Scrimmage #1 thoughts

[George Ferguson]

Nyguen is the starter and it's not close

 

[grizcountry420]

Nyguen is the starter and it's not close

But can he field a punt?

 

[grizcountry420]

We have to do a better job fielding the ball when the other team punts. Last year we gave up way too many yards not stepping up and fielding the ball. Does anyone know when the last time we took a punt to the house?

 

[HookedonGriz]

We have to do a better job fielding the ball when the other team punts. Last year we gave up way too many yards not stepping up and fielding the ball. Does anyone know when the last time we took a punt to the house?

Nyguen ran one back last year or the year prior.

 

[George Ferguson]

Nyguen is the starter and it's not close

But can he field a punt?

IDK, AG1 mentioned that he dropped one yesterday. But it has nothing to do with his status as a RB. If Niekamp can find someone better to return punts, I'm sure that guy will be in there. But JN is by far the best and most complete RB the Griz have playing this season. And again, it's not close.

 

[Ursus1]

Nyguen is the starter and it's not close

But can he field a punt?

IDK, AG1 mentioned that he dropped one yesterday. But it has nothing to do with his status as a RB. If Niekamp can find someone better to return punts, I'm sure that guy will be in there. But JN is by far the best and most complete RB the Griz have playing this season. And again, it's not close.

I bet pass blocking /blitz pickup are two things he does much better than others

 

[grizcountry420]

We have to do a better job fielding the ball when the other team punts. Last year we gave up way too many yards not stepping up and fielding the ball. Does anyone know when the last time we took a punt to the house?

Nyguen ran one back last year or the year prior.

You're right. 2014 Jon returned one to the house, 60yds

 

[CDAGRIZ]

We have to do a better job fielding the ball when the other team punts. Last year we gave up way too many yards not stepping up and fielding the ball. Does anyone know when the last time we took a punt to the house?

Nyguen ran one back last year or the year prior.

You're right. 2014 Jon returned one to the house, 60yds

I say, why not take one to the house?
Had to be said, 420. Sorry, man.

 

[griz5700]

Kidder - Most dominant UM DE ever?

Let's try not to anoint him just yet....

He is dominate.

Obviously, statistically he won't be tops, but he is NFL bound for sure.

I dunno... he could break some records this season. I've not seen a guy play with his motor or intensity... not even Kroy, Tyrone, or Wags.

Agreed. For a single season, he has could break some records. He looks phenomenal.

 

[fanofzoo]

Nyguen is the starter and it's not close

But can he field a punt?

IDK, AG1 mentioned that he dropped one yesterday. But it has nothing to do with his status as a RB. If Niekamp can find someone better to return punts, I'm sure that guy will be in there. But JN is by far the best and most complete RB the Griz have playing this season. And again, it's not close.

I bet pass blocking /blitz pickup are two things he does much better than others

Better than ( I think) calhoun who got just flattened by Kidder?

 

[griz5700]

Poor Bobcats. Suckas.

 

[HookedonGriz]

If JLM is as good as advertised, maybe a punt return threat every time?

 

[RobGriz]

If JLM is as good as advertised, maybe a punt return threat every time?

Agreed. He and Lyons should be returning punts and KO's

 

[SaskGriz]

Just a note of caution when we look at the blocking success in a scrimmage; nobody is cut blocking ( I don't mean chop blocking, I mean legal cut blocking) so things like blitz pick-up, and a rb (Calhoun) on a DE (Kidder) are going to look pretty one-sided.

 

[Yukon]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ShaunRainey/status/765317838231920640[/tweet]

 

[Ursus1]

Just a note of caution when we look at the blocking success in a scrimmage; nobody is cut blocking ( I don't mean chop blocking, I mean legal cut blocking) so things like blitz pick-up, and a rb (Calhoun) on a DE (Kidder) are going to look pretty one-sided.

So true

 

[AZGrizFan]

Just a note of caution when we look at the blocking success in a scrimmage; nobody is cut blocking ( I don't mean chop blocking, I mean legal cut blocking) so things like blitz pick-up, and a rb (Calhoun) on a DE (Kidder) are going to look pretty one-sided.

So true

Stitt even said as much to Kidder after he flattened Calhoun...."you know we'd cut block you there, right?"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IntuitiveGriz]

1 scrimmage down and 1 more to go.

First off, the field and the new screen are incredible. I took this picture as the scrimmage started, notice no one in front of me? That's because the sun was still shining on those seats, behind me were about probably 500 fans that came out to watch the scrum.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Bwahlberg/status/765306775843196928[/tweet]

As for the scrimmage, for those that came to see a lot of the starters on offense they were maybe a little let down as Gus had just 2 series and a big group of expected starters on offense didn't play much. Weyer, Homan, Lamarriel Taylor, and Lyons were all out. Nguyen played a little bit early. I think Horner just played a little bit too. On the other side though the 1st string defensive guys played the full scrum.

The good stuff

- Some very nice runs from our top 3 backs, Nguyen, Calhoun, and Favors. Each had some very good runs, I think Nguyen had the longest of the day but was caught from behind by Connor Strahm in a situation where most backs would be off to the races. That's John Nguyen though, he's a known quantity. Favors and Nguyen also pass blocked really well. Calhoun... not as well. On one play Calhoun had to pick up an un-blocked Caleb Kidder. While Calhoun did barely enough to prevent a sack he got steamrolled on a loud POP that did force a hurried throw and incompletion.

- Justin Calhoun has been a WR that's not been talked about much but he had the most yards today. He took an 8 yard comeback route into a 30 yard gain after slipping a tackle and the very next play dived for a 35-ish yard completion to set up an eventual touchdown pass. He had a few more grabs too in the scrimmage.

- Jerry Louie McGee again wowed the crowd on one play where he slipped a few tackles on a screen that looked like it would go for 3 yards. He then carried two tacklers a few yards forward, then slipped away from them, spun out of another tackle, and surged forward, finally brought down after a 13 yard gain.

- Kicking... WOW. Semenza was 2-2 from 48 ish and 1-1 on PATs. Purdy was 1-1 again about 46-47 yards out and 1-1 on PATs. Semenza looks to be the more powerful kicker but it was nice to see long kicks go through the uprights. Williams had a monster punt followed by two good ones and a 4th short one, his 5th was an attempted punt to pin the ball which was fair caught at the 11, so mission accomplished there. I'm suddenly not too worried about kicking.

- This D-line is wicked. Caleb Kidder, Ryan Johnson, and Tucker Schye were all over the place. Kidder with some devastating hits. On one play he bull-rushes Jackson Thiebes right into Chad Chalich to force a fluttering pass that almost gets picked. Ryan Johnson had multiple sacks but more impressively some great open field tackles on wide receivers. Johnson's athleticism is forgotten with his size but he's a sure tackler. Schye was with the 1s and 2s, but obviously had his best success against the 2nd string OL. The interior guys of Davidson and Peevey did their jobs absorbing double teams and freed up a lot of lanes for blitzing backs and the D-ends. Reggie Tilleman as a backup DT had a sack as well today.

- Interceptions today for Jerrin Williams, Mick Delaney, Markell Sanders, and TJ Reynard. Reynard has some range. He had two other near picks on both where he came across the field on long passes to break up the play. Reynard is running with the 2s but might start putting some heat on McKinley with the way he's playing. Mick Delaney who gets dogged on this board had a beauty of a pick and also broke up 2 other passes, he had a good day overall.

- 1st string Oline at first was Reese/Villanueva/Luke/Dietrich/Thiebes. However Luke's snaps got him demoted and Cooper Sprunk came in. Sprunk has vastly improved his snaps, remember his slow floating snaps last season? Those are a thing of the past. Good and on-target snaps from what I saw.

- Semore's defense, which I presume didn't "show" much at all today still did a lot of things and didn't just sit in some base set the whole hour of the scrimmage. They threw a lot of mixes and different personnel out there and it worked well. They got to the QB a bunch and forced 4 picks (should've probably forced two more)

- Holden Ryan is adjusting to LB well, he leveled Joey Counts on a screen pass - wasn't fooled at all.

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The not-so-good stuff

- 2 or 3 false starts from the offense. Many times from freshman WRs I believe but in a fast-paced offense that's just killer.

- More red-zone(ish) fizzles. 3 fieldgoals kicked from drives that stalled just outside of the red zone and 1 red zone turnover.

- Too many breakdowns for the O-line. Luke's continual bad snaps got him demoted. The left side of the 1st string line as the day went on was letting guys through way too easily. Our backup tackles were shoved all over the place. It wasn't bad the whole way, it's just there were too many breakdowns in blocking, especially at key moments. I think the run blocking was pretty good most of the way, it was just in the obvious passing downs, it got dicey. The snaps from Luke were maybe the single biggest issue today. Not sure what came up with him as he'd seemed to have worked through those issues last year.

- A freshman mistake but a bad drop from Samori Toure who had beat his cover and had a deep pass bounce right off his hands.

- Lots of the QBs staring down choice #1. Delaney's pick came courtesy of that, as did Jerrin Williams's (I think).

- Beyond Reynard I really didn't see much from the backup corners to make me feel very confident in our CB depth.

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It seems today was to get the guys in the flow of a live game and do some real hitting as well as seeing if we can start to figure out who QB2 is going to be. I don't think either guy really stepped out or moved ahead today. I'd venture that Chalich continues to hold as QB2. I'd have to look back but I think each threw 1 TD and 2 INTs. Chalich's TD was a beauty, a fade pass right over the corner. Phillips's was an easier one where Nash faked out his cover and was wide open in the corner.

For this week it'd be great to see some of the projected starters get back into the mix and see the 1st string offense come together a little more. Today definitely went to the defense, but the offense did have their moments. One things for sure the 1st team defense is pretty darn good and VERY aggressive and these guys are synced up and know what to do, the 2nd team defense in the front 7 appears to have good depth and skill. I think we're in good shape defensively. On offense, need to find that consistency more, however 2 TDs and 3 field goals in the course of about 60 mintues. That's better than what we usually see in the 1st fall scrimmages.

Good write-up, Brint.

I totally agree with you, the turf and jumbo-tron are INCREDIBLE :!: WOW

Seeing Nguyen get run down from behind by a linebacker, when he should have had 7, was frustrating. This will cost the team points in the future. But Nguyen is a beast otherwise, love him. Ray Green had trouble in pass-pro. He may not see the field much if this continues. But this is to be expected being a first year player, as he was taking on big, powerful dudes...making contact and sliding to the side of them, allowing penetration to the QB. Should be a good player for the Griz.

Justin Calhoun flashed in the scrimmage. That was great to see. And Jerry LM continues to SHINE. The play you mentioned was incredible, and brought a nice reaction from the fans. There is two kids that are going to be electrifying WAGriz for the next 4 years.

A couple SHORT kicks doinked off the crossbars, but after that the Kickers were BOOMING the football off their foots. On those 47 and 48 yarders they were kicking them low (have to on a long kick) and fast, but they were "no-doubters" on distance and accuracy. The kickers looked GOOD. The team really got behind them and cheered loudly with each kick snapped back from the 30. You can tell the kickers have more confidence, and more importantly that the team has confidence in the kickers. Can't forget the punting, it was impressive, I was happy. The first one was :shock: wow.

The D is, yes, SCARY GOOD. :lol: Seriously, they will be TOUGH, for sure. Delaney had a great interception, he read the route coming into his zone, broke on the ball, dove in front of the receiver and controlled the ball all the way to the ground. I mentioned how we was one of the best/most athletic kids in the Boz/Butte State Championship game, he continues to show what I've witnessed in the past. Holden Ryan showed, with his impressive read and light-up tackle in the flat of why the coaches want him on Defense. The kid is going to be a monster at LB who will provide many more big hits. A NO-DOUBTER all BSC player at LB. Can't wait for 4 years with this destroyer.

Just before Bob (Robert Luke) got pulled at Center, for his weak, off-target snaps, everyone heard coach yelling for him to not "start that again". He had another errant snap after that, was pulled, went directly to the sideline where he snapped a bunch... they were perfect! He must just be nervous with a NT breathing in his face mask? Hope he gets that corrected, it's crucial. He never red-shirted, so he's still somewhat young. I like him, he's strong.

For a first scrimmage, I was impressed with the team.