phan1 said:
Cause right now, I'm hard pressed to believe that he couldn't beat out Wand or Spencer at that position. And the last time I checked, LT is a more important position. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't he been the best LT that we have had throughout our short history? I mean C'mon! I don't see why he keeps getting pushed down to guard. If Spencer and Wand keep getting demolished, shouldn't we start considering Pitts at LT? I think Spencer would be a good LG as people have been saying he's a huge mauler. He was projected as a guard coming into the draft anyway right? It never looked like he was primarily a pass-blocker to begin with.
I know it's too early to hit the panic button, but I think this should be a serious consideration as training camp goes on.
I wouldn't mind seeing it, but I think the staff really likes Pitts as a LG and think he can excel there, and they don't want to keep switching player's positions around like Capers/Pendry did last year, so I think he'll stay. We meed tp start developing some consistency and chemistry on the OLine, and switching positions around won't help that. Wand has indeed looked pretty poor so far but I think Spencer will be ready to start at some point this year and will take over. I personally think Pitts was a solid LT and would be a career solid LT, nothing special, but good. I think he could be exceptional as a RT or an OG, which is why I think they have moved him back inside to OG. He is also built more like an OG than an OT. In a traditional scheme Spencer would have been more of a mauling OG, but our blocking scheme doesn't fit the huge maulers, it features more athletic OGs that can get out and move, which Spencer can do as well. Spencer has lost a lot of weight since the draft (nowhere near 352 anymore) but still has room to lose a little more and definitely needs some technique work, but he is getting there.
Marcus said:
Do I take it from the premise of this thread that Seth Wand is not holding up his end in TC?
And if that's the case, doesn't that validate what last year's coaching staff did in demoting him?
To you TC observers, what exactly is Wand's problem? Is he just getting overmatched physically? . . . Is he just too slow laterally . . . or is he not just mentally cut out for it?
He is terribly overmatched thusfar. He is getting beat on speed, he's being overpowered in pass protection, and he's being neutralized and even dominated in run blocking. He's jumped to false starts more than anyone else on the OLine, and he's easily been the weak link on the starting OLine thusfar. He has also been consistently dominated in 1 on 1 drills, Mario has taken him to school, and Peek and Babin are dominating him too, and usually by just bull rushing him, which shouldn't be a strength of Babin and Peek. They aren't even having to use their superior athleticism to get around him. Wand is physically pretty athletic, he just doesn't use it well, doesn't seem very strong, and does not seem tough/strong-willed.
Bullfan said:
Sounds like some of you are "seeing what you want to see", which is for Wand to fail. We are 3 days into training camp, new coaches, new play schemes and Wand finally has coaches who want to teach him and work with him. Give him a chance -- he will surprise you. There is no way he does not want to be a good left tackle, he just hasn't been given the training that Chester has. It was reported that Chester has spent some time on the bench too from making mistakes, give this line of men a chance.
Wand has been getting dominated, I wish we could get ahold of tapes from the practice to show to everyone that still thinks he's playing well. He has clearly been the worst among the 1st team OLinemen, and I'd say Spencer and Winston are right there with him despite making a decent amount of rookie mistakes, and even Fred Weary has looked better thusfar. To this point Wand has looked pretty bad and has also received more yelling/criticism from the coaching staff, which shows that they care enough to point him in the right direction, but he really has a long way to go if he's going to be our starter this year.
oso said:
How fired up is the rest of the line? I'm not trying to denounce a post. I'm just curious because I haven't been able to go to the camps. Are they pumped up? Are they jumping up and down after every play? From what I have seen in the pics and what I have heard on the boards (which is all I have to go on), I can't make a decision as to the player's emotional state.
So I'm going to wait for the coaches to do their job. As I've said before, Mario, Demeco, Moulds, and Flanagan are nothing compared to the changes in the front three - Kubiak, Sherman, and Smith. This will be the big change this year, whoever is running the ball.
Along these lines, how is the offensive coaching staff looking? I have heard little of Benton (O-line coach) and Calhoun (OC). Is Sherman working with the line, or has it been relegated to Benton? Would either give the line the Pendry stamp of approval (berating, yelling, etc.). Just curious. Thanks.
The defense has definitely been fired up after every play, the offense not so much. Sherman has spent a ton of time with the OLine, and they are definitely working hard to improve them individually, and I suspect they will look a lot better as they play together and the rest of our scheme is implemented and we see the full array of formations/plays/protection schemes.
Kaiser Toro said:
I do not like the fact that people are having a consistent take on what they are seeing from Wand. And I am alarmed. However, as some are implying here how do Kubiak/Sherman measure Wand? And is he below or above the expectation by Day 4 of training camp? That is what really counts here.
We have spoken about certain players having a year or a half season to show results. I would say that Wand most likely has to the end of training camp. I hope the staff knows what makes this guy tick by now.
How is Hodgdon looking?
Hodgdon hasn't looked real good either in 1 on 1s. Weaver, Robaire, Payne, and obviously Mario have been tossing him around with ease. He really needs to gain some strength to stand up to the DTs in this league. He has fairly solid techniques and fundamentals, just can't hang with our defensive talent as of this point.
I think instead of jumping down Jereks throat we should thank him for his insight...we recognize that these are HIS observations and how Wands demeanor struck him...
donno, but you were kinda off on your Carr is gonna have a great year thing last year weren't you?
