I am sure today saw quite a few first scrimmages for county teams, and for all teams probably. Scrimmages are for one reason: to find out how you compare against another opponent but yourself. They let you know how far you have come, and how far you have to go. Most teams do not show everything they have, and today at Greenville, they were pretty vanilla, just the basics mostly.
As I watched, a couple of things came to mind. First, Greenville is miles ahead of last year. They are stronger and in better shape, and they are starting to understand the offense and defense. There were some mistakes, but the coaches were quick to analyze that and correct it. They will learn more once they see the film.
Greenville looked pretty good on offense; Gage Denham is tough to tackle, and the offensive line is starting to come together. We have to remember this is only the second year for this offense and defense, and there are a lot of new faces out there too. By keeping all that in perspective, I saw a big jump in performance.
Greenville’s starters can play with most schools, even the bigger ones we play later, but a lack of depth will hurt. It won’t hurt if they can stay healthy, but this is football and injuries occur. Still, playing both ways makes one awfully tired, and that is when mistakes occur.
Coach is right; it is a numbers game, and we need more young men, period! Greenville does have some size, but a lot of them will benefit from another year in the weight room. All in all, it was not bad; I really liked how the defense communicated, and I will say this for both units: they are not afraid to hit you! Coaching was evident throughout the scrimmage: no yelling, no screaming, just coaching. It is paying off.
One area that will be addressed is long snapping. They have a couple of people who just need to be more consistent; once they get used to it, I think they will be fine. Long snapping is difficult because the ball has to be snapped and caught in a timely manner. This is fixable. One of the guys will have that moment when the light comes on, and they will be fine!
This was the first test. Next Friday they travel to West Milton for another test, one that will be a little tougher, I imagine. Greenville should look even better, and should be well prepared for the opener at Eaton. First scrimmages are just that, the first look at what you have against real competition. I liked what I am seeing, but there is always room for growth. Should be a fun season!
That’s the way I see it…..from the sidelines!
