The Domecoming

All or Nothing

Pass or Fail

Right or Wrong

Good or Bad

Get it?

👍

While today wasn't the floor to ceiling & wall to wall crowd that has sometimes graced the Dome, there was an unmistakeable energy as the long-awaited elements of game day were back in effect. Nothing else on the list of positives can bypass that one.

But Dom Gonnella did his best to try & upstage the comeback. Even if his 75 yard touchdown run had not happened he would have averaged a healthy 6 yards/carry while outscoring Albany by himself. Except he did hit that home run (pun intended). And he did show feature back qualities which the school hasn't seen since John Crockett exited. It's only the first game and doubtless coach Entz will continue to employ a committee approach, but every committee needs a chairman & that position may now be solidified!

The next best thing to him was the whole defense. From the defensive line to the backend they made Albany as one-dimensional as anyone could ask for - 47 yards on the ground with only one player averaging more than 2 yards/rush with more than one attempt. When the defensive front can suffocate that effectively then then DBs can feast. The Danes passing QB finished with just over a 57% completion rate while 113 of his 183 total yards through the air (63%) went to Roy Alexander in just four catches - one being the touchdown. The limited yardage came in concert with a pair of interceptions by Destin Talbert & Dawson Weber.

As the complementary back Kobe Johnson also showed some work-horse capability with a 78 yard day on only 11 carries, with a long of 19. When he gets around the edge he's as good as anyone, but he also showed between-the-tackles toughness which belies his size. When the receivers can't do better than they did today it's important to know that the backs can carry the water!

Which is probably as good of a segue as can be made. Christian Watson will make it to the pros on his natural talent but the junior high level miss such as he had today could cost him millions of dollars. The only reaction to the failed catch, after speechlessness, was that it's the sort of play that gets guys moved from receiver to defensive back, as the old saying goes. He's had some bad ones in the past but today's just about takes the cake.

Even with that error he lead the way for the receivers in what was rudimentary debut by Quincy Patterson. He was just okay, which got the job done. I won't go so far as to say he was either good or bad primarily because the protection by the offensive line struggled mightily. The three sacks that they finished with doesn't nearly tell the story of how frequently white jersey's were in the backfield. Credit where it's due, the Danes defense could get them into the bracket but the Rams will need to be better than they were during many of the plays today.

That just about covers the ends of the spectrum, so until next time!