Although it initially looked like the rain would stay away for practice, it was not to be. Shortly after practice began, the rain started and the temperature dropped. Despite the bad weather, Saturday’s practice, the third open practice this spring, featured an intense and vocal defense that seemed determined to make their presence felt.
From the beginning, it was clear that the defensive line came to play. Chris Long, who has emerged in practice as a leader of the team, led a line which consistently tried to harass whoever was at quarterback. Every time the quarterback would drop back, the players on the line would get their hands up to try to bat down passes, a method which proved successful during practice. Once again, the first team defensive line in Al Groh’s 3-4 base defense featured three defensive ends, Chris Long, Alex Field and Allen Billyk. The use of three defensive ends could, however, lead to problems, especially stopping the run. Also, based on his play today, I would not be surprised to see Jeffrey Fitzgerald on the field next fall.
The linebackers may be the loudest group on the defense. With the lack of speed at this position at the moment it seems inevitable that at least one incoming freshman will be starting there this fall.
The defensive backs could be one of the strong points on the defense. Mike Brown was back in full pads playing. Hamilton looks good, but may be somewhat questionable making one-on-one tackles in the open field. Vic Hall looks like a star in the making. He managed to make a nice play on the ball and intercept one of Christian Olsen’s passes. At times, Hall lined up against Deyon Williams when Hamilton lined up against Fontel Mines. During a goal line drill featuring the first team offense and defense, Ryan Best picked off a deflected pass.
On offense, especially in the conditions seen during today’s practice, the passing game struggled while the running game shined.
The running backs could be a real strength of this offense. Jason Snelling had a good practice. He looked pretty agile, and managed to break multiple runs. Cedric Peerman looks to be his primary backup right now, but could compete for the starting job. Johnson did not participate in many of the contact drills, making his status on the team difficult to gauge. Mikell Simpson looked good running the ball, but seemed to be a huge liability in pass protection, even more so than the other running backs who also struggled in the blocking drill with the linebackers and safeties. He runs very low to the ground.
The quarterbacks all performed worse today than in earlier practices, but that can largely be explained by the weather. Each quarterback struggled with bad throws, but Olsen still looked to have the starting job well in hand. Once again McCabe operated as the second string quarterback, and Scott Deke and Jameel Sewell also saw significant time. Based on the performance of the backup quarterbacks, the thought of seeing anyone besides Christian Olsen in at quarterback is extremely unsettling.
The tight ends will probably continue to be a primary focus in the passing game. Both Tom Santi and Jonathan Stupar were utilized in the passing game during practice, and both fought for extra yardage every time they touched the ball. John Phillips will again compete for playing time simply because of his strength; his ability to drag defenders really makes him fun to watch.
The wide receivers may be the biggest wild cards on the team. Deyon Williams and Fontel Mines, the two starting wide receivers, both showed great potential and were once again catching the ball with their hands. Also, at least partly due to the weather, many passes were dropped. Kevin Ogletree and Andrew Pearman look to be competing for the third wide receiver spot. During one-on-one drills between wide receivers and cornerbacks, Pearman’s speed was simply electrifying. He has great big play potential. His agility is a level above everyone else; Vic Hall appears to be the only one capable of matching his speed.
The practice also featured a large amount of special teams play.
The two kickers competing for the starting job at this point are Noah Greenbaum and Chris Gould. Both looked questionable, as they struggled in the conditions, especially from the right hash mark. From 35 yards and beyond, Gould’s kicks are all line-drives, which may lead to more blocked kicks. Greenbaum has a big leg, but clearly less accuracy than Gould.
The kick off return team could prove to be exciting. In previous practices, Andrew Pearman appeared to be the starting punt returner. Today, several different combinations were tried at kickoff return. The first two to go were Peerman and Pearman. Other combinations included Marcus Hamilton, Mike Brown, Chris Gorham, Mikell Simpson and Kevin Ogletree. Peerman and Pearman appear to be the clear leaders for the starting combination; they accent each other well with Cedric Peerman’s great field vision and Andrew Pearman’s speed and agility.
As far as injury concerns go…Eugene Monroe was not present at practice. Nate Lyles, Eddie Pinigis, and Maurice Covington all were present but were wearing shorts. Lyles and Covington were doing agility drills.
Also during practice, two altercations between the offense and defense occurred, but neither appeared to be anything too serious. It was good to see the intensity, especially from the defense. New Defensive Coordinator Mike London has clearly instilled a much needed swagger and attitude to our defense.
Thankfully no serious injuries occurred at this practice.
Many ’06 signees were also present, including Keith Payne, Chris Dalton, and BJ Cabbell. Keith Payne has been present at both open Saturday practices, and both times has observed only running back drills.