Day 4: In-depth Offense Practice Report
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:39 am
The Florida Gators donned full pads for day four of 2008 Spring Football Practice. Although it wasn't full speed contact, there was some hitting and the offense and defense had their moments. We'll take a look at each position on the offensive side of the ball to see who stood out and who didn't on day four.
In a nutshell, Monday’s practice was won by the offense in the running game and the defense in the passing game. It seems that the offensive line dictates what happens with the run, while the secondary and linebacker play has come on very strong to make noise in the passing defense causing more turnovers than the offense would like to see.
Here is my take on how the offensive personnel looked on Monday.
Quarterbacks
Rotation Order: Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, John Brantley’s
What I Liked: The hot receivers today seemed to be Justin Williams and David Nelson and the quarterbacks found them regularly. Honestly, it wasn’t a great performance by the quarterbacks today.
What I Didn’t Like: There were four interceptions today in the seven on seven and team drills combined. Tebow threw two, one to Rickerson in the seven on seven, and the other on the last play of a drive in the two-minute offense at the end of practice. They were not sharp throws and he looked lackluster making them. Both Brantley and Newton also threw interceptions and no one was particularly crisp going deep.
Running Backs
Rotation Order: Kestahn Moore, Brandon James, Mon Williams, Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody
What I Liked: Nine on Seven drill and Rainey and James were the stars. The drill pits the front seven of the defense vs. the running game portion of the offense. Both James and Rainey looked like magicians at times running in the middle of the drill and coming out the back end untouched. I also liked that I don’t recall a fumble other than a bad pitch by the running backs all day.
What I Didn’t Like: Moody was the last one to go every time and he did not stand out at all. Moore didn’t either for the most part, while Williams had one nice run over the right side. The big backs on the roster didn’t have a great day today.
Fullback
Steven Wilks
What I Liked: Wilks continues to impress onlookers as he plows through linebackers and safeties and makes holes for the backs in short yardage plays. He really does an excellent job of keying on his man and taking them out of the play entirely.
What I Didn’t Like: Throw him the ball. I think for the position to be ultra effective, he has to show that he can be a weapon with the ball in his hands. I am anxious to see exactly what he can do.
Wide receivers / Tight Ends
1st Team: Deonte Thompson, Cornelius Ingram, David Nelson, Riley Cooper
2nd Team: Justin Williams, Carl Moore, Cade Holliday, Aaron Hernandez, Tate Casey
What I Liked: David Nelson looked solid stepping in Percy Harvin’s vacant spot. He doesn’t have Harvin’s ability after the catch, but he provides a big target, especially in the medium to long range areas of the field. Justin Williams made several nice catches and showed tremendous speed today. He was the star of the day in my opinion and I would also slate him for more reps and pushing these starters based on his work all week. He is a weapon and has the speed, strength, and overall ball skills to make a dent in the depth chart. Deonte Thompson looked as smooth as ever, but didn’t have a big day like he has had so far this spring. Cade Holliday continues to make a great play or two every practice and he did so again on Monday.
What I Didn’t Like: With Nelson being a big target, he has the propensity to make a lot of sliding catches. One of these times a trailing safety is going to be faster than he expects and when nelson slides, he is going to race ahead of him and catch it. Nelson needs to come back to the ball if it is slightly under thrown, make sure the defender doesn’t have a chance. Carl Moore made a couple of catches, but seems to be slowly disappearing. He should be standing out with guys like Harvin and Murphy out of the way.
Offensive Line:
1st: LT Carl Johnson, LG Jim Tartt, C Maurkice Pouncey, RG Mike Pouncey, RT Jason Watkins
2nd: LT Carl Johnson, LG Jim Barrie, C Corey Hobbs, RG James Wilson, RT Marcus Gilbert
What I Liked: Wilson practicing with the second unit was a welcome surprise. The offensive line continues to really control the line of scrimmage. They may have had their best day overall on Monday, even though it wasn’t a real heavy contact day. The defensive line rarely has made a dent on the offensive line. Time after time, the front of the line of scrimmage wall moves the defense two yards or so, before the backs get touched. Only some fast hard hitting linebackers are there to get the backs after that.
What I Didn’t Like: The bad snaps improved on Monday, but there were still quite a few. There were the same issues last year and they were corrected by fall so that there were only two-three bad snaps all of last season. It is nothing to worry about. It is hard to tell in some of the drills but it looks like there may be a couple of issues with blitz coverages on pass plays. We will have to watch that when they get back to scrimmaging.
Player of the Day on Offense:
Justin Williams...Williams has made a great impression on me so far this spring. I think he is the top backup behind the starters right now. He make the difficult catch in traffic, he fights for the ball, and he also has the speed to run the deep routes and beat the defensive backs. He has become a very versatile weapon for the quarterbacks.
Runner Up: James Wilson...He isn’t in shape yet, but it was good to see the big guy out there working side by side with the other linemen. You could tell in the video interview he really enjoyed getting out there and competing.
In a nutshell, Monday’s practice was won by the offense in the running game and the defense in the passing game. It seems that the offensive line dictates what happens with the run, while the secondary and linebacker play has come on very strong to make noise in the passing defense causing more turnovers than the offense would like to see.
Here is my take on how the offensive personnel looked on Monday.
Quarterbacks
Rotation Order: Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, John Brantley’s
What I Liked: The hot receivers today seemed to be Justin Williams and David Nelson and the quarterbacks found them regularly. Honestly, it wasn’t a great performance by the quarterbacks today.
What I Didn’t Like: There were four interceptions today in the seven on seven and team drills combined. Tebow threw two, one to Rickerson in the seven on seven, and the other on the last play of a drive in the two-minute offense at the end of practice. They were not sharp throws and he looked lackluster making them. Both Brantley and Newton also threw interceptions and no one was particularly crisp going deep.
Running Backs
Rotation Order: Kestahn Moore, Brandon James, Mon Williams, Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody
What I Liked: Nine on Seven drill and Rainey and James were the stars. The drill pits the front seven of the defense vs. the running game portion of the offense. Both James and Rainey looked like magicians at times running in the middle of the drill and coming out the back end untouched. I also liked that I don’t recall a fumble other than a bad pitch by the running backs all day.
What I Didn’t Like: Moody was the last one to go every time and he did not stand out at all. Moore didn’t either for the most part, while Williams had one nice run over the right side. The big backs on the roster didn’t have a great day today.
Fullback
Steven Wilks
What I Liked: Wilks continues to impress onlookers as he plows through linebackers and safeties and makes holes for the backs in short yardage plays. He really does an excellent job of keying on his man and taking them out of the play entirely.
What I Didn’t Like: Throw him the ball. I think for the position to be ultra effective, he has to show that he can be a weapon with the ball in his hands. I am anxious to see exactly what he can do.
Wide receivers / Tight Ends
1st Team: Deonte Thompson, Cornelius Ingram, David Nelson, Riley Cooper
2nd Team: Justin Williams, Carl Moore, Cade Holliday, Aaron Hernandez, Tate Casey
What I Liked: David Nelson looked solid stepping in Percy Harvin’s vacant spot. He doesn’t have Harvin’s ability after the catch, but he provides a big target, especially in the medium to long range areas of the field. Justin Williams made several nice catches and showed tremendous speed today. He was the star of the day in my opinion and I would also slate him for more reps and pushing these starters based on his work all week. He is a weapon and has the speed, strength, and overall ball skills to make a dent in the depth chart. Deonte Thompson looked as smooth as ever, but didn’t have a big day like he has had so far this spring. Cade Holliday continues to make a great play or two every practice and he did so again on Monday.
What I Didn’t Like: With Nelson being a big target, he has the propensity to make a lot of sliding catches. One of these times a trailing safety is going to be faster than he expects and when nelson slides, he is going to race ahead of him and catch it. Nelson needs to come back to the ball if it is slightly under thrown, make sure the defender doesn’t have a chance. Carl Moore made a couple of catches, but seems to be slowly disappearing. He should be standing out with guys like Harvin and Murphy out of the way.
Offensive Line:
1st: LT Carl Johnson, LG Jim Tartt, C Maurkice Pouncey, RG Mike Pouncey, RT Jason Watkins
2nd: LT Carl Johnson, LG Jim Barrie, C Corey Hobbs, RG James Wilson, RT Marcus Gilbert
What I Liked: Wilson practicing with the second unit was a welcome surprise. The offensive line continues to really control the line of scrimmage. They may have had their best day overall on Monday, even though it wasn’t a real heavy contact day. The defensive line rarely has made a dent on the offensive line. Time after time, the front of the line of scrimmage wall moves the defense two yards or so, before the backs get touched. Only some fast hard hitting linebackers are there to get the backs after that.
What I Didn’t Like: The bad snaps improved on Monday, but there were still quite a few. There were the same issues last year and they were corrected by fall so that there were only two-three bad snaps all of last season. It is nothing to worry about. It is hard to tell in some of the drills but it looks like there may be a couple of issues with blitz coverages on pass plays. We will have to watch that when they get back to scrimmaging.
Player of the Day on Offense:
Justin Williams...Williams has made a great impression on me so far this spring. I think he is the top backup behind the starters right now. He make the difficult catch in traffic, he fights for the ball, and he also has the speed to run the deep routes and beat the defensive backs. He has become a very versatile weapon for the quarterbacks.
Runner Up: James Wilson...He isn’t in shape yet, but it was good to see the big guy out there working side by side with the other linemen. You could tell in the video interview he really enjoyed getting out there and competing.