I apologize for not posting last night, but after the track meet I was exhausted and just needed to let things sink in before I responded. I don’t think anyone needs to make more out of this game than it was. Two very talented teams with a plethora of athletes making plays. I am not making any excuses just my blunt point of view
In my preview, I made a few key points and although I missed the score my assessment of the strategies was spot on. See below:
“The Packers run a variation of the spread. They will utilize quarterback keepers, jet sweeps and a quick hitting passes game to work down the field. This unit is considered to be very fast and will attempt to utilize the deep ball to keep teams honest.”
“Offensively, Dinwiddie will look to establish and maintain a sound running game. The offensive line was not really tested by Denbigh, so this unit will need to need to work hard to contain the Packers talented linebackers. Speaking of containment, the General defense will need to pressure Drew and keep him in the pocket. If the athletic Drew is able to break containment he will eat up yards in a hurry. I tend to believe the Packers will have difficulty establishing a consistent running game; however, this could be a double edge sword as Smithfield’s athletic receivers could test the inexperienced Dinwiddie defensive backs.”
First let me say that I was truly impressed with the Smithfield quarterback Willie Drew and his receiving corp. The Packers coaching staff took a page out of Monacan and Lake Taylor’s 2016 playoff playbook and threw the ball deep all night long. I don’t have the final stats, but I do know Drew attempted 43 passes and completed 20. He threw for over 350 yards and was picked off three times (one pick six). Most of his passes were homerun balls. He missed some and by the score you can tell he hit some. Smithfield failed to sustain any lengthy drive as every score was from long distance. They basically isolated our defensive backs with multi receiver sets and chucked it. It’s a 50/50 shot and that’s about what his completion percentage was.
Defensively, Dinwiddie defended the run very well. Especially with K’vaughan Pope setting out after suffering an ankle injury early in the first quarter (He will be fine by next week). Drew and their running back Caleb Brodie are elusive and with the exception of one long run Dinwiddie contained Smithfield’s on the ground. Initially, (first and second quarter) Dinwiddie utilized a containment rush to keep Drew in the pocket. The strategy kept Drew in the pocket, but he had all day to pass. In the second half Dinwiddie started applying more pressure and Drew was sacked several times. The pass rush helped tremendously as Drew threw a lot of balls up for grabs. On one play in particular, two of the Smithfield receivers ran the same route. The Dinwiddie defenders who had perfect coverage bumped into one another, Savage caught the ball and waltzed into the end zone. It was just one of those games and comical at times. I would honestly be surprised if Drew can lift his arm today.
Offensively, Dinwiddie simply ran, ran, and ran some more. Peetey Pope threw some good balls and some bad balls (1 interception). Smithfield should be given credit for some of his difficulties as they consistently blitzed and applied pressure. Popes ability to run helped and he ended up with about 140 yards in total offense. Zyan Sturdivant rushed for 180 and finished with 200+ total yards on the night. Sophomore, Josiah Williams had another great game scoring on a 95 yard kickoff return (second in two games), caught four passes, forced a fumble, recovered two fumbles and had an interception. Dinwiddies offensive line play was fair, but they need to do a better job of recognizing and picking up blitzes. I thought the Smithfield defensive backs and linebackers played the passing game well, but at times failed to defend the run. There was one odd observation. Starting in the first quarter Smithfield players routinely went to the ground with cramps. I am not saying it was not legit, but it sure slowed our offense down and allowed them to make substitutes. Either very poor conditioning or one heck of a strategy.
Dinwiddie owned special teams play with multiple long kickoff and punt returns. Kicker Todd Anspach recorded six touchbacks forcing Smithfield to start on the twenty. He also punted the ball well, had a 35 yard field goal and was 7 for 7 on pat’s.
Although both teams have a ton of work to do I came away from this game knowing I saw two playoff bound teams. If Smithfield can sure up their run defense, establish a sound running game and reduce their turnovers they will do very well in Region A. Dinwiddie was surprisingly conservative on both sides of the ball. Yes, Willie Drew’s ability to run and pass was surely a factor in the game plan, but if you are going to play man to man press coverage the Generals need to pin their ears back and rush the passer no matter the consequences. Until our young defensive backs mature they are going to occasionally get beat and blow coverage's. Fortunately, our next several games do not feature a dual threat quarterback and we can fix the things that hurt us last night.
Big tip of the cap to the Packers team, coaching staff and fans who traveled. You have a lot to be proud of. DP and I spoke to one of the Smithfield coaches or staff after the game. He stated he thought his team played well, but Dinwiddie showed why they are an elite team. “They got punched, but got up and punched us twice in return”. He said told his team “you cannot expect to beat a team of this caliber if you turn the ball over. You have to play almost perfect or you will get punished”. My thoughts exactly. Simply put, Dinwiddie made some mistakes, Smithfield didn’t stop us offensively and when the Packers made mistakes we capitalized. No need to over analyze this game. There are no what if’s or could haves to discuss. Its simply a win and we will get ready for Salem.
In my preview, I made a few key points and although I missed the score my assessment of the strategies was spot on. See below:
“The Packers run a variation of the spread. They will utilize quarterback keepers, jet sweeps and a quick hitting passes game to work down the field. This unit is considered to be very fast and will attempt to utilize the deep ball to keep teams honest.”
“Offensively, Dinwiddie will look to establish and maintain a sound running game. The offensive line was not really tested by Denbigh, so this unit will need to need to work hard to contain the Packers talented linebackers. Speaking of containment, the General defense will need to pressure Drew and keep him in the pocket. If the athletic Drew is able to break containment he will eat up yards in a hurry. I tend to believe the Packers will have difficulty establishing a consistent running game; however, this could be a double edge sword as Smithfield’s athletic receivers could test the inexperienced Dinwiddie defensive backs.”
First let me say that I was truly impressed with the Smithfield quarterback Willie Drew and his receiving corp. The Packers coaching staff took a page out of Monacan and Lake Taylor’s 2016 playoff playbook and threw the ball deep all night long. I don’t have the final stats, but I do know Drew attempted 43 passes and completed 20. He threw for over 350 yards and was picked off three times (one pick six). Most of his passes were homerun balls. He missed some and by the score you can tell he hit some. Smithfield failed to sustain any lengthy drive as every score was from long distance. They basically isolated our defensive backs with multi receiver sets and chucked it. It’s a 50/50 shot and that’s about what his completion percentage was.
Defensively, Dinwiddie defended the run very well. Especially with K’vaughan Pope setting out after suffering an ankle injury early in the first quarter (He will be fine by next week). Drew and their running back Caleb Brodie are elusive and with the exception of one long run Dinwiddie contained Smithfield’s on the ground. Initially, (first and second quarter) Dinwiddie utilized a containment rush to keep Drew in the pocket. The strategy kept Drew in the pocket, but he had all day to pass. In the second half Dinwiddie started applying more pressure and Drew was sacked several times. The pass rush helped tremendously as Drew threw a lot of balls up for grabs. On one play in particular, two of the Smithfield receivers ran the same route. The Dinwiddie defenders who had perfect coverage bumped into one another, Savage caught the ball and waltzed into the end zone. It was just one of those games and comical at times. I would honestly be surprised if Drew can lift his arm today.
Offensively, Dinwiddie simply ran, ran, and ran some more. Peetey Pope threw some good balls and some bad balls (1 interception). Smithfield should be given credit for some of his difficulties as they consistently blitzed and applied pressure. Popes ability to run helped and he ended up with about 140 yards in total offense. Zyan Sturdivant rushed for 180 and finished with 200+ total yards on the night. Sophomore, Josiah Williams had another great game scoring on a 95 yard kickoff return (second in two games), caught four passes, forced a fumble, recovered two fumbles and had an interception. Dinwiddies offensive line play was fair, but they need to do a better job of recognizing and picking up blitzes. I thought the Smithfield defensive backs and linebackers played the passing game well, but at times failed to defend the run. There was one odd observation. Starting in the first quarter Smithfield players routinely went to the ground with cramps. I am not saying it was not legit, but it sure slowed our offense down and allowed them to make substitutes. Either very poor conditioning or one heck of a strategy.
Dinwiddie owned special teams play with multiple long kickoff and punt returns. Kicker Todd Anspach recorded six touchbacks forcing Smithfield to start on the twenty. He also punted the ball well, had a 35 yard field goal and was 7 for 7 on pat’s.
Although both teams have a ton of work to do I came away from this game knowing I saw two playoff bound teams. If Smithfield can sure up their run defense, establish a sound running game and reduce their turnovers they will do very well in Region A. Dinwiddie was surprisingly conservative on both sides of the ball. Yes, Willie Drew’s ability to run and pass was surely a factor in the game plan, but if you are going to play man to man press coverage the Generals need to pin their ears back and rush the passer no matter the consequences. Until our young defensive backs mature they are going to occasionally get beat and blow coverage's. Fortunately, our next several games do not feature a dual threat quarterback and we can fix the things that hurt us last night.
Big tip of the cap to the Packers team, coaching staff and fans who traveled. You have a lot to be proud of. DP and I spoke to one of the Smithfield coaches or staff after the game. He stated he thought his team played well, but Dinwiddie showed why they are an elite team. “They got punched, but got up and punched us twice in return”. He said told his team “you cannot expect to beat a team of this caliber if you turn the ball over. You have to play almost perfect or you will get punished”. My thoughts exactly. Simply put, Dinwiddie made some mistakes, Smithfield didn’t stop us offensively and when the Packers made mistakes we capitalized. No need to over analyze this game. There are no what if’s or could haves to discuss. Its simply a win and we will get ready for Salem.
