CoachO, Camp Report 8/20/14 + follow-ups

some follow-up

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CoachO

I plan on working on a final report, giving my general thoughts on where they are, and evaluate the roster kinda like I did at the midway point of camp. There have been a few players who really helped themselves over the final 2 weeks, and some who have slipped. It should be an interesting final two weeks of the Preseason.

I would say there are a couple of surprises. On both ends of the spectrum.

On the positive side, one of my biggest surprises is just how good Bradford has looked. The velocity on some of the throws is noticeably better. He is fitting throws into tight windows consistently. Obviously, the combination of Quick and Britt, and how well they have looked has been a big surprise.

On the other end, Givens has been a huge disappointment. I have never been a big fan, but he just looks disinterested, and almost defeated. He contributes next to nothing in practice, and other than a few days two weeks ago, he looks no where near the guy they drafted. The other, again, not a huge fan (obvious to anyone who has read anything I have posted before) but with all the hype and chatter about how Armstrong was poised to step in and “take reps from Dunbar”, he has been given every opportunity, and has not shown much at all. In fact, I now hear how “we need to be patient” “he is still earning a new position”, “he missed the last year of school” and “at least he still is a value because of his Special Teams play.”

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Austin looks like the 3rd or 4th option on many of the routes he runs. Most are crossing routes, or an occasional wheel route up the sideline. They tried to run the toss/reverse they ran vs. Chicago, and it was sniffed out by Westbrooks who stayed at home, and was waiting for him when he reversed fields.

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I have always paid close attention to the Special Teams, especially the 2nd units. They tend to be very fluid, based on who is not practicing, and who the coaches feel deserve an extra look. Fisher commented last week, that every position coach, breaks down the Special Team tapes, so they can see their position players and how they perform. So it’s not just Coach Fassel when it comes to input on these teams. They can be very telling as to the back end of the roster, and who is garnering a second look.

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[Jake]…Long looks fine. He always looks like he just understands how to play the position. No worries about him being ready.

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Quick didn’t look to be serious. He just got caught in an awkward position, extended and reaching for a high throw. Davis didnt hit him hard, just ill timed and caught him just right. For what’s worth, Quick did not look happy about it as practice wore on.

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Hayes was limited, and I had a conversation wiht someone who said they are just being very cautious with him. His hip is the biggest issue from the off season, and they want to ease him back.

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Robinson in one on one stuff dominates more than not. It’s still not as consistent as he needs to be in terms of assigments, and playing “fast”. I was somewhat surprised, that Saffold worked as much as he did at LG today, and that Robinson took most of his reps with the “2’s”.

What’s with Joseph getting 1st team reps over Robinson and GRob with the second unit? Joseph has been the one constant this entire training camp. He and Barksdale have been out there virtually every day since the begining of camp.

What direction they go in, is purely speculation, even on my part, and wont’ do us any good. There are a 100 different possible scenarios as to why they are doing what they are doing [playing GRob with the 2s in one practice]…. It’s one day, so I am not reading anything into it. But I did think it was something that needed to be mentioned in my camp report.What they do in the next 2 preseason game will give us a much better picture of their plans heading into Sept 7th.

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[LBs]…Phillip Steward has been a constant in getting 2nd unit reps from the outset of training camp. At this point, I would say he is definitely in their plans. He is showing up on Special Teams as well.

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I would be shocked if Washington makes this roster. He has missed a ton of training camp, and honestly, I didn’t like his chances before camp. I think they have added too much talent, who have made him vunerable. He stuck around last year because he was the “best” of an otherwise very weak group of depth guys. By adding the likes of Joseph, and even Bond to some extent, Brandon Washington’s day could be numbered.

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