Week 8 Big Games in Memphis

[Professor Chaos]

If fairly wins out and melrose beats east and there is a 3 way tie. How will the seeds go?

 

 

 

Also TraderB, after seeing them in person, how does this year's Fairley and Melrose teams compare to last years?

[Scotty92592]

See and you people said Millington looked bad against Ridgeway.

NO, Ridgeway just has a good defensive scheme.

[TraderB]

Also TraderB, after seeing them in person, how does this year's Fairley and Melrose teams compare to last years?

 

 

Melrose 2008 is one notch better :

 

1) Prior to last night, I felt that Melrose 2008 was about 2 notches better, overall, than last year. After last night's loss to Fairley..... Well, I must back off and say that they're only 1-notch better....

 

2) This year's team plays with much more poise than last year's. Their maturity shows, especially with their gunslinger QB -- Toney. This is the primary reason that I think this year's squad is just a bit better, overall.

 

3) Excellent, sure-handed receivers.

 

4) Their biggest problem this year (and EVERY year) is the lack of a kicking game. It cost them the game last night (although they failed to capitalize on other opportunities that would have changed the outcome). It cost them the game vs MUS. It was not really a factor vs Whitehaven.

 

5) Their lack of a good Red-Zone running game hurt them vs Whitehaven ( 2 or 3 empty trips). It hurt them vs MUS (2 empty trips). It was not really an issue last night, as Melrose had only 1 empty trip as the 1st-half ended....that was with it's starting QB out with a minor injury.

 

6) Melrose's pass defense got gashed by Fairley last night. Their run defense was good enough, except Fairley's QB hurt them A LOT with his many scrambles. Melrose failed to make proper halftime adjustments, to minimize the QB's effectiveness.

 

7) Melrose's loss to Fairley last night was primarily a function of the solid, savvy play of Fairley's QB. He consistently hurt Melrose with arm and legs. He routinely converted 3rd-&-longs, by scrambling out of the pocket.

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Fairley 2008 is 2 or 3 notches better:

 

1) Prior to last night's win over Melrose, I said that this year's Fairley team was NOT as good as last year. I felt that their defense was too porous. Well, I must concede that Fairley 2008 is 2 or 3 notches better than last year.

 

2) Their defense gave up a ton of pass yards ( ** nearly 300 + 3 TDs), but held Melrose's runing game in check. Plus, they stepped up and stopped Melrose when they had to..... They bent a lot, but did not break as often as did Melrose's defense.

 

** No defense has shut down Melrose's QB Toney, this year! While Whitehaven did an excellent job on him, he still put up impressive numbers. As a result, I can't hold this against Fairley.

 

3) Fairley and Melrose appeared to be two evenly matched teams, last night. Fairley's QB stood out as the only noticeable difference...

 

4) Their QB is much, much more improved. He makes better reads. He makes better decisions. He throws the ball with much greater accuracy. He appears to have a much better "feel" for the pocket: when to stand pat, when to roll-out, when to take off running, etc... Last year, he tended to throw the ball up for grabs a whole lot, took needless sacks & just made consistently horrible decisions.

 

5) Fairley has a half-way decent XP kicker.

 

6) Receivers tend to drop a lot of wide open passes.

 

7) Fairley's Coaching staff out-coached Melrose last night. They consistently "check-mated" Melrose @ every turn, especially after falling behind 12 - 0.

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Summary:

 

Both Fairley and Melrose represent a bona fide threat to Henry County. Fairley might just be a bit more of a threat, primarily because of the remarkable improvement & savvy play of its multi-faceted QB.

[Professor Chaos]

Melrose 2008 is one notch better :

 

1) Prior to last night, I felt that Melrose 2008 was about 2 notches better, overall, than last year. After last night's loss to Fairley..... Well, I must back off and say that they're only 1-notch better....

 

2) This year's team plays with much more poise than last year's. Their maturity shows, especially with their gunslinger QB -- Toney. This is the primary reason that I think this year's squad is just a bit better, overall.

 

3) Excellent, sure-handed receivers.

 

4) Their biggest problem this year (and EVERY year) is the lack of a kicking game. It cost them the game last night (although they failed to capitalize on other opportunities that would have changed the outcome). It cost them the game vs MUS. It was not really a factor vs Whitehaven.

 

5) Their lack of a good Red-Zone running game hurt them vs Whitehaven ( 2 or 3 empty trips). It hurt them vs MUS (2 empty trips). It was not really an issue last night, as Melrose had only 1 empty trip as the 1st-half ended....that was with it's starting QB out with a minor injury.

 

6) Melrose's pass defense got gashed by Fairley last night. Their run defense was good enough, except Fairley's QB hurt them A LOT with his many scrambles. Melrose failed to make proper halftime adjustments, to minimize the QB's effectiveness.

 

7) Melrose's loss to Fairley last night was primarily a function of the solid, savvy play of Fairley's QB. He consistently hurt Melrose with arm and legs. He routinely converted 3rd-&-longs, by scrambling out of the pocket.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Fairley 2008 is 2 or 3 notches better:

 

1) Prior to last night's win over Melrose, I said that this year's Fairley team was NOT as good as last year. I felt that their defense was too porous. Well, I must concede that Fairley 2008 is 2 or 3 notches better than last year.

 

2) Their defense gave up a ton of pass yards ( ** nearly 300 + 3 TDs), but held Melrose's runing game in check. Plus, they stepped up and stopped Melrose when they had to..... They bent a lot, but did not break as often as did Melrose's defense.

 

** No defense has shut down Melrose's QB Toney, this year! While Whitehaven did an excellent job on him, he still put up impressive numbers. As a result, I can't hold this against Fairley.

 

3) Fairley and Melrose appeared to be two evenly matched teams, last night. Fairley's QB stood out as the only noticeable difference...

 

4) Their QB is much, much more improved. He makes better reads. He makes better decisions. He throws the ball with much greater accuracy. He appears to have a much better "feel" for the pocket: when to stand pat, when to roll-out, when to take off running, etc... Last year, he tended to throw the ball up for grabs a whole lot, took needless sacks & just made consistently horrible decisions.

 

5) Fairley has a half-way decent XP kicker.

 

6) Receivers tend to drop a lot of wide open passes.

 

7) Fairley's Coaching staff out-coached Melrose last night. They consistently "check-mated" Melrose @ every turn, especially after falling behind 12 - 0.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Summary:

 

Both Fairley and Melrose represent a bona fide threat to Henry County. Fairley might just be a bit more of a threat, primarily because of the remarkable improvement & savvy play of its multi-faceted QB.

 

 

 

With the improvement of Toney and Fairley's qb (I do remember him throwing it up for grabs quite a bit last year) would you say that these are two predominately passing teams that a) cannot run the ball consistently, choose not to run the ball consistently because of their passing games, or c) could not run the ball against the other because each team's respective run defense was too strong? Is the passing game the way to attack both team's defenses or is this each offense's specialty? Thank you for your opinion.

[TraderB]

With the improvement of Toney and Fairley's qb (I do remember him throwing it up for grabs quite a bit last year) would you say that these are two predominately passing teams that a) cannot run the ball consistently, /cool.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="B)" border="0" alt="cool.gif" /> choose not to run the ball consistently because of their passing games, or c) could not run the ball against the other because each team's respective run defense was too strong? Is the passing game the way to attack both team's defenses or is this each offense's specialty? Thank you for your opinion.

 

 

Both of these teams are predominately passing teams (Melrose moreso). This is their specialty. This is what both teams do exceptionally well.

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Melrose -- 75 to 80% pass:

 

 

1) Despite their massive OL (avg appx 260 - 270lbs), they Can NOT run the ball consistently. They don't run-block very well, IMO. They occasionally attempted to run on Fairley, but did not have any consistent success.

 

2) They are not going to waste too many snaps trying to run the ball, regardless. They do NOT play ball-control; they are a quick-strike offense! It does not matter what the distance and down, Melrose is 3 times more likely to pass the ball....That's evidence of their extreme confidence in their QBs arm.

 

3) Now that they have added former CBHS star/Olive Branch RB Eric Watson, their running game should improve dramatically, provided the Coaches (forget the politics and) give him enough touches.

 

4) Eric is a much superior RB to the current starter (Nash), IMO. Eric has the quickness, power & speed to make things happen once he get a sliver of daylight. His presence in the backfield makes Melrose more dangerous...

 

5) By the time the playoffs start, Eric will have had a full 2 weeks to get used to Melrose's system. I fully expect Melrose to run the ball a bit more @ that time, as they will have (no doubt) discovered the potency of his RB ability.

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Fairley -- 60 to 70% pass:

 

 

1) While the RB's could NOT run consistently vs Melrose's defense, the QB had a whole lot of success scrambling/running the ball.

 

2) They run the ball more consistently & effectively than does Melrose. They are more content to keep it on the ground, if necessary. Their running game contains a lot more "wrinkles" than melrose's.

 

3) Fairley's offensive approach appears to be much more creative, adaptable and progressive than Melrose's plain "vanilla" approach.

[GoChiefs]

See and you people said Millington looked bad against Ridgeway.

NO, Ridgeway just has a good defensive scheme.

 

 

Scotty.....I'd say it's more of teams underestimating Ridgeway after Cordova made them look like a middle school team. Millington came out flat against them and didn't turn it on until late in the 3rd quarter. Craigmont came out flat against them and didn't turn it on until........well, never. Not to take anything away from Ridgeway at all. They made great adjustments that shut down the Chiefs from the 2nd quarter on. But I would agree to an extent that Millington and Craigmont both, more so for Craigmont, struggled against a very unorthodox scheme. They brought 7-8 guys almost every play against Craigmont.

[TraderB]

Scotty.....I'd say it's more of teams underestimating Ridgeway after Cordova made them look like a middle school team. Millington came out flat against them and didn't turn it on until late in the 3rd quarter. Craigmont came out flat against them and didn't turn it on until........well, never. Not to take anything away from Ridgeway at all. They made great adjustments that shut down the Chiefs from the 2nd quarter on. But I would agree to an extent that Millington and Craigmont both, more so for Craigmont, struggled against a very unorthodox scheme. They brought 7-8 guys almost every play against Craigmont.

 

 

Look, I like Ridgeway-- but they simply are not a very good team, IMO!

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Ridgeway will likely finish 3rd in the Region, then get shellacked in their 1st round playoff game to Region 8's 2nd-place team (likely White Station, although it won't really matter who the representative is...that team will still beat Rigeway).

[cam6]

Scotty.....I'd say it's more of teams underestimating Ridgeway after Cordova made them look like a middle school team. Millington came out flat against them and didn't turn it on until late in the 3rd quarter. Craigmont came out flat against them and didn't turn it on until........well, never. Not to take anything away from Ridgeway at all. They made great adjustments that shut down the Chiefs from the 2nd quarter on. But I would agree to an extent that Millington and Craigmont both, more so for Craigmont, struggled against a very unorthodox scheme. They brought 7-8 guys almost every play against Craigmont.

 

 

I would say you need to go back and look at the Cordova Ridgeway game and see how many turnovers Ridgeway gave up and where they turned the ball over at and then look at the crazy punt return Cordova had and then still make the statement of making them look like a Middle school team. Ridgeway did everything they could to help Cordova win that game. They are not a real good football team but they do have an attacking defense that can cause problems for high school teams but do not pose much threat on the offensive side. I watched Cordova play Bartlett Friday and Bartlett is bad and the score is not very telling on what really happened in that game. Barlett played with them and they still had their starters when they scored the last touchdown in the fourth qtr. so what does that say about Cordova? I was not impressed with Cordova at all.

[cam6]

Look, I like Ridgeway-- but they simply are not a very good team, IMO!

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ridgeway will likely finish 3rd in the Region, then get shellacked in their 1st round playoff game to Region 8's 2nd-place team (likely White Station, although it won't really matter who the representative is...that team will still beat Rigeway).

 

 

i agree that ridgeway is not very good and if they were to play White Station then they have to stop one threat, Burton. White Station is a one man team when it comes to playmakers. I do not say Ridegway would win because they can't score either i am just saying the Spartans are not world beaters by far.

i think all the 5A participants are average on both sides outside of Whaven and millington.

[escaladedriver32]

I would say you need to go back and look at the Cordova Ridgeway game and see how many turnovers Ridgeway gave up and where they turned the ball over at and then look at the crazy punt return Cordova had and then still make the statement of making them look like a Middle school team. Ridgeway did everything they could to help Cordova win that game. They are not a real good football team but they do have an attacking defense that can cause problems for high school teams but do not pose much threat on the offensive side. I watched Cordova play Bartlett Friday and Bartlett is bad and the score is not very telling on what really happened in that game. Barlett played with them and they still had their starters when they scored the last touchdown in the fourth qtr. so what does that say about Cordova? I was not impressed with Cordova at all.

 

Cordova returned a punt against Ridgeway for a touchdown and there was nothing crazy about it. Rashard Shaw outran their punt coverage team. Also, Ridgeway was suppose to be so strong on offense with "Mr. Electric" at RB he didn't do anything and neither did anyone else, there whole offense was shut down, but go ahead and not give Cordova any credit. Just for the record, Cordova's starters left the Bartlett game in the THIRD quarter. Bartlett had two first downs before that and the sophmore kids played the entire fourth quarter (with a few seniors who never play defense--2 RB, 1 OL, 1 WR-thrown in). Bartlett NEVER even challenged Cordova, after the 75 yard opening kickoff return Bartlett was out of the game. Rashard Shaw (senior RB) didn't even play the entire second half. You are definitely wrong about the Cordova vs. Bartlett game.

[escaladedriver32]

Cordova returned a punt against Ridgeway for a touchdown and there was nothing crazy about it. Rashard Shaw outran their punt coverage team. Also, Ridgeway was suppose to be so strong on offense with "Mr. Electric" at RB he didn't do anything and neither did anyone else, there whole offense was shut down, but go ahead and not give Cordova any credit. Just for the record, Cordova's starters left the Bartlett game in the THIRD quarter. Bartlett had two first downs before that and the sophmore kids played the entire fourth quarter (with a few seniors who never play defense--2 RB, 1 OL, 1 WR-thrown in). Bartlett NEVER even challenged Cordova, after the 75 yard opening kickoff return Bartlett was out of the game. Rashard Shaw (senior RB) didn't even play the entire second half. You are definitely wrong about the Cordova vs. Bartlett game.

 

Bartlett also got the ball on two different ocassions inside the 35 yard line and did absolutely nothing with it. Maybe you should go back and watch the game. They made about 8 first downs on one drive against the sophomores other than that they got pushed around.

[kwc]

Rubber ... meet Road; Road ... meet Rubber. It's that time of the season in high school football in Tennessee, especially in Memphis and the surrounding area. Crucial, seed determining games will be played in the next few weeks. I have seven games that I think are big in the Memphis area.

 

 

Melrose (8-4A) vs Fairley (8-4A): @ JPF

 

Pick: Melrose

 

 

Kingsbury (8-4A) vs Memphis East (8-4A): @ Fairgrounds

 

Pick: East

 

 

MUS (D2-2A West) vs Briarcrest (D2-2A West): @ MUS

 

Pick: MUS

 

 

CBHS (D2-2A West) vs ECS (D2-2A West): @ CBHS

 

Pick: CBHS

 

 

Ridgeway (7-5A) vs Craigmont (7-5A): @ Raleigh Egypt

 

Pick: Craigmont

 

 

Houston (8-5A) vs Germantown (8-5A): @ Houston

 

Pick: Germantown

 

 

Whitehaven (8-5A) vs Kirby (8-5A): @ Kirby (Homecoming)

 

Pick: Whitehaven

 

That's it for me. Jump on in ... the water is fine. Tell me what you think.

 

 

 

Fairley wins 19-18 ... 1 I missed.

East beat Kingsbury 32-9 ... 1 for me.

MUS pounded Briarcrest 48-7 ... 2 for me.

CBHS squeeked by ECS 10-3 ... 3 for me.

Ridgeway beat Craigmont in close one 14-6 ... 2 I missed.

Houston demolished Germantown 42-21 ... 3 I missed.

Whitehaven defeated Kirby 29-12 ... 4 for me.

 

All in all I went 4-3 ... not terrific, yet not bad. The Fairley/Melrose game does not surprise me but I did not see Houston beating Germantown by 21 ... not in a million years. I didn't think MUS would pummel Briarcrest like they did. Wow! ... Oh well.