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Camp Report AM Practice 7/29/07
By: Kaylore
Well it was great getting back out and seeing football again. Cecil Lammey, Andrew Mason and others were there as always and we had some fun discussions. But you guys don’t care about that!
The camp opened with the rookies doing their little dance thing to open camp. Many of you will be thrilled to know that Marcus Thomas did a standing back flip to the cheers of the crowd. As camp progressed they separated into individual units and practiced some drills.
At this point SoCal and myself had a chance to watch Bill Johnson work with the defensive line. He’s really a great teacher and was able to tell each player what they were doing wrong in every circumstance. He’s focused and engaged. The Florida rookies were really enjoying themselves and I imagine it must be nice to go to camp with two guys who you played with in college. They alternated between one-on-one drills and working the Big sled.
They moved right into the rushing attack drills and the first team offense line was obliterating in the rushing game. I’ll go into that more during player breakdowns.
After that they broke into two groups with offensive line going against defensive line while the “skill positions” did seven-on-seven. I watched the lines go at each other and SoCal watched the passing game. I got a very good view of the two units and will post on that later. I should mention that during these and other drills, every player gets reps against every player regardless of their position on the depth chart. Only during the scrimmages and “move the ball” are they locked into their depth chart positions.
After that they did son full unit work and then they finished with “move the ball” drills. For those that don’t know, the coaches and players clear off the field and the first team offense plays against the second team defense in simulated real game situation. Then they switch and the second team offense faces the first team defense.
General observations:
The first few days of camp always have the defense at an advantage. So much on offense is based on timing and rhythm and it takes several practices for that unit to “find their grove” especially with all the new pieces.
There was virtually no press coverage. I think they are going to stick with the corners playing five yards off cheating in to watch the receiver and the quarterbacks eyes. We might see more press, but we didn’t today.
In obvious rushing situations the Defense ends would sometimes play inside the Tackle, but I’d say 80% of the time they were in the nine technique, wide on the outside shoulder of the tight end.
The first team D-line consists of Ekuban, Engelberger, Adams and Warren.
Marshall, Scheffler, Stokely and Smith didn’t practice, but someone wearing Eddie Moore’s number was out there I assume to replace him. He didn’t look too bad, either. Hixon was the number two in place of Stokely, Smith and Marshall.
All the Rookies had their ups and downs, which is to be expected. I felt Moss was very very thin and needed to bulk up quite a bit. Crowder and Thomas filled in very well and both had their moments. Ryan Harris also looked to be in good shape and while inconsistent, he had some good moments. Remember that rookies grow a little bit and then when the difficulty increases, they are almost like back to ground zero. This is why it takes them awhile to get going in camp and preseason. It is also why rookies can look great in preseason games and then when the regular season hits they have another drop off. It’s part of the growing process.
Now to break down some of the players and their units. I’m just going to talk about the guys I noticed.
Defensive Line:
Tim Crowder: I was impressed with him. He was big and powerful and made some of the right decisions particularly in the running game. He needs to use his hands better. In fact the biggest difference between rookie and veteran linemen is their ability to use their hands and feet well. He’s playing on the third team, but made some nice plays against the run.
Jarvis Moss: Very fast and quick and about as big as I am, which is not good for a defensive end. He is very skinny. In the rushing attack drills he was next to useless and was regular blown off the ball and out of the play. He also struggled to get pressure in the drills. In “move the ball” he was much better and beat quite a few guys to apply pressure. On one play he bit on play action but quickly adjusted and pursued the QB out of the pocket and forced a throw away. I’d say he’s really raw and underdeveloped physically, but I loved how much he tried to use his hands and every time he went up there he was trying something new and talking to the coaches.
Marcus Thomas: He palyed pretty well. There were plays he got sealed off and others where he really took advantage of guys. On way play he went right through Greg Eslinger by just overpowering him. I think he’s going to take the longest to catch on because he’s been out of football for so long and because defensive tackle takes a VERY long time to learn in the NFL.
Sam Adams: Adams was very impressive. He regularly got penetration and even showed some pursuit and speed I didn’t think he had for a big guy. There were two plays that he pretty much blew up himself. On one he ripped through the line and has Chris Kuper pushed off his feet. Another he swam through and forced a fumble. This got the defense excited and Jim Bates started going off about how they’ll win a lot of games with that kind of play.
Gerard Warren: I thought he looked kind of bored at the start of camp but then he perked up later. It occurs to me that he liked the drills where he got to match up against someone else more than things like “the big sled”. I didn’t really notice him.
Demtrin Veal: I thought he played well today. In drills he performed very well, usually beating his guy or at least commanding a double team and in scrimmages he also seemed to do well. Good motor and power.
Elvis Dumervil: When Elvis is rushing the passer he’s really hard to block. He is very very good at using his hands and arms to swim, rip and pull linemen into positions where they are compromised. He seems to understand how to attack their balance and use force to keep their feet planted in ways where it’s more difficult to get leverage. Keep an eye on him.
Ebenezer Ekuban: He seems to have adjusted to the nine technique pretty well and he’s faster than I remembered. He’s just a solid player and his motor is pretty good.
John Engelberger: I have worries about our bookends. I think the new way we’re splitting them out wide is good and will benefit John, but I didn’t see the pop and explosiveness that I wanted to see. He seemed to get shut down on a few occasions in the drills.
Offensive Line:
Chris Kuper: I thought he did pretty well. He still has a lot of power and is very difficult to move. He also, I felt, out-played Montrae Holland. He’s very strong and his lower body is very compacted. He’s on the first team.
Erik Pears: He was up and down. On some plays he got trashed and on others he did pretty well. I think this will be a period of adjustment for him.
Matt Lepsis: No limping or any other problems. He seemed to be getting back into the flow of things. He usually won his contests.
Ben Hamilton: He’s bulked up some and generally does a good job keeping his guy in front of him. I still see guys use the bull rush on him where I feel he yields a bit too much ground, but his hands and feet are always anchored at where they need to be.
Tom Nalen: Solid and quick. He sizes guys up and knows where to grab. Hard to get around and. I’d say he’s still “feeling out” Kuper, though. It will take awhile for that whole right side to come together.
Greg Eslinger: He’s actually much bigger than I remember, which is good. Last year he looked like a tight end. His calves and arms have really bulked up. Still, he got blown up on some plays, so I hope that was just today. Many of you know I felt he was too small, but I was impressed with how much meat he packed on, though he is still smallish.
Running backs:
Travis Henry: He looked “ok” much more impressive in the passing game. I think it will take him some time to learn the system, but in protection and as a receiver he was the best of the bunch. As a runner his vision was “ok” but not amazing. That will take time. He tries to cover up well and keeps his balance in his strides.
Mike Bell: Bell was the best at finding the holes, slashing, and generally making things happen as a pure runner. He was less impressive in the passing game. I think of all the backs he “gets it” or he understands how it’s supposed to work. Still not the best speed but more burst than last year, which could either be first day excitement, or the offseason program.
Andre Hall: Hall was very impressive indeed. He had a lot of burst, speed and his runners instincts are impressive. He’s very compact and fast and reminds me a bit of Jones-Drew. He did a lot of little things like as he broke free and saw defenders coming on the right side, he effortlessly switched the ball to his left arm and used his right as a stiff arm. He would shift the ball depending on where the defenders were to protect it and would cover up in traffic. Great speed and vision. I was surprised.
Cecil Sapp: He pretty much ran right at guys and tried to bowl them over and I think that’s just his style. He didn’t break anything huge, though.
Selvin Young: Probably the least impressive. His balance was poor and he would lean forward too much. As he over leans into his runs, his arm would come away from the ball exposing it to attack and whatnot. Turf monster got him a few times.
By: Kaylore
Well it was great getting back out and seeing football again. Cecil Lammey, Andrew Mason and others were there as always and we had some fun discussions. But you guys don’t care about that!
The camp opened with the rookies doing their little dance thing to open camp. Many of you will be thrilled to know that Marcus Thomas did a standing back flip to the cheers of the crowd. As camp progressed they separated into individual units and practiced some drills.
At this point SoCal and myself had a chance to watch Bill Johnson work with the defensive line. He’s really a great teacher and was able to tell each player what they were doing wrong in every circumstance. He’s focused and engaged. The Florida rookies were really enjoying themselves and I imagine it must be nice to go to camp with two guys who you played with in college. They alternated between one-on-one drills and working the Big sled.
They moved right into the rushing attack drills and the first team offense line was obliterating in the rushing game. I’ll go into that more during player breakdowns.
After that they broke into two groups with offensive line going against defensive line while the “skill positions” did seven-on-seven. I watched the lines go at each other and SoCal watched the passing game. I got a very good view of the two units and will post on that later. I should mention that during these and other drills, every player gets reps against every player regardless of their position on the depth chart. Only during the scrimmages and “move the ball” are they locked into their depth chart positions.
After that they did son full unit work and then they finished with “move the ball” drills. For those that don’t know, the coaches and players clear off the field and the first team offense plays against the second team defense in simulated real game situation. Then they switch and the second team offense faces the first team defense.
General observations:
The first few days of camp always have the defense at an advantage. So much on offense is based on timing and rhythm and it takes several practices for that unit to “find their grove” especially with all the new pieces.
There was virtually no press coverage. I think they are going to stick with the corners playing five yards off cheating in to watch the receiver and the quarterbacks eyes. We might see more press, but we didn’t today.
In obvious rushing situations the Defense ends would sometimes play inside the Tackle, but I’d say 80% of the time they were in the nine technique, wide on the outside shoulder of the tight end.
The first team D-line consists of Ekuban, Engelberger, Adams and Warren.
Marshall, Scheffler, Stokely and Smith didn’t practice, but someone wearing Eddie Moore’s number was out there I assume to replace him. He didn’t look too bad, either. Hixon was the number two in place of Stokely, Smith and Marshall.
All the Rookies had their ups and downs, which is to be expected. I felt Moss was very very thin and needed to bulk up quite a bit. Crowder and Thomas filled in very well and both had their moments. Ryan Harris also looked to be in good shape and while inconsistent, he had some good moments. Remember that rookies grow a little bit and then when the difficulty increases, they are almost like back to ground zero. This is why it takes them awhile to get going in camp and preseason. It is also why rookies can look great in preseason games and then when the regular season hits they have another drop off. It’s part of the growing process.
Now to break down some of the players and their units. I’m just going to talk about the guys I noticed.
Defensive Line:
Tim Crowder: I was impressed with him. He was big and powerful and made some of the right decisions particularly in the running game. He needs to use his hands better. In fact the biggest difference between rookie and veteran linemen is their ability to use their hands and feet well. He’s playing on the third team, but made some nice plays against the run.
Jarvis Moss: Very fast and quick and about as big as I am, which is not good for a defensive end. He is very skinny. In the rushing attack drills he was next to useless and was regular blown off the ball and out of the play. He also struggled to get pressure in the drills. In “move the ball” he was much better and beat quite a few guys to apply pressure. On one play he bit on play action but quickly adjusted and pursued the QB out of the pocket and forced a throw away. I’d say he’s really raw and underdeveloped physically, but I loved how much he tried to use his hands and every time he went up there he was trying something new and talking to the coaches.
Marcus Thomas: He palyed pretty well. There were plays he got sealed off and others where he really took advantage of guys. On way play he went right through Greg Eslinger by just overpowering him. I think he’s going to take the longest to catch on because he’s been out of football for so long and because defensive tackle takes a VERY long time to learn in the NFL.
Sam Adams: Adams was very impressive. He regularly got penetration and even showed some pursuit and speed I didn’t think he had for a big guy. There were two plays that he pretty much blew up himself. On one he ripped through the line and has Chris Kuper pushed off his feet. Another he swam through and forced a fumble. This got the defense excited and Jim Bates started going off about how they’ll win a lot of games with that kind of play.
Gerard Warren: I thought he looked kind of bored at the start of camp but then he perked up later. It occurs to me that he liked the drills where he got to match up against someone else more than things like “the big sled”. I didn’t really notice him.
Demtrin Veal: I thought he played well today. In drills he performed very well, usually beating his guy or at least commanding a double team and in scrimmages he also seemed to do well. Good motor and power.
Elvis Dumervil: When Elvis is rushing the passer he’s really hard to block. He is very very good at using his hands and arms to swim, rip and pull linemen into positions where they are compromised. He seems to understand how to attack their balance and use force to keep their feet planted in ways where it’s more difficult to get leverage. Keep an eye on him.
Ebenezer Ekuban: He seems to have adjusted to the nine technique pretty well and he’s faster than I remembered. He’s just a solid player and his motor is pretty good.
John Engelberger: I have worries about our bookends. I think the new way we’re splitting them out wide is good and will benefit John, but I didn’t see the pop and explosiveness that I wanted to see. He seemed to get shut down on a few occasions in the drills.
Offensive Line:
Chris Kuper: I thought he did pretty well. He still has a lot of power and is very difficult to move. He also, I felt, out-played Montrae Holland. He’s very strong and his lower body is very compacted. He’s on the first team.
Erik Pears: He was up and down. On some plays he got trashed and on others he did pretty well. I think this will be a period of adjustment for him.
Matt Lepsis: No limping or any other problems. He seemed to be getting back into the flow of things. He usually won his contests.
Ben Hamilton: He’s bulked up some and generally does a good job keeping his guy in front of him. I still see guys use the bull rush on him where I feel he yields a bit too much ground, but his hands and feet are always anchored at where they need to be.
Tom Nalen: Solid and quick. He sizes guys up and knows where to grab. Hard to get around and. I’d say he’s still “feeling out” Kuper, though. It will take awhile for that whole right side to come together.
Greg Eslinger: He’s actually much bigger than I remember, which is good. Last year he looked like a tight end. His calves and arms have really bulked up. Still, he got blown up on some plays, so I hope that was just today. Many of you know I felt he was too small, but I was impressed with how much meat he packed on, though he is still smallish.
Running backs:
Travis Henry: He looked “ok” much more impressive in the passing game. I think it will take him some time to learn the system, but in protection and as a receiver he was the best of the bunch. As a runner his vision was “ok” but not amazing. That will take time. He tries to cover up well and keeps his balance in his strides.
Mike Bell: Bell was the best at finding the holes, slashing, and generally making things happen as a pure runner. He was less impressive in the passing game. I think of all the backs he “gets it” or he understands how it’s supposed to work. Still not the best speed but more burst than last year, which could either be first day excitement, or the offseason program.
Andre Hall: Hall was very impressive indeed. He had a lot of burst, speed and his runners instincts are impressive. He’s very compact and fast and reminds me a bit of Jones-Drew. He did a lot of little things like as he broke free and saw defenders coming on the right side, he effortlessly switched the ball to his left arm and used his right as a stiff arm. He would shift the ball depending on where the defenders were to protect it and would cover up in traffic. Great speed and vision. I was surprised.
Cecil Sapp: He pretty much ran right at guys and tried to bowl them over and I think that’s just his style. He didn’t break anything huge, though.
Selvin Young: Probably the least impressive. His balance was poor and he would lean forward too much. As he over leans into his runs, his arm would come away from the ball exposing it to attack and whatnot. Turf monster got him a few times.
Can't wait until I can make it to camp myself this coming Saturday! Woot!
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