Riverdale Offseason Thread

[Lost Old Dad]

You just said it, rankin did not win because of some key injuries.if you did not hear, riverdale had a huge key injury. the biggest position on the field. im not saying they would have won, but things would have been different. andrew did as well as he could, but it is kind of like the colts losing peyton.rdale has been busting their rears for the past 3 years. the coaching staff really pushes them hard.

 

I agree that Andrew did a really good job. It is not his fault it was 'different' to be thrown in the game at QB. A 'Great' coach would have gotten him some reps during the season though to help with his timing with the 1st string. It would have also given his receivers time to get used to his throwing style. Every QB has his own spin on the ball. Just like the difference between a left hander and a right hander both puts a different spin on the ball.

 

Would we have won if our 1st string QB had not gone down? I have NO idea, but we will never know now. Only thing I know is we are going to have to step up yet another notch to have a shot at the Gold Ball next year.

 

Now we as fans can do nothing but sit back and see if Coach A wants to be a 'GREAT' coach, or just another good one that settles for LESS than the Gold Ball.

 

Like I said earlier last week, NEXT season started Monday Noverber 28, 2011. Hopefully it was in the WEIGHT ROOM.

[runtheball]

I agree that Andrew did a really good job. It is not his fault it was 'different' to be thrown in the game at QB. A 'Great' coach would have gotten him some reps during the season though to help with his timing with the 1st string. It would have also given his receivers time to get used to his throwing style. Every QB has his own spin on the ball. Just like the difference between a left hander and a right hander both puts a different spin on the ball.

 

Would we have won if our 1st string QB had not gone down? I have NO idea, but we will never know now. Only thing I know is we are going to have to step up yet another notch to have a shot at the Gold Ball next year.

 

Now we as fans can do nothing but sit back and see if Coach A wants to be a 'GREAT' coach, or just another good one that settles for LESS than the Gold Ball.

 

Like I said earlier last week, NEXT season started Monday Noverber 28, 2011. Hopefully it was in the WEIGHT ROOM.

When I visit him today I will ask him.

[daisyfairmount]

When I visit him today I will ask him.

how was your visit today with coach A?

[daisyfairmount]

I agree that Andrew did a really good job. It is not his fault it was 'different' to be thrown in the game at QB. A 'Great' coach would have gotten him some reps during the season though to help with his timing with the 1st string. It would have also given his receivers time to get used to his throwing style. Every QB has his own spin on the ball. Just like the difference between a left hander and a right hander both puts a different spin on the ball.

 

Would we have won if our 1st string QB had not gone down? I have NO idea, but we will never know now. Only thing I know is we are going to have to step up yet another notch to have a shot at the Gold Ball next year.

 

Now we as fans can do nothing but sit back and see if Coach A wants to be a 'GREAT' coach, or just another good one that settles for LESS than the Gold Ball.

 

Like I said earlier last week, NEXT season started Monday Noverber 28, 2011. Hopefully it was in the WEIGHT ROOM.

do you not think the players would benefit from a week or two off to heal up their beat up bodies and minds?

[runtheball]

how was your visit today with coach A?

Always a good visit.

[Lost Old Dad]

do you not think the players would benefit from a week or two off to heal up their beat up bodies and minds?

 

No. Now you thru holding their hand and treating them like babies instead of young men?

 

If your knee is hurt you can still do weight training. Curls and bench presses do not hurt knees. Same for other parts.

 

As to their MINDS, we had a saying in Vietnam. Grab them by the balls HARD, and their hearts and minds will follow.

 

Now do we have any more Metro type babying in mind? This type of thinking is why we will NOT see another gold ball until we get rid of Metro type thinking at R'dale!

[pepvol]

No. Now you thru holding their hand and treating them like babies instead of young men?

 

If your knee is hurt you can still do weight training. Curls and bench presses do not hurt knees. Same for other parts.

 

As to their MINDS, we had a saying in Vietnam. Grab them by the balls HARD, and their hearts and minds will follow.

 

Now do we have any more Metro type babying in mind? This type of thinking is why we will NOT see another gold ball until we get rid of Metro type thinking at R'dale!

 

Lost Old Dad's a Big Fan of Riverdale ... whether they WIN ...or they WIN !!

 

Just kidding with you LOD , come cheer for us Sat , we're gonna need all the help we can get it sounds like !

[Lost Old Dad]

Lost Old Dad's a Big Fan of Riverdale ... whether they WIN ...or they WIN !!

 

Just kidding with you LOD , come cheer for us Sat , we're gonna need all the help we can get it sounds like !

I spent MANY an hour cheering for Maryville when they played right before us EVERY year at the State Championships. Looks like I am going to have to if I want to cheer for a Gold Ball winner.

 

Your right though about wanting R'dale to win. It's hard not to cheer for them after so many years cheering for them. The 'Metro Mafia' which sticks together to protect Coaches whether they win or lose that gets me the most as we see above. The real shame of it is it really short changes the players in the long run as they will not know what it is like to be able to call themselves STATE CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

[TDCman]

LOD, I don't think you're giving the staff credit for the many areas where the team improved this year. The finish was disappointing but there were several marked areas of improvement this year and those deserve to be recognized. I don't think you can ever really criticize a staff that makes the semis...they obviously did something right.

 

First, congrats to Maryville on the win. I haven't been here since that loss...just couldn't bear to think about it. Maryville has a very special team and I'll be surprised if Whitehaven can hang in for four quarters. Good luck saturday night.

 

Ok, that's been said. One area I'll agree with LOD and that's the preparation of AD for this big moment in his career. As I recall, AD surprised us all by taking the backup QB spot as a sophomore. However, in those three years as a backup, I don't recall him ever getting any meaningful playing time running the first offense. There was some mop up time with the backups but never running the first offense with the first team offensive players, and probably never a snap in the first half...when it counted. I read something that in three years as the #2 QB he had thrown less than 10 passes. That should never, ever happen. Seriously, three years?

 

The defense was much better this year. They were the best in 7-AAA. The were not great, nor outstanding, but they were good. They did have a few momemnts when they were very good. That may be the best that could be expected in the first year running the 3-4. It's a separate subject that defense looked like the lost art in 7-AAA this year. All those threads about how great 7-AAA was and not a single outstanding defense in the bunch. That explains the early exit from the playoffs for all those teams. I think the progress this year definitely brings hope that we can take the next step in 2012. Don't forget that this defense lost their top returning tackler (Boland) to injury before the season and their top cover corner in the first half of the season.

 

Riverdale can pass when injuries don't take them out of their game. I don't think anyone can argue that.

 

For the first time since Coach A arrived. The open positions on this team weren't filled by incoming sophomores or freshmen. Instead, they were filled by players that had been developed in the system, had the reps in practice, and had some experience at least in backup roles. That made a difference and has been one of the biggest weaknesses in the program since Rankin left.

 

Less players played both ways and more players are getting reps in the games. That will pay huge dividends in the future and continue to allow us to fill open spots with players that have some experience. It's looking more like a program now and less like each year is a happening in a vacuum.

 

Some of the 'trappings' around the program have been restored, signage repainted, field work, etc...

 

Some areas that need work:

 

Maryvile was a MUCH stronger football team than Riverdale. That area needs to be looked at immediately.

 

The web site need a lot of work. There's some kind of disconnect there. How can kids be on the field all year but never show up on the roster? How do players stay on the roster all year and only have their initials there?

 

The organization is better but still leaves me pretty uncomfortable. It's possible that they are very organized but we just don't see it all. Regardless, it doesn't seem that they are organized enough to get all bases covered (web site for one). Will Riverdale really only play three home games next year? Is there a plan for compensating for that missed revenue? Home games with Hendersonville and Lavergne probably won't be big money makers. The other home game against Blackman may not be very good either since they may be way down next year. Do they know who will be kicking next year, and the year after?

Edited December 1, 2011 by TDCman

[Lost Old Dad]

Yes TDC I WILL give you that they were 'better'. My only big problem is WHY did we have to wait.....ahhhhhhhhh.....lets see now 5 or 6 years to see it that way.

 

The only reason it has gotten that way is because Coach A has gotten Coaches in on staff FINALLY that do not push that mealy mouth Metro agenda and attitude.

 

We still have a couple trying to make excuses, but it is the staying on the program by a few that has actually PUSHED Coach A to come up to 7AAA speed. I see that and having a couple of REALLY good QB's come thru the program bringing us where we are today.

 

Will I lay down and play 'nice' now? No. I will stay on the Coaching staff until they do produce the kinds of teams they have in them if they will only work harder and pay attention to ALL the details. You know like DEFENSE! How many years has it been now since we have had a 4 game shutout season? If you remember the 2004 one they had 8 of them. I do not think asking for at least 4 in one season is asking much. How about 'special teams'? Did we have a backup kicker this year? What would have happened if our first string one had gone down?

 

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS!

 

Players, Thank You for ALL you have done this year.

 

Now reguardless if the Coaches want to take the month off, BACK to the weight room.

[jake]

I BLAME them, because it is NOT the players fault. The players can only do what the coaches teach them and tell them what to do.

 

This year we were better prepared, but NOT up to the standards we are used to.

 

Any more EXCUSES you want to make for the Coaches?

 

 

I saw you play Maryville and will give you my opinion. There are usually a few teams in the state that normally make a strong run for the championship year in and year out, Maryville is obviously one of these teams. So to me, as a coach, you have to figure out in August what you need to do to beat that team. If you can implement an offense and defense that you think will beat that team, it would stand to reason that you can beat everyone else on your schedule. With that said, I watched an undefeated Riverdale team come to Maryville and once again try to beat Maryville running the Wing T offense. It ain't happening. IMO, Riverdale can continue beating the teams it plays running that offense, but they are not going to beat Maryville with that offense, so the coaches have a decision to make...they can either keep on having good seasons come to an end when they play Maryville in the playoffs and be content with a 11, 12, or 13 wins a year, or they can try to adapt something more into their offense that will better help them when they play the 3 or 4 best teams in the state.

 

Having said all of this, Maryville would have beat you this year regardless of your offense, they were just a better overall team with better athletes across the board. IMO

[Lost Old Dad]

I saw you play Maryville and will give you my opinion. There are usually a few teams in the state that normally make a strong run for the championship year in and year out, Maryville is obviously one of these teams. So to me, as a coach, you have to figure out in August what you need to do to beat that team. If you can implement an offense and defense that you think will beat that team, it would stand to reason that you can beat everyone else on your schedule. With that said, I watched an undefeated Riverdale team come to Maryville and once again try to beat Maryville running the Wing T offense. It ain't happening. IMO, Riverdale can continue beating the teams it plays running that offense, but they are not going to beat Maryville with that offense, so the coaches have a decision to make...they can either keep on having good seasons come to an end when they play Maryville in the playoffs and be content with a 11, 12, or 13 wins a year, or they can try to adapt something more into their offense that will better help them when they play the 3 or 4 best teams in the state.

 

Having said all of this, Maryville would have beat you this year regardless of your offense, they were just a better overall team with better athletes across the board. IMO

 

 

I have NEVER said we would have beaten Maryville. Coach A has too big a record of choking against Coach Q for me to say we would.

 

Would not have mattered what offense we used, the plain hard facts are he did NOT have the team ready to go against Maryville. With our first string QB we would have kept it close, but I cannot and will not say we would have won.

 

Now the team has time off. Mainly to give the coaches time off. Used to be the players and Coaches earned their time off by winning. Now we have the Metro attitude of after the choke we take time off until we HAVE to work.

 

I will shut up now and quit trying to actually get the winning attitude back at R'dale.

 

Merry Christmas Y'all.