4/10 Scrimmage

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draftnik2

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Can't wait to hear observations about today's scrimmage... How'd the o-line look???
 

I thought good ... Bunders and Carufel stood out on a couple different plays.
 


Hope he gets better.
 

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My thoughts, copied from the other scrimmage thread:

Watched most of the scrimmage today...I'm sure someone will give a much more through breakdown (I was chasing my 3 year old around a lot!), but here are some thoughts:

1) QB's: Weber was easily the sharpest of the 3. He looked very relaxed and comfortable, making good reads and putting the ball in good spots on a line. Threw a couple really sharp out routes. Gray made a really nice run during the "live" portion of the scrimmage (they blew the whistle, but he would've scored). MG really does need to work on his reads, though. You can tell he gets locked-in on one guy and gets pretty antsy in the pocket when it starts to break down. He probably would've been sacked several times today if they allowed it. Alipate is HUGE and does have a good arm, although I think he has a really weird release point (really low...almost side-armish a couple times). All in all, I'd be SHOCKED if anyone other than Weber starts and/or takes the majority of the snaps.

2) Running game: The OL really struck me as much improved. The running game was sharp throughout the day & Deleon Eskridge actually looked darn good, making some really great reads/cuts on zone plays and picking up big chunks of yards on several occasions. You can see why the staff is so excited about Michel, btw--he's a beast and looks well put together. I wouldn't be surprised if he was getting reps by the end of the year. He looked agile at LT and was able to "scoop" an inside technique a couple times on zone running plays away from him. I didn't focus in on Olson much...hopefully someone else did and can report back. All in all, I'd be hugely surprised if the OL wasn't 5x improved this year...they looked a lot better/more fluid, especially in the running game.

3) Troy Stoudemire, Bryant Allen, and Eric Lair all caught multiple balls, a few of which were really nicely hauled-in. Allen left with an injury near the end of the scrimmage...looked like an ankle, the way he was limping off with the aid of two trainers. Hope he's OK! All in all, the receiving core has a TON of raw talent, but it's just that--raw. They need a ton of seasoning on things like route running and getting up the field after the catch (both Allen and Stoudemire lost YAC trying to make people miss). Tons of ability, though. I should add that Hayo Carpenter was running with the 1st unit for much of the day, and I just really wasn't impressed. I was excited as everyone else when he came in last year, but I really don't see him contributing. I remember one play in particular where Weber pretty badly underthrew a fade to the endzone. An athletic WR should have been able to leap at the highest point and at least try to knock it down, but Hayo got bodied out by the corner who almost picked it off...it was sad.

4) I didn't focus on the D as much, since I was really interested in the OL and running game. I'll say this much: the DL is absolutely HUGE. I was in Ames last week and watched ISU scrimmage from field-level, and their DL was extremely small compared to what we're running out there. I'll be interested to watch their development...

5) I'll say this much for Keanon Cooper: I absolutely love his upside, but he needs to get a LOT bigger if he's going to play in or around the box much this year. The staff had him playing near the line a lot (and coming on a ton of stunts) and he was getting abused consistently...just totally washed out in the running game. I wouldn't be surprised if he plays more like a safety as the year progresses...I really just think he's too small.

6) Tinsley didn't participate...I don't know if it's already been reported that he's injured or something, but he did sit out.

7) We missed two consecutive FG's of about 35 yards during the 2 min drill, after both the 1st and 2nd unit O's had driven the ball about 40 yards (quite nicely, btw...the 2nd unit was especially impressive, with Gray connecting to Stoudemire for about a 20 yard gain to get into FG range).
 

I thought the defense dominated at the beginning (first play from the 2 went for a safety). About half way through the offense started to click, some nice long runs. If I had to guess I would say they started to tire a bit. DeLeon looked really good, Duane looked good as well but DeLeon was better today. Offense ran the ball the majority of the time, Weber was the best QB today. Which won't excite too many people (I heard 2 people comment at the scrimmage that they hope he doesn't start). Stuck on last year's season instead of watching what was unfolding in front of them. Gray looked alright but still learning.

No rosters handed out so it was tough to identify some people. Edwards is huge. Wills looked smaller but hard to say if/how much, he's still a big boy.

Crowd kept getting larger and larger, I'd say at least over a thousand at the end.

From where I sat it looked more like BA's knee than his ankle, I sure hope I am wrong.

Great weather to watch a couple hours of football.
 

Hard to totally evaluate when they were running situational running plays for a decent stretch. In other words, the defense likely knew exactly what was coming. Wills looks down a few pounds, but nothing super noticeable. My guess: By the end of September, if not sooner, Ed Olson is the starting RT.
 










Marcus Fuller has a story on Maresh and the scrimmage http://www.twincities.com/gophersfootball/ci_14859789?nclick_check=1. Ellstad wasn't at the scrimmage so the missed FGs aren't as worrisome. I saw Bryant Allen get hurt and it looked like an ankle to me. I'm betting that it's a high ankle sprain. I'm a little concerned that there seems to be a left side bias when running the ball, I don't know if it's because they're working on it because it's weak or if it's because they aren't as confident going to the right.
 

MGGopher said:
1) QB's: Weber was easily the sharpest of the 3. He looked very relaxed and comfortable, making good reads and putting the ball in good spots on a line.


2) Running game: The OL really struck me as much improved. The running game was sharp throughout the day & Deleon Eskridge actually looked darn good...

3) I should add that Hayo Carpenter was running with the 1st unit for much of the day, and I just really wasn't impressed. I was excited as everyone else when he came in last year, but I really don't see him contributing. I remember one play in particular where Weber pretty badly underthrew a fade to the endzone. An athletic WR should have been able to leap at the highest point and at least try to knock it down, but Hayo got bodied out by the corner who almost picked it off...it was sad.

4) ...the DL is absolutely HUGE.
QUOTE]

1. I agree about Weber. He put a couple in the dirt, but the receiver was pretty well covered at the time. Gray looked better than I expected in passing situations, but his play didn't scream start me now!

2. Deleon did look good, but the o line looked great in comparison to the past.

3. Poor Hayo. A big, physical receive he is not, but he did have a couple nices catches. In all fairness, the corner was Carter.

4. We have a some big guys finally and they seem to be able to move.
Click to expand...
 


It was great watching the Gophers in action. I've been looking forward to the opportunity to post about this.

1) The Gophers looked like a Big Time Big Ten football team . The Gopher linemen are huge on both sides of the ball and have really good athleticism. There's great speed throughout the skill positions as well. I've never seen the Gophers look anywhere near this big and athletic in their 2 deeps in my lifetime.

2) I thought the Offensive Line was much improved. They were able to get a push and create good holes for the backs, even a couple times when the Defense knew it was coming. I thought Alford and Bunders both stood out and did a great job. Brooks Michel looked phenomenal. That kid is ready to start right now (and needs to). I was also impressed by Eric Jacques. He could be a really nice player in the years to come. The right side of the first team O-line had some nice moments, but was not nearly as impressive as the left side.
Bennett looks a step faster than last year and that was great to see.

3) The WRs caught just about everything in the route drills with the QBs. Bryant Allen ran good routes and made some impressive athletic catches. He also excelled in the scrimmage making some nice plays (although a couple of time he negated first down yardage by giving up ground after catching the ball). I really hope he recovers fast as he looked great pre-injury. Troy Stoudemire looks like he's improved since last year. His route running and hands have improved. We need him to produce so that was nice to see. Xavian Brandon is really raw and doesn't run good routes. Hayo Carpenter is a perpetual disappointment. The coaching staff inexplicably called a fade route to him in the red zone that he quit on and Michael Carter should have picked off (good coverage but we need those INTs). Da Jon McKnight looked good in his routes. AJ Barker made a couple really nice plays.

5) QBs-- All the QBs looked good throwing the basic routes. I was very impressed with MarQueis Gray. He was consistently putting it on the money. Weber looked pretty good too (but both he and Gray also had a few bad misses) Alipate has a strong arm. Adam Lueck was very accurate on the short balls but didn't have the arm strength to do much past 15 yards.

The scary, oh my god 2010 could be a bloodbath moment of the day came during the 3rd down efficiency scrimmage. The O scrimmaged the D in a continuous series of 3rd down plays, usually 3rd and long but also a few 3rd and 4s mixed in. All the QBs really struggled during this drill. Both Gray and Weber missed WRs by 15 yards once. Weber stared a WR down so hard that he threw a slant pattern into quadruple coverage. Gray was staring guys down too. Alipate looked lost. I began to feel dizzy...palms sweaty...flashbacks to 2007, and then...

...the moment passed. The Gophers began the game situation scrimmage. Weber engineered some impressive moments driving the Offense confidently down the field. The Gophers ran the ball effectively and with great push from the left side of the line. The drive sputtered in the red zone and resulted in a missed fg.

Then Gray took the field. On the first play Anthony Jacobs burst through the line and stuffed the RB for a 5 yard loss on a toss sweep. (Incidentally, Jacobs looked like the real deal on Saturday on several occasions. I was pleasantly surprised). on 2nd down the Offensive line had a false start penalty (5 or 6 of those throughout the scrimmage). On 2nd and 20 MarQueis Gray went back to pass, saw no one open, and broke off an untouched run of 22 yards before being pushed out of bounds. He cut so quick that he had run 5 yards before the D even started to react. Gray made some nice passes to keep the chains rolling. He threw a beautiful pass and hit a WR on the 10 yard line but the ball bounced off the WR's chest up in the air for an INT.
During the 2 minute drill drive Gray and Weber each led the O calmly and efficiently down the field before the kicker botched the 'game winning' gf .

If you discount the terrible drop Gray was 8-12.

My Verdict--Gray and Weber both looked very competent leading the offenses. Gray was the more impressive of the two. Gray has improved his accuracy, velocity, footwork, and ability to read the Defense and hang in there and make tough throws. Weber looked better, but he has not become ultra consistent nor has he shed his habit of staring down WRs. While Gray also sometimes stares guys down, his running ability forces the Defense to play him more honestly to respect that ability.

MarQueis Gray will win (and should win) the starting QB job before or during this season. The only question in my mind is when will it happen.

Finally, D looked great and athletic. Anthony Jacobs had a big day. Carter looked good and Watkins made a couple nice plays. Kirksey is the truth. He's going to be unreal this year. Hageman is a little raw but he's such a beast he'll do pretty well this year anyway (and when the light really goes on for him he is going to be like Adrian Clayborn). LBs looked fast, but a little confused at times (understandable with some key guys out). Cosgrove was blitzing all over the place. Royston had a bad face mask penalty and was out of position at too often. I worry about his consistency.

And Ryan Collado was truly lights out. He was great in man coverage. He looked faster. I can't actually believe I'm writing this, but he looked like a legit starting Big Ten Corner. Maybe he was just having a phenomenal day, and tomorrow he'll go back to being dependable in run support but too slow to be on an island with Prime Time WRs. But on Saturday Collado looked like he could be ready to surprise a lot of people.
 

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