Even though Paul Johnson does have ties to SMU AD Steve Orsini and Executive AD Mike Vaught from their days at Navy, I'm told by a very reliable source that there is absolutely no truth whatever to the rumors that Paul Johnson will be the next HC at SMU. It would literally make no sense. In fact, the job at Duke in a BCS conference (and his home state of NC) makes more sense than the job at SMU. SMU is a lateral move from Navy with a little larger pool of recruits to pick from. Put it this way-I'd be absolutely shocked if Paul Johnson ended up at SMU. He can get a better job than that. In fact, Navy might be a better job, all things considered.
Meanwhile, even a moron from the University of Colorado campus newspaper can see what needs to happen:
"If Tom Osborne of Nebraska has half a brain, he would give Navy coach Paul Johnson a serious look."
This begs the question-IF Tom Osborne doesn't even give Paul Johnson a chance, do we need to question his sanity? Johnson and Jim Grobe are very very similar in their careers and what they've done taking smaller schools to success. And all indications are, Grobe is very high on Tom Osborne's list. So what gives Tom??
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The Hoodie is a big fan of PJ
From today's NY Times:
"Belichick is a big fan of Navy Coach Paul Johnson, whose run schemes Belichcik has studied in the off-season."
Yeah, Paul Johnson must just not be good enough for Nebraska (sarcasm).
"Belichick is a big fan of Navy Coach Paul Johnson, whose run schemes Belichcik has studied in the off-season."
Yeah, Paul Johnson must just not be good enough for Nebraska (sarcasm).
Rumors are Everywhere
Rumors are everywhere that Paul Johnson is somehow, someway connected to the current head coaching opening at the University of Nebraska and that things will take shape after the Army Navy game this weekend.
Bill Wagner of the Annapolis Capital Online almost writes a eulogy saying goodbye to Johnson
The Macon Telegraph concurs that Johnson appears to have been contacted by Nebraska.
Meanwhile, Tom Osborne hints he's not done doing interviews. What are you waiting for Tom??
The Savannah Morning News, meanwhile, runs a great piece on Paul Johnson's offense and gives some more clues as to what type of coach he is.
Bill Wagner of the Annapolis Capital Online almost writes a eulogy saying goodbye to Johnson
The Macon Telegraph concurs that Johnson appears to have been contacted by Nebraska.
Meanwhile, Tom Osborne hints he's not done doing interviews. What are you waiting for Tom??
The Savannah Morning News, meanwhile, runs a great piece on Paul Johnson's offense and gives some more clues as to what type of coach he is.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
This thing ain't over
Stay tuned...meanwhile-this from an article previewing the Army Navy game in the Times Herald Record. Navy senior LB Irv Spencer weights in on Coach Johnson. PJ seems like a real player's coach:
Spencer: "Every time you are around coach, you could hear one of those moments. Coach is honest-to-God, gracious in humor and a great guy to be around. His jokes are hilarious and he keeps it real loose. We have a Facebook group that keeps all the best coach (Paul) Johnson quotes."
Anyone have access to that group?
Asked the reason why Navy would win this weekend Spencer replied:
"Our scheme on offense is hard to stop. It's hard for everyone to stop. Then, we got coach Johnson. No matter how you come out defensively, he might run three or four plays and he'll change the way you block it in the middle of the game. He's the reason why we will win, coach Johnson and our coaches."
Outstanding stuff directly from a player. These are the intangibles that a head coach cannot be taught. You either have it or you don't. PJ has it.
Spencer: "Every time you are around coach, you could hear one of those moments. Coach is honest-to-God, gracious in humor and a great guy to be around. His jokes are hilarious and he keeps it real loose. We have a Facebook group that keeps all the best coach (Paul) Johnson quotes."
Anyone have access to that group?
Asked the reason why Navy would win this weekend Spencer replied:
"Our scheme on offense is hard to stop. It's hard for everyone to stop. Then, we got coach Johnson. No matter how you come out defensively, he might run three or four plays and he'll change the way you block it in the middle of the game. He's the reason why we will win, coach Johnson and our coaches."
Outstanding stuff directly from a player. These are the intangibles that a head coach cannot be taught. You either have it or you don't. PJ has it.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Listen to someone that knows
Chris Landry is a New Orleans-basedFox National Sports Reporter and a owner of a consulting/search firm. Its pretty clear we're going to hire Bo Pelini. But listen real closely to what Chris Landry says about the search process. And if you want to see Landry's bio-here you go.
Landry did an interview on Big Sports 590 in Omaha today. Its quiet possibly the best insight I've ever seen into how coaching searches work; how politics and boosters get involved; and insight into Bo Pelini. Its an amazing piece that every Nebraska fan needs to listen to.
Listen here
Landry did an interview on Big Sports 590 in Omaha today. Its quiet possibly the best insight I've ever seen into how coaching searches work; how politics and boosters get involved; and insight into Bo Pelini. Its an amazing piece that every Nebraska fan needs to listen to.
Listen here
Thursday, November 22, 2007
If LSU fans don't want Pelini...
why would Nebraska want him? Don't believe me? Go check out one of the most popular LSU message boards on the Web here and read their thoughts on Jesus Pelini and how enamored most of them are. You can even do a search for "Pelini" to find every topic in which his soft zone defenses, arrogance, poor game planning and unimaginative defenses are discussed in detail. #1 defense in the country you say? Well with the sick amount of talent in Baton Rouge, why should anyone complain? Maybe there is more than meets the eye.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Taking apart another falsity.
I saw this comment regarding Paul Johnson on a Husker message board to which I don't subscribe and can't respond to the poster. This sums up a lot of the silliness and misinformation about Paul Johnson, his offense and his philosophy:
"Not to mention the "We don't have a playbook" comment. While he is obviously kidding, it shows that he at least has a very basic offense, one that the coaches and defensive coordinators in the Big 12 would do a better job of scheming against. A lot better coaches would be dissecting his offense. With all due respect to the great job he has done at Navy, I feel he would have to alter his offense to a spread option perhaps like the one West Virginia runs - and hiring an offensive coordinator with experience in it would be a plus.."
Let's take this statement apart little by little.
First, Paul Johnson isn't kidding when he says he doesn't have a playbook. Well sort of. But he lets his players draw up the plays in their own terms, so his playbook really doesn't end up on ebay.
Second, his offense is basic in terms of philosophy but it does take mastery-just like everything else. As one Navy player has said, they may run the same play 3,000 times a year. It means players become extremely familiar with what they're supposed to do. Contrast this to Bill Callahan's 8 lb playbook, which has confused our own players and coaches for the past 4 seasons.
The poster's statement about Big 12 defensive coordinators being better able to scheme to stop this offense is simply ridiculous. For one, it assumes that PJ's teams have played no BCS teams during his time at Georgia Southern or Navy or Hawaii. Rutgers, Notre Dame, Boston College, Oregon State, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Maryland and UCONN are schools that have tried and failed to stop PJ's offense. Some may have had more success than others but remember Paul Johnson is working with an offensive line that averages about 270 lbs a man and a roster full of players that probably belong on your average D-2 school. I suggest reading the article below titled "A fascinating read," which talks about how different schools have tried to stop Johnson's offense over the years. The man is an offensive genius that has seen it all and can make in game adjustments that completely counter everything that someone throws at him. On the contrary, like Phil Fulmer said when Alabama hired Saban over PJ, Nebraska would be a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators in this conference.
Regarding West Virginia, I would remind this poster that PJ is the sole inventor of his offense. He calls it a combination of run and shoot, spread and flexbone. He actually has borrowed from Tom Osborne's offense to create his own. And he recently spent time at West Virginia, more than likely collecting information to add to his own offense as it continues to evolve. This poster has no idea what PJ would run at Nebraska, since PJ has said repeatedly that he tailors his schemes to fit the kind of players on his roster. And if you talk to this poster, remind him that PJ's offense at Hawaii led the country in passing yardage. Now that I've done the homework, you don't have to.
"Not to mention the "We don't have a playbook" comment. While he is obviously kidding, it shows that he at least has a very basic offense, one that the coaches and defensive coordinators in the Big 12 would do a better job of scheming against. A lot better coaches would be dissecting his offense. With all due respect to the great job he has done at Navy, I feel he would have to alter his offense to a spread option perhaps like the one West Virginia runs - and hiring an offensive coordinator with experience in it would be a plus.."
Let's take this statement apart little by little.
First, Paul Johnson isn't kidding when he says he doesn't have a playbook. Well sort of. But he lets his players draw up the plays in their own terms, so his playbook really doesn't end up on ebay.
Second, his offense is basic in terms of philosophy but it does take mastery-just like everything else. As one Navy player has said, they may run the same play 3,000 times a year. It means players become extremely familiar with what they're supposed to do. Contrast this to Bill Callahan's 8 lb playbook, which has confused our own players and coaches for the past 4 seasons.
The poster's statement about Big 12 defensive coordinators being better able to scheme to stop this offense is simply ridiculous. For one, it assumes that PJ's teams have played no BCS teams during his time at Georgia Southern or Navy or Hawaii. Rutgers, Notre Dame, Boston College, Oregon State, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Maryland and UCONN are schools that have tried and failed to stop PJ's offense. Some may have had more success than others but remember Paul Johnson is working with an offensive line that averages about 270 lbs a man and a roster full of players that probably belong on your average D-2 school. I suggest reading the article below titled "A fascinating read," which talks about how different schools have tried to stop Johnson's offense over the years. The man is an offensive genius that has seen it all and can make in game adjustments that completely counter everything that someone throws at him. On the contrary, like Phil Fulmer said when Alabama hired Saban over PJ, Nebraska would be a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators in this conference.
Regarding West Virginia, I would remind this poster that PJ is the sole inventor of his offense. He calls it a combination of run and shoot, spread and flexbone. He actually has borrowed from Tom Osborne's offense to create his own. And he recently spent time at West Virginia, more than likely collecting information to add to his own offense as it continues to evolve. This poster has no idea what PJ would run at Nebraska, since PJ has said repeatedly that he tailors his schemes to fit the kind of players on his roster. And if you talk to this poster, remind him that PJ's offense at Hawaii led the country in passing yardage. Now that I've done the homework, you don't have to.
The "Other" Candidates
I am continually amazed at some of the "other" coaching candidate names my fellow Husker brethren throw out-seemingly from left field. Don't get me wrong, there are some smart people out there that do their homework but some of these names just mystify me.
Turner Gill:
Not surprisingly, Gill's name pops up because of his former association with the program and his obvious affiliation with Tom Osborne. Let's be realistic people. Turner has a whole two years of head coaching experience. And yes he's done some nice things at Buffalo (despite their 4-7 record this year). And let's face it-Buffalo stinks. But Buffalo was probably not in as bad as shape as Navy was when Paul Johnson took over the program. And after Johnson went 2-10 in his first year, he's got five straight winning seasons and five straight bowl games. Hey Turner, thanks for playing but the timing just isn't right. Maybe if you can string together about 5 years of winning seasons at Buffalo and we still need a coach in 2012, we'll come looking for you. As of now, your resume compared to Johnson's is like a Pinto compared to a Porsche.
Bo Pelini:
Most of you know how I feel about the "Schnoz" bringing his gig to Lincoln. Let me ask you Bo lovers a serious question? If this man is such a hot young coaching prospect, why hasn't he gotten a head coaching job yet? We know Paul Johnson gets discriminated against because of the perception of his offense. But Bo doesn't have that problem. So why does it appear he would be about 10th on the list if Les Miles leaves for Michigan? If that's not a red flag, I don't know what is. Meanwhile, LSU fans continue to criticize him for his "soft" defensive coverages and passive schemes. His defense was torched to the tune of nearly 500 yards against a god-awful Ole Miss team yesterday. But forget all that. Being a head coach becomes much less about coaching and more about managing players and staff; making strategic decisions for the program; and being a PR guy as the face of the football team. In other words, you're a CEO. What exactly has Pelini done to make anyone think he could manage a ham sandwich, let alone the football program at the University of Nebraska? Put it this way-some guys are made to be head coaches and some guys are made to be assistant coaches/coordinators. Guess which one Pelini looks like? This is not a job to cut your teeth at and learn how to be a head coach. We need a proven winner and proven commodity and that's not Bo Pelini. And for every "Bob Stoops" reference you throw at me, I've got an Ed Oregeron to throw back. And Pelini's systems seem to thrive on getting the most talented players in the country-something that won't happen at Nebraska. The next coach at Nebraska should prove he can do less with more. And that man is Paul Johnson-not Bo Pelini.
Jim Grobe:
Yes, what Grobe has done at Wake is impressive. There's no denying that. My biggest issue with Grobe is not his ability to do the job. Its that he's 58 years old. Paul Johnson has 8 more years of coaching longevity than Grobe. Call me biased against the elderly if you want. But with all things being equal, Johnson wins on age. Not to mention that Grobe lost twice to the loser we're about to fire.
Randy Edsell:
This one confuses the heck out of me? Why does anyone want Randy Edsell at Nebraska?? Sure he's done some nice things at UCONN. But do your research and you'll find that Paul Johnson's Navy team absolutely ran circles around Edsell's Huskies last year-to the tune of about 618 rushing yards. Edsell was so thoroughly beaten that he actually (I kid you not) dropped Navy from this year's schedule. Now I don't know about you...but it looks like one coach is better than the other. And one coach made the other coach scared to play him again. Certainly we wouldn't want Paul Johnson at Nebraska now, would we? (sarcasm)
Edsell is a Syracuse alum and that's likely where he's headed. His resume can't hold a candle to Paul Johnson's.
Brian Kelly:
Brian Kelly from Cincinnati via Central Michigan via Grand Valley State is an interesting name. He's had success wherever he's been and at 45 is one of the hot young names in college football. My problem with Kelly is he's just like every other hot young coach in the country. He does the same crap and would make Nebraska just another team. With Johnson you have a unique offense that he designed that nobody else in the country can duplicate. With Kelly, we're another Missouri, Kansas, Oregon etc. Sorry, that's not what I want. I want to be different and get our identity of crushing teams to the ground again. Kelly would be a good option for a team looking to do what everyone is already is. And that's fine if you want to go that way. But on the downside-I'd like to see him sustain success at a program. Remember Dennis Franchione? He won everywhere he was and became famous for rebuilding downtrodden programs. But he left before we could see if he could keep them going. Well we know what Franchione is about now. He's about to get fired for a lousy job at Texas A&M.
Turner Gill:
Not surprisingly, Gill's name pops up because of his former association with the program and his obvious affiliation with Tom Osborne. Let's be realistic people. Turner has a whole two years of head coaching experience. And yes he's done some nice things at Buffalo (despite their 4-7 record this year). And let's face it-Buffalo stinks. But Buffalo was probably not in as bad as shape as Navy was when Paul Johnson took over the program. And after Johnson went 2-10 in his first year, he's got five straight winning seasons and five straight bowl games. Hey Turner, thanks for playing but the timing just isn't right. Maybe if you can string together about 5 years of winning seasons at Buffalo and we still need a coach in 2012, we'll come looking for you. As of now, your resume compared to Johnson's is like a Pinto compared to a Porsche.
Bo Pelini:
Most of you know how I feel about the "Schnoz" bringing his gig to Lincoln. Let me ask you Bo lovers a serious question? If this man is such a hot young coaching prospect, why hasn't he gotten a head coaching job yet? We know Paul Johnson gets discriminated against because of the perception of his offense. But Bo doesn't have that problem. So why does it appear he would be about 10th on the list if Les Miles leaves for Michigan? If that's not a red flag, I don't know what is. Meanwhile, LSU fans continue to criticize him for his "soft" defensive coverages and passive schemes. His defense was torched to the tune of nearly 500 yards against a god-awful Ole Miss team yesterday. But forget all that. Being a head coach becomes much less about coaching and more about managing players and staff; making strategic decisions for the program; and being a PR guy as the face of the football team. In other words, you're a CEO. What exactly has Pelini done to make anyone think he could manage a ham sandwich, let alone the football program at the University of Nebraska? Put it this way-some guys are made to be head coaches and some guys are made to be assistant coaches/coordinators. Guess which one Pelini looks like? This is not a job to cut your teeth at and learn how to be a head coach. We need a proven winner and proven commodity and that's not Bo Pelini. And for every "Bob Stoops" reference you throw at me, I've got an Ed Oregeron to throw back. And Pelini's systems seem to thrive on getting the most talented players in the country-something that won't happen at Nebraska. The next coach at Nebraska should prove he can do less with more. And that man is Paul Johnson-not Bo Pelini.
Jim Grobe:
Yes, what Grobe has done at Wake is impressive. There's no denying that. My biggest issue with Grobe is not his ability to do the job. Its that he's 58 years old. Paul Johnson has 8 more years of coaching longevity than Grobe. Call me biased against the elderly if you want. But with all things being equal, Johnson wins on age. Not to mention that Grobe lost twice to the loser we're about to fire.
Randy Edsell:
This one confuses the heck out of me? Why does anyone want Randy Edsell at Nebraska?? Sure he's done some nice things at UCONN. But do your research and you'll find that Paul Johnson's Navy team absolutely ran circles around Edsell's Huskies last year-to the tune of about 618 rushing yards. Edsell was so thoroughly beaten that he actually (I kid you not) dropped Navy from this year's schedule. Now I don't know about you...but it looks like one coach is better than the other. And one coach made the other coach scared to play him again. Certainly we wouldn't want Paul Johnson at Nebraska now, would we? (sarcasm)
Edsell is a Syracuse alum and that's likely where he's headed. His resume can't hold a candle to Paul Johnson's.
Brian Kelly:
Brian Kelly from Cincinnati via Central Michigan via Grand Valley State is an interesting name. He's had success wherever he's been and at 45 is one of the hot young names in college football. My problem with Kelly is he's just like every other hot young coach in the country. He does the same crap and would make Nebraska just another team. With Johnson you have a unique offense that he designed that nobody else in the country can duplicate. With Kelly, we're another Missouri, Kansas, Oregon etc. Sorry, that's not what I want. I want to be different and get our identity of crushing teams to the ground again. Kelly would be a good option for a team looking to do what everyone is already is. And that's fine if you want to go that way. But on the downside-I'd like to see him sustain success at a program. Remember Dennis Franchione? He won everywhere he was and became famous for rebuilding downtrodden programs. But he left before we could see if he could keep them going. Well we know what Franchione is about now. He's about to get fired for a lousy job at Texas A&M.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
High Praise for Johnson's offense
Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak has been around long enough, so that when he makes a statement like he did this week regarding the Navy offense, people should listen. As the coach at Northern Illinois since 1995 and the architect of a great turnaround (this season excluded), his teams have played the likes of Kansas State (late 90s), Penn State, Auburn, Northwestern, Maryland and Michigan. Novak on Paul Johnson's offense:
"Nobody, and I mean nobody, stops them from running the football. They are as good on offense as any team I've ever seen."
"It is the best offense we have faced by far," said Northern coach Joe Novak. "This is the kind of offense that runs you out of coaching when you are trying to defend it, it's that good."
Can I get a "Yo?"
"Nobody, and I mean nobody, stops them from running the football. They are as good on offense as any team I've ever seen."
"It is the best offense we have faced by far," said Northern coach Joe Novak. "This is the kind of offense that runs you out of coaching when you are trying to defend it, it's that good."
Can I get a "Yo?"
Friday, November 9, 2007
A genius calling the plays
Unfortunately, I can't take credit for this. It was done by a Notre Dame poster on NDnation.com-this shows the pure genius of Paul Johnson's playcalling, which appears to be very similar to a pretty good former coach at Nebraska (hint not Frank Solich):
By my count, Navy ran a total of 10 different plays. They used 3 different formations to run these plays, and they had 3 different blocking schemes. That is it. And when your offense is that condensed, not only can the players practice the execution of the plays to perfection, but the coach already knows what adjustments he is going to make based on how the defense reacts. Charlie Weis could learn a lot about condensing his offense from this experience.
By the way, the 10 plays were:
1. Triple Option
2. Toss Sweep
3. FB Blast (which is the Delaware Wing T play)
4. QB designed keep behind the lead FB
5. HB option pass
6. Play action pass from Triple Option look
7. FB waggle pass
8. 1 yard hitch quick pass
9. Reverse Pivot - Split Option....the FB option is to one side but the QB and HB option are back to the other side
10. Double Option - blocking all players
The sequencing of plays used by Navy was incredibly well thought out to mess with the heads of our defense.
Opening Drive:
1. 1 yard quick hitch pass. ND is geared up for the option but the CB were playing off the WR, so Navy took the easy catch for a 14 yard gain.
2. Triple Option - Blocking Scheme 1 (lineman block down inside). ND has practiced and stop the play easily.
3. Toss Sweep - Blocking Scheme 2 (the lineman loop around the outside of the DE and OLB).
The play works but ND causes a fumble.
Drive 2:
1. Triple Option - Blocking Scheme 2 - So now Johnson is mixing together the 2nd play call with the 3rd play's blocking scheme to mess with the defense. Johnson likes this scheme and sticks with it for much of the first half. The key is that Navy is able to block the NT with just the Center. No double team is required in the middle of the field which frees up the Guard to loop around and block the LB flowing to the play. The Notre Dame DE and OLB are standing very close together and pretty much just standing still. Navy's QB is not getting hit hard. The defense is not committing to any particular option consistently so Navy has a nice mix of FB, QB and HB carries on the option plays.
Also of note, normally the option gets run to the wide side of the field unless the defense commits an extra player to one side. Paul Johnson was faithful to this "field" side convention but added a wrinkle on Navy's first touchdown. Navy had a first and goal from the 5 yard line. Navy ran the Reverse Pivot - Split option. The FB dive option went to the boundary side and the QB reversed direction and ran the rest of the option to the field. This was the first time Navy used that look in the game and it allowed the slower Navy HB to outrun the faster Notre Dame CB to the corner of the end zone. Just a half second delay that gets induced by getting the defense to flow one way and then coming back the other way. The timing of when that half second could be used to the maximum effect was brilliant play calling by Paul Johnson.
Drive 3: New wrinkle. Navy lines up in a new formation. The WRs are tucked in very close to the OT's in the formation. The WBs are a little deeper in the backfield behind the WRs. Navy runs the reverse pivot - split option again, but with a new blocking scheme on this drive. This time the OT blocks the DE. This is the first time the DE has been blocked all game long, now deep into the 2nd quarter. The WR runs deep taking the CB with him. The far side OG pulls and loops around and blocks the MLB...a rather long run but he makes his block perfectly. The OLB is left unblocked for the option. The FB fake is to the right, the QB and WB reverse and come back to the left. 12 yard gain even though the pitch man read his block wrong and went outside when he should have cut in. The very next play, from the same formation, Navy fakes the toss sweep to the right and give to the FB also to the right. Something looks weird. I watch the play 4 times in slow motion before I see it. There it is. This was just a regular running play. Everybody was blocked by the man in front of them. So on two consecutive plays, Paul Johnson runs at a DE while blocking him for the first time all game long. The DE is so used to standing up and watching the play as nobody touches him. Now he gets effectively blocked straight up by a Navy lineman who weighs 50lbs less than him, all because of a well timed use of the play. Next play, same look, Triple option boundary side. Next play, same look, fake triple option, drop back pass - dropped in the end zone by the WR. ND actually had this play covered fairly well which is surprising. The drive ends in a touchdown to make it 14-14.
---------------------------------
2nd Half 1st Play: Triple option, give to the FB. For once, the MLB comes up strong to meet this play at the line of scrimmage. This is a good correction by Corwin Brown at halftime, but really, this should have been the plan all along.
2nd Play. FB Blast. No option, just a regular running play. The Navy OG crushes Trevor Laws who is nearly twice his size. Again Laws is used to standing up and watching as nobody blocks him. On this play the Guard takes two steps forward like he is blocking down on the LB like he normally does, and then he makes a right turn and basically trap blocks Laws. Again, the blocking scheme is very clever when put into the contect of what has been happening all game long.
3rd play: Toss Sweep
4th Play: Triple Option
5th Play: QB keeps and follows the FB into the dive hole. This was not an option but a designed play. The OT uses a kick out block on the OLB, the first time the OLB has been blocked all game long, and the WB blocks down on the DE, the first time he has been blocked from this angle all game long. Just a simple cross blocking scheme but it is so effective since those players have been so used to not getting blocked and they had not yet been blocked by those players from those angles before.
6th play: FB Blast - everyone blocked
7th play: Triple Option - give to FB 8th play: 4th and 2 Navy gives a weird look. WB motions into backfield like an I formation and stops...normally on the option this is fluid and the ball is snapped while he is moving. Then the other WB motions into the backfield and stops forming a true wishbone. Navy is just trying to draw ND offside with a weird look. ND doesn't fall for it and Navy calls timeout.
9th play: 4th and 2. Fake the reverse pivot triple option and the QB keeps the ball. Everyone was blocked. The Guard kicks out the DE. The Tackle kicks out the OLB and the WB loops inside and lead blocks on the isolated MLB. This is the first look at this blocking scheme so far for the defense.
10th play: Triple option to the boundary instead of the field side for a change of pace.
11th play: FB Blast. #74 of Navy destroys Trevor Laws again.
12th play: Toss Sweep. Should have been called for a block in the back but Navy got away with it. Notre Dame defense has not blown up a single play all game.
13th play: 3rd and 1 from the 5. New look. Navy goes unbalanced line with a 3rd lineman covering the Tackle on the field side. The defense doesn't respond quite right but the safety sort of cheats over a bit to the formation. FB Blast look but the QB keeps and follows the FB through the hole.
14th play: 1st and goal from the 4. FB Blast. Navy uses the Guard and Tackle to double team the DE. This is the first double team of the game on a player that has been left unblocked most of the time. Dwight Stephenson is just destroyed and plowed back into the end zone ending up on his back. Navy gets to the 1 inch line.
15th play: FB Blast - for a Touchdown. Navy misses the kick and it is 21-20.
----------------------- 2nd drive of 2nd Half
1st Play: FB Blast - holding penalty making it 1st and 20
2nd Play: 1 yard hitch pass - minimal gain
3rd play: Triple Option Play Action - deep pass. Pass Interference leads to a 1st down.
4th play: FB Blast
5th play: Triple Option- FB give. This is the first option play in the last 10 plays. Paul Johnson doesn't even have to risk putting the ball on the ground now. He has outsmarted our defensive line so thoroughly that Navy is beating Notre Dame using straight up Wing T plays from 1950.
6th play: 3rd and 5: FB waggle pass for a 1st down. Great design. The WR runs a seam route. The WB motions to the other side of the field. They give the reverse pivot - split option look but the FB flares out into the empty flat.
7th play: Toss Sweep
9th Play: FB Blast
10th Play: FB Blast
11th play: 2nd and 9. Triple Option - give to the FB. For the first time all game long, the NT beats the single block from the Center and stuffs this play. The NT play has been unacceptable making it too easy for Navy.
12th play: 3rd and 8. Triple option but with no motion by the WB this time for a new look. The give is to the FB which was a poor choice on 3rd and 8. This may be the first bad read Enhada has made all game long. FG attempt misses but on the ensuing drive Navy sacks Sharpley and returns the fumble for a TD. 2pt conversion play is interesting. Navy lines up trips right. They pull a Guard away from the formation to kick out the OLB and run a double option with the FB as the pitch man. But the players are blocked at the point of attack. This looks like the Lou Holtz option. -----------------------------------------
1st Overtime FB Waggle Triple Option - Pitch FB Blast FB blast - for a Touchdown.
2nd Overtime Triple Option - QB keep Triple option - QB keep Then a very interesting series of events. On the previous play, the CB crashed the pitch man very hard. This was only the second or third time all game that Walls played the option this way. On the very next play, Navy changed up the blocking scheme. They came triple option but had the Guard kick out the OLB and had the WB loop inside of this block and lead up through the hole. The QB kept the ball and ran up inside of the kicked out OLB. So as soon as ND decided to be aggressive on the perimeter, Paul Johnson simply changed the perimeter and ran the option in between the DE and the OLB. So for those who thought that Brown should have the defense be more aggressive, Paul Johnson already thought about that and had his answer ready. On the next play, the Triple Option - pitch was stopped for a loss. For the first time all game long, the DE prevented the OT from getting off the line of scrimmage cleanly and it screwed the whole play up. This is what I said I wanted our DE to do in mid week. Don't let Navy leave you unblocked and get their blocks on other players. Intercept them and disrupt the play. HB option pass almost intercepted. FG is made
By my count, Navy ran a total of 10 different plays. They used 3 different formations to run these plays, and they had 3 different blocking schemes. That is it. And when your offense is that condensed, not only can the players practice the execution of the plays to perfection, but the coach already knows what adjustments he is going to make based on how the defense reacts. Charlie Weis could learn a lot about condensing his offense from this experience.
By the way, the 10 plays were:
1. Triple Option
2. Toss Sweep
3. FB Blast (which is the Delaware Wing T play)
4. QB designed keep behind the lead FB
5. HB option pass
6. Play action pass from Triple Option look
7. FB waggle pass
8. 1 yard hitch quick pass
9. Reverse Pivot - Split Option....the FB option is to one side but the QB and HB option are back to the other side
10. Double Option - blocking all players
The sequencing of plays used by Navy was incredibly well thought out to mess with the heads of our defense.
Opening Drive:
1. 1 yard quick hitch pass. ND is geared up for the option but the CB were playing off the WR, so Navy took the easy catch for a 14 yard gain.
2. Triple Option - Blocking Scheme 1 (lineman block down inside). ND has practiced and stop the play easily.
3. Toss Sweep - Blocking Scheme 2 (the lineman loop around the outside of the DE and OLB).
The play works but ND causes a fumble.
Drive 2:
1. Triple Option - Blocking Scheme 2 - So now Johnson is mixing together the 2nd play call with the 3rd play's blocking scheme to mess with the defense. Johnson likes this scheme and sticks with it for much of the first half. The key is that Navy is able to block the NT with just the Center. No double team is required in the middle of the field which frees up the Guard to loop around and block the LB flowing to the play. The Notre Dame DE and OLB are standing very close together and pretty much just standing still. Navy's QB is not getting hit hard. The defense is not committing to any particular option consistently so Navy has a nice mix of FB, QB and HB carries on the option plays.
Also of note, normally the option gets run to the wide side of the field unless the defense commits an extra player to one side. Paul Johnson was faithful to this "field" side convention but added a wrinkle on Navy's first touchdown. Navy had a first and goal from the 5 yard line. Navy ran the Reverse Pivot - Split option. The FB dive option went to the boundary side and the QB reversed direction and ran the rest of the option to the field. This was the first time Navy used that look in the game and it allowed the slower Navy HB to outrun the faster Notre Dame CB to the corner of the end zone. Just a half second delay that gets induced by getting the defense to flow one way and then coming back the other way. The timing of when that half second could be used to the maximum effect was brilliant play calling by Paul Johnson.
Drive 3: New wrinkle. Navy lines up in a new formation. The WRs are tucked in very close to the OT's in the formation. The WBs are a little deeper in the backfield behind the WRs. Navy runs the reverse pivot - split option again, but with a new blocking scheme on this drive. This time the OT blocks the DE. This is the first time the DE has been blocked all game long, now deep into the 2nd quarter. The WR runs deep taking the CB with him. The far side OG pulls and loops around and blocks the MLB...a rather long run but he makes his block perfectly. The OLB is left unblocked for the option. The FB fake is to the right, the QB and WB reverse and come back to the left. 12 yard gain even though the pitch man read his block wrong and went outside when he should have cut in. The very next play, from the same formation, Navy fakes the toss sweep to the right and give to the FB also to the right. Something looks weird. I watch the play 4 times in slow motion before I see it. There it is. This was just a regular running play. Everybody was blocked by the man in front of them. So on two consecutive plays, Paul Johnson runs at a DE while blocking him for the first time all game long. The DE is so used to standing up and watching the play as nobody touches him. Now he gets effectively blocked straight up by a Navy lineman who weighs 50lbs less than him, all because of a well timed use of the play. Next play, same look, Triple option boundary side. Next play, same look, fake triple option, drop back pass - dropped in the end zone by the WR. ND actually had this play covered fairly well which is surprising. The drive ends in a touchdown to make it 14-14.
---------------------------------
2nd Half 1st Play: Triple option, give to the FB. For once, the MLB comes up strong to meet this play at the line of scrimmage. This is a good correction by Corwin Brown at halftime, but really, this should have been the plan all along.
2nd Play. FB Blast. No option, just a regular running play. The Navy OG crushes Trevor Laws who is nearly twice his size. Again Laws is used to standing up and watching as nobody blocks him. On this play the Guard takes two steps forward like he is blocking down on the LB like he normally does, and then he makes a right turn and basically trap blocks Laws. Again, the blocking scheme is very clever when put into the contect of what has been happening all game long.
3rd play: Toss Sweep
4th Play: Triple Option
5th Play: QB keeps and follows the FB into the dive hole. This was not an option but a designed play. The OT uses a kick out block on the OLB, the first time the OLB has been blocked all game long, and the WB blocks down on the DE, the first time he has been blocked from this angle all game long. Just a simple cross blocking scheme but it is so effective since those players have been so used to not getting blocked and they had not yet been blocked by those players from those angles before.
6th play: FB Blast - everyone blocked
7th play: Triple Option - give to FB 8th play: 4th and 2 Navy gives a weird look. WB motions into backfield like an I formation and stops...normally on the option this is fluid and the ball is snapped while he is moving. Then the other WB motions into the backfield and stops forming a true wishbone. Navy is just trying to draw ND offside with a weird look. ND doesn't fall for it and Navy calls timeout.
9th play: 4th and 2. Fake the reverse pivot triple option and the QB keeps the ball. Everyone was blocked. The Guard kicks out the DE. The Tackle kicks out the OLB and the WB loops inside and lead blocks on the isolated MLB. This is the first look at this blocking scheme so far for the defense.
10th play: Triple option to the boundary instead of the field side for a change of pace.
11th play: FB Blast. #74 of Navy destroys Trevor Laws again.
12th play: Toss Sweep. Should have been called for a block in the back but Navy got away with it. Notre Dame defense has not blown up a single play all game.
13th play: 3rd and 1 from the 5. New look. Navy goes unbalanced line with a 3rd lineman covering the Tackle on the field side. The defense doesn't respond quite right but the safety sort of cheats over a bit to the formation. FB Blast look but the QB keeps and follows the FB through the hole.
14th play: 1st and goal from the 4. FB Blast. Navy uses the Guard and Tackle to double team the DE. This is the first double team of the game on a player that has been left unblocked most of the time. Dwight Stephenson is just destroyed and plowed back into the end zone ending up on his back. Navy gets to the 1 inch line.
15th play: FB Blast - for a Touchdown. Navy misses the kick and it is 21-20.
----------------------- 2nd drive of 2nd Half
1st Play: FB Blast - holding penalty making it 1st and 20
2nd Play: 1 yard hitch pass - minimal gain
3rd play: Triple Option Play Action - deep pass. Pass Interference leads to a 1st down.
4th play: FB Blast
5th play: Triple Option- FB give. This is the first option play in the last 10 plays. Paul Johnson doesn't even have to risk putting the ball on the ground now. He has outsmarted our defensive line so thoroughly that Navy is beating Notre Dame using straight up Wing T plays from 1950.
6th play: 3rd and 5: FB waggle pass for a 1st down. Great design. The WR runs a seam route. The WB motions to the other side of the field. They give the reverse pivot - split option look but the FB flares out into the empty flat.
7th play: Toss Sweep
9th Play: FB Blast
10th Play: FB Blast
11th play: 2nd and 9. Triple Option - give to the FB. For the first time all game long, the NT beats the single block from the Center and stuffs this play. The NT play has been unacceptable making it too easy for Navy.
12th play: 3rd and 8. Triple option but with no motion by the WB this time for a new look. The give is to the FB which was a poor choice on 3rd and 8. This may be the first bad read Enhada has made all game long. FG attempt misses but on the ensuing drive Navy sacks Sharpley and returns the fumble for a TD. 2pt conversion play is interesting. Navy lines up trips right. They pull a Guard away from the formation to kick out the OLB and run a double option with the FB as the pitch man. But the players are blocked at the point of attack. This looks like the Lou Holtz option. -----------------------------------------
1st Overtime FB Waggle Triple Option - Pitch FB Blast FB blast - for a Touchdown.
2nd Overtime Triple Option - QB keep Triple option - QB keep Then a very interesting series of events. On the previous play, the CB crashed the pitch man very hard. This was only the second or third time all game that Walls played the option this way. On the very next play, Navy changed up the blocking scheme. They came triple option but had the Guard kick out the OLB and had the WB loop inside of this block and lead up through the hole. The QB kept the ball and ran up inside of the kicked out OLB. So as soon as ND decided to be aggressive on the perimeter, Paul Johnson simply changed the perimeter and ran the option in between the DE and the OLB. So for those who thought that Brown should have the defense be more aggressive, Paul Johnson already thought about that and had his answer ready. On the next play, the Triple Option - pitch was stopped for a loss. For the first time all game long, the DE prevented the OT from getting off the line of scrimmage cleanly and it screwed the whole play up. This is what I said I wanted our DE to do in mid week. Don't let Navy leave you unblocked and get their blocks on other players. Intercept them and disrupt the play. HB option pass almost intercepted. FG is made
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Maximizing the talent
The Chicago Sun Times weighs in on how a team of "Rudys" took down mighty Notre Dame. Once again, Paul Johnson does more with less than ANYONE in the country. Maybe in the history of college football.
And you wonder why Navy's defense has ranked so bad this year??
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How about Navy, people?
The service academy's dedication to pressing matters such as steering battleships and maintaining nuclear submarines makes football something it can embrace only as a ferocious after-school passion undertaken by the few, the proud, the rejected.
Why, Navy's adrenaline-fueled, David-slaying-Goliath, heart-pounding goal-line stand at the end of that triple-overtime battle made ''Rudy'' look like a frat-house vanity film.
Navy didn't have a Rudy -- it was infested with Rudys.
''We had only two defensive starters coming back this season,'' Navy associate athletic director Scott Strasemeier said, ''and we lost them both on the first series of the second game. We've started 23 guys on defense so far, a school record.''
More than that, Navy already has started 11 players in its secondary.
Against Notre Dame, 18-year-old, 175-pound freshman Kevin Edwards started for the Middies at cornerback, his first start.
Fellow teenage freshman Wyatt Middleton, whose sister graduated from Notre Dame, started at safety and led the team with 14 tackles.
''The vast majority of our players had no other Division I offers,'' Strasemeier said. ''They came here because nobody else wanted them. And to a man, they came here because they wanted to play Notre Dame.''
Even if it meant getting steamrolled for, say, years 64, 65, 66 ad nauseam.
Navy had guys on the field Saturday you wouldn't notice in real life unless they had birdbaths on their heads.
Navy peerless
The Middies' two starting running backs, Zerbin Singleton and Reggie Campbell, go 5-8, 174 and 5-6, 168.
When team captain Campbell came out for the coin toss, standing next to the Notre Dame giants, one wanted to rush out and yell, ''This kid's lost. Where's his mommy?''
There was even a Navy player -- walk-on reserve defensive end Steve Dorman, from a small town in Washington -- who got into the game and thus played in his first football contest, at any level, any age, down to birth.
Everywhere you looked on the Navy side, there were young men whose hearts were twice the size of their uniforms.
Navy's quarterback, 5-11, 194-pound Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (''We just call him Kaipo,'' the SID said) might not even be your first pick in a flag football league.
But Kaipo completed some of the sweetest, most pressure-packed passes you'll ever see.
Navy's ''D'' had gotten five sacks all year, and then they sacked Notre Dame's Evan Sharpley four times.
One of those sacks was created by perhaps the most ridiculous, improper, joyous play of this or any season: Navy's outside linebacker Ramiro Vela launching himself like Batman over Irish blocker Armando Allen and swan-diving into Sharpley.
''The linebacker, 34, I forget his name off the top of my head, launches over Armando's head,'' Weis said afterward, not too happily.
They call him Ram, Coach, or as he's now known in Annapolis, ''Super Ram,'' and he's a mighty kid from San Antonio who goes a superhuman 5-9, 196.
A D-I linebacker, folks.
Maybe you even want to include Navy no-name coach Paul Johnson in the hero mix.
After Notre Dame had curiously been given a second chance at a two-point conversion to tie the game in the third overtime, Johnson told his players to blitz.
All 11 of them.
Some players were quizzical.
''Just sell out!'' Johnson said. ''They're gonna run it. If they pass, it's on me.''
Notre Dame did run it. The Middies did blitz.
And if you don't think this was a game that made the angels sing, you got no religion at all.
ND gets 'Rudy' awakening
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
A fascinating read
This article is from Irish Sports Report during Johnson's 1st year at Navy. Incredible insight into the amazing Paul Johnson:
Can Johnson get Navy beyond that sinking feeling?ND VS. NAVYBy BILL WAGNERSpecial To ISR
Navy coach Paul Johnson has installed a powerful offense, but the Middies’ defense continues to struggle.
Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy
He has been dubbed an offensive genius. He has been likened to Steve Spurrier.
Not bad for a good old boy who would have been quite happy coaching high school football in his hometown.
Paul Johnson's innovative spread offense has piled up points, yardage and victories at every stop of his 20-year coaching career. Now the 45-year-old native of Newland, N.C., is hoping his patented triple-option attack can help turn around a Naval Academy program that has hit rock bottom.
Early returns have been mixed.
As advertised, the spread has produced prolific numbers, however not nearly enough to overcome a woeful defense that ranks among the nation's worst.
Navy, 1-7 entering its annual mismatch with Notre Dame, has been assured of its fifth straight losing season. The Midshipmen are 2-27 the past three seasons as a result of numerous problems that extend beyond the football field.
Johnson, who compiled a stellar 62-10 record and captured a pair of Div. I-AA national championships during a five-year stint at Georgia Southern, has pushed the academy administration to better support the program.
So far, the response has been favorable.
Navy recently revealed that it will alter the mandatory five-year military obligation for graduates who are professional sports prospects. Football players who make an NFL roster can serve two years on active duty and six years in the reserves.
Members of the Navy brass are also considering giving football players who suffer season-ending injuries an extra year to graduate. Service academy rival Air Force has been taking advantage of NCAA-issued medical redshirts for years, but Navy has frowned upon the practice.
Finally, Johnson and athletic director Chet Gladchuk have discussed downgrading Navy's schedule to include more beatable opponents. Div. I-AA schools, which former head coach Charlie Weatherbie refused to play, have been reinstated to future schedules.
For instance, a scheduled game at Washington next season has been replaced by a home contest against Virginia Military Institute. Gladchuk has stated emphatically that Navy will never drop Notre Dame.
"I can understand playing Notre Dame every year. That game has a lot of history and meaning," Johnson said recently. "But you don't need to play Boston College and N.C. State on top of it. How are you going to have a successful season when you schedule yourself six losses before you start? It's all right to play Notre Dame. I think that's a great rivalry. But be smart. In between, play Buffalo and somebody from Div. I-AA."
Johnson feels there's a bit of the old chicken-and-egg theory at work. In order to start winning, Navy needs to recruit better talent. But the key to getting good players is winning.
For now, reality is that Navy may not have a single player on its current roster who received a scholarship offer from another Div. I-A program.
"You can't recruit against Georgetown and play against Notre Dame," Johnson told the Washington Post.
What's amazing is that Johnson has his offensive engine humming, despite subpar parts. Navy is averaging 22.8 points and 446 yards per game, despite not starting a single skill position player who runs the 40-yard dash in under 4.6 seconds. The Midshipmen rank third nationally in rushing offense, grinding out 282 yards per game.
Quarterback Craig Candeto (team-highs of 622 yards rushing, nine touchdowns) has been the catalyst. Fullback Kyle Eckel (448 yards rushing, four TDs) and slot back Eric Roberts (696 total yards, five TDs) are the other primary weapons.
Opposing coaches have been effusive in their praise of Navy's unique attack, which produced season-highs of 678 total yards and 40 points against Northwestern.
"Navy has moved the ball on every team it's played, including N.C. State," Duke coach Carl Franks marveled. "Paul has put together a very dangerous offense that is extremely challenging to face. I don't think you can completely stop that offense, you just have to try and slow it down."
Tulane coach Chris Scelfo said the triple-option element forces defenses to be assignment-oriented. Defenders who aren't disciplined get caught out of position, and that leads to big plays.
"I think every team that plays Navy is worried about that spread. It's something you don't see very often, and they execute it so well," Scelfo said. "Paul Johnson is kind of the guru of option football these days. He's running that style of offense better than any other coach in the country."
Some have compared Johnson to Spurrier, the former Florida and current Washington Redskins head coach. Both are the architects of high-powered offenses only they truly understand. Other teams might line up the same way, but none are running the spread to the level of Johnson.
"This is Paul's offense. He designed it, he tweaked it, he knows it inside and out," said Navy assistant Ken Niumatalolo, who played for Johnson at Hawaii and has assisted him on three different occasions. "Just like Spurrier invented the Fun-and-Gun, Paul invented this version of the spread. Nobody runs it the way he does."
On the surface, the spread seems simple. It's based on triple-option principles and features one setback, two slotbacks offset from the line of scrimmage and two wide receivers. There is no tight end, although one of the wideouts will often move inside and line up in a three-point stance.
What's different and confusing to defenses is the myriad of plays Johnson has created out of the basic formation. He'll run the fullback on dives, traps, draws and tosses. He'll utilize the slotbacks on sweeps, reverses, option pitches and play-action passes.
If opponents aren't respecting the quarterback, Johnson will call for plays designed to gain yardage on keepers. If opponents stack the line of scrimmage to stop the run, Johnson will throw.
"This offense is a combination of things I've picked up over the years. It's a little bit of Wisbhone, a little bit of I-formation, a little bit of Veer, a little bit of Run-and-Shoot," Johnson explained. "I've grabbed and took bits and pieces from different sets and gradually evolved it into what we're doing today."
While the average fan focuses on formations and plays, the most important element of the spread involves blocking schemes. Johnson's system is based largely on misdirection and running plays to an area where there are more blockers than defenders.
"The whole point is that you don't have to block everybody. It's about angles and gaining a numbers advantage," he said.
Yet Johnson's true genius lies in play-calling. He has an uncanny knack for figuring out what the opponent is doing to defend the spread, then adjusting the gameplan accordingly.
"Not many guys know how to make split-second decisions about what plays will work based on what's happening on the field," Niumatalolo said. "Paul is one of the few coaches who can call a game by the seat of his pants."
After 20 years of running the spread, Johnson has seen every imaginable defense designed to stop it. In the season opener against SMU, Johnson went to a stack alignment that overloaded one side of the line with blockers. The Mustangs never figured it out and were toasted to the tune of 38 points and 399 yards.
"I think if you're going to do something, you better know how to fix it when it breaks," Johnson said. "If our offense isn't working for one reason or another, I usually have a pretty good idea why and know how to get it going again."
Johnson's spread has put up record-setting numbers at Lees McCrae junior college, Georgia Southern (twice), Hawaii and now Navy for the second time. He was offensive coordinator in 1996 when the Midshipmen set numerous school records en route to a 9-3 record that included a victory over California in the Aloha Bowl.
Interestingly, Johnson had no intention of criss-crossing the country as a collegiate assistant. His goal after graduating from Western Carolina in 1979 was to become head coach at Avery County High, his alma mater.
Johnson did indeed return to Avery County and served as an assistant to longtime head coach Elmer Aldridge.
"I figured I'd wait for coach Aldridge to retire and then, if I was lucky, I could be the head coach for 15 or 20 years," he said.
This Saturday, at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore, Johnson will probably think about how far he's come since those days as a high school assistant. A head coach at the Div. I-A level for the first time in his career, Johnson will be attempting to upset the most storied program in college football. And he'll be using a style of offense that Notre Dame fans found distasteful toward the end of the Bob Davie Era.
Want evidence that Johnson has become the leading authority on triple-option offense? It comes from sources who report that former Notre Dame head coach Davie once contacted Johnson about serving as the team's offensive coordinator.
Johnson would neither confirm nor deny that, saying only that Notre Dame officials contacted him once while he was head coach at Georgia Southern.
Can Johnson get Navy beyond that sinking feeling?ND VS. NAVYBy BILL WAGNERSpecial To ISR
Navy coach Paul Johnson has installed a powerful offense, but the Middies’ defense continues to struggle.
Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy
He has been dubbed an offensive genius. He has been likened to Steve Spurrier.
Not bad for a good old boy who would have been quite happy coaching high school football in his hometown.
Paul Johnson's innovative spread offense has piled up points, yardage and victories at every stop of his 20-year coaching career. Now the 45-year-old native of Newland, N.C., is hoping his patented triple-option attack can help turn around a Naval Academy program that has hit rock bottom.
Early returns have been mixed.
As advertised, the spread has produced prolific numbers, however not nearly enough to overcome a woeful defense that ranks among the nation's worst.
Navy, 1-7 entering its annual mismatch with Notre Dame, has been assured of its fifth straight losing season. The Midshipmen are 2-27 the past three seasons as a result of numerous problems that extend beyond the football field.
Johnson, who compiled a stellar 62-10 record and captured a pair of Div. I-AA national championships during a five-year stint at Georgia Southern, has pushed the academy administration to better support the program.
So far, the response has been favorable.
Navy recently revealed that it will alter the mandatory five-year military obligation for graduates who are professional sports prospects. Football players who make an NFL roster can serve two years on active duty and six years in the reserves.
Members of the Navy brass are also considering giving football players who suffer season-ending injuries an extra year to graduate. Service academy rival Air Force has been taking advantage of NCAA-issued medical redshirts for years, but Navy has frowned upon the practice.
Finally, Johnson and athletic director Chet Gladchuk have discussed downgrading Navy's schedule to include more beatable opponents. Div. I-AA schools, which former head coach Charlie Weatherbie refused to play, have been reinstated to future schedules.
For instance, a scheduled game at Washington next season has been replaced by a home contest against Virginia Military Institute. Gladchuk has stated emphatically that Navy will never drop Notre Dame.
"I can understand playing Notre Dame every year. That game has a lot of history and meaning," Johnson said recently. "But you don't need to play Boston College and N.C. State on top of it. How are you going to have a successful season when you schedule yourself six losses before you start? It's all right to play Notre Dame. I think that's a great rivalry. But be smart. In between, play Buffalo and somebody from Div. I-AA."
Johnson feels there's a bit of the old chicken-and-egg theory at work. In order to start winning, Navy needs to recruit better talent. But the key to getting good players is winning.
For now, reality is that Navy may not have a single player on its current roster who received a scholarship offer from another Div. I-A program.
"You can't recruit against Georgetown and play against Notre Dame," Johnson told the Washington Post.
What's amazing is that Johnson has his offensive engine humming, despite subpar parts. Navy is averaging 22.8 points and 446 yards per game, despite not starting a single skill position player who runs the 40-yard dash in under 4.6 seconds. The Midshipmen rank third nationally in rushing offense, grinding out 282 yards per game.
Quarterback Craig Candeto (team-highs of 622 yards rushing, nine touchdowns) has been the catalyst. Fullback Kyle Eckel (448 yards rushing, four TDs) and slot back Eric Roberts (696 total yards, five TDs) are the other primary weapons.
Opposing coaches have been effusive in their praise of Navy's unique attack, which produced season-highs of 678 total yards and 40 points against Northwestern.
"Navy has moved the ball on every team it's played, including N.C. State," Duke coach Carl Franks marveled. "Paul has put together a very dangerous offense that is extremely challenging to face. I don't think you can completely stop that offense, you just have to try and slow it down."
Tulane coach Chris Scelfo said the triple-option element forces defenses to be assignment-oriented. Defenders who aren't disciplined get caught out of position, and that leads to big plays.
"I think every team that plays Navy is worried about that spread. It's something you don't see very often, and they execute it so well," Scelfo said. "Paul Johnson is kind of the guru of option football these days. He's running that style of offense better than any other coach in the country."
Some have compared Johnson to Spurrier, the former Florida and current Washington Redskins head coach. Both are the architects of high-powered offenses only they truly understand. Other teams might line up the same way, but none are running the spread to the level of Johnson.
"This is Paul's offense. He designed it, he tweaked it, he knows it inside and out," said Navy assistant Ken Niumatalolo, who played for Johnson at Hawaii and has assisted him on three different occasions. "Just like Spurrier invented the Fun-and-Gun, Paul invented this version of the spread. Nobody runs it the way he does."
On the surface, the spread seems simple. It's based on triple-option principles and features one setback, two slotbacks offset from the line of scrimmage and two wide receivers. There is no tight end, although one of the wideouts will often move inside and line up in a three-point stance.
What's different and confusing to defenses is the myriad of plays Johnson has created out of the basic formation. He'll run the fullback on dives, traps, draws and tosses. He'll utilize the slotbacks on sweeps, reverses, option pitches and play-action passes.
If opponents aren't respecting the quarterback, Johnson will call for plays designed to gain yardage on keepers. If opponents stack the line of scrimmage to stop the run, Johnson will throw.
"This offense is a combination of things I've picked up over the years. It's a little bit of Wisbhone, a little bit of I-formation, a little bit of Veer, a little bit of Run-and-Shoot," Johnson explained. "I've grabbed and took bits and pieces from different sets and gradually evolved it into what we're doing today."
While the average fan focuses on formations and plays, the most important element of the spread involves blocking schemes. Johnson's system is based largely on misdirection and running plays to an area where there are more blockers than defenders.
"The whole point is that you don't have to block everybody. It's about angles and gaining a numbers advantage," he said.
Yet Johnson's true genius lies in play-calling. He has an uncanny knack for figuring out what the opponent is doing to defend the spread, then adjusting the gameplan accordingly.
"Not many guys know how to make split-second decisions about what plays will work based on what's happening on the field," Niumatalolo said. "Paul is one of the few coaches who can call a game by the seat of his pants."
After 20 years of running the spread, Johnson has seen every imaginable defense designed to stop it. In the season opener against SMU, Johnson went to a stack alignment that overloaded one side of the line with blockers. The Mustangs never figured it out and were toasted to the tune of 38 points and 399 yards.
"I think if you're going to do something, you better know how to fix it when it breaks," Johnson said. "If our offense isn't working for one reason or another, I usually have a pretty good idea why and know how to get it going again."
Johnson's spread has put up record-setting numbers at Lees McCrae junior college, Georgia Southern (twice), Hawaii and now Navy for the second time. He was offensive coordinator in 1996 when the Midshipmen set numerous school records en route to a 9-3 record that included a victory over California in the Aloha Bowl.
Interestingly, Johnson had no intention of criss-crossing the country as a collegiate assistant. His goal after graduating from Western Carolina in 1979 was to become head coach at Avery County High, his alma mater.
Johnson did indeed return to Avery County and served as an assistant to longtime head coach Elmer Aldridge.
"I figured I'd wait for coach Aldridge to retire and then, if I was lucky, I could be the head coach for 15 or 20 years," he said.
This Saturday, at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore, Johnson will probably think about how far he's come since those days as a high school assistant. A head coach at the Div. I-A level for the first time in his career, Johnson will be attempting to upset the most storied program in college football. And he'll be using a style of offense that Notre Dame fans found distasteful toward the end of the Bob Davie Era.
Want evidence that Johnson has become the leading authority on triple-option offense? It comes from sources who report that former Notre Dame head coach Davie once contacted Johnson about serving as the team's offensive coordinator.
Johnson would neither confirm nor deny that, saying only that Notre Dame officials contacted him once while he was head coach at Georgia Southern.
Monday, November 5, 2007
See a pattern here?
ESPN's Mark Schlabach weighs in on Navy's historical win over Notre Dame:
But Notre Dame's struggles don't diminish Navy's accomplishment. No matter how poorly the Irish are playing in coach Charlie Weis' third season, Notre Dame should always be favored against the Midshipmen.
Despite its recent struggles, Notre Dame still has the pick of the litter more times than not in recruiting. Conversely, the Midshipmen must find players who are academically fit to attend the U.S. Naval Academy and who also are willing to make a military commitment at a time when the country is at war.
"I don't think people fully realize the obstacles you face at the academies," Johnson said.
The Fighting Irish are supposed to be bigger, faster and stronger than the Midshipmen. Each of Notre Dame's five starting offensive linemen weighs more than 300 pounds. Navy doesn't have a 300-pounder starting on offense or defense. In fact, Irish offensive tackle Sam Young, a 6-foot-8, 310-pound sophomore, often blocked end Michael Walsh, a 239-pound junior.
"Notre Dame has struggled to win games, but they still have great athletes, and everybody still wants to go to Notre Dame if they have the opportunity," Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada said. "You have to respect them. They still have that great tradition and history."
By the time the Midshipmen returned to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., late Saturday night, they were greeted by most of the brigade for a celebration at Tecumseh Court. Capt. Margaret D. Klein, the academy commandant, canceled Monday's classes to honor the win.
"It was crazy," Kaheaku-Enhada said. "I got off the bus and was mobbed."
Johnson said beating Notre Dame is one of his program's biggest achievements, regardless of how the Fighting Irish finish the season. The Irish finished 2-7 in 1963, the last time Navy beat them.
"What was Notre Dame's record in 1963?" Johnson asked. "It wasn't very good, but nobody ever prefaces the articles with that record, do they? Any time Navy beats Notre Dame, it's a big deal. Anybody who watched the game could tell it's a big deal. Anybody that doesn't think Notre Dame has good players, they can come watch the film with me. They've got some really good players. I'll bet a lot of their players end up playing in the NFL."
But Notre Dame's struggles don't diminish Navy's accomplishment. No matter how poorly the Irish are playing in coach Charlie Weis' third season, Notre Dame should always be favored against the Midshipmen.
Despite its recent struggles, Notre Dame still has the pick of the litter more times than not in recruiting. Conversely, the Midshipmen must find players who are academically fit to attend the U.S. Naval Academy and who also are willing to make a military commitment at a time when the country is at war.
"I don't think people fully realize the obstacles you face at the academies," Johnson said.
The Fighting Irish are supposed to be bigger, faster and stronger than the Midshipmen. Each of Notre Dame's five starting offensive linemen weighs more than 300 pounds. Navy doesn't have a 300-pounder starting on offense or defense. In fact, Irish offensive tackle Sam Young, a 6-foot-8, 310-pound sophomore, often blocked end Michael Walsh, a 239-pound junior.
"Notre Dame has struggled to win games, but they still have great athletes, and everybody still wants to go to Notre Dame if they have the opportunity," Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada said. "You have to respect them. They still have that great tradition and history."
By the time the Midshipmen returned to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., late Saturday night, they were greeted by most of the brigade for a celebration at Tecumseh Court. Capt. Margaret D. Klein, the academy commandant, canceled Monday's classes to honor the win.
"It was crazy," Kaheaku-Enhada said. "I got off the bus and was mobbed."
Johnson said beating Notre Dame is one of his program's biggest achievements, regardless of how the Fighting Irish finish the season. The Irish finished 2-7 in 1963, the last time Navy beat them.
"What was Notre Dame's record in 1963?" Johnson asked. "It wasn't very good, but nobody ever prefaces the articles with that record, do they? Any time Navy beats Notre Dame, it's a big deal. Anybody who watched the game could tell it's a big deal. Anybody that doesn't think Notre Dame has good players, they can come watch the film with me. They've got some really good players. I'll bet a lot of their players end up playing in the NFL."
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Tony Barnhart says its time
Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal Constitution is one of the most well respected college football writers/analysts in the country. He says its time for big schools to start looking at PJ:
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Think it's about time one of these schools looking for a coach took a glance at Navy's Paul Johnson? Johnson, a former Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, was expected to struggle this year with a very young defense. But Saturday the Midshipmen (5-4) beat Notre Dame 46-44 in triple overtime, snapping their 43-game losing streak to the Fighting Irish.
My own opinion-he won't be at Navy next year and whoever takes a chance is going to get themselves a helluva head coach.
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Think it's about time one of these schools looking for a coach took a glance at Navy's Paul Johnson? Johnson, a former Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year, was expected to struggle this year with a very young defense. But Saturday the Midshipmen (5-4) beat Notre Dame 46-44 in triple overtime, snapping their 43-game losing streak to the Fighting Irish.
"Our schedule was kind of front-loaded with tough teams and we had a young defense that got banged up, so we struggled," Johnson said Sunday. "But we've got three games left (North Texas, Northern Illinois, Army) and if we can win them we'll be 8-4 and that's not too bad."
Johnson is the first Navy coach since 1963 to beat Notre Dame. Not too bad.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------My own opinion-he won't be at Navy next year and whoever takes a chance is going to get themselves a helluva head coach.
A Landmark Victory
Navy's thrilling triple OT victory over Notre Dame yesterday in South Bend, on national television in front of 80,000 fans, was a landmark win for the Navy program and for Head Coach Paul Johnson. I'm sure some will throw out the "well Notre Dame is terrible" line. But as Gregg Doyle from CBS Sports says:
"Navy should never, and I mean ever, beat Notre Dame. Navy isn't as good as it has been under sixth-year head coach Paul Johnson, but Johnson has an excuse. He's been trying to recruit players to the Naval Academy with the country at war. Playing football for Navy today means fighting in a war tomorrow. Playing football for Navy is literally a matter of life and death."
And Doyle continues:
"an appreciation of Navy, which plays a remarkable brand of football despite its inherent disadvantages in college football's highest classification."
"There are no other options for a team full of undersized guys who shouldn't come within a couple of touchdowns of beating Notre Dame on paper. Ever. Not in 43 years or 143 years."
The bottom line in this victory for Navy...Paul Johnson probably elevated his stock tremendously in the eyes of quite a few BCS schools that will be looking for a new coach this offseason. He took a group of players that had no business being on the same field as Notre Dame and ended the longest lopsided streak in college football. I hope Tom Osborne was watching.
"Navy should never, and I mean ever, beat Notre Dame. Navy isn't as good as it has been under sixth-year head coach Paul Johnson, but Johnson has an excuse. He's been trying to recruit players to the Naval Academy with the country at war. Playing football for Navy today means fighting in a war tomorrow. Playing football for Navy is literally a matter of life and death."
And Doyle continues:
"an appreciation of Navy, which plays a remarkable brand of football despite its inherent disadvantages in college football's highest classification."
And Mike Hutton from the Gary (Indiana) Post Tribune says:
"There are no other options for a team full of undersized guys who shouldn't come within a couple of touchdowns of beating Notre Dame on paper. Ever. Not in 43 years or 143 years."
The bottom line in this victory for Navy...Paul Johnson probably elevated his stock tremendously in the eyes of quite a few BCS schools that will be looking for a new coach this offseason. He took a group of players that had no business being on the same field as Notre Dame and ended the longest lopsided streak in college football. I hope Tom Osborne was watching.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
So does this all matter?
So does having a blog to support the hiring of Paul Johnson as the next NU coach, really make a difference in the grand scheme of things? Maybe. Maybe not. My single goal though is to generate a grassroots effort to get people talking about Paul Johnson. Maybe when they do...Tom Osborne and some others will start paying attention. My blog was discussed yesterday on Omaha's Big Sports 590 with Matt Perrault. Maybe its coincidence but at least Johnson is being talked about by the Omaha World Herald as one of the main candidates for the soon to be open coaching job at the University of Nebraska. Hey...someone make sure Tom Osborne gets emailed a link to this site.
Reciple for success
From this morning's Capital Online:
The Midshipmen are seeking to become the first team in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing three seasons in a row and have committed the fourth-fewest penalties among 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
The Midshipmen are seeking to become the first team in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing three seasons in a row and have committed the fourth-fewest penalties among 119 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
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