Chalk Talk with Coach Walter Reed - Rocky's Blog

Rocky's Blog

Chalk Talk with Coach Walter Reed

Posted on January 2, 2009 at 12:27 AM.

(1)

Welcome to this week's chalk talk with Charlotte Savages head coach Walter Reed. Tonight Coach Reed will talk about the 1st 3 games of the season in the OS South Division of the Armchair QB's League.

Q: The Savages are coming off a tough home loss to the Pittsburgh Iron. What went differently in the last games than the 1st two?

Coach Reed: All three teams are very good ball clubs. I don't know if much seperates the three, but you have to give credit to the Iron. They have some real talent on the defensive side of the ball and a QB and a RB that can hurt you offensively. They're a well built team and played to their strengths.

Defensively, we can't give up the big play. For the most part, I felt like we were stout against the run. Harry Carson did a great job playing sideline to sideline. We still gave up too many big runs. Against a good running back, he's going to get some yards, but I felt like we didn't hold in key situations.

Offensively, we still have to get comfortable passing the ball. We rushed for over 200 yards against a defense with probaly 2 of the best defensive players in this league in (Elvin) Bethea and (Jack) Lambert. I was very pleased with our offensive line and how they stepped up to the challenge. But David (Krieg), still has to find a comfort level with our receivers. The Iron did some different things coverage wise to confuse him early, but toward the end I felt like he really got comfortable and figured them out.

Q: A key stat from last game was the fact the Savages went 0 for 6 on third down. Can you please discuss your troubles on those downs?

Coach Reed: There is no doubt we have to get better in that area. Acheiving a Run/Pass threat is a key and we got to be comfortable throwing on third down. But there were a couple of third and shorts that we didn't get and there is really no excuse for that. Our line has to understand that the Russian Army can be on the other side and we still have to find a way to get that yard. We're too good in the backfield and on the line not to get those.

Q: Barry Sanders has 692 yards through the first 3 games of the season and is an early front runner for the League MVP award. Talk a little bit about what has made him successful.

Coach Reed: A lot of credit goes to the whole offense from that success. You don't get big runs without the receivers blocking downfield. They're doing a tremendous job at that aspect. Obviously, I feel like our line is exceptional and has lived up to they hype. Dermontti (Dawson) did a tremendous job getting to the second level and stoning Lambert on our inside runs. Of course credit goes to Little for taking on the d tackles. All the way around we have great blockers.

However, Barry is the best back (that) I have ever seen. He has made some real jaw-dropping runs. Most importantly, he makes plays when our team needs them. Our guys know that if this play is blocked well, it has a chance to be a quick touchdown.

Q: Defensively, you guys are holding up despite some injuries to the Cornerback position. Can you please talk about the success of the D so far?

A: We want to stop the run defensively. We have made that no secret. But eventually you have to make some plays when they throw the ball and we have. We have 3 picks in 3 games which is pretty decent. Our corners are smart and very physical. We have a great safety in Eugene Robinson to help those guys out. We're doing okay defensively and I'm very pleased. There is still much room for improvement.

Thanks Coach Reed for the time. Good luck the next couple of games.

Comments

# 1 RogueHominid @ Jan 2

Dawson was a nice pick--very unconventional. I'm really curious to hear how you assess his season-long impact on the team. I tried him out a while bak but just couldn't figure out how to call plays that would get him blocking the MLB or doing more than doubling the DT. Sounds like he's very active for you. Keep up the good work!