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| Four Plays Snapshot http://www.thecfl.us/forum/viewtopic.php?t=692 |
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| Author: | Aylmar [ Tue Oct 26, 2004 8:59 am ] |
| Post subject: | Four Plays Snapshot |
[be78bbbb]Seattle (AP)[/be78bbbb] - Four plays. That's all it took to demonstrate to the Seattle coaching staff just how poorly their team is performing this year. They had hoped early on in the preseason that they would be able to get some matchups with Cole Faison on the outside. That Chuck Dever would be able to sling some passes downfield. Faison hauled in five passes for 108 yards on Sunday, but they didn't come from Dever. The young quarterback watched the game from the team's training factility in Seattle where work continues on his shredded Achilles. "It's tough, watching your teammates out there without you," said Dever. "I try to help them as much as I can, but it's tough on me, not playing. I'm a competitor." Probably not as tough as it is if you are Francis Burch. His up and down season continues to baffle the offensive coaching staff. On the first play from scrimmage, Burch found Tim Clinton on an eight yard hitch in the flat. He looked off the safety and piloted the ball into a spot where only his guy could get it. By all accounts, a wonderful play for the young quarterback. On the very next snap, however, he dropped back and drilled the ball right into the waiting hands of free safety Bobby Miller. "I felt a little pressure from the backside, so I stepped up and tried to wing it to Cole down the sideline. I never saw (Miller) roll his coverage to that side. He made a great play on the ball." The young quarterback shrugged. "These things happen." In that, you see the main criticism that the coaching staff has of Burch. He rattles in the pocket too easily. "The kid flushes from pressure that isn't really there," said a member of the Seattle staff who wished to remain nameless. "It's not like we aren't working with him, but he feels the rush way too early. That first interception, he wasn't even touched. He didn't need to step up. Then, when he moves, it's like he forgets his reads and progressions. Faison was the decoy on that play. It was poor execution all the way around. The second pick was just as bad. Tried to drop the bomb on them to Faison and didn't ever see the safety. Running from phantom pressure. The flat guy, Clinton, was wide open for an easy ten yards when Burch flushed. Wide open. He can't keep missing those reads. Let me rephrase that. He won't keep missing those reads." Under pressure after Burch's first pick, the Seattle defense rose to the occasion. They held Long Beach to three points, putting the Seattle offense back out on the field. On second and nine, tailback Joe Gallego cut back into a seam opened up by his offensive line and galloped for nine yards. Defensive tackle Alexander Mosely, trailing the play, tomahawked the ball out of Gallego's hands and into the outstretched arms of linebacker Daniel Kiernan. Kiernan never looked back. Touchdown Long Beach. "Four plays, man," said newly-acquired linebacker Richard Suazo. "We can't give up easy points like that. Ten points off two turnovers? As a defense, we have to answer the call when the offense struggles. That first half was crazy." He's right. Just look at the results of Seattle's first four possessions: 2 plays, 8 yards, INT 2 plays, 10 yards, FUM 9 plays, 49 yards, Missed FG 1 play, 0 yards, INT "We knew this season was going to be rough," said GM Aylmar, "but I still expect to be competitive. I think we are a team with a lot of untapped potential. We're still trying to find our way." The fans certainly hope that the Thunderbirds voyage of discovery ends soon. They'd like to see a football game this season, boys. Before they can do that, the team actually has to start playing something resembling that game. |
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