MANATEE 42 SARASOTA 20 FINAL

[gatorman001]

So when I got home and came through the door, the wife and I had a brief conversation about the game. She asked who won and what was the score, and after a I responded to her 2 questions, she asked one more follow-up question. "So Manatee is good this year?" My response was as follows: "I wouldn't necessarily say good at this point, but just say they're better than last year's team" She then makes this statement before heading off to bed, "Well that isn't saying much, when you consider how bad they were last year." In my reflection since that conversation, her last comment probably was weighted in more truth, than she realized. I've looked at the remainder of the schedule after seeing this team 3 times and see Manatee realistically finishing with anywhere from a 4 to 6 win season.

Had Sarasota been able to complete just 1/2 of the passes it missed on......where receivers either dropped passes or the QB just missed badly on......the game's out-come could have been very different. I keep seeing many of the same inconsistencies on both offense and defense, and after 3 games I had just hoped to see some improvement.......if just baby steps improvement. Still a ways to go with this season, just have to wait and see what comes as more games are played?

 

[twc2499]

Could have, would have, should have! Second game of the season! A lot of young players finding their way. Manatee didn't play well in the first half. Bad angles and grabbing not tackling. Defense struggled in the first half. Second half was a totally different story. One thing that hurt Manatee was not having there two top defensive tackles, Ean Johnson Kelly 6'2 270 and Tyreek'e Robinson 6'3 290. Those guys are studs! As poorly as they played in the first half they still won 42-20, basically shutting them down the second half.

Sarasota's dropped passes mainly came in that last couple series when the game was over! You can then say If Manatee tackles better and doesn't give Sarasota 7 points on not fielding a kickoff at the 20 yard line this one is over at the half. Dropped passes, missed tackles are part of the game!

Predicting 4 to 6 wins? I don't agree with that at all! There only two games remaining that will be really tough ones, they are against Rockledge and Cardinal Gibbins both at home. We should be 6-0 going into the Rockledge game. They should beat Charlotte next week. They should have wins over Braden River, Port Charlotte and Lakewood Ranch. I might be wrong? Manatee just needs to get better each week. They have a talented young team and they will compete with everyone on their schedule.