Predictions?
- Thread starter GilliamRatings
- Start date
Same Bird team that everyone said was "down" after we beat them. Maybe we aren't as bad as people think!! I said Bird would beat a tough out after we played them. It's hard to replicate that physicality in a weeks time.
When I got up here to talk about our win over Bird it was a lot of talk about how Bird isn't the same and its a down Bird team. It was thrown around and I said watch out for Bird because even though they are "down" they will be tough to beat.
Bird being "down" this year was one of the top themes on the message boards along with:
Salem is awesome!The 4A South will destroy the 4A North!Courtland's offense is unstoppable!Powhatan and Louisa are incredible and only getting better in the coming years!Can anyone beat Centreville/Westfield/Ocean Lakes/Oscar Smith?
I wish I had saved all the "Bird is 'down'" posts over the years on VirginiaPreps and then we could look at the final result of the season/game and see if they were right and the Skyhawks had a bad year.
They win muddy, they win sweaty, they win bloody, they win despite penalties, one thing they don't do is win pretty. Maybe that deceives a lot of people who go to see them the first time and expect to see pretty boys and track stars running plays choreographed like a Broadway musical. It's kind of shocking to see a team in the I-formation and just block it and open holes in this day age. That's not supposed to be possible any more.
It'll all end one day, and maybe it'll be next year, but I don't have the guts to predict it. I say the day I see Bird's line stand up and push and back up at the snap, is the day it'll be over, but I don't foresee that for a while.
They win muddy, they win sweaty, they win bloody, they win despite penalties, one thing they don't do is win pretty. Maybe that deceives a lot of people who go to see them the first time and expect to see pretty boys and track stars running plays choreographed like a Broadway musical. It's kind of shocking to see a team in the I-formation and just block it and open holes in this day age. That's not supposed to be possible any more.
It'll all end one day, and maybe it'll be next year, but I don't have the guts to predict it. I say the day I see Bird's line stand up and push and back up at the snap, is the day it'll be over, but I don't foresee that for a while.
They graduated a lot. It takes a little time to get in playoff form. Lake Taylor, Manchester, Highland Springs, Hermitage and Thomas Dale are great teams and nobody claims Bird should beat them more often than not if they played this year, but nobody denies that Bird was in the game with all these teams and capable of beating them if a ball bounced right here or there. If you're good enough to play with those three teams, then you're a threat in the playoffs.
Unless you're truly special (see Dinwiddie last year for an example), you're going to have to win those games in the playoffs a time or two, and Bird has been lucky (blessed? determined?) so far to win those games in the playoffs the past three years.
24-20 over Hermitage when they were down 20-10 with 4 minutes to play started off their run.
7-3 win over Salem last year with a blocked field goal with around 3 minutes to play setting up their only score.
14-10 win over Ocean Lakes, where one long run in the first half and a great defensive play in the final two minutes got it done.
35-28 over an amazing Briar Woods team that had them down 15 at the half, and which required their QB to set a passing record with a broken collarbone to get the win.
The magic looked like it was continuing when they got the Hail Mary against Dale, but Lake Taylor had the heart to stop them short by a few inches on 4th down to seal up the win and Manchester had Mary on their side. Was Bird really any worse in those two games than they were in those previous close playoff wins? No. It's a game of inches and they had a nice streak of winning some by inches.
Bird's magic returned with a 25-23 win on a last minute field goal against Highland Springs. Did that field goal prove Bird was better? What if it bounced off the upright and didn't go through? Is that enough to say one team is better than the other? Nope. I used to tell people when they got mad at me over the Gilliam Ratings that they read too much into close wins and losses.
Unless you're truly special (see Dinwiddie last year for an example), you're going to have to win those games in the playoffs a time or two, and Bird has been lucky (blessed? determined?) so far to win those games in the playoffs the past three years.
24-20 over Hermitage when they were down 20-10 with 4 minutes to play started off their run.
7-3 win over Salem last year with a blocked field goal with around 3 minutes to play setting up their only score.
14-10 win over Ocean Lakes, where one long run in the first half and a great defensive play in the final two minutes got it done.
35-28 over an amazing Briar Woods team that had them down 15 at the half, and which required their QB to set a passing record with a broken collarbone to get the win.
The magic looked like it was continuing when they got the Hail Mary against Dale, but Lake Taylor had the heart to stop them short by a few inches on 4th down to seal up the win and Manchester had Mary on their side. Was Bird really any worse in those two games than they were in those previous close playoff wins? No. It's a game of inches and they had a nice streak of winning some by inches.
Bird's magic returned with a 25-23 win on a last minute field goal against Highland Springs. Did that field goal prove Bird was better? What if it bounced off the upright and didn't go through? Is that enough to say one team is better than the other? Nope. I used to tell people when they got mad at me over the Gilliam Ratings that they read too much into close wins and losses.
Similar threads
