I know I said I’d be back on Sunday to give a run down on Saturday’s activities but responsibilities took priorities and I had a few things to take care of on Sunday. So here I am all settled down on Monday evening reflecting on the start of the college football season.Scrimmage Saturday:
It would be great to give you a detailed report on all the happenings of the scrimmage but I had the great pleasure of running into a number of familiar faces and spent the great majority of my time catching up with some great Linfield fans. However, when I did turn my head to the field what I saw was a field littered with speed. We’re not going to outsize a WOU but I’m very excited about the athleticism of the offensive/defensive backs and linebackers.
The obvious great unknown is the play of the offensive line and we’re going to find out really quickly how they measure up in week 1. In getting an up close look at the line during the scrimmage I saw some very good things but I also understand there are still some adjustments to be made. If our big bodies are able to provide Trevor the time to make his decisions then we’re going to be in great shape.
WOU/Willamette Thoughts:
Mrs11 and I made the trip later that day out to Monmouth to watch the Bearcats get pushed around by WOU. The thing that jumped out at me immediately was the defensive line play of WOU. They’re very athletic and don’t waste very much time getting to the ball. In terms of the Western offense, they did what I expected them to do for the most part in terms of being a balanced attack. They ran their zone run scheme that got the Wolves big bodies on the Bearcats and let a hard running RB do his work while a 3 step/roll out/play action passing attack keep the chains moving down the field.
In terms of Willamette. They didn’t quit on one play the whole night. I really like the Bearcats linebackers and their defensive backs had great stretches of play. If Saturday is an indication then Willamette is going to be a tough game in the NWC this year. Coach Speckman has a team full of kids that compete hard.
What did surprise me is that I’ve been reading about WOU’s depth at running back but the Wolves basically hook up their trailer to Sophomore Ben Kuenzi and ran him all night long. I didn’t know if the WOU staff was sandbagging but it just seem odd that they’ve talked all camp about 4 very good RB’s but just go with the one guy for 95% of the snaps.
We’ll talk more about WOU/Linfield later this week but the key match-up is obvious at this point: WOU’s Defensive Line/Linfield’s Offensive Line. My initial thought is that Saturday is going to be a hotly contested battle but I think Linfield will be a better prepared team this time around. I wish it was Saturday right now.
2 comments:
Western Oregon has had some great depth at RB that they have recruited in the last few years. I am curious what happened to them though with Meyer and Dollarhide both not being listed on the roster. Both of these young RB's
looked as if they had some great potential to work their way into the mix somewhere in this lineup if not at RB.
One comment is about Jordan Aldredge. This kid is listed as a redshirt freshmen, but if he learns the offense I dont know why they wouldnt just burn his redshirt, this kid is a phenom. He is rediculously strong and fast. He ran the 100M in the low 11's. if memory serves me correctly his PR was 11.1. He also has great upper body strength being a repeat state champ in discuss and I believe shot as well.
If they decide to run him and Keunzi this could cause problems for the Cats. Outside contain will be key for these 2.
Anyone have an opinion about what the affect of Fillipe will have at DE? How did he look agains tthe Bearcats?
I've heard about Aldredge's high school career and he sounds like a keeper but I think you might have already answered your questions in why he may have a redshirt on him...depth and learning a system.
In terms of the other young kids...that happens when your roster starts building up talent. Kids don't see the light at the end of the tunnel and decide to move on. You loose good kids every year but that is the way it goes.
Fillipe looked solid but it's hard to say playing against a Fly offense.
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