Will keep this post short once again. First things first, Chapman and Smith talked with the media for the first time this fall. Both were great and covered a lot of topics - I'll post the full videos later on today (have to go run some errands). Both are also very laid back but focused and are both entering the season with the mindset that they are going to play.
The timing of all this was kind of funny as this was again one of their least impressive practices, coming off one of their west all fall occurring yesterday.
There were at least four picks during live periods today and three or four more were dropped. Kazee and the first team safeties all had chances on the ball each drive/series it seemed like - sometimes due to the quarterback being off target and sometimes due to the receiver being on the wrong spot or just not on the same page as the QB. The first half of practice in particular was really bad. But I will say that the last couple of series were actually some of the more impressive ones of camp. Jake Rodrigues found Jabril Clewis for a long touchdown (although there were two and the screen game also looked much better today, leading to several big gains for Penny, Pumphrey and Price. Pumphrey in particular showed off his shiftiness in the second level and broke two or three long ones. I thought the run blocking overall was much better today, but the pass pro leaves a lot to be desired. As well as some of the first teamers have performed during the one on ones, it hasn't shown up consistently during live periods. I definitely think that can be fixed overtime with more repetitions together for the first unit. Coach Mike Schmidt also seems to be focusing a bit more on pass pro as of late too.
I should also note that the quarterbacks spent one or two periods working on their deep balls/timing with the receivers today, with Coach Morgan yelling at them "feel and know your receiver" each rep. I mentioned this a bit in a previous post when the lack of connections on throws 25+ yards.
We might see a change come Saturday, because prior to today, I pictured fans complaining about how the QBs aren't "airing it out enough" following the public scrimmage. Now that there's more of an emphasis on it, the fans who attend may actually get to see a handful of highlight deep passes/catches compared to runs and check downs. Again, that's if the OL has a good day in pass pro. I also believe Saturday will decide which QB "starts"/plays with the first-team.
On defense, like I mentioned, pretty much all the DBs had a really good day. Kazee in particular. He breaks on the ball better than any other DB. Super quick. Kameron Kelly and Parker Baldwin also had good days and are proving they will get reps at DB and extensive reps on special teams.
SDSU didn't move anyone on the DL with Heyward gone so Barrett and Sanchez stayed at end. Noble Hall was with the ones and Malcolm Jackson was with the twos. Both were solid. Hall doesn't look like he has much lower body strength but he gets the job done.
I didn't point him out much in my post yesterday but Fely had a really really good day yesterday and it was the same thing today. I'd say he's truly at 100 percent now. Jay Henderson had a rough outing and didn't look as aggressive and instinctual as he needs to be.
Of the injured guys, Marcus Stamps was back out of a boot but still remained with Adam Hall. Sam Tai, Nick Bawden, JJ Whittaker and Christian Heyward also spent time with Hall. Heyward mainly did pushups and non leg stuff. Whittaker stayed off his ankle again.
The timing of all this was kind of funny as this was again one of their least impressive practices, coming off one of their west all fall occurring yesterday.
There were at least four picks during live periods today and three or four more were dropped. Kazee and the first team safeties all had chances on the ball each drive/series it seemed like - sometimes due to the quarterback being off target and sometimes due to the receiver being on the wrong spot or just not on the same page as the QB. The first half of practice in particular was really bad. But I will say that the last couple of series were actually some of the more impressive ones of camp. Jake Rodrigues found Jabril Clewis for a long touchdown (although there were two and the screen game also looked much better today, leading to several big gains for Penny, Pumphrey and Price. Pumphrey in particular showed off his shiftiness in the second level and broke two or three long ones. I thought the run blocking overall was much better today, but the pass pro leaves a lot to be desired. As well as some of the first teamers have performed during the one on ones, it hasn't shown up consistently during live periods. I definitely think that can be fixed overtime with more repetitions together for the first unit. Coach Mike Schmidt also seems to be focusing a bit more on pass pro as of late too.
I should also note that the quarterbacks spent one or two periods working on their deep balls/timing with the receivers today, with Coach Morgan yelling at them "feel and know your receiver" each rep. I mentioned this a bit in a previous post when the lack of connections on throws 25+ yards.
We might see a change come Saturday, because prior to today, I pictured fans complaining about how the QBs aren't "airing it out enough" following the public scrimmage. Now that there's more of an emphasis on it, the fans who attend may actually get to see a handful of highlight deep passes/catches compared to runs and check downs. Again, that's if the OL has a good day in pass pro. I also believe Saturday will decide which QB "starts"/plays with the first-team.
On defense, like I mentioned, pretty much all the DBs had a really good day. Kazee in particular. He breaks on the ball better than any other DB. Super quick. Kameron Kelly and Parker Baldwin also had good days and are proving they will get reps at DB and extensive reps on special teams.
SDSU didn't move anyone on the DL with Heyward gone so Barrett and Sanchez stayed at end. Noble Hall was with the ones and Malcolm Jackson was with the twos. Both were solid. Hall doesn't look like he has much lower body strength but he gets the job done.
I didn't point him out much in my post yesterday but Fely had a really really good day yesterday and it was the same thing today. I'd say he's truly at 100 percent now. Jay Henderson had a rough outing and didn't look as aggressive and instinctual as he needs to be.
Of the injured guys, Marcus Stamps was back out of a boot but still remained with Adam Hall. Sam Tai, Nick Bawden, JJ Whittaker and Christian Heyward also spent time with Hall. Heyward mainly did pushups and non leg stuff. Whittaker stayed off his ankle again.
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