[EKUAlum05]

Couple of things....

LexCath and Boyle have good OL and occasionally have kids go both ways. We've been doing it most of the season. While I agree, putting your "best players" on the DL too might have been the right call but against a skilled and well coached team like Boyle, it would be a tall task to ask them to play at that high of a level without getting reps in the season.

Getting a rush on the QB isn't as easy as you think it is. The next two offenses Belfry plays are not typical high school passing games. Both QBs can beat you with their arms. If you can't get to them very quickly, it will be a TD, especially with the Rebels. The Rebels are VERY fast and once a pass is caught in the open field it's bad news for the D. They run great routes and have great hands.

It's like us with our D. How are we going to play vs Belfry? Stack the box? Play straight up like every game? I'm not sure. Last years team we'd have played straight up but would have been successful, this year some injuries have taken their toll so we'll see if we get a matchup with the Pirates. It may have a lot to do with how we perform vs Lawrence Co vs the run. The big thing about our D is our DBs can play man vs Belfry WR if we decide to stack the box.

If Belfry and Boyle play and Boyle comes out in some unique Defense they haven't played all season then I will really like Belfry's chances.

"Stacking the box" (which we can all debate what that actually means) rarely is successful against Belfry. Often times it becomes paralysis by analysis and you have kids playing their position like they have never been asked to play it before. Assignments get missed, people end up out of position, and if Belfry is able to get to the second level a run that should be a 15 yard gain suddenly turns into a 50-yard gain.

The teams who defend Belfry the best are the teams who essentially play their base Defense or slightly modify it. If you want to commit an extra safety or turn an unused Corner into an extra LB, that is fine, but when you see a 4-3 team suddenly putting 6 men on the ground..usually those are the games Haywood licks his lips at.

The reason Central has traditionally been able to play Belfry so well is they have great LB play and enough speed to get outside when needed. If you get your LB trapped in the middle of the field or with bodies lying around him, those outside runs and counters suddenly open up in a big way.

Knowing Chuck Smith, I expect he will take his chances with what Boyle does best and not try to reinvent the wheel.