2014 Training Camp Observations Thread

[Beerman]

jparis_sports: Coach Mike McCoy made no promises that right guard Jeromey Clary will be starting when, and if, he returns from two surgeries.

[Formula 21]

Clemons was not accurate... throwing high.

• Rookie receiver Tevin Reese, running a stop-and-go, got behind Brandon Ghee and caught a long pass from Kellen Clemens.

Looks like Reese is tough to overthrow. Just load up and throw that ball as far as you can and let him go get it.

[Antonio's Gates]

jparis_sports: Coach Mike McCoy made no promises that right guard Jeromey Clary will be starting when, and if, he returns from two surgeries.

If he's not starting why would he even be on the team with that salary?

[Beerman]

MartyCaswell: Jerry Attaochu says Jarret Johnson worked w/him during/after practice to correct technique/mistake he saw at practice http://t.co/x6ISpQs8Hf

[Formula 21]

Interesting article from the Offensive line coaches clinic

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/24/nfl-offensive-line-coaches-cool-clinic/

Bloomgren was right. To know line play is to know football. The game is won and lost there. And I’m guessing most fans have little idea the intricacies of what goes into line play. The players might look like dancing bears on the line, but every movement is choreographed for the feet, hips and hands. One false move can blow up an entire play, ruin a series and lose game.
Dante Scarnecchia worked for the Patriots for 30 seasons, including a 15-year stint as offensive line coach from 1999-2013. (Elise Amendola/AP)Dante Scarnecchia worked for the Patriots for 30 seasons, including a 15-year stint as offensive line coach from 1999-2013. (Elise Amendola/AP)

It’s enlightening to hear coaches talk (mostly over my head) about the training and techniques that go into line play. Most fans only know the offensive linemen if they do something bad. But, when performed correctly, line play is a work of art. A guard on the playside (where the play is going) needs to know what to do if there’s a defensive player in front of him (covered) or not (uncovered). If he’s covered, he has different techniques that are dependent on which way the defender moves. Then he might have responsibility for a linebacker after the initial push. And the rest of his linemates have to know exactly how he’ll react and block his own responsibility as well. It’s no wonder offensive linemen routinely have the highest Wonderlic scores of any position except quarterback, and go on to be coaches. These are not just giant slabs of beef.

And the level of their instruction matches their intelligence, especially if they have a coach like Trickett. He makes players flip positions for a few days to rejuvenate them.

“Those tackles do not like going back in to guard, I can promise you that,” Trickett says. “They think they have their stuff down. They go inside and they say, ‘Stuff happens a lot faster.’ Well, no s—. Try playing center. They like it outside. Of course they do. Any moron can play tackle. It’s all man on man out there. How complicated is that?”

That's why I'm so happy to have Watt. I read where he had the best OTA's of anybody and knew the play book by the end of it. Smart guy.

[Formula 21]

JJ and Freeney, great guys to have for their willingness to teach the future starters.

[Formula 21]

from another site. Take the bad with the good.

From what I saw today, Richard Marshal is leading the secondary with being in the right place at the right time. The punt return guy that looked the best was Javontee Herndon (Allen, Royal, and Reese were in that group) Dwight Freeney was very fast and made some awesome plays to get to the backfield. Tevin Reese BURNED the defense for a 50+ yard score. M80 was jumping around like a maniac, gave me goosebumps. Kwame Geathers looked slow and fell over a bunch. King Dunlap is big....REAL big.

[Bolt-O]

The punt returners only caught punts.

[Millionaire Wussy]

Looks like Gates sister passed away from Lupus yesterday. My thoughts are prayers to him and his family

My thoughts as well.

[Millionaire Wussy]

Actually Inman was also working with the special teams unit so he might be in a battle with tutu

I'd prefer we keep both but roster spots will be tough to come by this season. We have some nice overall depth now.

[Beerman]

Tutu really turned into an asset in special teams. Him and Stuckey were fantastic. It's gonna take a lot to get him off the roster IMO.

[Millionaire Wussy]

More about Pamala Gates:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11...g-death-sister

My Mom has Lupus. Not the systemic kind (that Gates sis probably had) but a more manageable type that pretty much is liveable by remaining out of the sun. I didn't know many more African-Americans get this than other groups of people.