Before you all roast me by saying that these don't mean a Damn thing on Saturdays a month from now, le me say that I know, and you are right. But it's still fun to read the GBI reports from years 1 2 and 3 and compare them.
What's different:
1) O-line. In year 1, the line was terrible leading to all kinds of mayhem in the passing game.. In year 2, they still struggled to contain pressure and protect the QBs Their poor performances in those early practices were very prominent in the GBI analyses; and we all know our pass rush didn't exactly light the world on fire. This year all I can tell is that the linemen are bigger, stronger, and in better shape. I haven't read them having trouble with pass rush in 11-on-11 as in years prior. Now, the question is: is the line significantly better or is our defensive pass rush significantly worse? Or both?
2) Passing game is much much improved. In years 1 and 2, QB play sounded very suspect from the get-go, with interceptions and overthrows a staple of GBI analyses. However, this year, they are very crisp and accurate right off the bat. All of them are slinging it pretty well and are really pushing the ball up field, according to GBI without egregious overthrows or bad interceptions. It's probably a product of better line-play, as we have not heard of too much disruption from the pass rush, and much better receiver play from an improved veteran receiver corps wholly intact and not ravaged by injuries. This is very very encouraging to me, unless of course, our secondary is really bad, which is unlikely.
3) Linebacker 2-deeps. In years 1 and 2, it seemed like the linebackers played musical chairs with the depth chart. Bentley started playing with the fourth team defenses and Herman was switching around as well. Ezechukwu was on the third team. You all know how those three turned out. This year, starters are set and a battle ongoing for backups.
4) Conditioning is way better. In Year 1, it was noted how players were kind of out of shape coming into camp. In year two, players were walking between stations and sounded like they were dragging a fair bit. This year, it sounds like the whole team is actually in much much better shape, resulting in a much smoother and crisper start to camp. Hopefully this will turn into better quality practices and the team really learns to execute at a high level because they aren't as winded all the time.
5) Coaching. In year 1, it seemed like there was a lot of teaching and hand holding, probably because they were still installing the playbook. In year 2, there was A LOT of yelling it seems and a bit of punishment running, like the team had to be constantly told what to do, where to go, and how to do it. This year, it seems like the veterans knew exactly what the coaches want them to do. A lot les yelling and much more coaching. The veterans have also been coaching and teaching freshmen, which is a great sign in my opinion. Again, I hope this turns into more quality practice time and really improving execution on gameday.
What's different:
1) O-line. In year 1, the line was terrible leading to all kinds of mayhem in the passing game.. In year 2, they still struggled to contain pressure and protect the QBs Their poor performances in those early practices were very prominent in the GBI analyses; and we all know our pass rush didn't exactly light the world on fire. This year all I can tell is that the linemen are bigger, stronger, and in better shape. I haven't read them having trouble with pass rush in 11-on-11 as in years prior. Now, the question is: is the line significantly better or is our defensive pass rush significantly worse? Or both?
2) Passing game is much much improved. In years 1 and 2, QB play sounded very suspect from the get-go, with interceptions and overthrows a staple of GBI analyses. However, this year, they are very crisp and accurate right off the bat. All of them are slinging it pretty well and are really pushing the ball up field, according to GBI without egregious overthrows or bad interceptions. It's probably a product of better line-play, as we have not heard of too much disruption from the pass rush, and much better receiver play from an improved veteran receiver corps wholly intact and not ravaged by injuries. This is very very encouraging to me, unless of course, our secondary is really bad, which is unlikely.
3) Linebacker 2-deeps. In years 1 and 2, it seemed like the linebackers played musical chairs with the depth chart. Bentley started playing with the fourth team defenses and Herman was switching around as well. Ezechukwu was on the third team. You all know how those three turned out. This year, starters are set and a battle ongoing for backups.
4) Conditioning is way better. In Year 1, it was noted how players were kind of out of shape coming into camp. In year two, players were walking between stations and sounded like they were dragging a fair bit. This year, it sounds like the whole team is actually in much much better shape, resulting in a much smoother and crisper start to camp. Hopefully this will turn into better quality practices and the team really learns to execute at a high level because they aren't as winded all the time.
5) Coaching. In year 1, it seemed like there was a lot of teaching and hand holding, probably because they were still installing the playbook. In year 2, there was A LOT of yelling it seems and a bit of punishment running, like the team had to be constantly told what to do, where to go, and how to do it. This year, it seems like the veterans knew exactly what the coaches want them to do. A lot les yelling and much more coaching. The veterans have also been coaching and teaching freshmen, which is a great sign in my opinion. Again, I hope this turns into more quality practice time and really improving execution on gameday.
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