Saratoga Slim
08-12-2008, 08:07 PM
On the way to Buffalo for some business meetings, did a little detour to St. John Fisher along the way. First time I've ever been to training camp, gotta say it was a totally worthwhile experience.
Thought I'd pass along a few things I noticed in the two-hour practice this afternoon, nothing major--just my observations in no particular order:
OL - Langston Walker took a few reps at LT, but from what I could tell spent more time home at RT. It is impossible to comprehend how big that dude is until you see him up close. It could not have been more obvious that he's physically much better suited to RT--just doesn't move as quickly as Peters in pass protection or pulling on run plays. Let's hope we can get him back to RT full time ASAP.
CB - I was not excited about the Reggie Corner pick on draft day, but he looked very solid today. Had fantastic coverage on Lee on a 20 yard or so route into the corner of the endzone, w/a nice pass breakup. Donte Whitner went way out of his way to jog over and yell "yeah 27, that's it 27". Reggie seems very athletic, and totally looked like he belonged out there--which is a good omen. Not sure if he'll ever be a guy who can handle a tall receiver like Randy Moss 1-on-1, but I'll not be at all surprised if he turns out to be a big contributor. I was watching McKelvin and he looked fine, but didn't do anything noteworthy.
WR - Stevie Johnson made some nice catches--and generally a lot of them. Seemed like the QBs were really targeting him on the scrub-team offense. If I were making cuts based on today's practice, it'd be a no-contest that he stays as the #5 receiver. Hardy looked good too and had some nice grabs--I was just more impressed by Johnson as the expectations for him are so much lower (and probably in part b/c he wasn't going against the 1st team D, like Hardy was).
TE - Robert Royal looked like Antonio Gates today--caught a ton of passes. Nothing near him hit the ground. I was not expecting to be impressed by Robert Royal.
QBs. Didn't blow me away. Other than one INT that he forced into double coverage, Trent looked pretty solid, and had one nice looooonnnngg pass that would have been like a 70yd TD (to Lee I think, but had a bad angle). JP did not look great. Gave up a coverage "sack" when it seemed to me like he had several options, forced a bunch of throws into coverage--same old same old.
RB - Marshawn HAS FUN. Both on the sideline, as well as on the field. Great attitude, I was really glad to see that he seemed to be the same smiley "big kid" that he was pre-legal problems.
S - I saw John Wendling jump over Melvin Fowler's head on a field goal. Not kidding. Granted, Melvin was crouching after snapping the ball, but Wendling bunny-hopped him just like that pre-draft youtube video. Wow.
DL - Marcus Stroud is a freakin monster. Also, Shaun Nua does not need a helmet. That afro should give him all the padding he needs. They should just paint a buffalo on it and tie a facemask to his ears.Take the above for what it's worth, but I'm still jazzed from attending and thought I'd pass it along!
Thought I'd pass along a few things I noticed in the two-hour practice this afternoon, nothing major--just my observations in no particular order:
OL - Langston Walker took a few reps at LT, but from what I could tell spent more time home at RT. It is impossible to comprehend how big that dude is until you see him up close. It could not have been more obvious that he's physically much better suited to RT--just doesn't move as quickly as Peters in pass protection or pulling on run plays. Let's hope we can get him back to RT full time ASAP.
CB - I was not excited about the Reggie Corner pick on draft day, but he looked very solid today. Had fantastic coverage on Lee on a 20 yard or so route into the corner of the endzone, w/a nice pass breakup. Donte Whitner went way out of his way to jog over and yell "yeah 27, that's it 27". Reggie seems very athletic, and totally looked like he belonged out there--which is a good omen. Not sure if he'll ever be a guy who can handle a tall receiver like Randy Moss 1-on-1, but I'll not be at all surprised if he turns out to be a big contributor. I was watching McKelvin and he looked fine, but didn't do anything noteworthy.
WR - Stevie Johnson made some nice catches--and generally a lot of them. Seemed like the QBs were really targeting him on the scrub-team offense. If I were making cuts based on today's practice, it'd be a no-contest that he stays as the #5 receiver. Hardy looked good too and had some nice grabs--I was just more impressed by Johnson as the expectations for him are so much lower (and probably in part b/c he wasn't going against the 1st team D, like Hardy was).
TE - Robert Royal looked like Antonio Gates today--caught a ton of passes. Nothing near him hit the ground. I was not expecting to be impressed by Robert Royal.
QBs. Didn't blow me away. Other than one INT that he forced into double coverage, Trent looked pretty solid, and had one nice looooonnnngg pass that would have been like a 70yd TD (to Lee I think, but had a bad angle). JP did not look great. Gave up a coverage "sack" when it seemed to me like he had several options, forced a bunch of throws into coverage--same old same old.
RB - Marshawn HAS FUN. Both on the sideline, as well as on the field. Great attitude, I was really glad to see that he seemed to be the same smiley "big kid" that he was pre-legal problems.
S - I saw John Wendling jump over Melvin Fowler's head on a field goal. Not kidding. Granted, Melvin was crouching after snapping the ball, but Wendling bunny-hopped him just like that pre-draft youtube video. Wow.
DL - Marcus Stroud is a freakin monster. Also, Shaun Nua does not need a helmet. That afro should give him all the padding he needs. They should just paint a buffalo on it and tie a facemask to his ears.Take the above for what it's worth, but I'm still jazzed from attending and thought I'd pass it along!