[QuikSand]

Week 2: Toronto (1-0) at Chesapeake (1-0)

We come home, and will hope to hit a stride this week – sure, hanging 41 on the road in the opener was good, but we have to be very worried about the way our pass defense got shredded by Dodge City. We’ll hope to clamp down a bit better this week, and will be aided by a dinged-up QB on that side of the ball.

I don’t know what to make of the CHE running game last week – Ross Rosenfels went for an eye-popping 156 yards last week, despite only seeing 14 carries. I don’t envision this team being a power rushing team, but I do think that with Sedor and company powering a pretty intimidating pass attack, we could see defenses backing up and giving us the underneath stuff, including some openings for Rosenfels. This week, we are expecting more of the same, and will send out Rosenfels and Harry Small (solid 9-39 with a TD last week) out there to handle the running duties.

On offense, we would like to see some better returns from our complementary receivers. Pearson was fine in the opener, but both Ellis and Fields were disappointing, each guy catching only 2 of 7 passes thrown his way. As I work to get both of those guys playing time, I’d much prefer to see those plays be more productive than that. We expect to see both guys in the mix to get their stride this week.

On defense, I really don’t see what adjustments to make, overall. Our DBs managed to bat away 8 passes last week, so it’s not like they were playing like a sieve. I’ll tally things up to good play by the Vigs, and we will hope to see our play improve as we come home and play perhaps a less potent attack this week.

The official preview has us favored by 9 in this game – we will be looking for a big win and an improved look from the defense to make the home fans happy here. No craziness in the gameplan this week, just line ‘em up and knock ‘em down.

Week 2, 2014

played in Chesapeake, PA

49 degrees, fair, 2 mph wind

Toronto Smoke	3	7	0	0	-	10
Chesapeake Chili Dogs	3	7	14	13	-	37

Scoring Summary

1Q: 10:44 TOR - Rob Diaz 25 field goal

1Q: 01:22 CHE - David Everhart 49 field goal

2Q: 15:00 TOR - Arnie DeLorraine 69 fumble return (Rob Diaz extra point)

2Q: 04:14 CHE - Burt Pearson 19 pass from Brent Sedor (David Everhart extra point)

3Q: 13:09 CHE - Burt Pearson 19 pass from Brent Sedor (David Everhart extra point)

3Q: 08:36 CHE - Ross Rosenfels 5 run (David Everhart extra point)

4Q: 15:00 CHE - Kent Fields 27 pass from Brent Sedor (David Everhart extra point)

4Q: 05:29 CHE - David Everhart 31 field goal

4Q: 00:30 CHE - David Everhart 31 field goal

Team Statistics	TOR	CHE
Record	1-1	2-0
First Downs	11	23
- by Rushing	3	11
- by Passing	7	11
- by Penalty	1	1
Total Net Yards	196	431
- Offensive Plays	53	54
- Yards per Play	3.70	7.98
Net Rushing Yards	72	202
- Rushing Attempts	21	34
- Yards per Rush	3.43	5.94
Net Passing Yards	124	229
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt	29 - 15 - 0	19 - 12 - 1
- Gross Passing Yards	149	234
- Sacks/Yards Lost	3/25	1/5
- Yards per Pass Play	3.88	11.45
Fumbles/Lost	2/0	2/1
3rd Down Conversions	1/12	2/8
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down	11.7	7.8
4th Down Conversions	0/2	0/0
Penalties/Yards	11/68	7/40
Punt Returns/Yards	0/0	3/28
Kick Returns/Yards	5/103	3/83
Interception Ret./Yards	1/13	0/0
2pt Conversions	0/0	0/0
Red Zone Visits	1	5
- Red Zone TDs/FGs	0/1	3/2
Avg. Drive Start	OWN 28	OWN 38
Time of Possession	28:30	31:30

Full Box Score online


So, we get away with a pretty uninspired first half, give up a freak TD, and are tied at eth break. Then, we show up in the second half and bury them. Okay, not bad.

So – we are going to have to look into the tonic that we’re apparently giving our running game. Two games deep, and we’re at a 7 ypc clip as a team. Not gaudy passing stats in either contest, but if we can hang 200+ yards rushing in every game, we’re going to win a lot of them. I am worried that the team does seem to be running in a few situations where I’d probably prefer they pass the ball – so I may need to roll up the sleeves there and see what we can go after.

We’re 2-0, we’re healthy, and we’re a game clear in the division already. Good start for the C-Dogs. Now we go on our annual visit to Hell Creek, to face the super secondary that usually gives us fits. Maybe all this up-the-gut stuff will get them to toss eight or nine guys in the box, freeing things up downfield? Didn’t think so.