Saints working out kinks after season-opening loss

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 29, 2013 1:49 PM

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Instructing players to execute a block or a tackle in the open field usually results in a positive ending the first time.

Then it must become repetitive. And it becomes tedious, too, when you're teaching one person to play outside their normal starting position.

But when team depth is thin, getting the consistent reps is even more important. You never know when your number is going to be called.

That's the major task facing third-year Southern Wayne head coach David Lee and his staff.

"It's like teaching school, they do OK when you first tell them," Lee said. "(But) nobody has time to practice every play every day. They've all had a great attitude about it."

The Saints put five two-way starters on the field in their season opener against James Kenan. As the game progressed, the defensive line's ability to block diminished and it showed on game film.

Lee has stressed in practice this week that his linemen must get off the ball quicker and linebackers must react faster if the ball carrier reaches the second level on defense.

On offense, Southern Wayne (0-1 overall) will continue to slowly implement schemes into its playbook. Lee's team ran just 37 offensive plays that translated into less than 100 yards against the Tigers.

"Watching the film, it wasn't so much what we were doing, it was how we were doing it," Lee said. "We felt like we could have moved the ball a lot better had we not had a breakdown here or a missed block there."