Times Herald-Record
September 15, 2007
There's plenty of blame to throw around for Army's anemic offensive start.
Army has visited the red zone (inside the opponents' 20-yard line) just twice and scored both times for its only two offensive regulation touchdowns in two games.
Senior wide receiver Jeremy Trimble is a stand-up guy. Despite catching seven passes in each game, Trimble feels he and the receivers could be doing more.
"In the first game, I had a couple of drops and this past week, the receivers seemed a step or two off our routes," Trimble said. "We need to clean it up and go back to basic route running and get the timing down better with (Army quarterback) Carson (Williams)."
When asked if he's concerned about the offense's lack of production, Trimble said, "I'm not worried about it. It usually takes the offense more time to jell than the defense."
Army doesn't have much time. The Black Knights begin back-to-back road games against ACC teams today at Wake Forest. The offense needs to start clicking in all areas.
"On a couple of plays, if I broke a tackle here and there, things could have been different," junior running back Wes McMahand said. "I can only speak for myself but it applies to every position."
Has Army's offense been too conservative under new offensive coordinator Tim Walsh? Army has thrown downfield no more than a handful of times a game. Wide receivers are catching a lot of dinks and dunks. Trimble is averaging 8.4 yards per catch and Corey Anderson 8 yards.
"I don't think of it as being conservative," Army coach Stan Brock said. "We're trying to be smart with the ball. There's some plays that we have to make that lead us to look like we are wide open. ... Conservative to me is just lining up and running the ball for two or three yards. I think our offensive system is going to be good; we just have to execute better."
Even if Army executes better this week, it might not reflect in the score. Wake Forest, the defending ACC champ, is hungry for its first win.
"We have to keep working hard and improve on our execution," Army senior center Trey Miranne said. "Everyone has to step up and carry their own weight."
And McMahand pointed out Army's offense started slow in its first two games of 2006 (23 points) before scoring 24 against Texas A&M and nearly pulling off its biggest upset in years.
"It all came together for us," McMahand said.
Just like that. Maybe the offense's revival can happen again today.Army's game plan: Keep Wake Forest's defense on the field by resurrecting its running game, which was held to 46 yards on 28 carries last week.
Wake Forest's game plan: Wear Army's defensive line out with its huge offensive line. Starting quarterback Riley Skinner, the ACC rookie of the year last season, will likely miss his second straight game with a separated shoulder. Sophomore Brett Hodges shouldn't have to make too many big plays with his arm.
Watch out for: Wake Forest outside linebacker Aaron Curry. Curry is a tackling machine and will be the man to derail Army's favorite ground play, running off-tackle.
Gut check: Army sophomore quarterback Carson Williams makes his first start of the season on the road against the defending ACC champs. He was 0-4 as a starter last year.
Crystal ball: Wake Forest should win by at least four touchdowns. This is its homecoming game and odds aren't against the Demon Deacons going 0-3 to start the season.
September 15, 2007
There's plenty of blame to throw around for Army's anemic offensive start.
Army has visited the red zone (inside the opponents' 20-yard line) just twice and scored both times for its only two offensive regulation touchdowns in two games.
Senior wide receiver Jeremy Trimble is a stand-up guy. Despite catching seven passes in each game, Trimble feels he and the receivers could be doing more.
"In the first game, I had a couple of drops and this past week, the receivers seemed a step or two off our routes," Trimble said. "We need to clean it up and go back to basic route running and get the timing down better with (Army quarterback) Carson (Williams)."
When asked if he's concerned about the offense's lack of production, Trimble said, "I'm not worried about it. It usually takes the offense more time to jell than the defense."
Army doesn't have much time. The Black Knights begin back-to-back road games against ACC teams today at Wake Forest. The offense needs to start clicking in all areas.
"On a couple of plays, if I broke a tackle here and there, things could have been different," junior running back Wes McMahand said. "I can only speak for myself but it applies to every position."
Has Army's offense been too conservative under new offensive coordinator Tim Walsh? Army has thrown downfield no more than a handful of times a game. Wide receivers are catching a lot of dinks and dunks. Trimble is averaging 8.4 yards per catch and Corey Anderson 8 yards.
"I don't think of it as being conservative," Army coach Stan Brock said. "We're trying to be smart with the ball. There's some plays that we have to make that lead us to look like we are wide open. ... Conservative to me is just lining up and running the ball for two or three yards. I think our offensive system is going to be good; we just have to execute better."
Even if Army executes better this week, it might not reflect in the score. Wake Forest, the defending ACC champ, is hungry for its first win.
"We have to keep working hard and improve on our execution," Army senior center Trey Miranne said. "Everyone has to step up and carry their own weight."
And McMahand pointed out Army's offense started slow in its first two games of 2006 (23 points) before scoring 24 against Texas A&M and nearly pulling off its biggest upset in years.
"It all came together for us," McMahand said.
Just like that. Maybe the offense's revival can happen again today.Army's game plan: Keep Wake Forest's defense on the field by resurrecting its running game, which was held to 46 yards on 28 carries last week.
Wake Forest's game plan: Wear Army's defensive line out with its huge offensive line. Starting quarterback Riley Skinner, the ACC rookie of the year last season, will likely miss his second straight game with a separated shoulder. Sophomore Brett Hodges shouldn't have to make too many big plays with his arm.
Watch out for: Wake Forest outside linebacker Aaron Curry. Curry is a tackling machine and will be the man to derail Army's favorite ground play, running off-tackle.
Gut check: Army sophomore quarterback Carson Williams makes his first start of the season on the road against the defending ACC champs. He was 0-4 as a starter last year.
Crystal ball: Wake Forest should win by at least four touchdowns. This is its homecoming game and odds aren't against the Demon Deacons going 0-3 to start the season.
