[SuperJon]

Oops, posted this in the other thread. I just got a camera for my birthday, 336 pictures on the chip.

[Sly Fox]

Here is Chris' gameday piece to get you fired up for kickoff:

Flames put lingering memories of last year's debacle up in smoke

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 14, 2006

Liberty football coach Danny Rocco asked any assistant coach who was around last September to witness the 56-0 shellacking William & Mary put on the Flames in Williamsburg:

What the heck happened?

Rocco watched some of the film of that game and came away with the sense that the road team that day had been "abused." The Flames had no fight. William & Mary never had to punt. The Tribe outgained Liberty by 500 yards.

Rocco digested all of this and then held an impromptu ceremony on the Liberty logo on the Williams Stadium field early last week. He had a pile of press clippings from that game with him, along with stories from four other games that Liberty lost to opponents the Flames will see in their final five games.

Then Rocco did something completely unexpected. He lit the papers on fire and watch them burn to smoldering ashes, a symbolic gesture. The memories of that day in Williamsburg, and the rest of the miserable 2005 season, burned away in the breeze.

"That was awesome," Liberty tight end Chris Luck said. "We're totally on the same page with him. Completely."

Today's game figures to be completely different than last year's laugher at Zable Stadium. The Tribe come into what's expected to be a jam-packed Williams Stadium reeling after losing four of their first five games, including a 48-7 blowout loss at No. 8 Massachusetts last Saturday.

Despite the fact that Liberty is 3-2 and William & Mary is 1-4, not many people outside of Liberty's campus expect the Flames to win. Despite the improvement Liberty has shown, that 56-0 score 12 months ago isn't easily forgotten.

So even though William & Mary is struggling, the Flames have a chance to grab some attention today. Liberty is 0-2 against the Tribe and hasn't beaten an Atlantic 10 program since ending the 2003 season with a win over Hofstra.

Liberty did what was expected in the first five games of the season; it beat the three creampuffs on the schedule and lost the two games that were expected to be tougher.

William & Mary, despite its rough start, fits into the latter category. A win today would open some eyes in I-AA circles.

"It would be a defining win for this program, because of who they are," Rocco said. "They're a very reputable team. Coach (Jimmye) Laycock has won I think 176 games in his career. It's in-state and Atlantic 10, all those things thrown into one. And, oh yeah, they beat us 56-0 last year.

"When you throw all that stuff into the pot and stir it around, I'd say heck yeah. You win this game right here and you say, wow, Liberty just beat William & Mary. What does that mean? That means (Liberty) is taking their football for real, and they're turning the corner."

Laycock will likely stick with Mike Potts at quarterback. Potts, who got his first start last week in place of Jake Phillips, wasn't much of a factor against UMass, but that had more to do with how dominating the Minutemen were than anything. UMass opened an early 28-0 lead and physically dominated the Tribe. Potts still threw for a career-best 244 yards and a touchdown.

"Mike played a very solid game," Laycock said. "I think there are plays that I'd like for him to read more, and he could have done better. But a quarterback's performance level is dictated by the people around him, and he has to have help from receivers and help from the line."

Liberty quarterback Brock Smith hopes to avoid the problems that have plagued him at the beginning of games. He got off to a rough start at Wake Forest two weeks ago, throwing an interception on the first series, before settling in and throwing two touchdown passes in a 34-14 loss.

"I've got to be a leader, I've got to get the guys going in the huddle," Smith said. "But then I've got to get by myself and just clear my head and just think about what I have to do to lead the team, I'll be fine. That's been one of my biggest problems. If I can clear my head in the first quarter and can come out strong, I'll be all right."

http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports

[PeterParker]

"I've got to be a leader, I've got to get the guys going in the huddle," Smith said. "But then I've got to get by myself and just clear my head and just think about what I have to do to lead the team, I'll be fine. That's been one of my biggest problems. If I can clear my head in the first quarter and can come out strong, I'll be all right."

Seems like he's overthinking it a little bit; the best medicine for that is to just relax and go out and play and not get so worked up about it; he needs to put confidence and trust in the way the coaches have prepared him and let loose. Seems like he might be his own worst enemy on gameday worried about "getting it all right." Gotta let it flow naturally; when you drive a car if you stop and think about all of the specific X's & O's (i.e. Approach vehicle, Take key out of pocket, Insert Key into door, etc.) then you run the risk of wrecking trying to get it all right, as opposed to just getting in like you always do, firing it up and relying on training coupled with instincts. I mention this because they say how he was very impressive in pre-season and has stalled trying to find the right groove. The Green Bay guys mentioned that "overthinking" thing with Gado about hitting the holes in that offensive scheme they were running up there. They said when he let himself overthink the motions, his effort was underwhelming, but when he relaxed, played naturally and instinctively he showed the flashes of promise that got them excited about his NFL stock.

Obviously, this is much easier said than done, especially sitting in front of a monitor not being on the field myself; but it seems that with a bit of relaxing, willfully removing the proverbial weight on his shoulders/putting the perfectionist subconscious to rest and remembering to go out and have fun, he will probably break out big to show the validity of the reports from his coach and teammates from training camp.

Best of luck to him, they way they spoke so highly of his ability, it seems like as soon as he believes in himself, his preparation, his coaches and his abilities, he will lay hold of the success so many others see in him.