Hurt, But Hope

There have been a lot of challenges this year for Troy Calhoun and his Air Force football team. Losing 2 starting quarterbacks, injuries, youth, inconsistency. But Thursday night the Falcons got off the mat and played an inspired game. They gave up a 14 point 4th quarter lead and succumbed to San Diego State 27-20. Yes, its easy to say Air Force is 1-6 and should have won last night, and the season is going nowhere. But if you looked closely you saw a lot from a gutty group of football players. 1st, Air Force loses another quarterback. Karson Roberts went out after taking a shot and Freshman Nate Romine came on. I asked him afterwards if he felt nervous, calm, anxious. He said to me, "Excited." Love that attitude. He can play. Romine managed the game well. Late in the 4th quarter, and out of timeouts he threw the best pass this year by a Falcon quarterback over the middle to Garret Griffin for a big gain and a first down. (Griffin made a hell of a catch too, up around his helmet.) 2nd-Signs of life from the Air Force Defense. I have been critical of the defense all season long. They play too far off the ball and have not attacked. Part of that is how the coaches have asked them to play. Last night, completely different. The Falcons were aggresive on the line of scrimmage. They had two sacks, and plenty of Quarterback hurries. They were spirited, animated, hungry, and even desperate, which is a good way to play. They stopped the Aztecs 3 times on 4th down, 2 in 4th and goal situations and once, on a big time one on one tackle by Christian Spears to save a touchdown at the 1 yard line. In recent weeks the coaching staff has simplified the playbook and helped the kids think less and play more. Plus, in watching last night I really believe the Coaches were more aggressive in their play calling and not sitting back playing everything underneath. I have said on this blog you can't play defense backing up. You attack. They did last night. Yes they did give up 21 4th quarter points and yes its a loss, but I believe you saw the beginnings of this team shaking off their malaise. Can good things come from a loss? Yes. In life sometimes the best lessons come from pain. Dawn still hasn't broken for the Falcon Football team, but the sky is slowly getting brighter.