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Official site of the 2007 BNEFF Champions
Westchester Packers
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Photo by Frank Bettis.
End of the season interview with Coach Barnes
Will you be back as head coach of the Packers?
Yes. I will be back. That was never a question. I know that this season was disappointing to a lot of people but it was even more disappointing to us. We set the bar high for ourselves and there are few people more upset with how our season went then us.
You were brought in to make this offense better. Do you think you did that?
Yes. We may not have set the league on fire stat wise, but we were better overall. Offense isn't just about scoring points. You have to be able to find ways to move the football consistently and handle what defenses throw at you. We were able to move the ball better as the season went along. We didn't always produce points because we didn't execute, had key penalties or just made mistakes that cost us.
How do you plan to correct the problems that plagued the team this season?
It starts by evaluating everything we did this season. I have already begun recruiting. You can never have too much talent in camp. We will have some players return and some won't. That is football. We have to change things for the better. We had a good camp last year. Camp in 2010 will be tougher. We will be mentally tougher than we were this year in 2010. We now have a full season in the offense and Defensively we will be even better next season as we will expand our playbook.
Why did you think the 3-4 would be a good fit for this team?
I felt the 3-4 fit this team because we have the perfect mix of size and speed to run it. We have edge rushers that can drop into coverage. We have a big nose to clog holes and occupy two blockers. We have talent at the inside backers. We just have to step up our game. We let doubt beat us this season.
What do you have planned for 2010?
I plan to continue recruiting. We plan on having another tryout over the winter and a rookie camp a few weeks after that. Then in the spring we will have our minicamps. We will also look to continue our community work with another youth clinic. This time we will look to open it to more than the Yonkers Gladiators. We will committ to getting better on and off the field. We will have a face in the community.
2009 Season: The joke was on us!
With the 2009 season now over for the Packers, we have a clear picture of how the 2009 season has turned out. A final 2-6-1 record to show for their efforts in some cases a lack there of it was a lackluster season that disappointed many. How could this happen? Wasn't this team a favorite to win the Empire conference and compete for it's second title in three years? It appears we were all fooled by the Packers preseason efforts. Let's look at the season as a whole. We start back in January with the announcement of a new Head Coach. Jeff Barnes would become only the third head coach in the team's 40 year history. Coach Barnes was brought in highly touted by his peers as not only a player's coach, but a offensive guru that would reshape the Packers sluggish attack. Overall his offense was a much needed breath of fresh air as it did change the team's chances of winning games. He brought in a flexible system that was more complex in the passing game than his predecessor, but also left an opening for teams to create more turnovers. That is exactly what happened. The offensive line struggled out gate as the running game stalled. They struggled to protect their quarterbacks. Their starting quarterback would go down on the second play from scrimmage in the opener leaving them with an untested 19 year old rookie to drive the offense. Angel Nerys struggled to adapt as he could not get in rhythym as he was hounded by defensive players constantly. His no show to the Bronco game left them with their starting reciever to lead the offense. His blowup at the Venom game lead to his expulsion. Jason Walker did return to the lineup for the Venom game and was effective moving the offense, but threw too many interceptions as he tried to get in sync with his receivers. The running game became more effective as the season went a long but produced few big runs. The tandem of Anthony Moll and Javon Brunson did produce touchdowns, but they were streaky at best. Serge Rodriguez was a solid option at TE.
Then there was the defense. New defensive coordinator Dave Collier had his hands full converting this defense to a 3-4. From what we saw in the preseason they had the parts. Unfortunately they were square pegs in round holes. The defense didn't totally believe in the system and struggled all season. Chris Riggans was a rare top performer in the secondary. The front seven was solid. But the secondary would break often. Eric Wilson was solid at linebacker and Joe Middleton was a solid nose tackle. As losses and injuries piled up the unit became depleted.
The 2009 version of the Westchester Packers failed to live up to expectations for one main reason. They were not a team at all. They failed to play together which showed as we watched from the stands. You saw the clicks on the sidelines, the disgruntled veterans bickering about playing time, the lack of unity on the field. Too many blown assignments. Too much arguing. Hopefully 2010 will give us something to look forward to as the Packers will miss the postseason for the first time since their return in 2007.
2009 Packers Hall of Fame Class
We would like to announce the first inductee into the Westchester Packers Hall of Fame. The Packers will induct Billy Sullivan into the Hall in 2009. The Founder of the Westchester Packers will be the first member and will blaze a new trail for Packers to follow. Billy's success as head coach of the Packers is well documented and his contributions to the team will never be forgotten. Most these days will remember George Davis as the face of the Packers, but it was Billy Sullivan who brought George in as his Defensive Coordinator. He would hand the keys to the organization to George in 1986. After his retirement the Packers have won 4 league championships the most recent one being the 2007 BNEFF title under new owner Mike Elia. That would also be George Davis' Last full season as head coach. Billy Sullivan's 35 game winning streak is still a record today.
AGAME A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE BNEFF
Dave & Busters is the Official Sponsor of the Big North East Football Federation
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