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Training camp notes blog (1 Viewer)

Jene Bramel

Footballguy
Either Bloom or I will be posting all the hot news as we see it off of Twitter, but there are all sorts of notes pouring out from the beat writer blogs this year. It's the perfect storm for us -- plenty of unsettled situations and the explosion of Twitter and it's impact on the beat writer's blogs.

I've got a glut of stuff to post now, but I'll be adding to this thread throughout the preseason.

Feel free to add questions, requests or add notes your seeing in this thread.

:rolleyes:

 
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Jets head coach Rex Ryan continues to heap praise on UDFA Jamaal Westerman, who he’s working at ILB despite Westerman’s history as a defensive end and the major question marks the Jets have at OLB. It might be an early sign that David Harris won’t stick in nickel packages in the long term, though Ryan also had good things to say about Harris’ potential as an inside blitzer on Sunday. It also seems clear from multiple player and coach comments and an image from one of the beat writer blogs that Scott will be at WILB as expected and Harris will play SILB. That image shows Kerry Rhodes behind Scott, which implies he’ll be the free safety, with Leonhard at strong. We’ll see how they line up in the first preseason game.
 
Early camp observations are suggesting that Andra Davis may give way to Wes Woodyard in the Bronco nickel packages. With Robert Ayers still unsigned and Jarvis Moss considering retirement, Elvis Dumervil and Darrell Reid were both seeing time as every-down players as Tim Crowder only saw a few snaps with the first team.
 
Glenn Dorsey isn’t off to a great start. He failed his conditioning test and hasn’t been allowed to practice.
 
The Raiders have said that the depth charts won’t be set until tomorrow, but the throwaway note on Ricky Brown seeing snaps at MLB with the first team was confirmed this weekend. He lined up mostly with the second team at SLB and MLB, but did rotate in with the ones at MLB, including all the goal line snaps apparently. Trevor Scott is being moved all over the defense, possibly similar to what John Marshall did with Julian Peterson in Seattle, with the bulk of his first team snaps coming at RDE. Mike Mitchell was drawing praise from Tom Cable, though I’ve yet to see anything about his depth chart position other than a strong implication that he’s competing with Tyvon Branch at SS (it was noted that Huff and Eugene were splitting first team snaps at free). Chris Johnson was splitting snaps with Stanford Routt at corner. The first depth chart tomorrow should be very interesting.
 
The Chargers started camp with Tim Dobbins starting alongside Stephen Cooper at ILB and Clinton Hart holding off Kevin Ellison, who continues to draw big praise, at SS.
 
Bobby Carpenter is replacing Keith Brooking in nickel packages right now. More importantly, Bradie James seems entrenched in the other nickel role. Gerald Sensabaugh has also drawn the praise of some of the beat writers as a much better coverage player than what the Cowboys have had in recent seasons.
 
It's hard to tell for certain, but the Redskins may be turning the dogs loose on the defensive line (as was hinted earlier in the offseason). On some downs (likely nickel but it wasn't specified), they were using Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter at end and Phillip Daniels and Albert Haynesworth inside. That might be very good news for Haynesworth, who could see more high leverage snaps than expected on passing downs and Daniels, who could thrive in a run stopping end, pass-rushing three-technique type role. And HB Blades is now the clear backup at MLB. He wasn't taking snaps at SLB prior to Orakpo's signing.
 
Jermaine Phillips started camp as the first team weakside linebacker. The strong side position didn't get a mention in most of the camp blogs, although Angelo Crowell wasn't on the list of players who weren't able to practice. Also of note: Quincy Black is getting snaps as a rush end in addition to his linebacker snaps.
 
James Laurinaitis didn't start with the first team but is already beginning to see snaps with the ones. With no one of note at SLB, he should still be considered a near lock to be an every-down player in the middle.
 
Brandon Johnson might miss all of training camp with a hamstring injury. That will put Keith Rivers in a strong position to force his way into the nickel packages and cement an every-down role next to Dhani Jones.
 
The Vikings look likely to rotate Ben Leber and Chad Greenway in the nickel again this year with EJ Henderson back. Leber was taking snaps with the second team nickel at MLB and told beat writers to that he isn't sure how the rotation will work but that he expects a "healthy dose of all of us rotating."
 
Brandon Johnson might miss all of training camp with a hamstring injury. That will put Keith Rivers in a strong position to force his way into the nickel packages and cement an every-down role next to Dhani Jones.
Hard to produce "Quote of Training Camp," if you're not actually participating at Training Camp. :goodposting:
 
Getting conflicting reports from the Dolphin beat writers on the safety alignments. Omar Kelly telling me that Gibril Wilson was "playing close to the line" at times. Armando Salguero says that Bell was "at his usual SS look...not as interchangeable as Wilson is more of a FS."
 
Darnell Dockett may still hold value despite what looks like a more traditional 3-4 front in Arizona. Observers are hinting that the Cards will still use a lot of four man nickel lines, with Dockett moved throughout the formation to capitalize on mismatches. Pretty much the same role he had in 2007 and 2008.
 
Angelo Crowell's camp getting off a rocky start. He's now sidelined with a hamstring injury (and you have to wonder if this might be a conditioning deal and another sign his knee injury was bothering him all offseason) and opening the door for Geno Hayes to take more snaps at OLB. Certainly good news for Jermaine Phillips. With Jordan Black seeing rush LB snaps and Crowell struggling to stay healthy, Phillips is going to assume an every-down role almost by default.
 
In addition to the season-ending ACL injury to Stewart Bradley and the heel injury nagging Terrell Suggs noted above, all kinds of IDP studs are already fighting minor injuries. Jon Beason (hamstring), Patrick Willis (ankle), Curtis Lofton (hamstring), Justin Tuck (foot) and Derrick Johnson (hamstring) have all been sidelined early in camp.
 
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Plenty of snaps to be taken, but Jim Schwartz is making players earn their starting spots. Marquand Manuel seeing time with the ones in place of Daniel Bullocks at times and Jordon Dizon starting to see first team snaps at SLB.
 
Louis Delmas has all but cemented a place in the starting lineup. He's getting snaps with the corners in one-on-one drills and could see time in nickel packages covering the slot given the poor depth the Lions have at corner. If that happens, he closes the narrow gap between himself and William Moore and Michael Mitchell as the highest upside rookie safety. FS with nickel slot responsibilities is a role that guys like Madieu Williams have parlayed to very nice numbers in the past.
 
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It didn't take long for Jeremy Thompson to give way to Clay Matthews at ROLB. Matthews took advantage of Thompson's cramping during yesterday's evening session and what beat writers called soft play at the line to join the first team. He's played well enough since then to take all the first team snaps in today's practice.
 
As was strongly hinted this offseason, it was Clint Session and Phillip Wheeler flanking Gary Brackett with the first team today. If Wheeler can play well enough to keep Freddy Keiaho from getting back into the mix, Session has all kinds of upside.
 
Although he's reportedly kissed and made up after a shouting match with defensive line coach Bill Kollar, all might not be so rosy for Antonio Smith. Observers, including those in the Shark Pool watching practice, have seen Connor Barwin taking snaps against the first team offense and moving around with Mario Williams. May just be the nickel role we've been hearing about, but worth watching anyway. Also, Xavier Adibi was first in line for snaps with the starters after Brian Cushing was signed and on the field.
 
As was strongly hinted this offseason, it was Clint Session and Phillip Wheeler flanking Gary Brackett with the first team today. If Wheeler can play well enough to keep Freddy Keiaho from getting back into the mix, Session has all kinds of upside.
i'm confused here. do you believe that wheeler has the "upside"? or does session?
 
As was strongly hinted this offseason, it was Clint Session and Phillip Wheeler flanking Gary Brackett with the first team today. If Wheeler can play well enough to keep Freddy Keiaho from getting back into the mix, Session has all kinds of upside.
i'm confused here. do you believe that wheeler has the "upside"? or does session?
Session is the guy we should all have our eyes on. Keiaho staying off the field is encouraging for those who see the upside in Session.Great thread Jene, FBG gets better every year.

 
As was strongly hinted this offseason, it was Clint Session and Phillip Wheeler flanking Gary Brackett with the first team today. If Wheeler can play well enough to keep Freddy Keiaho from getting back into the mix, Session has all kinds of upside.
i'm confused here. do you believe that wheeler has the "upside"? or does session?
I don't think Wheeler is rosterable in any situation.I think the battle here will come down to: Is Wheeler SLB/Session WLB better than Session SLB/Keiaho WLB? If Wheeler plays well, it assures that Session stays at WLB in an every-down role in what sounds like the same base defensive scheme (with some more aggression on passing downs). Given how well Session played in the base defense at SLB last year, he's got serious upside as an every-down WLB. If Wheeler flops, it's likely that Keiaho is installed at WLB again and, possibly, in the nickel as well.

 
Anything on the Browns ILB'ers?
Barton and Jackson both looking good. Nothing about the nickel yet, though I'd think Mangini would be more likely to use Barton (as he did last year) than Williams, who he's less familiar with.
 
The Raiders have said that the depth charts won’t be set until tomorrow, but the throwaway note on Ricky Brown seeing snaps at MLB with the first team was confirmed this weekend. He lined up mostly with the second team at SLB and MLB, but did rotate in with the ones at MLB, including all the goal line snaps apparently. Trevor Scott is being moved all over the defense, possibly similar to what John Marshall did with Julian Peterson in Seattle, with the bulk of his first team snaps coming at RDE. Mike Mitchell was drawing praise from Tom Cable, though I’ve yet to see anything about his depth chart position other than a strong implication that he’s competing with Tyvon Branch at SS (it was noted that Huff and Eugene were splitting first team snaps at free). Chris Johnson was splitting snaps with Stanford Routt at corner. The first depth chart tomorrow should be very interesting.
This ended up being pretty anti-climactic. No mention of Brown with the first team at MLB yesterday, and plenty of notes about Kirk Morrison blitzing effectively and frequently. No specific information on the safety battles either.
 
I'm still nervous about the number of snaps Osi Umenyiora might see early this year on base downs, but he's currently getting plenty of snaps with the ones (with Kiwanuka filling in opposite for Tuck). Chris Canty looks to be part of the second wave, with Jay Alford and Barry Cofield inside (with Robbins and Bernard sitting with injuries). Still plenty of rotation in the fight to start W1 at WLB and Danny Clark is playing SLB ahead of Clint Sintim.
 
Still a heated battle between Thomas DeCoud and William Moore at safety. Interestingly, Mike Smith had this to say about Moore yesterday, "William Moore is just learning our system, but he has the skill set that we are looking for in a safety. Not necessarily a strong safety, but the safety position.” All kinds of ways to take that quote. It will be very interesting to see how this one goes over the next two weeks. Smith used a lot of interchangeable zone coverage looks in Jacksonville, so it could be a sign that he sees his safeties that way. Maybe more likely, it's a sign that all the positives vibes on DeCoud from OTAs were more than fluff.
 
The Bucs coaches like what they're seeing from Jermaine Phillips so far. An interview with Raheem Morris posted today suggests that the move was made as much to get Sabby Piscitelli and Tanard Jackson on the field full time as it was to improve the LB depth. There's also a hint that Phillips will be matched up in coverage on tight ends frequently. We've seen teams do that with their WLBs in the past, and it's a very good sign that Phillips is in line to play every down.
 
Though there were indications that Geno Hayes was seeing more snaps at SLB yesterday, it was apparently Quincy Black with the ones at SLB in place of the injured Angelo Crowell.
 
The Raiders have said that the depth charts won’t be set until tomorrow, but the throwaway note on Ricky Brown seeing snaps at MLB with the first team was confirmed this weekend. He lined up mostly with the second team at SLB and MLB, but did rotate in with the ones at MLB, including all the goal line snaps apparently. Trevor Scott is being moved all over the defense, possibly similar to what John Marshall did with Julian Peterson in Seattle, with the bulk of his first team snaps coming at RDE. Mike Mitchell was drawing praise from Tom Cable, though I’ve yet to see anything about his depth chart position other than a strong implication that he’s competing with Tyvon Branch at SS (it was noted that Huff and Eugene were splitting first team snaps at free). Chris Johnson was splitting snaps with Stanford Routt at corner. The first depth chart tomorrow should be very interesting.
This ended up being pretty anti-climactic. No mention of Brown with the first team at MLB yesterday, and plenty of notes about Kirk Morrison blitzing effectively and frequently. No specific information on the safety battles either.
There's been a few Tweets about Ricky Brown today working with the 1's.
 
The Raiders have said that the depth charts won’t be set until tomorrow, but the throwaway note on Ricky Brown seeing snaps at MLB with the first team was confirmed this weekend. He lined up mostly with the second team at SLB and MLB, but did rotate in with the ones at MLB, including all the goal line snaps apparently. Trevor Scott is being moved all over the defense, possibly similar to what John Marshall did with Julian Peterson in Seattle, with the bulk of his first team snaps coming at RDE. Mike Mitchell was drawing praise from Tom Cable, though I’ve yet to see anything about his depth chart position other than a strong implication that he’s competing with Tyvon Branch at SS (it was noted that Huff and Eugene were splitting first team snaps at free). Chris Johnson was splitting snaps with Stanford Routt at corner. The first depth chart tomorrow should be very interesting.
This ended up being pretty anti-climactic. No mention of Brown with the first team at MLB yesterday, and plenty of notes about Kirk Morrison blitzing effectively and frequently. No specific information on the safety battles either.
There's been a few Tweets about Ricky Brown today working with the 1's.
Thanks. Been out for a bit and just seeing this now. Pretty crazy if you ask me.
 
Though there were indications that Geno Hayes was seeing more snaps at SLB yesterday, it was apparently Quincy Black with the ones at SLB in place of the injured Angelo Crowell.
I like Quincy Black in the starting lineup week 1 opposite Jermaine Phillips. They say QB's athleticism and work ethic are tops, but that he needs to tackle more fiercely and get much needed experience, which this camp and the first three preseason games should do for him.
 
Some interesting stuff on the SS and MLB position for Oakland:

** There's a real, live competition going on at middle linebacker. Honest.

Kirk Morrison may be the team's returning lead tackler, but he spent a ton of time on the second team during team drills while Ricky Brown rolled with the starters.

The job is still Morrison's to lose but, for whatever reason, he won't get to assume the starting position in this camp. Same goes for cornerback Chris Johnson, who ran second team behind Stanford Routt for a day.

"We want to push Kirk, and we want to push Ricky, and we want to get the right combination in there, so you know, we just want to give everyone the opportunity when it fits, and when they've earned it to do that," Cable said.



Asked if Morrison may move to outside linebacker, Cable said they aren't ready to go there yet but he acknowledged it's been discussed.

Rookie safety Mike Mitchell came close to delivering a KO during team drills Tuesday morning, putting a huge thud on running back Gary Russell on a screen pass. It was the loudest hit of camp, to be sure, and good luck remembering the last time a Raiders safety made a play like that -- in practice, or otherwise.

Imagine what would have happened to Russell if players were allowed to follow through with tackles.

"I've been waiting to do something a little bit but I'm still kind of scared because coach always says don't take any shots on anybody," Mitchell said. "But I'm going to have to try to get loose out here because it's no fun when you can't play like yourself. Hopefully I won't get in too much trouble but I want to start taking some shots."

Mitchell was just as impressive in coverage, which is no small thing for the small-school player out of Ohio. Remember, Mitchell missed all but one week of OTAs because school was still in session.

He looks anything but behind out there. He had two pass breakups Monday morning. He also picked up a coverage read where he charged to play the run, saw tight end Zach Miller peel out on a pass pattern and chased after him.

Mitchell will be the focus of tomorrow's newspaper story. He's everything else that won't fit in print.
I will add, before people get too worked up about Mitchell, that Tyvon Branch has a drawn a lot of praise as well.
** Tyvon Branch broke up a pass intended for Zach Miller and has held his own in pass coverage. Too hard to tell about the run defense, but Branch and Hiram Eugene have been the exclusive safeties with the first-team defense.
 
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From David White re: the Oakland safety battle...

Branch and Eugene have taken every first-team snap. There is no competition there.
Some additional thoughts from White on the LB battle are posted in the Morrison thread.
 
Tony Sparano's comments on the potential deployment of Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell.

(On both Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell being able to play both strong safety and free safety) -- "It fits in very well with this defense, in that, from a quarterback standpoint, it is pretty easy to, with the amount of studying you do, take a look back there and see what safety is [the free safety] and which is [the strong safety]. Most teams do not have the ability to interchange who plays in the middle of the field and who plays down in the box. Well, both of these guys have that ability. From our end, it will help us disguise some things and to put our best [players] in the right spot. Depending on the call, who we want down and who we want back, we are not caught where you have to have [a specific guy] in the middle of the field, so this is all you can do. These guys give us a lot of flexibility."
 
Tony Sparano's comments on the potential deployment of Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell.

(On both Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell being able to play both strong safety and free safety) -- "It fits in very well with this defense, in that, from a quarterback standpoint, it is pretty easy to, with the amount of studying you do, take a look back there and see what safety is [the free safety] and which is [the strong safety]. Most teams do not have the ability to interchange who plays in the middle of the field and who plays down in the box. Well, both of these guys have that ability. From our end, it will help us disguise some things and to put our best [players] in the right spot. Depending on the call, who we want down and who we want back, we are not caught where you have to have [a specific guy] in the middle of the field, so this is all you can do. These guys give us a lot of flexibility."
Very cool insight. But how does it translate into production? This makes me slightly nervous about a decline in productivity for Bell, even though they both may end up DB1 or at least DB2 worthy.
 
All teams love their rookies, but Redskins think they drafted defensive studs in Brian Orakpo and Jeremy Jarmon. If they're right, D in DC.

 

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