hawkeyescott
Well-Known Member
Probably because he can't start with the ball and it has to be snapped back to him. You're now talking about snapping the ball 20 yards.
Miller: Open Practice Thoughts & Observations
- Thread starter JonDMiller
- Start date
Probably because he can't start with the ball and it has to be snapped back to him. You're now talking about snapping the ball 20 yards.
JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
From what I observed on the field before four games last year, Mullings, even with his deliberate delivery, was hardly consistently booming punts
Igothawked
Well-Known Member
I hate that too. Huge pet peeve of mine. HUGE.
Who did you guys get? My son (he's 3, almost 4) had his ball all ready to get signed and everything, but his 7 year old sister could not behave long enough for us to sit and wait for the signing session. At least next year I know who's not going.
Chickenlounge
Well-Known Member
I would think a long-snapper could snap it an extra 5 yards. I've seen them snap it over a punter's head before, that's more than an extra 5 yards.
Chickenlounge
Well-Known Member
Interesting. Wasn't aware of his consistency problems.
tm3308
Well-Known Member
I guess I'm just 21, so maybe I'm kind of in the middle ground between the kids and the adults. But when I went to last year's spring game, I had stuff to be signed, too. If there were kids behind me, I'd let them get in front of me, because I remember what it was like when I was in junior high, and was so excited to meet guys like Brad Banks, C.J. Jones, and Dallas Clark. I'll never sell the autographs that I've gotten over the past 9 years. They mean quite a bit to me, especially the ones I got when I was young. I won't deprive a kid of that experience just to add to my own collection.
jesterapparel
Well-Known Member
Coker, Morris, Vandy, CJ, Mcnutt, K Davis, Derby, and a bunch others.
Was kinda surprised, He got about 30 or more. Last year I took him and my 9 year old nephew, they didn't get near as many then.
JugadorHawk
Well-Known Member
Sorry son, you reached adulthood at 18. Kid's day is "kid's day."
jesterapparel
Well-Known Member
I don't think it is a big deal for spring practice, but kids day should be for the kids only.
Igothawked
Well-Known Member
Wow, good for him. Thats a nice haul. The reason I didn't feel so bad was because my son is really too young still to understand the autograph stuff. I do want him to get some though so when he starts to understand it in 5 or 6 years he will have autographs of some guys playing in the NFL. Oh well, next year.
And I have to agree, kids day is for kids. If you want to fight for autographs as an older person, pick a different time and venue. I guess I just don't understand the autograph thing if you are over 16 or so. It seems weird to me to get autographs of guys that or your age or guys that are younger than you. Thats just a personal opinion and a knock on anyone else.
KnightHawk9
Well-Known Member
Here were my quick observations (obviously just based on one practice, so don't get too fired up):
-Cooper has a burst. If they're working him in there when he's in shorts, they much be considering using him this year. He seemed to be tough to block in drills
-Carl Davis is still getting every opportunity. Looks pretty tough.
-I'm worried Keenan is going to be just a "Trey Stross". Sorry, I just want him to jump out and grab me. Hopefully it was just an off day.
-McNutt is very good. On the post-corner play mentioned, he was bumping with the DB moments before he brought the ball in. That's a very tough play to make.
-I liked a couple things K-Mart did. Caught the ball and immediately made a move. He looks like the #3 to me.
-Vandy is fine. He's the obvious number one. I wish he didn't have to check down so much. It seemed like we weren't running any intermediate routes, or he just wasn't trying to hit them. It was swing pass to RB, out to the WR, and a couple deep balls. Probably more of a complaint about KOK, but it's just a practice.
-McCall looks to be vying for the #2/3 spot. Kinda runs like Jewel.
-Jordan Canzeri has a burst. On a standard stretch play, he was patient and then cut quickly once the hole was there. But he's small. If he plays this year, I would guess it's at returner (not that we saw any today) rather than RB.
-Alvis looked pretty solid. Reminded me of Klug.
-Herman and CJ look to be 1a and 1b. There's no reason for people to "hope" for CJ; in my opinion, they are the same player.
-I don't see any way that Bullock will play. Nothing wrong with him, but Coker, White, Johnson, McCall are all better.
-Johnson has incredible lateral quickness
-I was thinking White was another Paki. He's better than that. He'll probably get overtaken on the depth chart at some point though.
-Blythe will be very good one day
-I thought Law looks like he belongs. He plays fast. Kinda looks like Prater out there. I'm pretty sure he was working with the 3s though. I bet he'll play special teams.
-Donnal got consistently beat in the blocking drills. I didn't see anybody else get beat that much. I was wondering why I never hear about him in the depth chart.
-Mossbrucker's kicks just don't look good. Meyer and Koehn both seem to have live legs but apparently need to work on accuracy
A general note: I thought this was much more fun to watch than the spring practice. Maybe the weather was just nicer, but it seemed like the team was more into it and the coaches were giving them opportunities to prove themselves.
-Cooper has a burst. If they're working him in there when he's in shorts, they much be considering using him this year. He seemed to be tough to block in drills
-Carl Davis is still getting every opportunity. Looks pretty tough.
-I'm worried Keenan is going to be just a "Trey Stross". Sorry, I just want him to jump out and grab me. Hopefully it was just an off day.
-McNutt is very good. On the post-corner play mentioned, he was bumping with the DB moments before he brought the ball in. That's a very tough play to make.
-I liked a couple things K-Mart did. Caught the ball and immediately made a move. He looks like the #3 to me.
-Vandy is fine. He's the obvious number one. I wish he didn't have to check down so much. It seemed like we weren't running any intermediate routes, or he just wasn't trying to hit them. It was swing pass to RB, out to the WR, and a couple deep balls. Probably more of a complaint about KOK, but it's just a practice.
-McCall looks to be vying for the #2/3 spot. Kinda runs like Jewel.
-Jordan Canzeri has a burst. On a standard stretch play, he was patient and then cut quickly once the hole was there. But he's small. If he plays this year, I would guess it's at returner (not that we saw any today) rather than RB.
-Alvis looked pretty solid. Reminded me of Klug.
-Herman and CJ look to be 1a and 1b. There's no reason for people to "hope" for CJ; in my opinion, they are the same player.
-I don't see any way that Bullock will play. Nothing wrong with him, but Coker, White, Johnson, McCall are all better.
-Johnson has incredible lateral quickness
-I was thinking White was another Paki. He's better than that. He'll probably get overtaken on the depth chart at some point though.
-Blythe will be very good one day
-I thought Law looks like he belongs. He plays fast. Kinda looks like Prater out there. I'm pretty sure he was working with the 3s though. I bet he'll play special teams.
-Donnal got consistently beat in the blocking drills. I didn't see anybody else get beat that much. I was wondering why I never hear about him in the depth chart.
-Mossbrucker's kicks just don't look good. Meyer and Koehn both seem to have live legs but apparently need to work on accuracy
A general note: I thought this was much more fun to watch than the spring practice. Maybe the weather was just nicer, but it seemed like the team was more into it and the coaches were giving them opportunities to prove themselves.
Drakebulldog93
Well-Known Member
I thought Nolan MacMillan is out with a 'sports hernia?' Rob Howe reported it was Casey McMillan in a boot with an injury.
Montanahawk
Well-Known Member
Good stuff, thanks.
Saginawbay
Well-Known Member
No injuries is the most important.
DakotaHawkeye
Well-Known Member
Thoughts on the "other" backers (besides Morris and Nielsen)? If I recall there was some concern last year with Kirksey and Hitchen's size.
You can just back him up 5 yard. It gives a clearer shot from the ends, plus it takes longer for the ball to get there. Slow punters are difficult to fix. I stated my concern about the number of steps and speed when the Youtube video was available. I was also concerned about the fact it wasn't continuous video. Can't gauge consistency.
Guess I'll chime in here and add my comments from Saturday, & will try not to repeat too much as far as the comments that have already been made.
QB's- Vandy is light years ahead of anyone else. Wienke would be my #2 mainly because of his arm/accuracy. Derby, I just plain don't like at QB, and he showed me nothing today to change my mind/opinion of him as a QB, and the pick he threw just cemented that sentiment for me. I loved what I saw of Rudock in there, for a kid just out of H.S. he was impressive. This kid needs to hit the weight/film room, and he will be good.
RB's- McCall is definitely an impressive specimen. The one play previously mentioned, he just punished a LB (Pryor, I believe), and got (7) yards after initial contact. Reminded me of SG with a burst. Jason White could be a weapon catching balls out of the backfield, easily the best pass catching RB we have. De'Andre Johnson, and Canzeri both remind me of Freddie Russell type scatbacks with good quickness and breakaway speed. Was hoping to see somebody emerge at FB, but they didn't have anyone really healthy at FB so did the three reciever set thing which could open things up more. After Coker, my top RB's would be McCall and Johnson, with White/Canzeri as backups i.e. 3's.
WR's- McNutt is getting nothing but better and will be playing on Sundays. Keenan was a bit of a disappointment, but clearly our best #2 non TE reciever. I liked what I saw with KMM and he has the potential to get nothing but better. Shumpert is a poor man's McNutt in my estimation. He needs to work on being more consistent, and creating separation between himself and the DB's. I really like the Grant kid and think he has alot of upside. My sleeper out of this group is Steven Staggs. Nick Nielsen dropped alot of balls, and Jordan Cotton IMO has never shown up. Haluska I think has nice potential. I still don't think we have much in terms of quality depth beyond the top 3, who if I were to pick a top 3 today, would be McNutt, Davis, and a tie between KMM, Shumpert and Grant.
TE's- I'm a TE guy, I'll admit it, and although Herman is a clear #1, there's very little if any drop off between him and CJ, who I just love the tremendous upside of. I can see us running alot of (2) TE sets and creating mismatch problems/nightmares for DC's across the country. We are DEEP, and stacked at TE. Of those not named Herman, or CJ, the best of the rest IMO was Ray Hamilton who is going to be really special, and who may well play this year. The rawest, and most undersized TE of the group IMO was Krieger-Coble the kid out of Mt. Pleasant, he was just so much slower and smaller looking than the rest, I just kept thinking with our depth and quality at the position, he's going to have to improve alot to even sniff the field by his 3rd year. I think Vier has a ton of potential, but he's going to have to bulk up some in order to compete. I do think Zach Derby is a nice TE, and if we didn't have Hamilton, he'd probably be a clear #3. I could see some of these guys possibly converting to other positions just to be able to play, with the quality and caliber of depth we have here, it's scary good. The Iowa TE tradition continues. I just hope KOK utilizes the tremendous talent we have here. Huge +.
O-line has been sufficiently covered by others and I think we have a solid 2 deep even with the injuries. (2) guys caught my eye as being greatly improved, and they were Orne, and Boffelli. The Scherff kid out of Denison is going to be scary good with a little time under his belt, I also like Blythe's potential, but don't want to curse him. I also liked what I saw with Jordan Walsh. They just need to keep developing these young guys.
I'm no expert, but I still think that special teams needs alot of work, and there were some obvious areas of concern there, although I will say that Guthrie the punter has improved markedly since spring ball. Meyer still clearly looks to be our best kicker. I'd love to see Canzeri as a return guy. Otherwise, lots of work to be done IMO.
Defense wise, I was paying particular attention to the secondary and the D-line. It was hard to keep track of all the guys thet were rotating in and out of both groups, and to try and determine who were 2's and 3's as several guys played with both groups. To be honest, I didn't pay nearly as much attention to the linebackers. That said, here goes...
D-line- Once you get past the clear starters such as Binns, and Daniels, it gets a little foggy, but a couple of the guys I thought looked good were Forgy, and this Cooper kid in shorts none the less really impressed me, he could emerge as a real nice diamond here. I think Alvis has tremendous upside as does Carl Davis. Gaglione got dinged up and didn't play much. Trinca-Pasat with some reps might be ready to contribute. Bigach is another guy who looks like he's got something to prove along with LeBron Daniel. IMO, DE is going to be our biggest ? as I didn't really see anyone that looked like a clear #1 which might be a problem, hopefully somebody will emerge. I think Binns will have a big year. I just think the DL as a group is going to be a work in progress with an 8 man rotation, and no clear order after Binns, and Daniels. Hoping someone emerges here.
DB's- I like the depth and diversity I see with this group. There is alot of potential here and some interesting combinations where we could even possibly see some nickle and dime packages depending on who we're playing/personnel groupings etc... That being said, beyond Prater and Hyde, I really liked what I saw with Lowery, this kid has got a tremendous upside IMO. I like Castillo too. Tanner Miller could be a wild card, as well as Sleeper. Jordan Bernstine although much improved is still a second teamer IMO. Nico Law definitely looks like a guy who may emerge with the right set of circumstances. There is alot of competition for a couple of slots, so it's going to be interesting. Lots of talent and athleticism with this group, but alot of guys with the same/similar size & skill sets.
LB's- Like I said, I didn't pay nearly as much attention to the LB's, which I probably should have given the fact that for probably the 1st 2-3 games they will be platooning the DL and DB's before settling on rotations/2 deeps etc... It may be the same with the LB's as well. Way more ? marks here probably than any other position, particularly with the loss of DiBona. Other than Morris, and possibly Nielsen, it is a wide open crap shoot. I'm hoping Kirksey or Getz steps up, or otherwise, we might be looking at freshmen. Does anybody know Poggi's status. This position after Morris and Nielsen is the biggest ? to me. My fantasy is that Derby (AJ) switches to LB, where he has the potential to start.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth and then some from Saturday. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
QB's- Vandy is light years ahead of anyone else. Wienke would be my #2 mainly because of his arm/accuracy. Derby, I just plain don't like at QB, and he showed me nothing today to change my mind/opinion of him as a QB, and the pick he threw just cemented that sentiment for me. I loved what I saw of Rudock in there, for a kid just out of H.S. he was impressive. This kid needs to hit the weight/film room, and he will be good.
RB's- McCall is definitely an impressive specimen. The one play previously mentioned, he just punished a LB (Pryor, I believe), and got (7) yards after initial contact. Reminded me of SG with a burst. Jason White could be a weapon catching balls out of the backfield, easily the best pass catching RB we have. De'Andre Johnson, and Canzeri both remind me of Freddie Russell type scatbacks with good quickness and breakaway speed. Was hoping to see somebody emerge at FB, but they didn't have anyone really healthy at FB so did the three reciever set thing which could open things up more. After Coker, my top RB's would be McCall and Johnson, with White/Canzeri as backups i.e. 3's.
WR's- McNutt is getting nothing but better and will be playing on Sundays. Keenan was a bit of a disappointment, but clearly our best #2 non TE reciever. I liked what I saw with KMM and he has the potential to get nothing but better. Shumpert is a poor man's McNutt in my estimation. He needs to work on being more consistent, and creating separation between himself and the DB's. I really like the Grant kid and think he has alot of upside. My sleeper out of this group is Steven Staggs. Nick Nielsen dropped alot of balls, and Jordan Cotton IMO has never shown up. Haluska I think has nice potential. I still don't think we have much in terms of quality depth beyond the top 3, who if I were to pick a top 3 today, would be McNutt, Davis, and a tie between KMM, Shumpert and Grant.
TE's- I'm a TE guy, I'll admit it, and although Herman is a clear #1, there's very little if any drop off between him and CJ, who I just love the tremendous upside of. I can see us running alot of (2) TE sets and creating mismatch problems/nightmares for DC's across the country. We are DEEP, and stacked at TE. Of those not named Herman, or CJ, the best of the rest IMO was Ray Hamilton who is going to be really special, and who may well play this year. The rawest, and most undersized TE of the group IMO was Krieger-Coble the kid out of Mt. Pleasant, he was just so much slower and smaller looking than the rest, I just kept thinking with our depth and quality at the position, he's going to have to improve alot to even sniff the field by his 3rd year. I think Vier has a ton of potential, but he's going to have to bulk up some in order to compete. I do think Zach Derby is a nice TE, and if we didn't have Hamilton, he'd probably be a clear #3. I could see some of these guys possibly converting to other positions just to be able to play, with the quality and caliber of depth we have here, it's scary good. The Iowa TE tradition continues. I just hope KOK utilizes the tremendous talent we have here. Huge +.
O-line has been sufficiently covered by others and I think we have a solid 2 deep even with the injuries. (2) guys caught my eye as being greatly improved, and they were Orne, and Boffelli. The Scherff kid out of Denison is going to be scary good with a little time under his belt, I also like Blythe's potential, but don't want to curse him. I also liked what I saw with Jordan Walsh. They just need to keep developing these young guys.
I'm no expert, but I still think that special teams needs alot of work, and there were some obvious areas of concern there, although I will say that Guthrie the punter has improved markedly since spring ball. Meyer still clearly looks to be our best kicker. I'd love to see Canzeri as a return guy. Otherwise, lots of work to be done IMO.
Defense wise, I was paying particular attention to the secondary and the D-line. It was hard to keep track of all the guys thet were rotating in and out of both groups, and to try and determine who were 2's and 3's as several guys played with both groups. To be honest, I didn't pay nearly as much attention to the linebackers. That said, here goes...
D-line- Once you get past the clear starters such as Binns, and Daniels, it gets a little foggy, but a couple of the guys I thought looked good were Forgy, and this Cooper kid in shorts none the less really impressed me, he could emerge as a real nice diamond here. I think Alvis has tremendous upside as does Carl Davis. Gaglione got dinged up and didn't play much. Trinca-Pasat with some reps might be ready to contribute. Bigach is another guy who looks like he's got something to prove along with LeBron Daniel. IMO, DE is going to be our biggest ? as I didn't really see anyone that looked like a clear #1 which might be a problem, hopefully somebody will emerge. I think Binns will have a big year. I just think the DL as a group is going to be a work in progress with an 8 man rotation, and no clear order after Binns, and Daniels. Hoping someone emerges here.
DB's- I like the depth and diversity I see with this group. There is alot of potential here and some interesting combinations where we could even possibly see some nickle and dime packages depending on who we're playing/personnel groupings etc... That being said, beyond Prater and Hyde, I really liked what I saw with Lowery, this kid has got a tremendous upside IMO. I like Castillo too. Tanner Miller could be a wild card, as well as Sleeper. Jordan Bernstine although much improved is still a second teamer IMO. Nico Law definitely looks like a guy who may emerge with the right set of circumstances. There is alot of competition for a couple of slots, so it's going to be interesting. Lots of talent and athleticism with this group, but alot of guys with the same/similar size & skill sets.
LB's- Like I said, I didn't pay nearly as much attention to the LB's, which I probably should have given the fact that for probably the 1st 2-3 games they will be platooning the DL and DB's before settling on rotations/2 deeps etc... It may be the same with the LB's as well. Way more ? marks here probably than any other position, particularly with the loss of DiBona. Other than Morris, and possibly Nielsen, it is a wide open crap shoot. I'm hoping Kirksey or Getz steps up, or otherwise, we might be looking at freshmen. Does anybody know Poggi's status. This position after Morris and Nielsen is the biggest ? to me. My fantasy is that Derby (AJ) switches to LB, where he has the potential to start.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth and then some from Saturday. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Benddontbreak
Well-Known Member
Bowen - Good stuff. Thank you for your insight. I too am a little concerned about the D-Line.
Keenan Davis' time is now. Although you guys are a little disappointed with his progress, I'm still expecting a breakout year from him.
Keenan Davis' time is now. Although you guys are a little disappointed with his progress, I'm still expecting a breakout year from him.
Bend- Don't get me wrong, I'm not "down" on Keenan Davis, I'd just like to see him develop like McNutt did his second year as a starter @WR. Perhaps that's setting the bar a bit high, but this kid has the ability to be as good or better than the Arrington kid out of CR who played for Michigan a couple of years ago.
My biggest areas of concern are D-line, LB's and Special Teams.
I think we will be as good or better than last year, but time barring injuries will tell.
I really like the groups we have @ QB, RB, TE, and DB even though they're largely unproven as far as game experience goes. Vandy has got a rifle arm, and McCall has me really excited as far as RB's behind Coker. Here's hoping they all stay healthy! GO HAWKS
My biggest areas of concern are D-line, LB's and Special Teams.
I think we will be as good or better than last year, but time barring injuries will tell.
I really like the groups we have @ QB, RB, TE, and DB even though they're largely unproven as far as game experience goes. Vandy has got a rifle arm, and McCall has me really excited as far as RB's behind Coker. Here's hoping they all stay healthy! GO HAWKS
