At the practice yesterday, some fans were allowed to watch from the deck of the Luskin Center. On another forum one of them made some very detailed and interesting notes.
1. Rosen and Andrews have good chemistry and connected on a number of passes. Andrews looks to be the leading receiver this year - crisp and strong routes. Very positive development.
2. Bolu looks quick and polished in every phase of RB - caught passes, ran skinny and strong, blocked. He stands out among RBs and looks to be #1.
3. Christian Pabico has good body control and runs crisp routes. He should be in the rotation at WR and if productive in games could stay as top wideout behind Andrews. Decent chemistry with Rosen.
4. Josh was effective and especially stood out for not making mistakes on throws except for one big blunder that would have been a TD return if Pickett hadn't dropped it. Josh is getting a lot better on short throws over the middle and gets the pass off quickly on plays where needed. Nothing but better play to come in this new scheme for Josh. He's really fortunate for this offense as it's what he'll need to run in the NFL.
5. Lynch stood out as he did in the Spring game. Don't sleep on him. He may pass Modster who had a lackluster practice. I really like Lynch's passing skills - throws a nice ball and in windows. Burton is a nice prospect looking pretty good for a true freshman.
6. I was struck at how the other RBs receded from prominence. Not much from Soso, Stephenson, N. Starks, and J. Starks. Second best RB today was Kelly - I can see why people are high on him. He needs to learn blocking however during his redshirt year.
7. The Beach Boys (two Wilsons) look prepared to add the TE dimension to the offense. Caleb is effective down field (absent one easy drop for a TD) and Jordan is likely to catch more short passes after blocking and releasing especially if the defense doesn't pick him up. Good option for 5-10 easy yards today.
8. Theo (I'm a fan) caught a few passes but doesn't seem to have great chemistry with Josh. I hope it develops as he gets separation. They also ran him on jet sweeps. Limped off late in practice with a tweaked ankle but seemed OK weight on it on the way to the locker room.
9. OL doesn't give Josh a lot of time, but the offense is designed for that so it may not be such a big deal as in the past.
10. Lasley was not effective most of practice but got behind coverage late and caught a nice long TD pass from Josh. Consistency has been his challenge and he may be destined for special packages this year.
Defense looks solid in all positions.
1. Osa stood out on the DL getting penetration a lot. Also almost got his block knocked off for hitting Josh on a scramble. Obviously playing with passion. Nice chest bump with Angus after a good play.
2. Nick Terry looks a lot more flexible and is getting lower than last year. Made some nice plays and looks like a real contributor this year. Strong dude.
3. NNoruka stood out on a few plays - looks like he's coming on.
4. The LB lineup with Lokeni in the middle and Josh Woods and Kenny Young outside looks very strong. Lokeni is a head busta and Kenny plays well in space. I think we're going to be happy with LB play this year. Mique played the middle on 2nd team and made at least one crushing tackle. If he keeps his head in the game, he'll show us why he was so highly recruited.
5. Jaelen Phillips is a force who seems to draw a double team and open up things for others. I smile when I think of his play at DE. Future All-American level player.
6. Meadors looked good in coverage, breaking up some well thrown passes. He's definitely an anchor at corner. Holmes looked good but still learning to read and react. Will be big league when he does. Denzel Fisher is playing very well at CB, with his only weakness being losing the ball/back turned if a receiver gets behind him. He's a blanket for everything else and strong on run support.
7. Pickett and Wadood look solid at safety. Hard to believe that the Dood is a senior. He's another anchor on the defense. Pickett was around the ball all practice and should help with turnovers this year. Will Lockett made a crushing tackle that stirred up the whole defense and looks quite capable this year.
Nice competition between the two punters. At least they know that they will be replaced if they punt poorly in games. Right now I favor Flintoff who gets better hang time even on punts where he misses a bit and is short.
Practice seemed well organized with little time wasted. Squads ran off and on the field with few hiccups and the scrimmage got off a LOT of plays in the time. You could see the coaching as play went on. Late in practice the team broke down into position groups for some coaching and then returned to practice some more. Good focus and energy. Seemed like more real-time coaching than in the past, and without slowing the pace of practice.
Overall, I'm optimistic that the coaches will develop game plans that work against each opponent. The offense is varied enough that there shouldn't be repeat dud plays like last year. My sense is that they will need to pass (short) to open up the run and go downfield opportunistically, perhaps 2-3 times a game. Much more short passes over the middle and rub patterns where Josh should be able to complete a high percentage and keep the chains moving. I'm seeing fewer 3rd and 10 situations and longer drives this year. Effective use of the TE's. The team didn't show snazzy plays today - they will wait until game planning weeks after they close practice to fans.
Cautiously optimistic.
http://bruingold.com/forums/index.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=365963
1. Rosen and Andrews have good chemistry and connected on a number of passes. Andrews looks to be the leading receiver this year - crisp and strong routes. Very positive development.
2. Bolu looks quick and polished in every phase of RB - caught passes, ran skinny and strong, blocked. He stands out among RBs and looks to be #1.
3. Christian Pabico has good body control and runs crisp routes. He should be in the rotation at WR and if productive in games could stay as top wideout behind Andrews. Decent chemistry with Rosen.
4. Josh was effective and especially stood out for not making mistakes on throws except for one big blunder that would have been a TD return if Pickett hadn't dropped it. Josh is getting a lot better on short throws over the middle and gets the pass off quickly on plays where needed. Nothing but better play to come in this new scheme for Josh. He's really fortunate for this offense as it's what he'll need to run in the NFL.
5. Lynch stood out as he did in the Spring game. Don't sleep on him. He may pass Modster who had a lackluster practice. I really like Lynch's passing skills - throws a nice ball and in windows. Burton is a nice prospect looking pretty good for a true freshman.
6. I was struck at how the other RBs receded from prominence. Not much from Soso, Stephenson, N. Starks, and J. Starks. Second best RB today was Kelly - I can see why people are high on him. He needs to learn blocking however during his redshirt year.
7. The Beach Boys (two Wilsons) look prepared to add the TE dimension to the offense. Caleb is effective down field (absent one easy drop for a TD) and Jordan is likely to catch more short passes after blocking and releasing especially if the defense doesn't pick him up. Good option for 5-10 easy yards today.
8. Theo (I'm a fan) caught a few passes but doesn't seem to have great chemistry with Josh. I hope it develops as he gets separation. They also ran him on jet sweeps. Limped off late in practice with a tweaked ankle but seemed OK weight on it on the way to the locker room.
9. OL doesn't give Josh a lot of time, but the offense is designed for that so it may not be such a big deal as in the past.
10. Lasley was not effective most of practice but got behind coverage late and caught a nice long TD pass from Josh. Consistency has been his challenge and he may be destined for special packages this year.
Defense looks solid in all positions.
1. Osa stood out on the DL getting penetration a lot. Also almost got his block knocked off for hitting Josh on a scramble. Obviously playing with passion. Nice chest bump with Angus after a good play.
2. Nick Terry looks a lot more flexible and is getting lower than last year. Made some nice plays and looks like a real contributor this year. Strong dude.
3. NNoruka stood out on a few plays - looks like he's coming on.
4. The LB lineup with Lokeni in the middle and Josh Woods and Kenny Young outside looks very strong. Lokeni is a head busta and Kenny plays well in space. I think we're going to be happy with LB play this year. Mique played the middle on 2nd team and made at least one crushing tackle. If he keeps his head in the game, he'll show us why he was so highly recruited.
5. Jaelen Phillips is a force who seems to draw a double team and open up things for others. I smile when I think of his play at DE. Future All-American level player.
6. Meadors looked good in coverage, breaking up some well thrown passes. He's definitely an anchor at corner. Holmes looked good but still learning to read and react. Will be big league when he does. Denzel Fisher is playing very well at CB, with his only weakness being losing the ball/back turned if a receiver gets behind him. He's a blanket for everything else and strong on run support.
7. Pickett and Wadood look solid at safety. Hard to believe that the Dood is a senior. He's another anchor on the defense. Pickett was around the ball all practice and should help with turnovers this year. Will Lockett made a crushing tackle that stirred up the whole defense and looks quite capable this year.
Nice competition between the two punters. At least they know that they will be replaced if they punt poorly in games. Right now I favor Flintoff who gets better hang time even on punts where he misses a bit and is short.
Practice seemed well organized with little time wasted. Squads ran off and on the field with few hiccups and the scrimmage got off a LOT of plays in the time. You could see the coaching as play went on. Late in practice the team broke down into position groups for some coaching and then returned to practice some more. Good focus and energy. Seemed like more real-time coaching than in the past, and without slowing the pace of practice.
Overall, I'm optimistic that the coaches will develop game plans that work against each opponent. The offense is varied enough that there shouldn't be repeat dud plays like last year. My sense is that they will need to pass (short) to open up the run and go downfield opportunistically, perhaps 2-3 times a game. Much more short passes over the middle and rub patterns where Josh should be able to complete a high percentage and keep the chains moving. I'm seeing fewer 3rd and 10 situations and longer drives this year. Effective use of the TE's. The team didn't show snazzy plays today - they will wait until game planning weeks after they close practice to fans.
Cautiously optimistic.
http://bruingold.com/forums/index.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=365963
