Oakland at Mt. Juliet (Round 2)

[MJGOLDENBEARS]

I’m proud of the way MJ fought last week after an abysmal 2 week period. Oakland is Oakland and will do Oakland things. Best possible outcome for MJ would be similar to the 24-14 loss we took at Oakland a few years back. Our defense is good enough to get a few stops, but our offense has been completely inept. Losing our best Rb Crudup has hurt us no doubt. I expect some resistance from MJ in the early goings and then the flood gates letting loose eventually.

Edited November 7, 2023 by MJGOLDENBEARS

[jhawk23]

9 minutes ago, MJGOLDENBEARS said:

I’m proud of the way MJ fought last week after an abysmal 2 week period. Oakland is Oakland and will do Oakland things. Best possible outcome for MJ would be similar to the 24-14 loss we took at Oakland a few years back. Our defense is good enough to get a few stops, but our offense has been completely inept. Losing our best Rb Crudup has hurt us no doubt. I expect some resistance from MJ in the early goings and then the flood gates letting loose eventually.

I'm expecting this game to go pretty much as you described it, especially if MJ isn't able to move the ball with regularity and keep their defense off the field for sustained periods. Oakland's run game will wear you down as the game goes on so you have to be able to help your defense out as much as possible

[CaptainGuru]

13 minutes ago, MJGOLDENBEARS said:

I’m proud of the way MJ fought last week after an abysmal 2 week period. Oakland is Oakland and will do Oakland things. Best possible outcome for MJ would be similar to the 24-14 loss we took at Oakland a few years back. Our defense is good enough to get a few stops, but our offense has been completely inept. Losing our best Rb Crudup has hurt us no doubt. I expect some resistance from MJ in the early goings and then the flood gates letting loose eventually.

I agree with you. Mount Juliet Bears will not be able to beat Oakland much less mercy rule them in this game. It will not happen. I guarantee it. Mount Juliet Bears have had a nice season though. I am Captain Guru and I approve this message. 

[MidTennFootball]

3 minutes ago, MJGOLDENBEARS said:

Good way to put it, MJ has had reasonable talent, sure. Unfortunately the stars haven’t aligned properly on the right positions on the right year. It’s always lacking somewhere.

I want to address this over here bc I don't want to derail the thread it originated on. You can win championships with reasonable talent, MJ has sent a steady stream of kids to FBS and FCS so I don't think talent is the issue.

The issue IMO is MJ clearly isn't getting better over the course of the season, or at least as much as they should. This is the 2nd time in 3 seasons they've collapsed down the stretch, they did recover to beat Rockvale, but the Rockets were also down to their 3rd string QB I believe. The struggles are partly due to the fact that MJ doesn't play elite competition until its absolutely forced to. I think the other part of this equation is the offense, feels like every time they've hit a rough patch or don't achieve their potential,  it's on that side of the ball.

I have no doubt MJ will play hard, but trying to guess a score is anybody's guess. Oakland could win by 35, or they could win by 3-7 and neither would surprise me

[ChatterBox99]

Mt. Juliet struggling lately. Can't beat a team like Oakland without playing a complete game. Oakland has had some tough games lately and they put it together this week

[howdoitknow]

Oakland's road to another 6A state championship will include trips to Mt. Juliet, Riverdale, and a trip to East-TN for Thanksgiving.  That regular season Riverdale loss was the best thing that could have happened to them.  They saw evidence on the field that they were actually capable of losing to an in-state opponent.  It reared its ugly head at the beginning of the Ravenwood game but many thought that was just an accidental beginning and that it wouldn't ever happen again.  When they were up 17-0 versus Riverdale I'm sure that some didn't believe it was possible, especially if it wasn't against some Division II Private School.  Now that it has happened and they've been "bitten" they have experienced what it's like to lose.  

[CougarDadx2]

30 minutes ago, howdoitknow said:

Oakland's road to another 6A state championship will include trips to Mt. Juliet, Riverdale, and a trip to East-TN for Thanksgiving.  That regular season Riverdale loss was the best thing that could have happened to them.  They saw evidence on the field that they were actually capable of losing to an in-state opponent.  It reared its ugly head at the beginning of the Ravenwood game but many thought that was just an accidental beginning and that it wouldn't ever happen again.  When they were up 17-0 versus Riverdale I'm sure that some didn't believe it was possible, especially if it wasn't against some Division II Private School.  Now that it has happened and they've been "bitten" they have experienced what it's like to lose.  

This is the very reason people should be worried about Oakland. A fundamentally solid team is hard to beat. When they have a chip on their shoulder it's even greater. The second half of Riverdale woke a sleeping beast. MJ will be a bump in the road.

 

[ttitan27]

12 minutes ago, CougarDadx2 said:

This is the very reason people should be worried about Oakland. A fundamentally solid team is hard to beat. When they have a chip on their shoulder it's even greater. The second half of Riverdale woke a sleeping beast. MJ will be a bump in the road.

 

I hope you are correct.  For me I have been cautiously optimistic with Oakland the entire season.  The past several seasons they have been elite and basically unstoppable.  I personally haven't had them with that "elite" status at all this year.  They can certainly get it done and Creasy will have them well prepared for each and every game.  They just have to go out and execute.  C'mon Pats, lets make it 4 in a row.  Has anyone in 6A ever done that?  I would assume if anyone has it would be Maryville.

As far as Mt. Juliet goes, I don't think this is the week that Oakland exits.  Oakland by just about as much as they want in this one.  Mt. Juliet as others have said has had a easy road with no real competition to be battle tested like many of the others still in the playoffs.  For them it's been a case of "If you're the smartest person in the room then you are in the wrong room" 

Edited November 8, 2023 by ttitan27

[jhawk23]

19 minutes ago, ttitan27 said:

I hope you are correct.  For me I have been cautiously optimistic with Oakland the entire season.  The past several seasons they have been elite and basically unstoppable.  I personally haven't had them with that "elite" status at all this year.  They can certainly get it done and Creasy will have them well prepared for each and every game.  They just have to go out and execute.  C'mon Pats, lets make it 4 in a row.  Has anyone in 6A ever done that?  I would assume if anyone has it would be Maryville.

As far as Mt. Juliet goes, I don't think this is the week that Oakland exits.  Oakland by just about as much as they want in this one.  Mt. Juliet as others have said has had a easy road with no real competition to be battle tested like many of the others still in the playoffs.  For them it's been a case of "If you're the smartest person in the room then you are in the wrong room" 

3 in a row had never been done in 6A until Oakland last year, so 4 in a row definitely hasn't

[CaptainGuru]

40 minutes ago, CougarDadx2 said:

This is the very reason people should be worried about Oakland. A fundamentally solid team is hard to beat. When they have a chip on their shoulder it's even greater. The second half of Riverdale woke a sleeping beast. MJ will be a bump in the road.

 

Mount Juliet Bears will not mercy rule Oakland Patriots in this game. It will not happen. I guarantee it. I do not care if Riverdale beat them or not. Do you want to bet? I am Captain Guru and I approve this message. 

[MidTennFootball]

I think non-Oakland folk need to consider the possibility that Week 11 happened not because of a bad half but merely the possibility that Riverdale is just better. This team is relatively young by Oakland standards whereas just about every major contributor for Riverdale is a senior.

Some people see it as a bump in the road on the way to another title, I see it as a potential repeat of 2019 where Riverdale exposed us a little bit there as well (albeit in a loss) on the way to getting knocked out before the BCB. Hopefully the team proves me wrong and makes me feel like an idiot

[CaptainGuru]

7 minutes ago, MidTennFootball said:

I think non-Oakland folk need to consider the possibility that Week 11 happened not because of a bad half but merely the possibility that Riverdale is just better. This team is relatively young by Oakland standards whereas just about every major contributor for Riverdale is a senior.

Some people see it as a bump in the road on the way to another title, I see it as a potential repeat of 2019 where Riverdale exposed us a little bit there as well (albeit in a loss) on the way to getting knocked out before the BCB. Hopefully the team proves me wrong and makes me feel like an idiot

Riverdale Warriors will not mercy rule Oakland Patriots next week. It will not happen. I guarantee it. Oakland Patriots are too good to let that happen. Just because a team beats you once does not mean you will get mercy ruled by them the next game. Oakland Patriots will be just fine. I am Captain Guru and I approve this message.