The Saturday Aftermath Of A Season Ending Too Soon

[HawgGoneIt]

Well folks, now that I've had a chance to vent a little along the way since last night, I think it's time for some realism. 

Most everyone knows that Colquitt County Football has been through a lot over the past year, and there isn't a lot of sense in rehashing much of that at all really, but, the situation is hopelessly intertwined with the results of this season, so, there may be some references to it all. Probably deservedly so. 

I'll borrow a terminology from Coach Justin Rogers... This season for Colquitt County Football isn't the season that any of us envisioned, wanted or hoped for, but, it's the season we got. It basically is what it is, and, it's in the books. 9 wins and 3 losses is not too bad at all. It's definitely something to build on for a new staff. 

I know many from Norman Park are feeling all doom and gloom today, and, believe me, I get it. A lot of us have invested a lot in this program in time, money and emotion, and, having an abrupt end as we did after being so full of hope with the changes over the off season looming large, is, well, it's pretty hard to accept and deal with. You can all probably read along my postings since last night and witness first hand my own way of venting and dealing with it all. 

There was no doubt that we would probably have to take a step back considering all the turmoil in the off season, and having a new coach brought in pretty late, and then having coaches brought in and dismissed all in a short time frame. Having said that, most of us remained hopeful, and invested in the kids and program. Many of us did everything we could to support the coach and kids, and, I don't expect much of that to change going forward. There will of course be much grumbling as people deal with this all in their own ways and their own time. 

I hope the Packer Nation can continue putting one foot in front of the other, and place their angst where it really should be placed, which in my personal opinion isn't with the coach and staff, but, of course above there, as that is where the changes that put us into such turmoil came from. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this season. There was so much new stuff to take in, and of course we continued to see our young men grow into men on the gridiron as they too dealt with all of the emotions of the turmoil and change. They made us proud fighting through it all and never falling apart like they really could have. It's a shame that one bad night ended it all for them.

It's a shame that our senior group was thrust into this situation by the adults that are tasked with putting them in a situation for success. Not just the BOE but them and the last staff that had their shortcomings publicly displayed and aired for the world to see. There was definite failures from all involved in that, as far as the adults go. 

 

I'm also proud of how the new staff came together in such short notice and put on quite the show for twelve games. It was honestly an amazing thing to watch how the transition went and watch the kids grow into it all. We have a lot of good guys that are a part of this staff, and in spite of the tough ending, they deserve some accolades for everything they did in such a short time to get us back to the playoffs again. They of course made some mistakes as did everyone. We are all human, and suffer the human condition, and the best any of us can do is strive to be better and try to make each other better for the sake of the kids. I think this staff did that. We will all grow together and be the better for it. 

There is much to remember from this season, some little things that I noticed as I watched different members of the team grow and play. Some bigger things that the entire team did together as well. Small  individual things that some fans may never really notice or pay much attention to like some of our o-linemen standing over much bigger defensive guys after they pancaked them. Tay Tay Ponder emerging from a crowd more than once in returns this year in an amazing display of will and never giving up.  I'll never forget that amazing display down at Bazemore-Hyder stadium from the whole team and staff. They could have rolled over down there after getting down so far so quick, but, the coaches called a brilliant game and the kids responded mightily, even in a loss.  That was the moment I knew we were going to be in for a tough season, and, also in that moment this new staff earned my respect. 

There is much to look forward to next year already as well. The cupboards are far from bare and we have a whole off season to work and come closer together yet still. 

I don't know if any of the coaches or anyone much at all will read this, but, if they do...

Congrats to this entire new staff for coming in to the situation they did and earning the respect of many of us as we all started getting to know one another. Congrats to the kids that responded and came closer together through this all as well. All of you guys together truly are a Packer Point of Pride. 

Thanks for everything and GO PACK GO! 

[dntn31]

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

[old_e]

Next year hawgs.

[World Citizen]

20 minutes ago, dntn31 said:

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

LMAO

Perfect!!!

[Wosinc]

I have no doubt that the hawgs will rise again.

Said it before, will say it now: Moultrie Rules. 🐗

[Bormio]

Ah, time to pay the piper for the sins of Rush 😛

[Rufus69]

Hawg....I've had some time to reflect.  In other words...I got thru the Georgia game...(Smile).  Here's some final thoughts on the season....

While I can be disappointed in our 2nd round exit...I can't be disappointed in our 9-3 season.  I thought Justin held serve pretty well.  Actually...truth be told...I'm relieved he did as well as he did.  Now...that being said...some of his decisions were a bit hard to understand...but they were his to make and not mine.  as an example...we ended the game against Parkview with (3) time outs in our pocket.  I thought we definitely should have used a couple just to try and regroup and catch our second wind.  He chose not to do so.  A lot has been posted about the fake punt...and yes, maybe we should have been more aware as a coaching staff...but more than that...we never recovered from that miscue.  It really through us out of sync.   And that...in my opinion...is coaching.

Another issue I've had throughout the season has been the lack of defensive adjustments...especially on the fly.  We don't make them.  I realize these are 17-18 year old kids...but our staff has to be able to recognize what the other guys are doing and come up with a plan to negate it...or at least slow it down.  We didn't do that in Lilburn.  In actuality...we let panic set in.  And honestly...our ineptness on defense in the 2nd half...poured over to our offense.  We became..."discombobulated".  And to me that's coaching.

I'm not gonna blame the loss on poor coaching cause Parkview is a durn good team.  They outperformed us in the 2nd half...BIG TIME.  We looked lethargic.  They looked inspired.  They deserved the win.  But I honestly didn't think our staff did its best job.  Top...to bottom.

So...what's next?

This off-season is the most important one since 2007.  This thing could go either way.  We can pull up our drawers and learn from this year...or we can just spiral down to mediocrity or worse.  I don't see us having the same staff.  I could be wrong...but I don't think so.  I also believe in 2020...we're gonna find out...FOR SURE...who supports the Packer program...and who just runs their mouth.  Back in March...when I was told point blank by decision makers...that Rush was gone...my instructions were simple...TAKE CARE OF MY PACKER FOOTBALL PROGRAM.  I was asked about Justin in early April...and I said YES.  So far...I haven't seen anything to change my mind.  But he's gonna hafta make the right changes...or we're gonna bust mediocrity wide open.  And I have never liked mediocrity.

NEVER !!!!

Bring on baseball !!!!!

 

 

Rufus>>

[HawgGoneIt]

Rufus, I'm not gonna lie, I'm having a hard time with this thing. 

If I'm being totally honest, ending the longest quarterfinal appearance streak in the largest class in GHSA history is, well, there is no way to really sugar coat it. 

I don't want to be a Justin Rogers apologist, but, I can see how late he came in. 

We had the players. We had the tools, the infrastructure, the money, the volunteers, the offices, the equipment. To be honest, we had as much or more this season than last. That puts us squarely on the coaching change being the issue. There is no way around that at all. 

McEachern changed coaches and appears they got better. Us, well, not so much. I'm not sure that even Tommy Knotts could have came in at the late hour that Justin did and do any better though. Too much to change in such a short amount of time, even with all of the tools and infrastructure in place. That's the best I've got right now.  

It's tough to be enthusiastic right now, so, I guess I'll stay stuck in the same "open minded" and "wait and see mode" as I've been in all year,  because, that's all I can do. 

 

[Rufus69]

Let's be totally honest....

McEachern hasn't played Parkview yet.  They haven't played Grayson yet.  They haven't played North Gwinnett yet.  They haven't play Lowndes yet.

I think it's a tad early to say they've gotten better.

Don't get me wrong...we had the pieces in place.  We definitely had the opportunity to do better than we did.  We've been spoiled over the last 10 years.  We expected more...even under the circumstances that brought Justin in.

i said this to a Rush supporter not long ago...look what happened when Rush lost Sutton and Calhoun.  We lost twice in the Championship game.   Nobody was better than Sutton when it came to conditioning and nobody was better coaching our offense than Calhoun.   The assistants are as important as the HC...in my opine.

I appreciate anybody using the "open mind" method for going forward.  When it comes down to it...that's the correct direction.   Hey...this is just a midsummer night's dream.  We're gonna wake up and it'll be North Gwinnett in the Corky...(Smile).

LOL...I texted Kirby and told him that the Dawgs were all I got now...and he better not fluck it up...LOL.

One weekend at a time...I suppose.

 

 

Rufus>>

[HawgGoneIt]

I do agree about assistants being important. They are very important. It takes a well oiled machine to have what we did for so long. 

This is why I brought up somewhere else how, many thought it was like handing the keys to a corvette over to the coach and all he had to do was put it in gear and mash the gas. It'd be great if it was that simple. It just isn't. A lot of people had to come together in a short amount of time to start this season, and, in spite of my disappointment, our disappointment at the ending, it was no small feat to get to where we did. 

We were like jekyll and hyde this year. In one game we could beat North Gwinnett, in another we could beat Grayson pretty handily. Both whose seasons continue today. In the next game, we look totally different and basically give up the ghost to Parkview when really none of us thought that should happen. That comes from somewhere. I suppose that somewhere is what the coaches have to find and correct. 

The coach posted this earlier on facebook and twitter...

 

[Rufus69]

Well...to each his on...but I NEVER even fathomed that God had a Plan for us to lose.....

 

 

Rufus>>

[imaGoodBoyNow]

15 hours ago, HawgGoneIt said:

 

 

BOE probably gonna suspend coach for bringing up the word God in his tweet

[HawgGoneIt]

On 11/23/2019 at 4:35 PM, dntn31 said:

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

 

Well, get me a triple stack then. I've got work to do...

 

[HawgGoneIt]

52 minutes ago, Rufus69 said:

Well...to each his on...but I NEVER even fathomed that God had a Plan for us to lose.....

 

 

Rufus>>

Idk. There was a plan. I don't know who God is in that scenario, but, I have some guesses. 

 

Lost to Valdosta and Lowndes both this year. Might throw Camden in with them next. Another behind that and it'll be Lowndes, Camden, Valdosta and Tift. 

[BUFORDGAWOLVES]

58 minutes ago, Rufus69 said:

Well...to each his on...but I NEVER even fathomed that God had a Plan for us to lose.....

 

 

Rufus>>

🙄

BGW

[imaGoodBoyNow]

18 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

 

Well, get me a triple stack then. I've got work to do...

 

You sure you even wanna do that to yourself how many heartache do you need in one year , take a season off and come back in time for Diving and Baseball season 

[Rufus69]

46 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

 

Well, get me a triple stack then. I've got work to do...

 

Hawg...you've been around the program long enough to know....Colquitt don't do basketball.

Bring on baseball !!!!

 

 

Rufus>>

[AztecPadre]

23 hours ago, HawgGoneIt said:

I do agree about assistants being important. They are very important. It takes a well oiled machine to have what we did for so long. 

This is why I brought up somewhere else how, many thought it was like handing the keys to a corvette over to the coach and all he had to do was put it in gear and mash the gas. It'd be great if it was that simple. It just isn't. A lot of people had to come together in a short amount of time to start this season, and, in spite of my disappointment, our disappointment at the ending, it was no small feat to get to where we did. 

We were like jekyll and hyde this year. In one game we could beat North Gwinnett, in another we could beat Grayson pretty handily. Both whose seasons continue today. In the next game, we look totally different and basically give up the ghost to Parkview when really none of us thought that should happen. That comes from somewhere. I suppose that somewhere is what the coaches have to find and correct. 

The coach posted this earlier on facebook and twitter...

 

Dang his wife ain't to bad. 

[HawgGoneIt]

21 minutes ago, AztecPadre said:

Dang his wife ain't to bad. 

Agree! 

 

[Fred]

Respectfully to Hawg and Rufus, I watched the game on GPB after I got home from our win.  I was tired and some of it was blocked by my eyelids but I don't think enough credit is given to Parkview.  They looked really good, they were physical, and they were mentally in the game.  I know y'all normally only give Gwinnett respect begrudgingly ( at least it seems that way) but the writings of many of the Packer faithful both here and on the Ga Vent (and not including Rab and his frothing at the mouth) showed a lack of respect for Parkview.  We won't even talk about Rufus' little buddy but the tone from where I sit was y'all would fill the stands (you didn't - and I get why) and you expected to maybe not roll over the Panthers but at least win handily. This is an overall impression.  Rufus sandbagged as usual but I still got the impression unintended or not that y'all fully expected to win.  Others, not the two of you, were definitely leaning towards an all region 1 championship and were planning on lambasting the GHSA for forcing the game to be played in Atlanta when both team were from S Ga.

It is easy to blame the coaches but it does happen that you come up against a better team that night.  Colquitt is still a team to be respected and possibly feared.  That hasn't changed.  A wealth of positive endings - making it to the finals - goes a long way to setting unrealistic expectations.  Of course this is just my $0.02 and probably not worth that.

[HawgGoneIt]

55 minutes ago, Fred said:

Respectfully to Hawg and Rufus, I watched the game on GPB after I got home from our win.  I was tired and some of it was blocked by my eyelids but I don't think enough credit is given to Parkview.  They looked really good, they were physical, and they were mentally in the game.  I know y'all normally only give Gwinnett respect begrudgingly ( at least it seems that way) but the writings of many of the Packer faithful both here and on the Ga Vent (and not including Rab and his frothing at the mouth) showed a lack of respect for Parkview.  We won't even talk about Rufus' little buddy but the tone from where I sit was y'all would fill the stands (you didn't - and I get why) and you expected to maybe not roll over the Panthers but at least win handily. This is an overall impression.  Rufus sandbagged as usual but I still got the impression unintended or not that y'all fully expected to win.  Others, not the two of you, were definitely leaning towards an all region 1 championship and were planning on lambasting the GHSA for forcing the game to be played in Atlanta when both team were from S Ga.

It is easy to blame the coaches but it does happen that you come up against a better team that night.  Colquitt is still a team to be respected and possibly feared.  That hasn't changed.  A wealth of positive endings - making it to the finals - goes a long way to setting unrealistic expectations.  Of course this is just my $0.02 and probably not worth that.

I gave Parkview some credit night of in a different thread I think. This post wasn't about any of that. It was about working toward some closure on this season and what the team has been through the past year. 

 

As far as Parkview...

They totally outplayed the Pack in the second half. I mean, it wasn't even close to being the same looking teams on the field as the first half.

As far as Parkview vs. Colquitt...

 I would have went on the record ahead of the game saying Colquitt should win by two tds. I don't think I am the only person that watches a lot of ball that would have come to a similar spread/conclusion. I still say Colquitt should have won by more than 2 scores. SHOULD have. Clearly they didn't. 

Idk why everyone always takes it as a slight for the other team when we say certain things. Almost nobody expected them to win. They did, and they played a great second half. They whipped Colquitt really good and ended the longest quarterfinal streak in the largest class in GHSA history.  They deserve some accolades for sure. I'll leave that for the Parkview fans to do though, as I'm a salty Colquitt person. 

I think Parkview or Colquitt either one should/would have beaten Archer this week as well. At this point I have Parkview by maybe 10. I would have had Colquitt by a similar spread.

I certainly came away very impressed by the Parkview qb's ability to extend plays, and that rb came out in the second half like a freight train... Am I just not supposed to say that I didn't see us adjust or do much to curb what they were doing in the second half? Am I supposed to ignore the lack of fire from the staff on the sideline just so as to pump up Parkview?  Idk. 

As far as the fan support... that started falling off weeks ago. Am I supposed to not be honest about why I think that happened? Man, we had a student section, some of which were chanting the North Cobb war chant during that game at the Pen. 

To say there isn't a good bit of issues ongoing down here would be the understatement of the century. 

 

I'll get around to watching the film eventually. Can't make myself do it yet. Just got a notification about the GaWebDev highlight vid, and can't make myself click on it yet either. I know it will probably phase out the headshaking of the staff in the 3rd quarter and those things like that though. It's probably safe to watch. 

 

 

[Fred]

5 minutes ago, HawgGoneIt said:

I gave Parkview some credit night of in a different thread I think. This post wasn't about any of that. It was about working toward some closure on this season and what the team has been through the past year. 

 

As far as Parkview...

They totally outplayed the Pack in the second half. I mean, it wasn't even close to being the same looking teams on the field as the first half.

As far as Parkview vs. Colquitt...

 I would have went on the record ahead of the game saying Colquitt should win by two tds. I don't think I am the only person that watches a lot of ball that would have come to a similar spread/conclusion. I still say Colquitt should have won by more than 2 scores. SHOULD have. Clearly they didn't. 

Idk why everyone always takes it as a slight for the other team when we say certain things. Almost nobody expected them to win. They did, and they played a great second half. They whipped Colquitt really good and ended the longest quarterfinal streak in the largest class in GHSA history.  They deserve some accolades for sure. I'll leave that for the Parkview fans to do though, as I'm a salty Colquitt person. 

I think Parkview or Colquitt either one should/would have beaten Archer this week as well. At this point I have Parkview by maybe 10. I would have had Colquitt by a similar spread.

I certainly came away very impressed by the Parkview qb's ability to extend plays, and that rb came out in the second half like a freight train... Am I just not supposed to say that I didn't see us adjust or do much to curb what they were doing in the second half? Am I supposed to ignore the lack of fire from the staff on the sideline just so as to pump up Parkview?  Idk. 

As far as the fan support... that started falling off weeks ago. Am I supposed to not be honest about why I think that happened? Man, we had a student section, some of which were chanting the North Cobb war chant during that game at the Pen. 

To say there isn't a good bit of issues ongoing down here would be the understatement of the century.

I get what you are saying, I really do.  I think that just maybe Parkview is/was better than people gave them credit for all year.  Smitty was going on about how he watched them in the loss to Lowndes and there was no way they could score or hold the Packers on defense.  I politely pointed out the team he saw was 9 weeks ago and if he thought they hadn't improved he was sadly mistaken.  Other than that game, I don't know that too many S Ga people followed them much.  They have been steadily improving the past several years.  I don't doubt for an instant that all of the goings on in Moultrie has had a big impact.  I can identify with that to some degree due to the merry go round we've had the past several years.  Heck, I had us at 7-3 or even 6-4 on the year depending on what the Alabama team we played was like.  I know what turmoil can do a team.  It is real easy to blame the coaching staff when it could very well be that the Packers *might* have already been playing a little above their heads and on Friday night the Panthers were indeed the better team.  I've seen that before.

Anyway, the quarters are upon us and there is still more football to be played in GA.

[HawgGoneIt]

No doubt. Colquitt has made a living over the past several years playing above their head though. We got to where we expected it. 

I don't really blame this staff for having that come to an end. I'm on the record saying they deserve accolades for coming in such short notice and getting this far.

It takes a well oiled machine of a staff to get kids that are sometimes out-talented to play well enough to overcome the talent difference. It takes the kids responding and also being a well oiled machine to do it too. That happens from practice. There was a well oiled machine here, and, it was taken down. That isn't on this staff. It's on some others where the angst needs to be directed really.

The new staff can't be expected to put it all together in one season. There is far too much that is far different from what the kids came up in. Everything from personality and style to intensity. Some things get a better immediate response than others, etc. 

The intensity level is supposed to go up at this time of year too. Never really got that feel. The fans didn't get that feel. In turn the excitement level was down. The kids feed off the fans. At the same time, it's tough to be excited after having been through so much and then having the scab picked at here and there throughout the season. 

There is just a lot of different. A lot of adjusting for everyone.

I know one thing, like Rufus posted is for sure true, we got spoiled. We got complacent. 

 

I don't disagree with you that some teams got better as the season rocked on. It turns out Colquitt wasn't one of them. We planed out early on, while teams like NG, Grayson and Parkview appear to be better. Marietta may be better than early on too. 

We had some issues that this staff couldn't coach us through I reckon. As you know I do my level best to not denigrate the kids. At this level, it's the coaches that have to put the kids in the position to win, not the other way around, although, it's nice to have both like 2014 and 15, but, for us, that just ain't happening annually. We have to have a staff that maximizes the potential of kids that are often playing over their head. Sometimes you have to get more out of them than they even knew they had. 

Maybe this staff will get there. I certainly hope so. I'm on their side. 

[HawgGoneIt]

Here is that video from GaWebDev. 

I did watch it. It's pretty good just like all of his work. 

 

[Rufus69]

18 hours ago, Fred said:

Respectfully to Hawg and Rufus, I watched the game on GPB after I got home from our win.  I was tired and some of it was blocked by my eyelids but I don't think enough credit is given to Parkview.  They looked really good, they were physical, and they were mentally in the game.  I know y'all normally only give Gwinnett respect begrudgingly ( at least it seems that way) but the writings of many of the Packer faithful both here and on the Ga Vent (and not including Rab and his frothing at the mouth) showed a lack of respect for Parkview.  We won't even talk about Rufus' little buddy but the tone from where I sit was y'all would fill the stands (you didn't - and I get why) and you expected to maybe not roll over the Panthers but at least win handily. This is an overall impression.  Rufus sandbagged as usual but I still got the impression unintended or not that y'all fully expected to win.  Others, not the two of you, were definitely leaning towards an all region 1 championship and were planning on lambasting the GHSA for forcing the game to be played in Atlanta when both team were from S Ga.

It is easy to blame the coaches but it does happen that you come up against a better team that night.  Colquitt is still a team to be respected and possibly feared.  That hasn't changed.  A wealth of positive endings - making it to the finals - goes a long way to setting unrealistic expectations.  Of course this is just my $0.02 and probably not worth that.

If we're laying it all out...I'll say this.  Parkview won.  They beat us terribly in the 2nd half.  I said on the night of the game...they deserved the win.  But...I didn't think the Panthers were "all that and a bag of chips".  We won the first half.  But they won the halftime adjustments AND the last half.  our coaches did not get the job done.  Parkview grabbed the momentum and held on to it.  I'm not sure how much you read this board...but I NEVER said nor implied that we'd fill the stands.  I believe I guessed we might have around 1,500 there.  I don't think we quite achieved that.  

Fred...you are putting too much stock into what you read on the GA boards.  BUT...I do wanna be clear on one point....OF COURSE... I fully expected us to win.  As long as I have been around football...I would NEVER think differently when my team was playing.  If you don't expect to win...you've already lost.

Parkview could win it all.  They could.  But I would put my pesos on North Gwinnett or Lowndes at this point.  I'd give North a slight edge because I think the Osby kid is still out for the Vikings.  And the crux is...as long as Lowndes wins...they continue to play in that god forsaken Concrete Spittoon off I-75.  Say what you want...but they don't lose often there.

I don't really care one way or the other about Gwinnett County.  I ain't lost nothing up there...and the only reason I'd ever head that way would be for football.  You guys don't let Lowndes beat on you too bad.  Hope to see you next year.

 

 

Rufus>>