A Few More Observations for Arsenal and all Dolfans

[zephon]

good overall analysis.

2 things on Gordon....yes, he danced too much. mostly becasue the holes where closed so quickly, when there were holes. they need to get him to start being more deliberate, period.
the other thing was his pass blocking...you were dead on. he was terrible. missed way too many assignments. I'm a fan of his but if he doesn't get that straightened out...he'll be gone.

Spragan...I thought he played as good as any of the LBs, but having not recorded the game, I'll take your word for it that he missed some assignments in coverage.

Carey, I'm with you one him. he had his good moments and the bad seemed to all be things that will improve with more practice and game experience.

St.Claire..if he can keep his attitude in check, he's going to be valuable across the entire line as he can play any position on the line in a pinch. the reason I mention his attitude is because there was a time last year that he said he signed with this team to be a play tackle and "that was it". maybe it was just the lousy season we had or maybe not...we'll see.

Feely...other than the obvious fact that he's regularly "dinged" up every game, He looked fairly good. i think he throughs a nice looking pass. To me his big thing is his pocket recognition. It'll cut down on "how" he takes the hits and could give himself a little extra time. This is where Gus blows him away. From Gus's 1st snap until he came out, it was like night and day as far as clamness in the pocket. I was shocked as the coolness and command Gus showed. Call it knowing the offense or whatever but you could see the difference. Funny (or not so funny) thing is, AJ looked the same way last year as well. Maybe that's just him but I just felt more "comfortable" seeing Gus back there. Maybe it's just me?

anyway, nice post.

 

[SF Dolfan]

Great Post!

Dead on about Gordon's blocking and pass blocking is going to be critical for our backs with all of the blitzes we're going to see this year.

I'd also like to see a LB core of Seau, Thomas, and Crowder come opening day. I think it may be unlikely though since Crowder is already learning 2 LB positions and it may be too much to give him a 3rd. I just want him on the field. He's our future so we might as well get him ready.

 

[PhinKev]

Hey wasup Arsenal and all Dolfans, I had the chance to sit back and watch the game again more closely on TiVo and I must say that I understand why Saban was pleased with how the Dolphins played. After watching the game again and using the slow motion button a lot, I can understand. It wasn't a bad showing for the first preseason game. Now keep in mind, I'm referring only to the first, second and third stringers only. All of us have talked our heads off about how the players performed, so I'm going to only add some extra insight on things I've noticed that I don't think was discussed before. Here is what I noticed last night after watching the game more closely a second time:

AJ Feeley has been the hot topic as of lately, and I must say that I was wrong about his performance. My opinion has shifted a little, but not enough to say that he will be the QB for our team. His throws were very sharp. He only made one bonehead throw, it was an incomplete pass that fell short; it was thrown to a receiver who had three defenders around him. If the ball wasn't off the mark, it could have been an interception. Right now, the main thing that bothers me is his durability. I just wish he could take a hit better. Overall, Feeley wasn't impressive, but he did "ok" for a first preseason game and I believe he will have a better showing against the Jags. He wasn't in the game long enough to make a fair assesment, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with increased playing time this Saturday. Will he do well enough to beat out Frerotte this summer? I'm not sure yet.

Lamar Gordon...boy oh boy. Where do I begin?!?!? Saban and Co. c'mon, you have to get Ronnie Brown in camp RIGHT NOW :yell:! Gordon dances way too much in the backfield. If you guys have the chance to watch the run blocking in slow motion during the first two series again, check it out. There were holes to run through, but Gordon danced to much in the backfield which gave Bears' safety Mike Brown the time to make the tackles. It was the strong safety making the tackles, not the d-linemen. The o-line did a decent job (don't get me wrong, they have a lot of room for improvement), but if Gordon didn't hesitate so much, he could've had some pretty good runs during the first two series. Now let's talk about the way this guy blocks :down: , he is a terrible blocker. I trust my nine year old to give me better protection in the backfield than this guy.

John St. Clair struggled early in the game, but he seemed to settle in as the game went on. He was the reason why Feeley had to rush his throw that Derrius Thompson dropped. The throw was rushed, but Feeley showed a lot of poise making such an accurate throw while under pressure and getting hit. I'm banking on Frank Middleton winning the starting right guard spot after he learns the blocking schemes.

Vernon Carey is going to be a very good left tackle for us. During the first two series, he dominated his guy while run blocking. He needs to work on his footwork for pass blocking, but he did fine and he will only get better with time.

Donnie Spragen will lose his job to Crowder, Moore or Pope IF he doesn't play better over the next couple of weeks. He may be a smart player, but he doesn't do well with gap assignements. He is too slow on his reaction to plug the gap. I saw Thomas Jones go through Spragen's gap assignment 5 times in the first three series, and two of the runs were for big gains. When Seau comes back, there's going to be some serious competition over there for Spragen's spot, he better rise to the occasion.

I don't even want to go there with the secondary right now, this post is long enough as it is.

IMO, not bad for the first preseason game. We have a lot to work on, but it wasn't too bad of a showing. Our second and third stringers dominated the game, which shows we will have good depth. Our secondary will be the the achilles heel of this team, at least we still have time to improve it.

I agree with most of your observations, but I disagree with a couple of things. Your right about Feeley, we just don't know yet and he did do some good things.

But, Gordon may be alright, there just wasn't much there. He does like to dance, but it is hard to judge anyone to harshly with the penetration the Bears were getting.

Carey does look awesome on the run plays. He is a giant. But, I'm frankly worried about his pass protection.

Can't say I watched Spragan enough to comment.

 

[FinaticalOne]

good overall analysis.

2 things on Gordon....yes, he danced too much. mostly becasue the holes where closed so quickly, when there were holes. they need to get him to start being more deliberate, period.
the other thing was his pass blocking...you were dead on. he was terrible. missed way too many assignments. I'm a fan of his but if he doesn't get that straightened out...he'll be gone.

Spragan...I thought he played as good as any of the LBs, but having not recorded the game, I'll take your word for it that he missed some assignments in coverage.

Carey, I'm with you one him. he had his good moments and the bad seemed to all be things that will improve with more practice and game experience.

St.Claire..if he can keep his attitude in check, he's going to be valuable across the entire line as he can play any position on the line in a pinch. the reason I mention his attitude is because there was a time last year that he said he signed with this team to be a play tackle and "that was it". maybe it was just the lousy season we had or maybe not...we'll see.

Feely...other than the obvious fact that he's regularly "dinged" up every game, He looked fairly good. i think he throughs a nice looking pass. To me his big thing is his pocket recognition. It'll cut down on "how" he takes the hits and could give himself a little extra time. This is where Gus blows him away. From Gus's 1st snap until he came out, it was like night and day as far as clamness in the pocket. I was shocked as the coolness and command Gus showed. Call it knowing the offense or whatever but you could see the difference. Funny (or not so funny) thing is, AJ looked the same way last year as well. Maybe that's just him but I just felt more "comfortable" seeing Gus back there. Maybe it's just me?

anyway, nice post.

Thanks!


Yeah, I agree with you about St. Clair. He is the most valuable backup on our team. He could end up being a decent guard if given the time, but since we signed Middleton, I'm pulling for him to win the right guard spot. But no doubt, St. Clair can step in and play any postion on our line and do fine.

Spragen was ok in coverage, he had that one nice pass defensed, but he was very slow getting out into the flat to stop a screen pass. What I was referring to was his slow reaction to his gap assignment. As soon as he recognize it's a run, he should be shooting his gap and going for the ball carrier. It's nothing that can't be corrected, it could be just him getting used to the scheme, so I'm not too worried about him. But I would love to see Seau, Thomas, and Crowder or Pope as the starter linebackers.

 

[FinaticalOne]

Great Post!

Dead on about Gordon's blocking and pass blocking is going to be critical for our backs with all of the blitzes we're going to see this year.

I'd also like to see a LB core of Seau, Thomas, and Crowder come opening day. I think it may be unlikely though since Crowder is already learning 2 LB positions and it may be too much to give him a 3rd. I just want him on the field. He's our future so we might as well get him ready.

Thanks.

I would love to see Seau, Thomas, and Crowder as the starting linebackers too, but you have a good point about putting too much on his plate all at one. I wouldn't mind seeing Seau, Thomas, and Pope either. But of course, only if Spragen doesn't work out. I think he Spragen will play better.

 

[FinaticalOne]

I agree with most of your observations, but I disagree with a couple of things. Your right about Feeley, we just don't know yet and he did do some good things.

But, Gordon may be alright, there just wasn't much there. He does like to dance, but it is hard to judge anyone to harshly with the penetration the Bears were getting.

Carey does look awesome on the run plays. He is a giant. But, I'm frankly worried about his pass protection.

Can't say I watched Spragan enough to comment.

I agree, there wasn't much there for the taking. He just has to stop dancing and give it chance.

 

[FinaticalOne]

Maybe that's just him but I just felt more "comfortable" seeing Gus back there. Maybe it's just me?

anyway, nice post.

I agree with you. RIGHT NOW, I'm more comfortable with Frerotte. But only because I haven't seen Feeley enough this summer. We will see a lot more of him this Saturday. Frerotte is in the lead right now, but it's not that much of a lead.

I just hope Saban isn't going to let McKinney run with the first team. I heard that will happen vs. Jags. I hope Saban changes his mind after watching McKinney on film vs. the Bears. He's going to get our QBs killed one day.

Now I see why McKinney was offended when Ricky was talking about the blocking last year after he retired. McKinney knew it was mainly about himself. :rofl3:

 

[Shamboubou]

One thing I noticed about the running game is the O-Line did a goob job when they were just 1 on 1 against another linemen, but when there was a blitz on the floating man missed the blitz quite a bit. Also was it me or did it seem like when you re-watched the game that almost every running play, by the time our running back got the ball there were like 8 guys on the line. I think if we used a PA pass we could have taken some big yards from them. I'm not sure if Linehan just didnt want to use that play or what was going on but he would have to have seen it.

Everything else the 1st post is pretty much right on the mark. Good Job.

 

[PhinKev]

One thing I noticed about the running game is the O-Line did a goob job when they were just 1 on 1 against another linemen, but when there was a blitz on the floating man missed the blitz quite a bit. Also was it me or did it seem like when you re-watched the game that almost every running play, by the time our running back got the ball there were like 8 guys on the line. I think if we used a PA pass we could have taken some big yards from them. I'm not sure if Linehan just didnt want to use that play or what was going on but he would have to have seen it.

Everything else the 1st post is pretty much right on the mark. Good Job.

Not only do I think you are right, I think we will be a better running team than passing and that most of our successful pass plays will come off the play action. We don't have good tackles at this point so we have to keep them guessing.

 

[cltchperf]

I have a question, did Vickerson play in the preseason game? when did he come in if he did 3rd quarter? How did he do? I only watched the first half. Oh and another thing, Lamar Gordon does dance around a lot, I know their wasn't much running room, but what noticed last season when he played and in the last preseason game is that he has absolutley no power at all, thats what sucks is that he gets brought down so easily. I wouldn't expect him to get YAC (yards after contact) yards anytime soon.

 

[PhinKev]

I have a question, did Vickerson play in the preseason game? when did he come in if he did 3rd quarter? How did he do? I only watched the first half. Oh and another thing, Lamar Gordon does dance around a lot, I know their wasn't much running room, but what noticed last season when he played and in the last preseason game is that he has absolutley no power at all, thats what sucks is that he gets brought down so easily. I wouldn't expect him to get YAC (yards after contact) yards anytime soon.

Looked like Vickerson was in their late. I was watching Wright really, so I can't really comment other than he looked preety big to me. BTW, Wright looked like a project.

I wouldn't say Gordon has no power. He's not BEttis but he did push forward on a couple carries. He is just not a guy that will make something where there is nothing.