Spring Game viewers - some questions
The open thread has gotten a bit unwieldy, so I thought I would ask some questions here (and allow others to as well).
1. Who ran the read option the best? How many omg who has the ball?? moments did we have? Any camera fake-outs?
2. How did Turner look out there?
3. How were the snaps?
1. Denard is most dangerous in the option definitely. There were a few where he kept it and fooled the D. Gardner actually had a keeper on the read option and coming around the corner there was no one within 20 yds of him. It turned into a 20ish yd run
2. Not sure
3. No fumbled snaps by Denard/Tate. One mishandled snap by Gardner, one by Kennedy
from the equation - is Denard still better with the read option? We need someone in there that will make the right read - even Threet could run it pretty well because he made some good reads.
Also, who surprised you the most, excluding Denard? Was there anyone out there previously under the radar that lit shit up?
Denard is definitely better with the read option. I believe what you're missing, is the DE is going to think QB more often with Denard in the game, then with Tate/Threet in the game. Therefore you're going to see the defensive end hold his position, rather than crash down on the RB when Denard is in the game. Especially when the Defense goes against Denard day in day out, and thus being very familiar with his abilities.
but I am interested in the read part of the read option. No matter what the DE does, the QB has to read it correctly and make the split second decision correctly. Looks like Denard was the leader here as well, so he may be pretty damn dangerous come September.
EDIT: Can I assume these 2 negs are from the Forcier brothers? Don't worry guys, your brother has all summer to take back the starting position.
April 17th, 2010 at 10:38 PM ^
besides just making the correct reads in the zone read game, Devin looked the best.
Denard looked best in every aspect, throwing, running, not fumbling snaps, clean exchanges (or keeps) on the read play. As for Turner, he was running with the 2s and that was with Woolfolk out. I'm just kinda surprised he can't beat out JT Floyd or James Rogers. And as for the fumbled snaps I expect that to improve upon the return of Molk.
1. Denard is the guy.
2. If I were you, I'd attempt to lower your expectations for Turner. He isn't living up to his recruiting hype, but that doesn't mean he won't contribute at some time.
3. Snaps were much improved compared to when after Molk went out with his injury last year. It seems like almost a blessing that he is missing spring ball, to improve depth at the position.
have been lowered for a while - which is why as assessment of his performance would be pretty useful if anyone happened to key in on him for a few plays.
His footwork needs the most work, in my opinion on today's performance.
I don't remember Turner doing anything wrong. I think he played corner the whole game, though
April 17th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^
and made 3-4 tackles from what I remember. Nothing that really stood out negatively.
I believe he was in on all 3 tackles, he looked ok, not great, but not bad either. Him and Cam Gordan are bigger guys than I thought, kind of looked like Jamar Adams in build.
Denard looked like a completely different QB than last year. He looked to actually understand the offense better than Tate. In my mind, he solidified himself as the #1 on the team (although I have no idea how he will actually do in game situations, but judging by this scrimmage, he played just like a #1 should play). Tate did exactly the same things he did last year (wrong reads, careless with the ball).
Turner actually looked better than I thought he would. He also looked to be on his way to being a safety....he was a big guy. I was actually really surprised at how big Cam Gordon was though. He had a couple big hits, one on Koger (I believe) and looked very natural at safety. I was very impressed.
Snaps were completely fine (unless you are counting field goal snaps, at which point they were not good). Pace will be just fine.
Yeah, I couldn't get over how gosh darned humongous Turner is. I didn't really notice how the defense played. Just that he's gigantic
Snaps were not all fine; Gardner especially had to dig a few out by his feet. Khoury did okay and I was rather impressed with Pace, but Molk's the guy.
I don't really think Tate made any horrible wrong reads; more often than not when he was on the field both him and the RB ended up tackled/two-hand touched. Remember, he was with the second team offense against first team defense. He still doesn't like tucking the ball, which is a problem, but he only had one turnover when JB Fitzgerald got out on him and wasn't allowed to tackle so he bitch-slapped the ball. Plus, RVB and Banks know exactly what the zone read entails and I don't believe Denard played more than one series against the first team defense. I thought Tate looked more patient out there than last year, though Gardner has the best pocket presence.
Turner's a big dude, but he's a pretty damn good cover guy. I really want Cam Gordon to succeed and you're right, he looked like a safety rather than a converted receiver. Vlad Emilien is still battling that knee injury, seeing as Roundtree didn't even have to make a move to leave him in the dust.
Gallon's fucking fast, but is way more buff than I thought he would be. T-Rob has nasty moves. Odoms looks even quicker than last year.
Caveat: CATCH THE DAMN BALL
Tight ends were probably the most impressive position compared to last year. All three had decent plays and Brandon Moore could be challenging for a starting spot depending on his blocking abilities.
Barnum messed a few up, but other than that I didn't see anything too atrocious.
1. Denard. No question on that one. There were a couple of good fakes, especially end around fakes
2. Turner played well, but wasnt outstanding. He just looks too big to be playing corner
3. Snaps were good for the most part, Khoury was doing pretty well
You get a +1 just for having Neil deGrasse Tyson as your avatar.
im glad somebody appreciates the blackest white like black guy in the universe
thanks for the responses so far.
How did Roh play in the new(ish) scheme? Anyone see him playing in coverage? I didn't see much on him in the open thread.
Did Mouton and Ezeh make any soul-crushing mistakes? Were they blitzing more?
I think Ezeh played really well. I don't remember Mouton, but I think he's still got a club on his hand. Ezeh had the only interception of the day
I think Kenny Demens plays Ezeh's position (?) and he played super great today
He was my defensive MVP personally. He was always in position and made some good plays against the run
make any gritty plays? After all, he is a student of the game, heady, gym-rat, blue collar kind of guy.
he was gritty mcgritterstein (he played decently, nothing amazing, just effective at box safety)
EDIT: but he has stumpy legs
Made a good tackle on Hopkins as he was getting ran over
Demens looked extremely athletic for a big guy and had excellent lateral speed and positioning, especially when you consider he was playing against the first team offense.
Roh looked like the fucking Rancor from Star Wars, but fast. He's decent with coverage and if put in bump-and-run man, he may break his receiver in half at the line. I was also impressed with Ezeh's improved run support and ability to put his cover zone in a non-meaningless area.
Will Campbell looked like a pretty authoritative nose tackle. He showed flashes of the ability to control the line of scrimmage and gets off blocks well. Watch out for him.
Taylor Lewan was pwning dudes all day. He played like a starter.
just for the Roh-Rancor comparison
Roh had a nice pass breakup on Tate (I think it was Tate). Dropped back and tipped the ball away from any harm...probably would've been a 10+ yard gain without Roh's good read.
I wasn't at the spring game, but I don't think we should rush to name Denard the starter at QB. Tate may not currently be injured, but it's likely that his injury hindered his development significantly. Give him a few more months of mental and physical preparation (with Barwis), and the competition at QB will heat up again in August.
Right now, it seems as though Tate is at least as good as he was last year. If Denard looks even better (not-even-close better, as some have said), then we should all feel pretty good about the offense in 2010.
That's all.
any recruiting chants going on?
Didn't really notice anything outside of the usual chants. I do remember a brief chant/cheer but I think it was for a girl from Mott.
EDIT: But I had a hard time hearing today for whatever reason.
April 17th, 2010 at 10:43 PM ^
was alot of attention around Dee. Not much else.
Jeremy Gallon is going to be a star.
Book it.
both punting and FGs were weak to pitiful, especially the punting. I know Hagerup is coming in August, but from those that were in attendance how would you assess the kicking game at this point?
The punting "attempts" were pathetic. Laughable actually. Gibbons punts were the equivalent of the JV level in high school.
The point after were good, and the FG tries were OK. Nobody has a booming leg. Anything outside 40 yards will be an adventure.
April 18th, 2010 at 11:21 AM ^
My concern is definitely special teams this year.
Anything outside 40 yards will be an adventure.
Why does this seem to be the case like, every other year for our program? I want to know what OSU and Iowa are doing differently - they never seem to have poor placekicking.
Is Isaiah Bell injured? I was/am hoping he would have a good spring.