Stampede your face!!
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RE: Spring game recap
(04-16-2016 07:12 PM)Chipdip2 Wrote: What do you mean, "To keep going forward?"
He better win it all, no excuses. Simpsons was never going to see much PT, can't use that as an excuse.
(04-16-2016 05:33 PM)Stampede your face!! Wrote: [quote='ColinApocalypse' pid='13203362' dateline='1460827732']
I'm just gonna post my thoughts from the spring game here, and others are encouraged to do the same.
As usual, this was a pretty ho-hum spring game. No tackling, but they went at it in the trenches and there were a few big hits in the game.
It was hard to get a read on a lot of things. Most of the big-name players didn't play or barely played at all (Davis, Bogan, Terrell, Phillips, Bellamy, etc...), meaning most of the game was 2nd and 3rd stringers. It was nice to get a look at our depth though and see some guys that would normally not see the field.
They were also constantly switching out personnel in the trenches, so I have no idea what the depth chart is going into the fall. At one point, I saw the starting O-line as Okorafor at LT, Day at LG, Keenoy at C, Juriga at RG and Moton at RT, but again...they were switching guys around all day. It was also hard to keep track because there were no names on the jerseys and they didn't hand out programs...so I was going off of memory.
POSITIVES:
- Butch Hampton looked GREAT. He was nailing 50-yarders and performed very well throughout the day. I expect him to be a polished kicker by the fall. Impressive to see out of a true frosh.
- Carrington Thompson looked really good and he'll make a nice compliment to Davis. Michael Henry also played well, working out of the slot.
- Quarterbacks. They all looked very much improved. Tom Flacco looked better as a passer, but still remains more of a threat with his legs. He had TDs both on the ground and through the air. Jon Wassink looked good, more accurate than before. Matt Little was shaky at first, but settled in to make a couple nice throws. He still has work to do, as expected.
- RBs. Bogan and Franklin looked decent in limited action. Tucker and Ekwoge looked pretty good, but they were running behind 2nd and 3rd string O-lines so it's hard to get a read. Ekwoge doubles as a receiving threat.
- Trevor Sweeney lined up in the slot and had a good day, catching several passes.
- D-line looked good all day, including the backups. Keion Adams is clearly turning into a leader both on and off the field. Daniel Jackson and Andre Turner played well.
- No injuries! Fleck played things very safe to keep everyone healthy for the fall.
- Malik Rucker played very well. Had one PI call, but he also picked off Terrell and had a couple PBUs.
- Walk-on WR Jimmy Kepouros had a nice pitch-and-catch from Little with YAC. Looked fast.
- Wassink threw a bomb to Keishawn Watson. Both looked great on the play.
- Derrick Mitchell looked solid on kick-offs and punts.
- Beautiful weather and decent crowd today. Looked like there were upwards of 500 people there.
NEGATIVES:
- Not a lot of negatives
- Depth is a concern for the linebackers and secondary. Rucker played well, but that's about it. Again, it's hard to tell without the starters playing today, but I wasn't impressed with our depth in the defensive back seven.
- Where is Kadeem Goulbourne? Had a couple of targets from Matt Little, no catches. Didn't make any noise today. He was a highly-touted guy coming out of HS and he has good size. I have no idea what the deal is.
- Others that I didn't see at all (might have just been me): Giovanni Ricci, Tony Balabani, tight ends doing anything other than blocking, Justin Ferguson.
Other observations:
- For punt and kick return duties, I saw Carrington Thompson and Anton Curtis getting reps. Keishawn Watson too I think.
- Spring "change your best" awards: offense - Carrington Thompson, defense - Caleb Bailey, leadership - Zach Terrell
- After today, I think we'll be seeing true freshmen get playing time in the linebackers and secondary. Especially the linebackers.
All in all, it's hard to make many judgements based on a glorified practice like this. No tackling, conservative play-call, few starters on the field, etc...
Looks like this class of 16' better come in ready to play. Didn't hear a peep out of Tristian Pipp. Did he play? Jakevin Jackson didn't record a tackle. I know they are resting Spillane. Nothing out of Engram that I heard. LB's are a concern. Spillane has to be healthy.
If you add Phillips, Beal and Tranquill to Rucker, Brown, O. Jackson, Davison and Ginwright, the depth back there looks pretty good. Especially considering three of the best 16' recruits are Boyd, Spears, and Claiborne.
If Matich is seriously hurt. Like miss 2016 hurt, that is a tremendous blow to DT depth. Down to Curle, Finley, Jackson, Simpkins and incoming freshmen pretty much. I take it back...Simpkins doesn't look to be on the roster anymore either.
This team needs to win at least 9 games this year to keep going forward. Looking at the roster, yeah there is some talent, but in a few spots, they are lacking. And it could hurt them.
PJ needs to figure it out.
[/quote
I don't think I made an excuse. And by going forward, I mean win more games than the previous year, do better, or as PJ would say, keep "changing their best".
If he doesn't win it all this year? Are you going to pull your support of him? haha.
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