Who impressed you today? (spring game over reactions)

Submitted by no joke its hoke on

I thought there was some nice things in the spring game today. Black looks soild at the 3.Hawtorne can slice thru blockers like a mad man. Rawls of course looked nice but i am really impressed with the depth in the secondary. Over all it was a boring event but better than nothing. Go Blue!

rbgoblue

April 14th, 2012 at 2:34 PM ^

The WRs definitely did not find a lot of open space downfield, and even if they did, I'm not sure the QBs would have been able to get it to them.  That said, our coverage was very solid. The problem with a game against yourself is that you don't know whether this is a positive for the DBs or a negative for the WRs.  Probably a mix of both.

denardogasm

April 14th, 2012 at 2:41 PM ^

I found this to be a big problem last season that didn't get much play on the board for some reason.  I think route running is one of the biggest problems that needs to be addressed in the offseason.  Hopefully knowing the actual routes better will help with this, but I'd love to see some quicker receivers come our way in this recruiting class.  I'm lookin at you Devon Allen.

yossarians tree

April 15th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^

Tough to tell from spring scrimmage because the offense is vanilla and the defense knows it.

That said I think the defense has the potential to be better than last year's overall. Loss of Martin cannot be overcome, but I think Van Bergen can at least be adequately replaced (though he was damn good last year). The back seven appears to be much faster and more aggressive. By the end of 2013 Mattison will have himself one hellaciously good defense. The improvement is almost warp-speed. Unbelievable coaching.

I'm concerned about the offense because I realize that it is almost a necessity these days to have a strong-armed accurate QB who can gun the 15 yard out or the 25 yard curl-in. We do not have that guy (and we will not have that guy until Morris gets in), nor do we have the speed at WR to make defenses back up. The result will be what we saw against better defenses last year--they will crowd the line of scrimmage, go hell bent to stop the run and Denard's scrambling, and dare us to beat them with the pass. I guarantee Alabama already has this as their game-plan. To be a complete offense you need a big QB who can go over the top on you, and WRs who scare you with size and speed. This looks still a couple years off.

rbgoblue

April 14th, 2012 at 2:28 PM ^

Rawls and Fitz ran well with determination.  The line needs to come together a lot between now and September.  Bama would be salivating.

VictorFromBirth

April 14th, 2012 at 2:34 PM ^

Was pretty impressive on the run today.  In the passing game he was incredibly disappointing, which is not to discredit a secondary that looks confident and capable.  But Bellomy seemed to have more poise, and he made better decisions overall.

coldnjl

April 14th, 2012 at 2:38 PM ^

Bellomy played very well, but I am worried that he has limited arm strength. HIs out to Robinson early in the game was low and took too long to get there, and he never really zoomed a ball downfield. Instead, he focused on the rbs and intermediate passes. 

switch26

April 14th, 2012 at 2:46 PM ^

I agree on bellomy's arm strength..  Even on that pass he threw on the run that was behind the receiver..  He looked like he was struggling to power a throw while moving.  Def needs to gain about 10 lbs of good muscle

wolverine1987

April 14th, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^

since he's been here--HUGE caveat of course since he hasn't played much In games. And I'm NOT saying he's not a good player or that he won't do well when Denard leaves. But in three spring games now and limited real game action, there has not IMO been much at all that he has shown in the passing game.

MichiganMan_24_

April 14th, 2012 at 2:34 PM ^

Cam Gordon was around the ball all day and the LBers in general looked good..Marvin Robinson can be a huge piece for this team.

Bellomy seemed like he is on the right path as a RS Fresh..Jerald Robinson looked like a kid i can see fighting for the ball and is on the right path as well.

Fitz Toussaint looks to be very confident in himself and i can see him really doing things this year and adding a little to the passing game for us.

Two Hearted Ale

April 14th, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^

I would never say someone is a waste of scholarship. I say he is a serviceable player. He is a big enough body that he demands attention including the occasional double team but he's no War Daddy and probably won't be given his propensity to stand up when the ball is snapped.

RakeFight

April 14th, 2012 at 4:54 PM ^

Although I agree that it seems like interior DL seems to be the biggest weakness, some of it seemed to be related to formation.  In a couple of those big gains up the middle, there was a ton of space between DLmen, and on one of the plays, a LB dropped out of the middle of the DL on a fake blitz, and there must have been 6 yards between DLmen that Fitz promptly ran right through.  It's one thing to force the OL to make holes for the RB, it's another thing to give them gaping holes on a silver platter.

coldnjl

April 14th, 2012 at 2:35 PM ^

I actually liked Gardner today. His passing was not spectacular, but most of the times, the WRs were simply covered well but he displayed that great arm and his running skills took a HUGE leap forward this year, as he appeared to be more reactionary and hence, quicker in his cuts.

coldnjl

April 14th, 2012 at 2:44 PM ^

I didn't say he lit the world on fire with his passing, but he played alot with the 2s and the passing attacks usually look raw in the spring games. His int to Countess looked like a good read, but just needed to put that a foot farther in front. Jackson, IMO, should have attacked the ball there instead of start moving downfield, which allowed Countess to cut inside for the pick.

But what he showed that I liked was his ability to scramble within the pocket while keeping his eyes down the field, which is new. He also seemed to take off with authority when he did. Last year, he seemed slower and less athletic when he ran. Both are huge improvements. 

BlueZoo

April 14th, 2012 at 2:53 PM ^

Think Gardner looked bad.  I discount the running because it's easy to run with authority when you can't be tackled.  it's also hard on the defense to pull up and "tag" someone down.

I basically think Gardner is Pryor-lite (minus the off field issues).  This can be both a good thing (long strider, good in the open field), and a bad one (odd throwing motion, questionable decisions).

 

redhousewolverine

April 14th, 2012 at 4:30 PM ^

Gardner challenged the holes, recognized (generally) when he should take off and run, and displayed the ability to move the sticks with his feet. Just because the defense couldn't hit him doesn't mean that he didn't impress with his ability to run. Gardner makes the decisions to tuck it and run that Denard refuses to take at times. This is what Borges, Brian, and an infinite number of people wish he would do more. A scrambling QB is very dangerous when he has the defense spread out in coverage and Gardner exploited that with his feet today. His passing left something to be desired, but it is still spring.

white_pony_rocks

April 14th, 2012 at 7:15 PM ^

im willing to bet that a good number of backup qbs end up backing up multiple starters during their college careers.  sure, most probably dont have the upside at multiple positions gardner does, but its not like its the end of the world if gardner is the backup qb in 2013 if it means bellomy is good and morris can redshirt.

rob f

April 14th, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^

and I liked the look of the O-Line, except for some of the center snaps.  Roh also impressed, looked like a man hungry for domination and moar food.