Ravens Game NFLN Replay - First Impression

[BradyManny]

The linebackers are always talking to each other out there, making adjustments to shifts in the formation and communicating reads. I'd suspect AD dropping in coverage was directly related to a sight adjustment by the linebackers assigning him coverage.

Check out AWTE's coverage breakdown discussing where Bryant is, I think it will help with the question - he also addresses and AD coverage drop at one point. http://www.patriotsplanet.com/BB/showpost.php?p=851156&postcount=9

Good stuff. (10)

Interesting points about Mayo in AWTE's breakdown there - I hadn't noticed his being slow to react a couple times out there. That said, as AWTE himself said, Mayo also made some plays. Overall, I thought he looked great and I'm pretty f-ing pumped about him so far in his short time here w the Pats. (Love the story Jonathan Kraft told about him looking at film by himself on a Sat. morning in the offseason.)

 

[Keegs]

i watched part of the game last night and it was a blast.

Crable's pick was sweet, Mayo's helmet-knocking-off tackle was sweet.

The oline looked pretty crappy.

i was also drinking a beer and playing poker online so i didn't see EVERYTHING, but those were some of the plays i saw

oh yeah, and i love Lamont Jordan. Always have, always will. His beard is fantastic.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Goal line defense after Guyton forced Figurs out at the 2 on the punt return.

The four down players where L-R LeKevin, Adams, Santonio, and Crable, with Woods and Mayo flanking them as LBs. Guyton was at MLB flanked by Meriweather and Spann. You can tell Meriweather has more experience playing down on the line than Spann - on the first play he shot the gap (created by Santonio torpedoing the LG and Crable getting pancaked by the LT) to grab the FB's legs. Adams fought through his blocker to wrap the FB up high and push him to the side. It looks like LeKevin also torpedoed on his side.

On the second play they went right at Crable who was moved out by the LT again. Meriweather shot the gap again, but he wasn't stopping a 260 FB alone on the goal line.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

We're about to start the Matt Gutierrez portion of the game, but first a KO...I do not like Lamont Jorden as the lead blocker for Slater.

Well that sucks, NLFN either cut out over 5 minutes of the second quarter - 12:06 going to commercial and 6:46 coming out - or my DVR took a hit. I'll have to watch the Tuesday replay to see which is which.

The defense is out there, Santonio and LeKevin have swapped sides - Santonio is now at RDE so he and LeKevin aren't getting locked into one side like they did last year. Crable slides out to mark the TE in the slot and trails him up the field where he makes his pick. I have no idea why Boller even threw that ball, there was a S over top and Crable underneath - maybe the Cassel haters wouldn't mind a veteran like Boller as back-up?

- Gut's to Pollard, Britt at LT was abused, but decent protection otherwise with four receivers in the pattern.
- Handoff to Evans from the shotgun, the O-line did a nice job getting some surge and Evans made sure he fell forward. Polllard did an okay job of blocking a pass rushing LB on the edge and Ventrone had a nice block from the slot.
- Gut gets leveled by the NT beating Hochstein - communication breakdown between Hoch and Connelly - getting the ball off towards Ventrone for an incompletion...he might better have taken the sack, because that lame duck in the flat was a pick six waiting to happen.
- The Faulk draw for a 1st down. Pollard had the key block that sprang Kevin.
- Doomed run by Jorden against 9 in the box.
- Gut and Jackson aren't on the same page, it looked like Chad flattened his route while Gut was looking for him to be running more of a slant. Nearly picked.
- Another bubble screen to Chad, another failure. I don't think he's going to replace Stallworth on the bubble this season until his 'tell' gets sorted out. Pollard had another servicable block on the backside LB in pass protection.
- Gost hits his 1st FG.

KO - Tank Williams goes down, which helped open up the middle for Figurs return. Nice kick by Gost and nice job checking Figurs for Dillard's clean-up tackle.

Back on defense:
- Where was Mayo going? The Ravens opened up a truck lane between Fifita and Kenny Smith at LDE. Guyton stoned the FB in the hole, but Mayo blasted in and knocked down the RG double-teaming Fifita instead of scraping behind Guyton to meet the runner. Rice is actually decked by Crable doing a nice job of trailing behind the line to meet him. An illegal formation call negates the pick-up.
- Pats rush three, good coverage leaves Troy Smith nowhere to go.
- Pats rush Guyton and blitz Meriweather as the OLBs drop into coverage. Troy Smith hits his man for a big gain as he splits a seam. Spann was just half a step too late to create pain and suffering, nice tackle by Wheatley.
- Crable, unblocked, makes the tackle courtesy of Fifita, Santonio, Guyton, and Meriweather plugging the inside lanes and forcing the RB to bounce outside. Guyton is really doing a nice job of crashing the line.
- After the two minute warning. Eric Alexander and LeKevin are in, Guyton and Kenny Smith are out. Wheatley does a nice job of tracking down Troy Smith as he fakes a handoff and tries to take off the other way.
- Dime. Ventrone does a nice job in coverage. LeKevin is over at RDT, he pushed his man back to the QB, then just turned as he was looking upfield for the ball instead of finishing what could have been a spin move that would have put him right on top of Troy Smith - I'll bet Pepper got himself a pound of rump roast over that play.
- Ravens FG.

Pats ball again.
- Gut from the shotgun has all day and hits Ventrone who ran a little out and was left all alone by the D. Yep, he still looks like he's been influenced by Welker.
- Gut to Pollard from the gun, quick throw for short yardage. He could have taken a little more time to look upfield.
- Gut to Slater just shy of the sticks, Slater will need to get better at setting up for the 1st.
- QB sneek, 1st down.
- Once again Jackson and his QB are just not in-sync.
- Nice play by Evans, with no one to block inside, he slips into the pattern and bails out Gut as he scrambles. It's not that the blocking was so bad on this play, Gut had appeared to have no one open until Evans snuck out underneath.
- Gut misses high and behind to Pollard who takes a big hit.
- Gut throws his pick. It was a long throw and he either doesn't yet have the arm strength for that throw or he didn't step into it correctly, but it was too soft.

End of the Half.

- Gut's looked decent on these two series, though I still didn't see anything that pulls him ahead of Cassel.
- Guyton looks like a steal as a UDFA. With him, Mayo, and Crable the Pats seem to have made a good start on the next generation.
- Ventrone appears to be higher on the WR depth chart then I might have thought.
- Pollard hasn't looked too bad blocking, despite his reputation.

 

[BritPat]

Top stuff once more BOR. I've seriously enjoyed this thread.

Really excited about Guyton.

 

[RayClay]

Matt Cassel: I'll need to rewatch with slow-mo, but I didn't see the same problems others saw. My first impression is that he's still firmly in the running for #2, he played into the second quarter before making way for the two kids. It looked like normal division of playing time to me.

Box, could you analyze that interception and tell me what Jackson was supposed to do?

Looked to me like he was expecting Jackson to step right into the coverage for no gain and fight to prevent an interception. I don't know much about "options", but it seems to me he read the coverage and ran the route that had a chance of success.

PS, seems like it's been addressed.

From my amateur fan point of view, why throw that pass at all? Seems like, if a very short pass leading the receiver into coverage was the only option, he should throw it at somebodies feet.

I still don't see what successful execution of that play with that coverage would be.

Again, I don't pretend to be an expert.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Box, could you analyze that interception and tell me what Jackson was supposed to do?

Looked to me like he was expecting Jackson to step right into the coverage for no gain and fight to prevent an interception. I don't know much about "options", but it seems to me he read the coverage and ran the route that had a chance of success.

PS, seems like it's been addressed.

From my amateur fan point of view, why throw that pass at all? Seems like, if a very short pass leading the receiver into coverage was the only option, he should throw it at somebodies feet.

I still don't see what successful execution of that play with that coverage would be.

Again, I don't pretend to be an expert.

I can't say I'm an expert either. What I do know, it was designed to be a quick hitter off a 3-step drop. Cassel was probably working off a pre-snap read and was expecting a stop route where the CB would have had to go through Chad to get the ball. It looked like an effort to gain a couple yards through a reception or a PI penalty. Hard to say, but Chad didn't look any more in-sync with Gutierrez either. I think Chad has great tools and the injuries have set him way back, it just looks like he's soo close, just a little more refinement...**sigh**

 

[Metaphors]

I can't say I'm an expert either. What I do know, it was designed to be a quick hitter off a 3-step drop. Cassel was probably working off a pre-snap read and was expecting a stop route where the CB would have had to go through Chad to get the ball. It looked like an effort to gain a couple yards through a reception or a PI penalty.

Not to nitpick, but it was a 5-step drop. At 3 steps, Cassel was on the 38 yard line with his head up the middle. (Watson? looking off the safety?) CJack had an inside release and could have taken a quick hitter at around the 31 yard line, though it didn't look like he was expecting it. Cassel turned left at 5 steps (just inside the 40). To be fair to you, his last 2 steps seemed choppy and rushed.

Also not sure about the "couple yards" part. The throw was an 11 yard route (17 yards in the air). Either a stop route or a quick out, hard to tell with that throw.

The real question is whether or not CJack had a route option. If he did, I find it hard to believe that a stop or out route was the correct read based on where the DB was and how he was positioned. If CJack did not have a route option and need to get to that spot on the field regardless, then he just flaked out completely. We will never know which is reality so any attempt to draw conclusions is complete speculation.

I have to say I agree with your overall assessment of CJack so far. I don't think he is a lost cause but my fear is that he won't earn enough practice reps with Brady to develop.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Not to nitpick,

Nitpick away, I'm not only arithmetically challenged, but QB/WR/DB play is a weak area for me.

 

[Metaphors]

Nitpick away, I'm not only arithmetically challenged, but QB/WR/DB play is a weak area for me.

I hated to do it because I think your overall assessments and impressions are right on...and personally I appreciate the effort you put in. It is just that there are generally no route adjustments on 3 step drops, so that would point the finger squarely at CJack for turning upfield. CJack has given the haters enough ammo, they don't need any more.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

2nd Half

KO - Slater with a 28 yd return, Lamont did a little better blocking.

Pats on offense.
- Inside zone to Jordan. Pats start to run a "wham" block with Spach, but he adjusts to take an unblocked LB coming off the edge. Good surge up front allows Jordan to pick his hole and get about 7 yds.
- Gut muffs the snap, Dirtbird's ball.

Pats on Defense. L-R Woods, Kenny Smith, Adams, Santonio, Crable; Hobson, Alexander; Wheatley, Sanders, Meriweather, Spann
- Play action, roll out hits the WR in that Cover-2 window between the CB and S.
- Flanker screen, incomplete.
- Good coverage forces Troy Smith to step up in the pocket and take the dump-off which Meriweather punishes. Ravens kept 6 in against 4 rushers.
- Run inside out of the shotgun is met head on by Adams. Bad blocking by Ravens, the C initially forced Adams to one knee before the RG could double - the RG tagged and released to block a LB and the C released to block a LB, allowing Adams to stand up and make the tackle. Alexander looked clueless dancing before being blocked by the C, Hobson either ole'd the RG or shrugged off a terrible block to be the #2 man in line for the tackle.
- FG

KO - CJ Jones makes a decent return. The Wall formed by Guyton, Spach, Adams or Wendell (both are #62), Kenny Smith, and Dillard did a nice job.

Pats on Offense.
- Play action fake/fake "wham" play allows TE Stupar to slide out into the flat for a Gut roll out. 8 yds. Good line surge again.
- Inside lead zone to Jordan for the 1st. Decent blocking again.
- 4 WR, trips left, 5-step drop Gut hits Slater on a stop out of the trips, Slater scoots for a nice gain and cramps up.
- Gut one hops a long throw to the sideline.
- Evans FB dive for a 1st.
- Outside zone to Jordan, well blocked.
- Inside zone to Jordan against 8 in the box for 1 yd.
- Jordan bounces an inside zone outside and gets strung out, it looked like he had a cutback inside.
- Inside zone to Green-Ellis for a nice gain - nice balance to regain his feet off a spin/hit for more yardage.
- DT beats McMahon (RT) inside to sack Gut. Spach with a nice block on the DE and Green-Ellis had a good blitz pick-up off the edge.
- Jorden Inside zone, well blocked for a nice pick-up.
- Gut's screen pass to Jorden looked to be a little behind him, causing him to turn back in a 270 into the pursuit for a loss. McMahon at RT was slow to get outside and block a blitzing LB so Gut took a shot.
- FG

KO - Touchback. It looked like Redd was one of the first guys down.

Pats on Defense. Redd in for Woods. Fifita in for Adams. Santonio is over to LDE, Kenny to RDE.
- Good pressure from Kenny helped Troy Smith miss on his wheel route.
- Redd forces Troy Smith to scramble and throw it away.
- Troy Smith on a quick hitter to his RB underneath, he trips or he has the 1st.
- Punt, CJ Jones fair catch.

Pats on Offense.
- O'Con in, floats one out to Slater in the flats for a sliding catch.
- Inside zone to Jordan, well blocked, nice gain. The TE's are sliding in as if to "wham", but wind up blocking across the formation to the backside DE - maybe an adjustment from the backside issue AWTE noted earlier.
- O'Con gets to run the "wham" fake rollout to Stupar for another 8 yds.
- O'Con almost gets his foot stepped on, but recovers - CJ Jones slips down and the throw goes incomplete.
- O'Con take a TO - Inside zone to Jordan who gets a first on a short gain.
- Another "wham" fake rollout, this time to the left. O'Con was looking upfield first and saw a rush lane which he took for a few yards before sliding.
- O'Con pulls it down and scrambles for a big gain. Decent pass blocking, apparently no one open upfield.
- Another inside zone to Jordan for 3-4 yds.
- O'Con sideline throw to Dunlap on an out just shy of the 1st - false start negates the play.

End of the Third Qtr.

- Outside zone to Jordan for a couple, looked like he slipped on his cut.
- Play action, bubble screen to CJ. Jones for a decent gain, but shy of the 1st.
- FG.

The run blocking in the 3rd quarter against the Ravens scrubs has been pretty good.
The rollouts for the reserve QBs are working okay too, I like the TE faking the "wham" and releasing.

 

[Pats Fanatic]

I must say Box I love your work with the analyst. Great job and glad to see you back here doing this.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I must say Box I love your work with the analyst. Great job and glad to see you back here doing this.

'appy to be 'ere sir! :singing:

 

[Leave No Doubt]

Outstanding analysis Box, thank you I rewatched the game as well and came away with a more positive overall impression of the offense than I'd had during the game-especially about Cassel who I was complaining about the entire time lol.

No wonder BB gets so much out of film. If you look for the right things you'll learn much from it. Great stuff Box-looking forward to the next one!

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

The rest of the 4th Qtr.

KO - Sweet, Redd is one of the wall busters and first ones down. He stacks, sheds, and gets a hit on the KR to send him stumbling to the ground. Ventrone, Evans, and Guyton where the others first on the scene.

Pats on Defense. L-R Woods (Redd is out again), Adams, Fifita, Kenny, Crable; Alexander and Guyton (Hobson is out); same secondary.
- Troy Smith tries to touch pass it over the LB and under the CB but didn't bring a step stool and Alexander drops the int after stretching for the ball.
- Play action holds Alexander, if he'd read it a little faster and dropped sooner he would have been under another WR in the throwing lane. Crable gets to Smith and gives him some Wolverine love as he releases. Pats actually rush 5, but Ravens in max protect. 1st down on a drag route.
- Woods swats down a screen pass. Adams was stoned on his rush, but appears to have read the screen and started sliding out with the RB.
- Inside zone, Crable is still too heads up on his blocker, but does set the edge and has good ball awareness. Fifita and Adams get blown out, Kenny holds the line, but can't cover enough area to make up for the other two disappearing, Alexander overplays and gets sealed outside, Woods gets too deep into the backfield as backside pursuit and gets sealed downfield when the RB cuts back, Guyton was moved back by the RG, but shed the block and made the tackle after about a 4-5 yd gain.
- Woods flushes Smith out of the pocket where Guyton stretches him outside giving Kenny a chance to run him down from behind - Guyton, Kenny, and Alexander all get a hand in to trip him up.
- Punt. CJ Jones screws up and catches inside the 5.

Pats on Offense.
- O'Con hits Slater on an out for a drop.
- O'Con to Ventrone after a nice scramble and Referee's review. Decent blocking.
- O'Con to Jordan in the flat for 4-5 yds. Face mask Ravens for 15 more yds.
- Pats false start on Wendell
- Good blocking on a roll out, but no one open and O'Con wisely throws in away.
- O'Con up top along the sideline for CJ Jones, just past his finger tips, well covered by the Birds, again good blocking.
- O'Con takes TO - Ravens showing blitz everywhere, but O'Con takes his time and communicates with the OL. He's forced to scramble and throw the ball away, but a good play to take the punt. McMahon called for holding is declined.
- Punt. Ventrone working as a Gunner gets mugged, possible block in the back - he fought through a double-team to be first down. Evans got down there and was unable to set contain, Guyton actually turned the PR back into the pursuit where Dunlap brought him down after he juked Paxton.

Pats on Defense. L-R Woods, Santonio, Adams, Kenny, Redd; Alexander, Hobson; Dillard in for Meriweather.
- Flacco in. Long throw to the sideline is broken up by L.Sanders. Flacco was unable to step into it from Kenny collapsing the pocket.
- Pats send 5, Woods strip sack and fumble recovery. Kenny drew a double-team, this allowed Adams to work one-on-one, so when Woods gets in and misses his first swipe, Adams penetration forced Flacco to hesitate and Woods got him on the rebound.

Pats on Offense.
- O'Con shows good arm strength to hit CJ Jones along the sideline, nice quick release. CJ made a nice move to spin out of a tackle and get the 1st down.
- Jorden unable to make the backside S blitz miss on an inside zone.
- Jorden powers into another inside zone to push the pile for a couple.
- Another inside zone on 3rd and 5 allows the O-line to take charge and escort Jorden for a 1st.
- Yet another inside zone gives Jorden a nice hole to get down to the 2.
- Stupar seals the LB on the edge long enough for Jorden to power off LT and push the LB into the end zone. Nice blocking by the O-line and TEs on this drive.
- 2 pt. conversion is deflected by an unblocked LB off the edge, Ventrone was open in the left front corner of the end zone. Ravens took a risk and won.

KO - Short kick to the 8, nice blocking, Green-Ellis is engaged with the wall and fights off the block enough to grab some KR jersey and slow him for a L.Sanders shoe-string tackle. Ventrone makes another appearance, he must have been the left wing and came slashing behind the wall a little too late. 20 yd return, not bad as it looked like a long return before Ben-Jarvis got grabby.

Pats on Defense. Crable in for Woods. Fifita at NT and Adams to LDE. Hobson and Alexander. Meriweather is back.
- Inside zone, Crable slashes in from outside to catch the RB and drag him down.
- Quick slant, incomplete - Flacco was behind him.
- Kenny with a sack, good pressure from Crable too.
- Punt. CJ Jones makes a nice catch, but is stripped as he tries to run it back. He did a nice job keeping his head and making the tackle - then he showed his frustration after the play was dead.
- Inside zone, Redd is too heads up on his blocker, but sets the edge. Kenny is doubled. Alexander overplays the outside. I couldn't see if it was Fifita or Hobson who tripped up the runner, but I think it was Fifita. Gain of 5. Dillard is in, Meriweather out.
- Run off RT, Adams and Alexander get stoned, Crable fights off his blocker and makes the tackle after the RB goes by in the "c" gap. Gain of 4.
- Pats in a goal line set inside the 10 for a third and 1. Ravens FB dive right side is checked by Fifita and Santonio, and pushed back by the swarm flying in to help.
- Pats time out. 4th and inches, Pats goal line D - Pass to the right flat is batted down by a flying Vince Redd. Poor cut block by the RB allowed Redd to jump into the throwing lane...it would have to have been a great pass because Spann was trailing the receiver and might have had an int.

Pats on Offense.
- O'Con throws it away from the Ravens blitz. Wendell missed the ILB coming behind the DL he handed off to the C - there were three Pats on the right side staring down one DE and sleeping on the LB.
- No one open, O'Con scrambles out of bounds.
- O'Con takes too long looking upfield for an open receiver and steps into a sack. Green-Ellis with a nice blitz pick-up. I don't think McMahon is making the squad, though he did buy O'Con enough time.
- Pats take a delay of game moving the ball back 1 foot.
- 4th and 18 from the 1 foot line, O'Con keeps the play alive with his feet and caroms the ball off CJ. Jones who tried to body catch it, picked by the Ravens.

Pats on Defense.
- Ravens kneel down to end the game.

Kenny Smith makes for a nice shadow roster addition.
CJ Jones made some mistakes and a couple nice plays, I think he was trying too hard and I'm not ready to write him off despite the mistakes.
Add Redd to the young LBs who showed promise.
Green-Ellis showed me something, keep it up kid.
Guyton and Ventrone - those two just keep showing up. I hope we get to see what they develop into in a Patriots uni, vice one of those other 31.
I didn't see much of Dillard as a S, but he looked good on STs.
Evans is a lock.
Spach and Stupar aren't half bad blockers.
The O-line reserves have some potential, I'm looking forward to Dante's wizardry.
Crable and Redd both show some good ball awareness on the edge, that height and long arms helps them keep the sight lines clear.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Outstanding analysis Box, thank you I rewatched the game as well and came away with a more positive overall impression of the offense than I'd had during the game-especially about Cassel who I was complaining about the entire time lol.

No wonder BB gets so much out of film. If you look for the right things you'll learn much from it. Great stuff Box-looking forward to the next one!

Ever since my first DVR, I've become sooo hooked on rewatching the games to understand the play.

 

[BradyManny]

BOR - what's your take on Britt so far? The only real o-lineman I've noticed either way in that game was Yates, who struggled. Granted I inadvertently set my HDD/DVR recording quality so low I can't read the numbers on the linemen

Anyway, any Britt impressions would be welcome. I've just recently started learning more about this guy and reading some pre-draft scouting reports. For instance I had no idea that this was a guy that - if healthy - probably would've gone in the first few rounds and had a pretty solid career at Alabama. A sampling of a few mocks had him in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds and Walterfootball, a pretty reliable draft site, had him as the 6th tackle.

Sometimes I make the naive assumption that guys we pick up that were off another team's scrap heap are major "projects", but it could be Britt has more immediate potential than I gave him credit for.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

BOR - what's your take on Britt so far? The only real o-lineman I've noticed either way in that game was Yates, who struggled. Granted I inadvertently set my HDD/DVR recording quality so low I can't read the numbers on the linemen

Anyway, any Britt impressions would be welcome. I've just recently started learning more about this guy and reading some pre-draft scouting reports. For instance I had no idea that this was a guy that - if healthy - probably would've gone in the first few rounds and had a pretty solid career at Alabama. A sampling of a few mocks had him in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds and Walterfootball, a pretty reliable draft site, had him as the 6th tackle.

Sometimes I make the naive assumption that guys we pick up that were off another team's scrap heap are major "projects", but it could be Britt has more immediate potential than I gave him credit for.

A servicable utility edge blocker (RT, LT, TE), in last year's Training Camp he also took Center reps and he's been part of the wall and the blocking line on Kick Returns - in a nut shell, a classic Scarnecchia Graduate in the Hochstein mold. He was Matt Light's back-up last season, with O'Callaghan backing up Kaczur. I classify Britt as the #3 OT on the team because he can work as a swing tackle, whereas O'Cal is a last resort for LT. I do not see him moving ahead of either Light or Kaczur, but he's as good a reserve OL as we could wish. He spent a year on the Practice Squad and this is his third year on the roster.

 

[Pats726]

Great stuff as usual!!!!

 

[BradyManny]

A servicable utility edge blocker (RT, LT, TE), in last year's Training Camp he also took Center reps and he's been part of the wall and the blocking line on Kick Returns - in a nut shell, a classic Scarnecchia Graduate in the Hochstein mold. He was Matt Light's back-up last season, with O'Callaghan backing up Kaczur. I classify Britt as the #3 OT on the team because he can work as a swing tackle, whereas O'Cal is a last resort for LT. I do not see him moving ahead of either Light or Kaczur, but he's as good a reserve OL as we could wish. He spent a year on the Practice Squad and this is his third year on the roster.

Thanks for the insights - sounds like a pretty good guy to have. For what is worth, I rewatched some of the first half last nite and thought he held up his own, at both LT and RT. Granted, I also thought he got away with some holds, but what works for the Colts can work for us...

I also thought Kaczur - and again sometimes can't see the numbers clearly, but I'm pretty sure I was seeing 77 - was having trouble on the left side. Clearly he's more comfortable and effective on the right, and that's why he's back there in practice.

I gotta watch some of the 2nd half again, but I'm surprised how quiet a camp O'Cal is having. After showing something his rookie year, being AWOL for most of last season then playing well in Week 17, I'm always surprised we don't hear more about him. He's missed some practices, so he might be banged up, too.