First and foremost, I hope the Carleton Knights show up to the game this week. They are coming off five straight losses in the MIAC and the schedule on their school site has them playing in St. Joseph, MN on Saturday.
The Knights, led by Johnnie QB legend Kurt Ramler, are having a tough season after coming within 20 seconds of a MIAC conference title last season. They have gotten blown out by Bethel and St. Thomas, but also played fairly tight games with the rest of the conference schedule. The Knight defense is having an especially rough season allowing an average of 27.5 points per game (and that statistic includes a shutout against perennial patsy Macalester).
All this being said, Carleton has shown they can play the Johnnies close in recent years. You have to believe this is partly to do with Ramler’s extensive knowledge of the Johnnie schemes and ways to counter them. The Knights may be undermanned and lacking in talent on Saturday in Collegeville, but you know they will be in the right spot to make plays. They will be well-coached and playing for pride if nothing else. There is nothing more frightening then playing a team with absolutely nothing to lose.
The Johnnies have plenty to worry about themselves. Injuries continue to be a consistent theme of the 2009 season. Another week of rest for QB Joe Boyle’s hand injury would be excellent . Freshmen QB John Ries stepped in admirably last week against Augsburg albeit with one errant throw that resulted in the only Auggie points of the afternoon. Another week of practice should do him good along with opening up the playbook a bit more.
It is critical to get things ratcheted up for the playoffs this weekend. In order to have success in the playoffs a team must be balanced. The Johnnie defense has been outstanding again this season steadily improving upon the WIAC non-conference games. However, the offensive attack has been overwhelmingly reliant upon the running game. You can’t be one-dimensional in the playoffs and expect to advance deep into the tournament. The running game has been multi-faceted and quite dominant, but there will come a time in the playoffs when throwing the ball will be mandatory.
This week the Johnnie offensive line must step up to the challenge and provide Ries with ample time to find the open receivers. The key to a successful postseason run is the Johnnies’ QB’s ability to scramble and find guys open down the field through the air. It is absolutely critical to be able to pick up important 3rd down conversions to keep drives moving. Saturday will be a great day for football!!
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