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Post by rc on Apr 23, 2021 18:57:10 GMT -6
Watched the spring game this evening. Dobbins looks good and the passing game looked better, but it is hard to tell when it is an inter-squad game. Both Mansell and Earle look better to me. Earle threw some long balls that really looked like bullets. I did not see as much intermediate route passing as I would have liked. When it is ACU's offense playing against ACU's defense, I am not astute enough to know how to judge. I thought we did have some defensive breakdowns on both running and passing but overall, we sure seemed quicker.
Someone else who attended, please provide your take. There were quite a few in the stands for a Spring Game.
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Post by jCat on Apr 23, 2021 19:47:50 GMT -6
It was a beautiful evening at the stadium. We certainly have more depth in the backfield, and our receivers looked good at times. There were a few dry spells for the offense, with penalties disrupting any flow that we might have had. As RC mentioned, the defense had its struggles, but I think it's hard to judge too sharply since they blew the whistle early and protected players. And everything was very vanilla with no blitzing.
There were lots of reps to go around. It was nice to see Dustin Innes receive his scholarship. He's certainly earned it.
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Apr 24, 2021 9:49:44 GMT -6
I was also at the game with JCat and trackfan was with us until he got hungry and went home. Also saw Outsider. I met the Holmans and the Mansells. Seem like nice folks. Some offensive observations. 1. As JCat pointed out, the defense was plain vanilla and tackling was held to a minimum. 2. We have very good quarterbacks. Will be a strength 3. The wide receivers are significantly improved. Same guys, they are just better. Denver Holman looks like an excellent pickup. Knows how to find holes in the defense and has very good hands. 4. Oh boy. We are loaded at running back. White looks like he’s back and Anthony Smith is a dude. 5. I’m going to guardedly say that the OL is much better. Ty Smith is just a beast! (IMHO, the coaching change is already paying off.) 6. Lutz seems to have broken out. Made a couple of nice catches and blocked really well.
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Post by acutrackfan on Apr 24, 2021 10:37:13 GMT -6
Don't have much to add to Jcat and Cap'n. The evening was beautiful. Cap'n quipped that we needed a catered meal -- but, there hasn't been a catered meal on campus in over a year (I am sure that Cap'n was well aware of that). Just hoping that there can be something available in the club level in the fall!
Offense and defense were pretty vanilla -- to be expected in a scrimmage. I did see good arm strength from the QB's, in fact almost identical arm strength and accuracy from Peyton Mansell and Stone Earle. I do like what I see from the RB's -- three FCS level RB's, from what I saw. I did not get to see Robert McKnight carry the ball. It is very hard to see how the defense is looking, with tackling at a minimum, but pass coverage was pretty good -- some of the WR's made acrobatic catches.
The crowd was much larger than I would have expected -- several hundred people, maybe even approaching a thousand were there. It was mentioned that season tickets had gone on sale.
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Post by Outsider on Apr 24, 2021 15:00:13 GMT -6
It was a beautiful evening for football and the crowd was a nice surprise. Overall, the offense looks better. We simply have more capable depth and I liked the effort I saw from the entire offense. Both Peyton and Stone look better; bullet for arms and I am seeing good decision making. I thought they both handled the pass rush better. I also think the OL has made some improvements. I saw better blocking and lanes being made. We still had a couple of key holding penalties. We need to stay smart and not nullify good plays. Still, the QBs weren't constantly running. I liked that we did much better with passing downfield, and if we did throw to the side, the blocking was better and our guys were in motion already. I saw some great runs and great catches. Both Dobbins and White showed they can be dangerous and Anthony Smith showed he is ready to make an impact. The receivers were able to run good routes and find openings. Kobe always shows great IQ to get YAC. The surprise receiver for me was #15 Denver Holman. He was aggressive and had good hands. Several times he wasn't afraid to get physical to get an extra yard or two; or to prevent the pick. I know the coaches aren't going to show everything, but the scheme just seemed more productive. One thing that concerns me is just having 2 capable QBs. I would like more depth as anything can happen, even in a single game.
The defense moved to the ball quickly. Greg Green got a nice interception right off the bat. Stapp was all over the field as well. It's hard to say if our offensive success was due to the vanilla play and lack of tackles or not. I can see that we still have players that can make key plays, but feel uncertain on how to gauge them.
I see a lot of protentional, but knowing the quality of our competition precludes me from making any predictions still. We have the talent to stay in games. With some key breaks, we also have the talent to capitalize. Here's to hoping we do.
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Post by rc on Apr 24, 2021 19:45:51 GMT -6
Where were you guys sitting? I was on the main deck between the upper and lower stands, right in front of the season tickets table, on the 50 yard line. Really a nice two person seat with a great view, maybe better than the box suites because you could see up close. Easy to see numbers during the plays.
I agree we seem to be in good shape with running backs. Impressive. It is hard to tell in an inter-squad game but it seems we had plays being called a little more quickly. Maybe is was all scripted or maybe another year has improved the timing. At least the quarterbacks could really look over the defensive alignments. I thought last year we were too slow getting plays in and the quarterbacks did not really have time to evaluate the defensive sets. This time both Mansell and Earle could really make reads. Of course they probably know our defensive sets pretty well. Some great catches but there were also some fine breakups.
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Post by Outsider on Apr 25, 2021 7:41:24 GMT -6
Where were you guys sitting? I was on the main deck between the upper and lower stands, right in front of the season tickets table, on the 50 yard line. Really a nice two person seat with a great view, maybe better than the box suites because you could see up close. Easy to see numbers during the plays. I agree we seem to be in good shape with running backs. Impressive. It is hard to tell in an inter-squad game but it seems we had plays being called a little more quickly. Maybe is was all scripted or maybe another year has improved the timing. At least the quarterbacks could really look over the defensive alignments. I thought last year we were too slow getting plays in and the quarterbacks did not really have time to evaluate the defensive sets. This time both Mansell and Earle could really make reads. Of course they probably know our defensive sets pretty well. Some great catches but there were also some fine breakups. We were up in 205 where we normally sit. "Tude was just up past us.
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Spring Game
Apr 25, 2021 14:41:58 GMT -6
via mobile
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Apr 25, 2021 14:41:58 GMT -6
I was in my season tix seat in 206 row D. JCat was sitting with me. Or I with him.
I didn’t comment much on the D. I didn’t think the front seven held their own against our OL. But... no stunts, no blitzes, no all-out pass rush so can’t really tell.
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