BREAKING NEWS!!!

Week five.  Panthers.  Supposed to be a cake walk.  Unfortunately, the minute any single person believes what it's supposed to be, it never is.  Call it the Quantum Theory of Football:  By knowing something that is supposed to be known, you alter it so that it is impossible to occur.  

Yeah, I like that.  I think I'll go with it.

Anyhow, this was my first game back following the trip to Honduras.  We came off a bye week, which may have attributed to the problem.  The Wednesday before we seemed a little to loose at practice, and by the Wednesday immediately before the game, things just seemed to be a little rusty.  It doesn't help that we're battling a spate of injuries and had several starters out, or playing in limited capacities, going against a team with nothing to lose.

Defense, as usual, played lights out.  They battled a few times in the first half and never really were threatened.  In the second half, with several starters out, the Panthers O was able to move a little, but I don't think anyone on our sideline was ever concerned- at least not about the D.  Offensively we had our own issues.  Yes, we were missing some linemen.  Yes, we were probably a little conservative in our playcalling.  Yes, we shot ourselves in the foot a few times.  But nonetheless, when you boil it down, we didn't perform to the high standards we hold ourselves to, and so the disappointment is our own doing.  

Most teams would be thrilled with a 30-2 win. But as we talked about at practice this week, we're not most teams.  We take pride in executing on every play, and I think everyone would agree that from man #1 to man #100, we all had an off week.  That, however, is what we build on.  You can't build on perfection, you can only build on imperfection.  And judging from the attitudes two nights ago, I think a lot of people are taking that to heart.

Also, I lost a fingernail at practice.  Two weeks ago I had my right index finger (throwing finger) crushed between two 200lb rocks while building a boulder wall.  I'm lucky I had on the special reinforced boulder gloves, or it could have been season ending.  Anyhow, after lancing the nail several times to relieve pressure, the bed finally began to heal enough that I was able to rip it off at practice.  I have feeling back in the pad of the finger now, for the first time in two weeks, so I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing some more PT next week against the Storm.

That's all from Mustang camp this week.  Have a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend everyone!   

We've opened with the Spartans and the Blue Devils, who, according to knowledged opinion, are the two best teams in the AFC.  Week two.  Win two.  Another challenger, another dispatched opponent.  And boy, was it a doozy defensively. 

The Hit Squad forced 8 turnovers, and should have had at least two more.  Twice we had someone try to scoop-and-score instead of falling on fumbles.  Nothing wrong with either choice given the situations, it just goes to show how one-sided this could have gotten.  Adam took his foot off the gas pedal in the second half, and still we were missing wide open scoring opportunities.  I've really come to believe that our second (and third) stringers would either start or compete for a starting job on any other squad in the league, previous opponents included.

It's amazing to see how opposing QBs stumble against this defense.  I've gotten so used to it, since Hebgen and I go up against them each week, that it's become second nature to see the Prowl, face the blitzes, and still try to make a read.  In some ways, I feel more comfortable in the pocket two months into this season than I have ever felt before in the past...no doubt because we see more pressure in practice than some guys see in a year.  Do the red jerseys protect us?  Yeah, they keep the ribs intact in practice, and I'm sure have allowed us to get passes off when we normally wouldn't have (hey, DBs need practice, too!), but make no mistake, I could see both myself and Dirty hanging out longer in a pocket against anyone we face simply because we face tougher week in and week out.  Warren Arnold never looked comfortable this weekend, staring down receivers, almost never checking off anyone, and getting rid of the ball earlier and earlier as the game progressed. 

The ground game got going a little bit more for us this week.  It looks like the whole of the OL is finally jelling, despite being really only the fourth full week together now.  Petro settled down very early in this one, making some great reads and throws.  Despite the fact that we were flagged over and over for holding penalties, we were able to overcome and score on almost every opportunity we had.

Still haven't seen any action myself.  The competitor in me is chomping at the bit, but I knew coming in to this season that this would likely be the story.  Having taken every snap over the last few years was brutal, and in some respects, standing on the sidelines in a ballcap is enabling.  It's allowed me to really get some good reads and pass them along for DP, Dirty and Adam.  I feel my high five has attained a new level as well.  It's really become well weighted, evenly distributed across the palm, and has developed a nice, solid "crack" upon deliverance.  So I've got that going for me as well.

Won't be much over the next week or so.  I'll be out of town setting up a clinic in Honduras through a local church.  Unfortunately, that means I come back before our bye week.  Thus, my next oppo to see action will be June 26, almost a month away.  Hopefully, we'll be sitting pretty at 4-0 at the time.  Updates will abound upon my return.

Peace out.  Stangs up!

Ton of thoughts about the game last night going through my head, but it's Memorial Day weekend, the weather is hot and sunny, the baby is in a good mood, and a barbecue is calling my name...I'll post more thoughts later, but for now I just wanted to say thank you to the families and friends of anyone who has given up their lives in service to this country.  We're allowed to pursue ultimately trivial things like semi-pro football in this country because of the prosperity and freedoms we have, won and supported largely on the backs of the men and women who have worn the uniforms of our armed services.

Thank you for all you've done for us.  

Strapped on the full set last night for the first time in a while.  Gotta say though, it felt great to be back on the field.  When Phoebe was born last October, I had pretty much decided that my days on the gridiron were done; that it would be all rugby from here on out.  But that familiar itch came back in the late winter, and after heading over to the Mustangs OTA and tryouts, I knew I wanted another season.  This opportunity was one I couldn't pass up.

Wauwatosa came to town last night for this season's opener.  With Burlington next week, we have a heavy front-loaded schedule of powerhouses, so "1-0" is more apropos than ever.  Despite some very early jitters myself, I was calm by kickoff.  'Course, that's easy when you no longer have to worry about starting.  DP looked a little tight early, and by his own account was feeling it, too.  I think it took him about two series to work through that, and when he settled in, you could see the whole offense begin to come together.  We had a couple of missed TD opportunities in the first half- passes that were just out of reach for the receivers- but again, we're talking about the first time anyone's knocked heads in almost a year.  Rust doesn't just disappear overnight. 

Unless you play defense.  (Segue)

The Hit Squad looked fierce last night.  Tony Henner just didn't look like himself last night.  I don't know if it was the pressure, the dropped passes, or the new defense we threw his way, but he never really settled into a rhythm.  Aside from one drive in the second half, the Spartans offense looked pretty flummoxed by the D.  They struggled for yards on the ground, and were hounded on most balls through the air.  They exposed a soft spot in the coverage with the hitch patterns they ran, (which was a discussion after the game: adjustments are already being put in place to stop that from happening again), but a few costly INTs stopped their momentum several times.

Statistically, this game appears pretty even if you look at the box score today.  Yardage was fairly close for both sides.  Neither the scoreboard nor the stats reveal the nature of the game, however.  The defense gave our offense a short field to work with over and over, cutting down on yardage totals.  There were at least two more scoring opportunities we couldn't take care of, including a pick-6 by J-Russ which was waved off due to an inadvertent whistle.  Although we got the ball, I'd rather have seen him take it the 70+ to the house with the train of blockers and open field he had.  Either way, though, a W is a W.

First time in nearly a decade that I've woken up on a Sunday morning following a game/match and not been sore.  Laura texted me after the game that she enjoyed watching me on the sidelines, saying that it meant I couldn't get hurt.  Women just don't understand why we feel the need to pick up those bruises and bumps.  As I like to say, it helps me feel alive.  Nonetheless, it was a good night, a good win, and a great start to the season.