Camp observations Sunday August 3rd:
I apologize for my tardy reply. I attended camp yesterday with the Beanfish and offer a number of miscellaneous observations.
The most illuminating drill of the day was again the one on one pass drill. Last week the drill included TEs.
In this instance, only the running backs participated in a match up with the ILBs.
To my eye, the outstanding performers among the RBs were Sammy Morris and Lamont Jordan.
Sammy easily gained separation and caught the ball cleanly without breaking stride.
Maroney played to mixed reviews in head to head match-ups with Mayo. In the first rep,
Mayo slipped to the turf on the outcut and Maroney waltzed away. The more notable match-up
(which to me spoke volumes about the combatants) occured near the end of the drill.
Maroney tried an outcut and go. Mayo trailed by a half-step out of the cut
and incredibly closed ground against a full speed Maroney on the up.
The two players continued full tilt down the sideline with Mayo fixed in Maroney's grill.
Brady held the ball, held the ball, and finally dropped the ball in exasperation.
There was no separation, not an inch. Mayo also stifled Faulk on a circle route.
His skillset in man coverage is lightyears ahead of the next best ILBs. He is a three down ILB.
Hobson and Heath appeared ponderous.
Tank did not participate, perhaps indicating a failed positional experiment.
Bruschi was surprisingly adequate, but Guyton was the Silver Medal winner in this drill.
He was physical on the bump, and quick on cuts.
The punt drills also caught my eye. The drills were not run at full speed except at the gunner/gunner blocker level.
In fact, I thought the drills were designed as a try-out among the gunner blockers.
Chad Jackson ran back the bulk of the punts and to my eye lacked the quick cutting and cutback skills
critical to success in this arena. Chad Jackson's long speed and stride
may work on kick-offs but cannot work on punts.
Wilhite stood out as quick and physical as a gunner blocker, but Slater's raw speed blew the DookFish away.
As a gunner, he was two steps ahead of his nearest competitor and simply ran around the gunner blockers untouched.
Earlier he had circumnavigated a frustrated Merriwether on a cutback punt return.
He will not only make the 53. He will be active on the 45 as a kick returner, gunner blocker, gunner, and KR safety.
Wheatley stood out both on D, as a gunner and as a gunner blocker. He is lightening fast, quick and surprisingly physical.
He turned beautifully on an underthrown Cassell heave off a flea flicker and made the pick.
I watched one aspect of the running game carefully and I must regrettfully report that
none of our young buck OLBs can set the edge on the sweep. Vrabel is of course the master in this regard.
Crable, Pierre and Redd (given a surprising number of snaps) were regularly caught inside or engulfed on sweep after sweep.
I also watched Redd in zone coverage. He is huge, but lacking in lateral mobility or ball sense.
If he has an NFL career, it will be in a Colvin/Crable rush role.
My final observation relates to David Thomas, I observed two remarkable catches-one a tap job on the sideline,
one a scoop of an underthrown crossing pattern. He may not be elite in the separation category,
but on BB's second criteria (Can he catch the ball?), Thomas is a standout.
He also looks noticeably thicker in his second year and may have the bulk now to hold his own on the wham or in line.
Respectfully submitted, The DookFish
P.S. The DookFish, MomBear and the BeanFish depart for Russia and Hong Kong tomorrow night to visit the MookFish and meet up with the ZookFish. The Scoutwease will board with her Aunt. We will return in time for the second exhibition game.
P.P.S. The BeanFish has heard the posters as to the typing issues and threatens the DookFish with an on-line typing course. The DookFish is not easily cowed and swims off to Asia unbowed and untutored.
