, fact is they were bigger and we needed to score when given the opportunities, and we didn't.............................JOPO

 

I don't like the 3-4 defense for high school ball. On the surface it sounds great for 1A teams...you only need 3 linemen. One of the hardest positions to fill year in and year out is the big boys up front, especially for 1A. The problem is that those 3 linemen need to be huge when you're playing a physical team like Union City. The most important part of a successful 3-4 defense is having a big ol' nose guard that can plug both A-gaps. That's hard to do for most lineman, especially when you're going up against a great fullback along with good center and guard play. I know the 3-4 is sort of making a comeback in the NFL but there's a reason most teams run a 4-3. It's hard to get the right players for a 3-4. A plain ol' 5-2 is best for stopping the run but again, sometimes you just don't have the lineman to run it. SP seems to be full of athletes (of the linebacker type) but like most 1A teams, they aren't full of linemen. I can see why you'd want to run a 3-4 but I'd rather put 2 undersized (yet athletic) lineman in a 5-2 package.

 

We can all second guess our coaches but they aren't stupid and they want the best for their kids too. I don't know Grider and the rest of the coaching staff but I'm sure they did what they thought would give them their best chance of winning. It all starts up front and its a constant battle to get good linemen, hence all the spread offenses and 3-3, 3-4, etc. defenses. All this to try and make up for deficiencies up front. Most coaches would love to have a bad "ace" line, you'd just run double tight, power I and make em like it. And then on defense, if you've got all kinds of players to choose from, you just change your formation and personnel depending on the offense you're going up against. It's all so easy...NOT!

[pepsi5000]

pepsi man says he has been out recruting/went to grundy co and found some big boys to play d-line for your pirates.all joking aside the pirates need to be more physical/they would have never got by trousdale either

[OLD PIRATE]

pepsi man says he has been out recruting/went to grundy co and found some big boys to play d-line for your pirates.all joking aside the pirates need to be more physical/they would have never got by trousdale either

Old Pirate says good teams will have success running the football. Sure UC ran it more than us Pirate fans liked ,but scoring....................opportunities must be taken advantage of when available. SP didn't git it done and as a result everyone is kinda blaming the D only. OP says take away the outside big plays that the DBs were lost on and perhaps a different ending as well. However...................dropped passes for TDs and missed chip shots are why we are discussing this.

[slimshady]

I don't like the 3-4 defense for high school ball. On the surface it sounds great for 1A teams...you only need 3 linemen. One of the hardest positions to fill year in and year out is the big boys up front, especially for 1A. The problem is that those 3 linemen need to be huge when you're playing a physical team like Union City. The most important part of a successful 3-4 defense is having a big ol' nose guard that can plug both A-gaps. That's hard to do for most lineman, especially when you're going up against a great fullback along with good center and guard play. I know the 3-4 is sort of making a comeback in the NFL but there's a reason most teams run a 4-3. It's hard to get the right players for a 3-4. A plain ol' 5-2 is best for stopping the run but again, sometimes you just don't have the lineman to run it. SP seems to be full of athletes (of the linebacker type) but like most 1A teams, they aren't full of linemen. I can see why you'd want to run a 3-4 but I'd rather put 2 undersized (yet athletic) lineman in a 5-2 package.

 

We can all second guess our coaches but they aren't stupid and they want the best for their kids too. I don't know Grider and the rest of the coaching staff but I'm sure they did what they thought would give them their best chance of winning. It all starts up front and its a constant battle to get good linemen, hence all the spread offenses and 3-3, 3-4, etc. defenses. All this to try and make up for deficiencies up front. Most coaches would love to have a bad "ace" line, you'd just run double tight, power I and make em like it. And then on defense, if you've got all kinds of players to choose from, you just change your formation and personnel depending on the offense you're going up against. It's all so easy...NOT!

 

 

While I prefer the 5-2 defense also...TC ran a 3-4 this season...using a 195lb nose guard to start the season. We were giving up points left and right(teams were not really running up the middle much) Then somewhere around the Gville game he put in a 145 nose guard who with his quickness could usually beat the opposing center. Our oppenents scoring went down drastically after that. It really shouldn't have worked...but it did. It just shows me why Creasy is the coach...and i'm just a cage rattler

 

BTW, this 145 lb noseguard i speak of was a sophomore...made a huge play in the game against BB(12 yd qb sack, late 4th quarter)...he'll likely be a qb or hb on offense next yr. And who knows where on D. He's as you would say fast as a cat.

[team69]

UD, I don't think the 3-4 was the problem. After the first couple of series by UC everyone new what they were going to run.Excluding the pass they ran maybe 4 plays the whole game. They more of less said we are running here stop us if you can. Ball control was their cup of tea and they held a tea party. As I read on here countless times that no team could touch SP in 1A we found out different. I still believe that UC's most valuable asset was the discipline they played with. No doubt they are a well coached team but I wouldn't trade Vic for any other coach in the state.

There is a whole lot more to coaching kids than x's and o's. I think one of Vic's best asset is that He does a great job controlling his players on and off the field. He also is working hard on getting some a free education. Trips to the state are rare and we as Pirates are maybe a little spoiled and place very high expectations on 15 and 16 year old kids but getting a silver ball would tickle most schools to death. These high expectations have been earned over the years but we can never take anything for granted. I wish this bunch of seniors the best of luck and I am proud of you.

[Gerry Bertier]

South Pitt was running the 3-3 stack in the state championship game which essentially is a 5-2 set for those who prefer it. The Veer is a tough series to stop. Even if you do tackled the Ace back it is usually for a 3-4 yard gain maybe more. Also, whatever the defense chooses to do they are wrong. Any adjustments made by SP could of been countered by UC. By the end of the game SP did not want to tackle any longer. The most impressive thing from that game was not the Ace back but the OL of UC. Did you see those guards and tackles? They fired out low and hot every play. SP was not physical enough to win that game.

[OLD PIRATE]

UD, I don't think the 3-4 was the problem. After the first couple of series by UC everyone new what they were going to run.Excluding the pass they ran maybe 4 plays the whole game. They more of less said we are running here stop us if you can. Ball control was their cup of tea and they held a tea party. As I read on here countless times that no team could touch SP in 1A we found out different. I still believe that UC's most valuable asset was the discipline they played with. No doubt they are a well coached team but I wouldn't trade Vic for any other coach in the state.

There is a whole lot more to coaching kids than x's and o's. I think one of Vic's best asset is that He does a great job controlling his players on and off the field. He also is working hard on getting some a free education. Trips to the state are rare and we as Pirates are maybe a little spoiled and place very high expectations on 15 and 16 year old kids but getting a silver ball would tickle most schools to death. These high expectations have been earned over the years but we can never take anything for granted. I wish this bunch of seniors the best of luck and I am proud of you.

Old Pirate totally agrees with you. SP's unacheiving is often times most programs over acheiving.

[uctfan]

I want to make a comment and please don't take this in the wrong way or that it is trash talking.

 

First, it is great to have confidence in your team(s). But, when it crosses the line, so to speak, it can come back and get you in trouble.

 

All week long, we all trash talked to a point on here about what each team was going to do to the other that Friday at noon.

 

I talked to our ( Union City ) coaches staffs a couple of days after the game. The coaches kinda laughed at the pregame show and had been told about it before but really didn't bother our team or coaches staff...just thought it is not the place for High School Football. The way S P did/do their thing in pregame, your coaches or your players really do not realize that basically it is bulletin board material right before the other teams very eyes. Union City team never really saw what little show the S P players were trying to put on for the fans during warm ups but basically it will and did burn you to a point when you play a team that is focused and ready to play.

 

We would have played just as good either way but that just adds a little fuel to the fire so to speak for the other team. Basically coming out and trying to show and intimidate the other team most of the time doesn't work and it was proven that day. .

 

Our coaches and players aren't and will not be like that. But from the Union City and other fans stand point, that is part of S P game plan and really doesn't work on your better teams. It probably does work on the weaker teams which were the ones you won. .

 

But over all, the little pregame walk from the endzone with the S P helments high in the air might be a tradition for your school and may not be but that really needs to be left in practice.

 

I have been saying all year long that Union City was on a mission and they were. They were prepared like no other Single A team in the state before each game by our GREAT coaching staff. They didn't really worry about what the other team did. we were going to play our style and if you stop us on the field then you win. Two teams were able to do that this year...really three counting our jamboree with McKenzie loosing by one point.

 

WE really could have gone undefeated if the flu bug and injuries had not hit us at the time it did but we were 100% come playoffs and that was when it counted. One of the teams that beat us didn't even make the playoff and the other one we knocked out in the 3rd round.

 

My point is, show just a little more class before the game to the other team and their fans. If so, when you do get beat the next time, it won't be so hard to come around folks and on chat boards to cover up you before damages.

 

I had fans walk up to me before the game telling me that we didn't have a chance. Not good. Everyone was nice but just the attitude that was shown.

 

It was one of if not the best high school games I had ever seen and I have seen several in my time.