Archives for July 2021

Despite a heavy cloudy overcast this morning, the humidity dominated this Friday morning’s practice. WR Robby Anderson returned after missing Thursday’s practice with an illness. Rookie DT Phil Hoskins worked on the sidelines as he remains on the PUP list recovering from a foot injury. LB Frankie Luvu was back at practice after being taken off the reserve/COVID-19 list. He was able to do some individual drills but not any team drills. He should be a full go for Saturday night’s practice. RB Trent Cannon continues to practice with the WRs for the 2nd day in a row.

1 on 1 drills

WR Robby Anderson vs. CB Jaycee Horn: Anderson beat Horn with a very nice double move to get wide open. But the pass was slightly underthrown, so Horn’s recovery speed allowed him to make a pass deflection.

TE Ian Thomas vs. SS Jeremy Chinn: Thomas was running a drag route across the middle. Chinn stayed close in the hip pocket long enough to extend his hand and knock the ball away.

RG John Miller vs. DT DaQuan Jones: Miller initially got leverage on Jones the first few seconds. Jones got free by doing a swim move to his left.

LT Trenton Scott vs. DE Yetur Gross-Matos: Gross-Matos did an up and under move that allowed him to get to the outside quickly. Scott kept his feet moving and hands intact to ride him out wide.

7 on 7 drills

TEs Tommy Tremble and Colin Thompson made some tough catches against tight coverage by LBs Hasson Reddick and Jermaine Carter Jr., respectively.

FS Kenny Robinson and Sam Franklin made nice pass deflections on back-to-back plays while covering RBs Reggie Bonnafon and Chubba Hubbard, respectively.

11 on 11 drills

WR DJ Moore got a step on CB Jaycee Horn, but the underthrown pass allowed Horn to recover to make a leaping INT catch.

WR Terrace Marshall Jr. made a nice catch over CB Jaycee Horn. This was the case of good coverage being beat by a better pass.

WR David Moore shook free from CB Donte Jackson and made a big catch about 30 yards down the field. Moore’s footwork on that route was textbook execution.

RB Christian McCaffrey continues to show how elusive he can be in defensive traffic. Even when it seems defenders have the right angle on him, somehow he makes them miss.

TE Ian Thomas was able to break free of coverage and catch a nice long TD. It caused the biggest cheers of the day for the offense by the fans on the hill watching.

DE Brian Burns would have had four straight sacks on consecutive plays had it been live contact. He was moving around on both the left and right sides of the defense. He looks like a man on a mission.

DE Marquis Haynes came up with a tackle for loss and a sack on back-to-back plays. His moves seem effortless and fluid.

RT Taylor Moton split his reps evenly at LT and RT during this session. When he is at RT, Cam Irving plays LT. When he is at LT, Brady Christensen plays at RT

 

The NFL set the rule that the first four practices of all training camps are to be used as an “acclimation period”. That means there will not be any pads worn at all by the players and very light contact. The goal of this rule is to allow players to pace themselves to build up to full pads and heavy contact. So basically it is like a public OTA/mini camp caliber practice for four days. So any highlights and lowlights made by the players from today through Saturday 31 July are not any indication of “Who is the starter now?” Today was mainly stretching, position group drills, 1 on 1 drills and 7 on 7 drills. This is what I observed:

 

WR Keith Kirkwood

He caught every pass thrown his way. His route running looked precise. Getting separation from his defender was constant.

WR Terrace Marshall Jr

He started off with two dropped passes. His physical dimensions are very impressive. Finished strong with making several catches.

WR Shi Smith

He made a great one handed catch over his back. His acceleration creates so much separation. Watching his footwork in drills is a must see.

WR DJ Moore

He caught balls low and high with ease. His route running looks much improved from last year.  Attacking the ball with his hands looks more natural.

RB Reggie Bonnafon

He cuts so smoothly without any wasted steps. His acceleration appears to be better. Changing speeds at the right moment was often on display.

RB Trenton Cannon

He was with the WRs during position drills. His double move on CB Donte Jackson was sickening and led to a wide open TD pass. Returning kickoffs and punts comes very natural to him.

TE Dan Arnold

He displayed above average route running. His ability to break in and out of his cut moves are effortless. Catching the ball in stride is what he showed.

CB Troy Pride

He broke up three passes with good timing and anticipation. His receivers got the better of him a few times. Once he figures it all out he will be a good defender.

CB Stanley Thomas-Oliver

He almost had an INT when he jumped the route by WR Robby Anderson. His mechanics and footwork have made a nice improvement. Playing with confidence would be huge for him.

CB Jaycee Horn

He stayed in the hip pocket of nearly every WR he covered. His closing speed is kinda scary. Athleticism is better than advertised.

LB Denzel Perryman

He did a decent job of staying with RBs and TEs in pass coverage. His instincts on where the ball is going were solid. Wasting footsteps does not appear to be an issue with him.

And Finally…….

There was a lot of 3-4 base looks today. NT: Derrick Brown. DEs: DeQuan Jones and Morgan Fox. OLB: Brian Burns and Hassan Reddick. CBs: Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson. SS: Jeremy Chinn FS: Sam Franklin.