It should not be difficult to look at yesterday's game, and find a lot to be happy about. Ferrum is coming along as a team, and yesterday's efforts were such an improvement over the first two games, that in my mind there was a lot of hope restored. The offensive production was much stronger, and showed the diversity in the offensive attack. This was not just Tim Reynolds, it encompassed a variety of backs, including Helton, Taylor, and Lesine. The offensive attack seemed a lot more complete yesterday and the O line had a huge game, and really helped set the tone.
I am not sure what happened at halftime, but I think it is a safe bet defensive changes were made. The coaches saw something, and the defense shut down the Bishops for almost the the entire second half. The D line really clogged the holes, and the linebackers were very aggressive. The secondary made some big plays.
I have no doubt that Ferrum will take a look at their punting game this week, and work to get the punter more time to get the punt off, along with training the punter to get the punt off faster. I can't blame the loss on the blocked punt, but you can bet CNU will be coming after it this week.
There seemed to be some intermittent confusion on the offensive side for Ferrum, and there were delay of game penalties, substitutions that seemed to happen too slow and too late. These are basic mistakes that are easily fixed, and must be fixed. Mistakes are the last thing you need against CNU.
Speaking of CNU, they are a very very good team. They will be the best Ferrum has faced this year, but they do have weaknesses. First it would appear that they can be scored on. They are giving up an average of 38 points per game. In their season opener against Salisbury, they fell to the Seagulls, 41-32. This is important because Salisbury runs the option. This is their standard offense, and they have always been successful against the Captains. In their 13 meetings, the Seagulls lead the series 9-4. They may well hold the record for the most wins against CNU since the Captains started football in 2001. This is CNU's last year in the USA South, and Ferrum has only one win against CNU. That win came at Ferrum in 2003. Since then, there have been close ones, and there have been blowouts, but all have been W's for the Captains. While this game will not be easy, Ferrum first and foremost has to find a way to stop the CNU quarterback Marcus Morast. As Morast goes, so goes the Captains. If Ferrum can neutralize Morast, things could get interesting.
Yesterday's game was filled with positives, but it is yesterday's game. All of the good from yesterday, now has to be loaded on the bus and taken to Newport News....I'll see you there.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
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Ferrum ran the ball today- and ran a lot of option- imagine that- like the old days- sort of. This helped keep the defense off the field and in turn helped their play as well.
ReplyDeleteSome of the QB's passes were god awful- you can't miss open receivers like that in a close game.