As it looks today

[AZ54]

I'm ready for this weekends games and here's a few things I'll be looking for.

 

DT: I like some of the things Melton did last game, Toeina too. They were inconsistent on pressure but definitely showed up on several plays. If we're keeping 5 DTs it looks like Harris, Adams, Harrison, Melton, Toeina and surprisingly I feel a lot better about our depth here today than I did 3 weeks ago. Don't mistake that for confidence across the board it's just that coming into camp there were a ton of questions among this group with Adams being the only consistently reliable player for us last year.

 

DE: Corey Wootton didn't do much last game. Jarron Gilbert did less. Can't see who's going to win this battle for the 4th DE spot but my money is on the rookie to step up the next few games now that he's gotten the first game jitters out of the way. Or to put it another way, if Gilbert makes it as our 4th DE we're in trouble.

 

CB: I would like to see Corey Graham (really anyone) step up as a solid NB for us. Not sure the Raiders are the right team to judge this against but it's game two and we should start seeing something good if it's there even if it's inconsistent. It sounds as if Graham can at least be a decent backup CB for us on the corners this year but we need to fill this NB role. Toss in Josh Moore (or again anyone) to show we have some more depth at CB. Tim Jennings? DJ Moore? Is Woodny even in camp?

 

LeFevour: He was destined for the practice squad the minute we drafted him but nonetheless I'd still like to see improvement from him to get some idea if he's even worth the "project". At least he has now had more practice reps in the last week than in all of camp prior to game 1.

 

RBs: How about some better blitz pickups?

 

Oline: Louis is strong but was often beat initially off the snap. Once he got his base anchored he was often able to hold his block. Can he get it right at the snap? Omiyale, same deal, can we fire off the line and make some holes? Can anyone make a hole for a RB? I suspect our real backup Center is Garza not Beekman, especially after what I saw last week. Not sure about Asiata but if it's him, Beekman, and Shaffer as our backups I only see one solid player in the three.

 

WR: I like where our starters (all three) are at and expect a step up in performance this week. Juaquin Iglesias can you step up or will I be watching Rashied Davis for another year? This of course includes what Iglesias does on special teams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nfoligno]

DT: I like some of the things Melton did last game, Toeina too. They were inconsistent on pressure but definitely showed up on several plays. If we're keeping 5 DTs it looks like Harris, Adams, Harrison, Melton, Toeina and surprisingly I feel a lot better about our depth here today than I did 3 weeks ago. Don't mistake that for confidence across the board it's just that coming into camp there were a ton of questions among this group with Adams being the only consistently reliable player for us last year.

 

I am still iffy on Melton, but that is likely more due to pre-draft bias. I loved the article I read the other day about Toeina. Honestly though, Harrison is really the one to focus on for me. The others may offer nice depth, but I expect little more. For this position to stabalize, I think we really need to see Harrison step up.

 

DE: Corey Wootton didn't do much last game. Jarron Gilbert did less. Can't see who's going to win this battle for the 4th DE spot but my money is on the rookie to step up the next few games now that he's gotten the first game jitters out of the way. Or to put it another way, if Gilbert makes it as our 4th DE we're in trouble.

 

See above. While I like some of what I read about Wooten in camp, Anderson is the key for me. I think we basically know what we are going to get from Idonije, but to see a pass rush, I think we need to see more from Anderson opposite Peppers.

 

CB: I would like to see Corey Graham (really anyone) step up as a solid NB for us. Not sure the Raiders are the right team to judge this against but it's game two and we should start seeing something good if it's there even if it's inconsistent. It sounds as if Graham can at least be a decent backup CB for us on the corners this year but we need to fill this NB role. Toss in Josh Moore (or again anyone) to show we have some more depth at CB. Tim Jennings? DJ Moore? Is Woodny even in camp?

 

Agreed here. The nickel is about far more than just depth, and we need to see someone really take over that spot.

 

RBs: How about some better blitz pickups?

 

I didn't see the last game, but I read we actually did well picking up the blitz. There were a couple plays missed that were made a big deal about, but then I also read how much the other team blitzed and that we picked up most of them. I agree we need to see solid work in this area, but simply am not sure how bad we performed in the first game. Missed a couple, but as much as they blitzed, overall may not have been bad.

 

Oline: Louis is strong but was often beat initially off the snap. Once he got his base anchored he was often able to hold his block. Can he get it right at the snap? Omiyale, same deal, can we fire off the line and make some holes? Can anyone make a hole for a RB? I suspect our real backup Center is Garza not Beekman, especially after what I saw last week. Not sure about Asiata but if it's him, Beekman, and Shaffer as our backups I only see one solid player in the three.

 

Key for me is simply seeing development and progression. This OL is not going to look great for some time, if ever, but what I think is really important is to see continual development.

 

WR: I like where our starters (all three) are at and expect a step up in performance this week. Juaquin Iglesias can you step up or will I be watching Rashied Davis for another year? This of course includes what Iglesias does on special teams.

 

I would like to see DA used a bit more, earlier. I would like to see us use Olsen more too. And as you said, I would really like to see Iglesias step up. From what I read, Davis has actually surpassed Bennett on the depth chart. Some may say that is a good thing, as Davis may fit this system, but I still just feel he has a very low ceiling, in any system, and would rather the young guys step up.

[Lucky Luciano]

RBs: How about some better blitz pickups?

 

I didn't see the last game, but I read we actually did well picking up the blitz. There were a couple plays missed that were made a big deal about, but then I also read how much the other team blitzed and that we picked up most of them. I agree we need to see solid work in this area, but simply am not sure how bad we performed in the first game. Missed a couple, but as much as they blitzed, overall may not have been bad.

 

to me... it looked real bad. if my memory serves me correctly, they had guys coming off both left and right ends without being touched at times. at other times they were running over the designated blocker/s. it seemed hanie (i never saw the cutler series) was continually scrambling around or taking hits after a quick throw to get rid of the ball. the other qb was as bad or worse.

 

i don't think we were prepared to stop blitz packages which after the first one or two we should have been in that mode. some has to do with hanie's reads and missing the blitzes. some on our RB's/TE's or even WR's not getting some chips or even recognizing the blitz coming. in any case this is on the coaches too for not preparing them or making critical gametime adjustments and it cost us our #2 qb by failing to doing so.

[xvflutop]

From what I read, Davis has actually surpassed Bennett on the depth chart.

 

 

I hope so since Bennet hasn't practice in like 2 weeks. If you can't pass someone on the depth chart that isn't playing then something is wrong.

[lemonej]

to me... it looked real bad. if my memory serves me correctly, they had guys coming off both left and right ends without being touched at times. at other times they were running over the designated blocker/s. it seemed hanie (i never saw the cutler series) was continually scrambling around or taking hits after a quick throw to get rid of the ball. the other qb was as bad or worse.

 

i don't think we were prepared to stop blitz packages which after the first one or two we should have been in that mode. some has to do with hanie's reads and missing the blitzes. some on our RB's/TE's or even WR's not getting some chips or even recognizing the blitz coming. in any case this is on the coaches too for not preparing them or making critical gametime adjustments and it cost us our #2 qb by failing to doing so.

I agree with you about the blitz pickup and I did see the Cutler series and he got sacked once and hit hard on the sideline trying to scramble away from the blitz on his last play of the night. On the sack a normally reliable Forte got beat by a DB which is uncharacteristic for him since he has been excellent at blitz pickup since day one. Usually teams stay "vanilla" during the preseason but when you bring dbs on blitzes in the first preseason game when it is understood that defenses are ahead of offense ,you are either sending a message or you are planning on having a complex defense if you are bringing DBs off the edge in preseason game one. Again I will say that it is good to see these looks when we will have a steady diet of 3/4 defenses this season.