ApaOps5
08-05-2008, 05:47 PM
The day started with what I must assume is a regular habit for Nate Webster. He comes out of the locker room and yells from the top of his lungs. When you are sitting right next to him and writing notes it really scares the crap out of you.
First item of note is Hamza Abdulla is still out and now Champ is out as well. Champ has a dinged hamstring but Coach said its nothing and Champ is a fast healer and will be back in no time. Champ showed no limp so I am sure its just precautionary.
The morning sessions started with the Base Defense working on making the right reads when the Offense breaks the huddle. Slowik was really coaching them up in this aspect and drilling it in their heads today. Slowik was really in the ear of Barrett today. Barrett was not aligning right in the defense at first but as practice went on I noticed Barrett started to improve and the coaches were giving him lots of praise. With the safety position I think its just something he will grow into.
Midway through practice they went into the usual ST FG kick session. Today they worked a lot on the Toro drill and also on freezing the kicker. They would line up and then a coach would blow the whistle right before the snap. While this doesn't accurately represent a game situation its interesting to watch. Prater was 9 of 10 today, badly shanking a 60+ yd kick. The following kick from the same distance but opposite hash was dead center and would have again been good from 70. Prater definitely has the leg for the job so now we have to see if he has the mind for it.
The 7 vs 7 and 11 v 11 drill were no different from past camps. Except, no one side of the ball was dominant. The defense worked on making the right reads and pre-snap adjustments. Slowik on one play was on Paymah for not playing press defense and told him to step up. On another play Slowik was in the ear of the Safeties telling them if they had made the right read the running play would have been stuffed.
Today they also worked withe Offense pinned on the 2 yd line. The first play was a reverse to Marshall that would have broken for a big gain. The offense was doing really well working in the limited playing field. They also worked on a lot of WR screens today. Ramsay had a beautiful pass to Scheffler on the sidelines for a big gain. Unfortunately that was the only thing Ramsay did well today. Ramsay had a pass tipped by the LB's and intercepted. He also threw a WR screen where the ball ended up at midfield on the opposite field. Seriously the ball went over my head when it went out of bounds and was probably 30ft above me.
One of the highlights of the day was Cutler selling an amazing Play Action fake and connecting with Scheffler for about an 80 yd TD. Scheffler burned his cover man and was open by 25 yds.
The defense was doing a good job of getting pressure on Culter and company today forcing them to rush passes at times or tip WR screens. The CB's were also catching lots of praise from the coaches for excellent coverage. With Champ out Foxworth was in with the 1st string and made a swipe of the football and recovery that was a heck of an athletic play. He really has been impressive in camp.
TheRev pointed out that Clady has to lower his butt in order to eliminate tipping off a pass play but I watched him today and even in running plays his rear sits high and he doesn't get low. Something I bet that will come with time but again it really isn't a hindrance. He had another solid outing. However, Dumervil ate his lunch on a play for what would have been a sack.
One thing to mention and coach wasn't asked about it at the press conference was Marshall looks to be a little sore in either his left groin or hip flexor. He was grimacing a little and stretching between plays. I bring it up because the local media were making note of it as well but he continued to practice and still made amazing plays.
While Marshall was grimacing there was an interesting exchange between Dre Bly and Marshall. Dre Bly loves to run his mouth towards the Offense. He kept taunting Marshall saying, "You're crying, you're crying, over and over again." Marshall finally had enough and said, "Don't know why you are talking, I beat you every day on this field and can beat you every time if I wanted. You are too little Dre." Bly's response was, "You're crying."
Ekuban had a nice play where he didn't buy the play fake and kept position which allowed him to snuff out a WR screen and put pressure on Cutler eventually batting down the pass. Besides a few rushed passes and batted balls Cutler handled the pressure well and bought time for himself with his feet. On another play he was the lead blocker on a reverse that McCree played perfectly. Jay blocked him but it wouldn't have gone for much. Both Jay and McCree received lots of praise from the coaches.
At the end of practice Eddie Royal had an amazing catch along the sidelines for a big gain and first down that led to a TD.
That pretty much covers what I was able to get with performing camp coverage and taking pictures. There were some other non-football related moments. Fred was razing one of the staff photo journalists for yawning saying there is no yawning in football. He then proceeded to pull out his teeth and show them what would happen if he yawned. Alas, I didn't have my camera ready.
First item of note is Hamza Abdulla is still out and now Champ is out as well. Champ has a dinged hamstring but Coach said its nothing and Champ is a fast healer and will be back in no time. Champ showed no limp so I am sure its just precautionary.
The morning sessions started with the Base Defense working on making the right reads when the Offense breaks the huddle. Slowik was really coaching them up in this aspect and drilling it in their heads today. Slowik was really in the ear of Barrett today. Barrett was not aligning right in the defense at first but as practice went on I noticed Barrett started to improve and the coaches were giving him lots of praise. With the safety position I think its just something he will grow into.
Midway through practice they went into the usual ST FG kick session. Today they worked a lot on the Toro drill and also on freezing the kicker. They would line up and then a coach would blow the whistle right before the snap. While this doesn't accurately represent a game situation its interesting to watch. Prater was 9 of 10 today, badly shanking a 60+ yd kick. The following kick from the same distance but opposite hash was dead center and would have again been good from 70. Prater definitely has the leg for the job so now we have to see if he has the mind for it.
The 7 vs 7 and 11 v 11 drill were no different from past camps. Except, no one side of the ball was dominant. The defense worked on making the right reads and pre-snap adjustments. Slowik on one play was on Paymah for not playing press defense and told him to step up. On another play Slowik was in the ear of the Safeties telling them if they had made the right read the running play would have been stuffed.
Today they also worked withe Offense pinned on the 2 yd line. The first play was a reverse to Marshall that would have broken for a big gain. The offense was doing really well working in the limited playing field. They also worked on a lot of WR screens today. Ramsay had a beautiful pass to Scheffler on the sidelines for a big gain. Unfortunately that was the only thing Ramsay did well today. Ramsay had a pass tipped by the LB's and intercepted. He also threw a WR screen where the ball ended up at midfield on the opposite field. Seriously the ball went over my head when it went out of bounds and was probably 30ft above me.
One of the highlights of the day was Cutler selling an amazing Play Action fake and connecting with Scheffler for about an 80 yd TD. Scheffler burned his cover man and was open by 25 yds.
The defense was doing a good job of getting pressure on Culter and company today forcing them to rush passes at times or tip WR screens. The CB's were also catching lots of praise from the coaches for excellent coverage. With Champ out Foxworth was in with the 1st string and made a swipe of the football and recovery that was a heck of an athletic play. He really has been impressive in camp.
TheRev pointed out that Clady has to lower his butt in order to eliminate tipping off a pass play but I watched him today and even in running plays his rear sits high and he doesn't get low. Something I bet that will come with time but again it really isn't a hindrance. He had another solid outing. However, Dumervil ate his lunch on a play for what would have been a sack.
One thing to mention and coach wasn't asked about it at the press conference was Marshall looks to be a little sore in either his left groin or hip flexor. He was grimacing a little and stretching between plays. I bring it up because the local media were making note of it as well but he continued to practice and still made amazing plays.
While Marshall was grimacing there was an interesting exchange between Dre Bly and Marshall. Dre Bly loves to run his mouth towards the Offense. He kept taunting Marshall saying, "You're crying, you're crying, over and over again." Marshall finally had enough and said, "Don't know why you are talking, I beat you every day on this field and can beat you every time if I wanted. You are too little Dre." Bly's response was, "You're crying."
Ekuban had a nice play where he didn't buy the play fake and kept position which allowed him to snuff out a WR screen and put pressure on Cutler eventually batting down the pass. Besides a few rushed passes and batted balls Cutler handled the pressure well and bought time for himself with his feet. On another play he was the lead blocker on a reverse that McCree played perfectly. Jay blocked him but it wouldn't have gone for much. Both Jay and McCree received lots of praise from the coaches.
At the end of practice Eddie Royal had an amazing catch along the sidelines for a big gain and first down that led to a TD.
That pretty much covers what I was able to get with performing camp coverage and taking pictures. There were some other non-football related moments. Fred was razing one of the staff photo journalists for yawning saying there is no yawning in football. He then proceeded to pull out his teeth and show them what would happen if he yawned. Alas, I didn't have my camera ready.