Thursday (8/3) Night Camp

[jerek]

Consisted of team drills. No pads. The steady breeze and sunset made a remarkable difference. Kubiak let the practice out 15 minutes early.

Toward the end, they ran a two-minute drill; the closest thing to "live play" I've seen so far. Carr scored on a slant to Moulds with six seconds remaining (I've said it before but it's worth repeating; that slant is going to be absolutely deadly this year.) He looked a little choppy at times in the drill, but made it happen. Threw some beautiful balls but mostly worked on simple short routes. Some moron fan yelled "good job David" when Carr threw a floater out of bounds, and I secretly hoped security escorted him out for a backroom beating. It's not that I like Carr; don't bring that junk to training camp, of all places, for any player. I sure as hell wouldn't be out there dissing Travis Johnson.

Somewhat to my surprise, on the next possession, Rosenfels owned the first team D, but Kubiak called off the drill before he could score. I am still borderline ecstatic to see kind of plays we are calling offensively. We are sending 4 receivers on just about every play and I like route selection.

Morency, Lundy, and Taylor took a lot of kick return reps.

DeMeco is taking most of the first-team reps at MLB. Travis Johnson saw a lot of second team action. Seth Wand took some first team reps, splitting them with Spencer.

First team players took very limited reps throughout the first 60 minutes or so of practice, but there was a lot of Carr, Andre, and Moulds to be had for the remainder. Moulds is going to be special for us; let alone the veteran angle that Kubiak has been talking about, he is still a very sharp player. He was making our corners look silly a few times. Morency and Smith are taking most of the first team reps at RB, after ...

My boy Chris Taylor sat out most of practice after he fumbled early on. Come on, Chris ... we need you buddy.

Saw D-Rob after practice. He said he'll be back tomorrow (today).

I've slept since and I'm pretty tired today any way (was really tired last night), so I apologize for lack of additional information. Hope this is something for all of you who couldn't make it.

[tulexan]

How are the battles against Mario going? Is the OL catching up or is he widening the gap?

[Pigskin Porkers]

Originally Posted by jerek

Consisted of team drills. No pads. The steady breeze and sunset made a remarkable difference. Kubiak let the practice out 15 minutes early.

Toward the end, they ran a two-minute drill; the closest thing to "live play" I've seen so far. Carr scored on a slant to Moulds with six seconds remaining (I've said it before but it's worth repeating; that slant is going to be absolutely deadly this year.) He looked a little choppy at times in the drill, but made it happen. Threw some beautiful balls but mostly worked on simple short routes. Some moron fan yelled "good job David" when Carr threw a floater out of bounds, and I secretly hoped security escorted him out for a backroom beating. It's not that I like Carr; don't bring that junk to training camp, of all places, for any player. I sure as hell wouldn't be out there dissing Travis Johnson.

Somewhat to my surprise, on the next possession, Rosenfels owned the first team D, but Kubiak called off the drill before he could score. I am still borderline ecstatic to see kind of plays we are calling offensively. We are sending 4 receivers on just about every play and I like route selection.

Morency, Lundy, and Taylor took a lot of kick return reps.

DeMeco is taking most of the first-team reps at MLB. Travis Johnson saw a lot of second team action. Seth Wand took some first team reps, splitting them with Spencer.

First team players took very limited reps throughout the first 60 minutes or so of practice, but there was a lot of Carr, Andre, and Moulds to be had for the remainder. Moulds is going to be special for us; let alone the veteran angle that Kubiak has been talking about, he is still a very sharp player. He was making our corners look silly a few times. Morency and Smith are taking most of the first team reps at RB, after ...

My boy Chris Taylor sat out most of practice after he fumbled early on. Come on, Chris ... we need you buddy.

Saw D-Rob after practice. He said he'll be back tomorrow (today).

I've slept since and I'm pretty tired today any way (was really tired last night), so I apologize for lack of additional information. Hope this is something for all of you who couldn't make it.

Thanks, I am in Maine.......you all are my only source for info.... Thanks again.

[jerek]

Originally Posted by tulexan

How are the battles against Mario going? Is the OL catching up or is he widening the gap?

Last night didn't involve pads so it is a bit difficult to watch and determine how that will translate to full speed with pads, but for the most part Mario is still dominating with ease. They brought out a crew of refs who simply blew the whistle to end the play when the "tackle" was made, but during drills there were a number of times where the QB was sacked within 2 seconds.

Mario's the real deal I can see him notching 10+ sacks this year and challenging for (Kearse? Peppers?) rookie record. Weaver, Payne, and Babin/Peek will keep opposing O-lines honest and should themselves benefit from any extra attention given to Mario, let alone when we send a blitz. I also think Kalu and possibly Alfred Malone will see a lot of reps.

What I like best about Mario is that he is plainly listening to Karm and the coaching staff and wants to be better. No, I'm not going to get into that "he looks angry when he screws up, he's a real winner" argument again, but suffice it to say the guy wants to better. He's working hard and isn't content to beat up on the average skill level he is facing off against now; he wants to be the best and it shows.

That said, I think our O-line is getting better. I don't know how much closer they are to resolving the battle for LT but for the most part they appear to be gelling out there.

[wrestler4life]

How did TJ look with the second team?

[tulexan]

Originally Posted by jerek

Last night didn't involve pads so it is a bit difficult to watch and determine how that will translate to full speed with pads, but for the most part Mario is still dominating with ease. They brought out a crew of refs who simply blew the whistle to end the play when the "tackle" was made, but during drills there were a number of times where the QB was sacked within 2 seconds.

Mario's the real deal I can see him notching 10+ sacks this year and challenging for (Kearse? Peppers?) rookie record. Weaver, Payne, and Babin/Peek will keep opposing O-lines honest and should themselves benefit from any extra attention given to Mario, let alone when we send a blitz. I also think Kalu and possibly Alfred Malone will see a lot of reps.

What I like best about Mario is that he is plainly listening to Karm and the coaching staff and wants to be better. No, I'm not going to get into that "he looks angry when he screws up, he's a real winner" argument again, but suffice it to say the guy wants to better. He's working hard and isn't content to beat up on the average skill level he is facing off against now; he wants to be the best and it shows.

That said, I think our O-line is getting better. I don't know how much closer they are to resolving the battle for LT but for the most part they appear to be gelling out there.

I think the real question that we all want to know is, Does Mario have "it"?

[jerek]

Originally Posted by wrestler4life

How did TJ look with the second team?

Ehh ... I didn't notice him make many plays one way or the other. I know I've said that before but he didn't catch my eye; positively or negatively. He is an inferior athlete at this point (Mario, Weaver, Payne, Kalu, Babin, Peek, and probably even Malone and Robaire) and I just hope he is working hard to improve his conditioning and become a playmaker. At his current pace he will see time on special teams, goalline, and occasional spelling of someone else at DT. At this point he still has time to move up the depth chart, but he needs to get it in gear.

He and Robaire and Malone split most of the second team reps at DT.

[jerek]

Originally Posted by tulexan

I think the real question that we all want to know is, Does Mario have "it"?

As he has not single handedly led his team to victory in the national championship, I think we can safely say he does not have "it."

[santo]

Hey Jerek, thanks for the info...

I just wondering, how are the running backs doing?

I know you mentioned Taylor fumbling, but how are the rest of the backs doing?

[Ibar_Harry]

In years past I have often commented it was hard to judge the offensive line, because our defensive line was a lot weaker than we thought. We simply weren't going to get better because of the style of practice. Now, I believe if you see improvement in the offensive line you can say that's good. I think we are going to find we have one of the best defensive lines this year. They are going to press and impress everyone they play.

I think our offensive line is going to surprise more than a few. I also believe that despite what everyone thinks we are going to use the passing game far more than most believe. The reason is simple. Kubiak is no dummy and has said he will adapt to what the team does best. Right now, the running game is not our best offensive weapon. We are loaded at the receiver positions and Kubiak knows it. We will use the receivers like a running game. Moulds, AJ, Walters are big time receivers who are fast and can catch the ball. They are big targets. Add to that what we have at TE and you are a very formidable offense from a passing prospective.

Yes, we have to run and will run. Remember, the 49ers used the passing game to set up the running game and Kubiak was an assistant during that era. Kubiak wants to run, knows he has to run, but he also knows his running game is suspect right now. If he can set up the run like the 49ers did he can be effective with the young players we have now. The difference this year will be that we can score on any play at any time. Our offense will have the home run threat that hasn't been present very much in the past.

[tulexan]

Originally Posted by jerek

As he has not single handedly led his team to victory in the national championship, I think we can safely say he does not have "it."

I guess we are screwed then

[jerek]

Originally Posted by tulexan

I guess we are screwed then

Forgot to mention he didn't go to high school here in Houston. What were we thinking about when we drafted this guy?

[titan hater]

Originally Posted by tulexan

I guess we are screwed then

lol...

[jerek]

Originally Posted by santo

Hey Jerek, thanks for the info...

I just wondering, how are the running backs doing?

I know you mentioned Taylor fumbling, but how are the rest of the backs doing?

Morency continues to look better. He is making better cuts and is dancing less. Lundy is a hard judgment call for me. He hasn't really stuck out one way or the other. I think he will make the team but remain on practice squad. Smith is a freakishly big back but is so slooow. Great for short yardage but I suspect he will end taking less carries than our featured back (Davis if healthy, if not him then Morency or possibly Taylor).

[tulexan]

I wonder if Mario will ever see some time with the red zone offense. I remember seeing Julius Peppers playing some tight end around the goal line last year a few times because of his size and athleticism. I would think that it would be pretty much impossible to stop someone who is 6'7 with a 40" vertical.

[RTP2110]

Coach Sherman kept Seth Wand after practice and had a long talk with him about something or another. Wand doesn't look happy. Excuse the pic quality...

[JDizzle]

Thank you for the review. It is really nice to have this kind of information relayed to us as the local media does a bad job of it.

[Trapped]

Originally Posted by tulexan

I wonder if Mario will ever see some time with the red zone offense. I remember seeing Julius Peppers playing some tight end around the goal line last year a few times because of his size and athleticism. I would think that it would be pretty much impossible to stop someone who is 6'7 with a 40" vertical.

It's becuase Julius Peppers has underrated basketball skills. Played at UNC as a forward. Basketball players make great wr's.

[valleytexfan]

Thanks Jerek. I'm in South Texas and this is my source for anything Texan. Great observations!!

[Señor Stan]

OMG!!!1! Wand looks pouty in this shot.