Last Chance to Open it Up

When the pitcher in baseball sees his breaking ball isn't working on a particular day, he adjusts. He'll rely on his fastball or throw in another area of the strike zone. When a guard in basketball sees that his jumper's not falling, he adjusts. He'll either work for better shots or make sure that he passes to the hot hand.

During football games, you'll hear announcers wax poetic over adjustments that were made or not made by teams at halftime.

Yep, adjustments are a big part of any game.

Unless you're the Army offense.

In that case, you'll just keep doing the same thing over and over again, hoping the next play will be the one that springs the big play.

What you hope from any coaching staff is that they give their team the best chance to win any game they play. It would be hard to believe for any fan leaving the Rutgers game that this coaching staff thinks that way. Other than one Mooney break out in the 2nd half, the offense was once again dismal. After some initial success on pitches, the 3rd option was put on hold after the 1st quarter.

The question being asked in this space all year has been: What do the Cadets have to lose by opening up the offense? Turnovers? Army has been turning the ball over at a nation-leading pace being conservative. Lack of points? Other than 3 games this year, Army has struggled to score more than one TD per contest. It's very safe to say that status-quo will yield yet another loss this Saturday.

So what's the upside? The Cadets proved that counter plays were effective against Buffalo. Pitch plays worked well in the 2nd half against Rice, opening up the middle for both Army fullbacks to have big games. Not surprisingly, the BK's had no trouble scoring in these games.

And the biggest plus? How 'bout giving your long-suffering fans a reason to smile? Most Army fans are heading to the game Saturday like the convict taking his final walk to the executioner. So how about some razzle-dazzle? How about keeping Navy on their toes and maybe even fooling them a little bit? It is within the rules, honest. Even if Chip Bowden can't go or isn't 100%, so what? Throw caution to the wind. Let's have some fun. And if the team turns the ball over or struggles to score, big deal. Been there, done that. And if the team has fourth and short in Navy's territory, go for it. The worst thing that'll happen is another loss. Again, been there, done that.

Because maybe some things will work. For a team that has lost 16 of their last 17 games during the second half of the last 3 seasons, things just can't get any worse.

And a win against the Mids will make a long, cold winter seem a bit shorter and warmer.