Coach Tavani said the other day that the only date that matters to him right now is Sept. 7, when his Lafayette team opens the season at home against Sacred Heart.
But truth be told, he’s not entirely certain yet that Sept. 7 will be opening day at all. In fact, if he is still hoping to land another opponent for this year and next – and that extra game just might be scheduled during the final week in August.
“This year is pretty much done,” Tavani told me, but then he added, “there could still be some changes. I’m looking at possibly doing something. “
A quirk in the NCAA calendars for 2013-14 means teams are permitted a 12-game regular season. The last time Lafayette played 12 games in a regular season was 2002. Ironically, Lafayette added Monmouth to the schedule that year, and Monmouth is one of the main reasons that making a late addition to this year’s card is a possibility. Monmouth dropped out of the Northeast Conference, leaving a bunch of teams with openings, and Coach Tavani said that other FCS schools are also exploring the possibility of adding a game these two years.
Lafayette has a bye after the third game this fall, and while Tavani welcomes that, he also said that the Sept. 28 date is one that could be used for a 12th game.
More and more teams seem to be playing games the Thursday night of the last week orf August. That is also a possibility for this year, though probably remote, but Tavani did say, “We’d like to look at that down the road; that would be an ideal time for a an FBS game – get a TV deal, then have 10 days before you have to play again.”
Lafayette’s 2014 and 2015 schedules have an open date listed for the week before the big Lafayette-Lehigh game, and Tavani said if things remain that way, it’s possible that the Leopards would look for a natural-grass facility on which to practice. Why? Well, the 2014 finale, the 150th Lafayette-Lehigh game, is scheduled for Yankee Stadium and the 2015 game is at Lehigh’s Goodman Stadium, both natural-grass surfaces. “There’s not a lot of difference when you go from grass to FieldTurf, but going from FieldTurf to grass is a little different.
Leopard coordinators Mickey Fein (offense) and John Loose (defense) spent their 2012 game days working from the press box, and Coach Tavani liked the way that worked out and plans to have them upstairs this season, too. “Both of them are very cerebral guys and bright coaches,” Tavani said. “It took some adjustments for both, but it’s a much calmer atmosphere. I felt there were better adjustments and we were always lined up and ready to go, particularly defensively. The sideline is chaos. There are different schools of thought about it, and there are a lot of reasons to do it the other way, too, but I felt that we had greater improvement with communications, and I think it will get even better.”
“As coaches, we know a lot of football, and we can draw things up on the board and scheme things out, but it’s not what we know (that is important), it’s what the kids know,” Tavani said. The Lafayette game plan each week can get pretty complex, but in analyzing last year’s game films during the offseason, the coaches noted that “some of our breakdowns were because our technique wasn’t very good.” So, spring ball will focus on technique – “we’ll try to master a few, and get really good at them before we move on,” Tavani said. You aren’t going very far in 15 practices. If you are, it’s because you’re watering things down. We’ll try to get as sharp as we can.”
Because of the way Lafayette’s spring-Easter break is arranged this year, the spring “camp” will have three, not just two, extensive scrimmages, the last being the Maroon and White Game on April 20. “You’re only going to be as good as the number of repetitions you get done in practice,” Tavani said. “There are no scout teams in the spring. Everybody will get plenty of chances to show us what they can do.” The next month could be especially important for the rising sophomores on the squad. “A lot of freshmen get frustrated by midseason,” Tavani said. “They think, ‘Geez, I’m just a blocking dummy; I should be playing; I’m better than this; I was a star in high school.’ I talk to them about that ahead of time, but until they go through it, they don’t know. They’re all realizing it now. Every day, they can get reps they weren’t getting last season.”
Every year, it seems more teams are working the no-huddle offense into their game plans, and Coach Tavani said that while “were practice two-minute (drills) every day,” he’s not sold on going fast from beginning to end. “It’s all about trying to gain an advantage,” he said. I think it’s good in situations. If you’re going up and down the field and scoring points, it’s fine; but if you’re not, you’re turning the ball over to the other team’s offense quicker and it hurts your defense. I like it situationally. The game is about spreading people out now; the days of lining up with a basic tight end, flanker, I-back and slamming the ball 30 times (is past). People wouldn’t put eight or nine guys up to stop run; now they do. But Chip Kelly says they didn’t go to that offense (at Oregon) to throw the ball; they did it to run the ball.”
Make no mistake about it, things still begin with Ross Scheuerman, who has 1,200 net yards rushing and 2,558 all-purpose yards in his first two seasons. “He’s getting better and better, and the only thing that held him back at the end of last season was that hip pointer,” Tavani said. “But he’s feeling better and the inside reads, and with his speed and power, we can use him many ways.” Greg Kessel, who is now listed at 248 pounds, is listed second on the depth chart right now, even though he had only two net yards rushing in 2012. He had 11 touches – six rushes, five pass receptions – and scored three touchdowns. “He runs faster than you think and he is a brute,” said Tavani, who could also use him as a pass protector-outlet receiver. Greg Rabb came to Easton at 240 pounds; he is now down to 217, and he’ll get a chance to show if he might be the power back the Leopards have been looking for. Deuce Gruden has been moved to RB, and while he is only 182 pounds, he’s also only 5-6 (maybe); and, shame on me but I remember a Lehigh running back by the name of Ronald Jean who played way above his stature some years back. And Tavani is touting freshman Kyle Mayfield out of North Penn as another power guy. This position looks great to me.
I would have thought this was Kessel’s domain, but if he remains at TB, and if Pat Creahan doesn’t make a better impression than last year, look for rising sophomore Dan Dellovade to move right in. Tavani says Dellovade, who is another 240-pounder, bowls people over. That would be a big asset on some of those third- and fourth-and-ones that have often been a sore spot for the offense. Tavani said he also wants to get a look at another sophomore, Freddie Hess, too.
Because three of the starters will be new, this position looks like one where some youngsters – and I’m talking about freshmen – will have a chance to make an immediate difference. You won’t see the names Robin Cepeda, Matt Rothrock or Collin Albershardt on the two-deep chart – in fact, none of the incoming scholarship class is on the list. But Coach T’s eyes lit up when he mentioned those names. So, we’ll have to wait until this summer. In the meantime, Steve Mercado, who was the defensive scout team MVP for 2012, Darius Glover and Shane Dorner will get the first shots. Tavani really seemed to like rising sophomores Ryan Sanders and Bobby DiPietro, too. James Coscia has gotten bigger over the winter. I see big improvement coming in this area before September rolls around.
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