it is confounding that Ash is still on a short leash ...when you allow Case and even Brewer throw it downfield...nobody can argue otherwise unless you are for the individual mandate before the supreme court...with our running game, David is the most capable for making the defense pay by going over the top...witness the plays to Goodwin in the Holiday Bowl ...everybody is lamenting the fact they were incomplete ..,however one was actually caught with a foot on the line and the other was going to be a catch or incomplete.and not intercepted..truth is , the quote Ash made after the bowl game was telling....the coaches have him more concerned over the turnover than completing the ball downfield...
If the QB position were decided strictly on footwork, short, intermediate and long passes yesterday, Brewer was your #1
My thoughts: * The offense looked better than the defense in general, although it was a bit hard to get a read with it mostly being 1's vs 2's. The defense did appear to be "dialed back" as someone said above. * Ash looked good throughout, although he wasn't asked to make any challenging throws. One possible reason for the dispute about the number of passes he threw is that many of his short tosses to Shipley were actually laterals (which set up Shipley's TD pass). * Case looked terrible at first but much better later on. He threw one that should have been a pick six but Byndom dropped it and several other INT's. However, later he threw some nice throws, particularly one to a TE, I think it was McFarland, down the middle. Dropped it in nicely. * Brewer was surprisingly good based on what I've been reading. Interesting that he wasn't up to speed enough for them to sign the plays in to him (he mostly came over to the sideline to get them), but he seemed to know what to do on the field. * Hills got a lot of carries and looked pretty good. Made one especially nice cutback against the grain. Just kept thinking that Gray would have taken many of his 10-15 yard gains all the way. * Bergeron ran well. Disappointed not to have seen more of Malcolm B. All in all, the offense looks to have made major strides since last year. I''m confident that the defense will be better than yesterday indicated. I'm bumping my bottom estimate of the year up to 9 games and my odds of winning the B12 from 30% to 50%. Can't wait until September.
Brewer played mostly against the 3rd string defense, which was one reason he looked so good. He was the most pleasant surprise to me.
I thought it was funny that Ricky texted Mack and told him he missed his flight, and they were all panicked and trying to figure out how to schedule the award, and he texts back later saying "April Fools, I'll see you in a bit".
Finger figures he is the designated driver since everyone here has had a little to much kool aid ....I like orange myself ...and yes I will have another one..
It is very clear: 1. Ash 2. McCoy Redshirt Brewer and Overstreet I really want to see Mykkele Thompson run the WildHorn.
I was happy. We won. We will be running the ball a lot. Then we will run the ball some more. But if the tight ends can really be utilized, which appears possible now, we find a good wildcat qb in Thompson or Overstreet, and we get Goodwin involved, if Davis is really for real this year-we could have some firepower on offense. I think the #1 offense mainly faced the #2 defense, and the #2 offense the #1 defense. Might have liked to see Ash against the #1 defense some. There were very limited attempts at passing, and Case McCoy made three mistakes. Ash didn't really misfire, but he threw, I think, six times. It's hard to judge much from a spring game. Overall, Ash appears more in control of the offense than last year, the defense looks stout. Offensive line may be much, much better. Mykele Thompson is fast-I hope he takes over at one safety spot. He ran down a play or two from fairly far away when he was in, and of course returned a kick-off, although against (I believe) third-teamers. Bergeron looks strong and effective, Malcolm Brown didn't get hardly any touches, and we are ordering another statue for Johnathan Gray's arrival. Maybe we should wait until mid-season, though.
If M Thompson had come along in the years when teams still ran the wishbone option, he probably would have been the #1 player and QB recruit in the nation. That is somewhat predictive of success in a wildcat formation.
I've been hoping Mykelle would get some plays in the wildcat since he was recruited. He was a dyno-mite QB in high school, and could present a duel threat in the wildcat. He would be a nice change of pace and give D coordinators headaches.
I was disappointed in the reads the QBs were making. They were continually throwing to guys that were covered: 1. Ash throws TD to shipley but Duke Thomas was in position to make the play. You get a more experienced DB out there and thatis not a TD and likely an INT. Shipley is not a 6-5 WR that you can throw jump balls to. 2. McCoy throws to Davis in endzone but he is double covered. Throw was bad itself and led to INT but Davis wasn't open either. LeRoy Scott makes that INT from the safety position. 3. McCoy throws breaking route to Jackson I believe who is blanketed by Byndom. Byndom drops ball or would have walked in for a pick 6. 4. Brewer throws jump ball in endzone to McCrary. He pulls it down over a walk on but against a decent DB that gets knocked down. Would have been better to make a back shoulder throw. 5. McCoy throws jump ball into endzone to Davis who is blanketed by Turner who comes up with the INT. Throw was to a covered undersized WR and was underthrown. I am not sure why they were throwing all of those jumpball corner pylon throws unless they were preparing for the larger freshman WRs who come in the fall. However you don't make that throw when the guy is covered unless you are throwing it where only your guy can catch it or unless your guy is actually open. Redzone play was poor last year and still has me worried this year based on what I have seen from the QBs making decisions down there.
Just a few thoughts: If the O-line can/will block, that will solve a multitude of issues. Cobb is fast....Please stay healthy Thompson too.... The D will be fine. The O will catch up. There are no trick plays. Some are just more creative/deceptive than others.
