Post scrimmage evals

It is hard to really tell a whole lot from one intersquad scrimmage, but I will try. I watched most of Marana's Blue and Gold scrimmage on Saturday and have a better feel for the Tiger football team. 

The first thing I noticed is that the offense has a firm grasp of the concepts. The past few years it seemed as if the offense was always a work in progress. A few years ago the Tigers went through fall camp planning on running an option attack but had abandoned it by halftime of the first game.

Last year it was better, but they had two quarterbacks and two different philosophies depending on who was under center. By the end of the season Ben Honea had the offense running better, but on Saturday the offense under Honea was already running as smooth as it was on week eight last year.

Honea and his running backs were making reads far quicker than they did last year and the right reads were being made more often. The passing game was also sharper, with no confusion between the quarterbacks and receivers on routes.

All was not perfect on offense. The first team offense struggled to run between the tackles and most of the big plays came on quarterback keepers. The passing game was not as sharp as it probably needs to be downfield, though the short passing game was mostly effective. 

Like the offense, the defense really seemed to have a nice grasp of the concepts and played with confidence. Things were not perfect, there were a few communication issues, but for the most part the defense appears to be entering the season far more confident in the schemes than they have in the past.

The new Tiger staff has been coaching together for some time and they have a system that works. If things get bumpy they will stay the course and not tweak things. 

The Tigers have some talent, but lack size on the lines. They are particularly small on the interior defensive line and will need to get some strong linebacker play to make up for it. 

If the Tigers hope to make a playoff run they will need to find some additional playmakers on offense. They seem to have some potential playmakers at receiver, Devone Roebuck being one, but need a running back or two who can take some of the pressure of Honea.

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