A team with tremendous size would cause this team trouble. A team that is lined up to pound the ball would cause big trouble. A team that has a lot of speed matches well because this LZ team is built on speed. Their passing game is historically good for them. A team that runs 5 wide with 6-5, 6-3 on the outside could pose problems as well.
Unless Plainfield is a team with big wide receivers and a massive O-line, I don't see that fitting into the bad matchup category. But that would be why they will play at 1 on Saturday.
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Know nothing about PN's 8 speedsters mentioned, but if they have 8 bonafide speed athletes with skill, I don't understand why PN didn't find the mismatches all game long, all season long and eviscerate defenses. PN win stats look, on paper, very convincing, but not ESL Flyer-like convincing. Maybe vfl05 can shed light on this?
JMHO, between Newts's original post and CCHS's, they pretty much pin-pointed current and past Achilles heel of LZ ... size. '17 squad may be not as fast as '07 LZ squad, but overall team speed is at minimum competitive enough to disrupt the PN 8 Burners mentioned by VFL.
Sounded to me like Newt / CCHS were saying speed alone won't be the decisive factor, but overwhelming Rb / receiver speed AND an O-line that can generate gaping running lanes will be LZ's undoing.
My son started for '06 / '07 State Final LZ teams. So had a pretty good look at what that epic '06 Rita team had: 4 legit D1 players, at least one drafted Pro, and two featured RB's that had blinding speed AND a beefy / athletic O-line that LZ couldn't stop when Rita decided to let QB P. Balsam tuck and run up the middle. Rita line was unstoppable and their defensive speed / size equally stifling.
Rita decisively won, but they didn't eviscerate LZ with all their D1 talent and team speed. Admittedly, that Rita team was something special.
Fun to see two teams, from two vastly different conferences, collide in the playoffs and allow fans to get sense of how talent stacks up between them.
Best to both teams this Sat., just a little more to the blue team.