Graham at Union
- Thread starter 19GHS87
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The star for Union is the 50, or so, man roster, that straps on the chin strap and hits you. They are coached well and follow that direction with confidence. I'm sure Graham had a fine season and I can see the flashes of their talent, but Union defended the spread ok today.
Someone had posted that if the QB could hit his fly pattern passes today then they would have a chance. He missed two wide open, and I mean wide open receivers in the first quarter that could have changed the game. He didn't and that is no disrespect to him. It was blustery to start the game and he had the wind to his back, just should have put more air under those two passes.
Constant pressure from the Union D-line, I'm sure played into some of his misfortune. He was hit hard several times.
Hope everyone made it home safely to Bluefield. I'm sure we will meet again in years to come.
Someone had posted that if the QB could hit his fly pattern passes today then they would have a chance. He missed two wide open, and I mean wide open receivers in the first quarter that could have changed the game. He didn't and that is no disrespect to him. It was blustery to start the game and he had the wind to his back, just should have put more air under those two passes.
Constant pressure from the Union D-line, I'm sure played into some of his misfortune. He was hit hard several times.
Hope everyone made it home safely to Bluefield. I'm sure we will meet again in years to come.
Cooke is very good, he just didn't have chance to show it today. Allen (one of toughest QBs I've seen, he took an absolute beating and never quit) missed him early when he was open and then he didn't have many other chances.
I thought 29, Vineyard, the LB, was Grahams best player today, but I don't think anyone there was as good as Cooke was all season.
I thought 29, Vineyard, the LB, was Grahams best player today, but I don't think anyone there was as good as Cooke was all season.
You wouldn't know that Cooke is the star player because he got 4 to 5 touches all game. The O coordinator split him out wide where he was double teamed all night, didn't out him in motion or anything. The kid has 13 D1 offers and you basically use him as a decoy all night? I understand getting others involved, but putting him all the way to the sideline on 95 percent of the plays was not smart. Don't get me wrong, Union deserved the win, but that was a head scratcher to me. I've been to every Graham game this season. Cooke is the best athlete on the field for them. Allen is good, but you have to use Cooke for more than just stretching the field. Out him in motion or something, don't allow him to be bumped and double teamed and have the sideline as a third defender. Yes Union did a good job on him, but the O coordinator for Graham limited him too. Maybe that was the plan, to take away an extra defender to cover Cooke and try to beat Union with your other players. However, if I have a kid with interest from the likes of Michigan State, WVU, etc. I get him the ball any way I can. I throw it to him, hand it off to him, head bump it to him, whatever it takes. Seeing him basically being used to stretch the defense was very frustrating. Get the ball to your stud, Union sure got the ball to their stud.
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38th ranked player in the state. Offers from 3 of the 5 D1 Power 5 conferences
Union wasn't really doubling him, just made sure the FS, most often Mitchell was shaded to his side playing the deep zone. I thought Qualls, #10 for Union, did a good job on Cooke. The sideline for sure helped, but Qualls was never burnt badly or out of position.
True.. for the most part. But on Graham's first possession cooke got 10 yards behind #10 and Allen still threw it 10 yards too far lol
Yeah Cooke had a step or two on Qualls there, an accurate pass would've been a TD.
The other time Allen missed him deep was bc Mitchell made a slight mistake and allowed Cooke to get behind him, but it would've been a tougher pass to complete.
Sucks being a decoy especially when he knows he could have done way more. That's a feeling we know all too well. Good luck to all the boys moving to the next level.
Yes. Over and done with, I'm an expert coach from the stands. Credit to where it is due and that is to the Union Bears. Beat Graham in every phase of the game today. Came prepared to do battle and executed a great game plan. Good luck to Union the rest of the way.
Didn't talk to you after the Grayson Graham game but I was scratching my head with Grayson's play calling. I didn't watch any film on Grayson beforehand but midway through the first quarter I could've called out every play before it was ran. On the pick 6 early in the first half that was the first time a WR split out wide.. everybody knew where the ball was going. Then late in the game they decided to split them out and throw it to #2 and #82.. and what do ya know.. it worked. That had to be disappointing
If you only knew bud. Can't really say much on here but no one really knows what we ( myself and 82) have been through this season. Although our season is over #82 is now in the VHSL record book for career receiving yards. #4 with 3118 total. Would really like to converse more with you about football just not on here. Thanks bud.
Great game that we made the trip frim G-Land and down to Big Stone to a cool atmosphere. The game was similar in form to what I saw of Graham and Glenvar scrimmage and Richlands. As I warned you Graham fans in August and hinted subtly, you have a QB problem. It's an issue because hes flashy and fast and smooth, so fans "buy in". He in fact, is unable to make reads and simply can not throw the ball accurately over 10 yds. I told you in the Glenvar scrimmage, #4 or 6# should be your QB (I forget the number). This tells me, you have an offensive coaching problem when he' been the QB for 13 weeks. Its not all bad for Graham's QB though. I think hes a Div 1 type talent at WR. Hes that athletic, and his career is being destroyed by Grahams Coaching staff playing him at QB. Also, Grahams hopes next year will end a similar way if he remains the QB. Thus is my take from watching the game. For Union, very well coached and much better coached than Graham. The lineplay is as good as Poqouson's, but not better. I think Union has much, much more team speed and athleticism than most realize. I was impressed with that as much as their size and strength. Mitchell is the real deal and everything as advertised and so was Grahams Cooke. The Cooke kid will be a lockdown corner at the next level and a potential All American type player in the secondary. He tackles as well as he covers. As for Mitchell, I think this kid is insanely good and also a star at the next level. As for Union and Appo, I'll take Appo by 10 points at Union. Why? The Appo Line will give just enough time to allow WRs to get open and the Appo QB is a QB, not an athlete, and in the Big Show, he will throw it on the money, not an overthrow by 10 yds. Additionally, Appos DL is slightly better than Grahams and will limit Union to under 200 rushing yds. Finally, Appo is far better coached than 99% of teams in Va and that will be the difference. Appo 24, Union 14.
I won't put the blame on the QB for Graham. 90% of the blame for that poor showing is due to the lack of Graham's offensive coordinator to make adjustments or to game plan against good opponents. I've already talked about the O coordinator effectively taking his best player out of the game. If Graham wants to take the next step, they need to get somebody else in there running that offense.
I hate it for you guys, but that's still a heck of a career. Congrats to him and good luck wherever he ends up playing on saturdays
Thanks bud. Wise is on him hard. Came to the school yesterday and sat down with him.
Overlooked on Graham's team is the unselfish play of the point guard Drew Baker. He is a very unselfish player who is a great floor general. Not overly athletic, just very solid fundamentally, makes a lot of the other players look better. Graham won't have a lot of size underneath, unless the kid from Philly is playing. I hear he is a big body, but not much if a skill player, but would be a good glass cleaner. There are a couple of kids from the football team. 6'6" and 6'7" that would be nice addition to the team, I know that at least one of those guys has played some basketball.
