NDinL.A.
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I made it out to the practice this morning. Since the media can only report on the first 30 mins, I’ll go ahead and write what I saw. Caveat…this is from a fan’s perspective. I’m no football coach and I never played higher than h.s. so take it with a giant grain of salt. My two major take aways:
1. Golson looked clearly better than Zaire today IMHO. I mean, clearly better. His arm is just ridiculous. He’s firing BB’s all over the place. I’m talking deep outs from the opposite hash, right on the money, timed perfectly, over a backer, chest high, etc. He even went threw up the middle a couple of times, against a rush with arms up, which is huge (he hit Fuller on a seem route that was gorgeous…the very next play he threw a deep out to a WR, jussssst over the finger-tips of a frustrated Jaylon Smith. It was sick). Other than 2 bad passes in a row that he had, the ball just doesn’t hit the ground much when Golson is in the game (insert ASU turnover joke here).
Now, the problem with Zaire is that he looks unbelievable on one rep, and then bad on the next 2. His consistency was a major problem today. For example, he threw a post to Fuller that was a thing of beauty, and then the very next play he missed a wide-open WR on a busted coverage on a fly route, and he missed him by like 10 yards. It happened like that quite often. And when he’s off, he really sails the ball. I’m not saying he’s not good…he does a lot of good things. I’m just saying, based on today, he still needs a lot of work on his passing. So for me, just based on today, it’s gotta be Golson. And if he’s not the leader that we wish he could be, then someone else needs to take the bull by the horns, bc IMHO he will give us the best chance to win big. He looked that good.
2. Tillery – HOLY COW. The hype is MORE than justified. First off, I can’t believe it’s him. He’s in incredible shape. Last year he was fat. Huge belly, totally a round dude. Now he looks like a different kid. I know that’s already been stated here, but man, what a difference! Anyway, I didn’t pay attention to the D-Line much, but when they went live, Tillery was a straight beast. On one play early in practice, Martin stuffed him at the line, pushing him to Martin’s left. The ball was run up the middle, but more to the right(ish). I’ve seen a lot of players give up on a play like that. But he off spun off the block, ran to the left and found the RB and immediately stuffed him for maybe a one-yard gain. Live, it was impressive. Late in practice, they tried two runs up the middle runs, and Tillery stuffed both of them for no gains (with help from Jay Hayes on one of them). I don’t like to overly hype guys in spring, but I’m telling you, Tillery is the truth. I can’t wait to see him play against Texas.
Some other random thoughts:
* Kelly is coaching them hard again. I saw this Kelly at the spring practice in 2012, and I love this Kelly. In 2013, he took more of a CEO approach and let Martin be the bad guy. He’d get in there once in a while, but he wasn’t the red-*** Kelly. Red-*** Kelly was here today. On one play, Zaire bailed on a play early against the pass rush, and as he escaped the pocket he threw the ball far out of bounds (safe play). Kelly yelled, “Get him out!!!” and Golson took the next 6-7 plays before Zaire got back in there. He did the same thing to Jay Hayes, kicking him off the field for a play (not sure why, but he might have been too physical during the ‘thud’ period. Jayes hit GB, and I could hear Kelly yelling “Let him go. Let him go!” and Hayes kept giving him the business. Kelly laid into him right after that, so I am GUESSING that’s why. But to his credit, after kicking him off, Kelly quickly went over to him, and they had a talk, and Hayes was back in 2 plays after getting kicked off. Kelly could be heard quite often today. He’s fully invested, no doubt.
* They’ve added a jet sweep/read option play to the RB (in this case, GB) that I really like. I know they’ve run it with Procise, but this had more of an Oregon feel to it. Also, not sure how they will play in the fall, but man, we have 3 good-looking RB’s in Folston, GB, and Procise. They pass the eye-ball test when running against air, no doubt.
* Kizer didn’t get too many reps, but like Zaire, he is inconsistent with those reps. He has a cannon though. He hit one WR on an out-route from the opposite hash that was filthy. He’s also much bigger than the other QB’s.
* I didn’t pay too much attention to the LB’s, but Morgan has an elite first step/burst, and he is well put together. If he gets it mentally, I don’t see how you keep him off the field. He’s an SEC-caliber athlete. He and Jaylon need to be on the field together.
* WR’s had too many drops again. Not good. Fuller is fantastic and should have a monster year again, but early in practice he let a slant hit him in the chest (he still caught it) and then later he did the same thing and it popped off his shoulder pads. Holmes had 2 drops. Procise had has obligatory drop (coming out of the backfield), Torii had one (immediately after getting a pep talk on the side from Kelly lol), even Amir had a drop.
* Having said that, there’s a ton of talent at that spot. Corey R. was out injured, but even without him those boys look really good. Chris Brown, once again, looks like a spring All-Star. I predicted he’d have a break-out year after watching him dominate last spring, but it didn’t happen until late in the season. Hopefully it’ll continue, as he looks like a tough match-up. Holmes has come a long way and looks really good. Fuller is Fuller. Brent did some nice things, as did Torii Hunter. It’s a really good group.
* I was impressed with Watkins. He had some fantastic one on one reps early in practice. I think he’s Todd Lyght’s type of DB. He’s not a bad back-up to have. Luke had a quiet day, which is great for a DB. I never saw him get burned badly. Brown had an incredible catch over him on a fade for a TD early in practice, but the coverage was there. Other times, he had great coverage. Lyght is coaching Butler very hard. There was one rep where the WR caught it in front of him, but Butler had good coverage. I turned to DogGuy and said at least he had good coverage…and then Lyght ripped into him about exploding to the ball and making a play on it lol. Like I said, I know next-to-nothing.
* I thought Hayes looked great when I saw him. A guy I trust said Dew-Treadway was impressive as well. I didn’t see him much, but man, he is an impressive-looking prospect. He’s in great shape and towers over most of the linemen. Suddenly, our D-tackle depth looks extremely strong.
* Hard to get a read on safeties without tackling going on, but Redfield was around the ball a lot, and Shumate did have a fantastic break-up of a deep out from Golson. Baratti played a lot, so expect him to be in the mix until his shoulder gives out. Tranquill was out there but no contact…he did however do one of those jumping side/chest bumps with a student manager to start practice, and he got way up there, so the knee must be feeling good.
* I got to see Coach Gilmore for a bit. He’s definitely a technician. He had them working with their hands a lot. I liked the drills he was doing. Let’s hope it shows up in the fall. He’s got the track record.
* Coach Sanford was quiet. Young-looking dude. I’m sure he’s just working his way in. He’s been getting rave reviews from people who went to hear him talk though. Denbrock got after one of his receivers, but he wasn’t too loud either. The louder coaches are definitely Kelly, BVG, and Heistand (at times). BVG spent a TON of time with the LB’s while Mo Crum was with the safeties. Elston was there but very quiet while BVG did his thing. Read into that what you will, BGS writers.
* Smythe and Luatua got a lot of time. Smythe lined up like Eifert used to quite a few times and had a couple of catches (and a bad drop), and even got a sweet block on Johnny Williams (put him on his arse). Luatua is much more of a plodder, but showed good hands. He’s still a big dude that hopefully will help our running game.
* I don’t see how you don’t invite Amir back (there’s been talk of not bringing him back from some fans). He’s starting at the slot right now as CJ played RB exclusively. Hunter played outside a lot today, and we don’t know what we have in Sanders yet. And like every other practice I’ve seen from him, nobody could match-up with him. He’s too quick and shifty. And while he not been consistent and is oft-injured, he has had some very good games. I think it’s a no-brainer, but that’s just me.
I’m sure I missed a lot of things, as there is just too much going on to see everything. Plus two guys behind me who shall go nameless talked about fencing for 45 minutes, so that distracted me for a bit. Taking the wife out to eat, so I apologize in advance for any typos.
1. Golson looked clearly better than Zaire today IMHO. I mean, clearly better. His arm is just ridiculous. He’s firing BB’s all over the place. I’m talking deep outs from the opposite hash, right on the money, timed perfectly, over a backer, chest high, etc. He even went threw up the middle a couple of times, against a rush with arms up, which is huge (he hit Fuller on a seem route that was gorgeous…the very next play he threw a deep out to a WR, jussssst over the finger-tips of a frustrated Jaylon Smith. It was sick). Other than 2 bad passes in a row that he had, the ball just doesn’t hit the ground much when Golson is in the game (insert ASU turnover joke here).
Now, the problem with Zaire is that he looks unbelievable on one rep, and then bad on the next 2. His consistency was a major problem today. For example, he threw a post to Fuller that was a thing of beauty, and then the very next play he missed a wide-open WR on a busted coverage on a fly route, and he missed him by like 10 yards. It happened like that quite often. And when he’s off, he really sails the ball. I’m not saying he’s not good…he does a lot of good things. I’m just saying, based on today, he still needs a lot of work on his passing. So for me, just based on today, it’s gotta be Golson. And if he’s not the leader that we wish he could be, then someone else needs to take the bull by the horns, bc IMHO he will give us the best chance to win big. He looked that good.
2. Tillery – HOLY COW. The hype is MORE than justified. First off, I can’t believe it’s him. He’s in incredible shape. Last year he was fat. Huge belly, totally a round dude. Now he looks like a different kid. I know that’s already been stated here, but man, what a difference! Anyway, I didn’t pay attention to the D-Line much, but when they went live, Tillery was a straight beast. On one play early in practice, Martin stuffed him at the line, pushing him to Martin’s left. The ball was run up the middle, but more to the right(ish). I’ve seen a lot of players give up on a play like that. But he off spun off the block, ran to the left and found the RB and immediately stuffed him for maybe a one-yard gain. Live, it was impressive. Late in practice, they tried two runs up the middle runs, and Tillery stuffed both of them for no gains (with help from Jay Hayes on one of them). I don’t like to overly hype guys in spring, but I’m telling you, Tillery is the truth. I can’t wait to see him play against Texas.
Some other random thoughts:
* Kelly is coaching them hard again. I saw this Kelly at the spring practice in 2012, and I love this Kelly. In 2013, he took more of a CEO approach and let Martin be the bad guy. He’d get in there once in a while, but he wasn’t the red-*** Kelly. Red-*** Kelly was here today. On one play, Zaire bailed on a play early against the pass rush, and as he escaped the pocket he threw the ball far out of bounds (safe play). Kelly yelled, “Get him out!!!” and Golson took the next 6-7 plays before Zaire got back in there. He did the same thing to Jay Hayes, kicking him off the field for a play (not sure why, but he might have been too physical during the ‘thud’ period. Jayes hit GB, and I could hear Kelly yelling “Let him go. Let him go!” and Hayes kept giving him the business. Kelly laid into him right after that, so I am GUESSING that’s why. But to his credit, after kicking him off, Kelly quickly went over to him, and they had a talk, and Hayes was back in 2 plays after getting kicked off. Kelly could be heard quite often today. He’s fully invested, no doubt.
* They’ve added a jet sweep/read option play to the RB (in this case, GB) that I really like. I know they’ve run it with Procise, but this had more of an Oregon feel to it. Also, not sure how they will play in the fall, but man, we have 3 good-looking RB’s in Folston, GB, and Procise. They pass the eye-ball test when running against air, no doubt.
* Kizer didn’t get too many reps, but like Zaire, he is inconsistent with those reps. He has a cannon though. He hit one WR on an out-route from the opposite hash that was filthy. He’s also much bigger than the other QB’s.
* I didn’t pay too much attention to the LB’s, but Morgan has an elite first step/burst, and he is well put together. If he gets it mentally, I don’t see how you keep him off the field. He’s an SEC-caliber athlete. He and Jaylon need to be on the field together.
* WR’s had too many drops again. Not good. Fuller is fantastic and should have a monster year again, but early in practice he let a slant hit him in the chest (he still caught it) and then later he did the same thing and it popped off his shoulder pads. Holmes had 2 drops. Procise had has obligatory drop (coming out of the backfield), Torii had one (immediately after getting a pep talk on the side from Kelly lol), even Amir had a drop.
* Having said that, there’s a ton of talent at that spot. Corey R. was out injured, but even without him those boys look really good. Chris Brown, once again, looks like a spring All-Star. I predicted he’d have a break-out year after watching him dominate last spring, but it didn’t happen until late in the season. Hopefully it’ll continue, as he looks like a tough match-up. Holmes has come a long way and looks really good. Fuller is Fuller. Brent did some nice things, as did Torii Hunter. It’s a really good group.
* I was impressed with Watkins. He had some fantastic one on one reps early in practice. I think he’s Todd Lyght’s type of DB. He’s not a bad back-up to have. Luke had a quiet day, which is great for a DB. I never saw him get burned badly. Brown had an incredible catch over him on a fade for a TD early in practice, but the coverage was there. Other times, he had great coverage. Lyght is coaching Butler very hard. There was one rep where the WR caught it in front of him, but Butler had good coverage. I turned to DogGuy and said at least he had good coverage…and then Lyght ripped into him about exploding to the ball and making a play on it lol. Like I said, I know next-to-nothing.
* I thought Hayes looked great when I saw him. A guy I trust said Dew-Treadway was impressive as well. I didn’t see him much, but man, he is an impressive-looking prospect. He’s in great shape and towers over most of the linemen. Suddenly, our D-tackle depth looks extremely strong.
* Hard to get a read on safeties without tackling going on, but Redfield was around the ball a lot, and Shumate did have a fantastic break-up of a deep out from Golson. Baratti played a lot, so expect him to be in the mix until his shoulder gives out. Tranquill was out there but no contact…he did however do one of those jumping side/chest bumps with a student manager to start practice, and he got way up there, so the knee must be feeling good.
* I got to see Coach Gilmore for a bit. He’s definitely a technician. He had them working with their hands a lot. I liked the drills he was doing. Let’s hope it shows up in the fall. He’s got the track record.
* Coach Sanford was quiet. Young-looking dude. I’m sure he’s just working his way in. He’s been getting rave reviews from people who went to hear him talk though. Denbrock got after one of his receivers, but he wasn’t too loud either. The louder coaches are definitely Kelly, BVG, and Heistand (at times). BVG spent a TON of time with the LB’s while Mo Crum was with the safeties. Elston was there but very quiet while BVG did his thing. Read into that what you will, BGS writers.
* Smythe and Luatua got a lot of time. Smythe lined up like Eifert used to quite a few times and had a couple of catches (and a bad drop), and even got a sweet block on Johnny Williams (put him on his arse). Luatua is much more of a plodder, but showed good hands. He’s still a big dude that hopefully will help our running game.
* I don’t see how you don’t invite Amir back (there’s been talk of not bringing him back from some fans). He’s starting at the slot right now as CJ played RB exclusively. Hunter played outside a lot today, and we don’t know what we have in Sanders yet. And like every other practice I’ve seen from him, nobody could match-up with him. He’s too quick and shifty. And while he not been consistent and is oft-injured, he has had some very good games. I think it’s a no-brainer, but that’s just me.
I’m sure I missed a lot of things, as there is just too much going on to see everything. Plus two guys behind me who shall go nameless talked about fencing for 45 minutes, so that distracted me for a bit. Taking the wife out to eat, so I apologize in advance for any typos.
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