LaxPower Back-Up Stick

youthathletics wrote: ↑Sat Oct 24, 2020 7:46 pm That's gonna be one loooooong day for the brigade.

hofpride wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 11:25 am why are navy football games being postponed , issue at the academy or opponents?

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html

Jasper indicated freshman Xavier Arline has also moved back into the mix at quarterback since Navy is in the midst of a three-week layoff. Arline was a surprise starter for the second game against Tulane, although he was pulled after four possessions.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound plebe from Long Island possesses superb speed, quickness and change-of-direction ability. Jasper said Arline, who was also recruited to play lacrosse at Navy, has come a long way in terms of learning the triple-option offense.

Jasper said Arline missed just one read during the Tulane game, but otherwise executed the game-plan flawlessly.

“Xavier is doing great. He’s a very detail-oriented kid, a very observant kid. He’s very hard on himself and wants to be a good football player,” Jasper said. “We have to get him better at throwing the ball, but that will come.”

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html

Jasper, who has coached the Navy quarterbacks since 2002, said senior Dalen Morris and junior Tyger Goslin continue to battle with freshman Xavier Arline also getting a decent amount of practice repetitions.

Jasper has been bothered by the overall inconsistency displayed by Morris and Goslin, who have both been in the system long enough to have gained a firm grasp of it.

Arline was a surprise starter in the second game of the season at Tulane. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound plebe was pulled after four possessions in favor of Morris, who led Navy to a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Niumatalolo said Arline has come a long way since then, not surprising since he did not start practicing with the team until mid-August. Jasper said the Long Island native is third on the depth chart but could possibly play in the team’s final three games.

“We’ve been trying to use this as a time to get Xavier caught up with things. He’s looking much more comfortable with the offense,” Niumatalolo said.

old salt wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 8:06 pm Xavier still in the QB mix :

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html

Jasper indicated freshman Xavier Arline has also moved back into the mix at quarterback since Navy is in the midst of a three-week layoff. Arline was a surprise starter for the second game against Tulane, although he was pulled after four possessions.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound plebe from Long Island possesses superb speed, quickness and change-of-direction ability. Jasper said Arline, who was also recruited to play lacrosse at Navy, has come a long way in terms of learning the triple-option offense.

Jasper said Arline missed just one read during the Tulane game, but otherwise executed the game-plan flawlessly.

“Xavier is doing great. He’s a very detail-oriented kid, a very observant kid. He’s very hard on himself and wants to be a good football player,” Jasper said. “We have to get him better at throwing the ball, but that will come.”

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.html

Jasper, who has coached the Navy quarterbacks since 2002, said senior Dalen Morris and junior Tyger Goslin continue to battle with freshman Xavier Arline also getting a decent amount of practice repetitions.

Jasper has been bothered by the overall inconsistency displayed by Morris and Goslin, who have both been in the system long enough to have gained a firm grasp of it.

Arline was a surprise starter in the second game of the season at Tulane. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound plebe was pulled after four possessions in favor of Morris, who led Navy to a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

Niumatalolo said Arline has come a long way since then, not surprising since he did not start practicing with the team until mid-August. Jasper said the Long Island native is third on the depth chart but could possibly play in the team’s final three games.

“We’ve been trying to use this as a time to get Xavier caught up with things. He’s looking much more comfortable with the offense,” Niumatalolo said.

JoeMauer89 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 9:39 pm

old salt wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 8:06 pm Xavier still in the QB mix

He looked very poised against Tulane. That kid's change of direction and first step is uncanny. Knew he was going to be big time when I saw him score a goal BTB as AN 8TH GRADER in the Long Island Championships againsts a very good Garden City squad....

JoeMauer89!

old salt wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 11:07 pm

JoeMauer89 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 9:39 pm

old salt wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 8:06 pm Xavier still in the QB mix

He looked very poised against Tulane. That kid's change of direction and first step is uncanny. Knew he was going to be big time when I saw him score a goal BTB as AN 8TH GRADER in the Long Island Championships againsts a very good Garden City squad....

JoeMauer89!

The Navy FB coaches know he has something special, or they wouldn't mention him every time they discuss the QB situation. They seem to not want to miss any of the opportunities they missed in holding back Malcom Perry as an underclassman. I hope we get a chance to see him play lax, but I'm not counting on it.

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... d1daac3f03

Bill Wagner: Struggling Navy offense might as well turn to freshman quarterback Xavier Arline | COMMENTARY
By BILL WAGNER
CAPITAL GAZETTE |
NOV 30, 2020

I’ve given up on seeing Navy properly execute the read triple-option in 2020.
Eight games into the season, one must conclude that what we have seen so far is what we’ll continue to get.

The Midshipmen were just as dysfunctional during Saturday’s 10-7 loss to Memphis as they were throughout a 55-3 blowout by BYU in the season opener.

Navy’s offensive coaching staff had a month to fix the problems plaguing the offense, and to describe the results as disappointing would be a massive understatement.

The Midshipmen’s offensive performance in the opener was embarrassing.

Considering that the braintrust consisting of coach Ken Niumatalolo, offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper and running game coordinator Ashley Ingram has been fine-tuning the unit for almost three months since, Saturday’s night showing was mind-boggling.

On the surface, subpar quarterback play has been the primarily culprit. Neither Tyger Goslin nor Dalen Morris has demonstrated an ability to operate the triple-option as designed.

A quick refresher for what that involves: Dissecting defensive formations pre-snap, making checks at the line of scrimmage, reading certain keys post-snap and distributing the ball accordingly.

Ever since former coach Paul Johnson reinstalled the triple-option in 2002, Navy has found a way to get its starting quarterback to do these things.

I have seen just about every style of signal-caller you could imagine line up under center for the Midshipmen. They all brought certain skills and abilities to the table, but at a fundamental level could run a read triple-option play to its completion.

That means putting the ball in the fullback’s belly to determine whether it should be a give or keep read. If the latter, the quarterback carries the ball outside and turns upfield to force a defender to commit. If no one takes the quarterback, he keeps the ball; if someone does, he pitches to the trailing slotback.

Unfortunately, Navy fans have seen very little read triple-option this season.

Morris was a dropback passer in high school and that is clearly what he is most comfortable doing. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound senior is limited as a runner and simply does not possess the speed or quickness necessary to execute the perimeter element of the option.

In limited sample size, Goslin had shown a better grasp of the option in terms of making the reads and running the plays. That must have been the conclusion of the coaching staff after the last few weeks of practice that served as an open competition for the starting job.

I fully expected Goslin to come out and execute read triple-option plays against Memphis on Saturday night. Like the rest of Navy nation, I was sorely disappointed. The 5-foot-11, 181-pound junior showed absolutely nothing in that department.

Was the blocking a problem? Absolutely. Despite shaking up the offensive line, the Midshipmen did not win the line of scrimmage nearly often enough against a big, physical front anchored by nose guard O’Bryan Goodson (6-1, 298).

Left guard has been a problem spot all season and Ingram addressed that by shuffling the lineup. After starting 20 straight games at right tackle, senior captain Billy Honaker shifted to left guard. He was replaced at right tackle by Kip Frankland, who made his first career start.

Those moves did not do much to improve the ground game as Navy amassed 233 rushing yards, 46 more than its season average.

However, the blocking was adequate enough to open holes for fullback Nelson Smith, who ran for 142 yards on a career-high 29 carries. The 5-foot-9, 213-pound senior, who is quietly having a strong season, said afterward he left some yards on the field.

Smith might have missed a hole here or there or failed to see a cutback lane that was there, but that seems a case of accepting unnecessary blame. In fact, the fullbacks have borne too much of the burden of carrying the offense through eight games.

With the quarterback keep and slotback pitch elements of the triple-option missing in action, the fullbacks between the tackles — whether with dive, trap or off-tackle plays — has pretty much been all the Mids can muster.

Against Memphis, Goslin and backup quarterback Xavier Arline combined for 11 yards on eight carries. Meanwhile, the slotback corps produced 19 yards on 10 attempts. For the season, Navy’s quarterbacks have 151 yards on 115 runs, while the slots have totaled 404 rushing yards on 75 totes.

For those keeping score at home, the quarterbacks and slotbacks have combined to average 2.9 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Smith and backup fullback Jamale Carothers have combined for 936 rushing yards on 195 carries, an average of almost 5 yards per pop.

That’s not Navy football and is the product of not having an effective perimeter game.

Not having a dangerous running threat at quarterback is the biggest problem, in my humble opinion. Opposing defenses simply do not respect the QB keeper element of the option and that’s because neither Morris nor Goslin has given them any reason to do so.

If the quarterback cannot get the ball outside with enough speed and precision to force the defense to account for him then the slotback pitch becomes completely ineffective.

Navy’s coaching staff has resorted to direct handoffs and quick pitches to get the ball to the slots. On Saturday night, we saw what was basically a double-option play in which the quarterback faked the handoff to the fullback then immediately pitched to the slotback in motion.

It was a creative way to quickly get the ball to the perimeter and Memphis deserves credit for defending those plays pretty well. As Niumatalolo said during his postgame press conference, the Tigers had the speed to run down the Mids whenever they got the edge.

When asked postgame about the decision to start Goslin, Niumatalolo said it was a “close race.” Considering it was Arline, not Morris, that replaced Goslin late in the third quarter, one must presume the plebe was runner-up in the competition.

Indeed, Niumatalolo stated during the week that Arline has come a long way with regard to his overall knowledge and understanding of the offense. The Long Island native was probably not ready for prime-time when he started the second game of the season against Tulane but has gotten plenty of practice repetitions to learn and improve.

Arline is the smallest starting quarterback of the triple-option era at Navy, edging out Malcolm Perry (5-9, 190) and Lamar Owens (5-9, 185). However, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound freshman has the type of speed, quickness and elusiveness you want in an option quarterback.

To this seasoned observer, it makes sense on a lot of levels to go with Arline against Tulsa and archrival Army. Most importantly, he provides the perimeter running threat Navy has sorely been lacking this season. Second, the plebe represents the future at the position and game experience would greatly enhance his development.

old salt wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:28 am Wags calling for Xavier :

https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... d1daac3f03

Bill Wagner: Struggling Navy offense might as well turn to freshman quarterback Xavier Arline | COMMENTARY
By BILL WAGNER
CAPITAL GAZETTE |
NOV 30, 2020

I’ve given up on seeing Navy properly execute the read triple-option in 2020.
Eight games into the season, one must conclude that what we have seen so far is what we’ll continue to get.

The Midshipmen were just as dysfunctional during Saturday’s 10-7 loss to Memphis as they were throughout a 55-3 blowout by BYU in the season opener.

Navy’s offensive coaching staff had a month to fix the problems plaguing the offense, and to describe the results as disappointing would be a massive understatement.

The Midshipmen’s offensive performance in the opener was embarrassing.

Considering that the braintrust consisting of coach Ken Niumatalolo, offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper and running game coordinator Ashley Ingram has been fine-tuning the unit for almost three months since, Saturday’s night showing was mind-boggling.

On the surface, subpar quarterback play has been the primarily culprit. Neither Tyger Goslin nor Dalen Morris has demonstrated an ability to operate the triple-option as designed.

A quick refresher for what that involves: Dissecting defensive formations pre-snap, making checks at the line of scrimmage, reading certain keys post-snap and distributing the ball accordingly.

Ever since former coach Paul Johnson reinstalled the triple-option in 2002, Navy has found a way to get its starting quarterback to do these things.

I have seen just about every style of signal-caller you could imagine line up under center for the Midshipmen. They all brought certain skills and abilities to the table, but at a fundamental level could run a read triple-option play to its completion.

That means putting the ball in the fullback’s belly to determine whether it should be a give or keep read. If the latter, the quarterback carries the ball outside and turns upfield to force a defender to commit. If no one takes the quarterback, he keeps the ball; if someone does, he pitches to the trailing slotback.

Unfortunately, Navy fans have seen very little read triple-option this season.

Morris was a dropback passer in high school and that is clearly what he is most comfortable doing. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound senior is limited as a runner and simply does not possess the speed or quickness necessary to execute the perimeter element of the option.

In limited sample size, Goslin had shown a better grasp of the option in terms of making the reads and running the plays. That must have been the conclusion of the coaching staff after the last few weeks of practice that served as an open competition for the starting job.

I fully expected Goslin to come out and execute read triple-option plays against Memphis on Saturday night. Like the rest of Navy nation, I was sorely disappointed. The 5-foot-11, 181-pound junior showed absolutely nothing in that department.

Was the blocking a problem? Absolutely. Despite shaking up the offensive line, the Midshipmen did not win the line of scrimmage nearly often enough against a big, physical front anchored by nose guard O’Bryan Goodson (6-1, 298).

Left guard has been a problem spot all season and Ingram addressed that by shuffling the lineup. After starting 20 straight games at right tackle, senior captain Billy Honaker shifted to left guard. He was replaced at right tackle by Kip Frankland, who made his first career start.

Those moves did not do much to improve the ground game as Navy amassed 233 rushing yards, 46 more than its season average.

However, the blocking was adequate enough to open holes for fullback Nelson Smith, who ran for 142 yards on a career-high 29 carries. The 5-foot-9, 213-pound senior, who is quietly having a strong season, said afterward he left some yards on the field.

Smith might have missed a hole here or there or failed to see a cutback lane that was there, but that seems a case of accepting unnecessary blame. In fact, the fullbacks have borne too much of the burden of carrying the offense through eight games.

With the quarterback keep and slotback pitch elements of the triple-option missing in action, the fullbacks between the tackles — whether with dive, trap or off-tackle plays — has pretty much been all the Mids can muster.

Against Memphis, Goslin and backup quarterback Xavier Arline combined for 11 yards on eight carries. Meanwhile, the slotback corps produced 19 yards on 10 attempts. For the season, Navy’s quarterbacks have 151 yards on 115 runs, while the slots have totaled 404 rushing yards on 75 totes.

For those keeping score at home, the quarterbacks and slotbacks have combined to average 2.9 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Smith and backup fullback Jamale Carothers have combined for 936 rushing yards on 195 carries, an average of almost 5 yards per pop.

That’s not Navy football and is the product of not having an effective perimeter game.

Not having a dangerous running threat at quarterback is the biggest problem, in my humble opinion. Opposing defenses simply do not respect the QB keeper element of the option and that’s because neither Morris nor Goslin has given them any reason to do so.

If the quarterback cannot get the ball outside with enough speed and precision to force the defense to account for him then the slotback pitch becomes completely ineffective.

Navy’s coaching staff has resorted to direct handoffs and quick pitches to get the ball to the slots. On Saturday night, we saw what was basically a double-option play in which the quarterback faked the handoff to the fullback then immediately pitched to the slotback in motion.

It was a creative way to quickly get the ball to the perimeter and Memphis deserves credit for defending those plays pretty well. As Niumatalolo said during his postgame press conference, the Tigers had the speed to run down the Mids whenever they got the edge.

When asked postgame about the decision to start Goslin, Niumatalolo said it was a “close race.” Considering it was Arline, not Morris, that replaced Goslin late in the third quarter, one must presume the plebe was runner-up in the competition.

Indeed, Niumatalolo stated during the week that Arline has come a long way with regard to his overall knowledge and understanding of the offense. The Long Island native was probably not ready for prime-time when he started the second game of the season against Tulane but has gotten plenty of practice repetitions to learn and improve.

Arline is the smallest starting quarterback of the triple-option era at Navy, edging out Malcolm Perry (5-9, 190) and Lamar Owens (5-9, 185). However, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound freshman has the type of speed, quickness and elusiveness you want in an option quarterback.

To this seasoned observer, it makes sense on a lot of levels to go with Arline against Tulsa and archrival Army. Most importantly, he provides the perimeter running threat Navy has sorely been lacking this season. Second, the plebe represents the future at the position and game experience would greatly enhance his development.

Come on Wags, we want Xavier for lax. A Mouse Davis Run & Shoot passing offense for Morris is the best hope for wins over Tulsa, Army & a Military Bowl ACC foe.

youthathletics wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:24 pm I posted on this very topic a few times. Navy is caught in a conundrum and trying to carve a way in to the next tier of programs. The triple option is only going to get you but so far and you better be so damned good at it that you control upwards of 70% of the game clock...and that is to control your own bleeding. I believe Navy is trying to elevate to a more hybrid TrOp. Navy has performed best when they can air it out AND have that QB that can shake and bake and get downhill. Everything starts with the O-Line, you control the line of scrimmage you control the play development/schemes. At this point Navy has become much easier to scout, kind of like we were in lacrosse of recent years past.

I do not necessarily disagree with Wags, but there is a dimension of the team that you risk losing if that also does not pan out. Occams Razor is where Wags is at, but I am willing to bet that latter of last comment is in the coaches thoughts.

#GoNavy

old salt wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:43 pm

youthathletics wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:24 pm I posted on this very topic a few times. Navy is caught in a conundrum and trying to carve a way in to the next tier of programs. The triple option is only going to get you but so far and you better be so damned good at it that you control upwards of 70% of the game clock...and that is to control your own bleeding. I believe Navy is trying to elevate to a more hybrid TrOp. Navy has performed best when they can air it out AND have that QB that can shake and bake and get downhill. Everything starts with the O-Line, you control the line of scrimmage you control the play development/schemes. At this point Navy has become much easier to scout, kind of like we were in lacrosse of recent years past.

I do not necessarily disagree with Wags, but there is a dimension of the team that you risk losing if that also does not pan out. Occams Razor is where Wags is at, but I am willing to bet that latter of last comment is in the coaches thoughts.

#GoNavy

It's been a confluence of bad events. Spring ball & uninterrupted practice are critical to developing a TO QB. Olsen was the most experienced returnee. He left. Covid destroyed the continuity of QB development. Morris was obviously a 1 year stop gap to salvage what they could of this season at the expense of developing the next TO QB. Without contact in practice & scrimmages, they apparently hoped Morris would develop into a TO QB. Now with so many good WR's injured, the prospect of going to more of a passing game is limited. I'm concerned that Xavier isn't big enough to take the pounding a Navy TO QB must absorb.

youthathletics wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:43 pm

old salt wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:43 pm

youthathletics wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:24 pm I posted on this very topic a few times. Navy is caught in a conundrum and trying to carve a way in to the next tier of programs. The triple option is only going to get you but so far and you better be so damned good at it that you control upwards of 70% of the game clock...and that is to control your own bleeding. I believe Navy is trying to elevate to a more hybrid TrOp. Navy has performed best when they can air it out AND have that QB that can shake and bake and get downhill. Everything starts with the O-Line, you control the line of scrimmage you control the play development/schemes. At this point Navy has become much easier to scout, kind of like we were in lacrosse of recent years past.

I do not necessarily disagree with Wags, but there is a dimension of the team that you risk losing if that also does not pan out. Occams Razor is where Wags is at, but I am willing to bet that latter of last comment is in the coaches thoughts.

#GoNavy

It's been a confluence of bad events. Spring ball & uninterrupted practice are critical to developing a TO QB. Olsen was the most experienced returnee. He left. Covid destroyed the continuity of QB development. Morris was obviously a 1 year stop gap to salvage what they could of this season at the expense of developing the next TO QB. Without contact in practice & scrimmages, they apparently hoped Morris would develop into a TO QB. Now with so many good WR's injured, the prospect of going to more of a passing game is limited. I'm concerned that Xavier isn't big enough to take the pounding a Navy TO QB must absorb.

No argument. I still believe Navy wants to get to the next level, and not just be that SA TO team that plays a monumental game each year with AWP and maybe earns a decent bowl game. I am sorry, but a TO qb needs to still be able to throw the danged ball, like Keenan and Dobbs in recent years. As good as MP was, his passing was not very good and the dance with ZA and MP forced their hand back into the TO qb keeper....Navy is not out of that mode yet.

Dip&Dunk wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:09 pm A) You play a 5'9" backup quarterback who is better in another sport you get this.
B) The TO quarterbacks are RPO quarterbacks now. Maybe time to move on.
C) Better question: will XA beat Army in either sport?