BY BOB HERZOG
Defense was the order of the day at Massapequa on Thursday morning, as coach Pat Nolan read from a couple of scripts.
“Down and distance” and “goal line” were the titles and that may not sound too exciting, but for the Chiefs’ coach, those chapters were must reading. His team was solid on defense in going 4-4 last season, but failed in some key situations. To challenge for the playoffs again in tough Nassau Conference I, Nolan knows he’s got to be better on third down.
“Especially third-and-long. We struggled there last year,” he said. “It was one of those things where our players were a little confused in those situations and that’s our [the coaches’] fault. So we’ve downsized our packages. We’re concentrating on getting better at less – fewer fronts and coverages. This year, we’re really emphasizing third-down defense.”
On Thursday, Nolan and his staff could be heard yelling out, “third-and-nine” or “three-and-eight” repeatedly during team drills. Starting quarterback Rob Von Bargen, who stands 6-8 and stood out even more in his red practice jersey when everyone else was dressed in blue, worked with a variety of offensive groups in running plays against the first defensive unit.
When Von Bargen turned a pitchout into a big gain on third-and-nine in one sequence, Nolan snapped in disgust, “First down, touchdown! We can’t let that happen this year. We’ve got to be a better team on third down.”
The coach is hopeful that the return of middle linebacker Sean Slattery (above fending off a blocker) will help. Slattery broke his leg in Game 2 against Farmingdale last year, and missed the rest of the season. He’s been in the middle of the action since practice began and calls signals for an experienced defense that also features free safety Dan Ebbeke and tackles Jim Peterson and Chris Vitrano.
“We want to be runners and hitters this year, not thinkers,” Nolan said. In other words, it’s time for Massapequa to write a new script.