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| Tuesday, September 5 Army surrenders ground, launches air attack | |||||
By Eric Crawford Special to ESPN.com Army Black Knights 1999 record: 4-7 (1-5 C-USA) Coach: Todd Berry Returning starters: 10 (3 offense, 7 defense) Outlook Conventional wisdom says that you can't win a ground war in Southeast Asia. First-year Army coach Todd Berry is teaching the Black Knights a football corollary: You can't win C-USA with a ground war. The West Point wishbone is no more as Berry has installed a one-back attack that will seek to open up the skies for senior QB Joe Gerena and junior Chad Jenkins, who could also see time at QB. The transition to the new system in the spring was smoother than expected. "It was like the whole team got shot out of a starting gate," Gerena said. "If anything, we had to slow guys down a little bit." The Black Knights have a speedy receiver in Omari Thompson, who had all of eight catches last season but averaged 17.5 yards per reception. On defense, Berry is installing a 4-4-3 scheme and hopes to utilize more man coverage. LB Lyle Weaver will be a key and FS Derick McNally provides leadership, but the troops he's leading in the secondary are suspect. Ends Zack Hurst and Ron Sporer have experience, but beyond that Berry will be asking green players to mature quickly. A tough road schedule that sends the Black Knights to East Carolina, Louisville, Houston and Cincinnati should help prepare them for their Dec. 2 game against Navy, but the transition from the wishbone may not always be smooth. Opponents in C-USA are used to trying to defend the scheme Berry is implementing, and the Black Knights won't be eating up large chunks of the clock like they did with a running game that ranked fifth nationally at 265 yards per game a year ago. Keep an eye on ... G Dustin Plumadore. He is one of the best offensive linemen in Army history, but the junior will have to help his linemates adjust to pass blocking. It's a good season if ... The Black Knights beat Navy. |
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