The third morning practice of camp was underway and the general routine
was the same. The progression from position drills to units and then
entire teams was as it was on Sunday morning.
The defense got the better of the offense today. They are starting to
come together and it was more difficult for any team on offense to put
something substantive together. The linebackers were noticeably better
not giving up very many underneath routes and generally playing the run
very well.
Hixon was out with a mild separation and he will be having an MRI to
determine the severity. Stokely was resting and will play this
afternoon. Ian Gold was out with back spasms. Louis Green filled in
nicely in his place.
Well let’s get things underway.
Punters – The Punters spent a great deal of time working on holding, runing onto the field and their form when they kick.
Todd Sauerbrun: Todd takes to coaching very well. He was not
stepping into his punts with proper form. Scott O’Brien showed him
better foot placement and Todd replicated it perfectly immediately. His
technique release are still the best.
Paul Ernster: Ernster has to work on his release and how he
holds the ball leading up to it. His form needs some polishing too, but
it’s good to see the detail of this coaching. I don’t remember seeing
them cover things so specific last year. Hopefully it helps the kicking
game overall.
Defensive Backs – I had a better look at the defensive
backs and haven’t had a chance to cover them so I’ll do so now. I
really think our depth is some of the best in the league. Slowik
understands how to coach a secondary and it shows in the growth I’ve
seen in players like Foxworth and Paymah from year to year.
Champ Bailey: Bailey is still the same old self. I noticed that
he’s actually very good when he jams and this probably because of his
size. One surprise was that Quincy Morgan of all people beat him in the
red zone for a touchdown during goaline drills. He was the only
receiver to do so today.
Dre Bly: The most impressive thing about Bly is that he is a
leader on and off the field. He congratulates and supports his
teammates and he plays full speed when he’s on the field. I’m impressed
with how physical he is. Brian Clark beat him on a crossing route and
Bly jumped in and forced a fumble that Bailey recovered. Even when the
completion is made, Bly does everything to make something positive
happen on defense.
Karl Paymah: Keep an eye on him. He’s really thriving in the new
style of defense and he’s much more confident than he was in previous
years. His size and athleticism are impressive and he was making
several plays in drills and scrimmages. He’s very physical and very
good at jamming. He seems to struggle when he gets beat to the outside
right shoulder and this could be because he usually lines up on the
left.
Dominique Foxworth: Foxworth had a couple of really nice jams
today. I think if he bulked up he could play safety pretty well. He has
good recognition in zone and is better at understanding what routes are
available for receivers depending on their body positioning and where
they’re at. He doesn’t recover as well as I remember and could play
more physical.
Hamza Abdullah: I really like Abdullah and Cox who are the
backups to Lynch and Ferguson. Abdullah lays the wood when he hits and
has shown great pursuit in run drills. I like how he warps up and tries
to get a good pop now and again. His coverage is pretty good too.
Curome Cox: Cox is more of a coverage guy, but he plays very
physical and is comfortable in a zone, which is helpful. He’s very
aggressive at making plays on the ball and often tries to punch the
ball out of the ball carrier’s hand. His speed is pretty good too and
he doesn’t bite on play action too much.
Jeff Shoate: He had a decent practice. He dropped a sure
interception but was at least in the right place at the right time and
closed on the ball correctly. Not a bad dime back at all and I think
he’s often overlooked.
Receivers – There weren’t many out there today. So many
are hurt and it has me worried should they not be able to come back in
time to take some reps.
David Kircus: Kircus had a good day, but he really only
runs slants very well and against the jam and on deep plays he is less
than productive. He did juke Lynch and break a slant for a score on one
play.
Quincy Morgan: Morgan is actually a pretty big guy (6’1”, 220)
and is good about using his size to box defenders out. He made some
decent catches today beating out Bailey and Bly and was the first team
return guy on special teams.
Brian Clark: We have a Brian Clark sighting. Brian made some
decent catches and is starting to show the progress I remember from
last camp. His size and body control are impressive. However he had to
go do one handed catches on the jugs machine for the fumble that Bly
forced that I mentioned earlier.
Javon Walker: Walker played hard and won some battles but he
didn’t get many opportunities. The QB’s and offensive line were
struggling to get passes off and many times the coverage was very
solid. I really think his going against our corners so much is going to
make him into monster against teams with lesser secondary talent (which
is pretty much everyone but Oakland).
Quarterbacks – The quarterbacks were all pretty average today. I think they were struggling to adjust to the defense and solid coverage.
Jay Cutler: Cutler had an off day today. He overthrew Kircus on
a deep pattern and was unable to even get a first down during a two
minute drill. The protection has been better, but our receivers are
pretty average with Hixon, Stokely, Smith and Marshall all resting this
morning. It was not an easy day for him. No interceptions to speak of,
but not as crisp as I was used to.
Patrick Ramsey: He was a little better today. He made some
decent throws and his timing is getting a bit better. His protection
isn’t great and he doesn’t step up into the pocket like he should.
Generally he looks skittish but I was pleased to see some improvement
over yesterday.
Defensive Linemen – The linemen are really growing in the
drills and the rookies were drawing high praise from Bates who
personally watches and coaches many of the drills himself with Bill
Johnson.
Jarvis Moss: I will have a piece later on Moss as he answered
questions after practice today. As far as his practice he was having
some struggles early on. He was using a lot of the speed moves that
were helping him yesterday, but the offensive linemen were ready for
them this time around. He took some coaching and came back with more
power rush moves and was able to get through again. Then he started
mixing it up with the two styles. He really is very talented and is
able to immediately apply what he is taught.
Tim Crowder: Crowder understands the concepts very well and is
able to replicate them into his own style of play. Bates called him
“player of the day” after he beat his man in pass rushing drills a
couple times. He plays with good pad level and gets leverage. His only
knock is he is not very quick or fast.
Elvis Dumervil: Dumervil plays very hard and has a high motor. I
still like how he uses his hands and arms. The other linemen are
learning how to neutralize him, and unfortunately that is starting to
show when he gets beat.
Marcus Thomas: Thomas is making some progress as well. Right now
he is more situational in how he’s used as he’s more of a penetrator
than a clogger. He is extremely athletic but very polite. We had a
chance to talk to him after practice as well and he was very low key.
Ebenezer Ekuban: Ekuban made some real strides this morning from
yesterday and I think you’re starting to see progress in understanding
the new system. He beat Lepsis pretty bad to the inside on one move and
has a good balance. I’m very curious how he’ll do in this scheme during
the regular season.
John Engelberger: Engelberger was taking snaps on third team,
though I saw him in the first team as well. My first thought was that
he was demoted, but then I know they like rotate players in and out, so
I’m not sure what’s going on there. I didn’t really see him much today.
Sam Adams: Adams is going to start opening day. He’s disruptive,
strong, heady and stout and point of attack. He fatigues and that would
be my only knock on him. He’s even better in pursuit than I remembered.
Offensive Line – The line had a better day overall as
they had made some adjustments to the rush. Their pass protection in
particular was better. One advantage of practice is you familiarize
yourself with your teammates strengths and weaknesses and this allows
you to be more prepared from day to day.
Chris Kuper: Chris had a tough day today. He got pushed off the
ball at one point, though it wasn’t as bad as his body language made it
seem. He also got beat inside and had a false start in move the ball. I
think he was in a bit of a funk because usually he does very well and
the coaches praise him but today I saw neither good play nor praise.
Ben Hamilton: Hamilton did a better job of getting underneath
the pads of guys. Pretty much everyone he plays in passing situations
knows to bull rush him and so he’s going to see that a lot until he
gets more strength to get underneath and push them out of attack
posture.
Ryan Harris: Harris did much better today. His showing more
sureness in his feet planting and he is good about trying to force
defenders to play his way. Good hands and quickness. He is decent in
the rushing game and pass protection but just needs to work on his
consistency. I think in a year he’ll have a better feel for the game.
Emmanuel Akah: Akah is playing very well and I hope the coaches
notice. He’s my sleeper to make the team. He has good size and strength
and has consistently been pretty decent in all areas. If he can play in
field goals he could earn a spot, maybe.
Well that’s all for now. Look for what I missed in SoCal’s report, which will be posted along with this one!
