PHILADELPHIA — After Action has just received a text message from a Pentagon contractor of our acquaintance that reads, and I quote: “go army beat navy.” Got something to say? Ping us at pewing[at]navytimes.com or mhoffman[at]armytimes.com or leave a comment on any of our thousands of live posts from the game. What’s the game look like from where you are?
Browsing: Army-Navy game
A Navy officer sitting in the press box just turned to an Army cadet and suggested he recommend to the West Point Superintendent that the referee be nominated for a distinguished service medal. The ref just called back another long completion by the Naval Academy with a holding call. Those two penalties have nullified at least 100 yards receiving by Navy that have helped keep the Mids scoreless.
PHILADELPHIA — If you’re watching the game on TV, you can probably see this better than we can, but Navy’s players are each wearing the patch from a unit from somewhere in the Navy and Marine Corps. These could be ships, submarines, or aviation squadrons, and players draw the patches they’re wearing from a pool sent in from all over the fleet, said Naval Academy spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter. For example, junior quarterback Ricky “The Magic Man” Dobbs chose a patch from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 6, the “Indians,” which specifically wanted to honor the sailors aboard a helicopter it lost…
Army kicker Alex Carlson broke a 7-quarter scoreless streak as he put Army in the lead 3-0 with a 23-yard field goal. Army was shut out last year and it’s Army’s first lead over the Midshipmen since the first quarter of their 2006 meeting. The field goal was set up by Army linebacker Steve Erzinger’s interception of Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs. Erzinger returned it to the Navy 13, but Army was unable to punch it in the end zone, gaining only 6 yards. On third down Army quarterback Trent Steelman lofted a pass to his 6-foot-10 inch wide receiver Alejandro…
PHILADELPHIA — We’re well underway with this year’s battle down on the gridiron, but something has caused consternation high up here in the press box — the announcement between plays that the players need to take a “media time-out.” It’s really a “TV time-out,” so CBS can break away from the game to do promos for, at the moment, David Letterman’s show, and the hacks and broadcast types up here don’t like the notion that fans in the stadium think we’re the ones stopping the game. Incidentally, now the Army cadets are bouncing around an actual beach ball in their…
PHILADELPHIA — Army missed a golden opportunity to strike first as the Black Knights drove to the Navy 30. The drive stalled though when Navy stuffed the Army running back on 3rd and 5. The Army kicker then missed a 47-yard field goal attempt wide right. The missed kick hurts Army in two ways; they lost a chance to take the first lead, and give Navy good field position on the 30. Thus far, though, Army doesn’t look intimidated by the heavily favored Midshipmen. Army’s defense held Navy to a three-and-out on their first possession, bottling up Ricky Dobbs and…
PHILADELPHIA — Well, maybe the cadets brought their own version of Bill’s head to cause a disturbance — a classic diversionary tactic — because I can see the real Bill the Goat on the field along with Navy’s cheerleaders and a line of midshipmen. And, as I’ve been typing this, Navy won the game’s opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball when the action gets started in just a few minutes. Not only that, a flight of four Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys just flew over — and the Midshipmen have taken the field — and now the Black…
PHILADELPHIA — Here’s something that could be a good sign for Army: Remember those controversial camouflage uniforms they wore in last year’s match-up against Navy? Observers given to unkind wisecracks said the green-and-brown pattern made the Black Knights’ receivers blend in with the field so much that the quarterback couldn’t see them well enough to complete any passes. Well, those are gone. This year Army’s players have donned much more traditional gold and white uniforms, which make for a good contrast against Navy’s blue — although the players on both teams are sporting gold helmets. The story we keep hearing…
PHILADELPHIA — The wind off the river in the parking lot outside is just as cold as it was in Washington, but here it carries the aroma of grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. Although the crowd of cadets and midshipmen looks pretty filled in, civilian fans are still tailgating outside with about an hour left to go before kickoff; the stadium’s outdoor speakers were blasting Guns ‘n Roses’ “Paradise City” when we walked in. I haven’t seen any of Navy’s incendiary “beat Army” shirts yet here in the stadium, although I did see what the Army fans are wearing, and…
Coach Rich Ellerson has Army’s football program on the path to respectability. He’s already won more games this season than any other Army team has won in a single season this decade. However, Navy has already reached that mountain top. A season with less than eight wins is a disappointment to this program. Winners of seven games in a row over Army, Navy is a 14-point favorite this year. We here at After Action are predicting Navy to make it eight in a row — though the game will be closer than the experts predict. Navy has won by an…
