Observations

Boomergump

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
Messages
3,262
I can't tell you how thankful I am to be back in ATL. This was my first spring game EVER, in my recollection. I was playing baseball when I was at GT so I never got to go and I moved away soon after graduating. What a treat. I like the spring game because it is a low pressure way to watch the development of players without the tension of a real contest.

For the most part I just watched a few players that I was especially concerned about without following the ball too much. I watched the replays to see the result of plays etc. I sat in the north stands because I think it gives a better perspective execution-wise. Given our current roster situation, I paid the closest attention to the following individuals, mostly because I know what many established players can do already and I have identified in my mind where we are potentially most vulnerable going forward: Hunt-Days, Kallon, Whitehead, Searcy, and Allen. These guys are the key to us making move (in either direction) as I see it. If they are great, we will be great, while the opposite could be true as well. If they are mediocre, well...

Hunt-Days - To be honest, I showed up expecting to see that JHD was over rated and all the hype was just that. Instead, I came away absolutely impressed and surprised at how well he has adapted to the position and his new body composition. Surprisingly, he carries the new body weight very well and, oddly enough, has hung on to all the LB like quickness and agility. I really, really like what I saw from him, so much so, that I think he will be the best guy we have seen at the position in a while, so long as he plays within the framework of the defense. He is just quicker than everybody else inside the box and it really isn't close. The lateral movement he was getting just simply outflanked the guys trying to stop him.When he did pass rush or engage head up on an OL, his hand fighting was violent and effective. He gets good leverage and is fast enough to chase down QBs and RBs from behind. He will have to be accounted for and this will make everybody better. JHD, if eligible, will be a solid meaningful upgrade over Green. He gets off the ball and knives gaps as well as Green, but doesn't have the other limitations. He has found a home at this position in my opinion and will be better than he was as a LB, which was still pretty darned good.

Kallon - I honestly feel Kallon is making strides. He is still behind the other DLs, but he made quite a few plays. I know the Gold team OL going against him was struggling as a unit, but he made the plays none the less. If I am not mistaken, a couple of his tackles came after fighting off blocks by Devine, so it wasn't like he was going against a weakling. Kallon is starting to look like a football player and not just a big guy with some agility. In my mind this is a huge development that is just about as important as getting a dominant guy at the position. We simply have to have some depth. For the first time, I think he will be providing that in a quality sense.

Whitehead - we are not looking at Lawrence Taylor here, but the kid is a playmaker. For his frame he is surprisingly physical and he operates well on the edge and in space. There will be a meaningful role for him. I will say this: he has me intrigued. I don't think he will challenge Freeman for the top spot, but he will be very useful in certain down and distance situations.

Allen - It is funny. I remember looking at his HS film during his recruitment and thinking he had really good feet. Well, seeing him in person for the first time leads me to the same conclusion. The kid is just a good athlete. In a schematic sense, he is not close to being ready for BB, lets be honest. He looked lost out there some of the time with his angles, mesh, and blocking etc. I just laughed a couple times how ineffective and hesitant he was in his blocking assignments. With that said, however, I think he translates well to the position and gives us something substantial. He got his yards because he is a really good runner, not because he knows what he is doing yet. That is like the opposite of say, David Sims, who was very sound technically but not the greatest runner. With time, I think Allen can be really good. He just looks like a true frosh in his first week of practice. Stay tuned on him. If he stays at BB and really works at it over the summer and fall camp, we may have something.

Searcy - It was a tough night for this kid, mostly because he had none of a very important commodity....space. He needs a little of that to be effective. He is not physical enough to plow for yards when the streets are full. Well, he was caught behind a school bus all night, so to speak. It was tough to see what he can do with the slippery conditions, lack of passing, and lack of space. I didn't gleen much to be honest.

So there you have it. That is what I got from the spring game. That and the general observation that #11 needs a lot more time. He isn't ready. We have two number ones at QB and a distant number three. Jordan had a fair amount of pressure most plays, especially passing, but, all the aspects of the game are just too fast for him right now, lightning fast.
 

turfjacket

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
281
Thanks for the breakdown! At one point one of my kids said "daddy look at that guy up there (upper north stands) all by himself". I obviously had no idea I would be reading that guy's game analysis the next morning. Thanks again!
 

4shotB

Helluva Engineer
Retired Staff
Messages
4,616
thx. It was hard to gather anything much from other sources. Sounds like we are down too many people with injuries to take away alot from this game and one of the goals from CPJ was to keep things simple and avoid the risk of further damage. I think your report summarizes quite nicely the positions/players we are most focused on. Maybe with one exception...do you have any comments on the WR's?
 

sidewalkGTfan

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,276
I haven't got to see the game yet, but the most encouraging news is that the legend of JHD is actually true. Please Lord make him be eligible for this season.
 

GlennW

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,189
If I were a betting man, I would lay odds that if Jabari finds out he ISN'T eligible after the draft, he'll submit his name for the Supplemental Draft and will play pro ball next season. However, it sounds like PJ is optimistic he'll be playing for us next Fall, and we all know he's rarely optimistic about anything...
 

Declinometer

Banned
Messages
1,178
Nice write up by the OP.
I watched the replay on Espn watch.
Regarding Allen, I think the kid has enough talent however his demeanor on the field concerns me a little. IMO the whole football thing just looks like a chore to him. I don't see a kid having a lot of fun out there. He is in a position to take the B back job by the horns and be fired up and I just don't see that. Hopefully it's just a case of feeling his way at that position.
 

Tech93

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,224
You
Nice write up by the OP.
I watched the replay on Espn watch.
Regarding Allen, I think the kid has enough talent however his demeanor on the field concerns me a little. IMO the whole football thing just looks like a chore to him. I don't see a kid having a lot of fun out there. He is in a position to take the B back job by the horns and be fired up and I just don't see that. Hopefully it's just a case of feeling his way at that position.
You have to fully consider he was just thrust back into this role a week ago and wants to do well. That is a lot of pressure for a guy who was at LB all last year and saw minimal action on the field. I think he is going to be good. He has the whole summer to get the BB posn down and he will feel more relaxed.
 

RamblinCharger

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,484
Location
Alabama
I didn't get to make the trip because a work meeting went late and I wouldn't have arrived in Atlanta until 8-9, but I watched the game on watchespn and this is what I observed:

- our OL is still going to be really good even though we have some guys injured. For all the talk about our DL dominating in spring practice I thought the first team OL played really well against the first team DL.

- As I mentioned before the spring game, our offense will be fine at ab and at BBack. In fact I think if Snoddy comes back healthy, we may have the most game changing style players at AB that we've ever had in Andrews and snoddy. I really liked what I saw from Andrews tonight.

- really my only concern on offense is at WR. No one is a real playmaker out there. Summers made a nice play or two and Juene looks like he's the number one guy, but neither guy is as good as even waller, let alone smelter. I hope they prove me wrong and really show up in the fall.

- the DL looked huge. I think we're not only going to be improved here, but our starting 3/4 is going to be pretty damn good if everyone stays healthy.

- our secondary is good. They locked down receivers all night. I know they understand the offense but Milton and white both look like All American Corners to me.

- overall I came away with a really positive outlook. I figured people were overreacting about the offense and that looked about right to me. We'll still be really good with JT behind center, and the defense should really be improved. If these guys put in the work, we could be really really good this year even with a hard schedule.
 

Whiskey_Clear

Banned
Messages
10,486
Nice write up by the OP.
I watched the replay on Espn watch.
Regarding Allen, I think the kid has enough talent however his demeanor on the field concerns me a little. IMO the whole football thing just looks like a chore to him. I don't see a kid having a lot of fun out there. He is in a position to take the B back job by the horns and be fired up and I just don't see that. Hopefully it's just a case of feeling his way at that position.

Unless you know the kid personally...know his mannerisms etc....maybe you should lay off on the demeanor criticism. Folks express themselves in different ways. I for one saw not a damn thing to be alarmed with in the kid.
 

RamblinCharger

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,484
Location
Alabama
Unless you know the kid personally...know his mannerisms etc....maybe you should lay off on the demeanor criticism. Folks express themselves in different ways. I for one saw not a damn thing to be alarmed with in the kid.
I don't think he meant to bring Allen down in his post. I think we will all miss the passion that Laskey and Days brought onto the field, but I agree not everyone does that. Justin Thomas for instance just quietly goes about kicking *** and taking names
 

305jacket

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
440
Unless you know the kid personally...know his mannerisms etc....maybe you should lay off on the demeanor criticism. Folks express themselves in different ways. I for one saw not a damn thing to be alarmed with in the kid.
I agree. I had a class with him in the fall and that is just his personality. Very quiet kid who goes about his business and doesn't say a word. Not a kid you expect to trash talk or have that burning competitive fire. But still a kid who works hard everyday and will compete. That's just his personality. It's not that he isn't excited, he just seems introverted to me.
 

Boomergump

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
Messages
3,262
Thanks for the breakdown! At one point one of my kids said "daddy look at that guy up there (upper north stands) all by himself". I obviously had no idea I would be reading that guy's game analysis the next morning. Thanks again!
Well, I was not in the upper north, although I would like to have been. They had the stairs blocked off. Besides, I had my spousal unit with me and she wanted to stay dry under the over-hang at the top of the student section.
 

Boomergump

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
Messages
3,262
thx. It was hard to gather anything much from other sources. Sounds like we are down too many people with injuries to take away alot from this game and one of the goals from CPJ was to keep things simple and avoid the risk of further damage. I think your report summarizes quite nicely the positions/players we are most focused on. Maybe with one exception...do you have any comments on the WR's?
I didn't really watch closely. It was slippery out there and there wasn't a lot of passing going on. All I saw in regards to WRs was the obvious stuff like Messick having a S. Hill moment on that wide open perfect throw down the hash.
 

gtg936g

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,142
My overall impression is we really have a lot of work to do in fall camp. The BB/ABs really need to put in a lot of work from now till then. I was somewhat impressed by our WRs. RJ had a really tough catch over DJ White. I think if we can get some of our guys healthy by fall our AB situation will improve.

Spring games are a reminder to me of how much I am ready to see toe meet leather. Bring on the fall.
 

Declinometer

Banned
Messages
1,178
Unless you know the kid personally...know his mannerisms etc....maybe you should lay off on the demeanor criticism. Folks express themselves in different ways. I for one saw not a damn thing to be alarmed with in the kid.

Started out at B back moved to LB moved to receiver (receiver for heavens sake) now back to B back. Who doesn't believe that moving him to receiver was intended to send him a message. He's not a receiver.
I focused on him because I knew he had talent and I also gleaned that CPJ wanted more from him. What I took away from the scrimmage is what it is.
 
Top