Maybe the rickety, old triple-option of the past wasn’t such a horse-and-buggy offense for Air Force after all.
As the Falcons reach the halfway mark of their season Saturday against UNLV, AFA coach Troy Calhoun issued a call earlier this week for better execution and more touchdowns from the “new” approach that has taken Air Force to a 3-2 record, but also consecutive losses to BYU and Navy.
A comparison with last year’s team at this point in the season reveals a scoring outage – 126 in 2006 and 100 so far this season. Ryan Harrison already has attempted 13 field goals this season, while Zach Sasser attempted 14 all of 2006. Last year, the Falcons also were 3-2 after five games.
This year’s team hasn’t been close to last year in efficiency when getting inside the 20-yard line. The comparisons after five games show last year’s team collected points on 18-of-19 trips into the red zone, and 14 of the scores were touchdowns. This year, the Falcons are 14-of-19, with 10 touchdowns.
Quarterback Shaun Carney has been through it all and believes his unit is comfortable with the new offense.
“We struggled in the red zone last week,” Carney said. “We were thinking too hard against BYU. We had put in a lot of new plays and we weren’t as sharp. We played real fast against Navy and had a couple of missed assignments on a couple of plays. We’ve worked out a lot of those things.”
Calhoun said after Wednesday’s practice that there has to be improvement now.
“This Saturday is a real big game for us in terms of the kind of season we’re going to have,” Calhoun said. “We’re in a conference race that we have a chance to jump right in the middle of. … If we want to get back on our feet, this is a game where it has to happen.”
Calhoun said he didn’t know if comparing the first five games from last year and this year was “completely apples to apples” but said he wanted the Falcons to play their best football in the second half of the season.
“We can’t be a team that stops growing,” Calhoun said. “If we come out any day a little bit bored, we’re in trouble. We have to get better (in the red zone). There’s no such thing as a new system now on either side of the ball.”
Calhoun has a list of demands as the Falcons roll into the second half.
“I want to see us lead the league in fewest turnovers, fewest penalties and I want to see us lead the league in fewest missed assignments – you can’t chart that from team to team,” he said. “And I want to see us lead the league in playing the hardest.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
