After Action Report: Navy Makes It Five in a Row

Saving the Season

Just before entering the fourth quarter against Duke two weeks ago, it looked as though Navy’s season was doomed. The Mids, trailing eleven points to the Blue Devils at the time, looked poised to give up another score and dig themselves an impossible hole to come out of. With a defense that couldn’t stop anyone and an impending 1-3 record, the prospects for bowl eligibility and a successful season seemed to be rapidly dwindling.

Over the past five quarters I’d say we’ve learned a lot about this team.

I don’t man to come off as overly positive, and I certainly don’t mean to overlook the obvious facts that there are still major concerns on this Navy team, most notably on the defensive side of the ball. But give these guys some credit. Where 1-3 looked more than likely two weeks ago, the Midshipmen now stand at 3-2, and, and in spite of a weak defense, are still very much in position to achieve bowl eligibility and win their fifth consecutive commander-in-chief’s trophy under Paul Johnson. This is what they mean when they talk about being a winning program, about having a winner’s mentality. It doesn’t always mean blanking the opposition, or blowing out the other team, but always involves getting the job done. What we saw on Saturday was literally a team coming together and willing itself through a game. It wasn’t always pretty times and it wasn’t perfect, but when it was all said and done the guys and blue and grey came out on top, and even did it with a little breathing room for a change. In short, what we saw on Saturday was a team saving its season through beating their most hated rival, and in doing so continued a streak of excellence against service academy rivals.

Defense Stands Tall

Yes, Navy gave up 476 yards of offense to Air Force, but so what? I mean, did anyone really expect the defense to hold Air Force to under 300 yards of offense? I sure didn’t, but that’s not what matters. What matters is that Navy gave up only twenty points to the Falcons, and played its best defensive game of the season. I was very much impressed with a number of individual performances on the defense, in particular the play of the front seven. Matt Wimsatt just had a monster game, and at times even looked like David Mahoney out there, while sophomore Tony Haberer looked confident and athletic in the middle of the unit. And how about Michael Walsh? After being a non-factor during the first four games of the season the junior defensive end finally came alive, recording ten tackles (8 solo, 3 tfl) while playing with excellent effort and intensity. Don’t take Coach Johnson’s words for granted, this unit really did play with passion and effort on Saturday. This was especially apparent when talking about pursuit, for even when Navy’s defenders found themselves out of the play they still hustled to the ballcarrier, and in doing so probably saved several big plays from Air Force. The key for Navy’s defensive success will continue to be contingent upon the play of the front seven, and with a promising performance against Air Force, I’m cautiously optimistic going into the second half of the season.

Players of the Game

Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada: Give Kaipo credit. After being scrutinized by fans and the media over two weeks he turned in a solid performance against Air Force, rushing for just over 100 yards and two scores. Kaipo also completed four of seven passes for 79 yards. He sure didn’t look “timid” on a 78 yard touchdown run off the option in which he blew up the angle on three Air Force defenders coming from across the field, and didn’t exactly burn out by the end of the game as he’s done in the past.

Matt Wimsatt: After having a disappointing string of games over the course of September, Matt finally stepped up with a dominating performance on Saturday afternoon. Despite being held numerous times, Matt did a great job reading and reacting to Air Force’s variable offense, and was all over the field en route to a 14 tackle day. As only one of two seniors on defense, it was imperative that Matt step up and have a big day for Navy, and that’s exactly what he did.

What this Means

Don’t overlook the importance of beating Air Force. Troy Calhoun and the Falcons had built up a whole lot of momentum early and the season and, warranted or not, looked well on their way to reestablishing the program. Navy’s win this weekend goes a long way to breaking some of that momentum, and perhaps more importantly, stems any recruiting advantage Air Force may have built up from an “on the scoreboard” basis (I say this because Air Force still has several recruiting advantages over Navy.) Most importantly though, it puts Navy back on track for the season, and gives the Midshipmen momentum heading into the middle of the season.

Picking Up the Pieces

Where do the Falcons go from here? Air Force has seemingly faded down the stretch after the rivalry game with Navy over the past five years, and after starting off 3-0 the Falcons now find themselves at 3-2. Conventional wisdom would tell us that Air Force should be able to get to 6-6 or 7-5 with the schedule they have, but after imploding down the stretch last year nothing is certain. I don’t hate Air Force with the same passion as other Navy fans do, and to tell you the truth I hope they do make it to a bowl game for Navy’s strength of schedule benefit.

Looking Ahead

Up next for Navy is Pittsburgh, a team, and a program, which has underachieved and finds itself in a state of disarray this season. After winning their first two games against Eastern Michigan and Grambling, the Panthers have dropped three straight, including devastating losses to Connecticut and Virginia, two decent, but not great teams. If you’re asking me, I’ll tell you we have a good shot against Pitt. The Panthers have suffered a host of injuries this season, and have pressed in true freshman Pat Bostick to start behind a struggling offensive line. The Panthers have imploded on defense over the past two weeks, and have yet to face an offense like Navy under the Wanstache. Still, Pitt has no shortage of talent, and with a loaded Big East conference schedule ahead of them, this is a must win situation for not only the team, but their embattled head coach.

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In case you haven’t noticed, Zerbin Singleton has been great this year. With Shun White out with an ankle injury Zerb really stepped up against the Falcons, rushing for 65 yards and a score. But numbers don’t tell the whole story for Zerb, whose second effort and refusal to be denied helped Navy pick up key first downs and keep drive momentum going…Last season Ram Vela was a slotback. This summer he was a cornerback. On Saturday he played the “raider” position, which for all intensive purposes is just a cool name for outside linebacker. He played it well too, recording six tackles on the day and showing real versatility against the run and the pass. After two missed Joey Bullen field goals I would not be surprised to see Matt Harmon start next week, that being dependent upon the status of his groin of course. That being said, if Navy needs to kick a 40+ yarder with only a few seconds left to win the game, you have got to go to the unicable ice man…Reggie Campbell’s 37 yard touchdown run was just another example of his great athletic ability. Not to take anything away from any of the other slotbacks, but he’s the only guy with the quickness, speed, and instinct to turn a run like that back to the middle of the field and score. I hate to sound like a simpleton, but a guy like that has got to get the ball more than five times in a game…