In the "what to look for" threat I warned you guys, don't expect a lot of offense. However I have to admit - there was a lot more offense today than I actually expected. It didn't equate into many points though as two promising drives stalled in the red zone... but honestly it was better than what I'd seen in the two practices this week, where the defense owned the offense all day.
Here's my thoughts;
1. Brady Gustafson remains the clear-cut #1 at the point. He lead a few good drives, found the open WRs and got the Griz into the red zone twice from mid field. He found Hendu and Jones to convert a few 3rd downs and had no turnovers. He's still hesitant to stretch the field and opts to the quick check-down more often but he's coming along.
2. The usual WRs made their presence felt, Hendu, Jones, Burke, and Janssen all in on plays. Hendu took a hard hit over the middle and hopped back up, Jones as well - he was the favorite target for 3rd down conversions, think he converted 2 or 3. Naccarato worked his way in with a few catches as well. The guy that made a splash today was Caleb Lyons. He had the most catches by far, maybe 9 or 10 total? Most all were quick screens and a few he took a 1 or 2 yard pass and converted it into a first down. Very slippery runner, made a lot of guys miss.
3. The first string OL of Thiebes - Kelly - Weyer - Dietrich - Reese (with Schmaing out) was serviceable. The left side of Thiebes and Kelly and then a few looks of Thiebes and Luke was the weaker side, IMO. The pressure came from that side more often. When Luke came in he didn't look as solid as he does at center, had some issues that lead to sacks (maybe not his fault but the pressure came from that side). The 2nd string OL was good on the interior but the tackles had issues big time. The patchwork 3rd string OL was... not very good. You had a mix and match with that OL.
4. The defense was pretty darn good today. They forced a few fumbles but I don't think recovered any. They picked off Prater twice. One wasn't really Prater's fault per se - he was hit by Holmes in the back on a whiff by the tackle that was supposed to block him, he put his hands on Prater that affected the throw and Kose picked it. In a live game Holmes sacks and probably forces a fumble. The other pick by Prater was an under throw - I don't think he saw Van Ackeren in the shallow zone coverage. That one he had pressure in his face as well.
5. Tyrone Holmes showed that he is going to be one of the premier pass-rushing D-ends in the FCS. He is lighting fast out of his stance and quick to the QB. He was a handful for any guy blocking him. Beyond him Tucker Schye impressed me as a D-end. He had a sack and batted a few passes.
6. While the defense scored the only TD of the day the offense was two slightly over-thrown passes away from cashing in twice. Both times by Simis. The first was at the 50 and Simis had Hendu 1 on 1 with McKinley. Henderson sprinted right beyond his cover and was open, the ball hit his fingertips but that was it. Would've been a wide open TD. The other was a similar play, this time with Jamaal Jones. The corner on that side (Parker I think) and the safety (Dalaserra) had a mis-communication and left Jones wide open up the sideline. Simis once again just too far beyond Jones's hands.
7. If we were worried about the loss of Takai, Rehm, and Wags in the running game an early defensive stand gave me good hope for our new look D-line. Gus got the offense to the 3 yard line through the air but with 1st and goal Stitt called 3 run plays - all to Logwood. Two were zone-read type of plays that were up the middle, for no gain. The 3rd was a bit of a reverse-field delay but that went for a loss. Kidder, Peevey, and Holmes all in on them. The linebackers cleaned it up.
8. Austin Chadderon, a converted fullback had a nice little stint at DE. He had a sack and recovered a fumble on a bad exchange between the QB and the RB.
Breaking down the QB play as I saw it:
Gustafson - Had the most success moving the ball. Had the benefit of the 1st string the whole way while the others had to mix and match 1s and 2s. A few good deep throws. Did have two poor passes on goal-to-go downs that lead to incomplete passes.
Simis - Improving over where he started, quick feet as always. Those two over-throws will haunt him. Connect on those and he's the one getting the love post-scrimmage. Doesn't appear to be seeing the field as well as Gus right now but is improving.
Chalich - Lost a fumble on a zone read but did have two drives that consisted of hurry up and quicker passes that moved about 35 and another about 50 yards. Much like Simis he showed improvement.
Prater - Rough day, not sure you can put it all on his shoulders but 2 picks. He got 5 or 6 series in a row late in the scrum and couldn't do much. He was at points with the #3 Oline against the #1 and #2 defense. Was staring down his targets a lot.
Pflug - Got a few reps, did convert a few downs but was pressured a bunch. I tweeted this but one thing I noticed about Pflug that he did a lot better than other QBs was looking off the coverage. Many of the other QBs would lock in quick on their targets. Pflug kept the coverage more honest and would scan the field around or snap his head one way and then back to his intended target. Impressive for a true frosh.
Our other 2 QBs didn't have reps.
I was impressed by our secondary. I think they're really enjoying the newer approach with their coaches. A lot more pressing and they're hitting real hard. #8 (Rassmussen I believe) put a hard hit on a few guys that got some ooohs and awwws.
Obviously it'll be hashed out on here but the progress of the offense and protection by the O-line stand out as the big concerns. This offense has had 6 practices with Stitt and are just getting into what's planned. I didn't expect much from them and honestly saw good signs and more yards than I thought I would. The defense is on year 4 with the same DC... they know what's expected of them and that helps big time.
We had some young guys make a few great plays as the scrum went on as well, a glimpse into the future of Griz football. Josh Buss, Austin Chadderon, Riley Kack (now at LB), and Alex Thomas had their names called a bit. On offense Tristan Clark had a few good catches, Reese Carlson had a nice grab in traffic, and Carl Johnson had a few decent runs.
Overall... offense exceeded my expectations by a bit and the defense came to play. The next scrimmage is Thursday night (next week) at 6pm - I expect to hopefully see more progression with the offense and better protection from the O-line.
Oh and with it being "junior day" there were a TON of juniors there, more than I'd ever seen at one before.
GO GRIZ!
Here's my thoughts;
1. Brady Gustafson remains the clear-cut #1 at the point. He lead a few good drives, found the open WRs and got the Griz into the red zone twice from mid field. He found Hendu and Jones to convert a few 3rd downs and had no turnovers. He's still hesitant to stretch the field and opts to the quick check-down more often but he's coming along.
2. The usual WRs made their presence felt, Hendu, Jones, Burke, and Janssen all in on plays. Hendu took a hard hit over the middle and hopped back up, Jones as well - he was the favorite target for 3rd down conversions, think he converted 2 or 3. Naccarato worked his way in with a few catches as well. The guy that made a splash today was Caleb Lyons. He had the most catches by far, maybe 9 or 10 total? Most all were quick screens and a few he took a 1 or 2 yard pass and converted it into a first down. Very slippery runner, made a lot of guys miss.
3. The first string OL of Thiebes - Kelly - Weyer - Dietrich - Reese (with Schmaing out) was serviceable. The left side of Thiebes and Kelly and then a few looks of Thiebes and Luke was the weaker side, IMO. The pressure came from that side more often. When Luke came in he didn't look as solid as he does at center, had some issues that lead to sacks (maybe not his fault but the pressure came from that side). The 2nd string OL was good on the interior but the tackles had issues big time. The patchwork 3rd string OL was... not very good. You had a mix and match with that OL.
4. The defense was pretty darn good today. They forced a few fumbles but I don't think recovered any. They picked off Prater twice. One wasn't really Prater's fault per se - he was hit by Holmes in the back on a whiff by the tackle that was supposed to block him, he put his hands on Prater that affected the throw and Kose picked it. In a live game Holmes sacks and probably forces a fumble. The other pick by Prater was an under throw - I don't think he saw Van Ackeren in the shallow zone coverage. That one he had pressure in his face as well.
5. Tyrone Holmes showed that he is going to be one of the premier pass-rushing D-ends in the FCS. He is lighting fast out of his stance and quick to the QB. He was a handful for any guy blocking him. Beyond him Tucker Schye impressed me as a D-end. He had a sack and batted a few passes.
6. While the defense scored the only TD of the day the offense was two slightly over-thrown passes away from cashing in twice. Both times by Simis. The first was at the 50 and Simis had Hendu 1 on 1 with McKinley. Henderson sprinted right beyond his cover and was open, the ball hit his fingertips but that was it. Would've been a wide open TD. The other was a similar play, this time with Jamaal Jones. The corner on that side (Parker I think) and the safety (Dalaserra) had a mis-communication and left Jones wide open up the sideline. Simis once again just too far beyond Jones's hands.
7. If we were worried about the loss of Takai, Rehm, and Wags in the running game an early defensive stand gave me good hope for our new look D-line. Gus got the offense to the 3 yard line through the air but with 1st and goal Stitt called 3 run plays - all to Logwood. Two were zone-read type of plays that were up the middle, for no gain. The 3rd was a bit of a reverse-field delay but that went for a loss. Kidder, Peevey, and Holmes all in on them. The linebackers cleaned it up.
8. Austin Chadderon, a converted fullback had a nice little stint at DE. He had a sack and recovered a fumble on a bad exchange between the QB and the RB.
Breaking down the QB play as I saw it:
Gustafson - Had the most success moving the ball. Had the benefit of the 1st string the whole way while the others had to mix and match 1s and 2s. A few good deep throws. Did have two poor passes on goal-to-go downs that lead to incomplete passes.
Simis - Improving over where he started, quick feet as always. Those two over-throws will haunt him. Connect on those and he's the one getting the love post-scrimmage. Doesn't appear to be seeing the field as well as Gus right now but is improving.
Chalich - Lost a fumble on a zone read but did have two drives that consisted of hurry up and quicker passes that moved about 35 and another about 50 yards. Much like Simis he showed improvement.
Prater - Rough day, not sure you can put it all on his shoulders but 2 picks. He got 5 or 6 series in a row late in the scrum and couldn't do much. He was at points with the #3 Oline against the #1 and #2 defense. Was staring down his targets a lot.
Pflug - Got a few reps, did convert a few downs but was pressured a bunch. I tweeted this but one thing I noticed about Pflug that he did a lot better than other QBs was looking off the coverage. Many of the other QBs would lock in quick on their targets. Pflug kept the coverage more honest and would scan the field around or snap his head one way and then back to his intended target. Impressive for a true frosh.
Our other 2 QBs didn't have reps.
I was impressed by our secondary. I think they're really enjoying the newer approach with their coaches. A lot more pressing and they're hitting real hard. #8 (Rassmussen I believe) put a hard hit on a few guys that got some ooohs and awwws.
Obviously it'll be hashed out on here but the progress of the offense and protection by the O-line stand out as the big concerns. This offense has had 6 practices with Stitt and are just getting into what's planned. I didn't expect much from them and honestly saw good signs and more yards than I thought I would. The defense is on year 4 with the same DC... they know what's expected of them and that helps big time.
We had some young guys make a few great plays as the scrum went on as well, a glimpse into the future of Griz football. Josh Buss, Austin Chadderon, Riley Kack (now at LB), and Alex Thomas had their names called a bit. On offense Tristan Clark had a few good catches, Reese Carlson had a nice grab in traffic, and Carl Johnson had a few decent runs.
Overall... offense exceeded my expectations by a bit and the defense came to play. The next scrimmage is Thursday night (next week) at 6pm - I expect to hopefully see more progression with the offense and better protection from the O-line.
Oh and with it being "junior day" there were a TON of juniors there, more than I'd ever seen at one before.
GO GRIZ!