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Lehigh 28, G'Town 3, final

Lehigh won this game on defense, as our "D" has made big strides from last week and playmakers are starting to emerge. Unfortunately, on offense and special teams the same mistakes continue to plague our squad, making this a game into the 4th quarter when it shouldn't have been.

21 of these 28 points were a result of turnovers by the Hoyas, who really have to start worrying about their turnover-itis in a big way. On the plus side, Lehigh made these turnovers pay off for us.

I'm continuing to be frustrated by this offense. I really am perplexed by the inability to get sustained drives going and a short passing game. There were many 3rd downs that resulted in Threatt getting flushed out of the pocket and frequently getting sacked. The big difference with this team and the great Higgins and Lembo teams were the ability to pick up that big 3rd-and-8 reception to keep a drive alive. So far this year, we haven't been doing this with any sort of consistency.

Not only that, if I'm Marques Thompson, I've just come off a 2 TD, 130+ yard effort, but at least 20 extra yards were reversed by bad holding penalties on the line. Thompson is a lock for a game ball, but seeing 1st downs negating by bad holding calls are something that maybe won't kill us against Georgetown, but absolutely will against Holy Cross, Colgate, or that school in Easton.

But this game belongs to the defense. There were some sustained drives, but they got crucial turnovers and got big hits on defense, and the development of that unit is really great to see after the Harvard game.

No more griping. I've been starving for a win, and I'm going to enjoy this. Remember that old ad -- I think it was a Nike commercial -- that always ended... "and, Al Del Greco?" I think for my wrapups I'm going to end them, "... and, Frank Trovato". It seems like every week he makes big momentum-changing returns, and this was no exception. (Of course, two were reversed by asinine clipping penalties.. but I said I was going to enjoy this...) Trovato is coming to play every week, and I'm liking it.

There's lots to work on. But, I'm celebrating this win.

Finally, a win. I'm going to celebrate a great defensive effort, Yuengling beer-can chicken, anyone? And.... Frank Trovato.

Comments

Anonymous said…
"our "D" has made big strides from last week and playmakers are starting to emerge."

Not to rain your parade, but to draw this conclusion is just S-T-U-P-I-D. It much more likely that the three points was due to GU's anemic offense than LU's stellar defense. GU's offense is not even in the same class as Harvard's. Let's see how they do against Yale next week before jumping to any conclusions.

The offense remains incredibly conservative. Threatt has not progressed satisfactorily as a QB. Too many sacks - holding the ball too long. He needs to watch the Colgate tape over and over to remind himself of how he needs to play. Coen has got to get over his stubborness to pound the ball.
Chuck B '92 said…
Normally I don't leave comments, but give credit to Lehigh for forcing the turnovers and making G'Town pay. Yes, G'Town helped a lot as well on offense, and nobody will confuse them with Navy just yet. But there are defensive playmakers emerging, and they played head and shoulders better than the game at Harvard.

As for offense, Threatt or the "O" coordinator have a tendency to go for the "home run ball" after trying to pound the ball on first and second down. I heard a lot of long home-run ball incompletions this game rather than trying to hit the guy at the chains on 3rd-and-8. Maybe it's a function of getting in 3rd-and-long, I don't know.

Bottom line, I'll take a 28-3 win any day.
Anonymous said…
yes defense played better but ill await judgement. people really need to get off Sedale Threatt. Yes he holds the ball too long and takes sacks. Lets remember he is about to finish his first full season. He will get better everytime he goes out there. I would rather put the blame on playcalling rather than Sedale. they need to get more consistent and make long drives that put games away. At half i was thinking ok lets go out there and put up a nice 21-0 spot in the 3rd and finish this game. But no, lehigh continues to fall flat on their face and not score. The drive at put the game away in the 4th quarter was from passing. Mayb Coen needs to get rid of this running dream and start playing to the strengths of this team. Lehigh didnt win this game, Gtown lost it. Good for lehigh now 1-0, need to improve though.
Anonymous said…
As usual Ngineer, you put it succinctly - This was a real bad team down in DC. Even the folks at Georgetown know it based on some of the conversations I heard among their 30-40 fans at the game. And I also have to agree with Hawkineer when he says Sedale is showing no improvement. The comment that he has had less than one full season in the role is utterly stupid. What college QB gets much more time than that? The kid was dynamite last year and this year he has shown few flashes of that ability to carry the team on his back. He throws way too hard at times and seems to lack a touch for lofting the ball in certain situations. Sedale thrilled us all with his scrambling last season but seems confused this year. Perhaps a lack of coaching or maybe the staff is trying to make him something he isn't. Most of the players on this offensive squad were recruited for an aerial (Lembo-style) game. Maybe Coen should be using that talent for now and then when he gets a couple recruiting classes under his belt he can attempt his "4 yards and a cloud of dust" philosophy.

Like the others said, a win is always nice, but far too many mistakes have been made all year long to expect these guys to beat the heavyweights in the league.
Anonymous said…
I'm more concerned with the lack of discilpine, numerous penalties, breakdown in concentration, and especially, the total lack of LEHIGH class that was allowed to happen at mid-field before the game. What's going on here? Is the pre-game rumble coming soon? Are we now playing a bunch of "thugs"? In all my years of watching this team play, this type of conduct was never tollerated. Is it more important for our players on the field and on the sidelines to turn to the crowd and ask for noise, or concentrate on the situation at hand. Let's stop the chest thumping after a tackle. That's your job. Don't act like you just won the Patriot League after breaking up a pass. That's your job. Let's get back to being a "smart" team that plays with "CLASS".

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