Training Camp
Kaylore's camp week one review
By Kaylore
Aug 4, 2007, 16:27

The final day of practice was a great one. They set a record for camp attendance blowing the old one out of the water. There were fans literally on all sides of the field and it was loud in a very positive way. I’d never seen a turnout like that in my five years of attending practices at Dove Valley. The best part was during the goal line/redzone work the crowd got really loud to try and make it hard on the offense. I was kind of cool to see that scenario replicated even with the fan noise.

There were a couple of scares today. Ekuban went down but was able to walk off on his own power. He seems ok. Louis Green went down grabbing his knee, but he also was up and after a rest was jogging. He stayed out there, so I assume everything is ok. Travis Henry pulled a hamstring and they kept him out of practice for the most part. He did take a few snaps afterward but generally was absent.

This was the last day of install. The team has officially installed and practiced every single play that they have in the book. They will go over it all again in this next week. The result was some guys’ heads were swimming and generally the defense had the upper hand.

During move-the-ball, the fist team offense had four penalties in almost as man snaps. One was a holding call on Lepsis when Moss beat him around the edge like a drum. Then a false start, then another hold, then another false start. It was pretty bad. Despite this, Cutler managed to advance the ball down to the thirty before the last penalty really stalled out the drive. I was surprised they were able to get anywhere at all.

In his press conference, Coach Shanahan mentioned that the team still has a long way to go but that he likes the effort that he’s seeing and that some guys are really stepping up. More than anything, he emphasized that it’s the mental toughness he wants to see more of from some of the guys on the team. SoCal asked him as to whether Cutler will wear a revolution helmet. The short answer is “no he won’t.” I asked him if he felt like there were people who were going to fill in the leadership role that was vacated by Plummer, Al Wilson and Keith Burns on the team – losing three captains on all three teams in one offseason seemed like a big deal. He mentioned that Keith Burns is still on the team as is Rod, Lynch and some new guys, so things aren’t as bad as one would think.

Here’s what I saw today…

The Secondary – They were really dominant today. Everyone was making plays and just had the upper hand. I think the defense as a whole is more settled than the offense, and again that is to be expected. Hamza and Foxworth were on fire. Foxworth broke up quite a few passes. Less hot, but still very good was Shoate of all people and Paymah. Bly played well and had a pick six after jumping a route. Everyone cheered him and no one booed. I feel very good about our secondary depth. I think top to bottom we have the best secondary in the league.

The Defensive Line – The line was pretty good but the real standouts were Jarvis Moss, Antwon Burton (who has started to really explode out there) and Sam Adams. I’m really excited about all three of these guys. Moss is going to cause a lot of problems for people this year. He is extremely disruptive and his speed, quickness and body size are just too much to deal with. He’s had a number of deflections at the line. Adams and Burton are looking very similar. They are large and penetrating and have been making some great plays against the run. I did watch McKinley very closely. He had one deflection at the line and that was it. He’s working on the third team.

The Quarterbacks – Jay had another off day. He was picked once when Moss beat Lepsis on an inside move and he forced the ball. He is still the most consistent of the guys playing. Ramsey still struggles with his passes getting too high, but the difference in Ramsey now versus Ramsey on Sunday or even Monday is night and day. He’s more comfortable and his mechanics have really improved. I feel good about him as a backup. Hackney had a good day as well and made some nice plays in “move the ball.” He had nice touch.

The Offensive Line – The line is settling down, but I would say that Pears is actually playing better than Lepsis right now. Lepsis just seems to have a bit of trouble kicking outside on that edge rush. Chris Myers did a good job filling in for a still hurt Hamilton. His whole thing is “no mental errors” and he usually at least plays pretty soundly. Hamilton was walking around just fine without any brace or anything, so it’s probably just precautionary. I didn’t get a good look at Nalen or Kuper.

The Linebackers – DJ Williams was destroying things today. He notched a sack, broke up a pass and blew up Mike Bell on the goal line. He’s really settling into his role well. He’s not very vocal, but he’s trying to lead by example. DD Lewis I feel is the leader of the guys vying for the sam position. All the linebackers are playing very well.

The Running Backs – Mike Bell had a nice practice filling in for Henry when he was taken out. During the goal line stuff Mike really showed he had a nose for the endzone. Andre Hall had some great plays again, but between the tackles was less effective. Cecil Sapp also made some good runs and some very nice catches. I feel very good about our backfield.


-Week Review-
Overall the first week was about progress and the defense coming together. They are being more physical this year than in years past. This accounts for more injuries, but I also think it is sending a message to the team that last year’s performance is not acceptable. The Defense is really settling down and starting to not think as much. The offense isn’t quite there yet.

On Monday morning they will have the new depth chart according to this week’s work and they will go over their whole playbook one more time before camp ends. I’m excited what this will bring, but I think after the next week we’ll be ready for preseason.

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