Camp Blitz - Offense

Eric

Retired Co-Founder
Messages
12,734
Team Notes

QB

- Vad has shown so far in camp that the quarterback job is his and that he is the leader of this team...He has made leaps in bounds in the offense but CPJ said yesterday that Vad needs to continue making reads and seeing things quicker...Bryan Cook also echoed this. This does not mean that Vad is awful...it is something that he can only get better with game reps. He will get there.

- The QB competition isn't over as Coach Johnson said Thomas is still fighting and he has not named the opening day starter yet...Thomas has played well in camp and unfortunately people didn't get to see that in the last scrimmage due to the OL issues.

- By all means expect Vad to start week 1 but the Jackets have a good one behind him.

- Byerley has also played well and is a great #3 gut...This is the most depth we have had at this position since CPJ has been here.

- Ty Griffin as expected is very lost early on...For what it's worth I expect him to end up at A back or CB.

RB

- The competition at B-back is a close one but I expect Sims to win it. Overall Laskey and Sims have both been playing quite well.

- Snoddy is starting to understand things better and it looks like the game is slowing down to him now.

- Matt Connors is nothing to sleep on at 4th string...the kid can play.

- Great overall depth at B-back.

- Robert Godhigh has one starting spot locked down but the other is still open.

- Bostic is my projection who will get the other starting job...Days, Hill, Perkins and Andrews are others that will fight him for it.

- Zenon has been out for quite awhile and is way down the list.

- Charles Perkins is another one to watch...he has actually had a decent camp so far and could make the rotation.

- Andrews has showed a lot of potential and the ability he has...No doubt that he will be a great one for us. I think it will be hard to at least not get him a few touches this year.

- WR

- This is the most fluid situation of them all.

- Travin Henry started out of the gate on fire but appears to have hit a wall of late...he has still shown the coaches that he has talent.

- Smelter probably has been the star of the camp so far and has been earning some good praise...he is very physical and gets after it all the time. From what we have seen so far in camp it's hard not to say that he should be a starter come week 1.

- I am not sure where to start with Waller...I had the chance to view the film from the scrimmage last week and it wasn't pretty from his side. He just didn't show anything special at all and honestly didn't seem to really get after it blocking either. He has to step his game up.

- Summers looks good to me...Like I mentioned with Smelter it seems like Summers is one who is giving it his all on every play. I think he will see a good bit of playing time this year.

- Messick and Jeune are both still competiting for a spot and neither has been ruled out...It looks likely that both will redshirt.

- Look for Corey Dennis to play on special teams.

OL

- Jay Finch is finally cleared which is great news for everyone...This is going to allow Vad and Finch to get some crucial time working with each other. CPJ has been pushing to get Finch back lately.

- Thomas O'Reily has been filling in for Finch and Beno and has done a decent job the last few weeks. He is giving good effort and the coaches like what they are seeing from. I would expect him to get some playing time in spot duty this year as he will be counted on more next year.

- Ray Beno should also be back tomorrow....He will likely slide back outside to T. Which will give us our orginal starting group minus Bailey.

- Chamberlain has slimed down this off-season and it has been showing on the field...he is playing very well. Bailey will have to fight him for the spot once he comes back.

- Chris Griffin has had a good showing so far and is basically what we thought he would be...the potential with him is great and he is likely to be in the two deep for the 2014 season. They are going to try and redshirt him this year.

- Shamire Devine showed up in awful shape...but have to give credit to the kid that he has been working his tail off on the field. I expected him to be a little lazy to be honest...however he has been giving it his all which is very encouraging to see. He will get a redshirt this year to get himself in shape for next season.

- Shaq Mason is hands down the best lineman on the team...he has took another step from last year to this. Coaches are really pleased with him. Look for a big season from Shaq.

- Nick Brigham has been getting a lot of playing time lately due to injuries...They expect him to be the #4 OT as of now...Beno, Bailey, Chamberlain and Brigham.
 

IronJacket7

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,544
"Vad needs to continue making reads and seeing things quicker..." For whatever reason, and maybe it should not, but this worries me. It feels like Vad is more suited to the pistol/shotgun formations and they are trying to force a square peg here. Just let the horse run...
 

Kmag

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
364
Thanks Eric, I truly enjoy reading your input. Love hearing good stuff about our young guys on the line, because we lose a ton after this year. I know the question has been asked several times but do you see Justin getting on the field this year regardless of who wins the job? Just seems like it would be hard to leave someone with his skill set on the bench.
 

poodleface

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
209
Location
Atlanta, GA
Really happy to hear about the amount of depth in key positions, especially Center. Getting O'Reily cleared to play this year (and getting him reps) is huge. Thanks Eric.
 

ATL1

Helluva Engineer
Messages
7,377
JT is a QB I doubt he'll be cross trained. I think he'll get playing time in the first two games, but it'll be hard to imagine him seeing the field during that four game gauntlet afterwards.
Happy to hear about the O Line getting healthy, that may be the most encouraging news.
Sit Waller if he can't be consistent, I'm sure Summers & Smelter would be happy to start.
Like I posted I think Snoddy will get significant minutes on third and longs and passing situations (pistol, diamond).

Great Job Eric.
 

SidewalkJacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,656
I think JT stays at QB for the long haul, too. And I expect to see him periodically even during the tough conference games. His package (...of plays) may look a little different, and that'll just be one more headache for a prepping defense. Plus I'd love to see Vad go bonkers the next two years and be our first early NFL QB. If he did, we can't imagine the recruiting ramifications. JT would then have two years as starter.
 

collegeballfan

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,694
I would agree that Thomas will get in the game at QB. He has a completely different top end skill set - pure speed. After chasing Lee, Godhigh, Sims and others around for a quarter the defense will say "oh crap!" when he hits the corner at 4.3.
 

John

Peacekeeper
Staff member
Messages
2,400
"Vad needs to continue making reads and seeing things quicker..." For whatever reason, and maybe it should not, but this worries me. It feels like Vad is more suited to the pistol/shotgun formations and they are trying to force a square peg here. Just let the horse run...
Not worried about Vad at all just because he seems like someone that'll always be hungry to learn. I'll start worrying if he hits some kind of plateau. For the offense, CPJ has been sprinkling in pistol/shotgun stuff for two years now if you include a few shotgun plays we ran out of necessity in 2011. From the looks of it, maybe the diamond formation become one of our bread-and-butter formations next to the flexbone.
 
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