Day 8: In-depth Offense Report
Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:54 am
Here it is, folks:
Monday was a bit of a catch up day for the offense, and they seemed to do just that in the passing game. Having faltered drastically passing the ball in the last few practices the Gator offense came out to play and threw the ball around the yard quite a bit on Monday. Here is a look at practice and what we liked and didn't like about the offense on Monday.
Practice really started with field goal tries and it could have been a better showing by the kicking game. Freshman kicker Caleb Sturgis struggled for the first time in the drill, while senior Jonathan Phillips was nailing the kicks he made. Chris Rainey and Dorian Munroe both came up with blocked kicks.
The lines went into the Half Line Blocking and Rushing Drill, where the offense seemed to dominate yet again. Here are some key things that we saw in the drill…
Senior Phil Trautwein was out working with the first group at LT and really it turned out to be about his only work for the day...Jason Watkins pancaked Lawrence Marsh...Freshman defensive end / offensive tackle Matt Patchan took on Carl Johnson which was a load for him and held his own pretty well...Maurkice Pouncey runs John Brown about eight yards out of one particular play.
The 15 yard Tackle Drill went something like this...
LB Dustin Doe gets RB Brandon James down...LB Brandon Spikes gets RB Kestahn Moore down...LB Brandon Hicks takes down Rainey...LB Lorenzo Edwards takes down RB Emmanuel Moody...LB Jerimy Finch and RB Mon Williams collide and Finch finally gets him out of bounds...Doe got RB Chris Rainey out of bounds right at the goal line...Saf Bryan Thomas gets WR Justin Williams...Spikes breaks down and nails Brandon James...Rainey gives Hicks the slip...Moody puts a move on Lorenzo Edwards...Edwards comes right back and gets Mon Williams...Kestahn Moore dragged out of bounds by Finch...Nice tackle by Spikes on Brandon James...Lorenzo Edwards knocks Mon Williams out of bounds...Kestahn Moore carries Dustin Doe over the goal line...Finch really takes it to Moody and knocks him at his knees out of bounds...Rainey makes Edwards whiff...Hicks gets Mon Williams and stops him cold in his tracks...Brandon James with an ankle breaking move on Dustin Doe who was a clump on the ground watching him run by...Spikes gets Kestahn Moore...Moody led Finch to one direction and then zinged right by him before he could change direction...Edwards gets Rainey...Mon gets by Dustin Doe…
All in all, it was the best performance by the defense in that drill that I have seen this spring.
9 on 7 (Running Drill with front 7)
This wasn’t much of a drill really as they were not tackling and no one was allowed on the ground. The quarterbacks seemed to keep a lot in the drill and that was the most significant run that was working against the defense. Again, you couldn’t tell very much.
7 on 7 (Passing skill players on offense and defense)
WR Carl Moore goes over the middle and felt the presence of Saf Jamar Hornsby and made a rare drop for the big receiver...QB Cam Newton placed a nice ball over safety John Curtis to Justin Williams...Brandon Spikes breaks up a medium length pass...WR Louis Murphy catches a corner route where he was wide open and QB John Brantley found him as a third receiver...WR David Nelson gets open on the right sideline but is slightly overthrown by Brantley...WR Justin Williams makes a nice catch on a short route that CB Janoris Jenkins was all over...CB Jeremy Brown keeps up with WR Riley Cooper on a Tebow bomb, and Brown breaks it up...Janoris Jenkins breaks up a pass to Justin Williams along the deep left sideline...Excellent coverage by Janoris Jenkins on Justin Williams and when they tangle up, Saf Ahmad Black is back there to intercept the Brantley pass...Brantley drills one into Carl Moore 16 yards down field, Moore had two defenders draping him but came up with the ball...David Nelson catches a delay route along the right side that could possibly have gone the distance...QB Tim Tebow hits TE Cornelius Ingram on a deep post pattern between Saf Major Wright and Jamar Hornsby right in the deep middle of the field...CB Jacques Rickerson broke up a 20 yard pass to David Nelson on the sideline, Hornsby was right there in coverage...Rainey catches a pass as a wide out from Tebow that went a long way...Justin Williams ruins a dig route in the middle of the field, Newton throws just behind him and Williams makes a nice adjustment to slow down and get the ball…
I thought the offense came out and had their best day throwing the ball. Tebow was especially sharp in the drill and made some very nice throws. Brantley certainly looked to multiple receivers and made some nice throws.
Team Drill (11 on 11)
Jim Barrie is the starting left tackle, James Wilson at left guard in this group and eventually moves to right guard for some reps...Tebow throw to TE Aaron Hernandez on a post route about 16 yards down field...DE Carlos Dunlap gets in the backfield really quick to make a tackle on Chris Rainey...Janoris Jenkins forces option run back inside where he had help to make a tackle for no gain...Tebow tries to hit one quick to Hernandez and Finch reaches up to break up the pass...Hornsby with a pass breakup on a pass intended for Carl Moore...Tebow with a nice seam (hash) pass to Ingram about 15 yards down field...Drag route by Hernandez who catches a pass from Tebow in perfect stride and breaks a tackle from LB Brandon Hicks for double digit yardage...Moody has a very stubborn hard run for about ten yards before Major Wright clobbered him...Defense gets a coverage sack on Newton…
Again the quarterbacks were sharper than they have been in a few practices. Brantley again checked to multiple receivers on a couple of plays.
Two Minute Drill...
CB Wondy Pierre-Louis hits Murphy as he is catching the ball and makes him drop it...Moses Jenkins breaks on a Tebow pass who almost tips it to Ahmad Black...Ingram misses a block on a catch by Murphy who still broke a tackle and headed up field for a bit more...Tebow hits a long sideline route to Ingram for about 25 yards but still in bounds...Option right went backwards with linebacker and defensive line pursuit...Tebow throws one up for grabs deep, falls incomplete…
The defense outplayed the offense in the series and didn’t allow them to score.
Quarterbacks
Tebow, Newton, Brantley
What I Liked: Tebow was sharp on the day both throwing and running the ball. In all the drills where he was supposed to run it, he seemed to make great decisions of when to keep the ball and when to hand it off...Brantley was noticeably following his progressions when receivers were covered and was hitting his third and fourth receivers at times, he seems ahead of the curve in my book...Newton makes some beautiful throws on the day. He seems to hit his aiming point most of the time.
What I Didn’t Like: Tebow got desperate a few times late in series and threw the ball up fr grabs when his guys were covered...Brantley still throws into coverage sometimes, but I do like his aggressiveness...Newton needs to know sometimes when and when not to take the heat off of his passes. He is also still hesitating more than the others to get rid of the ball.
Running Backs
Kestahn Moore, Brandon James, Chris Rainey, Mon Williams, Emmanuel Moody
What I Liked: In my opinion it was the most noticeable I have seen Moody make a couple of plays. It was nothing that was jaw dropping, but it was enough to let everyone know he has the potential to live up to the hype. We will have to see if he does it, based on the couple of moves he displayed...Rainey continues to impress as a wide out and looks like a bona fide replacement for Percy Harvin when he comes out of the game or moves on to the next level of football…
What I Didn’t Like: I didn’t see a lot out of Moore, Williams, or James today...The backs really didn’t do much as today was primarily a passing day.
Wide Receivers / Tight Ends
1st team: Louis Murphy, Cornelius Ingram, Aaron Hernandez, Deonte Thompson
2nd Team: Justin Williams, David Nelson, Carl Moore, Riley Cooper
What I Liked: There are a few injuries, but the wide receivers are all getting time with the first and second unit. I like that as it builds camaraderie and it also gets the younger and less experienced guys more reps...Ingram and Hernandez both had outstanding days today. Both tight ends were in the game at the same time and started that way and also both caught multiple down field passes in stride...David Nelson also turned in a solid performance after missing the scrimmage Saturday...Carl Moore continues to make difficult catches in practice every day...Justin Williams is getting a few catches every day in the big drills.
What I Didn’t Like: It seems as if Deonte Thompson has disappeared although he is getting reps with the offense...Riley Cooper didn’t do much, but had a couple of catches...Carl Moore dropped one when he knew he was going to get nailed, that is a rare sight, so I needed to point it out...He also needs to work on his blocking and should be a good one with his size and strength.
Offensive Line
LT Trautwein, LG Jim Barrie, C Maurkice Pouncey, RG Mike Pouncey, RT Jason Watkins
LT Carl Johnson, LG James Wilson, C Corey Hobbs, RG James Wilson, Rt Marcus Gilbert
What I Liked: They are building flexibility on the line and some line changes really didn’t seem to effect the action too much. Trautwein didn’t practice much after the half line drill, so Carl Johnson got reps at left tackle for a while. Then Johnson had to leave and Jim Barrie got his first work at tackle this spring. All of them looked pretty good there. Barrie played guard and tackle on the left side. James Wilson saw action at right and left guard. Corey Hobbs saw action at center and left guard. The best thing was there was no time when it was absolutely noticeable that the parts were interchanged...James Wilson again looked like a hoss as he prepares to get into better playing shape...Jim Barrie may be the big surprise here and may be a guy that can depth this year as opposed to down the road.
What I Didn’t Like: It’s a pain in the butt to follow all those moves on the offensive line, so boo to you OL coaches for making me do that...Hobbs had a couple of horrific snaps...Didn’t see Tartt at all today.
Odds and Ends...
Quotables:
Offensive Line Coach Steve Addazio was all over Corey Hobbs for hiking a moon ball to Cam newton, who happens to be the Gators tallest quarterback. Addazio was quite vocal in his displeasure and yelled a few times, “It was way over his head and he is 6 feel-eleven!!”
Assistant Defensive Coordinator Chuck Heater was yelling at wide receiver Louis Murphy late in practice when Murphy kind of ducked out of a throw when there were two of heater’s safeties about to beat down on him. Heater let him have it several times with “Don’t go in there Murphy, don’t do it!!”
Player of the Day on Offense: Tim Tebow was as sharp as I have seen him in eight practices. Except for the couple of throws at the end of the two minute drill, he directed the offense very nicely all day.
Runner Up: James Wilson. Franz told you Saturday that it was believed that James Wilson would be staying now with the Gators and the rumors seemed to have come out Monday that it was indeed a fact. We should have more on that later, and when we can.
Monday was a bit of a catch up day for the offense, and they seemed to do just that in the passing game. Having faltered drastically passing the ball in the last few practices the Gator offense came out to play and threw the ball around the yard quite a bit on Monday. Here is a look at practice and what we liked and didn't like about the offense on Monday.
Practice really started with field goal tries and it could have been a better showing by the kicking game. Freshman kicker Caleb Sturgis struggled for the first time in the drill, while senior Jonathan Phillips was nailing the kicks he made. Chris Rainey and Dorian Munroe both came up with blocked kicks.
The lines went into the Half Line Blocking and Rushing Drill, where the offense seemed to dominate yet again. Here are some key things that we saw in the drill…
Senior Phil Trautwein was out working with the first group at LT and really it turned out to be about his only work for the day...Jason Watkins pancaked Lawrence Marsh...Freshman defensive end / offensive tackle Matt Patchan took on Carl Johnson which was a load for him and held his own pretty well...Maurkice Pouncey runs John Brown about eight yards out of one particular play.
The 15 yard Tackle Drill went something like this...
LB Dustin Doe gets RB Brandon James down...LB Brandon Spikes gets RB Kestahn Moore down...LB Brandon Hicks takes down Rainey...LB Lorenzo Edwards takes down RB Emmanuel Moody...LB Jerimy Finch and RB Mon Williams collide and Finch finally gets him out of bounds...Doe got RB Chris Rainey out of bounds right at the goal line...Saf Bryan Thomas gets WR Justin Williams...Spikes breaks down and nails Brandon James...Rainey gives Hicks the slip...Moody puts a move on Lorenzo Edwards...Edwards comes right back and gets Mon Williams...Kestahn Moore dragged out of bounds by Finch...Nice tackle by Spikes on Brandon James...Lorenzo Edwards knocks Mon Williams out of bounds...Kestahn Moore carries Dustin Doe over the goal line...Finch really takes it to Moody and knocks him at his knees out of bounds...Rainey makes Edwards whiff...Hicks gets Mon Williams and stops him cold in his tracks...Brandon James with an ankle breaking move on Dustin Doe who was a clump on the ground watching him run by...Spikes gets Kestahn Moore...Moody led Finch to one direction and then zinged right by him before he could change direction...Edwards gets Rainey...Mon gets by Dustin Doe…
All in all, it was the best performance by the defense in that drill that I have seen this spring.
9 on 7 (Running Drill with front 7)
This wasn’t much of a drill really as they were not tackling and no one was allowed on the ground. The quarterbacks seemed to keep a lot in the drill and that was the most significant run that was working against the defense. Again, you couldn’t tell very much.
7 on 7 (Passing skill players on offense and defense)
WR Carl Moore goes over the middle and felt the presence of Saf Jamar Hornsby and made a rare drop for the big receiver...QB Cam Newton placed a nice ball over safety John Curtis to Justin Williams...Brandon Spikes breaks up a medium length pass...WR Louis Murphy catches a corner route where he was wide open and QB John Brantley found him as a third receiver...WR David Nelson gets open on the right sideline but is slightly overthrown by Brantley...WR Justin Williams makes a nice catch on a short route that CB Janoris Jenkins was all over...CB Jeremy Brown keeps up with WR Riley Cooper on a Tebow bomb, and Brown breaks it up...Janoris Jenkins breaks up a pass to Justin Williams along the deep left sideline...Excellent coverage by Janoris Jenkins on Justin Williams and when they tangle up, Saf Ahmad Black is back there to intercept the Brantley pass...Brantley drills one into Carl Moore 16 yards down field, Moore had two defenders draping him but came up with the ball...David Nelson catches a delay route along the right side that could possibly have gone the distance...QB Tim Tebow hits TE Cornelius Ingram on a deep post pattern between Saf Major Wright and Jamar Hornsby right in the deep middle of the field...CB Jacques Rickerson broke up a 20 yard pass to David Nelson on the sideline, Hornsby was right there in coverage...Rainey catches a pass as a wide out from Tebow that went a long way...Justin Williams ruins a dig route in the middle of the field, Newton throws just behind him and Williams makes a nice adjustment to slow down and get the ball…
I thought the offense came out and had their best day throwing the ball. Tebow was especially sharp in the drill and made some very nice throws. Brantley certainly looked to multiple receivers and made some nice throws.
Team Drill (11 on 11)
Jim Barrie is the starting left tackle, James Wilson at left guard in this group and eventually moves to right guard for some reps...Tebow throw to TE Aaron Hernandez on a post route about 16 yards down field...DE Carlos Dunlap gets in the backfield really quick to make a tackle on Chris Rainey...Janoris Jenkins forces option run back inside where he had help to make a tackle for no gain...Tebow tries to hit one quick to Hernandez and Finch reaches up to break up the pass...Hornsby with a pass breakup on a pass intended for Carl Moore...Tebow with a nice seam (hash) pass to Ingram about 15 yards down field...Drag route by Hernandez who catches a pass from Tebow in perfect stride and breaks a tackle from LB Brandon Hicks for double digit yardage...Moody has a very stubborn hard run for about ten yards before Major Wright clobbered him...Defense gets a coverage sack on Newton…
Again the quarterbacks were sharper than they have been in a few practices. Brantley again checked to multiple receivers on a couple of plays.
Two Minute Drill...
CB Wondy Pierre-Louis hits Murphy as he is catching the ball and makes him drop it...Moses Jenkins breaks on a Tebow pass who almost tips it to Ahmad Black...Ingram misses a block on a catch by Murphy who still broke a tackle and headed up field for a bit more...Tebow hits a long sideline route to Ingram for about 25 yards but still in bounds...Option right went backwards with linebacker and defensive line pursuit...Tebow throws one up for grabs deep, falls incomplete…
The defense outplayed the offense in the series and didn’t allow them to score.
Quarterbacks
Tebow, Newton, Brantley
What I Liked: Tebow was sharp on the day both throwing and running the ball. In all the drills where he was supposed to run it, he seemed to make great decisions of when to keep the ball and when to hand it off...Brantley was noticeably following his progressions when receivers were covered and was hitting his third and fourth receivers at times, he seems ahead of the curve in my book...Newton makes some beautiful throws on the day. He seems to hit his aiming point most of the time.
What I Didn’t Like: Tebow got desperate a few times late in series and threw the ball up fr grabs when his guys were covered...Brantley still throws into coverage sometimes, but I do like his aggressiveness...Newton needs to know sometimes when and when not to take the heat off of his passes. He is also still hesitating more than the others to get rid of the ball.
Running Backs
Kestahn Moore, Brandon James, Chris Rainey, Mon Williams, Emmanuel Moody
What I Liked: In my opinion it was the most noticeable I have seen Moody make a couple of plays. It was nothing that was jaw dropping, but it was enough to let everyone know he has the potential to live up to the hype. We will have to see if he does it, based on the couple of moves he displayed...Rainey continues to impress as a wide out and looks like a bona fide replacement for Percy Harvin when he comes out of the game or moves on to the next level of football…
What I Didn’t Like: I didn’t see a lot out of Moore, Williams, or James today...The backs really didn’t do much as today was primarily a passing day.
Wide Receivers / Tight Ends
1st team: Louis Murphy, Cornelius Ingram, Aaron Hernandez, Deonte Thompson
2nd Team: Justin Williams, David Nelson, Carl Moore, Riley Cooper
What I Liked: There are a few injuries, but the wide receivers are all getting time with the first and second unit. I like that as it builds camaraderie and it also gets the younger and less experienced guys more reps...Ingram and Hernandez both had outstanding days today. Both tight ends were in the game at the same time and started that way and also both caught multiple down field passes in stride...David Nelson also turned in a solid performance after missing the scrimmage Saturday...Carl Moore continues to make difficult catches in practice every day...Justin Williams is getting a few catches every day in the big drills.
What I Didn’t Like: It seems as if Deonte Thompson has disappeared although he is getting reps with the offense...Riley Cooper didn’t do much, but had a couple of catches...Carl Moore dropped one when he knew he was going to get nailed, that is a rare sight, so I needed to point it out...He also needs to work on his blocking and should be a good one with his size and strength.
Offensive Line
LT Trautwein, LG Jim Barrie, C Maurkice Pouncey, RG Mike Pouncey, RT Jason Watkins
LT Carl Johnson, LG James Wilson, C Corey Hobbs, RG James Wilson, Rt Marcus Gilbert
What I Liked: They are building flexibility on the line and some line changes really didn’t seem to effect the action too much. Trautwein didn’t practice much after the half line drill, so Carl Johnson got reps at left tackle for a while. Then Johnson had to leave and Jim Barrie got his first work at tackle this spring. All of them looked pretty good there. Barrie played guard and tackle on the left side. James Wilson saw action at right and left guard. Corey Hobbs saw action at center and left guard. The best thing was there was no time when it was absolutely noticeable that the parts were interchanged...James Wilson again looked like a hoss as he prepares to get into better playing shape...Jim Barrie may be the big surprise here and may be a guy that can depth this year as opposed to down the road.
What I Didn’t Like: It’s a pain in the butt to follow all those moves on the offensive line, so boo to you OL coaches for making me do that...Hobbs had a couple of horrific snaps...Didn’t see Tartt at all today.
Odds and Ends...
Quotables:
Offensive Line Coach Steve Addazio was all over Corey Hobbs for hiking a moon ball to Cam newton, who happens to be the Gators tallest quarterback. Addazio was quite vocal in his displeasure and yelled a few times, “It was way over his head and he is 6 feel-eleven!!”
Assistant Defensive Coordinator Chuck Heater was yelling at wide receiver Louis Murphy late in practice when Murphy kind of ducked out of a throw when there were two of heater’s safeties about to beat down on him. Heater let him have it several times with “Don’t go in there Murphy, don’t do it!!”
Player of the Day on Offense: Tim Tebow was as sharp as I have seen him in eight practices. Except for the couple of throws at the end of the two minute drill, he directed the offense very nicely all day.
Runner Up: James Wilson. Franz told you Saturday that it was believed that James Wilson would be staying now with the Gators and the rumors seemed to have come out Monday that it was indeed a fact. We should have more on that later, and when we can.