2008 Powell Panthers

[powellbubba]

Norman will be able to see Friday night action alot faster at OL than DL.

 

I hope Houston is able to stay healthy because Powell doesn't get very far without him. Good receivers, decent offensive line and no defense. Houston looks to be a dynamic player with a strong arm and really good speed. Drummer and Collins are above average high school receivers and Nickens is solid at tight end. Their running game could be OK, but I think everything depends on Houston, who looks like he could be the best Powell quarterback since Matt Lowe. Powell proably doesn't beat Maryville, Halls and Central -- their defense just isn't up to the task -- so they have to run the table against everyone else.

[FootballDad]

I hope Houston is able to stay healthy because Powell doesn't get very far without him. Good receivers, decent offensive line and no defense. Houston looks to be a dynamic player with a strong arm and really good speed. Drummer and Collins are above average high school receivers and Nickens is solid at tight end. Their running game could be OK, but I think everything depends on Houston, who looks like he could be the best Powell quarterback since Matt Lowe. Powell proably doesn't beat Maryville, Halls and Central -- their defense just isn't up to the task -- so they have to run the table against everyone else.

 

 

I'm sure Coach Lowe appreciates the compliment (didn't see him play personally) but I believe Cody Watts has most of the Powell QB records, I may be wrong. Have watched Watts and Houston. IMO Houston has not proven yet to be the same threat that Watts was, but thats no slam on Houston. He is a nice QB. That could be because Watts had a stronger supporting cast.

[IEatFootball]

That brightened my morning. I did hear though from my mother's uncle's brother's nephew that Fulton rested their entire team Thursday and fielded their pee wee squad. You can't be too careful with injury prevention.

 

Have a great season!

 

 

That was Fultons Starters...haha there just that young... /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

[powellbubba]

Cody Watts may have been a better overall athlete than Houston, but Kier throws the ball better and seems to be good at spreading it around. He also doesn't run as much as Watts and when he starts scrambling he's still looking downfield to make throws. But you're right footballdad, the proof will be in what he does this season. I think Houston will have to put up some huge numbers for Powell to make the playoffs because their defense struggles with containment and tackling. That said, I think the D's problems can be corrected with some tweaking.

[PowerSweep]

The only way Powell's Defense gets better is if the coaches get over this two-platoon system and put their best athletes in each position on both sides of the ball. It's the coaches job to get these guys in good enough shape so they can go both ways without fading too much late in the game.

[HTV]

I'm sure Coach Lowe appreciates the compliment (didn't see him play personally) but I believe Cody Watts has most of the Powell QB records, I may be wrong. Have watched Watts and Houston. IMO Houston has not proven yet to be the same threat that Watts was, but thats no slam on Houston. He is a nice QB. That could be because Watts had a stronger supporting cast.

 

 

 

That's a great question for debate, one that we may tackle on air as the season progresses. Powell has been fortunate to have some very good quarterbacks in the 2000s in Kier, Watts, and Cole Patrick.

 

Addressing your comment on the suppoting cast, Cody had a better supporting cast up front, but Kier has a better overall corp of receivers, and especially at the wideout slots. It would have been interesting to see what Cody would have done in the spread that Kier is running. Any way you look at it, both of them are talented athletes and very good quarterbacks.

 

By the way, Cody is currently listed as a starter at the X receiver spot for Eastern Kentucky and is the backup quarterback, as well. He is projected to be one of the primary kick returners for EKU, also.

[powellbubba]

That's a great question for debate, one that we may tackle on air as the season progresses. Powell has been fortunate to have some very good quarterbacks in the 2000s in Kier, Watts, and Cole Patrick.

 

Addressing your comment on the suppoting cast, Cody had a better supporting cast up front, but Kier has a better overall corp of receivers, and especially at the wideout slots. It would have been interesting to see what Cody would have done in the spread that Kier is running. Any way you look at it, both of them are talented athletes and very good quarterbacks.

 

By the way, Cody is currently listed as a starter at the X receiver spot for Eastern Kentucky and is the backup quarterback, as well. He is projected to be one of the primary kick returners for EKU, also.

 

 

In no way was I saying anything negative about Watts and his athletic ability. He was/is a tremendous athlete and I agree that his outside receivers weren't as good as what Houston has.

 

As far as two platooning goes I think the average high school team is lucky to have 20 really good football players at any one time. There may be 100 kids on the team, but most teams rely on juniors and seniors and kids that are going to be good next year may not be ready this year. And you usually aren't stocked with kids at every position (the 20 don't break down as two tackles, two guards, a center, etc.). Unfortunately out of the 20 you have it's likely some of them play the same position, so it makes it hard to get them all on the field. My example of why I wouldn't two platoon is this: If players only play defensive line and never learn to play offense, your fifth-best offensive lineman may really be your eighth, ninth or 10th best, but you'll never know. The further you go down on the depth chart in a two platoon system in high school the more likely it is you're playing someone who's not ready to compete on Friday night. I honestly think Powell has the talent of an 8-2, 7-3 football team, but I also think some of that talent is watered down a bit.

[AHSBUTTER]

Powell's qb is an amazing passer and ball carrier...he looked great at the Alcoa-Powell scrimmage a few weeks ago. Good Luck this season! /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[IEatFootball]

The only way Powell's Defense gets better is if the coaches get over this two-platoon system and put their best athletes in each position on both sides of the ball. It's the coaches job to get these guys in good enough shape so they can go both ways without fading too much late in the game.

 

 

I find it very shocking that you say this in regards to Defense needing some of the Offesive starters... Now if you were to say Offense could use some defensive guys ... then I could kinda see that more... But for you to say that Powells Offensive starters need to play Defense yields me to believe you havent seen Powell play or practice much at all this year. /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

[powellbubba]

I find it very shocking that you say this in regards to Defense needing some of the Offesive starters... Now if you were to say Offense could use some defensive guys ... then I could kinda see that more... But for you to say that Powells Offensive starters need to play Defense yields me to believe you havent seen Powell play or practice much at all this year. /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

 

 

I think it could cut both ways. Collins and Drummer would probably be pretty good free safeties because neither one seems to shy away from contact. Likewise #22, #26, #10 and #6 look like good enough athletes to help out on defense. Vise-versa Hanson has good hands and good speed and could help the offense and a couple of the linebackers look big and athletic enough to help on the offensive line. The free safety, #8, looks like a big hitter with good speed that could play a variety of places on both sides of the ball. I also think some of the reserve defensive lineman, #91 and #94, look like they could help the offensive line because they appear to be good athletes playing behind seniors. The cornerback, #16, is also a good athlete that could play on both sides of the ball. Why not teach every player a position on offense and defense then let the best man (boy) win. If one wins two positions, more power to him.

[osunut2]

I think it could cut both ways. Collins and Drummer would probably be pretty good free safeties because neither one seems to shy away from contact. Likewise #22, #26, #10 and #6 look like good enough athletes to help out on defense. Vise-versa Hanson has good hands and good speed and could help the offense and a couple of the linebackers look big and athletic enough to help on the offensive line. The free safety, #8, looks like a big hitter with good speed that could play a variety of places on both sides of the ball. I also think some of the reserve defensive lineman, #91 and #94, look like they could help the offensive line because they appear to be good athletes playing behind seniors. The cornerback, #16, is also a good athlete that could play on both sides of the ball. Why not teach every player a position on offense and defense then let the best man (boy) win. If one wins two positions, more power to him.

 

Matt Lowe implemented the 2-platoon system for two reasons, and I fully commend him for it - A) put more athletes on the field every Friday night, and /cool.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="B)" border="0" alt="cool.gif" /> keep his players fresh for 4 full quarters, not 3! I agree that it is a very difficult system to use, especially when you don't have 22 "great" starters, but I think this is a system that will particularly help the program in the future. It will encourage more athletes to come to Powell, since more players will see the field. But most importantly, these guys won't run out of gas by the end of the 3rd quarter. Over the last ten years (before Coach Lowe was hired), I witnessed numerous games where the Panthers had more talent on the field, but were gassed by the end of the 3rd quarter. The Bruhin brothers suffered greatly on Friday's nights because they were not used in a 2-platoon system.

[powellbubba]

I think it could cut both ways. Collins and Drummer would probably be pretty good free safeties because neither one seems to shy away from contact. Likewise #22, #26, #10 and #6 look like good enough athletes to help out on defense. Vise-versa Hanson has good hands and good speed and could help the offense and a couple of the linebackers look big and athletic enough to help on the offensive line. The free safety, #8, looks like a big hitter with good speed that could play a variety of places on both sides of the ball. I also think some of the reserve defensive lineman, #91 and #94, look like they could help the offensive line because they appear to be good athletes playing behind seniors. The cornerback, #16, is also a good athlete that could play on both sides of the ball. Why not teach every player a position on offense and defense then let the best man (boy) win. If one wins two positions, more power to him.

 

That's not a bad point and you have to give Matt Lowe credit for being creative. But there are kids at Powell that can play on both sides of the ball and having them go two ways would help the team. I believe Hanson is the most obvious example, but there are others. My counterpoint is what I wrote earlier: Why not let each player get a shot on both sides of the ball before putting him down as offense or defense only? Look around the region and Powell is the only team with this philosophy. That's not to say its the wrong philosophy, just different. Hopefully it proves to be the right one in the long run.