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Falcons flexing their bones
Flexbone and Chile con Carney is a meal the Dawgs hope to wolf down in preparation for their game with the Air Force Academy Falcons. That meal, not just a pun on the Falcons' quarterback's name, could be a recipe for heartburn if not ingested properly. The Dawgs need to think Shaun Carney and the Flexbone offense, starting August 9 when they begin practices.
AFA beat UW the last two times out. If the loss in the 1998 Oahu Classic
didn't directly cost coach Jim Lambright his job, it was certainly the
proverbial straw. A year later, the Falcons used their talons on Lambright's successor, Rick Neuheisel, who brought the
option to Montlake later in the 1999 season.
If you can't beat them, join them.
Originally to have been played in Colorado Springs, this year's meeting has been moved to Seattle's Seahawks Stadium (Qwest Field). An event promotion firm in Seattle acquired the rights from AFA; the Falcons will be considered the home team. Husky fans can expect to see some déjà vu, that is, the same precision, grind-it-out, clock-eating system AFA has presented before -- orchestrated by a bunch of overachievers. What the Falcons lack in speed and size, they augment with hard work and dedication to duty. There are no letter of intents in recruiting at Colorado Springs, where it is said, that "all cadets are athletes, but not all athletes are cadets." The Cadets' Flexbone (Wishbone?) option offense is a spin off of the Run and Shoot and does some precision flying on both the ground and in the air when it's executed properly. The offensive system (Coach DeBerry calls it the Wishbone) has the potential to have four receivers in the passing game and four potential ball carriers in the running game. Three running backs, with a running back called the fullback lined up behind the quarterback and two running backs called wingbacks lined up behind the line of scrimmage just outside the tackles, make up the standard formation. This formation can either have two tight ends, a wide receiver and a tight end, or two wide receivers; the triple option is its mainstay. Often, one of the wingbacks will motion in the direction the play is being run. * Last season, the Falcons were the fourth best rushing team in the country, averaging 277.36 yards per game. Although they passed sparingly, they threw effectively, ranking 13th in the nation in passing efficiency. Defensively, the Airmen could barely stop anyone, neither a World War II Messerschmitt nor a Panzer tank, so to speak. However, they almost drove Cal "Berserkeley" last season in its opener at Colorado Springs. Using an unorthodox offense, with three linemen on one side of the ball and one on the other side, the Falcons looked ready to pull an upset, scoring twice on their first three drives and posting 214 yards. Once the Bears figured out who should line up where and who should do what to whom, the rout was on, and they won 56-14, pulling away in the second half while holding AFA to just 56 second-half yards. Unlike Washington, AFA brings certainty to the quarterback position in Shaun Carney (5-10, 190, Sophomore, photo above). I think Isaiah Stanback will start for the Dawgs, but who knows? As a freshman last season, yanked into service because of an injury to Adam Fitch, Carney averaged 191.1 total yards per game and had a passing efficiency rating of 151.52, which was based on completing 91 out of 149 passes (61%) for 1315 yards, 11 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Carney ran for 596 yards and scored 6 touchdowns. Haunted by mistakes last season -- but nevertheless a quick study -- Carney brings a year of experience to Qwest Field and will benefit from an offensive line that is all back, intact and could be one of AFA's best ever. Carney should be better at his reads and will option off more effectively. After last season's disaster, all Dawg fans need to see is a smaller version of Marques Tuiasosopo running wild, wearing Academy blue, in what could be a cruel twist of fate. Fortunately, the UW has two quarterbacks, Stanback and Carl Bonnell, who can imitate Carney in practices, providing a meal of Flexbone and Chile Con Carney for a hungry D. There is no excuse not to be prepared for Carney's option skills. How's that for bravado? Inexperience at running back could hamper the Falcons, especially early on in the season. At running back, the Falcons lose Anthony Butler and Darnell Stephens, who ran for 37.55 yards and 41.0 yards per game, respectively. Taking another hit, the Falcons lose fullback Dan Shaffer (5-11, 235) who averaged 49.0 rushing yards per game. Justin Handley (5-8, 175, Junior) and Chad Smith (5-10, 185, Sophomore) are expected to replace Butler and Stephens, while Jacobe Kendrick (6-0, 220, Junior) will replace Shaffer at fullback. With the most experience of the three, Kendrick averaged 23.0 yards per game last season and has a career average of 5.2 yards per carry. During the spring, the Falcons moved quarterback Adam Fitch (6-0, 190) to running back, adding more depth to that position along with quickness to the outside. Last season against San Diego State, Fitch shared quarterback duties with Carney, scoring a touchdown from 63 yards out in the 37-31 defeat. Carney's wide receivers, Alec Messerall and J. P Waller, are both gone. However, the Falcons expect big things from Jason Brown (6-4, 225, Senior), who caught 9 passes last season, averaging 18.2 yards per catch. A solid blocker with good hands and speed, Robert McMenomy (6-4, 235, Senior), who caught 5 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, will start at tight end. The offensive line is led by Senior Jon Wilson (6-4, 290), who some rating services rank as the Falcons' best Pro prospect and have labeled as an Outland Trophy candidate. Early in the game against Washington, expect Wilson to soften the middle, so Carney can option to the outside. On defense, AFA ranked 95th in the nation, giving up 422.09 total yards per game, the worst in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons ranked 96th in the nation in Passing Efficiency Defense and 101 in Rushing Defense. NG Russ Mitscherling (6-3, 285, Senior), the Falcon's best defensive Pro prospect, will be asked to plug, what heretofore, has been a porous middle. For example, Cal and JJ Arrington posted 342 yards rushing, giving the Air Force a feel for a "Russian" offense. (That's awful, but I can't help myself). Utah manhandled AFA for 245 rushing yards later on. Defensive ends Gilberto Perez (6-3, 275, Junior) and Nelson Mitchell (6-1, 260, Senior) are expected to help Mitscherling shore up the middle. The Falcons lose most of their depth at linebacker and are counting on Overton Spence (6-2, 240, Senior), who has started a few games, to have a good year. The defensive backfield has some depth but like Washington lacks a true closer at corner. Carson Bird (5-11, 190, Sophomore) will start at left corner and Chris Sutton (6-0, 180, Junior) on the other side. Sutton, a starter last season, accumulated 65 tackles and an interception. FS Mark Carlson (6-0, 190, Senior) led the Falcons in tackles last season; he had 1 interception. Bobby Giannini (6-2, 210, Sophomore), with 67 tackles and 1 interception, will help out at one of the safety positions. The Falcons ranked 113th in net punting last season, allowing three touchdown returns. A good punter, Scott Eberle (6-1, 200, Senior) is back and expects some help from his teammates. Table 1 shows the two teams splitting 14 statistical categories from 2004. Offensively, the Academy was good while Washington was bad and, defensively, Washington was bad while the Cadets were horrid. Most likely, the Cadets have a slight edge over the Dawgs because of what looks to be a better offense -- but that's just on paper. They'll need to bring their better stats to turf if they expect to win. Notes: All in all, the UW is 2-5 against the Air Force. Expect Ty Willingham, Washington's first-year coach, to run a couple of option plays himself. AFA has 24 players returning who started at least one game in 2004. Twelve freshmen played for the Academy. After defeating Colorado State in the Falcon's last game last November, Coach Fisher DeBerry was quoted as saying, "I'll be honest with you; if I had my wish, I would want to start football (today) because I'm as excited about this football team that is coming back as any as we've ever had."
* The Wishbone or Flexbone? In any case, AFA runs
the triple option for sure; technically speaking, the Wishbone has a three-back
set, while the Flexbone is a one-back set with short motion. Table 1. Some 2004 statistics for the Air Force and Washington (NR=National Ranking)
Richard Linde (a.k.a., Malamute) can be reached at malamute@4malamute.com |
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