Another sweltering hot day. The practice started for QBs with Zorn throwing the ball on the ground and each Qb having to fall on it in a spooning/sliding fashion. Colt did it the best of the three. Todd Collins seemed to run up to it, squat, and fall on it which drew laughter from the crowd. Campbell also had an awkward fall on it which resulted in a quick lecture from Zorn.
Next up was practicing 15 yard screen passes. The QB would drop back and then Zorn would yell which square he wants the QB to throw in. Campbell's first pass was a direct shot, but he got a quick lecture on Zorn on footwork. The drill reminded me of a dunk-tank at a county fair. The crowd would go crazy any time the ball caught into one of the squares.
Next, the Qbs ran this drill on the run. Todd Collins looked a lot more consistent than the previous day I saw him (Saturday). The subsequent drill removed the net and insert in tight ends (no coverage). Fred Davis made a nice grab and his turn and momentum up-field is very impressive. As Sugar said before, Fred Davis is going to make himself known this year.
Hunter Smith was doing a few drills today. He was catching some Ethan Albright snaps for place kicking...one-handed. Everything Terl covered with Hunter being the best holder of all time appears to be true. I asked Suisham if Hunter has made a big difference. "Yes" he replied. "How is it different than Durant's hold", I asked. Suisham thought for a few seconds, laughed, and replied, "It just is." Seems to go with what Hunter said that every ball he puts down is the exact same, smooth motion.
At 9:30AM the horn sounded and the 11-11 drills commenced. I took notes of every single play, so here they are in sequential order:
- Fincher comes straight through into the backfield
- London Fletcher came in untouched and Campbell throws an INT. Zorn shouts "You got to earn it offense!"'
- JC fumbles snap
- Heyer slightly false started, Sellers held, but JC finished the play and connected on a long bomb to Randle-El to the crowd's delight.
- Todd Collins completes a nice throw over the middle to Trent Shelton
- False start
- Todd Collins 5-yard slant complete pass.
- Sweep to Alridge for no gain.
- Fred Davis goes in motion and stops as fullback. Colt hikes and looks for a screen to Fed which is well-covered, so Colt scrambles out of bounds.
- Jeremy Jarmon burns Jeremy Bridges and is able to bat down Colt's screen attempt
- Campbell quick slant to Randle-El for short gain (I got a flashback to 2008)
- Campbell overthrows Fred Davis. Cornelius Griffin got to the QB first.
- Betts run left for a few yards.
- Quick pass for 3-yards to Hagans. Will Montgomery playing Center and lost his battle.
- Anthony Alridge bobbles the handle off and fumbles. Kareem Moore scoops it up. Fan screams "Cut his ass!" which drew a laugh
- Dominque Dorsey runs left for a 5 yard gain before defense gets to him
- Todd Collins screen to Marcus Mason who runs down the sideline and takes a full hit from Robert Henson
--- Drills now switch to Red Zone ---
- Antonio Dixon gets in the backfield. Portis stopped for a loss.
- Campbell has lots of protection and scrambles up the middle for a TD
- Collins nice fade pass to Marko Mitchell for a TD
- Betts runs left for a TD. No LBs were there to cover that side and Robert Thomas was the closest one.
- Colt has a really nice play-action fake bootleg and throws a pass to Fred Davis in the end-zone. Zorn throws his hands up in the air in celebration.
- Pitch to Marcus Mason which is broken up by Rocky McIntosh behind the line of scrimmage.
- Colt Brennan can't find an open WR...looks around and runs out of bounds. Gets some coaching from Zorn.
- Dominique Dorsey run up the middle. Albert Haynesworth is an absolute wall on this play. No gain.
--- Back to normal field plays ---
- Offense is clicking now. Todd Collins completing passes. Blache is using prevent defense.
- Next 2 plays are Todd Collins interceptions.
I was able to talk to several players post practice which I'll write up shortly once I get my audio converted over (Moss, Cooley, Daniels, Henson). Overall, the offense did look better. They weren't getting run-over like I saw on Saturday. Phillip Daniels confirmed this when I asked him about it. Other notes: Orakpo continued to shine burning Samuels on one play (oohs and aaah's from crowd). Fincher was also very disruptive. It is still way too early to pass judgement on playes. Once they see some real game time can we make evaluations. Roydell Williams is out 3-6 weeks so the door seemed to have opened for Hagans, who looked strong, and Marko Mitchell.