FWIW I thought the defense was way ahead of the offense. In passing drills the D must have had 3-4 interceptions. In the scrimmage I was surprised to see true freshman Hamp Scisson with the first team offense as Roberts was dressed but did not participate(injury? or by design). The defense dominated but at the same time the offense was very generic with no end runs, pitches or deep throws, just straight handoffs and 5 yd. down and out passes. Thought I was watching the CBF offense LOL. I missed the last part so maybe things changed a bit. I also thought for some reason the whole practice was sluggish. Not what I was expecting. HS had a fumble and an INT in the scrimmage and it looks like JL really locks onto his receiver and telegraphs his throws but he can really scoot. Just judging by what I saw today I believe HR will be the starter if he is healthy. Of course I could be totally wrong and probably am!
Scrimmage Thoughts!
here ya go… Clay's comments short version; he wasn't very happy. He felt the team has had a great camp until today, he also called the offense sluggish. Roberts has a hand injury — should be back soon. I've heard Sisson has played very well up till today — he was struggling with a sore arm.
Actually, Furman did quite a few pitches and several end-runs — Bell had a great run. Clay made the point that they practiced a lot of situation stuff — so that might have played a role in some inconsistency — also they played vanilla on offense — I think its safe to say they have quite a bit more in the offensive gameplan.
Almost wish I hadn't gone. Grainger looked good, but the offense overall looked too much pre-2017. Did see some toss sweeps and even some I formation in the drills, but the live play calling was not at all what I expected. Hope all that shotgun is an aberration.
apaladin liked this
Coach mentioned how hot it was today. If you have ever been to Clempson on Labor Day weekend you know it will be a scorcher. Today was like a mid-fall afternoon compared to what it will be 2 weeks from today. Kinda like JohnW I am really concerned about the QB situation after today. Come to think a bout it IIRC we were never under center during the part of the scrimmage I saw, which is disturbing.
I wouldn't worry too much about the offense based on just today. I have heard Roberts has clearly been the #1 and him being out im sure was some of the problem. Also alot of the starters are tired and a little banged up. One of our starting skill players is coming off of surgery and just getting back to normal. Guys will get some rest and prep before clemson and be fine. That being said, it definitely wasnt a good day.
AstroDin liked this
Either you're running with us or your running from us!
I recall being very disappointed in the scrimmage last year at this exact same time. How many people thought then that we were going to put the dynamic offense and defense on the field that we wound up seeing? Chill!
AstroDin liked this
Jasper you and I both have seen several practices… the drill work I've seen looks pretty exciting and based on some of what you've said you've seen similar things. Would I have liked to see a crisper first scrimmage? Yes. I have faith the coaches will get the team ready for kickoff on Sept 1st.
Better to make the mistakes now than in a few weeks.AstroDin wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 6:03 pmJasper you and I both have seen several practices… the drill work I've seen looks pretty exciting and based on some of what you've said you've seen similar things. Would I have liked to see a crisper first scrimmage? Yes. I have faith the coaches will get the team ready for kickoff on Sept 1st.
It's a good thing Furman's offense wasn't facing Clemson's defense today...It was not a good day for the offense, however, having seen the team more than once during the preseason, this was uncharacteristic to what I have seen thus far...Defensive line looked really good today, and I thought Jack Owen and Braden Gilby had nice scrimmages at ILB...Parker Stokes, Jonah Tibbs and Dru Seabrook were all solid along the defensive front...Adrian Hope had a FR, and Quandarius Weems and Bryan Okeh recorded INTs...Hendrix made a good point though in his post-practice comments...Furman has to have some second-stringers step up on defense, especially at ILB and safety. FU can't afford injuries at safety this season, as they are very young at both spots depth-wise.
Also, I think if you scour reports around the country, head coaches are almost uniformly unhappy with the first scrimmage. The defense is always ahead of the offense and things aren't looking crisp. This isn't unique to Furman.
Jasper liked this
Exactly, Astro. I have seen a total of 4 practices and Saturday's scrimmage was very different than the others; at least from an offensive standpoint. As pointed out by several posters, the defense is usually ahead of the offense at this point and that was certainly the case yesterday. I am not sure what to attribute that to but I am not overly concerned because of the track record of the staff. So, let's look at the scrimmage from a positive viewpoint: Despite playing against a plain vanilla version of the our offense, the D was great. They played with enthusiasm and confidence - Interior line play, particularly Jonah Tibbs was excellent - Gilby looks like he was born to play ILB - very comfortable with his assignments, great nose for the ball. The secondary was awesome - Amir Trapp is a great addition - the coverage repeatedly forced the QB's to pull the ball down and run - (BTW, both Lincoln and Grainger can sure do that well - both had long gainers on broken plays) All in all, it was what I have come to expect from a scrimmage at this time of the year. CCH mentioned it in his post game comments and I agree. Someone needs to step up in a leadership role on this young offensive unit.AstroDin wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 6:03 pmJasper you and I both have seen several practices… the drill work I've seen looks pretty exciting and based on some of what you've said you've seen similar things. Would I have liked to see a crisper first scrimmage? Yes. I have faith the coaches will get the team ready for kickoff on Sept 1st.
AstroDin liked this
Adding on to Jaspers comments… the defensive backs appear to be taking on Staggs feisty personality.
Yesterday I was on the field and up close watching the backs vs receivers drills, the defensive backs are aggressive and playing tight defense. I did notice that during Bell's turns the coverage guy backed off him a bit.
I also thought Ryan Miller (freshman TE) played well — Miller and Vann got most of the PT at TE. Armstrong continues to impress me (6-1 190) I think Jasper has already mentioned this — Armstrong appears to be a great candidate for the "possession receiver," I would add Jake Walker to that role too.
Yesterday I was on the field and up close watching the backs vs receivers drills, the defensive backs are aggressive and playing tight defense. I did notice that during Bell's turns the coverage guy backed off him a bit.
I also thought Ryan Miller (freshman TE) played well — Miller and Vann got most of the PT at TE. Armstrong continues to impress me (6-1 190) I think Jasper has already mentioned this — Armstrong appears to be a great candidate for the "possession receiver," I would add Jake Walker to that role too.
PaladinDad liked this
And no write up on the Furman site either. Maybe less said the better about this particular scrimmage. It's been a day and I still can't figure out what they were trying to accomplish in the live scrimmage portion. I thought the main best thing Coach Hendricks did was to re-establish an identity. This is who we are as an offense. We're going to lineup and run right at you, stop that; were going outside, contain that; we're going to beat you down field; not a deep hand-off to a single back out of the frigging shotgun and hope he finds a hole, pass happy junk I saw yesterday.