Everyone make sure to read this post. It's catching footballs 101 to not let the ball get into your body.
There's a reason Prosise projected on safety instead of WR coming out of high school... I'm not saying he can't be a very good WR, but he does not have superior ball skills for an offensive player. Frankly, neither does Will Fuller who has all the speed/quickness you could ask for but doesn't have the best hands. Doesn't mean you can't be a really good or great receiver, but I think we'll definitely see more drops this year than we would like.
Yup, I'm with you and GoIrish41. Great receivers use their hands to catch a ball, not their body. CJ will struggle unless he get's this taken care of. I'm glad he held onto that 2nd TD, but that first drop could have been costly against a team like Michigan!
My observations:
1. OL protection could have been better at times, but I think they'll get better. Heistand excels at teaching pass protection I think, and it helps when you have a mobile QB that can bail out your OL when things get hairy. I know it wasn't the most talented front 7 we'll see, but I liked what I was seeing with the run blocking. I think we got better in that area as the game went on, possibly tiring Rice out as we pounded the rock.
2. Golson was awesome, no doubt. I would like to see him sit in the pocket a bit more and go through progressions though. He still seems to have a tendency to take off if his first option isn't open. It's hard to be upset over 3 rushing TDs, I just don't want to see him get banged up though. I'm confidant Zaire would do an awesome job if he was in, but Golson isn't quite as sturdy as a Tim Tebow. He put some muscle on in his year away, but he's still liable to take some nasty shots if he takes off a lot this season.
3. No complaints as far as Cam, Bryant, and Folston. All did an excellent job I thought, and Bryant definitely made a case for himself to receive a majority of the touches. I thought all 3 guys received a fair number of carries with Cam and GB at 8 and Folston at 12. As far as the Cam haters...he had the longest run of the day at 23 yards
4. WRs-It's already been mentioned, but CJ can't drop a sure TD like he did. He's got to use his hands and not his body. Fuller had a drop too I think, but his wasn't as pretty of a pass if I recall. Koyack had a drop, but he did make a few good plays. I was surprised we didn't see more Brown after he was talked up so much, but was not surprised to see Fuller do well. The kid is a play maker, and he wears the #7 well.
5. Defensive line drew some ire, but I liked what I saw from Sheldon Day and a couple others. Trumbetti made a nice stop when he was in. I don't think the DL did a terrible job containing, I think they kept Rice from running outside a bit and forced them back inside (Which is probably why Schmidt saw so much action today).
6. Linebackers missed a few tackles, but overall looked good. Onwualu got a lot of praise it seemed. Schmidt saw a lot of action and made plays. Jaylon seemed quiet, maybe it's just me, but I think Rice was running away from him to try and take him out of play a bit. It was nice to see Nyles Morgan in later, and I think he recovered the fumble? Heard a big ovation from the crowd on TV when his name was first called on the loud speaker.
7. Secondary certainly struggled at times, but understandably as we were missing two of our most key players. It would be nice if we get Russell back, although Cole Luke certainly handled his own. Safety is definitely a concern at this point. For as much flack as Farley picked up last season, I thought he looked decent today. It can't be understated how important his INT was at the end of the 1st half! The quick score that followed really opened up the game, we never looked back at that point.
8. Special Teams was an eye opener! Seemed like night and day compared to some of the previous seasons. I really like GB and Riggs back as punt returners, and the blocking looked good too! KR wasn't bad either. The only downside might have one miss from Brindza on a makeable FG (And an extra point that looked to squeak in), but I'm sure he'll get back into form. Special Teams might actually be a difference maker for us this season.
