43
Thunder strive to eliminate mistakes
Make no mistake about it, the Thunder must eliminate mistakes.
That’s the word from Chris MacKeown, new coach of the af2 team that has lost eight straight games.
Although the task falls on MacKeown, he’s only been in town for one defeat.
The players who were here for the previous seven bear the burden of reversing the slide.
Of course, throw injuries and personnel changes into the mix and it boils down to a week-to-week challenge that compounds hopelessness.
But the solution is not to sulk.
Like the lame man in the Bible who threw away his crutches and walked, the Thunder should discard its handicaps — mental and physical mistakes, penalties and missed opportunities — and get on its feet again.
Instead of turnovers, could this week’s game in Milwaukee be the turning point?
“If we could play against the Iron like we played the second half of the Lexington [Kentucky Horsemen] game, then it’ll be a competitive game down to the end and then whoever manages the clock better in the last minute and makes plays will win,” MacKeown said.
He reiterated an earlier comment describing the nearness of a different outcome against Kentucky, score-wise.
“Even with all those mistakes and that kicked ball [a nullified touchdown after illegally kicking a fumble to gain control], we’re within seven,” MacKeown said of what could have been late in the game had Mahoning Valley not fallen behind in the first quarter. “Lexington scored the last TD with a few seconds left and made it look worse than it really was.
“So, we need to play [against the Iron] like we did [against the Horsemen] in the second half, not the first half.”
MacKeown has installed an offense different from his predecessors.
“In arena, there are two types of offenses: PoCo and Pig. They’re kind of like two different families of offenses. We run the Pig,” he said of the new system that is a departure from the PoCo used by previous coach Mike Hold and previous offensive coordinator Andy Kelly.
He said PoCo stands for post or corner.
“It’s an option read on a post or a corner route. The Pig doesn’t let a receiver check post or corner because, in my opinion, it takes too long for the quarterback to read it,” said MacKeown.
The downside is that, with no option, the defense’s job is simplified.
“They’re going to get us,” MacKeown said of the risk. “Sometimes, they’re going to cover everything, whereas, the PoCo, maybe you have the option of [doing this or that] but the quarterback has to hold onto the ball a little longer. We want to get it out quicker.”
The Thunder, however, will still have options as it approaches the goal line.
“Because of the limited space and shorter time it takes to cover that space, we will give more option routes.”
While the objective is to reduce the time a ball is held, Blake Powers had numerous throwaway passes against Kentucky.
At least 20 passes landed in the bleachers last Saturday at the Covelli Centre.
Excessive?
“Yes,” said MacKeown, “especially the one on fourth down.”
He said he told Powers, “Don’t throw it away, throw it off the net, who knows what could happen. On fourth down, you don’t throw it away. Third down, second down, OK, because we can’t be stupid with the ball and we can come back and give ourselves one or two more plays, but, on fourth down, we’ve got to take our chances.”
One positive sign against Kentucky was Mahoning Valley’s time of possession, especially in the second, third and fourth quarters, which amounted to nearly 15 minutes more than the Horsemen.
bassetti@vindy.com
SEE ALSO: New terminology and more players.