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-The run game still needs work, but a lot of that looks like it can be attributed to the O-Line. Outside of the first run of the day by Smith, there was a whole lot of nothing. The position still seems to lack some top end speed. Was also hoping to see Isaac today.
-Wideouts need some serious work. Quite a few balls today that looked right on the money and the receiver just couldn't maintain control. Hopefully someone emerges before the opener, or otherwise we're going to need a lot of help from Butt and Bunting.
-O-Line looked alright. Hoped they'd open more running holes, but they'll get better. Eventually when the defense is staring at the same reads and same plays every day in practice, they can pick up on what the offense is doing.
-I know the defense is usually ahead of the offense at this point of a coaching change, but regardless, the defense looked good. Depending on how much progression the line can make in terms of pressuring the QB, the defense could be very good.
-Again, Shane looked better, but he still looked like at times he tried putting too much pepper on his throws. Malzone looked great for a kid who's three months removed from high school.
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No, Isaac only had 1 carry.
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I see that a lot of people are concerned about the offense, but you have to understand that this defense may actually be pretty stacked. The amount of talent in the front 7 is plentiful to say the least. The secondary was also very impressive in their man converage today as well. This makes it very hard for the offense to hit their timing routes. That's why you started to see three step drops and quick fades/slants later on in the pass game. Had to start working the man beating concepts.
The offense being split down the middle talent-wise is very devestating to production, especially in the run game. Offense has to have a chemistry that comes from working together over a long period of time. Defense, since it is very reaction-oriented, can work well with just plugging and playing kids in spots without having to work together over a long time. Over the course of fall camp. The offense will be working with players that have been on the same lineup over a greater period of time and you will start to see it gel. When you see the offense being run by the first team regularly, you will see the Harbaugh offense be efficient and impose it's will on opposing defenses.
I am not worried about the offense AT ALL. Harbaugh/Drevno/Fisch will get it working by the time we go to Utah. The defense, I feel is a squad to be really excited about. I think they may be a Top 10 Defense in the whole country this year. Depth and talent just about everywhere, even in the secondary with the addition of Lyons and the emergence of Watson. Henry, Hurst and Marshall were a revelation on DL from what I could see. The DL looked very well coached and disruptive today. SACKS!!!! There were actually sacks today!
My way to early prediction is 10-2 ceiling and a 8-4 floor. We will beat either OSU or MSU this year, but not both. If I had to choose I think we beat MSU.
I'm excited about the fall season, which I have not been since we first hired Hoke and thought he was gonna be great (which he did have a great 1st season with the Sugar Bowl). Don't panic, Harbaugh will get this team ready to win.
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Given the split of talent on the Oline it's no wonder that defense dominated.
When Malzone was drafted ahead of Morris so many here announced his banishment to the bench. Not so much. The best tight end the most experienced wide receiver played with Shane. If you look at who was where on both teams, it seems pretty clear that the coordinators arranged to have certain players together on both offense and defense, on both teams.
Everyone looked rough, but you can see that there is talent and drive.
The offense and defense that hits the field on Sepetember 3rd will not look nuch like what we saw today.
I expect that Rudock will be a solid QB, demonstrating the poise, confidence, and expertise gained starting for two years. I hope that Shane beats him out for the starting role. That would mean that we have real quality at QB, and that means 1-3 more games that reason suggests they can win.
Hard to wait for fall.
GO Blue!
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for a lot more out of the offensive line. Especially the Maize team which had most of the starters. This is an experienced group but Drevno still has his hands full.
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Malzone has a terribly slow arm windup on his passes.
Shane has a rocket arm but his accuracy is meh.
Too little to know about the line with it being split between two teams.
Apparently the other 6(?) QBs on the roster didn't warrant any playing time?
Receivers look very weak.
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Plus judging the kid this early based on one scrimmage is a bad idea. He has plenty of time to learn and work with Harbaugh on improving his game.
...they thought it was too loud, so I saw two plays: Morris to Darboh and Morris to Dukes for the TD. I did manage to catch DJ Wilson and Kam Chatman in the gate...Camp Sanderson will be busy this summer.
Here, however, are my thoughts:
- The estimated attendance by checking the fullness of the stadium is underestimating b/c there were a lot of people both coming and going during the 2nd quarter; I'd estimate that when I was there it was about 75% full, so around 80K. Therefore, I'd estimate close to 100K saw some part of the scrimmage today.
- There were no major injuries, so the day was a success. Other than that, with only 14 practices before this, a new staff, a lot of new faces, vanilla schemes, and talent being split amongst two squads....the results of today don't mean very much.
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Peppers is a beast. He looks as good as advertised and I'm excited to see him play at full strength.
Thanks for all of the observations. I heard some of the game on the radio. The WR's sounded terrible.
Also a thanks to Auerbach for getting off the silly Alex Malzone stuff. Alex sounds like a great kid, from a great program, but don't hand him the starting job as a true freshman in April. Hopefully he competes very strongly and may the best QB win the job in summer camp.
We need a QB that can manage the game, not turn the ball over and keep the drives going with his arm when needed. Maybe something like Wisconsin used to at the QB position.