Observations from Two Feet Away (Apr 24th) - Wow [ edit | delete ]
By Adam Knoll | April 24, 2010 at 12:45 PM EDT | No Comments (0 new)
The game last night was spectacular on many levels; first and foremost, we came out hot and didn’t stop. It’s easy to play for a half in a blowout; it’s hard to keep it up after that. Our reserves deserve a ton of credit for staying hungry after we turned it over to them. After the 1st drive in the second half, five to seven players had their pads off, no sense getting guys hurt and taking time away from the reserves. We showed we were ready, in every way, to compete regularly on Friday nights.
I would like to think we were pretty professional, despite being a little rowdy. The intensity never really let up, and guys were flying all over the place from beginning to end. What I’m most happy about is that this game proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that our offensive and defensive schemes work. It’s hard to say that during practices, when things are a little more set up your way. This was the first time we couldn’t set up a defense the way we wanted to see it, or the defense wasn’t playing the same old offense. It provides insight that we are on the correct track, and I couldn’t be happier
I didn’t want to score 70 points…as odd as that sounds. We scored so quickly in the second half that I don’t feel we got the reserves a lot of playing time, or at least as much as I wanted to. After we went up by three scores, for the duration of the second half I ramped the offense way down, throwing only short stuff and getting some running in. When Mikal took over in the second half, he showed his love of the deeper ball, and who can blame him? Like the rest of us he’s been waiting for quite awhile too. I’m very pleased with his performance.
Overall, this game is easy to give an A grade to, yet we were far from perfect. I think if we play like that we have a chance to win any game, but some of the mistakes we made will kill us against better teams. It’s important that we stay hungry, as I said last night. This game, as good as we played and as good as we feel, does not matter. We have bigger fish to fry, starting in three weeks. I hope this victory propels guys to want to become better, and as full as some may feel from last night, I am still starving. I want to win in the worst way, and last night only fueled me more. Practices will stay intense, informational, skill and fundamentally orientated. Last night was the preview, in three weeks, we get to start our story.
Observations from Two Feet Away: Starting Positions - Kicker [ edit | delete ]
By Adam Knoll | April 20, 2010 at 11:14 AM EDT | No Comments (0 new)
Kicker:
Wednesday Practice (April 14th) Kicking: 3-9, .333%
Those numbers are representative of three separate kickers at our practice last Wednesday. Each kicker went 1-3, and none came too close on their misses. If there is one spot that we haven't truly focused on, it would be the kicking aspect of our game. It’s not that we don’t take it seriously; I believe that having a good kicker could be responsible for one or two games this year. No, instead it’s just because it’s so early in the year, and the opportunity to work on it hasn’t been plentiful yet.
It should be noted that we are looking for a kicker that is good from 30 yards consistently. Why is that? Well, many drives stall within striking distance, having a kicker that can boot it from a little ways out definitely helps the cause. That being said, we would like to have a kicker that serves as both our extra point kicker and our long distance kicker. If a guy can be found who can make it from 30 yards, he should be able to make it from 15 as well. So there’s the gauntlet, we just have to find the right guy.
Kyle Ritter had the most impressive kick. It would have been good from 30, yet his two misses were way off to the left.
Nick Weiss made his second kick; it was good from extra point range. He was the most consistent, his misses weren’t completely horrible.
William Peebles made one of his three as well. It would have been fine from an extra point distance. His two misses were pretty wild.
We need to have this shored up before our week 1 game certainly; hopefully a week or two before then.
Leader: Ritter due to his long kick, but in essence this race is tied
Observations from Two Feet Away: Starting Positions - Fullback [ edit | delete ]
By Adam Knoll | April 20, 2010 at 10:55 AM EDT | No Comments (0 new)
Starting Fullback:
While Aaron Knoll is the incumbent Full Back on the roster, his commitment to the Armed forces makes things a little shaky when considering the slot for the season. However, this series is focusing on the Pre-season game, so we will head in with that in mind.
All in all, the Fullback position is a mess. We have many guys who can do the job, yet most of the better fits are key players at other spots. Chris Bella and David Haywood have full time jobs elsewhere. Matt Splitt and William Peebles are in the rotation on defense, so that limits them a little bit. All told, out of the seven men listed as possible FB’s, only 3 of them can give almost full attention to it. In our system, that means a lot.
Knoll is a good pass blocker and gives everything for the runner behind him. He is well liked and has earned the trust of both of the lead backs.
Lowes is a lot like Knoll in that he will give it his all every time he gets the chance. His background as a wide out gives him a lot of credentials as a reception threat. However he is learning the position, which takes time.
Angel Hitchcock is a worker, yet one we haven’t seen much of. He owns one of the poorest practice percentages and has missed a lot of time he could have used to become better suited for the task ahead.
Luckily, this group is backs by bangers such as Bella and Haywood; however, a steadfast FB would be appreciated to take the load off. The talent here is not bad, and Knoll is more than equipped to do the job, however with injuries and other commitments always a part of the game, a clear cut rotation needs to be established.
Advantage: Knoll, with Lowes as the clear backup.
Observations from Two Feet Away: Starting Positions - Tight End [ edit | delete ]
By Adam Knoll | April 17, 2010 at 10:50 AM EDT | No Comments (1 new)
During the week of out first Pre-season game, we will be looking at some positions that can use more clarification during this next week in practice. This series will spotlight our starting competitions for our pre-season game only.
Tight End:
The depth and talent at Tight End is amazing. The lack of practice reps for the Tight Ends on the depth chart is nearly as jaw dropping. Andrew Menard, TJ Dotson and Cody Sisk are three of the most physical members on the team. Menard and Dotson have the capacity to be receiving threats and nobody would think twice to run behind Sisk. However, all three have made 6 of the possible 15 practices thus far between them, with Menard owning 4 of those instances. Believe me, this offense takes reps, and at potentially our most difficult position, our guys aren’t getting them.
To make up for it, David Haywood and Matt Splitt have come over and performed pretty well. Haywood has practiced at Te almost exclusively on offense while Splitt has performed well in a spot-need basis. Newcomer, George Olsen, is another candidate to join the rotation.
Menard has been to almost all of the practices so far, which is a sigh of relief comparatively. He is tough and a willing run blocker. His hands make him an asset that most teams would love to have. His learning of the system over the winter has helped him greatly.
Haywood is a monster; there is no other way to put it. He blocks with a passion and can run the basic routes well. His hands are not on par with Menard or Dotson, yet they are above the average TE. His only downside is the amount of defense he will probably be playing.
Splitt is a former Offensive Lineman who lost about half his body weight, which makes him a poor line choice on the cover. However, he does have technique and his willingness to play anywhere is a huge benifit.
Dotson could be explained by saying he’s just like Menard, only a little bigger and a little meaner. He’s got hands like Menard, maybe even better ones. Again though (and it’s a pattern), his D-Line job will take him away from a full time Offensive gig.
Sisk is a mauler, and that’s how he likes it. Not a huge option in the passing game, he was seen as the depth backup at TE to begin with. His absence from practice has harmed his prospects here.
. Olsen likes to hit people, that’s what he enjoys and he doesn’t care about anything else. He’s fresh to it all and it will take time to get him up to speed. However, he will fit in the same way Sisk has, and you can never have too many people who like to squash people.
In reality, the race for starting TE is indeed a race, yet it’s not between the people we were sure it was going to be. Menard-Dotson-Sisk has turned into Menard-Haywood-Splitt-Dotson-Olsen, which is odd because we were certain we had the position locked up tight. A lack of a dedicated TE will hurt this group; the constant switching of personnel will ensure that all TE’s MUST know what is going on, which is a huge sticking point. On this team, two TE’s need to available at all times, and due to Defensive demands, that means the rotation will have to be at least five deep. A massively talented group, is also mightily stretched group.
Advantage: Menard has a stranglehold on one of the spots. Haywood has the other. Splitt and Dotson will see time here and Olsen will be used as well. As stated before, it all depends on defensive demands.
Observations from Two Feet Away: Finding the Starter - Recievers [ edit | delete ]
By Adam Knoll | April 16, 2010 at 01:44 PM EDT | No Comments (0 new)
With a week to go before our scrimmage with the Scorpions, we have a few things that will need to play out before we take the field. In this series, we will look at a different position a day all the way up to Wednsday’s practice on the 21st.
Starting Reciever: Richard Linkowski is good enough to be the starting WR on the right side. That being said, he is the starting corner, and we cannot expect someone to run both ways full time. So, as noted a month or so ago, the spot has been open since practices began. The main combatants have been Kyle Ritter, Ryne Johnsen and Josh Zeihen over the spot, and all give us good flexibility. The main drawbacks to the group is
- Ritter: He is looked at as the best slot reciever on the squad. If he starts on the outside, someone must replace him on the inside
- For Zeihen, he is the newest to the system and hasn’t had pads yet. However, he has been very convincing when given the opportunity.
- Johnsen has had the drawback of having to work on our offensive days. He is a savvy player with good hands, who makes a good addition anywhere he is. His limitations as far as practice time has been the difference here.
This group is very strong, and all three players would be fine wherever they are put. However, this is about finding the right player for the job, and we have two more practices to look at the possibilities. In the group so far, it seems Ritter has the work ethic and drive to take the spot (he hasn’t missed one practice), yet, he may lack the overall speed we are looking for from the outside. Zeihen has the speed, yet is unfamiliar to most of the playbok so far. Johsen seems to be more of a possesion guy who may work on the inside more than the outside. He is the third horse here, being behind both Ritter and Zeihen when talking about book knowledge.
Advantage: Ritter, with Zeihen not far behind
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