Dublin Coffman Rocks 2020

It was a very solid winning weekend and even got away for a few days of warmer more tropical winds , sun, conch fritters and a few rum runners. .That's a win win win win ? And the loss at the end of the night felt just fine as the Brownies get their first road play-off win SINCE 1969 !!? First play off win since the first day of 1995 ? WOW . In the year of Covid , sports at times has taken on a surreal hollowness , an awkward echo ? You play games in front of an almost literal handful of people , who appear like tiny specs of color from an aerial shot. You hear piped in crowd noise that can confuse you sometimes after a big play because it belies what actually happened on the field.

In this most trying of years in a multitude of ways , the NFL has carried on about as well as can humanely be expected. if it took a pandemic to help the Bills and Browns get play-off wins after such a long time ? that would be a great thing right? Feel good moments ? As a life-long Patriots fan , I have gone through ineptitude squared , and unprecedented and almost assuredly never to be duplicated 20 year run of success . Living amongst Browns fans I started rooting for them eventually and it was easy to root against the Steelers because they were a chief rival of the Patriots .

Rooting for the Browns was kind of like rooting for that smaller less talented kid on one of your kids teams . The really nice kid who was never going to play for long or make a varsity team in the future , but you were ecstatic when they had their one of two 'moments " during a season. Browns were truly awful just a couple years ago . Baker Mayfield is a starting NFL QB in talent and confidence. But he kind of falls short as an NFL draft 'leading man " type guy . Number one's overall usually are more freakish athletically . 'Look " different . Beasts . A swashbuckling John Elway, Every bit of 6-4 , Big arm , big presence , even big teeth , lol. A Baseball corner outfielder with some power and swagger . A more athletic Dave Parker . Fills out the uniform as perfectly as a trust fund bride fills out her wedding dress. Baker is the scrappy second baseman whose uniform kind of hangs off him unevenly and is dirty by the second inning.

The thing that kept coming back to me watching this Pittsburgh meltdown was , Is this a different season than the one where the Steelers were once 11-0 and had beaten the Browns by what seemed like a hundred in week one , and had played right with them just last week when sitting multiple key players? With the esteemed Mason Rudolph the Thuuuurd presiding at QB ? So the Browns had a few guys out HC not present , had lost some practice time and yet were up 28-0 after the first quarter ? Are you freaking kidding me? The Steelers came out about as fresh and crisp as one of those sun lamped warmed pieces of pizza that often passed for Cobra Kai's Johnny Lawrence's dinner .

Bad snap , punts, , fastballs by Ben that were usually out of the strike zone , tipped , picked and returned , then rinse and repeat. Surreal doesn't suffice . Three years ago I remember watching the get down to Bortles and the Jags BIG , at home . They came back of course and almost won because, well ---- it was the Jags . What Browns fan reading this wasn't nervous when the Steelers down just 12 now with just under a quarter to play , at midfield with a 4th and one ?? If you weren't ? You were lying to yourself . Of course you were . We just saw a similar scenario in Tennessee right? So you grab the beer sigh and start to fret. Well fret not, Mike Tomlin bailed you out . He inexplicably punts the football with total momentum at that point which goes into the end zone gaining 30 yards of field position , not trusting his offense to get one yard to keep and even add to that momentum . Many of our packages and Christmas cards we sent and received arrived recently , weeks after being sent , slowed by the once in a century pandemic .

Mike Tomlin's XMAS gift to Cleveland came when he decided to over think things and take the momentum that was all on his teams side and just hand it over . Of course not being able to run the football { last in the league, talk about surreal , ? A team named after Steel can't run the football and get a yard when it has to?} And Ben's multiple high and away fastballs would make you pause for a second may be, but having to score TWO TD's to win with a quarter to play AND all the momentum , you take a tepid step back , try to draw them offsides and then punt as if you were up by a FG OR IN A TIE GAME? Are you serious ? Did any assistant say? UMM Mike , ahh you know this is a really lame kind of weak decision here and we do kind of have well ahh ALL OF THE MOMENTUM RIGHT NOW ?

As they lined up to Punt I said to the people I was watching with , this is a brutal decision , and the only slightly redeemable result will be pinning them inside the five. WRONG , Ball bounds into the end zone like an approach shot that didn't check up and your chance of birdie went kaput . BALLGAME . Steelers were once 11-0 , then went sideways a bit , and last night a week after almost beating the Browns who were playing for a play-off , with back-ups playing some key roles, looked as if they hadn't played or practiced together for weeks . Ben was like the young flame throwing pitcher who strikes out 14 but walks 11 and throws 6 wild pitches . Even Defensive lineman were making diving catches on tipped passes . Years ago , I likened some baseball managers to tenured professors . The so called 'Good baseball man, a good ole boy who may be fired once in a while but finds his next job a split second later because he is well ----- a 'Good baseball man". Mike Tomlin is one of these football tenured Prof's in a way. He has the credentials of course and overall he is a very solid coach , BUT he seems almost impervious to any fallout to some of his teams underachievement and his team appearing at times atrociously unprepared and as sloppy as a 4 year old eating a plate of spaghetti .


Congrats Browns , enjoy this . I think you have a rushing dog chance vs KC. They aren't great at stopping the run and their offense hasn't been clicking on all cylinders for weeks now . Kareem Hunt looked like he was sprung out of a cannon last night . The Browns have hands down the best RB duo in the league and it isn't particularly close. Chubb and Hunt are bad men . Got over 200 yards from those guys last night . O-Line was very solid . Baker was good . They have to duplicate this and then add to it a bit may be to beat KC . May be last weeks' uneven and shaky play in the close win over Pitt to get in was because they did feel that pressure . Last night they seemed to feel less and were really helped out by Pittsburgh's awful early effort , but they were smoother . This week they should feel ZERO pressure and just go play . Unleash the thoroughbred RB's and let it rip once they have to overly defend the run . Will be back to talk abut the other games shortly
 
Last edited:
You guys watched the games and can get the stats obviously and some enjoyed the games coming in for us as well. A concise or succinct { Trying to be at least } view of what I saw and what I think was adn is important going forward. Also some opinions on what we saw . Bills with Tampa large teaser play came in nicely and was necessary as they both didn't cover the actual spread . Rams grabbing 4 points { went off at 3} was anice comfortable win for us straight up as well . Baltimore coming in nicely to start yesterday kept us on a roll and then the Saints teased with the Steelers came in as well as a smaller play on the UNDER 48 easily staying under as we thought the Bears would struggle on offense but play fairly well on defense . 2-2 on props losing a small amount as well.

Weekend got off to a nice start with Buffalo winning their first play-off game in a long while holding on against a suddenly ageless Phillip Rivers. Old man Rivers was at least middle aged Phillip Rivers on this afternoon . 'Phil was a competent 27-46 for 309 { avg. 6.7per attempt} 2 TD's and very importantly no picks {94 PR} . Big moment was going for it on 4th down after losing yards from the one on third and missing . Could have been 17-7 but should have been at least 13-7 three after they lost yardage from the one on third. Allen got going after this and finished with a 'how do you like this 26-35 for 324 { 9.3 YPA !!} and a 121 PR . Every bit was needed as the Bills had no run game to speak of . The key was their run defense though as they held Taylor to 78 yards on 21 attempts . It was fairly obvious earlier on that the Bills were going to scheme to have Phillip Rivers have to beat them . They held on as a fumble that should have been called { Hate to see the game end that way but it was a FUMBLE } Justice prevailed and Buffalo advances to play Baltimore . Liked the Bills to get the win a lot but the spread and a backdoor being too far cracked kept me off the straight play . Good call and Tampa getting it done cashed our ticket . Buffalo may want to step up the run game a bit next week but I think their pass defense won't be quite as tested by Jackson's arm as they were Rivers and his experience. BUT Jackson can really run as we saw yesterday as he broke out big time .

Opined correctly that the Rams probably had the best defense left in the play-offs adn that Seattle was in an offensive funk they were unlikely to be able to get out of against this class of defense . That was correct . As solid and productive as the QB play was in the first game Saturday , the second game's was the opposite. Wilson had 50 yards adn had a 50 + yard TD pass to Metcalf , but other than that? Yikes. 11-27 for 174 2 TD's and a pick with an embarrassing 72 Passer rating. Running game was OK overall averaging 5 a pop. Goff was 9 for 19 for 155 { Nice 8.2 PA} with one TD and no picks , 93 PR . Cam Akers who is becoming a star was the big story with 176 yards including 131 on the ground . Feeling good going into the nightcap .

Tampa took care of business going against what was Washington's third string QB who played like a good back -up .Competed his butt off against a very good defense . Brady was Brady as the O-Line did an excellent job vs a very good pass rush and he carved them up at times .381 yards on a gaudy 9.2 an attempt 2 TD's no picks and a very solid 104 PR. As we opined correctly in the end it was Tampa's offensive weapons and QB that would get it done here and be the difference . Tampa has a really good stable of offensive playmakers , the BEST in football adn that includes KC. Two TE's that are productive ? Brown Godwin AND EVANS ? Cut the crap . Fournette and Jones ? Do you really have an argument that there is a better group of say the 8 weapons including the QB? Defense is also pretty solid so to me they are as good as anyone right now.

Baltimore game boiled down to Jackson having to play well to get the win in Tennessee . HE DID . Jackson wasn't great throwing going 17-24 with 179 yards no TD's and One pick a BELOW average 75 QR . But overall ? Electric playmaker which at his core is what he is . 16 carries for 136 yards for 8.5 a carry ? Cost us the Dobbins over 64 yards prop as we figured he would get at least 15 carries adn average at least 4.5 after averaging 6 during the year . Well he averaged 4.8 but Jackson stole the thunder and Dobbins only carrying 9 times fell 20 yards short .


Ravens defense was GREAT , especially against the run shutting down Henry completely.18 for 40 for a 2.2 avg. . YIKES . And ballgame . So another nice win for us .


Saints in a boring game really took care of business as Saints backers laying less than 11 were fortunate the last TD came with no time left { even a second left they run a conversion play after touchdown} but the Saints were in control from the beginning . Bears literally let a chance slip through their fingers as Trubisky threw a strike drop n the bucket 50 yard throw only to have the guy whiff on it . Mitch Trubisky started ONE year in college he needed a couple years adn that's not the NFL now, if you don't light it up early ? You hear footsteps and the next draft pick at QB is the new hero and savior. He has gotten the bad rap of being a terrible QB by many . He isn't that. He gets compared to Mahomes . So he obviously gets crushed. He didn't have two of his top receivers for most of the second half adn still was a respectable 19-29 for 199 { 7 yards PA} and a 97 PR going against a very good defense . Brees was Brees and he did the job , making a couple very nifty plays and reads and was accurate as usual . Efficient 265 yards 107 PR. Tampa -NO round three, tough to beat a team 3 times .


Lines are out and I will post the current line then what I initially made it in parenthesis . {pretty much the same as it usually would be at this point}

Saturday

Green Bay - 7 { GB - 6.5 } LA Rams
Buffalo - 2.5 { Buff - 3} Baltimore


Sunday

Kansas City - 10 { KC - 10 } Cleveland
New Orleans - 3 { NO - 3} Tampa Bay
 
As the great Thomas Earl Petty stated some 30 + years ago { Yikes } "it's a long day living in Reseda". Many knew what Reseda was all about from seeing how tough it could be for Daniel Larusso in the 80's and now Johnny Lawrence in the present day. I think of that phrase from 'Free falling" " time to time in the middle of a trying day for myself or others. It was a long day for the Ohio State Buckeyes . Sublime knows they have seen better days . There may be no freeway running through the Bucs yard , but they were caught on the highway without a GPS at times , not enough gas at other times . They then had a valve issue and simply had to pullover in the right lane ultimately , as they waited painfully for the last exit to mercifully become visible and exit that sucker.

Great occurrences and feats are rarely the result on just one big factor . They are usually a confluence of many dynamics working at once or in close proximity . Momentum builds , balls roll down hill , a levy breaks , the winds shift . Miracle on Ice was the result of the perfect coach , at the right time , playing an all time powerhouse that had grown a bit older, became a bit less hungry , bored , and overconfident . { You tube the USSR -Canada game , it was that game that gave Brooks some confidence and he actually stated that he didn't think they were playing really well at all for them anyway. He was right . Russian won 6-4 but wasn't sharp . They had to come back vs Finland as well } .

NE Patriots ? Perfect Owner who learned lessons along the way, got out of the way while providing full support, greatest smartest coach with a genius IQ pared with an all time QB in terms of work ethic who worked as hard as the coach and was obsessed with details. Coach learned from his first few years and you got some momentum , and the best people stayed hungry and motivated.


Alabama has been really really good the last decade and change . We all know this . This year's team was 'different " though. A different animal . The 2020 Tide was the result of a few things coming together at once . A core of players coming together at once . Learned from a tougher year last season . Supremely motivated . Their advantages kind of grew I think with the pandemic. Their focus was unparalleled . Better than anyone else's adn many insiders and those commentators with access attested to this. The offense which has been growing from a more run based play action modus operandi with big lines and decent if not unspectacular QB's , to one where they fit in a bit better with the mainstream of where the modern college game is going . Spread it out, take advantage of athletes in space , get better QB's who have been now more indoctrinated in 7 on 7 , get it out quick , more sophisticated and creative schemes.


Saban was tired of always chasing these teams who could score quicker than his scheme was setup to do , so he said , 'we'll join them and just do it better with better more motivated players. Saban is a master motivator .His team gets the best athletes , they have great facilities and a large talented coaching and support staff .

So with a small handful of great guys coming back for another year , an offensive coordinator who is hungry again after slipping and falling { Booze } at USC but a very smart creative offensive mind with something to prove as he has gotten sober and is dialed in . All time talent in Smith and Harris , and multiple other higher NFL draft picks, the same dominant line that is now fully engaged and experienced in the new MO , BETTER QB play and talent.? A small handful of things working together that brought us to this machine . Saban is also getting a bit long in the tooth and seems more motivated to do this better and put that extra layer of cement on that legacy . Put it out of reach . His good Friend Belichick in the NFL has done that . He will be regarded the best of all time for the foreseeable future. Saban is that equivalent in the college ranks .

You guys saw the game . You know what happened . OSU would have been helped offensively if Sermon doesn't go out right away . Miyan Williams not there hurt a bit may be . Teague is fine , but he's not Sermon . But other than that ? Not much to complain about or to give excuses. Defense was out schemed at times [one play sums that up and stuck out shows LB Tuff Borland trying to run with Smith while two high safety cover air in the zones never getting over to help , easy pitch and catch and long score.} motion gave their eyes trouble as they followed the wrong guys at times or forgot to cover people and or got outflanked . BUT at other times they were in the right spot at the right time and simply couldn't get guys to the ground . Their guys were better than them . Harris is so slippery and agile that you simply don't realize he is 230 pounds . His quickness, speed and agility makes him appear to be more like 200 pounds .

Smith is a jaguar . He is fast long , precise , smart and has great hands .Oh he's quick and slippery as well . The one play where he made a catch on the sideline fully stretched against tight coverage getting his fee tin was the classic , this is " unfair" moment . Sark had the right calls with the right athletes and even when he didn't? His athletes bailed him out. Buckeyes O-line is good . Very good against Clemson , but simply couldn't hold their blocks the same way against these guys. Bama was the perfect storm this year and it was a confluence of factors that pointed to this being may be Saban's BEST team . Best I have seen . He has taken the offense to another level of sophistication , speed , scheme and execution .

Lie watching a perfectly choreographed dance routine with the parts moving with dizzying fluidity and then sped up for a few seconds and showing some powerful jumps and moves for good measure . It was beautiful . Head shakingly agonizing for other teams and their fans to watch may be , but at the end of the day you just have to give it up to them and try to get better yourself if ever having to go against this type of animal again . Side wrong{ OSU + 8.5 } , total right {OVER 74.5} , teaser right { Teased Bama{ to - 2.5 } and the over{ to 68.5} to hedge and possibly win both if game landed under a 9 point margin with Bama wining and went over 68.5}

The gap between Bama and others won't be so great next year IMO and they may not win it all, BUT CFB is stuck in a pattern of about 4-5 schools getting a way too high percentage of the top say 125 players . They also have among the best facility's .coaching staff's and olm man momentum .


Random thoughts


Fields is a true warrior and competitor whose mental make-up is way up the charts if not over the proverbial charts. We saw a glimpse of his mental make- up and character on QB-1 when it followed him through HS . Good kid , grounded , hard worker, good attitude and has become a strong leader . Alpha .

Sarkisian is a guy you feel happy for , BUT as good as he is a play caller and designer ? Does he deserve to have already had the Washington , and now USC job by 45 years old? His HC chops to me doesn't add up to he being the right guy to lead Texas ? Lateral hire at best .

OSU CB Wade is out of the first round IMO . Looked average on way too many plays against the two best teams he faced. Garrett Wilson juking Stud CB Surtain{ Fields missed the thrown in the end zone} showed his shake and feet and he needs to be better utilized by the Bucs.


Smith and Harris were the two best in the country at their positions and that is rare to have on the same team . Bama guys on defense are the hardest group { front 7} to hold blocks against in the country and along with the audaciously well oiled offense tells a great portion of the best team by a nice margin story .

Got Baltimore + 3 early as some know { Now falling towards 1.5} and is the only play made at this point .GB falling from 7 to 6.5 { I had at 6.5 } KC holding at - 10 and New Orleans at - 3 at the moment.
 
With numbers raging and seeming to be much worse than they were last year in March and April when kids weren't allowed to gather and work out together How is this working in programs weight rooms now? This is the time of the year where programs set themselves apart . Kids not playing another sport need to put their heads down and go to work . The teams that get to the play-offs and make deep runs , are consistently solid pretty much have this off-season of improvement program down pretty well . We should have a more normal season with a full schedule next year so the work that needs to be done pre-season needs to increase a bit to get ready to handle that increased load.

With the pandemic and infection rates still ever present will the number of transfers be down? Will kids stay put more readily with the uncertainty ? Kids and parents will always want better situations or what they perceive as better situations for themselves and their kids. Coffman loses basketball players lately , gains wrestlers , and football has seen some move in's some years and in a couple over the last 6-7 years none at all .

This is the best Coffman wrestling team they have had . Coach is at the top of the charts and the program is rolling. A newcomer in the top 5-6 in D-1 , trying to crash the party so to speak. Girls hoop is still very good despite having their best player transfer to Reynoldsburg . Junior Russell is a beast . Her Brother and family were in the Coffman community since elementary school. Hammond played for the Rocks this fall as his sister went to R-Burg to play . Interesting . Rocks may not have been able to beat a team like Newark if she had stayed , but the newly formed R-Burg AAU team didn't come that close to them this week either .{ scored in the 20's ?} And that was with what 4 transfers added to an already solid" program ? Newark with superior chemistry won easily . May be the gap closes as the AAU team plays together more and get acclimated to living in another community.


Boys hoops led by a terrific Junior guard AJ Sheldon and versatile long term Senior starter Nash Hostetler are a fun team who shoots the hell out of the ball , is good but missing a couple things to be where they were two years ago as a legit regional contender { Got upset by Orange } but a team where the kids have really seemed to have gotten better and improved over the year . Two good players who were part of the program in Soph. Headings and Jr. McDonald { who I thought was wasting an opportunity not playing football as a 6-5 receiver} aren't playing and would have helped . Headings transferred to Pick Central where he made the varsity squad but I don't think is playing much and McDonald ?? Not sure .

Openings at wide receiver , O-Line abound at Coffman . QB 1 Maggs will be one of the better natural throwers of the football in CO next fall Needs a couple more guys to complement him . Rocks could be a more throw heavy team with better schemes and precision next year or at least should be. . May be not ST X throwing 35 times in one half of football heavy , but you use what you have , and the Rocks have very potential at the QB position and a solid nucleus coming back on defense in what is their biggest rebuild in quite some time. Kids have to work as if the expecTations are the same . The best of the best programs expect to be competitive EVERY year . it isn't easy to have a 20 + year run of being at least good to very good and occasionally special . Rocks need to focus as well as any off-season to keep it going .
 
Harrycrane I’m looking forward to a more updated 2021 preview

I gave you a two month head start to get ahead of changes with the program ?
 
AHM said:
Harrycrane I’m looking forward to a more updated 2021 preview

I gave you a two month head start to get ahead of changes with the program ?
Click to expand...
I talked abut the players coming back . That's the update . The players . I certainly wasn't going to be a doosh like you and put that out here before he officially announced it . That's me . You are you . Big difference . So now that your so called good friend has announced his decision , what is it you have to comment on anymore about the program? Hopefully we won't see you in these spaces anymore . I have chronicled the Crabtree run recently . Cited the record , offered a little opinion and recollections for a reason . He built a successful long term sustainable program that lasted 20 years . Not many coaches do that .
 
My bad. When you typed

what is it you have to comment on anymore about the program?

I took that as you asking me a question.

Carry on. I can’t wait to hear you break down all the potential candidates. That’ll be fun reading.

(If you want to know who those candidates are just let me know)
 
AHM said:
My bad. When you typed

what is it you have to comment on anymore about the program?

I took that as you asking me a question.

Carry on. I can’t wait to hear you break down all the potential candidates. That’ll be fun reading.

(If you want to know who those candidates are just let me know)
Click to expand...

You've been little more than a troll and a negative poster in these spaces . You also claim to be a 'Friend and supporter " of coach Crabtree . Not much evidence of that over the years with the tone of your posts here providing strong evidence that is filed under 'If that's a freind who needs enemy's category . You can't wait to see what I may think about anything? Really ? Who knew . This space is the least visited on the entire forum . That's encouraging . Fun how ? As for who the candidates are ? I'm good, , you can keep what you know to yourself . Your lack of character has shown brightly the last few months and of course over the years . Catholic football should be your complete focus, you are too old as you said to involve yourself in anything else .
 
Wrote this December 4th .

So if in fact 20 years at Coffman is all that Coach has to give and is moving on , or he stays , 20 years is a great run at one school . Rocks have probably not won as many play -off games as they would have wanted or been capable of may be including the last couple years . Not dynastic or a program that even got to a final game . Had a few clubs capable of getting there but it just didn't happen. Some really close play-off losses some bad luck , some underachievement is probably fair. Got beat by better clubs sometimes a few blowout play-off losses , but a lot of close losses.

20 years , 18 play-off appearances . Missed in 2005 going 6-4 the year of the Dublin school split with Jerome opening the year before. That was also Coffman's worst record in the last 20 seasons. The other non play-off year they in 2008 they went 7-3 with all losses to play-off teams . Lost to Davidson by 4 points in a very competitive battle , the one bad game they played all year they lost by 10 points to Kilbourne when they were D-1 , and in a do or die week 10 match-up to make the play-offs they lost to Upper Arlington by one point .

I will include this season's shortened version as they went 6-0 in the regular season but in 16 of 20 years Coach's Coffman teams won at least 8 regular season games. Never had a losing season or even a 500 season as 6-4 was the worst year and that happened only once. Pretty consistent wouldn't you say ? Yes there wasn't a title game appearance or championship. Some tough play-off losses . Coaches and program would certainly be looked at differently if these things happened , but there is no denying the 20 years of consistent success
 
When the thought of Coach Crabtree stepping down pooped up once in a while the name that I would immediately think of was DC Curtis Crager who is also in charge of the strength and conditioning program . I don't think there is a need to go outside the building , and there will surely be people applying for the gig. It's a very good job . You have the tradition that Coach Crabtree has built, you have the facilities, community support , higher expectations built in for the kids to want to adn be motivated to work hard to maintain . A school district and area that family's covet and Dublin has always been a place to want to move to and within the district there is a wider variety of housing options . Kids see players in the program playing in college sometimes at higher levels. You are going to be ab le to get assistants to want to coach there .

Crager's job to lose if he wants it would be my reflexive initial thought , but may be he has other plans ? As for Coach Crabtree, he is too young { 56} to retire it seems , and he's smart enough to say , never say never. I would expect him to coach again after may be a year or so off ? His youngest is entering HS and plays football and will play at Coffman . If he coached somewhere else he wouldn't get to see his son play at all . He coached his two older sons . As I wrote above , sometimes it's just time . I know it's something that most of us have gone through at times in certain jobs or other situations .It's just time to move on sometimes. 20 years is a long run . A few years ago some were talking about how long he might stay on at Coffman { Of course his job performance and ability was going to be a case of him making that decision himself and not being let go } and someone said that he probably coaches his youngest son and calls it a day on Coffman road . But again , sometimes it's just time .

This was a clip from 2009 , an anticipated match-up with Groveport Madison and RB Leveon Bell , which was over quickly as that was one of Coffman's best teams who was undefeated and 12-0 losing to eventual state champ Davidson in the RF to finish 12-1 . Coach had just lost his mother and was a bit overcome with emotion as he gave the post game talk. A small snippet of how his players felt about him .


 
Well the Dublin Jerome job is also open.

1610717580389.png
 
From what I am hearing Coach Crager will take over at Dublin Coffman. He has been the Defensive Coordinator at DC for a while and he is in the building. Well respected by the players and central Ohio coaches.

Big news the last two days for Dublin High Schools.
 
Iroquois said:
From what I am hearing Coach Crager will take over at Dublin Coffman. He has been the Defensive Coordinator at DC for a while and he is in the building. Well respected by the players and central Ohio coaches.

Big news the last two days for Dublin High Schools.
Click to expand...
Geciwich is from Euclid originally. They already filled the position in mid December . I immediately thought about that fact , but Rotsky's vacancy was filled already by Rick Lytle . Geciwich is very young , he has done a very good job overall but I think he was a bit disappointed the last couple years and was hard on himself and I think he had slightly higher expectations judging from his some of his quotes . He is very open and honest and has been a positive force in the community and with the program . He has a lot to offer a program going forward. May be he saw a certain ceiling at Jerome and may be wants to go build a program at a smaller level where he can may be more of a player on the state level . He got a good taste of that at Marion Local before he got to Jerome . He will do fine where ever he goes .
 
Harrycrane said:
Geciwich is from Euclid originally. They already filled the position in mid December . I immediately thought about that fact , but Rotsky's vacancy was filled already by Rick Lytle . Geciwich is very young , he has done a very good job overall but I think he was a bit disappointed the last couple years and was hard on himself and I think he had slightly higher expectations judging from his some of his quotes . He is very open and honest and has been a positive force in the community and with the program . He has a lot to offer a program going forward. May be he saw a certain ceiling at Jerome and may be wants to go build a program at a smaller level where he can may be more of a player on the state level . He got a good taste of that at Marion Local before he got to Jerome . He will do fine where ever he goes .
Click to expand...


Ok, that makes sense. It will be interesting to see if Crager gets the head job at DC , or if they bring in a new person.
 
Well Harry, sounds like you may be seeing some West Jefferson people in the stands at a few of the Dublin Coffman games. Dublin DC Curtis Crager is a WJ grad (early 90's) and was the WJ head coach for a couple of years in the early 2000's. Good person, good family, him & his twin brother played with a real passion and I'm sure Coach Crager has carried that passion into his coaching. If Coffman goes with Coach Crager the Shamrocks will represent the Dublin community by playing with class, passion and a respect for tradition just as they have with Coach Crabtree.

Can't wait for the 2021 high school season to begin.
 
Saturday games

Still feeling really good about the Ravens + 3 { 2.5 now } to beat the Bills . Slight nod to the OVER ? Bills defense is just not that good and the Ravens should get untracked at some point. Make no mistake the Ravens weren't that impressive overall against a weaker Tennessee defense . Lamar getting rave reviews and while he made big plays with his legs , the team scored 20 points .

That is obviously not going to be enough this week against Josh Allen and Diggs et al . Bills gave up a ton passing , but did pretty well vs the run. May be that bodes well for them this week as the Ravens forte is running to set up the pass . Two productive RB's AND Jackson makes them a bitch to defend over land .

The crux of the matter is the Bills aren't good enough to make a deep run without being more solid up front. Baltimore D-Line is very good, O-line going against the Bills D-Line is a good match-up . Getting points with a very good to great coach and likely winning the battle at the line of scrimmage to me is a good place to start AND the better defense . Add in the QB being a handful and goes against a below average defense and getting a FG adds some value . Further look at some tape shows a high probability of the Bills losing the battle overall at the line of scrimmage. They were losing battle at the LOS last week . CAN THEY WIN TWO PLAY-OFF GAMES DESPITE THIS ? I am betting they can't. If we lose, , once again I will be pleased for the Bills if they continue on . Both teams are playing at a high level . Weather of course on the colder side at night but no precipitation Baltimore 31- 27?


Green Bay - 6.5- 7 is not something that I am interested in . I see an uglier version and lower scoring version of last year's Packers win over the Seahawks { 28-23 } in this same spot . Packers and Rodgers have a better offense this year than they had last year , but the defense is about the same .In other words , not bad at all , BUT not really good . Goff is playing with lower confidence and has a bad thumb. So the Packers have the advantage there of course . BUT in all areas of the field ? NO they do not have an advantage . At all . The Rams sum of their parts is greater than the Packers sum is. Rodgers > Goff, BUT Goff has to go against a lesser defense. Akers is playing at a very high level and is the their version of Aaron Jones . Davonte Adams is a great player and an X factor here. The best play to me was the UNDER 46 { Opened 47 now 45- 45.5} 51 points in that Seattle -GB game but the Rams defense is better than that Seattle unit and the Rams offense with a hurt Goff in cold colder conditions doesn't bode well for a lot of points . Packers parts may be less but as a TEAM they are a bit better here , Adams or Jones via Rodgers big play = a close win .

Packers 23 Rams 16 or closer ? If pressed take 7 if you can get , but the UNDER may be the best play here and one I like
 
WJ-OSU-STEELERS said:
Well Harry, sounds like you may be seeing some West Jefferson people in the stands at a few of the Dublin Coffman games. Dublin DC Curtis Crager is a WJ grad (early 90's) and was the WJ head coach for a couple of years in the early 2000's. Good person, good family, him & his twin brother played with a real passion and I'm sure Coach Crager has carried that passion into his coaching. If Coffman goes with Coach Crager the Shamrocks will represent the Dublin community by playing with class, passion and a respect for tradition just as they have with Coach Crabtree.

Can't wait for the 2021 high school season to begin.
Click to expand...
I agree , Crager has been 1-A there with Coach Crabtree no question . A lot of passion , a very good coach and motivator in the strength program . We will see what develops , but to me it was always going to be or should be his job when Coach stepped down . Big rebuild, may be the biggest in many years , but if he gets the job , he'll get after it in a big way.
 
Yeah I saw that . Good for him I guess . That's a good job , 84 people applied for it . He basically told people he was leaving the area by saying 'this was our home for 6 years , the operative word being WAS , so it was just a matter of time before their was an announcement as to where he was moving on to. As I thought out loud , he is going to a smaller school with a much more realistic chance to be a state 'Player" , state level type program as they have been at times in the recent past . Perry was undefeated in back to back years recently advancing a few games in the play-offs before losing to Steubenville . Geciwich goal is to get them a bit further ? He won't have to change a culture or tear it down to build it up. This is a more than solid job in a very good community .
 
Coffman and Jerome lose two great men, not just coaches at the same time. Big hires for both of them, but I'm sure they will continue the road that they have traveled. The culture is GOOD at both places and both would do well to hire from within and continue doing what both great men have started for those schools. Good luck to both programs!
 
Hey coach , how's the grind over at Westland going? Good luck with everything , it's a lot of work but We're rooting for you and the program . Thanks fore the support. Geciwich as a really young coach { 36-37?} looks to have found a long term home , closer to his hometown and as he said may be a better 'FIT"? for he and his family . Really strong program , a bit smaller like I figured he might go towards with a more realistic chance to be a perennial top 10 team or better year in and year out in D-4 with that program. Class act and full of energy, he will be successful there no question , and the Jerome and Dublin community in general will be rooting for him up there. Crager seems to be the natural best choice if you want that continuity . Even before it became apparent that coach was likely stepping down that this year with the Senior class dominating and the biggest rebuild within the program that I can remember since Coach took over in 2001 , it was the end of an era. Kind of like it did when White stepped down .

Geciwich and White were outspoken about the transfer situation and culture that has grown in Ohio HS football. Rules and regulations keep the dynamic in check somewhat compared to many other states where it is more common and a bigger part of the landscape. They realized that their schools weren't going to get as many as some others for different reasons . White's departure is tinged with a bit of negative emotions as he isn't in contact with the program after feeling betrayed by Scalley for going to UA . Insult to injury , UA beat them for the first time in a long while. Geciwich adopted the 'home grown " mantra for his program as he watched some others notably Coffman add a few players to their ranks .

Ironically , the Celts will be favored this year { Unofficially} for the first time in the rivalry with Coffman . 2013 had some thinking that Jerome would get them and it almost happened { 16-14 Rocks with a FG late and a Reagan Malas blocked FG on a longer attempt at the gun . } so I guess in that huge rebuild year { Only One offensive starter back and a few on defense } it was a tossup . Jerome feeders and frosh have won almost all their games with the other Dublin feeders the last handful of years and this may be the year they get Coffman . Geciwich openly asked to play the Rocks when he got the job , but was unable to beat them in three tries .

Crabtree contrary to some of the trolls who come here once in a while built a really strong culture , a class program that has been one of the top few consistent programs in the area and in Ohio in general during his tenure . One of the staples has been a program that doesn't get too high or low , they don't panic when things go wrong and play with a consistency of effort and purpose. Some tougher losses in the play-offs , a couple in excruciating fashion, a couple blowout losses to superior clubs , a few too early exits no question. But all in all , to come in and immediately get to a final four in year one { He did have good talent{ 4-5 D-1 caliber guys including QB Quinn and WR.S Ndukwe both who were NFL guys } changed the scheme and improved the team dynamics and culture quickly . Never had a losing season and only one 6-4 season that came right after Jerome opened , and only two non play- off teams in 20 years { 2008 they were definitely play-off caliber going 7-3 losing to three play-off teams by a combined 15 points including a one Pt. loss to UA in week 10 to knock them out} . As he said in the above clip, he can still, coach , has the energy and isn't of retirement age certainly, so I hope he finds a good opportunity at some point if he feels he wants to coach again . 20 years is a long run at one school and to be as consistently good as he and the program have been is a testament to he , his fellow coaches and the players . Well deserved rest if that's what he chooses for a bit
 
Last edited:
Some really disparate performances last night showing the gulf between the top passer in the league this year and the number one offense and the offense with the number 32 in the league passing attack . Had the right side in the Baltimore game I believe but it wasn't meant to be . When Justin Tucker, who is arguably the best kicker in football history , hit the upright twice in one game which on FG's under 50 yards HAS NEVER happened to him , you get the feeling it wasn't their night or mine and others who backed them last night . How do you keep an offense with a great QB who is really hot to 220 total yards , 10 offensive points, gain 340 yards yourself and still lose by 14 points? Well 4 trips inside the 30 resulted in 3 points . The missed FG's , one made one and then a devastating pick six that was returned 102 yards? That's how . The wind was a factor which is why I went for a taste on the UNDER 50 in this one and it was never in doubt . Of course the larger opinion was the Ravens who snap for snap and considering the great defensive effort had no business losing by more than 3 or less points in this one .

Jackson has some work to do still . The Bills defense isn't that good . Pretty tough to get 340 yards and score 3 points . Green Bay puts up almost 500 yards on the number one defense in football ? Wow they are playing with a confidence and a level of production that has World champs written all over it . The difference in passing ability between a guy like Jackson and Rodgers is HUGE . He missed a few to be sure, and probably deserved to have one of those two throws at the end of the half picked off , BUT his downright filthy throw to Tonyan to get it down there was the reason he was feeling a bit greedy in the first place . He made about 3-4 throws that NO ONE and may be not even many claim is the messiah Pat Mahomes doesn't make. His brilliance and the Packers O-Line and three running backs did us in with the game going over by 4 to 5 points .
My predicted score was 23-16 , so right on the Point spread but UNDER the total of 46 . Packers unfortunately over performed , gashing the talented stout number one NFL defense for 485 yards and 32 points !! Wow . What a performance and without may be as good a Left tackle as there is in football in David Bakhtiari . Donald clearly wasn't 100 percent , but I figured they keep GB under 30 and wouldn't score much themselves especially with Jared Goff's thumb in the proverbial , 'Sticking out like a sore thumb'. shape. Rodgers and the Pack offense was just too much . 3-1 on prop opinions took some sting out of the totals loss . Cam Akers going over 72 yards was a solid winner { he got 90 } and laying -200 for Rodgers to get OVER 1.5 TD passes got there as Lazard didn't drop his second chance . Also went back to a loser prop last week with JK Dobbins failing to go OVER the posted rushing total because he didn't get enough carries , so I correctly surmised he wouldn't get enough this week either sharing the attempts with Edwards and Jackson , so I went UNDER 57.5 and each guy split the 30 carries evenly with Dobbins getting 10 for 42 yards . Loser was going OVER 25.5 yards receiving for Aaron Jones who I thought would get more receptions used as a dump off safety valve option a few more times with the Rams good rush. Packers handled the rush a bit better than I figured and Jones only had one catch for 14 yards .

So getting the UNDER in the second game and having KC only having to win by 4 points to hit the teaser with GB who just had to win { - 7 teased to - .5 6.5 pt. play } KC 'Should handle Cleveland who has some fundamental advantages which suggest that getting 10 points is a good 'value" . Best RB duo in the league may be with KC not being real stout vs. the run , Baker playing with a nice efficiency within the system at a consistent higher level now , can may be score enough to keep closer ? Last year KC went down 24-0 before going off and not only coming back but winning comfortably and 'Covering" the number outscoring the Texans from that point 51-7 winning by 20 . Mercy . I am rooting for Cleveland , have become a quasi Browns fan via osmosis and getting to know many Browns fans over the years I've lived in Ohio . Not sure I will lay the 10 , BUT this one has most of the fundamental guys, the former players and analysts giving the Browns a nod getting 10 . Disrespect they say . There is the fact that KC hasn't beaten a team by more than this margin in a long time . Not since November 1st when they beat the hapless Jets by 26. Not disputing the evidence that shows the Browns are worth a real look + 10 , BUT I have them in play just needing to win by 4 or more already AND the fact is the Browns pass defense isn't the best . Vernon out so not enough help for Garrett who is a beast getting after the QB . Cleveland also coming off the tremendous high of beating a rival and their first play-off win in many years may be due for that bit a letdown?

Props using Cleveland players looked solid to me so I got Baker at -125 { Rodgers at -200 contrast} to go OVER 1.5 TD passes . I think this has shootout potential so not too bad at - 125 . And Nick Chubb going at a less than great rushing defense { giving up 4.6 a rush } getting OVER 86 total yards . Averaging about 16 carries a game , and 30 receiving yards his last 7 games , so I think this is a solid opinion
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top