Tough Loss -- Over 500 words
Norfolk’s season so far has been defined by losses. The mighty Seawolf submarine seems to be stuck on the bottom of the standings. Trailing 24-0 to Kansas City at halftime and getting blanked 33-0 was rough. Going up 13-0 to London only to get blown out in the second half and lose 40-19 (the Royals’ only win on the season) might’ve been worse. But I think the toughest loss of the year so far, in my opinion, was Week 8 at home against Bondi Beach. We were flying high after pulling off a miracle upset win over Minnesota in Week 7. Our adrenaline was flowing, we were feeling more confident than we had all season. We went down 14-0 and rallied. We went down 28-19 and rallied. It was 28-26 at the 2-minute warning, but our defense couldn’t get the turnover we needed to try and drive for a game-winning field goal. Ty Knotts was devastated because he doinked an extra point off the upright when it was 14-13. On our next TD we had attempted a 2-point conversion and the rush was stuffed. Those two points ended up being the difference between losing and at least forcing overtime.
But our locker room is strong. After every loss this season, there’s no blame games, no finger-pointing, no fights. Yes, it was frustrating to come within one or two bad bounces of winning our second game in a row after knocking off the defending champions the week before. But we’re united, we build each other up, and we’re relentlessly positive. We reminded Ty that he’s been money all season long, and that there’s no such thing as an easy kick. We focused on the good: our UDFA WR Johnny Patey (@Patey) had himself a game, with a 7/67/2 statline. We’ve got not one, but two strong candidates for DRotY in Sconnie McHits (@g2019), the league leader in tackles, and Nathan Claflin (@Greenbaynathan), who had a DPotG performance with 4 tackles and a strip sack in this one! Our defensive captain Sconnie was fired up as always, and reminded all of us that even though the game didn’t go our way, we’re getting better every week, and we absolutely played well enough to win. For our part, we raved about his mastery of the open-field chase-down tackle. Probably half a dozen times a game he runs 15+ yards and closes down a ballcarrier in the secondary even before the defensive backs can get to them!
Speaking of chase-down tackles, I got some concrete proof that all the extra speed training the boss man has me doing is paying off! I ate up Bondi’s WR Kotoni Staggs at the 25-yard line late in the first quarter to save a touchdown! Two plays later Claflin forced a turnover and we got the ball back! It was probably my most impactful play of the season so far. I only had two more tackles, but they were both critical, last-man-standing type plays that, as a safety, are my responsibility to make. I’ve made it no secret that I’ve been disappointed with my stats and level of play this season, so seeing some real improvement in my game film, even in a loss, was incredibly reassuring.
It gets discouraging to lose so much. It was discouraging to lose a heartbreaker to a division rival. But we’re Seawolf Strong, and we’ll never give up. That’s why this is the best locker room in the league. The results aren’t quite there yet, but we know we’re getting better every week. Watch us!
Norfolk’s season so far has been defined by losses. The mighty Seawolf submarine seems to be stuck on the bottom of the standings. Trailing 24-0 to Kansas City at halftime and getting blanked 33-0 was rough. Going up 13-0 to London only to get blown out in the second half and lose 40-19 (the Royals’ only win on the season) might’ve been worse. But I think the toughest loss of the year so far, in my opinion, was Week 8 at home against Bondi Beach. We were flying high after pulling off a miracle upset win over Minnesota in Week 7. Our adrenaline was flowing, we were feeling more confident than we had all season. We went down 14-0 and rallied. We went down 28-19 and rallied. It was 28-26 at the 2-minute warning, but our defense couldn’t get the turnover we needed to try and drive for a game-winning field goal. Ty Knotts was devastated because he doinked an extra point off the upright when it was 14-13. On our next TD we had attempted a 2-point conversion and the rush was stuffed. Those two points ended up being the difference between losing and at least forcing overtime.
But our locker room is strong. After every loss this season, there’s no blame games, no finger-pointing, no fights. Yes, it was frustrating to come within one or two bad bounces of winning our second game in a row after knocking off the defending champions the week before. But we’re united, we build each other up, and we’re relentlessly positive. We reminded Ty that he’s been money all season long, and that there’s no such thing as an easy kick. We focused on the good: our UDFA WR Johnny Patey (@Patey) had himself a game, with a 7/67/2 statline. We’ve got not one, but two strong candidates for DRotY in Sconnie McHits (@g2019), the league leader in tackles, and Nathan Claflin (@Greenbaynathan), who had a DPotG performance with 4 tackles and a strip sack in this one! Our defensive captain Sconnie was fired up as always, and reminded all of us that even though the game didn’t go our way, we’re getting better every week, and we absolutely played well enough to win. For our part, we raved about his mastery of the open-field chase-down tackle. Probably half a dozen times a game he runs 15+ yards and closes down a ballcarrier in the secondary even before the defensive backs can get to them!
Speaking of chase-down tackles, I got some concrete proof that all the extra speed training the boss man has me doing is paying off! I ate up Bondi’s WR Kotoni Staggs at the 25-yard line late in the first quarter to save a touchdown! Two plays later Claflin forced a turnover and we got the ball back! It was probably my most impactful play of the season so far. I only had two more tackles, but they were both critical, last-man-standing type plays that, as a safety, are my responsibility to make. I’ve made it no secret that I’ve been disappointed with my stats and level of play this season, so seeing some real improvement in my game film, even in a loss, was incredibly reassuring.
It gets discouraging to lose so much. It was discouraging to lose a heartbreaker to a division rival. But we’re Seawolf Strong, and we’ll never give up. That’s why this is the best locker room in the league. The results aren’t quite there yet, but we know we’re getting better every week. Watch us!
![[Image: michigan.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/michigan.gif)
