The fan preview scrimmage was impressive in terms of organization and fan turnout. I think more fans would have turned, if they would have known next week's, supposedly, "fan appreciation" scrimmage will now be closed to the public.
However, the play on the field was unimpressive. Tom Brandstater worked only with the first team, and his play was pedestrian at best. Granted, the first defense made the first team offense look silly most of the night anyways.
Sean Norton, in my opinion, had the better game, especially when he had time to throw. The second team offensive line was awful. But keep in mind, the 2nd team right tackle, Kenny Avon, was a playing DT just a few days ago. The only time Norton had time to throw, was when the fullback stayed in to block.
The third team was easily the most impressive offensive unit. Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding were money.
That's my take, gobulldogs.com has a complete recap, but their assement has a little too much "kool-aid"even for me, the Fresno Bee's is a little more accurate.
6 comments:
"Tom Brandstater worked only with the first team, and his play was pedestrian at best." Well, I was there for the first 1 1/2 hours and TB had BY FAR the better game IMO (again, while I was there) TB knew what he was doing and where to go with the ball. He seemed to have a much better understanding of the defense as well. SN looked pedestrian at best in my eyes. He looked confused at the line and took waaaay too long to start play. Another thing about SN i noticed is that he has to wait for a window to develop because of his lack of size. On the plus, SN does seem to have about the same overall arm as TB (if you factor in one's deepball vs. the others intermediate routes) and SN is a little quicker. Overall I'd say TB at this point. D.O. as our CB opposite MM and MH over JS at the Saftey spot.
I have seen Tom look a lot better in practice. And considering he has been working with the first team since spring, I was not too impressed last night.
Norton has had better days, as well, but IMO if Brandstater was running with backups, especially the offensive line, he would not have done any better.
Norton made some plays, and Brandstater did not per se. TB ran the offense, and he knows the plays, and exucuted, both nothing spectacular. I would like to see Norton with the 1st team, but is not going to happen.
It is really a testament to the defense. The second team defense was very good, and comparable to our first team's front seven. The ate up the 2nd team OL all night.
It was typical for the first scrimage. Miller got lucky on his first carry. The QB's looked average. Wright looked ok. The senior WR's looked ok. The first O-line looked good, the second O-line looked horrible. The secondary had too many penalties. The LB's looked ok. M. Stuart beat anybody who lined up in front of him and could've had a couple of sacks. Harding looked good and Stiter looked awsome. It wasn't impressive but it's only been a week since they started real practive. They will get a lot better in the next couple of weeks.
I would definitely like to see Moses Harris play over Sherley. Sherley is a liability in pass coverage and I have yet to see any of this "toughness" PH has talked about. Sherley gets sucked up way too easy and I have seen him miss plenty of tackles. Give Harris a shot.
Sherley is a senior, and had a great spring. He will have a big year, but I feel comfortable if something happens to him, like this injury, Harris is more than capable of filling in...........
For anyone who thought Brandstater looked good during the first scrimmage they must have been looking at a different scrimmage than I watched. He looked shaky in the pocket, not to mention when he rolled out his accuracy decreased heavily. How anyone can feel truly comfortable with this guy at quarterback right now is beyond me. Yes he looks like he has the talent to lead the team but having the talent to do something and actually doing it are two completely different aspects of college football.
Norton practiced with the second string as the offensive line for the second string was attrocious. They did not block once for Norton as he was forced to throw the ball early. Somehow he ended up 8 for 11 on the day. Yes his one interception was bad but for anyone who saw it he had four defenders in his face one second after the ball was hiked. I don't remember his name but #34 ran in untouched four different times against the second team line.
All I am saying is make it a fair competition. If Brandstater is our starter fine, but let Norton have first string snaps as well to see if he can throw with the added time. Our first team offensive line is ridiculously good as Brandstater has years to throw every down. I just wonder what Norton could do with the same amount of time?
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