GFR Reflection:  The case for complimentary football

If Kent State has any chance to be competitive in and ultimately win games in the Mid-American Conference this season, they must play true complimentary, team football.  This version of the Flashes will not win games the way the ‘FlashFAST’ Sean Lewis era did, with shootout scores of the 48-42 variety.

This is the KentGRIT era.  And if Kenni Burns and his staff can get his team to play “for each other, instead of with one another” and truly buy into complimentary football, they can improve and show progress.

What is complimentary football?  It’s all three phases of the game working together and supporting each other.  The offense does their part, the defense holds up their end of the deal and the special teams is the glue that pieces it all together, and sometimes decides a game one way or the other.

“We got to play complimentary football,” Burns said after the game Saturday.  “The first half the defense was doing solid, besides we gave up a kick which is unacceptable, but you take that away it’s a seven point game going into halftime, but we did some things that are not like us, the targeting penalty, the punt, the stuff that we can control that we didn’t do a good job with so we’ve got a lot to learn from.” 

Offensively the Flashes will need to run the ball, period.  Running the ball controls the clock, sustains drives and puts the team in favorable down and distances.  It also allows a defense that was on the field way too much last year, time to rest.  The best way to defend a potent opposing offense is keep them on the sideline.

Defensively the Flashes need to do their part.  Getting stops, but most importantly not giving up big plays and having a “bend but don’t break” mentality.  No missed assignments, don’t give the other team anything easy.  Oh, and takeaways.  Kent State must fly around and force turnovers.  They had two Saturday, but could have had a few more.  Burns preaches “the ball is the program” and the Flashes must go get it.  If the defense is placed in a bad situation by the offense with a ‘sudden change’ turnover, they’ve got to hold up.  If the offense scores, like a pitcher in baseball, the defense has to go out and put a zero up on the board.

Special teams wise on Saturday the Flashes giveth and they taketh away.  A punt return score given up after a missed tackle early in the game was embarrassing.  But a forced fumble by true freshmen Nylan Brown and a score by Naim Muhammed on a KSU punt was a nice jolt of energy for the sideline.  Kent should be solid on special teams with returners all over.  The hope is in MAC play when the games are hopefully close, the Flashes will have an edge over most.

“I do believe you make your biggest jump from week one to week two, but this is a talented football team and I’m not afraid to run away from that after this score,” Burns said.  “They’ve got to put it together and find out how to play complimentary football, play for each other and come back and respond next week.  Bottom line.”

The other thing that playing true complimentary football does is it limits resentment among the units, something that was rumored to have happened during the Lewis era because the ‘Flash FAST’ mantra seemingly only applied to the offense.

Complimentary football.  It’s the only chance the Flashes have this year to be an improved football team.  After all, the T in Grit stands for together.