2008 Labor Day Championships
Truck Stop
Truck Stop is tough squad, and our game with them was close all the way to the end. The two strategy points that I took from this game were:
1. Like Colin Mahoney, but maybe scarier; Brian Stout is a load on D, and he gives them an instant offense off of the turnover. Simply positioning well with an athletic player may not be enough to stop a huck to him, and other team may have to make concessions with poaches or deep help that can let their offense run more smoothly. It seems like every NE team has some huge player causing mismatches...it must be tough to break into the 'elite' ranks without someone there more than anywhere else in the country.
2. Truck lost 3 games by 1 point. Just from watching them in a single game, they have an extremely efficient offense, but one that basically keeps their players in their strongest positions for the entire game. Advantage; they are always using their strengths (Moldenhauer going deep, Morgan cutting, McComb handling, etc). However, this does make it easier to match up in important, late-game points; you can adapt your matchups to focus on the places on the field that they are going to be. Would switching some plays (sending handlers deep, like Chain does so well...or bringing athletes back to handle, like Jam) make them more effective over 15 points?