Hey Guys, I had the chance to go down to practice today. First let me begin by saying that I did not get the chance to see in of the practices in the spring and I'm not an X and O expert. I do feel I get a pretty good feel for things at practice as I simply try and compare the current players to players that have played well and been successful on gameday in prior years. This makes evaluating this practice tough because I don't really have much to compare it to with the systems being so different. Here are my basic thoughts.
1. It cracks me up when you hear national experts talking about this being a conservative offense or comparing it to the wishbone offenses of the 70s & 80s. This is really a pretty wide open attack and it would surprise me if this team didn't have the most plays we have ever had of 20 yards or more. This offense really puts a lot of pressure on the defense and we are going to hit a lot of long pass plays when everything is executed successfully.
2. The passing game worked against little or no pressure, but Nesbitt threw a really nice ball. Without a rush, it was hard to tell if the ball was getting out when it should, but he was very accurate and effective. Booker made a number of nice throws as did Jaybo. Jaybo doesn't have the arm of the other two but I think he is going to be effective down the road.
3. Cooper Taylor looks much more athletic than I thought he would. He looks a lot like Jeremy Muyres back there. I would think he gets in the two deep.
4. I think you have to be worried about the CB spot. Mario Butler did get some kind words from Coach Kelly. Rashad Reid could be a factor as well. We've got a chance to be competitive at the position but we've probably got a ways to go there.
5. Andrew Smith looked much stronger this year and was working very hard in his A-Back role
6. I didn't watch the defense much there wasn't much I could tell about them with the drills they were doing, but I feel comfortable with the LBs after the eyeball check. I feel like we will have the chance to be pretty good on defense if we can solidfy some depth in the secondary and the CB spot.
I've got to run to dinner, but I'd be happy to answer any questions. No time to proof, so I apologize in advance for any typos.
1. It cracks me up when you hear national experts talking about this being a conservative offense or comparing it to the wishbone offenses of the 70s & 80s. This is really a pretty wide open attack and it would surprise me if this team didn't have the most plays we have ever had of 20 yards or more. This offense really puts a lot of pressure on the defense and we are going to hit a lot of long pass plays when everything is executed successfully.
2. The passing game worked against little or no pressure, but Nesbitt threw a really nice ball. Without a rush, it was hard to tell if the ball was getting out when it should, but he was very accurate and effective. Booker made a number of nice throws as did Jaybo. Jaybo doesn't have the arm of the other two but I think he is going to be effective down the road.
3. Cooper Taylor looks much more athletic than I thought he would. He looks a lot like Jeremy Muyres back there. I would think he gets in the two deep.
4. I think you have to be worried about the CB spot. Mario Butler did get some kind words from Coach Kelly. Rashad Reid could be a factor as well. We've got a chance to be competitive at the position but we've probably got a ways to go there.
5. Andrew Smith looked much stronger this year and was working very hard in his A-Back role
6. I didn't watch the defense much there wasn't much I could tell about them with the drills they were doing, but I feel comfortable with the LBs after the eyeball check. I feel like we will have the chance to be pretty good on defense if we can solidfy some depth in the secondary and the CB spot.
I've got to run to dinner, but I'd be happy to answer any questions. No time to proof, so I apologize in advance for any typos.
