Spring Scrimmage #2.......

Frank, The Mayor, Robespierre, & I all woke up early on Saturday for a beautiful day at Bobby Dodd with tons of high school coaches in attendance after CPJ's coaching clinic last night. Morgan Burnett, Cord Howard, & Derrick Morgan all stopped by to check things out & support their former teammates while future Jackets Denzel McCoy & Ryan Ayers also took in the action. Thoughts & observations:

• some good action today with several big plays. Overall the offense faired a bit better than the defense today but that's to be expected with the 3-4 installation. The defense kept things very basic running Cover 2 almost the entire time.
• Ron "Giving Hime the Business" Cherry on the whistle today & he Was WAY TOO BUSY. 11 false start/motion penalties today. Sloppy. Most were on the second team guys but we need to clean things up.
• Some live punting drills(kick & coverage) to start the morning off.
• Scrimmage was primarily 1's vs. 1's, 2's vs. 2's with possession beginning on the twenty.
• Three interesting DEPTH CHART OBSERVATIONS. Isaiah Johnson, Brandon Watts, & Rod Sweeting all ran several series with the first team defense today. They replaced Edwards, Jefferson, & Butler, three proven, veteran players. I think the staff was trying to evaluate them with the first team. All three acquitted themselves well. It's pretty impressive to have a true freshman safety running with the first team this early in his career. Obviously his great week of practice paid off. Keep an eye on these three but don't read too much into this. The three guys they replaced in the lineup are presumptive starters so their jobs aren't in too much danger.
• We've been touting Jemea Thomas of late but a late hit yesterday has put him in the barn temporarily. The staff was evidently not pleased.....
• Fair amount of shotgun today, maybe 15-20%. Some other interesting sets, plays & formations were run today but it's not kosher to get into those per the staff. Let's just say we saw a couple cool things that will keep opponents guessing.....
• Tevin had a good day today, easily rushing for over 100 yds. He continues to make good reads & value the ball. On the second possession from scrimmage Washington absolutely deeked A.T. Barnes on an option keeper for a 40 yd TD. Really nice move on a pitch fake then spin. A big response from the crowd after Tevin made his move.
• Jason Peters continues to be a force. Two TFL today & 2 other crunching hits. Really making plays. Logan had a couple disruptive series also but it's hard to gauge his effectiveness because Bedford is so good. Sean is a powerful force & is becoming a dominant player. The one guy on the Oline we can't afford to lose.
• Stephen Hill flashed his dominating physical ability today, snagging two passes (& dropping an easy 3rd), one of which was a beautiful 40 yd TD strike from a rolling Luallen. Hill simply dominated Lockhart for the catch, leaping high over him to snag the TD. Very reminiscent of BayBay. Hill also took a nice reverse to the house. His long strides really eat up turf.
• After a disappearing act last week Orwin Smith came to play today with a terrific 15 yd run where he leapt over the corner trying to make the tackle. One thing I haven't mentioned this spring is that Orwin has good hands & is reliable catching the ball.
• Marcus Wright sprung Roddy for a 20 yard jaunt with a great cut block on the LB. Textbook load/cut.
• Anthony Allen had been sort of quiet this spring until today when he came to life. Allen was bruising up the middle & showed nice shiftiness on several runs. He also took a little dump screen in the flat for a nice 50 yd. gain on a 3rd down.
• First unit offensive line was very good today (excepting penalties), the second a bit ragged. Too many penalties & missed assignments. As I mentioned earlier, Bedford is a stud. Uzzi has vast potential. Nick Claytor made a great block in space on Egbuniwe to spring Stephen Hill for his reverse TD. Okay, that first sentence is asinine. They were good except for penalties? Like saying she was beautiful except for the gut. Rephrase: the offensive line blocked well but had far too many penalties & needs to clean things up. Better....
• After a false start penalty, Scott Blair banged home a 52 yd FG. Nice to see & Frank was left with a moment of wonderment after the make. Let's hope we get "I'm Playing Against Clemson" Scott Blair this year.....
• Quentin Sims had a nice reverse for 35 yds & a nice catch. Played well today.
• Luke Cox continued to bull his way around the field. Watson & Perkins also looked good. We're loaded at B-back.
• Luallen had a good day today, particularly throwing the ball. He throws so well on the run, especially to his right. Really tight spirals all day with some zip. He can get some mustard on it when he wants to. Jordan didn't seem to force things today & let things come to him a bit more, which may account for his good showing. Sometimes I think he's desperate to show his ability & thus forces things. His best practice this spring but he still needs to get the pads down when he runs the ball.
• Sims couldn't get it going today & his Oline didn't help. Constantly under pressure & running for his life. He'll have better days.
• Egbuniwe seemed more active today & had a couple nice plays.
• Two interceptions today; one by Mario Butler & one by Sweeting who jumped an out route in the flat & picked Sims for a TD. The defensive highlight of the day.
• Some CPJ advice to Tevin after he tucked the ball & took a sack instead of throwing it into the endzone for Hill: " you got a 6'5" guy on a 5'9" corner. THROW THE DAMN THING, LOAD UP & THROW IT!". Pretty clear what the man wants....
• Catch of the spring so far goes to Embry Peeples who leapt high in the air through traffic to haul in a Tevin Washington throw down the seam. Highlight reel stuff.
• T.J. Barnes can't get the pads down. Moved all over the place. Paging Shawn Green, paging Mr. Shawn Green, pleease come to the Flats ready to play this Fall....

A pretty good day & one in which the offense got the better of the defense. The myriad of false start/motion penalties was frustrating as was the 4 turnovers (2 int/2 fumbles). But the upside is that we made some plays out there today. Tevin continues to make the correct reads & has proven dangerous on the ground. We definitely seem to be emphasizing the passing game which is great as we need work there. If the spring is any indication, our A-backs will have a much bigger role in this year's passing attack. While not the best day for the defense, they did get 4 TO's & continue to install the new system. It's a work in progress.