Dec. 18, 2009

Tired of watching DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles run through, around and past New York Giants defenders, I reached for the remote last Sunday night and turned to the same game I had witnessed in person the previous day.

Though live, the Giants-Eagles matchup merely determined the pole position in the race for the NFC East title. The replay that replaced it on my screen was of something much more meaningful. Instantly, agitation - over blown coverages and shoddy tackling - was replaced by admiration.

Thirty hours earlier I was in Philadelphia, at that stadium on TV, trying to recreate the scene on radio. Now, here I was listening to Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson calling that same game, as it was being re-aired on CBS College Sports.

At the same time, I was treated to what I could not see the day before, particularly some of the wonderful sideline shots of Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo relying on his ears, not eyes to tell him what was happening.

Unable to bear the sight of it, he looked away from the action, listening for the crowd to indicate whether Joe Buckley's 3rd-quarter field goal was good. In his white mock turtle neck, beneath the puffy blue parka, he did the same later in the 4th quarter; pointing the bill of his white visor toward the ground and allowing the roar of Navy fans to confirm a Ricky Dobbs' touchdown dive.

Priceless. The kind of stuff you enjoy when accorded the various camera angles of network television, instead of the static sight lines available from the Lincoln Financial Field radio booths.

But whether there live, or here on tape, I saw Army-Navy the same way. Just as I always do.

And exactly as Niumatalolo did when he declared that Army-Navy isn't "just the biggest rivalry in college football," it's the "biggest rivalry in sports."

Niumatalolo said so from beneath the stands, in a press conference following a 17-3 victory for the Midshipmen in their 110th encounter with the Black Knights. By then, he'd already reminded us why Army-Navy should be our most treasured rivalry too.

He did it partly through the words he spoke to CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson immediately after the game. And mostly with the sniffling that preceded the frequent pauses needed to compose himself.

"I have the utmost respect for both of these of these teams...," said Niumatalolo, fighting back tears and speaking from the heart - the only way, really, to talk about Army-Navy.

When his voice wasn't trailing off - the way it does when the emotion of the moment allows you only to punctuate your sentences by swallowing to catch your breath - Niumatalolo praised all of the young men in uniform, and spoke of his love and particular pride for the ones in Navy blue.

From West Point or Annapolis, he told us, those citizen soldiers on the field volunteered to be there when our nation was at war.

"It means everything...," Niumatalolo began, when Wolfson asked what another win over Army meant to the Naval Academy, before choking up again. "These kids will be in h..."

Taking a second to collect himself, Niumatalolo finished the thought.

"These kids are going to protect us in Afghanistan and Iraq...both these teams," he said. "I've got great, great respect for these young men. This is just a football game...I mean, that's all it is. But there's a bigger picture and I couldn't be more proud of our young men."

Niumatalolo has a much better view, extremely up close and far more personal than most. Nonetheless, most of the rest of us - because of that bigger picture - see Army-Navy much the same way. We watch it with tremendous mutual respect for young men who play for the glory of their teams, academies and branches of service.

As games go, this one means everything. But only because of everything it entails, from the pure passion with which it's played to the prevailing purpose shared by Mids and Cadets.

Even when Niumatalolo couldn't quite say it, he said it perfectly.

Regretfully, there were other things better left unsaid in the build-up to Saturday. Whether to psych themselves up or psych their opponent out, several Black Knights struck raw nerves of Midshipmen by openly discussing what it would be like "when" - not "if" - they beat Navy this year. Most blasphemous was the word chosen by a Cadet reserve to characterize Navy: "Soft."

Niumatalolo alluded to that pregame chatter, while doing his own pregame talking on radio ("Some of the things that have been said have inspired our young men..."). Dobbs did the same in a post-game interview, while describing Navy's mindset before its game-altering drive to start the second half ("They were saying we were soft in the papers, so we just wanted to see if we were soft or not...").

For any event, such silliness is superfluous at best. It's the kind of stuff you expect to hear at a weigh-in to hype some middleweight boxing match. In football, it's best to remember that for every Joe Namath there have been dozens of Freddie Mitchells.

Granted, that when-not-if attitude likely reflects - with good reason - the renewed sense of confidence instilled by Army's first-year head coach Rich Ellerson. One win away from their first bowl game in 13 years, the Black Knights are much improved.

They were well prepared, quick and physical on defense last Saturday. And with the likes of Andrew Rodriguez, Steve Erzinger and Josh McNary, they'll only be stronger a year from now.

With plebe Trent Steelman at quarterback, behind an inexperienced line, the Cadets seemed to be picking up their new offense while cutting down on mistakes as the season waned on. A second spring under Ellerson and coordinator Ian Shields should make them much more efficient, and proficient, in the fall of 2010.

As broadcaster for and a lifetime fan of Navy, who pulls for Army in every game except the regular season finale, I can see it. I just wish we hadn't heard or read some of what we did before hand.

The Black Knights are better than that. Army-Navy is bigger than that. The Midshipmen deserve more than that.

For seven straight years now, they have swept their academy rivals, extending their Commander-In-Chief's streak to 15 consecutive wins. Eight of them over Army were decided by an average margin of 27 points. With each, the Mids entered with quiet confidence and emerged as gracious victors.

Paul Johnson presided over the building of this academy dynasty. Niumatalolo has helped sustain it. On their watch, Navy has annually reloaded rather than rebuilt. As most evidenced by its highest-profile positions.

Start at quarterback, where Dobbs is the seventh in as many seasons to lead the Mids to a bowl game. Often during that stretch, if one was felled by injury, another was ready to spell him. Like when Kris Proctor stood in for an October win over Wake Forest; just as Dobbs once filled in for Jarod Bryant, who once replaced Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who once took over for Brian Hampton.

The chain has also gone unbroken at fullback; where Kyle Eckel begot Adam Ballard, who begot Eric Kettani, who begot Vince Murray. In Murray's case, he opened as a backup to Alex Teich, totaled seven carries the first three games and sat out the 11th contest. Still, he is within 75 yards of becoming Navy's first fullback to rush for 1,000 yards since Eckel in 2004.

Breakthroughs like Murray's - reflecting the player-development skills of Navy coaches - have annually offset significant personnel losses.

Consider what the offense overcame at the skill positions after last year. Kaheaku-Enhada, as fluid an option quarterback as any was elected to the 50th Anniversary All-Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium team. In addition, the trio of Kettani, Shun White and Tyree Barnes were talented enough to be signed by current NFL division leader New England.

That's four players, accounting for more than 2,300 rushing yards and nearly half of the Mids' reception total from 2008. Gone but not forgotten. Nor, it turns out, irreplaceable. Those Mids averaged 27.2 points per game. This year's Mids average 27.5 points per game.

Defensively, the same group that kept Notre Dame's high-octane offense out of the end zone on four of six drives inside Navy's 20-yard line, didn't allow an Army touchdown for the third straight year.

What's truly amazing is how the Mids defended a seemingly shrinking field. Of the Black Knights' first five possessions, four originated outside their 40-yard line; including a series set up by an interception returned to the Mids' 12. That `drive' - four plays, six yards - led to Army's lone score, a field goal.

As well as it's performed, worth remembering is the blow this unit absorbed back in August. That's when Nate Frazier, arguably the Mids' most valuable defender, as anchor of their interior, was separated from the Academy.

On a related note, you might have noticed this week that Massachusetts defensive back Jeromy Miles was named First Team FCS All-America. Three years ago, he lettered as a plebe in Annapolis.

Both occur to me, much less to wonder "what if" than to underscore how truly solid the state of the program remains. Thanks to the players who remain, and the men who coach them.

Like Buddy Green. His defense was impeccable against run-oriented rivals Air Force and Army, allowing only 16 total points, an average of 146.5 yards rushing and an 18 percent (6-for-32) conversion rate on 3rd down.

But as good as those numbers look, his coaching influence is, perhaps, best demonstrated simply by watching the way Blake Carter and Kevin Edwards position themselves to defend against the pass. There aren't many NFL cornerbacks possessing better technique.

I certainly didn't see any in the Giants' secondary on Sunday.

Or, you can see it at linebacker; in the annual improvement of insiders Ross Pospisil, Tony Haberer and Tyler Simmons; and through the outside resourcefulness of Craig Schaeffer and Ram Vela.

The list goes on; at other positions, in other phases.

For example, Navy beat Air Force on an overtime field goal by Joe Buckley, who cured an early-season case of hiccups at Pittsburgh to deliver time and again while others watched with bated breath. A worthy successor to reliable Matt Harmon, Buckley joined Geoff Blumenfield and Joey Bullen, who also converted game-winning kicks to prolong the Mids' seven-game winning streak over the Falcons.

Snapper, holder, kicker. Year after year, different Midshipmen. Similar results.

Since 2003, the Mids are 60-29 (.674) overall, winning more games than all but 16 Division I teams. A fourth of those Navy victories occurred at the expense of BCS conference members. No non-BCS school has more.

At 9-4, the '09 Mids can tie the Academy record for most wins in a season, despite one of the most rigorous schedules in recent memory.

Two of their first three games were at Ohio State and Pittsburgh; one of whom is in the Rose Bowl, the other was a play away from a BCS bowl. Both were fast, physical opponents - the kind capable of inflicting enough residual damage to affect a much smaller team like Navy for weeks to come.

But that didn't happen, even as the Mids played 11 consecutive weeks without a bye.

On the season's eighth Saturday, without two of its three leading rushers, banged-up Navy still defeated an experienced ACC opponent in Wake Forest. Two weeks later, with a reconfigured offensive line, the Mids capped mid-term exam week by beating then nationally-ranked Notre Dame.

For its 14th game, Navy encounters Missouri, an 8-4 team with a potent passing attack and highly-rated rushing defense, in the Texas Bowl on December 31.

The following day will mark a new year. And the Midshipmen will quietly and confidently move on to 2010.