The 2009 NBL Champion will be...

[htown707]

You know that it's the off season when the subject on this site are about talking shit about the new Piner coach and a football clinic run by the Newman coach. So I decided to start a little debate about who will be the NBL Camp. Like the SCL the NBL should be a wide open race, Newman isn't going to just run away with it this year. Newman is a little weaker than last year, also other teams are much stronger. Those teams are Monty and Carrillo. Monty I think will keep riding the wave they were on at the end of last year. Monty was playing well at the end of the year. Carrillo will be more mature and will have good leadership. We will see how good Carrillo is when they play Casa in the pre-season. I have no idea who is going to win the NBL this year it's so wide open I can't choose. So, What do you guys think?

[Ben Herrington]

Hard to say Newman will be as good as they were last season. Losing all those talented players will hurt, but look at what they did in 2007 after losing 22 senior starters. I'm going to stick with what works and take Newman.
I dont see Rancho as good as they were last season, and Ukiah is going to lose a lot too. I'm looking for Montgomery to rebound and Maria Carrillo to turn some heads as well. Rancho will be in the top 4 as well.

[nblfan]

Piner is returning QB, 3 RB's, and 4 starting lineman. They will be in the hunt. I still think Monty will be the best team this year. Newman will be 3rd place team in league this year.

[htown707]

Piner? wow I don't agree with that at all! they may be returning a lot of starters, but most of them are not any good to begin with.

[Ben Herrington]

I dont know which way to go on Piner. What I do know, is they return on of the best QB's in the Empire. Look at his production last season with the coaching and playbook he had. He is a playmaker that should produce great things.
If coach Tomlin takes care of business, Piner should win some games. A win over Ukiah and Santa Rosa should be their goal, as they will obviously beat Elsie Allen. Even if Piner improves a lot, I dont know if they can top Monty, Newman, Rancho, or Carrillo.
Three league wins, with games against Analy, Healdsburg, and El Molino could produce a .500 season. Piner is Div. II in 2009, so even with a 6-4 season, I doubt they could make playoffs.
I dont think Piner should be focusing on going undefeated. Coach Tomlin needs to focus on establishing a solid program from what Piner is now.

[stogi]

I gotta agree with htown on this one. Piner could return their entire team from last year and what would they have? If there were some potential stars over there that didn't get to play due to grades that can make it this year there could be a surprise, but I doubt it.

I think Newman will do well, but not even close to last year. After loosing 22 senior starters look at who Newman had to fall back on. Pretty much everyone they will loose after this year and I didn't see the same caliber of player waiting behind them. I do think that Jack James is going to do well at QB for them as he definitely demonstrated some skills when he filled in last year.

[parih]

OK. As the one SR homer, I'll throw in a vote for SRHS. Not that I think they'll necessarily take the league, but I can't let Elsie and Piner get representation without standing up for SRHS. I think this will be a turning point year for them. They have a lot of returning seniors. Their QB, Alexander, has been on Varsity since he was sophomore but hasn't been able to get on the field because of preseason injuries. If he can stay healthy they have a stud under center and in the defensive backfield. Rosselli is one of the best LB's in the empire and is strong on both sides of the ball. He will be joined by at least one of his brothers on Varsity this year who will be as much of an impact player as his brother. Parsons is a solid DE and will have an all league season this year. Nguyen and Jervan are solid, quick backs that could have good to great seasons. Kopp will be one of the better receivers in the league this year. The big question mark will be the line. I can't vouch for Keefer, but I can say he brings a much higher level of professionalism and focus so far in the off season. The coaching staff as a whole, is night and day from Ponce and his crew. Ponce didn't know how to maximize his players talents because he often didn't know a player was good until it was too late to take advantage of them. Plus, his offense was always one dimensional and easy counter. SR always got beat in the second half because other teams adjusted and SR had one dimension and did not adjust well. If Keefer's crew can coach, this team could surprise the NBL.

[parih]

I don't have a ton of visiblility into what Keefer is doing, other than he and his coaches are there. A lot. Solid manditory work outs with a set pattern. Playbooks and class room work are going on. The coaching staff have a lot of experience as high level players, coaches or both. From what I am hearing, it's just much more professional. There's a sense there is a bar that has been set and the players are going to have to play up to it. Ponce started out strong with structure and plans at SR but it gradually tapered off until last year when he wasn't around in the off season, came in in June and basically winged it from there. My observation was that the plays, the schemes, the game planning came more from a sense of what the coaches were afraid they COULDN'T execute on VS. setting the bar for the kids and putting the work in and getting them to a point where they COULD execute on what they needed to do to win. He was a very good game planner, but always put his eggs in one basket (smashmouth, wear em down, wait for McGowan to break a run) and was not the best at making game time adjustments, because there was little dimension to the play book other than a couple novelty plays (I mean that conceptually because they never had a book with plays in it). My point was not to bash Ponce, although I do think he was overrated as a head coach. My point was to point out there is a lot of returning players at SR, many of whom would have not been fully utilized under Ponce's philosophy. I think we are all optimistic that Keefer will be able to get the most out of what is a surprisingly talented group of kids.

[Ben Herrington]

Anyone know if Keefer is keeping the non-leauge schedule that Ponce had?

[parih]

I heard they were switching Richmond for Petaluma in week one. I am assuming Petaluma, Analy and Windsor in the preseason.

[Ben Herrington]

That would be cool! looks like it would work too. Petaluma has opened their week #0 and with this, they would have opened their week #1 game too. Petaluma playing Santa Rosa would open Redwoods week #1, but I think they have moved their week #0 with Windsor to week #1.

[newmanfan]

Conin and staff will have the team ready.1. Newman 2.Monty 3.Rancho...Newmans JV 07-08 didnt allow a touchdown all year .James is a Max Pond with some hitting power,O line will be as tough as ever. Should be exciting year for NBL Football.

[ranchofan]

Who takes over running the defense for Newman?

[Ben Herrington]

You mean coach wise or player wise? I've heard they have a player whos starting at RB/LB thats really good. Last name is Stout, he was on the roster last season, but I dont know how much he played.

[newmanfan]

Stout excellent player had some playing time but with badger and ferg didnt see much .Defensively this Teams will be excellent. Offense we'll see what players step up to the call to replace Ferg and Badger.