[SuperJon]

Please, for the life of me, don't pull the God card on some of those penalties. You get out there for 60 minutes (around 50 at that time) and play your heart out. After the close losses we've had, and I'm sure some of the things that were said on the field, along with the occasional push or something like that, it'd be easy to see how even the best Christian would lose their cool. Is it acceptable? No, it's not. But please don't say we have the wrong type of players in here and all of that horse crap. Half of the people on this board say things that definitely aren't the best witness to Christians while they're playing sports. We don't like it, but it's the truth. None of us are perfect, but thankfully we're all forgiven. By questioning if we can't get 60 players with ability and integrity you're insulting the entire team. Stevie Ray said after the game he lost his cool. It happens to everyone. You try losing four game by a combined 13 points and see how frustrated you are on the field. Some of this crap about how everyone should be perfect during games pisses me off more than anything else. It should be dealt with, and it was. Coach Rocco pulled the entire team together in the 4th quarter before that kickoff and chewed them all out on the spot, during the game, in front of their fanbase. He handled it the right way. People lose their cool. If you want to play the Jesus card again, even Jesus got a little angry when He walked into the temple and saw the tax collectors and all of that. He threw everyone out and turned over a bunch of crap. If you were there, I'm sure you would've said that if He couldn't act with integrity then what was the point?

[thepostman]

i agree with you SJ...but for some reason i think Jesus getting angry in the Temple is a slightly different issue then a football game...I don't know...call me crazy.....but you are right there is not a single Christian out there that is going to be perfect all the time...we can't expect our players to not get a little angry....Just go to a hockey game...what about all those fights?? We better just kick all those kids out of school huh??? freaking heathens.....

[TIMSCAR20]

SJ is right about losing your cool. It happens to everyone in that situation. The important thing is not to judge these guys too harshly because it is very easy for us to sit in a warm room behind a computer miles away and criticize. The old saying of walk a mile in their shoes applies here. I am frustrated with the losses and the bad calls and all the little things that have not gone our way. I have had some frustrating things happen to me over the past few years and even recently in terms of employment in both my careers. People respond differently to different things. Our guys are going through a lot and I am not thinking of running these guys out of school because they lost their heads. What a ridiculous concept really. The hockey analogy was perfect. Yes it was costly but I wouldn't say we totally lost our testimony or anything even though I wasn't there. Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you should let people walk all over you. I think the Jesus analogy in the temple may apply here. I think once again Danny Rocco handled the situation the way he was supposed to handle it and the players will be dealt with....As far as our D letting us down, I have to disagree again. That unit has played very well all year but you spend way, way more energy on D than on O in most sports and fatigue has certainly been a factor. That is why we have given up 21 second half poinst yesterday and 27 last week even though the first half of those 2 games we gave up a total of 7. I don't like to play the God/Jesus/religion card when it comes to the outcome of sports. I said it before and I will say it again, God doesn't care who wins and loses these games and there are good Christians most of the time on both teams.

[flameshaw]

What SCAR said.

[auntieann]

Jon thank you for the first hand accounts, It was good to hear how things went down from someone at the game. I listened on the Coastal internet connection, because of course the Liberty one was downzo.. Thanks again you guys for reminding me I could get the game that way. I was just watching stats for a while, and that is tough.. Thanks Sly for the link to stats, I would not have had that if not for you. My sister was listening at the hospital on the phone held to my speaker, and she was giving the info to my mom(Brock's grandma, who is very ill and in ICU in a Florida hospital, my father was on my cell phone listening to me give him updates. We were all so sad, how do we keep telling these kid's they are doing well when they have such unsettling losses. I really think from what I hear Brock's interception in the endzone was not really his fault. Thanks AuntieAnn

[SuperJon]

AuntieAnne, from what I saw, that first interception was pretty bad. There were 2 or 3 defenders there. Other than that, Brock played his best game of the year the rest of the day.

I know this sounds bad, and I don't mean this degrading Brock at all, but his best decision of the day was when he had rolled out to pass and just threw it away. In the past, Brock would've thrown that up to someone and hoped the receiver caught it. It's obvious he's maturing back there and he's getting better every game.

[flafan]

Stevie Ray said after the game he lost his cool. It happens to everyone. You try losing four game by a combined 13 points and see how frustrated you are on the field...

... It should be dealt with, and it was. Coach Rocco pulled the entire team together in the 4th quarter before that kickoff and chewed them all out on the spot, during the game, in front of their fanbase. He handled it the right way. People lose their cool.

I don't know if I used this quote thing right or not but anyway, my 2 cents about this issue.

SuperJon, while I don't agree with all you said, I do agree wth you about this. Coach Rocco did the right thing on the field Saturday. Most coaches would never have called his team out like that - it just shows what kind of coach he is. This guy is a CLASS ACT!

Watching him respond in the face of such a difficult time as these last few weeks and lead this team like he does; listening to his post game comments and hearing his attitude really encourages me and I'm sure it has the same impact on the players - only more so.

Any good coach will not tolerate undisciplined players, nor should they. Rocco made that clear in his post game conference. As these guys learn that, they will either respond or move on down the road on their own because they can't buy in to the Liberty way (isn't that what you call it).
I think they will (and are) responding to his leadership.

Concerning the God card... that's what we are all about as Believers. Whether its on the ball field, in the office or on a blog, we always are to be about honoring Christ. But man, we all blow it and when we do we go to the Lord, get it right and go on. Thank God for grace. I'm sure none of us would want all of our mess-ups to be played out in front of everyone. These guys have a great disadvantage that when they mess us they have thousands of people watching(many who are unfortunately non-Christians). That's a tough spot to be in. But I remain confident that Coach Rocco will drive the point home to this team that they need to be above those kind of actions and reactions.

I don't really think anyone is ready to boot any players. They need to have all the encouragement that we can give.

We have a great staff of coaches who are also committed Christ followers. Their influence will pay off both on and off the field and everyone will be better for it. Let's watch and see what happens.

[flafan]

One other note. Many of you know Barry Rice, former player, now a [astor in Floirda and a great man of God. Barry is a good friend of mine and more than once I have heard him talk about how he came to Liberty thinking he knew God, only to learn that he didn't. His testimony today is what it is because of the great influence Coach Dave Williams - the man who led him to Christ.

I'm sure there are players at Liberty today that may not know Christ - but hopefully will before they leave. Keep this in mind when we talk about these guys.

[Sly Fox]

Very well stated, flafan.

[madmat]

We arrived at the stadium as LU was driving the ball down the field on the first possession. We stood behind the iron fence 3 yards from the end zone and watched. Our offensive line was kicking the crap out of CCU's front, with the box loaded. That kind of rythym demands that if it ain't broke......don't throw crossing patterns over the middle on a shortened field. With that said, the LOS was advanced all day, even with a gimpy Rashad. Defensively, pressure was applied from edge blitzes, which were effective in part, but when Thigpen adjusted. Corner blitz came, and he threw to the vacated spot, where Simpson exposed suspect tackling and off to the races. Our cover 2 zone is a definate weakness. Skinny post routes are open, and the safeties sit back, and the LBs aren't dropping fast enough. Nose guards dropping in zone blitz coverage doesn't seem to be a viable answer. I have also noticed sluggishness in covering the deep sidelines from the safeties, and some pursuit effort issues.

Now, as for the penalties, it was worse than any high school officiating that I have seen this year. There were three entities at war with each other Sat., the Flames, the Chants, and the Zebras. Multiple times calls were announced over the PA only to be reversed without explanation. Coach Rocco was often ignored in his pursuit of explanations to what the heck was going on. He was so frustrated, that he consciously, gathered himself, retreated slightly and put his hands locked behind his back to restrain himself. The blatant use of make up calls made it obvious that previous calls were errant. I say this because Coastal was flagged more than LU, for questionable occurences as well. When a game is poorly administered, and the authority in place is disfunctional, things can get out of hand quickly. I was told that two of the officials were working the Miami game where the helmets were swinging.

What makes this challenging for players is to know you are improving vastly, and yet the final result is close loss after close loss. These are trying times for players in a different way than they were last year, maybe much harder. I know the coaches are feeling the stress as well. I also we are on the cusp of something special, and these are growing pains of immense proportion. But my hope is that they are galvanizing. I ASK THIS OF ALL OF US THAT CARE ABOUT THIS TEAM. LET US ALL, STUDENTS, FANS, PARENTS, ALUMNI SHOW UP AND SHOW OUR SUPPORT OF THEM, IN OVERWHELMING FASHION. If they were to see that, we could be the catalyst that turns the tide on the future of this program. Wouldn't we like to be present the day (Nov. 4, 2006) that Liberty University started their winning streak that ends in a DIAA championship in the near future. Did We give up the day the Germans invaded Pearl Harbor?
LETTS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HarrisburgFlame]

Post of the week mad mat. I'm coming down from PA for the WCU game. I'll bring 2 maybe 3 others with me. SJ and the other students on this board can recruit their classmates. Let's get some fannies in the seats for 11-4 and get jacked up for a three game season. Let's go undefeated down the stretch.

I agree with you Mat - we are very close. Not ready to give up on 2006 yet.

[Realist]

"Did we give up the day the Germans invaded Pearl Harbor?"

Did I just step into a Harry Turtledove book? Or warp to an alternate history?

[SuperJon]

Glad to see you have a good flight back, madmat. I hadn't talked to you any since the Towson game. Stop by our tailgate on Saturday before the game if you get in town in time. I know that's pushing it but hey, you might get there early.

HBurg, check the thread I'm about to make. It's something you may not have known.

[HarrisburgFlame]

I'll be sure to. FYI - I'm getting the tailgate spot from the ticket office tomorrow. Spot 15 once again. if you guys want to get 14 maybe we can get flameshaw or someone to hold it...

[madmat]

Pardon the blutarsky reference, don't want any reps. Our h.s season is unfortunately over, so the trip will be a little easier and spread out, and we would love to check in at the tail gates. You wouldn't mind if Mrs. G brought some yankee cookin', would ya?

[HarrisburgFlame]

Bring on some of that midwest cooking. FYI - I am the only Indians and Browns fan at the tailgate. Please tell me I am going to have some support!

[SuperJon]

We'll take any cookin. Smoothie's pretty good but I'm sure he wouldn't mind some help.