10-7 at halftime. Freedom went 60 yards right at the end of a half and threw a 23 yard TD pass with 20 seconds left. Easton has 55 yards in penalties already. Team definitely has talent, but the lack of discipline and execution is jarring.
Easton-Freedom
- Thread starter RoverNation05
- Start date
No team has more bad snaps/fumbled exchanges than Easton in the last five years. Snap over the QB’s head short circuits a drive into Freedom territory
20 yard carry for Adams, 28 yard carry for Adams, 12 yard carry for Adams. Down inside the five. Do more of that.
Illegal formation penalty. Carry for not Adams gets stopped for no gain. Pass incomplete. Sack
21-10 Freedom final. Score 21 unanswered after the first quarter. Easton has not beaten a playoff team from the EPC South team since 2015 - if they fired Jamarr Billman for underperformance, Braido’s seat has to be white hot.
I always preface this with, Jeff is a hell of a nice guy and I think means well. The committee put him in a no-win situation when they hired him (a committee that included his brother-in-law an an AD who his wife has worked for for 20 years). The demand was for something different when Steve Shiffert got fired - the offense was stale and boring, and they couldn't beat high level teams with the schemes they ran. But then they hired Jeff, who played at Easton, didn't play in college, then has only coached at Easton as an assistant under Shiffert (as a position coach with no coordinator experience). He literally doesn't know anything else - sure you can pick stuff up in coaching clinics, but he has no other mentors or experience in the game outside of Easton Area High School. How is that supposed to be any change whatsoever? Then he retained virtually all assistants (except for the two best, who left with Steve - one of whom, Scott Byrd, is now the Nazareth o-line coach, which is a big part of that programs turnaround) so it's not like a fresh perspective or more schematic expertise came with his hires - it's all the same guys minus the head coach and the very highly regarded defensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Nothing about Braido's experience or training suggests he had the capability to be a good head coach, and so far, he hasn't been. And Easton is not a place to learn on the job. I think he means well and is doing his best, but it's just not a job he's capable of doing at the level he needs to.
He’s now 26-15. But, he’s 14-15 in EPC South games. And against the best teams in the league, he’s:
1-3 against Freedom (38-8 all time before Braido; beat a 7-6 Freedom team)
2-3 against Nazareth (30-3 all time before Braido; split with a 6-6 and beat a 5-7 Nazareth team)
1-3 against Parkland (beat a 7-5 Parkland team)
0-3 against Bethlehem Catholic
1-3 against Emmaus (26-6-1 all time before Braido; win came against a 5-6 Emmaus team)
So he's 5-15 against the teams he's competing against for titles and 21-0 against Whitehall, Liberty, ACC, Dieruff, Allen, Northampton, the Pocono Mountains, East Stroudsburg North, Stroudsburg, and Phillipsburg. I enjoy the P'burg wins, but you don't get any credit from me for the rest (Whitehall, Liberty, and ACC have somehow been more of a mess than Easton recently - not exactly going through the Saquon, Persa, and Nosovitch teams). The make up of the league has changed such that they can beat some bad teams every year to make the playoffs. And their wins against the upper echelon have all been in those team's down years.
I don’t think he’s had a talent dip. They're the preseason favorite in D11 6A and were ranked in the state by all of the outlets that do rankings. Nahjee Adams is an FBS commit at running back, Adams and LB Tamir Jackson were all state as juniors and Jackson was going to break the career tackles record without the partial season. Dom Falcone is a Division I wrestling commit and a three year starter at linebacker. Jackson, OG/DE Derek Frinzi, CB Jaden Kelly, and OT/DT Donovan Lance have PSAC offers. Cole Transue at QB got invited to the Army All American combine for underclassmen. Marcus Williams is an all state caliber sprinter playing corner/slot and returning kicks. Matt Cruise is a Division I heavyweight prospect as a wrestler on the offensive line. Sean Wilson is a 6’4 245 pound sophomore at left tackle who is on track to play college football. They’re not St. Joseph’s Prep, but they’ve got the type of athletes that Easton long has had very successful teams with. And they’ve had talent the last couple years - according to their website they’ve got 15 players on college rosters right now from Braidos era, with Herres (VMI), Shupp (Delaware), Simmons (Colgate), and Storm (UVA) all on Division I rosters.
Simply put, they do dumb stuff. Say what you will about previous Easton teams, but they could execute the hell out of a game plan. Fundamentally sound, very few penalties, great tacklers. That’s gone out the window. They’ve had over 100 yards in penalties in both games this year. The center-QB exchange has been a consistent problem for years. They miss a lot of tackles. They're consistently bad in pass protection and haven't settled on a cohesive five players on the offensive line in years. Not gap sound at all on defense - everybody is trying to be a hero. A lot of the classic signs of a team that just isn't very well coached.
Fundamentally, I think one of the big issues is they don't know who they are. They know they should throw more and run a more modern offense, but they've gone from the Remember the Titans "6 plays, just like novocaine" offense to a Cheesecake Factory menu. I'm not sure they line up in the same formation twice a game. They try to do a little bit of everything, and in turn don't do anything particularly well. It's why they always look confused up front. It's why they always have formation or motion penalties. It's why their tailback picks up 60 yards on three carries, then gets subbed out for a special red zone formation that leads to a penalty, a wideout getting tackled for a loss, and then putting him back in to pass protect instead of being an option to carry or catch the ball leads to a dead drive on the biggest series of the game. There's no offensive identity and no rhythm to anything they do. Again, say what you will about running power, sweep, fullback trap, a tight end pop pass, a throwback screen, and a trick play for 30 years - but the kids could executive everything and knew each punch and counterpunch. They struggled to beat the best teams in the state on the biggest stages, but they also didn't beat themselves. They've been kicking their own ass the last few years.
The most damning sign to me was last season, after getting circles coached around them by a not very talented but very disciplined Parkland team, Isiah Rico said in a postgame interview that "we knew if we were physical with them they'd fold." I can't imagine anybody ever saying that about an Easton team - it's so anathama to the identity of the program that it's the biggest warning sign I can imagine. They still have tough kids - I'm so impressed Nahjee Adams and Tamir Jackson, they could fit in on any Easton team in any era - but the team wide grit is just gone. And I don't know how you get that back.
I'm not sure where it goes from here. After the ugliness of Jamarr getting fired and the federal lawsuit that's now ongoing (you can catch up here: https://www.mcall.com/news/educatio...0200611-i3d4phrxenedvcyp3o4fkwrhlm-story.html) its hard to justify arguments that all coaches are being held to the same standard (and it wasn't retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint) if they keep Braido past another poor year. Of course, Braido is protected in all kinds of ways through personal and family relationships with EASD administration that Jamarr was not, so we shall see. And maybe they go out and win six straight games and a D11 title and it's a different narrative in November. But nothing looks different with what should be his best team.
He’s now 26-15. But, he’s 14-15 in EPC South games. And against the best teams in the league, he’s:
1-3 against Freedom (38-8 all time before Braido; beat a 7-6 Freedom team)
2-3 against Nazareth (30-3 all time before Braido; split with a 6-6 and beat a 5-7 Nazareth team)
1-3 against Parkland (beat a 7-5 Parkland team)
0-3 against Bethlehem Catholic
1-3 against Emmaus (26-6-1 all time before Braido; win came against a 5-6 Emmaus team)
So he's 5-15 against the teams he's competing against for titles and 21-0 against Whitehall, Liberty, ACC, Dieruff, Allen, Northampton, the Pocono Mountains, East Stroudsburg North, Stroudsburg, and Phillipsburg. I enjoy the P'burg wins, but you don't get any credit from me for the rest (Whitehall, Liberty, and ACC have somehow been more of a mess than Easton recently - not exactly going through the Saquon, Persa, and Nosovitch teams). The make up of the league has changed such that they can beat some bad teams every year to make the playoffs. And their wins against the upper echelon have all been in those team's down years.
I don’t think he’s had a talent dip. They're the preseason favorite in D11 6A and were ranked in the state by all of the outlets that do rankings. Nahjee Adams is an FBS commit at running back, Adams and LB Tamir Jackson were all state as juniors and Jackson was going to break the career tackles record without the partial season. Dom Falcone is a Division I wrestling commit and a three year starter at linebacker. Jackson, OG/DE Derek Frinzi, CB Jaden Kelly, and OT/DT Donovan Lance have PSAC offers. Cole Transue at QB got invited to the Army All American combine for underclassmen. Marcus Williams is an all state caliber sprinter playing corner/slot and returning kicks. Matt Cruise is a Division I heavyweight prospect as a wrestler on the offensive line. Sean Wilson is a 6’4 245 pound sophomore at left tackle who is on track to play college football. They’re not St. Joseph’s Prep, but they’ve got the type of athletes that Easton long has had very successful teams with. And they’ve had talent the last couple years - according to their website they’ve got 15 players on college rosters right now from Braidos era, with Herres (VMI), Shupp (Delaware), Simmons (Colgate), and Storm (UVA) all on Division I rosters.
Simply put, they do dumb stuff. Say what you will about previous Easton teams, but they could execute the hell out of a game plan. Fundamentally sound, very few penalties, great tacklers. That’s gone out the window. They’ve had over 100 yards in penalties in both games this year. The center-QB exchange has been a consistent problem for years. They miss a lot of tackles. They're consistently bad in pass protection and haven't settled on a cohesive five players on the offensive line in years. Not gap sound at all on defense - everybody is trying to be a hero. A lot of the classic signs of a team that just isn't very well coached.
Fundamentally, I think one of the big issues is they don't know who they are. They know they should throw more and run a more modern offense, but they've gone from the Remember the Titans "6 plays, just like novocaine" offense to a Cheesecake Factory menu. I'm not sure they line up in the same formation twice a game. They try to do a little bit of everything, and in turn don't do anything particularly well. It's why they always look confused up front. It's why they always have formation or motion penalties. It's why their tailback picks up 60 yards on three carries, then gets subbed out for a special red zone formation that leads to a penalty, a wideout getting tackled for a loss, and then putting him back in to pass protect instead of being an option to carry or catch the ball leads to a dead drive on the biggest series of the game. There's no offensive identity and no rhythm to anything they do. Again, say what you will about running power, sweep, fullback trap, a tight end pop pass, a throwback screen, and a trick play for 30 years - but the kids could executive everything and knew each punch and counterpunch. They struggled to beat the best teams in the state on the biggest stages, but they also didn't beat themselves. They've been kicking their own ass the last few years.
The most damning sign to me was last season, after getting circles coached around them by a not very talented but very disciplined Parkland team, Isiah Rico said in a postgame interview that "we knew if we were physical with them they'd fold." I can't imagine anybody ever saying that about an Easton team - it's so anathama to the identity of the program that it's the biggest warning sign I can imagine. They still have tough kids - I'm so impressed Nahjee Adams and Tamir Jackson, they could fit in on any Easton team in any era - but the team wide grit is just gone. And I don't know how you get that back.
I'm not sure where it goes from here. After the ugliness of Jamarr getting fired and the federal lawsuit that's now ongoing (you can catch up here: https://www.mcall.com/news/educatio...0200611-i3d4phrxenedvcyp3o4fkwrhlm-story.html) its hard to justify arguments that all coaches are being held to the same standard (and it wasn't retaliation for filing a discrimination complaint) if they keep Braido past another poor year. Of course, Braido is protected in all kinds of ways through personal and family relationships with EASD administration that Jamarr was not, so we shall see. And maybe they go out and win six straight games and a D11 title and it's a different narrative in November. But nothing looks different with what should be his best team.
Thanks Rover, that’s very interesting insight as always. Does Braido call the offense? If not, who are his coordinators? Previous position coaches that he held onto and elevated? Do you think there will be enough pressure on the administration (sans the personal relationships) to move on from him after another bad year? If they do move on, where do they turn? Top candidates? Is the job highly sought after still? Who was the other option if not Braido?
Initially, Braido elevated JV coach Scott Ordway to be his OC and linebackers coach Bryan Falcone to be his DC. Ordway was dismissed during the season last year for off the field issues and Mike Palos was elevated from QB coach to offensive coordinator. Mike is one of the few outsiders on staff - he was the QB at Becahi after Dan Kendra and played at Lafayette - I think his work with their QBs has been one of the bright spots, but I’m not sure of the play calling split between him and Jeff, but it hasn’t been good.
I have no idea what the administration pressure will look like. Hell, I have no idea what the administration is going to look like from now to December. The assistant superintendent in charge of personnel just “resigned” last week after being the focal points of the Billman situation, the associate AD is in limbo after going on record that she was forced to change her year end evaluation of Jamarr, and is seemingly going to testify against the district in the lawsuit, so it’s really just the AD left in a decision making circle and he and Braido are old friends and hunting buddies. He also had to be overruled on the wrestling hire on advice of counsel (gossip I’m happy to share but is off topic) so even his status seems tenuous.
I was shocked when they hired Braido because the other finalist was Matt Evancho. Matt was the head coach at Saucon Valley when they made the 3A Eastern Final a few years back (they got slaughtered by Imhotep but had no business getting to that point in the first place). He’s the all time wins leader at Saucon by a long shot. Pre-Saucon, he was the defensive coordinator at Wilson through their mid-2000s run, including when they won the 2A state title (locally, he gets a lot of credit for how they contained Terrelle Pryor) and he was on staff at Wilkes before getting into high school. He played at Easton - he was a junior on the 1991 team that lost to CB West in the Eastern Final, then played at Penn State, mostly as a gunner on kick coverage. It’s nearly impossible to put their resumes side by side and pick Braido. They also interviewed Paul Redduzzi, who made a bunch of state plays off trips with Pen Argyl.
I don’t know what kind of pool they’d draw now. Evancho is doing games on TV now, so he’s available, and his kid is on the team, so it’s not like he’s not around the program. But no idea if he’d still want it. But guys like Phil Stambaugh (ND), Bret Comp (former Parkland OC, and won a state title as Wilson’s head coach), and Kyle Haas (Northampton; interim at Becahi when they went to an Eastern final) all didn’t apply the first time around. Not sure the job has become more attractive, considering the aforementioned cluster in the athletic department and you’re now getting further away from the slew of 10 win seasons.
Yikes. That doesn’t sound like a pretty picture. Why did the OC leave? It sounds like parents are tough there (I’m sure coaches will tell you they are everywhere). It seems they are crying out for some new and strong leadership there. I hope they can get it together.
OC left for disciplinary reasons not related to football. It's funny, I actually think the football parents as a group seem to wield less power over program stuff - it's such a big program and it's probably the best cross-representation of the school that there isn't a faction that dominates. It's obviously been the program with the wrestling program - largely influenced by one of the disgruntled and demanding parents being the assistant superintendent (and her husband being a former state finalist who runs one of the major youth programs). That group threw a four year temper tantrum when their candidate wasn't hired to replace Steve Powell, culminating in this spring's shenanigans. The one positive is, Jody Karam was hired in the aftermath, and Jody is a hall of famer from his years at Del Val and Liberty, an Easton alum, and is pretty well known for not taking a lot of shit - nobody's going to tell him how to run his program.
Football is at a crossroads less because of parent involvement and more because it has come time for the program to grow and evolve, and it hasn't figured out how to do that. There are still signs of being really healthy - there were 110 kids that came out for football last year, they're sending more kids to college to play than they have in a long time, and things like attendance, booster club participation, and the like haven't dipped. But that won't last forever.
Having 110 kids is a recipe for success. It shocks me that they haven’t been able to compete with the best teams in the area. I hate to say it, but it certainly seems they need some fresh blood in there.
I don’t hate to say it. Nobody can be SJP, as a school you might get once every 10 years when you can compete with them. But there’s no reason for Easton not to be North Penn, Wilson West Lawn, Central Dauphin, etc. All of the pieces and support are there, and not being on that level is a crisis of leadership.
North Penn is way down Rover The records dont show this as SOL is way down. Beck does a great job with what he has, which isn’t much anymore. I watch the D11 D12 almost every year, last years D11 was lacking in previous years where Parkland gave D12 good games. North Penn over the years gave D12 good games, would be blow outs the last few. Besides Coatesville a few years back D1 was just way over matched.
I meant more that they should be one of the teams that is reliably in the hunt every year. Obviously there is a rebuilding year every so often, but not for a half decade straight. But in your bad years you’re 8-4, in the good ones you’re a top 5 to 7 team in the classification. North Penn has been that team in D1 for 20 years.
D11 is in a weird spot right now. Parkland is the only team that has both the infrastructure to be a great program and a really good coaching staff (Moncman now and Morgans before that). That’s why they’ve been winning or playing in the D11 title game even in a lot of their down years.
Jason Roeder at Freedom and Tom Falzone at Nazareth are both really good, but they are at two of the smallest 6A schools with virtually no football tradition and uneven feeders. The fact they have them in contention every year is a huge testament to them. Harold Fairclough at Emmaus is also very good, but while Emmaus has the size, football has been an afterthought in that district forever. That’ll take time. Early returns on Kyle Haas are good, but Northampton football has been terrible since Al Erdosy retired in the ‘60s and is also on the smaller end of 6A.
The best teams in the Valley should be Easton, Liberty, Bethlehem Catholic, and Allentown Central Catholic. ACC just hired Tim McGorry, which I think is going to work out. But the other three have absolute tire fire coaching situations, and are wasting all of their built in advantages (Becahi’s get papered over more because they are in 4A)