Catawba football: different week-same terrible result

[Catawbafan]

[CATUSUPPORTER]

I agree with you. For the 2nd straight week I sat in the stands as the defense came off the field dejected and sat down waiting for their coach to come over and coach them. After a while, just like last week, players start yelling " Will somebody come over here and coach us?" This a is a defense that cant get off the field yet most are also on special teams. I have accepted the fact that he is not gonna change anything but at least give them a break on special teams. Can the players on the bench that he recruited do any worse? And once again in garbage time most of the starters were still in as Mars Hill had long since called off the dogs. This reminds me of the old saying " The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result". These kids spirits are broken and you can see it in their eyes.

[Chuck Bitner]

Catawba used to be a force on defense but the last two years have been a totally different story. I know they have some challenges with injuries and depth, but they have to be more physical. There were so many plays in the game last Saturday where Catawba never got the ball carrier to the ground. There were a lot of plays that ended with the officials blowing the whistle for forward progress halted but Catawba could not get the man to the ground. They have some good DBs but the front seven is outmaned every week. Speaking of DBs, anyone know what happened to Brenden Westbrook? He was ejected in the first half of the Carson-Newman game and has not played since.

I thought Kaylon Wade played well in his first start. Kolby Easley, Will Sweeper and Chylon Thomas were all absent from the lineup so it was amazing that he had anyone to throw to. Considering that, passing for over 300 yards was remarkable. Gavin Rose stepped up, which was great him in one his last few games.

[CATUSUPPORTER]

The last 2 years of Catawba defense is different because Coach Henry left 3 years ago and the 1rst year he was gone, we still had Kitchens,Evans, Peppers and the gang to make their own calls. The last 2 years have been led by Coach Walker. You simply cannot get mad at the players you recruited and put at the positions and not coach or even talk to them during the game.

[CatUFan]

Chuck Bitner, Sweeper did not dress and Easley was dressed but didn't play. He hurt his knee last week and looked like he tried to go in pregame but couldn't. Thomas played but I don't think he was targeted much. For those that just looked at the stat sheet and weren't at the game Wade played ok, not well. He completed 48% of his passes and most of his passing yards and TDs were when we were down 21 to 28 points. I saw at least 7-8 wide open receivers missed and 2 other passes that should have picks at minimum and probably returned for TDs. We lost Goode to an injured ankle and there went the run game. I've paid attention to other threads asking for changes and went to watch practice. I also asked around about what's wrong in the program. Since 4 of the 6 QBs that are on the roster are currently injured, it's not difficult to tell the QBs apart. The backup is bigger, stronger, and more accurate. Since Walker announced on his radio show that he was the backup, when Davis went out, I expected to see him play. When I read the article in the post I knew why. The program seems to have hitched their hopes for the furure to Wade. We definitely are much smaller than other SAC schools on the line and I hope we emphasize that in recruiting.

[CatUFootballDad]

2 words....WEIGHT ROOM!!!!!

That is really all that needs to be said. Better weight room and conditioning program are proven results from strength and speed to reliability when it comes to injuries.

[Chuck Bitner]

Considering how much talent was not on the field, I thought Wade did pretty well for his first start. And I'm not just going by the stat sheet, I was at the game.

Bummer to hear Sweeper's return only lasted one game. That young man is very talented. I saw Easly dressed on the sideline but figured something was wrong because I don't believe he was on the field for any snaps. It seems to no longer be a challenge of next man up, it's now a question of who is left?