BLITZKRIEG
~LACUNA LEGIONS~
**MY FINAL TC REPORT FOR 2008**
--------------------------------------
It's another HOT one out here today, and although training camp has come to an end for me, I'm somewhat pleased that it's finally over. It's pretty brutal sitting out here and reporting for 2 hours, but then again, it also helps me get prepared for the regular season. Being a long time season ticket holder, I know how bad it is at 1:00pm down there. This helps....
***There is one more TC session tomorrow morning, but I'll be busy. I'm bringing a boat back from the keys first thing in the morning. Sorry about that....***
~They start off with the usual team positional drills, so instead of wasting space on that stuff, I'll try and get right to the action. I think we all know what these drills consist of by now, and what they're for, so let's move on shall we?....
=========================
The first real action I saw today was Pennington running what looked to be a 2 minute drill. There was no pass coverage, and no pressure, so it really wasn't anything more than a timing drill for the most part. He looked good though, moving them quickly. The only problem is that with no pressure / coverage, you can't really get an accurate idea of how "good" it actually was....
QB C. Henne also participated in this short drill, and he did well. His arm is certainly the strongest in camp....
=========================
7-7 : No Rush
---------------
P - Throws over to the right sideline, caught by WR Bess for about 4-5 yards....
P - Short underneath throw to Hangan, only a few yards, typical checkdown....
P - Throws to Cobbs underneath, and he makes a few extra, 7 yard gain maybe....
P - Thows a quick dump off to RB Hilliard on left side, he gets about 3-4 yards only....
P - Goes deep left side for Hagan, but it's alittle to far. Overthrow, but nice try....
P - Nice 20 yard dart to WR Wynn over the middle. Perfect throw on that one...
P - Checkdown pass to Ricky in the flats, takes it upfield foe about 8 yards. By the way,...RICKY RULES!!!
=======================
H - Shotgun, nice throw to the outside left for Bess, about 7 yards, that throw had some serious heat....
H - Pump fakes, and then throws way outside where it gets batted up and caught by the TE I think. Strange play...
H - Oh man!! Hagan was wide open with nothing but the endzone in front of him, and Henne overthrew him. That was a poor throw, true starters don't miss those like that. He just rushed it, and that's a rookie mistake that he can fix....
H - Very nice throw to the outside to Camarillo, and he gets some extra yards, about 7-8....
=======================
7-7 No Rush / Only Coverage
------------------------------
P - Thows outside for Hagan, but it was too high. He should have done better with that one....
P - Throws another stinker. Behind the WR, and simply uncatchable...
P - Goes deep sidelines to Camarillo for approx 30, it was close coverage, but not close enough. Very nice...
P - Throws a checkdown underneath to Ricky, and he gets about 4-5 out of it.....
P - Playaction fake, throws outside left for Ricky, but there's not much there. It's really just your basic RB screen....
==================
H - Inside slant to Bess, and that pass was a bullet caught instride. Nice connection for about 10-15....
H - Play action, rollout right, and then throws it away. Good play or bad play?? I guess that all depends on the down / distance. At least he's not forcing things when he uncertain about the window right??
H - A frozen rope pass over the middle to Camarillo for about 10-15. That's what you like to see right there folks....
H - Throws short underneath to Ricky, he makes a shifty move, and he's up the field for about 5. He just made something out of nothing....
H - Hesitates some, but does get rid of it in time to hit the TE for about 5 yards...
H - Tries to run a delay handoff / screen pass to Ricky, and it didn't go well. The timing needs work that's all....
=========================
Side Note : I know that I've stated this before, but Henne has one hell of an arm on him. Sure, he's alittle rough around the edges being a rookie and all, but once he gets his kinks worked out, and gets some real experience under his belt, he could be something special. I guess time will ultimately tell us all we need to know....
=========================
After those enjoyable head to head drills, the sides went back to doing things individually, and on seperate fields....
PUNT DRILLS
--------------
Not much to report here really, it's just you're ST's units practicing punts, and punt returns / coverage, that sort of thing....
As this was going on, I noticed the QB's {all four} working on precision throws. They were rolling out, and throwing passes {approx 10 yards} into a net with targets on them. Here's what I saw while they were rotating. Not much, but I tried...
P - First up, hits his target....
H - Hits his as well...
M - Nailed it, the best pass....
B - Too low, misfire...
P - Off target...
H - Too high...
M - Misses wide...
B - Nails it dead center. You Go John!!!....
P - Nothing....
H - Close, but another miss...
M - Ouch!!
B - Very close, but not a strike...
That was the end of that, and then they went onto throwing some passes that would require good arc in order to complete the pass. They all did very well in attempting these throws, and looked more comfortable doing it. It was kind of cool I guess, but I wish it had lasted longer.....
Punting / ST's drills just ending.....
WATER BREAK
==========
:emptyspace
11-11 Team Drills
============
P - Throws outside left, but it sails too high....
P - Tries to throw outside right, but was nearly picked. He needed more mustard on that one, and in a real game, it could easily have been disasterous. I think it was DB A. Goodman on that near pick, he route jumped it.....
P - Shotgun, throws left underneath, but it was way too low, and he basically skipped it. Ugly throw....
P - Play action pass caught by Ginn for about 15 yards, I will say that the pass looked alittle high for my taste....
P - Rolls out right side, hits Wynn for about 6 yrds. It was very low however, and required a sliding catch....
===========================
H - Handoff to Cobbs up the middle, and fight for only a few....
H - Throws outside right about 10yrs, but it falls incomplete. Heavy traffic so it was hard to see everything that was going on....
H - Rolls right, hits Ginn running across the middle for about 20 yards. Another very nice throw by Henne...
H - Outside flare pass to the FB, Grigsby I think, but it was too high, and he couldn't get to it. Poor pass there....
==========================
I hate to say it, but that's right where Mypen passed away on me. He was a good soldier, and had spent many a day on the camp battlefield with me over the seasons. His ink was used to pass on this highly classified information, so please remember him in your prayers tonight. Thanks...RIP Mypen :huh? :lolsign
I was able to witness some further action, and trust me when I say it wasn't pretty....
==========================
11-11 Goaline Drills
==============
Hate to say it, but Pennington / Henne both really struggled here. It was not a good ending to what I would have called a decent day of practice for them. I saw overthrows, underthrows, an INT{Pennington}, sacks, and just plain out poor QBing in that final drill of the day. I'm sure they'll both be eager to fix things the next time around, but for now it looks like these guys still have a ways to go....
==========================
~FINAL TRAINING CAMP THOUGHTS~
--------------------------------------
I'm going to start and finish with the same area here : The Offensive Line....
It's no mystery, and everyone knows that the key to building a productive offense, begins and ends with the guys you have up front fighting in the trenches for you. When they play well, the offense gets the job done, and when they struggle we usually end up losing in the end....
It's not rocket science, but it's certainly not an overnight transformation either. As much as it pains me to say it, the current OL in Miami unfortunately has a mild sense of creekiness, and instability. My hopes right now are that I'm wrong, but in being brutally honest, I don't see this OL being good enough yet to dictate anything offensively. It's going to take time to improve that's all. Think about it, we've got three guys up there expected to start, with a total of one year of experience between them. That's not an easy fix by any stretch. I guess we'll see how it goes....
As for my final thoughts on the defensive side, it's really quite difficult. I don't want to mislead anyone, and say they look great, but at the same time I don't think that they'll suck either. Being in attendence at camp doesn't always give you an accurate assumption of how the defense is actually going to look come September either. There are questions too...
Will the hybrid 3-4 stick?
Will we be able to pressure the QB enough with what we have??
Can our secondary lock things down if we can't pressure the QB??
These are things that can't be determined by sitting in the stands out at camp....
Honestly, if all goes well and we experience no serious injuries, I think they could finish middle of the pack. If....
Thanks for reading my reports everyone, you guys are the one's who make it all worthwhile for me. Sure, it's fun going out there and seeing everything in person, but I would never recommend going out there everyday reporting. STRICTLY FOR DIEHARDS!!! Anyways, Here's to a productive 2008 season!!!! PHINZ RULE!!!!!!!!!!
IN TUNA WE TRUST!!!....
--------------------------------------
It's another HOT one out here today, and although training camp has come to an end for me, I'm somewhat pleased that it's finally over. It's pretty brutal sitting out here and reporting for 2 hours, but then again, it also helps me get prepared for the regular season. Being a long time season ticket holder, I know how bad it is at 1:00pm down there. This helps....
***There is one more TC session tomorrow morning, but I'll be busy. I'm bringing a boat back from the keys first thing in the morning. Sorry about that....***
~They start off with the usual team positional drills, so instead of wasting space on that stuff, I'll try and get right to the action. I think we all know what these drills consist of by now, and what they're for, so let's move on shall we?....
=========================
The first real action I saw today was Pennington running what looked to be a 2 minute drill. There was no pass coverage, and no pressure, so it really wasn't anything more than a timing drill for the most part. He looked good though, moving them quickly. The only problem is that with no pressure / coverage, you can't really get an accurate idea of how "good" it actually was....
QB C. Henne also participated in this short drill, and he did well. His arm is certainly the strongest in camp....
=========================
7-7 : No Rush
---------------
P - Throws over to the right sideline, caught by WR Bess for about 4-5 yards....
P - Short underneath throw to Hangan, only a few yards, typical checkdown....
P - Throws to Cobbs underneath, and he makes a few extra, 7 yard gain maybe....
P - Thows a quick dump off to RB Hilliard on left side, he gets about 3-4 yards only....
P - Goes deep left side for Hagan, but it's alittle to far. Overthrow, but nice try....
P - Nice 20 yard dart to WR Wynn over the middle. Perfect throw on that one...
P - Checkdown pass to Ricky in the flats, takes it upfield foe about 8 yards. By the way,...RICKY RULES!!!
=======================
H - Shotgun, nice throw to the outside left for Bess, about 7 yards, that throw had some serious heat....
H - Pump fakes, and then throws way outside where it gets batted up and caught by the TE I think. Strange play...
H - Oh man!! Hagan was wide open with nothing but the endzone in front of him, and Henne overthrew him. That was a poor throw, true starters don't miss those like that. He just rushed it, and that's a rookie mistake that he can fix....
H - Very nice throw to the outside to Camarillo, and he gets some extra yards, about 7-8....
=======================
7-7 No Rush / Only Coverage
------------------------------
P - Thows outside for Hagan, but it was too high. He should have done better with that one....
P - Throws another stinker. Behind the WR, and simply uncatchable...
P - Goes deep sidelines to Camarillo for approx 30, it was close coverage, but not close enough. Very nice...
P - Throws a checkdown underneath to Ricky, and he gets about 4-5 out of it.....
P - Playaction fake, throws outside left for Ricky, but there's not much there. It's really just your basic RB screen....
==================
H - Inside slant to Bess, and that pass was a bullet caught instride. Nice connection for about 10-15....
H - Play action, rollout right, and then throws it away. Good play or bad play?? I guess that all depends on the down / distance. At least he's not forcing things when he uncertain about the window right??
H - A frozen rope pass over the middle to Camarillo for about 10-15. That's what you like to see right there folks....
H - Throws short underneath to Ricky, he makes a shifty move, and he's up the field for about 5. He just made something out of nothing....
H - Hesitates some, but does get rid of it in time to hit the TE for about 5 yards...
H - Tries to run a delay handoff / screen pass to Ricky, and it didn't go well. The timing needs work that's all....
=========================
Side Note : I know that I've stated this before, but Henne has one hell of an arm on him. Sure, he's alittle rough around the edges being a rookie and all, but once he gets his kinks worked out, and gets some real experience under his belt, he could be something special. I guess time will ultimately tell us all we need to know....
=========================
After those enjoyable head to head drills, the sides went back to doing things individually, and on seperate fields....
PUNT DRILLS
--------------
Not much to report here really, it's just you're ST's units practicing punts, and punt returns / coverage, that sort of thing....
As this was going on, I noticed the QB's {all four} working on precision throws. They were rolling out, and throwing passes {approx 10 yards} into a net with targets on them. Here's what I saw while they were rotating. Not much, but I tried...
P - First up, hits his target....
H - Hits his as well...
M - Nailed it, the best pass....
B - Too low, misfire...
P - Off target...
H - Too high...
M - Misses wide...
B - Nails it dead center. You Go John!!!....
P - Nothing....
H - Close, but another miss...
M - Ouch!!
B - Very close, but not a strike...
That was the end of that, and then they went onto throwing some passes that would require good arc in order to complete the pass. They all did very well in attempting these throws, and looked more comfortable doing it. It was kind of cool I guess, but I wish it had lasted longer.....
Punting / ST's drills just ending.....
WATER BREAK
==========
:emptyspace
11-11 Team Drills
============
P - Throws outside left, but it sails too high....
P - Tries to throw outside right, but was nearly picked. He needed more mustard on that one, and in a real game, it could easily have been disasterous. I think it was DB A. Goodman on that near pick, he route jumped it.....
P - Shotgun, throws left underneath, but it was way too low, and he basically skipped it. Ugly throw....
P - Play action pass caught by Ginn for about 15 yards, I will say that the pass looked alittle high for my taste....
P - Rolls out right side, hits Wynn for about 6 yrds. It was very low however, and required a sliding catch....
===========================
H - Handoff to Cobbs up the middle, and fight for only a few....
H - Throws outside right about 10yrs, but it falls incomplete. Heavy traffic so it was hard to see everything that was going on....
H - Rolls right, hits Ginn running across the middle for about 20 yards. Another very nice throw by Henne...
H - Outside flare pass to the FB, Grigsby I think, but it was too high, and he couldn't get to it. Poor pass there....
==========================
I hate to say it, but that's right where Mypen passed away on me. He was a good soldier, and had spent many a day on the camp battlefield with me over the seasons. His ink was used to pass on this highly classified information, so please remember him in your prayers tonight. Thanks...RIP Mypen :huh? :lolsign
I was able to witness some further action, and trust me when I say it wasn't pretty....
==========================
11-11 Goaline Drills
==============
Hate to say it, but Pennington / Henne both really struggled here. It was not a good ending to what I would have called a decent day of practice for them. I saw overthrows, underthrows, an INT{Pennington}, sacks, and just plain out poor QBing in that final drill of the day. I'm sure they'll both be eager to fix things the next time around, but for now it looks like these guys still have a ways to go....
==========================
~FINAL TRAINING CAMP THOUGHTS~
--------------------------------------
I'm going to start and finish with the same area here : The Offensive Line....
It's no mystery, and everyone knows that the key to building a productive offense, begins and ends with the guys you have up front fighting in the trenches for you. When they play well, the offense gets the job done, and when they struggle we usually end up losing in the end....
It's not rocket science, but it's certainly not an overnight transformation either. As much as it pains me to say it, the current OL in Miami unfortunately has a mild sense of creekiness, and instability. My hopes right now are that I'm wrong, but in being brutally honest, I don't see this OL being good enough yet to dictate anything offensively. It's going to take time to improve that's all. Think about it, we've got three guys up there expected to start, with a total of one year of experience between them. That's not an easy fix by any stretch. I guess we'll see how it goes....
As for my final thoughts on the defensive side, it's really quite difficult. I don't want to mislead anyone, and say they look great, but at the same time I don't think that they'll suck either. Being in attendence at camp doesn't always give you an accurate assumption of how the defense is actually going to look come September either. There are questions too...
Will the hybrid 3-4 stick?
Will we be able to pressure the QB enough with what we have??
Can our secondary lock things down if we can't pressure the QB??
These are things that can't be determined by sitting in the stands out at camp....
Honestly, if all goes well and we experience no serious injuries, I think they could finish middle of the pack. If....
Thanks for reading my reports everyone, you guys are the one's who make it all worthwhile for me. Sure, it's fun going out there and seeing everything in person, but I would never recommend going out there everyday reporting. STRICTLY FOR DIEHARDS!!! Anyways, Here's to a productive 2008 season!!!! PHINZ RULE!!!!!!!!!!
IN TUNA WE TRUST!!!....
) spend my summer vacation that my profession allows, and travel on down to Davie, get a cheap room for a couple weeks, and be Blitzkreig's official waterboy during camp so he can continue to produce these brilliant reports for us and make sure he stays hydrated while doing so. 
