Astrobot Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Practice Notes Day 1, Friday: Practice began precisely at 10:00 am under a cloudless sky and perfect temps. I had some DraftTek buddies there today, so they helped with unfamiliar jersey numbers, etc. 35 of the current 88 players won't make this roster, and that's too bad, because the strength and depth of this team is incredible. We decided that there will be some regrettable cuts at WR, RB, and TE, where we are deep. Players who caught our eyes this mornng included:RB Karlos Williams (bigger and faster than expected, who'd give a fourth quarter pounding to every team we're leading); RB Shady McCoy (he came over to our section and got the crowd cheering, then threw an NFL football into the stands. The guy in front of me caught it, and gave it to a six-year-old boy. Both were classy moves. Shady also had a great catch vs Ty Powell that was my Play of the Day.WR Sammy Watkins. He looked 100%, and will do everything to merit being a Pro Bowl receiver.WR Deonte Thompson (PS receiver and/or gunner, who impressed us with slick out-and-in moves to thwart double-teams in the kicking game);WR Andre Davis (two very impressive fingertip catches, one over his shoulder for 40+ yards against air);WR Marcus Thigpen (three nice catches...listed in the training camp as 6'9", so a typo. He's not 6'1")P Colton Schmidt has deeper kicks with more hang time than last year. One went 60+ yards and bounced out at the 1.QB EJ Manuel, whose throwing motion and particularly decisiveness trumped the others today. All QBs hand off to Shady nicely. Keep that in mind. Tyrod had a nice lead pass to Fred Jackson worth mentioning, and Cassel is better than I thought at leading his man. Simms will be a better PS guy than Tuel. Music was playing all morning during practice. Lots of songs you'd know (Funk You Up, Juke Box Hero, Sweet Caroline--we play Panthers a week from Friday). Random:--Jimmy Gaines had a nice strip, resulting in a fumble. --Felton had two drops this morning. Conner, Rex's FB, caught all balls thrown to him. Line for 11:11 was Glenn-Miller-Wood-Cyril-Kujo at one point.--TE Mulligan made two nice catches. He's known as a blocking TE, but could end up being the 4th TE if he keeps this up. Gragg, not to be outdone, had a nice catch, too, where he faked a block and slanted in.--Duke Williams INT was due to intense DL and LB pressure. We can bring it.--Gilmore isn't there yet. Of course, he was on an island vs Watkins, then Harvin, then Goodwin. Later, Woods sells Gilly on a fly pattern and slants over the middle.--I'm seeing the pre-snap shifts and motions that Greg Roman has instituted. Some more notes, as I have time today: WR --Dezmin Lewis has the height (6'4") but he's thinner in the upper body than you'd like. Needs weight room and chicken wings. Two drops today. --Justin Brown is the Oklahoma receiver who is 6-3, and boy is he smooth catching the football. I saw two seamless hands catches from him. --Thigpen is doing all he can to make this squad as a WR as well as a PR/KR. Three nice catches I saw and solid work fielding punts from Colton Schmidt today. -- ST --We should have a top 3 special teams group this year. That's the good news. It's likely bad news for a player or two from last year. Easley? Boobie? CB --Somebody has to tell Darby those red knee sox are...well... popular in the 1950's. With the girls. --There is a DB in came with "Miller" and "43" on his jersey that's not in the program. Any news? OL --Kouandjio canm flat-out run. He got to the second level on a play faster than Jason Peters used to do. LB --Tony Steward looks like he's full go. That spells doom for somebody. Tarpley? TE --O'Leary didn't drop a ball today. He's the TE version of Chris Hogan. --Clay is half a head bigger than O'Leary, yet they're both listed as 6-3. I'll try and answer any questions you have. I'm going back tomorrow.Dean Kindig Edited July 31, 2015 by Astrobot
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Thank Astro. Always Apperciate these. And word on the street is our Qbs' handoff game is the the best in the NFL.
Montana Mike Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Thanks!!!! Good news about EJ, though some other reports not as positive.
Gugny Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 As always, Astrobot, your threads are the highlights of TBD during camp. Thank you.
EmotionallyUnstable Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 As always, thanks astro. I find it interesting that you found EJ remotely impressive. All media reports indicated otherwise
Alaska Darin Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Astro, someday I'm going to meet you in person and buy you beverages.
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 And it begins! The over analyzing of every practice.
Gugny Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Astro - I saw one tweet that said Manuel's passes were "way off the mark." Glad to see your comment re: his decisiveness. Did anything about the accuracy of his passes give you cause for concern?
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Seriously though, good to see you again Astrobot. I'm a junkie who needed a fix bad. Edited July 31, 2015 by WhitewalkerInPhilly
Chandler#81 Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 You know it's finally here when Astro accounts rule the day! Thanks again and WELCOME BACK! Fyi, Vic Carruci not only didn't have one good thing to say about EJ, he went out of his Twitter way to pan him mercilessly throughout practice.
Astrobot Posted July 31, 2015 Author Posted July 31, 2015 Astro - I saw one tweet that said Manuel's passes were "way off the mark." Glad to see your comment re: his decisiveness. Did anything about the accuracy of his passes give you cause for concern? One pass was, in my opinion, thrown at Woods' feet. This is far better than throwing an INT or the Trentative pat-pat-pat-sack.
eball Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Ranks, Rastro! I really appreciate these comments because we know you're not going to "homer it up" -- if you say EJ looked the best out there today I'm buying it. Sounds like some tough cuts for sure, since many of the players you listed probably won't make the team!
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 I am pleasantly surprised at EJ looking better than the others. The Rodak and Joe B train seems as negative as ever on him, but the videos I saw of thin throwing looked great.
section122 Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Thanks for this Astro! Hadn't seen you posting lately and was nervous we wouldn't get these. They are very very much appreciated from us non twits.
Gugny Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 One pass was, in my opinion, thrown at Woods' feet. This is far better than throwing an INT or the Trentative pat-pat-pat-sack. Excellent. Thanks!
johnwalter Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 interesting - your take on EJ being the best QB is different than the impression i got via media/twitter. very happy to hear that, as i'm rooting for the guy. also, everyone else seemed to think that shady catch was over bradham, not powell. also: as others have said, thanks for writing this up.
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