Jump to content

July 31st training camp observations


Recommended Posts

Julio Jones, what can i say, we have TWO #1 WR's right now. He and Roddy are so great together. Both are great at using their hands to defeat the jam at the line, which is something the other guys need to learn. Both made great catches all day, TWO by Jones from deep in the end zone. Everybody catches well. Two names to keep an eye on are Doug Davis and especially PJ Gore. Both made a lot of catches and Gore especially seemed to be targeted quite often and I didnt see them miss anything. Gore just seems to do a lot of little things that should make him very difficult to cut, even if we have to keep 6 WR's. Meier was himself in that he showed great hands catching all but one pass. He favored his knee though and often moved gingerly between plays. He was a trooper though getting open even against Robinson who might have taken it easy on him since he is not 100%. Meier could end up on PUP list if he is hobbled throughout the pre-season and especially if Gore shows well in the PS games.

Dominique Franks played LCB for Grimes and he looks VERY comfortable even helping an UDFA get lined up correctly on one play. He also had a pick covering Roddy but it was off a jump ball that went into the air and down into Franks arms. He seems to have passed Owens. Owens did have a pick too though and is a good #4 CB. Mcllwain(also with a pick) is my favorite for #5 right now, although Bellgrave is in it. Kirk is covering as a CB but i would like to see if he can play S and CB and make it as the 5th S.

Gartrell Johnson does indeed look slimmer and faster. He looks to be high on their depth chart too. He seems to have the #3 RB spot to himself if Snelling signs elsewhere and Sylvester has a shot too. Sly looked good at stringing plays wide and finding the crease. We will see in the pre-season when the defense is trying to tackle. Rodgers can definately hide behind the line and burst through, but best of all is he catches everything which is the opposite of Turner.

Palmer looked good catching the ball with defenders on him. He should get more opportunities IMO.

All three QB's looked good and for Froman that is saying something, especially given the limited snaps he got this offseason which just started for him. He might have to be stowed away on the PS for a year, but he could have a shot next year to stick as #3. I hope to see him play some pre-season games. Matt Ryan looks better every year. He seems to have found a WR(Jones) that he connects with deep more consistantly.

The only bad news is that we are going to take a step back at punter. Bosher has a way to go but hopefully he rounds out quickly.

Its hard to tell much about the OL and DL or even the LB's and safeties for that matter, however I did see Sidbury(LDE) and Biermann(RDE) together. They each played both sides at different times. Davis was in at RDE with Sid on another down.

Dent is at MLB I believe with the 2nd team.

This is the only practice I will get to see, but the first game is next thursday so thats ok.

Edited by bier-fann
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Julio Jones, what can i say, we have TWO #1 WR's right now. He and Roddy are so great together. Both are great at using their hands to defeat the jam at the line, which is something the other guys need to learn. Both made great catches all day, TWO by Jones from deep in the end zone. Everybody catches well. Two names to keep an eye on are Doug Davis and especially PJ Gore. Both made a lot of catches and Gore especially seemed to be targeted quite often and I didnt see them miss anything. Gore just seems to do a lot of little things that should make him very difficult to cut, even if we have to keep 6 WR's. Meier was himself in that he showed great hands catching all but one pass. He favored his knee though and often moved gingerly between plays. He was a trooper though getting open even against Robinson who might have taken it easy on him since he is not 100%. Meier could end up on PUP list if he is hobbled throughout the pre-season and especially if Gore shows well in the PS games.

Dominique Franks played LCB for Grimes and he looks VERY comfortable even helping an UDFA get lined up correctly on one play. He also had a pick covering Roddy but it was off a jump ball that went into the air and down into Franks arms. He seems to have passed Owens. Owens did have a pick too though and is a good #4 CB. Mcllwain(also with a pick) is my favorite for #5 right now, although Bellgrave is in it. Kirk is covering as a CB but i would like to see if he can play S and CB and make it as the 5th S.

Gartrell Johnson does indeed look slimmer and faster. He looks to be high on their depth chart too. He seems to have the #3 RB spot to himself if Snelling signs elsewhere and Sylvester has a shot too. Sly looked good at stringing plays wide and finding the crease. We will see in the pre-season when the defense is trying to tackle. Rodgers can definately hide behind the line and burst through, but best of all is he catches everything which is the opposite of Turner.

Palmer looked good catching the ball with defenders on him. He should get more opportunities IMO.

All three QB's looked good and for Froman that is saying something, especially given the limited snaps he got this offseason which just started for him. He might have to be stowed away on the PS for a year, but he could have a shot next year to stick as #3. I hope to see him play some pre-season games. Matt Ryan looks better every year. He seems to have found a WR(Jones) that he connects with deep more consistantly.

The only bad news is that we are going to take a step back at punter. Bosher has a way to go but hopefully he rounds out quickly.

Its hard to tell much about the OL and DL or even the LB's and safeties for that matter, however I did see Sidbury(LDE) and Biermann(RDE) together. They each played both sides at different times. Davis was in at RDE with Sid on another down.

Dent is at MLB I believe with the 2nd team.

This is the only practice I will get to see, but the first game is next thursday so thats ok.

Awesome report. 12 days just won't go by fast enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great write up!

But other "wiser" posters have told us that we hear this same bs every year. So I guess we just have to wait and see.

/sacrcasm

Yeah I know the glass is always topped off with us biased fans even for UDFA's, but Julio really is DOMINANT.

I hold reservations until the action starts myself, but todays practice was very encouraging. Some rookies really have shown well with such little exposure. TD and company know talent. The depth seems to improve every year. They are doing it the right way. We only signed one F/A but we only needed one. I think it is a testament to our drafts that we mostly just re-signed our own F/A's. Also, most fans were glad to have the returnees back. Those were definately the wiser fans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I know the glass is always topped off with us biased fans even for UDFA's, but Julio really is DOMINANT.

I hold reservations until the action starts myself, but todays practice was very encouraging. Some rookies really have shown well with such little exposure. TD and company know talent. The depth seems to improve every year. They are doing it the right way. We only signed one F/A but we only needed one. I think it is a testament to our drafts that we mostly just re-signed our own F/A's. Also, most fans were glad to have the returnees back. Those were definately the wiser fans.

I do the same as well but if I hear things multiple times about a player I listen up. I haven't heard a bad thing about Julio, Quizz, Owens, or Franks yet. But to completely write any compliment to players off is crazy. Especially not Owens. In my opinion he has the most to prove, showing that last game was a fluke so any look of improvement from him is great

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest mashburn

great read. But thank you for reminding me the game is next friday. I cannot wait.

oh wait this friday is friday night lights.

I am so happy football is back. I really am. I missed it so much. has anyone else missed it more then me? :wub:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

great read. But thank you for reminding me the game is next friday. I cannot wait.

oh wait this friday is friday night lights.

I am so happy football is back. I really am. I missed it so much. has anyone else missed it more then me? :wub:

Yeah scrimmage game this friday and they kick off competative action next friday against Miami. I was thinking it was thursday night but friday is just fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple of added things I noticed...

Jose Valdez practiced almost exclusively at LT with Svitek at RT. Just opposite of how I figured they would line up. If Valdez can play LT, he could be a very valuable backup at LT/LG/RG/RT. It also makes me think Reynolds is leading the race for RG (since he's our current backup LG/RG/RT). And another thing - Valdez is HUGE! Very, very, very large man. Can't wait to watch him during the preseason games.

Kamaal McIlwain (#26) had several head turning plays today. We might have found ourselves a diamond in the rough. Definitely someone to look out for during preseason games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...