08-15-2009, 03:57 PM
08-15-2009, 09:13 PM
from ryanparker:
The Spring Valley scrimmage is over and here is what I think now about this year's Russell team:
First, Spring Valley had a decent looking team. For the most part, they appeared to be bigger and stronger than Russell. That's probably going to be a common theme this season, though. Spring Valley isn't going to win the West Virginia state title or anything, but they'll likely be competitive with the tough schedule they play.
Russell's first team defense did a pretty good job. Again, I think their biggest weakness is going to be when teams line it up and run it right between the tackles. They just don't have the size and strength to contend with this. Anything else and there is a chance they can handle it, because the linebackers are very good at pursuing and making stops. They are unquestionably the strength of this defense. Russell gave up a few chunks of yards here and there, but Spring Valley only managed to score against them once with a long run on one of their last drives of the scrimmage. Spring Valley didn't look like they had much of a passing game, so the pass defense wasn't really tested. All in all, I think Russell's defense will determine the type of season it's going to be. It wasn't a bad performance today.
On the other hand, Russell's first team offense barely moved the ball at all. What seems to be the signature play of the Russell offense, the sweep to the right side, went absolutely nowhere. The only play that worked more often than not was the quick hitter up the middle to Rice. He went for big yardage a few times. I have a feeling he is going to have to do a lot this year on both sides of the ball for this team to be successful. The quarterback, sophomore Logan Dehoff, was under too much pressure on the few pass plays they tried to make a fair assessment. Overall, the line has got to get better. They didn't even come close to scoring against Spring Valley.
The kicking game looked iffy as they had a bad snap on one attempt and shanked another. I didn't stick around to see the punts.
The good news is that the Russell JV squad scored against the Spring Valley JV squad. They did a good job and the future looks good for the Russell program. As I said, though, I think the present is going to rely on the Russell defense as it doesn't look like the offense is going to be very explosive. There's a lot of room for improvement.
The Spring Valley scrimmage is over and here is what I think now about this year's Russell team:
First, Spring Valley had a decent looking team. For the most part, they appeared to be bigger and stronger than Russell. That's probably going to be a common theme this season, though. Spring Valley isn't going to win the West Virginia state title or anything, but they'll likely be competitive with the tough schedule they play.
Russell's first team defense did a pretty good job. Again, I think their biggest weakness is going to be when teams line it up and run it right between the tackles. They just don't have the size and strength to contend with this. Anything else and there is a chance they can handle it, because the linebackers are very good at pursuing and making stops. They are unquestionably the strength of this defense. Russell gave up a few chunks of yards here and there, but Spring Valley only managed to score against them once with a long run on one of their last drives of the scrimmage. Spring Valley didn't look like they had much of a passing game, so the pass defense wasn't really tested. All in all, I think Russell's defense will determine the type of season it's going to be. It wasn't a bad performance today.
On the other hand, Russell's first team offense barely moved the ball at all. What seems to be the signature play of the Russell offense, the sweep to the right side, went absolutely nowhere. The only play that worked more often than not was the quick hitter up the middle to Rice. He went for big yardage a few times. I have a feeling he is going to have to do a lot this year on both sides of the ball for this team to be successful. The quarterback, sophomore Logan Dehoff, was under too much pressure on the few pass plays they tried to make a fair assessment. Overall, the line has got to get better. They didn't even come close to scoring against Spring Valley.
The kicking game looked iffy as they had a bad snap on one attempt and shanked another. I didn't stick around to see the punts.
The good news is that the Russell JV squad scored against the Spring Valley JV squad. They did a good job and the future looks good for the Russell program. As I said, though, I think the present is going to rely on the Russell defense as it doesn't look like the offense is going to be very explosive. There's a lot of room for improvement.
08-15-2009, 10:28 PM
After watching the Red Devils today, one thing is certain, they are having problems filling the QB position. They will be just fine as the devils usally are!
08-16-2009, 11:43 AM
With the coaching staff the Devils have, I have no doubt they will do well this season. It will be a struggle though with such a young team.
08-17-2009, 07:08 PM
I don't think the challenge is at any one spot such as what seems to be the contriversal QB spot - I think overall the entire team is you and small and will have to play with a big heart if they want to win more games than they lose.