My Observations

CornerBlitz

CornerBlitz

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
160
I made it to the scrimmage this morning. Good crowd and a lot of poppin on the field. Following are a few notes based on my initial reaction.

1. The defense is playing very aggressively. We have good depth in the secondary, no depth in the DL. Roof is going to have to blitz....a lot.
2. Kallon is enormous and looked good at times. We were rotating linebackers in at DT on the 3rd unit. Kallon must play meaningful snaps this year.
3. Byerly looked pretty good. He plays with good confidence and for the most part was precise with his reads.
4. Austin twins played a lot. Spoke with them after the scrimmage (my family is from Barnesville). First class kids and family.
5. Huge drop off in oline play after first unit.
6. We have some good running backs who work and play hard. No home run hitters.

Overall talent was much stronger than I anticipated. Looking forward to the season.
 

danny daniel

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,619
CornerBlitz said:
I made it to the scrimmage this morning. Good crowd and a lot of poppin on the field. Following are a few notes based on my initial reaction.

1. The defense is playing very aggressively. We have good depth in the secondary, no depth in the DL. Roof is going to have to blitz....a lot.
2. Kallon is enormous and looked good at times. We were rotating linebackers in at DT on the 3rd unit. Kallon must play meaningful snaps this year.
3. Byerly looked pretty good. He plays with good confidence and for the most part was precise with his reads.
4. Austin twins played a lot. Spoke with them after the scrimmage (my family is from Barnesville). First class kids and family.
5. Huge drop off in oline play after first unit.
6. We have some good running backs who work and play hard. No home run hitters.

Overall talent was much stronger than I anticipated. Looking forward to the season.
Click to expand...

My four big takes were:
how tough the middle of the D played and how many really hard licks were passed-highlight Hankins
how effective (and new) the short pass and dump-off passing game helped us in 3rd and long vs the hail Marys of past-highlight Smelter
how many freshmen played well, especially on D (big licks from Freeman, Merriweather, Austins, Jackson)
how well Martenson played, impressive passing and good ball handling and running, although against the reserves
 

takethepoints

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,145
I have a friend whose kid goes to Marist. She's a band leader so he goes to all the games.

He says we got a steal when we got Martenson. He's a magician with the option, smart, and can smell out holes with the best of them. Oh, and he can throw effectively.
 

danny daniel

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,619
takethepoints said:
I have a friend whose kid goes to Marist. She's a band leader so he goes to all the games.

He says we got a steal when we got Martenson. He's a magician with the option, smart, and can smell out holes with the best of them. Oh, and he can throw effectively.
Click to expand...

And that is what I saw today!
 
GT Man

GT Man

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
898
This may be the best D we've fielded in pj's tenure. Assuming the offense performs like we know the can, we can surprise some teams this year.
 
wingsrlevel

wingsrlevel

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
480
Toughest D? Remember your starting QB and BB weren't playing today. Two pretty important positions on the offense IMO.
 
wingsrlevel

wingsrlevel

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
480
yes but I believe quite a bit at BB. For all the fans that scream about a home run threat at BB, IMHO SD would be a step back in that department.
 

danny daniel

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,619
wingsrlevel said:
yes but I believe quite a bit at BB. For all the fans that scream about a home run threat at BB, IMHO SD would be a step back in that department.
Click to expand...

I don't have any inside info or can't read coach's mind, but I hope SD is a short term insurance policy and Leggett is a longer term one in case of a lasting injury to Laskey. I see no net gain benefit for SD at BB if Laskey is healthy. Best case is having them both on the field.
 
CornerBlitz

CornerBlitz

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
160
GT Man said:
Not too much of a drop off in talent between starting and backup QBs.
Click to expand...

Not to take away from the young QBs or your encouragement, but I noticed quite a bit of drop off after Byerly. The kids are young and playing with the 3rd team, so that is to be expected. I will say Jordan played tough and was really fighting for first downs. Some weight room bulk will also be helpful.
 
GT Man

GT Man

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
898
CornerBlitz said:
Not to take away from the young QBs or your encouragement, but I noticed quite a bit of drop off after Byerly. The kids are young and playing with the 3rd team, so that is to be expected. I will say Jordan played tough and was really fighting for first downs. Some weight room bulk will also be helpful.
Click to expand...

Allow me to clarify. I was saying that byerly is close to JT in ability... at least for now. After byerly, I agree with you. The post I quoted mentioned the starter being out (jt) and my point is that byerly is pretty darn good so it's not a huge drop off in talent
 
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