We've already established that Navy fullback Adam Ballard is a beast of a man who also does a fine country-western number, so I won't bore you with those details again. Rather, I'd like to introduce you to a concept I like to call The Adam Ballard Effect.
Don't be fooled by the images of Paul Johnson screaming his head off at the junior fullback. Sure the guy could improve his blocking, but it's not like his lack of production over the past two games has been his fault. In fact Ballard only had 10 carries against Notre Dame and a measly six carries against Rutgers, a far cry from the 26 carries the junior had in his 120-yard day at Stanford. While there is certainly a valid argument that the competition has been greater over the past few weeks, the numbers seem to support the notion that the more carries Ballard gets, the more likely Navy will be able to establish the inside running game and have success in the option.
This is because Ballard is at his best in the second half when defenses have already begun to tire out and resort to "guessing" against Paul Johnson's triple option attack. His bruising, in-your-face style forces defenses to respect the middle of the field, opening lanes to the outside and slowly killing the will of the defense. This "Ballard" effect, if you will, is common in close games in which Navy is able to pull away in the second half. We saw it against Temple and Army last year, as well as the games against ECU, Stanford, and Air Force this year. When Navy gets behind, as was the case against Rutgers and Notre Dame, the offense moves away from the short yardage game of the fullback, which in turn allows defenses to better pinpoint what the offense is trying to do. Long story short, it would appear that establishing Ballard is an essential part of the Navy offense. This was no more apparent then the game at Air Force, where Ballard was fed the ball 27 times for 134 yards. For much of the first half Ballard was shut down, but as the second half rolled around the two or three yard gains started to become five, six, and seven yard gains. As the Navy offense evolves under Kaipo leadership, it will be essential to make a renewed commitment to the inside running game and to Ballard, who has already been compared to former pro-prospect Kyle Eckel.
