14-7 Salem
#42 from Salem needs to play linebacker all the time. I know he's been hurt, but he's good.
#42 from Salem needs to play linebacker all the time. I know he's been hurt, but he's good.
Salem vs Byrd Score
- Thread starter close2salem
- Start date
That was the worst offensive line performance I have ever seen from a Salem football team by a very large margin.
Good thing they decided to put #42 in on defense. He came in and completely turned the game around. He was about 1/10th of a second away from forcing a fumble on the WB trick play that went for a TD in the 4th quarter. Also, kudos to #6 on offense that came in and made some big plays. His catch in the 3rd quarter gave the team a lot of momentum.
The first half was unlike anything I have ever witnessed. Two awful snaps on punts that resulted in tackles on the punter a 70-yard TD catch dropped with nobody around and a 50-yard catch dropped.
Good thing they decided to put #42 in on defense. He came in and completely turned the game around. He was about 1/10th of a second away from forcing a fumble on the WB trick play that went for a TD in the 4th quarter. Also, kudos to #6 on offense that came in and made some big plays. His catch in the 3rd quarter gave the team a lot of momentum.
The first half was unlike anything I have ever witnessed. Two awful snaps on punts that resulted in tackles on the punter a 70-yard TD catch dropped with nobody around and a 50-yard catch dropped.
Not sure but I wouldn't be surprised if he averaged less than 2 yards per carry. It usually took 3 broken tackles to gain two yards.
Didn't get a chance to go, kinda OK with that in retrospect. Sounds like embarrassing doesn't even begin to cover the offensive performance. Defensively, however, you can't be upset much and they were one bad tackle from keeping Basham out of the endzone entirely. Byrd got so much good field position off TOs and came up with 7 points from it, easily what cost them the game.
The start to that game has to be the literal worst 1st quarter in the history of Salem football. I flat out refuse to believe there's ever been anything worse.
The start to that game has to be the literal worst 1st quarter in the history of Salem football. I flat out refuse to believe there's ever been anything worse.
Byrd had a good game plan. They were loading the box sometimes. At least that's what it looked like. Also, there weren't many holes for Ramsey to run through. It looked like there was a problem on our weak side. Byrd was catching our RB from the backside. Beckley looked under pressure all night. I'd be making adjustments on the offensive line. Doing the same thing and hoping for a different outcome is just not going to cut it I'm afraid.
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Not really, they played a pretty standard front that Salem sees all the time. They just got whipped.
The LBs and secondary played very well and tackling for the most part was good. I was most impressed with how hard they were hitting. Basham was taking some massive shots but credit to him because it didn't even shake him.
Was not overly impressed with the DL until #42 started dominating in the second half.
Don't think offensive line is fixable. We just have little or no talent up front. I'm sure they are great kids who are giving it their all but they just getting beat by better players
Losing Mundy was absolutely brutal. Completely snakebit on OL in recent years.
After Salem's Performances in their first 2 games, they may want to reconsider dropping Carroll co. & picking up Dinwiddie next year. geeez!
What Salem has done for years has been the envy of offense line play in the state why should they change. Sometimes you just don't have the horses ( in this case mules)
I'm not saying change your scheme. I'm saying there may need to be some personnel changes.
The problem in the punting game was our usual long snapper was out for this game. Will be back next week. Both first two punt problems was due to bad snaps.
I guess poor ol' William Byrd had absolutely nothing to do with Salem's performance?!?
According to some of these posts, I just assumed WB missed the bus.
High expectations in Salem. Not a bad thing. Salem had four turnovers, two dropped td passes, missed field goal, and poor offensive line play. Still won
Salem has made a season's worth of mental mistakes in 2 weeks which is highly uncharacteristic of a typical Salem team. Amherst and Byrd are 2 good teams this year but you can't see all these TOs and untimely penalties and poor tackling(week 1) and not look inward.
On the positive side it was good to see them fix the two biggest defensive issues from week 1. They tackled so much better and didn't have any blown coverages downfield. William Byrd actually had some very well designed plays off play action, and some off reverse passes, pitch passes, etc, but the safeties and corners read the plays well and stayed home. Safety #2 played so much better but was unfortunately the victim of an egregious pass interference call.
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Basham's first 2 games: 50 carries, 532 yards(10.6ypc), 10 TD
Basham tonight: 32 carries, 137 yards(4.2ypc), 1 TD
Suffice to say it looks like the off-week did the D some good. They only let up on 1 play for him and it was the TD run, which Byrd got because of a TO due to snapping issues. Definitely think they could have blanked Basham if not for that TO.
Basham tonight: 32 carries, 137 yards(4.2ypc), 1 TD
Suffice to say it looks like the off-week did the D some good. They only let up on 1 play for him and it was the TD run, which Byrd got because of a TO due to snapping issues. Definitely think they could have blanked Basham if not for that TO.
I should also give a shoutout to LB #44 for Salem. He was much improved from the JF scrimmage and Amherst game. Huge hit on the last third down for WB to make them kick the FG.
Week 3 is in the books and, in my opinion, there still is not enough evidence to evaluate where Salem is going. The heat of the first week, injuries, and the MRSA absences this week have all impacted games. The Spartans corrected some glaring defensive deficiencies from Week 1 in their tackling and on the back end which is a positive. Holding Basham to 1 TD and 137 yards is a solid effort IMO. It is also a reflection of the difference in running on a fast artificial surface the first couple of weeks and what would charitably be called a slower natural grass surface at Byrd. The offensive line issues for Salem will not get fixed overnight and the best that can be hoped for is a game plan to play to strengths and minimize exposure to weaknesses and hold the fort down until some key personnel return. Byrd deserves props for holding Ramsey in check. Never would have thought 11 yards in 13 carries even with poor blocking. From a glass half full perspective they are 1-1, have had the chance to evaluate some youngsters and possibly find some players/depth for down the road, and the weaknesses shown are correctable with coaching, more live game experience and/or the return of missing personnel.
No, just a few players had it. MRSA is more common than people think. Not a big deal, but it hurts losing a starter to it. The player with it should be back for the next game...I hope.
Yes, he had a good tackle to force the field goal in OT. Defense looked better this week. I'd like to see a little more passion on the field across the board from the players. It just seemed like some were playing a little flat while others were going after it. Maybe I'm wrong.
Team may need some emotional leadership. Might be playing a little tight. Tough for young kids to meet the expectations that routinely accompany a Salem football season.
