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Yesterday's practice went rather well from my perspective.
I got what information I could on the Trojans, which consisted of talking to one of the coaches that have scrimmaged them often enough. 3 tight ends and an "I" backfield is what I'm told. Nothing too special, not too fast.
That's a dramatic change from when we scrimmaged them some 4-5 weeks ago, where they were a confusing, unprepared, Wing-T team. Actually, this info made me feel even better about the game than before.
Defensively, they're still a 5-3, but they essentially now have their top 3 players (Tyler, Seth, and Casey) at linebackers. Before, they experimented with them at safety and defensive end. I like this as well, as it might be easier to block out there line. If our tight ends and wings make the good block on the backers, we should be in business.
Practice started with some tackling, though they certainly didn't get enough to satisfy me. They were actually asking for some 5 on 5 halfline work. We went to team defense after that, where we repped some scout offense against them. Pitch left, pitch right, off tackle left and right, dives. Play actions. Alex took the spot of Ryan, which I hope will allow Ryan to rest a few plays and re-energize him for the offense.
Unfortunately, Alex quickly forgot about how to line up properly and allowed himself to get blown out when he was hit. Alex's days as a starter are probably over on Saturday. Otherwise, I can only hope we're ready defensively for a team I wasn't able to scout.
Offensively, I think we're sharper than last week. Our counter off the power caused me headaches. I probably won't call that play if it looks that bad during our walkthrough Saturday morning. It was screwed up the first 3 times we ran it to one side. When I flipped it, I had the exact same problem going the other way. Flippin crazy.
Otherwise, not too bad.
Special teams got Hunter upset. He was replaced at punter after his bad game by Carlos. Not a happy camper. I'll give him another shot next week. I also took him and Ray off the kickoff team after observing some loafing by them.
We'll see. The Bulldogs coach watched our game last Saturday and doesn't believe I have much to worry about. I wish I felt the same way. I was up the past couple of hours dreaming about the game.
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