As I write this, my latest info says that Le Charles Bentley has returned to campp, and has been cleared for individual drills. He's being kept out of 7-on-7's and stuff, but is running around and practicing.
The staff will always err on the side of caution, of course. They'll watch him closely for at least a couple days before they permit him into full practices. He hasn't played football in two years, and even a full physical recovery is only the first step.
I believe that Bentley will, at the very least, return as the primary backup at both right guard and center. More likely, he will break into the starting line-up at right guard.
Bentley made the Pro Bowl at both center and guard. Given that the current center has done a great job, and the fact that as a guard Bentley (a mauler) could be much more aggressive, this is where he's best used in this personel grouping.
Wow. Hadnot is a long-time starter, and a very good player. Tucker was possibly as good at RG as he was at RT. What an awesome and deep offensive line this would be (if I am correct).
Adam Caplan expressed concerns about depth at offensive tackle. He's naturally dismissing Izaak Sowells, recently moved there from guard (because of much better depth inside. Sowells, a left tackle when drafted, lacked power when drive-blocking, and presumably has been in the weight room a lot.
He was drafted for his athleticism, and moved inside because he's 6'3" and this was where the need was. If he was a left tackle in college, he has the physical ability to pass-block at right tackle here. If he is athletic, he has the tools to zone and trap-block in a finesse scheme.
Sowells may or may not pan out as a good backup. I'm just sayin...
Anyway, should Bentley win the start at right guard, this takes care of right tackle, as Tucker would return as the primary backup there--in fact would no doubt platoon somewhat, as he's a more powerful run-blocker than Shaffer (who Sowells is similar to). Shaffer, in turn, should be the backup at left tackle.
Amazing. Hadnot was also a starting center, as was McKinney (who may be the odd man out). This offensive line might be the deepest in the NFL.
I misunderstood Baxter's injury, as well. His were also patellars--the tendon whick lifts the foot, for stepping, kicking, etc. Concerns about his lateral mobility are largely ignorant, as this tendon has absolutely nothing to do with that.
However, Baxter was never a great man corner in the first place. He's mainly a zone cornerback. Now he's getting pretty old, but he has the size, brains, and temperament to move to safety and be damn good there. And I do mean as a cover-two, twin safety backing up both Jones and Poole, and subbing in sometimes alongside them.
Mike Adams, meanwhile, is another guy I told you so about. Sure enough, he's being worked as a nickel back over the slot.
Adams was a starting free safety, strong in coverage. At about 195, he lacks the ideal size for a cover-2 safety, but is capably of manning-up on bigger possession-type recievers. As I told you so, this was partly why the "desperate need for a vedderrunn cornerbagg" was greatly exhaggerrated. Adams is sort of a safety/cornerback 'tweener ideal for several roles in this defense.
One concern at cornerback is valid: As of this moment, no one behind McDonald and Wright is equipped to take over for either if one is injured. But there are a lot of very, very talented youngsters here fighting for the last couple slots there, and it's more likely than not that one or two will emerge from this competition.
Savage hasn't minced his words. He means what he says. He is going to watch them in camp and see how they progress before making any more trades or moves to get a vedderrunnn. (Obviously he IS getting my emails).
A little on Anderson:
As defensive coordinators get more and more game-tapes, they get a better bead on quarterbacks. This happened to Anderson the season before last. He corrected some of that, so last season, it took longer for them to catch up to this first-year starter.
How this works: The enemy coaches isolate situations. What happens when he scrambles left?
Hmm...3 picks, 5 incompletions, 2 completions. When he scrambles right? 6 comletions, 2 20-plus yards, one pick, 2 incompletions! Well obviously, we want to move our QB-killers to the strong side and chase him left!
In Anderson's case, it was determined that he lost accuracy on underneath passes, so they sold-out to take Edwards away deep. Jurevicious sort of baled him out, of course. it was irrelevant that people were hanging all over him, and the passes were high, low, or behind. But still, they were able to bring DA down to earth.
He also lost accuracy throwing to his left, so the defenses took everything away to his right.
The QB coach said that he needed to "open his hips" when throwing across his body. All that is is lifting the left foot, pointing the toe at the target, and stepping into it. It's that simple. He also said that DA's "arm-slot" changed on shorter throws. This introduces more variables. Anderson has been coached to use the identical motion for all throws, and just to vary the velocity and release-point.
He'll be fine. And very, very well-protected!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment