Naval Reconnaissance

Time for another installment of the ever popular (or at least popular the one other time it happened) interview with our opponent. This week I had the privilege of talking with Mike James, writer of The BirdDog Navy Sports Blog, which you should be sure to check out for some excellent and interesting writing about Navy sports. His answers to my questions follow:

1. What Navy player or players has/have been most exciting to watch so far this season? What might we expect to see from him/them this weekend?

Mike James: Because of the nature of the triple option, there's a different person getting the ball every week. Most defenses focus on taking away one particular element of the option, leaving the other two free to make plays. The most consistent performer each week has been our quarterback, Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada. He's had 4 100-yard rushing games already this season. He had 117 yards in the first half against Ball State before leaving the game with an injury. He isn't the shiftiest runner, but he's a long strider with ridiculous speed. He is also a better passer than most people expect from a Navy quarterback.

Navy rotates several players in at the other skill positions. At fullback, Adam Ballard is a bruiser while Eric Kettani is faster. Both will play. The slotbacks in this offense are required to be a receiver as much as a running back, and they've each taken turns having big games this year. Reggie Campbell scored three touchdowns at Pittsburgh. Shun White had 100 rushing yards against Temple. Both Campbell and Zerbin Singleton are tied for the team lead in receptions. At Navy, it's about the position more than the player. It all depends on what the defense decides to take away. That is, unless you're Pitt. They didn't take away much of anything.

For those who appreciate that sort of thing, our center, Antron Harper, is a real bowling ball.

2. Navy's run game has been predictably solid this year, but Wake's run defense has also been very good. How do you expect this match-up play out on Saturday?

MJ: I am very impressed with Wake Forest's run defense. Watching the game against Florida State, it looked to me like the Seminoles gave up even trying to run on Wake's defense. That made all the difference, because it put pressure on an unpolished Xavier Lee to carry his team. Defending normal running games is a lot different than defending the triple option, though. A lot of the things that defenses do to stop the run-- being aggressive, anticipating, etc.-- can get them in trouble against the option if they don't do it carefully. The important thing is to play under control and mind your assignments. Of course, I doubt that playing disciplined football is a problem for a Jim Grobe team.

The Navy offense has been on fire all year with the exception of the Rutgers game. Rutgers doesn't have a particularly big defense, but they are very fast. They were able to use their speed not only to pursue from sideline to sideline, but to get penetration against the Navy offensive line. Athletically, I think that the Wake Forest defense is very similar to Rutgers and could present a lot of the same problems.

3. Where do you see Navy matching up best against the Deacons, and where do you expect to see the most problems?

MJ: Navy's best matchup-- and this is admittedly a stretch-- might be the offensive line vs. the Wake defensive line. Wake has a very talented d-line, but it's also fairly young on the interior. Younger players have the most trouble defending the option because they usually aren't as prepared for the speed and technique of the offense. If Navy can establish the fullback and wear the defense down up the middle, they'll have a chance. Defensive ends are marginalized against this offense because they often become the quarterback's read key.

Wake's best matchup is pretty much their whole offense vs. the Navy defense. Navy's defense isn't very good. To give you an idea of the problem that Navy has this week, just look at the Air Force game. Air Force is coached by former Grobe assistant Troy Calhoun, and they run an offense that is very similar to Wake's. They are run-oriented and make extensive use of misdirection and play-action. They don't have even half the athletes that Wake Forest has, yet they still put up 470 yards of offense on Navy. Our coach has described the Wake offense as "Air Force on warp speed."

Navy doesn't tackle well, which means that Josh Adams should have a field day. Navy only has 3 sacks this year, which means that Riley Skinner will have plenty of time to throw. Navy tries to limit the big play by employing a soft zone coverage scheme, which means that there should be plenty of room for Wake's excellent TEs to make plays underneath. Navy has also lost two safeties and a middle linebacker to injury. Wake's offense probably can't wait to take the field.

4. At 4-2, Navy is looking pretty good this season and has an identical record to the Deacons, however most everyone says that Wake will be Navy's toughest test so far this season. How confident are you in the Mids' ability to win this weekend? What are the keys for Navy if they are to win this game?

MJ: Navy can win this game, but it will take either a performance that the defense hasn't shown so far, or a little help from the Deacs. And by that, I mean turnovers. Navy was 1-2 in its first 3 games, and is 3-0 since. The difference has been turnovers; Navy had 7 in the first 3 games, and 1 in the last 3. Navy's offense has had to score on almost every drive in order to keep pace with the points that the defense has been giving up, and the turnovers made that impossible. I think that Navy will score, but scoring on every drive, which is fine against Air Force, is just too much to ask against the Wake defense. Since Navy hasn't really stopped anyone all year, that means that Wake will need to make some mistakes.

5. When all is said and done, what will the final score be on Saturday? Looking forward, how do you expect Navy to finish out the season?

MJ: I apologize in advance for the wishy-washy answer, but I really hate predictions. I will say that I expect this to be a high-scoring game. As for the rest of the season, Navy is capable of beating everyone on the schedule with this offense. With this defense, they could lose to anyone, too. Assuming we get a little of both the rest of a way, that means 7-5 or 8-4 with a trip to San Diego for the Poinsettia Bowl. Some Rubio's fish tacos and a trip to the zoo would make for a great Christmas vacation.

Although he deserves a little bit of a hard time for skipping out on the score prediction, I definitely appreciate the great effort from Mike. Enjoy, and make sure to go check out the BirdDog as well.