Time For Army to Let it Go

Well, it's time. After yet another session of uninspired offensive football closed the home season last week, Army fans are left to wonder if yet another campaign will slowly circle the drain as in the past two years, or will this coaching staff finally take the wraps off this offense and give their players the chance to taste victory before the season comes to an end.

The real shame of it is how well the defensive side of the ball is performing this year. However many times the poor play of the offense and special teams has put this group behind the eight-ball, the defense has come up big again and again. The linebackers have been superb, limiting the success of opposing offenses in the short passing game and making sure stops on backs before they're able to get up a head of steam when they break through the front four. The line as been able to sustain pressure on the QB, leading to diminished pass completion percentages and also limiting sudden strikes. But with Rice and Rutgers on the horizon, with their big passing games and ability to score points in bunches, the defense needs help from the O. One or two TD games by the offense will likely not suffice to keep the BK's in their next two games.

So the question becomes: what will the Army offense do to keep the team in these games. The passing game has been a complete disaster and the running game's inability to hang on to the football has created a situation which finds the Cadets unable to sustain long drives and with no ability to quickly move down the field when necessary.

The answer is to throw caution to the wind. The coaching staff's unwillingness to run counter plays and other misdirection plays is a complete head-scratcher. The Buffalo game has been the only contest with featured some counter plays, all of which met with success. They have yet to run one reverse play and have thrown only one screen pass all year to keep the defense honest and maybe get some defenders out of the box. As a result, teams like Air Force have been able to completely take away the pitch game with their ability to pursue and take down the QB before the pitch. They have no need to fear the play coming back in their direction.

And ask yourself this: What's the worst thing that can happen if the offense begins to show diversity?

Well, they can turn over the ball alot, generate few if any points and lose even with the defense playing at a high level. But that's very likely to happen anyway with maintaining a Pop Warner level playbook that stays vanilla at all times.

And perhaps opening things up can provide a big upside. Maybe this team can execute at a much higher level with the opposing defense confused over what they'll see next. And just maybe the Army side of the scoreboard can light up, sending the team to a promising conclusion to the season and the hope of good things to come in the future.

The time is now.