Camp Report - 7/26/13

[CoachO]

Camp Report 7/26/13

Crowd was more in line with a normal “second day” practice, yet still very well attended. Weather was overcast after showers most of the afternoon.

Players not participating: Lance Kendricks; Matt Daniels; Jemelle Cudjo ; Barrett Jones; Braden Brown; Phillip Lutzenkirchen; and has anyone seen Sammy BROWN? Hasn’t been on the field either day, and Have not heard any reports as to why!

Special Teams to start off Practice:
Fielding punts: Tavon Austin; Isaiah Pead: Nick Johnson; Demetrius Fields; Chase Reynolds; Andre Martin

Kickoff Returns:
Isaiah Pead; Nick Johnson; Demetrius Fields; Andrew Helmic; Raymond Radway (NO GIVENS; NO AUSTIN)

Spent the first 30 minutes on Punt Coverage:
1st Unit Punt Team….. Interior line and back (no gunners)
McNeill Armstrong Hull McQuaide Sims J. Williams Harkey Giordano Reynolds
2nd Unit:
Ganaway Ogletree Potter Hus Bates J. Stewart Graham Cunningham C. Davis

Offensive Line:
1st Unit: Long S. Smith Wells Dahl Saffold
2nd Unit: Barksdale C. Williams Barnes Washington Nsekhe
Appears they are going to alternate practices between S. Smith and C. Willliams at LG

7 on 7 Passing Drills: various formations again:
1. Started with trips Right (Givens on the outside) Austin and Pettis in the slot with Quick wideout on the left Pead in the backfield
2. Trips to the left with PEAD lined up outside (motioned inside) with Pettis and Austin in the slot.. Givens split wide to the right, Richardson in the backfield.
3. Quick and Givens as wideouts, with Harkey and Cook lined up as INLINE TEs. Richardson the RB.
Just a couple of examples of the formations they used.

• Spent a lot of time working on RedZone stuff. Primarily throwing underneath to TEs or to Austin on drag routes just beyond the LOS. RZ personnel consisted mainly of Pettis; Quick (on the outside), Cook and Austin in the slot. Also lined up with 4 wide (Cook and Pettis inside) Quick and Givens outside, with AUSTIN in the backfield. ONCE.

Interesting drill: WRs (and Cook) against CBs and safeties PRESS coverage

• Pettis lined up against Finnegan most of the time. Pettis won more than not!
• McDonald destroys Cook, doesn’t let him off LOS
• Cook then goes against Stewart and Stewart doesn’t get a hand on him,, Cook ran past Stewart like he was a Pylon
• Quick struggles against Q. Pointer on sideline route, letting the smaller CB get inside of him and intercept pass. Needs to use his size and strength… this should be a mismatch every time in Quick’s favor. One of the reasons he isn’t “progressing” like he should. Coach Sherman had a nice long conversation with him after that particular play.


11 on 11
• First play ends up with Givens limping off field. Appeared to tweak an ankle He missed some reps only to return.

• Bradford hits Harkey on a deep seam route; McDonald went for the interception instead of “kill shot”; Harkey makes tough catch in stride

• Running backs continue to rotate on virtually every play. Richardson looked very good today. Had a burst that wasn’t there yesterday. Pead still looks quite good catching the ball out of the backfield.

• Austin Davis getting reps with 2nd Offense today. Both he and Clemens still seem to struggle with reads, and getting the ball out.

• One of the highlights again today was Ogletree covering Cook on a deep crossing route. Breaking up a pass from Bradford about 15 yards downfield. No one else on the roster could run with Cook. He made it look easy.

• Again, worked on RedZone. Similar to 7 on 7, ran a lot of the same stuff. Defense won today. A couple of nice catches, but overall, offense struggled.

Player observations:
Andrew Helmick (local kid out of Lindenwood Univ) had a very impressive practice. He is making himself very noticeable. He catches everything. Including a one-handed grab in the endzone during the 11 on 11 (3rd offense).

Ganaway and Stacy rotate with the 2’s, in much the same fashion as Pead and Richardson are with the 1’s. Ganaway looked better today.

2nd unit CBs were Pointer and McGee today. Robert Steeples (DeSmet HS/Mizzou) worked with 3rd unit.

2nd Unit LBs continue to be Witherspoon Hull and Jabara Williams

 

[-X-]

Yay ... more Hemlick!
Not to be a douche or anything, but I called it on D Rich last year and (hopefully) Hemlick this year.
Yeah, yeah, nobody likes a braggart, I know...

But still...

 

[Username]

How does Pead look returning kicks? Is he gonna make me shit my pants every kickoff next year again until they take him out?

Thanks for the reports btw Coach. Pretty sure I speak for everyone here when I say we appreciate it.

 

[-X-]

I don't know if that's encouraging or discouraging when you say T.J. McDonald destroyed Cook. :huhidk:

 

[CoachO]

How does Pead look returning kicks? Is he gonna make me shyte my pants every kickoff next year again until they take him out?

Thanks for the reports btw Coach. Pretty sure I speak for everyone here when I say we appreciate it.

Other than fielding punts on the far field PRIOR to practice, they haven't done any actual "returning" of kicks. The lists I have put together are simply the players they have had fielding these kicks.

In reading Jim Thomas tweets, Fisher said they will be in full pads for a Special team practice Sunday (closed practice) and on Monday (open practice), so maybe we will get more of a look at the return game by then.

AS a side note, Pead as a whole, looks a lot more confident. Last year, he showed flashes of his athleticism, but I felt he was rushing everything. It was like he was overwhelmed by the speed of the game at this level, and was trying to make a play before he had the ball a lot of times.

It appears, at least in these two practices so far, that he is letting things come to him, and not forcing the issue like he did last year.

 

[CoachO]

I don't know if that's encouraging or discouraging when you say T.J. McDonald destroyed Cook. :huhidk:

He locked on Cook in press coverage, and didn't let him off the LOS. It was a one on one drill so the pass ended up 5 yards overthrown, and Cook looked around like what just happened.

TJ McDonald has been one of the pleasant surprises to me. He has shown to have very good instincts in coverage, and closes extremely well when the ball in his is area. Especially when "in the box" covering the flat.

 

[-X-]

I don't know if that's encouraging or discouraging when you say T.J. McDonald destroyed Cook. :huhidk:

He locked on Cook in press coverage, and didn't let him off the LOS. It was a one on one drill so the pass ended up 5 yards overthrown, and Cook looked around like what just happened.

TJ McDonald has been one of the pleasant surprises to me. He has shown to have very good instincts in coverage, and closes extremely well when the ball in his is area. Especially when "in the box" covering the flat.

Well, that is very encouraging. It's good to hear that McDonald is living up to the hype of being a physical safety and that he's up to the challenges. Not so encouraging that Cook can be handled so easily. Did they happen to motion Cook around much that you saw to combat being beaten at the LOS?

 

[V3]

I don't know if that's encouraging or discouraging when you say T.J. McDonald destroyed Cook. :huhidk:

I struggle with this quandary every time I read something good/bad about a play. Did player X do well or did player Y, whom he's competing against, just suck on that play?

 

[CoachO]

I don't know if that's encouraging or discouraging when you say T.J. McDonald destroyed Cook. :huhidk:

He locked on Cook in press coverage, and didn't let him off the LOS. It was a one on one drill so the pass ended up 5 yards overthrown, and Cook looked around like what just happened.

TJ McDonald has been one of the pleasant surprises to me. He has shown to have very good instincts in coverage, and closes extremely well when the ball in his is area. Especially when "in the box" covering the flat.

Well, that is very encouraging. It's good to hear that McDonald is living up to the hype of being a physical safety and that he's up to the challenges. Not so encouraging that Cook can be handled so easily. Did they happen to motion Cook around much that you saw to combat being beaten at the LOS?

This happened in a one on one drill and only happened once. The next time Cook lined up, he was going against Stewart, and obviously, he stepped it up. He gave Stewart a head fake, used his hands and was by him in a flash.

I pointed it out as an example of both. McDonald shutting him down, and on the very next rep, Cook almost going past Stewart like he was standing still.

 

[V3]

Thanks, Coach O. The more insight from people, the better.

I must say, I'm still very worried about Quick. Did you see anything that makes you think he's progressing?

 

[-X-]

I don't know if that's encouraging or discouraging when you say T.J. McDonald destroyed Cook. :huhidk:

He locked on Cook in press coverage, and didn't let him off the LOS. It was a one on one drill so the pass ended up 5 yards overthrown, and Cook looked around like what just happened.

TJ McDonald has been one of the pleasant surprises to me. He has shown to have very good instincts in coverage, and closes extremely well when the ball in his is area. Especially when "in the box" covering the flat.

Well, that is very encouraging. It's good to hear that McDonald is living up to the hype of being a physical safety and that he's up to the challenges. Not so encouraging that Cook can be handled so easily. Did they happen to motion Cook around much that you saw to combat being beaten at the LOS?

This happened in a one on one drill and only happened once. The next time Cook lined up, he was going against Stewart, and obviously, he stepped it up. He gave Stewart a head fake, used his hands and was by him in a flash.

I pointed it out as an example of both. McDonald shutting him down, and on the very next rep, Cook almost going past Stewart like he was standing still.

Gotcha. Thanks Coach. :yeh:

 

[Username]

How does Pead look returning kicks? Is he gonna make me shyte my pants every kickoff next year again until they take him out?

Thanks for the reports btw Coach. Pretty sure I speak for everyone here when I say we appreciate it.

Other than fielding punts on the far field PRIOR to practice, they haven't done any actual "returning" of kicks. The lists I have put together are simply the players they have had fielding these kicks.

In reading Jim Thomas tweets, Fisher said they will be in full pads for a Special team practice Sunday (closed practice) and on Monday (open practice), so maybe we will get more of a look at the return game by then.

AS a side note, Pead as a whole, looks a lot more confident. Last year, he showed flashes of his athleticism, but I felt he was rushing everything. It was like he was overwhelmed by the speed of the game at this level, and was trying to make a play before he had the ball a lot of times.

It appears, at least in these two practices so far, that he is letting things come to him, and not forcing the issue like he did last year.

I meant fielding my bad. Get excite when I hear Rams talk sometimes. Thanks though.

Everything I've read about Pead so far sounds promising. Sounds like he took the offseason seriously, which was something I was worried about.

Can't wait till the pads get broke out. Gonna be fun to watch these lines battle especially.

 

[A55VA6]

It's interesting seeing the different formations and where guys are lined up. Can preseason just get here already?

 

[catcheryea]

I had the same reaction as the other guys when I got to the part about TJ and Cook, but it was pleasantly surprising. TJ was a guy a lot of people (including myself) questioned drafting considering some of the other safeties still on the board. We know what we're supposed to be getting with him, but it's still unknown if he can do it in the NFL, so any play that shows some of that ability Fisher saw, is comforting. Especially if he does it to a guy who's been dominating guys all spring. Plus, a receiver won't be able to get off the line clean 100% of the time anyway, no matter who it is.

On the other hand, it is a little concerning that Quick is letting himself get bullied by smaller corners. I personally think he's going to need another year before he's completely NFL ready, but that's not something I'd expect him to struggle with. I understand if he gets a hot read wrong or something like that, but it should just come natural to him to think, "oh yeah, I'm A LOT bigger than this guy, let me use that to get position and make the catch". I still have faith though.

 

[Selassie I]

As I just said to Jimi...

A Big Mahalo for your reports CoachO. I'm counting on you not to take ANY time off from these.


I'm SOOOOOOO jealous of you Locals who are able to attend.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Also lined up with 4 wide (Cook and Pettis inside) Quick and Givens outside, with AUSTIN in the backfield. ONCE.

Otherwise known as our LOADED formation! :hehe:

 

[CGI_Ram]

Shelly Smith rotating in with the 1s at LG... they need to give the 2s work with the 1s to compare apples to apples. That position is probably a very close race.

Glad to see Helmick returning kicks and interested to hear more and see his performance there in preseason.

Concerns w/Quick - nope. He's running with the 1s (something AJ Jenkins isn't doing) and you don't win every battle. It's early to draw any conclusions of course.

This report more quiet on Cunningham?

EXCELLENT job CoachO_cinco!

 

[CoachO]

Shelly Smith rotating in with the 1s at LG... they need to give the 2s work with the 1s to compare apples to apples. That position is probably a very close race.

Glad to see Helmick returning kicks and interested to hear more and see his performance there in preseason.

Concerns w/Quick - nope. He's running with the 1s (something AJ Jenkins isn't doing) and you don't win every battle. It's early to draw any conclusions of course.

This report more quiet on Cunningham?

EXCELLENT job CoachO_cinco!

They seem to be rotating DAYS at LG. Williams worked with the 1's all day Thursday, Smith, all day Friday. From what has been reported, they will be in full pads starting tomorrow (Sunday), and again on Monday. That's when it should start to get "real" in terms of gauging the progress of the linemen.

I was approached by someone who overheard me talking about Helmick. Turns out, it was his trainer from Lindenwood. I asked him specifically about his kickoff returning experience. He said he did it ALOT of it at Lindenwood. That might be the one thing that separates him from some of the other WRs when it comes to being the 6th guy (assuming they keep 6).

I am in no way trying to say that Quick doesn't look good. you are dead right when you say "you don't win every battle". I wanted to point out, that he is still very much a work in progress. And this is one area where he needs to get much better at. HE is the biggest and most physically gifted WR on the roster. But he just doesn't play to his size enough.

Cunningham looks like he can compete at this level. He shows some shiftiness, and explosiveness. He just hasn't done much to "stand out". With the rotation being what it is, he is relegated to 3rd team reps, (with Reynolds).

Reynolds is another guy who just "won't go away". There is nothing special about him physically, but all he does is hit the hole and gain yards. He catches the ball very well, and excels on special teams.

 

[ReddingRam]

Also lined up with 4 wide (Cook and Pettis inside) Quick and Givens outside, with AUSTIN in the backfield. ONCE.

Otherwise known as our LOADED formation! :hehe:

An advantage that I think we really have now on a team like Seattle is that with those BIG DB's they have, they are going to have trouble with guys like Givens, Austin and Bailey. Those three are so fast and quick in their movements, I don't think they will effectively be able to cover them. Not for 4 Qrt's at least. They are going to have to play "off" more and try and take away the deep threats ... but that will open up a lot of short to intermediate stuff ... and the jitter bugs can then still out move them in the open field.

 

[Warner4Prez]

Not sure how closely you're watching there Coach, but does Sherman have a lot of interaction with all the wideouts? I think he did a hell of a job getting Dez Bryant's head screwed on right, so I'm hoping some TLC with Quick might do the trick...just curious if they appear to be treating him like a pet project or if they're spreading the love with Austin/Bailey et. all.