I went to the afternoon practice today.
Notable no-shows: Donnie Edwards (I'm not sure why); Vincent Jackson (I have no idea why); Jamal Williams (knee); Roman Oben (foot), Bhawoh Jue (knee).
At LB, Wilhelm ran with the first team in place of Edwards. At CB, Jammer and Florence ran with the first team, with Cromartie as the nickel. At safety, Hart and Kiel ran with the first team in the 11-on-11s, but I'm pretty sure it was McCree and Hart in the 7-on-7s. At OL, Leander Jordan ran with the first team in place of Oben. Ryon Bingham started at NT in place of Jamal.
Who looked good: Shawne Merriman, Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Drayton Florence, Greg Camarillo, Darren Sproles, Andre Lott.
Who did not look good: Brandon Manumaleuna, Kurt Smith, AJ Feeley, Eric Parker.
I was disappointed that they didn't do any one-on-ones. That's my favorite thing to watch, and I would have loved to see Jammer, Florence, and Cromartie match up in single coverage against McCardell, Parker, Osgood, et al.
After some individual work and special teams, they did some four-on-threes, seven-on-sevens, and eleven-on-elevens. That was it.
Quick note on special teams. Kurt Smith's kickoffs were very high, but were only going down to about the ten yard line. Maybe that was by design, but I'd really like to see him get them down around the goal line. Darren Sproles looked super fast on all his returns. Cromartie had one nice return as well
Offense. There was a huge drop-off in effectiveness from the first unit to the second and third units. Most of it was due to the QB position, it seemed. Rivers ran the offense extremely well, made quick reads, found the open man, and delivered the ball very accurately. AJ Feeley and Charles Whitehurst both struggled. Neither one was nearly as accurate as Rivers. Part of it may have been that the second- and third-team receivers were not running routes as crisply as the first-team guys, either. Overall, Rivers, Gates, Tomlinson, and McCardell all looked like they were in mid-season form. Gates in particular was getting open and catching medium-range passes. Eric Parker was getting pushed off his patterns a bit.
The second-team WRs were Kassim Osgood and Greg Camarillo. Camarillo seemed like the lone bright spot on offense when the first team was sitting out. He got open a few times and made some nice plays. TE Manumaleuna is built like an OG, and I don't mean that as a compliment. He is too thick around the mid-section. He looked out of shape, and he did not run good patterns. (He appears to have soft hands, though.)
I have no idea where Vincent Jackson was. Rashaun Woods was there, but didn't get any work in any of the 7-on-7s or 11-on-11s. I don't know why.
Defense. Shawne Merriman was disrupting everything today. The players were not in full pads, and none of the drills were full-contact, but the offensive players were still trying to make their blocks and the defensive guys were trying to fight through them and get in the QB's face. Merriman was in the QB's face all day. He batted down one of Feeley's balls, and pressured the QB (and then let up) on many other plays. Steve Foley was also getting pressure on the QB.
Drayton Florence had a nice interception in the 11-on-11s. I think it was Feeley who threw it, but I don't remember for sure. Florence stepped in front of the WR on an out pattern plucked the ball out of the air. (Merriman was in the QB's face.)
Carlos Polk was going through all the drills with a lot of enthusiasm. It's nice to have him back this year; I hope there's a roster spot for him. It's easy to see why he's so effective on special teams; everything he does is with full intensity.
Igor Olshansky and Luis Castillo are both very impressive athletes. I watched the DL going through their agility drills from just a few yards away, and it's amazing how big and agile all those guys are. Olshansky and Castillo stood out.
Notable no-shows: Donnie Edwards (I'm not sure why); Vincent Jackson (I have no idea why); Jamal Williams (knee); Roman Oben (foot), Bhawoh Jue (knee).
At LB, Wilhelm ran with the first team in place of Edwards. At CB, Jammer and Florence ran with the first team, with Cromartie as the nickel. At safety, Hart and Kiel ran with the first team in the 11-on-11s, but I'm pretty sure it was McCree and Hart in the 7-on-7s. At OL, Leander Jordan ran with the first team in place of Oben. Ryon Bingham started at NT in place of Jamal.
Who looked good: Shawne Merriman, Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Drayton Florence, Greg Camarillo, Darren Sproles, Andre Lott.
Who did not look good: Brandon Manumaleuna, Kurt Smith, AJ Feeley, Eric Parker.
I was disappointed that they didn't do any one-on-ones. That's my favorite thing to watch, and I would have loved to see Jammer, Florence, and Cromartie match up in single coverage against McCardell, Parker, Osgood, et al.
After some individual work and special teams, they did some four-on-threes, seven-on-sevens, and eleven-on-elevens. That was it.
Quick note on special teams. Kurt Smith's kickoffs were very high, but were only going down to about the ten yard line. Maybe that was by design, but I'd really like to see him get them down around the goal line. Darren Sproles looked super fast on all his returns. Cromartie had one nice return as well
Offense. There was a huge drop-off in effectiveness from the first unit to the second and third units. Most of it was due to the QB position, it seemed. Rivers ran the offense extremely well, made quick reads, found the open man, and delivered the ball very accurately. AJ Feeley and Charles Whitehurst both struggled. Neither one was nearly as accurate as Rivers. Part of it may have been that the second- and third-team receivers were not running routes as crisply as the first-team guys, either. Overall, Rivers, Gates, Tomlinson, and McCardell all looked like they were in mid-season form. Gates in particular was getting open and catching medium-range passes. Eric Parker was getting pushed off his patterns a bit.
The second-team WRs were Kassim Osgood and Greg Camarillo. Camarillo seemed like the lone bright spot on offense when the first team was sitting out. He got open a few times and made some nice plays. TE Manumaleuna is built like an OG, and I don't mean that as a compliment. He is too thick around the mid-section. He looked out of shape, and he did not run good patterns. (He appears to have soft hands, though.)
I have no idea where Vincent Jackson was. Rashaun Woods was there, but didn't get any work in any of the 7-on-7s or 11-on-11s. I don't know why.
Defense. Shawne Merriman was disrupting everything today. The players were not in full pads, and none of the drills were full-contact, but the offensive players were still trying to make their blocks and the defensive guys were trying to fight through them and get in the QB's face. Merriman was in the QB's face all day. He batted down one of Feeley's balls, and pressured the QB (and then let up) on many other plays. Steve Foley was also getting pressure on the QB.
Drayton Florence had a nice interception in the 11-on-11s. I think it was Feeley who threw it, but I don't remember for sure. Florence stepped in front of the WR on an out pattern plucked the ball out of the air. (Merriman was in the QB's face.)
Carlos Polk was going through all the drills with a lot of enthusiasm. It's nice to have him back this year; I hope there's a roster spot for him. It's easy to see why he's so effective on special teams; everything he does is with full intensity.
Igor Olshansky and Luis Castillo are both very impressive athletes. I watched the DL going through their agility drills from just a few yards away, and it's amazing how big and agile all those guys are. Olshansky and Castillo stood out.
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Very good stuff indeed.
