Albany Ambushes Macon on Opening Night
Keith Murphy
Sunday April 9, 2006
As all top quality coaches will do, Macon head coach Derek Stingley, attempted to absorb the responsibility for the loss as he tried to keep his team focused on the task ahead. "I have to take this game as a learning experience. It’s my first game calling plays. Our rhythm, getting in and out of the huddle, was kind of slow and it lost us some big plays we could have had. I’m sill impressed with my skill players, overall. I saw a lot of guys running wide open. [Quarterback] Chad [Elliott] made some great throws; but then he made some untimely throws as well. I’m not giving up on anybody right now. It’s our first game and it’s Albany’s second game right now. I’m not taking anything away from Albany, they are a great team; but I think we had big play potential all night. We’re gonna go back and we’re going to work."
Macon quarterback Chad Elliott had an impressive first half with four long first half touchdown passes. In fact, had the kicking game been working, Macon would have led at the half. Unfortunately, the quick strike fly-pattern seemed to be all that was working for the Knights and that only worked for the first half. Albany used a secret weapon in the second half: the rule book. Albany simply stopped Macon’s fast-break offense by having a defensive back simply tackle any receiver who looked like they might break free for a touchdown. Then, if the officials saw the illegal defense, Albany got a penalty for holding or illegal contact which was a lot less damaging than a touchdown. It’s actually an interesting adjustment. In the NFL, pass interference is a spot-foul, meaning you would get the ball where your receiver is fouled. In af2, it’s only a 10-yard infraction. So, if a defensive back is beaten for a long play, it makes sense to just tackle them in af2; while in the NFL you hope they drop the pass.
"In the first half, we just had a lot of big plays." Stingley said, "So, we couldn’t get into that rhythm. In the second half, Albany made adjustments but I felt we always had that big play potential. The game got out of reach in the second half because we got to the point where we couldn’t do anything but score and score quick so we always had to go deep. That changed our play calling because they knew we had to go deep and [on defense] they backed off."
Despite a sloppy first half, the Knights clawed their way into half time and were somehow only trailing by two points 27–25. Last week, the Conquest had played their season opener, a 48–40 win at Green Bay. That extra week of hitting, at game speed, proved to be invaluable experience for Albany. In the second half, the Conquest were in better "game shape" than the Knights shutting Macon out in the second half.
"Physically," in the second half, Stingley explains, "we did get beat. You saw that Chad was under pressure all night. It happened because we didn’t have a ‘week one." We had a decent scrimmage; but not a week one. Now our guys realize, and that’s a part of our job to motivate, to teach, and to coach. I promise the city of Macon that I will come out here with a much better product next week."
"We’re going to get better as a team, and me as a head coach, because you had better believe that there is no way that the next time that I step on this field we are going to put this kind of product out here. I can promise you all that."
Stingley said that one of the biggest traits he needs to learn as an offensive coach is patience: "We have big play potential. But I have to stop going for big play after big play and start working some small plays in so that they can start coming up. We have small plays in our offense. But, heck, if the defense is giving us the deep ball, we’re going to take it. I’m young; but I will get better."
The Knights were led by Chad Elliott who completed 23 of 40 passes for 237 yards and four TDs. He was intercepted four times and sacked four times. John Harris caught 8 for 107 and two scores. For Albany, Ryan Vena completed 24 of 35 passes for 336 yards and 4 TDs. He was intercepted twice.
The Knights will try to pick up their first win of the season next Saturday at home against the Florida Firecats. Kickoff is 7:30 pm at the Macon Coliseum. Albany plays host to Wilkes-Barre.
Dr. Murphy has nearly 20 years of media experience ranging from radio to the Internet. He has served as webmaster for two AF2 teams and the football team at Fort Valley State University. He is a professor at FVSU and directs www.bunniwerks.org, a non-profit rabbit rescue organization. He has been commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel. Murphy is also serving as a first party editor of af2 stories for ArenaFfan. For more information about Dr. Murphy see: www.keithmurphy.info
