Morning Scrimmage

Mad Hatter · August 16, 2006

I just know I'm going to hear a bunch of good things about the practice, and what a great season it's going to be. If only someone would get on here and tell me that.

mad dog · August 16, 2006

Yep... i'll put up my observations in a little bit. Emmitt, Med, and Silver were also there, and should have good observations, too.

emmitt01 · August 16, 2006

No green sunshine up your a$$ here. Here's what I saw.

1)Who cares who wins the starting QB job...who can play center? I think I counted about 6 fumbled center/QB exchanges and then stopped counting because I was ill.

2)Woody Wilson didn't play.....and he was the best looking QB out there. Everyone who is in love with Matt Phillips and his ability to throw the "long ball" be forewarned. The safety is the only one eligible to catch any of them because he routinely overthrows his receiver. And Danny Meager looks about like he did last season with a little bit more mobility, not gonna cut it as is.

3)I started the practice thinking "man, jamario is back to his old self." Then I couldn't be sure. It's not that he began to play badly it's just that I realized our defense didn't tackle ANYBODY on first contact. Everybody looked good running around them.

4)Rick McKinney noted, and I saw thereafter, that the zone read is only run when Woody Wilson is in at quarterback. Otherwise it looked like the quick out and run up the gut show.

Now, let me pose this question to everyone. It seems there is a consensus that Matt Phillips is a capable quarterback. It also seems, correct me if I'm wrong, that Wilson's throwing is no worse than Phillips'. The only knock I keep hearing on Wilson is that he turns the ball into the center of the defense and might get himself hurt. Why, if we have faith in Phillips to step in, is this a reason to keep Wilson off the field? Let's say he does take a wicked hit and gets hurt. It's the Matt Phillips show! Now, let's say he doesn't get hurt. We have a quarterback who is a threat to run or at least not take the sack. Defenses actually have to account for the QB to do more than overthrow the deep route. Or, look at it this way:

A)Wilson plays and gets hurt therefore sitting on the bench the rest of the season

B)Wilson doesn't play and sits on the bench all season...and we never made defenses think about his explosiveness and take a bunch of sacks

foutsrouts · August 16, 2006

I agree. As long as he can handle the snap from center, I hope we go with Wilson. Meager had his chance and it's time to AT LEAST TRY some new blood. I hope it isn't Rose who is causing the muffed exchanges. Getting the ball to the QB seemed to be the only thing he excelled at last year.

untbowler · August 16, 2006

I agree. As long as he can handle the snap from center, I hope we go with Wilson. Meager had his chance and it's time to AT LEAST TRY some new blood. I hope it isn't Rose who is causing the muffed exchanges. Getting the ball to the QB seemed to be the only thing he excelled at last year.
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why the hell are we having trouble snapping the damn ball? Didn't Rose start the whole season last year or we just that inept at the QB/Center position??

NT80 · August 16, 2006

I would like to lower my season predictions based on the above and previous camp reports.

H-towngreen · August 16, 2006

Freshman Kelvin Drake has been practicing at center.

gangrene · August 16, 2006

I would like to lower my season predictions based on the above and previous camp reports.
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I was about to post a similar response...thinking about lowering my over/under to 5 wins.

Although discouraging, thanks for the update Emmitt. SIX snapping fumbles, practice or not, is ridiculous, especially since our QB position is virtually undetermined and we may have to use two or more per game, until one clearly separates himself from the pack.

Were these fumbles ALL with the same center and QB or was it compounded by multiple rotations??

Edited August 16, 2006 by gangrene

Eagle1855 · August 16, 2006

As stated before, this Center/QB exchange is a horrible problem to have against a team like UT. Yes I expect us to play that game ti win like any other game. It's also going to be embarassing for our home opener if it doesnt get fixed. This makes me feel not so good.

I believe we will see WW as the starter (if he remains healthy) before its all said and done. Im disappointed he could not practice today. Hopefully he will get his shot in the upcoming scrimmages (I assume there will be more...)

MeanGreen61 · August 16, 2006

As stated before, this Center/QB exchange is a horrible problem to have against a team like UT.
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SilverEagle · August 16, 2006

I'm going to have to find subtle ways of needling Emmitt about WW this year. Especially if he doesn't start. And right now, I don't have an opinion on who should start.

However, I observed that the new kid on the block, Nathan (?) Tune, had a very good day running the second (or possibly third) team offense. He placed his passes well, nothing spectacular, but on target, and he moved the sticks. He seems to be much more comfortable with the offense than the first time I saw him. When he scrambled, he made as much as he could, and then went out of bounds. He just generally made good decisions......until he telegraphed an out-pattern throw and Desmond Chatman jumped on it and took it the other way. (BTW, I don't like the out-pattern). Otherwise he looked good today. He had some problems with the center exchange just like the other QB's.

The other QB's looked OK. All of them struggled with the snap from center. The guys playing center (I think it was Drake and Glass) were getting an ear full from the OL coach by the end of the scrimmage. Phillps looked about the same as he usually does. He throws pretty good passes and he doesn't move around a lot. Meager threw better today than Sunday and he moved around well. He seemed to have to scramble more than the other QB's. He made some good passes on the two minute drill.

I arrived late, so I didn't see Jamario play.

Robertson got a lot of reps and showed a lot of speed on his runs. Sometimes he was a bit tentative, but toward the end of the scrimmage, he ripped off some pretty long runs.

Cox, got some pretty good runs. He didn't look like a home run threat today however.

Maldonado got some good runs in. He even took it in for a TD on a goal line situation in the two minute drill. Then I think he later took a pitch from Meager for another TD on another goal line situation.

The O-Line and D-Line are both looking good. I arrived in time to see Issac Thomas break thru and sack Meager in the end-zone. He showed a real burst on that play. Daniel didn't have time to juke or put any sort of moves on. Issac just jumped him.

#65 Miller, and #61 Stewart looked good out there. They were flying around and harassing the RB's and QB's pretty good. Toward the end of practice, Stewart must have taken exception to #78 Nic Foster's blocking technique, because he popped him about three or four times in the helmet with his forearm. They then exchanged pleasantries and went on about their business.

As far as the receivers go, #87 Fitzgerald continues to make a strong case for getting into the rotation. He was making some fine catches. Stubblefield #15 caught a TD pass and made some other good sideline grabs. Both of them seem to have very good concentration. Zac Muzzy #3 is also making a strong bid to get into the rotation. He is very hard working, and made some good catches over the middle.

The experiment of moving David Collins from DE to TE is still on-going. He now wears #95. On one occasion he was shifting to the wrong side during a two minute drill. Daniel M. grabbed him by the jersey and literally flug him in the correct direction. A little later he caught a TD pass.

At the end of the scrimmage, I noticed someone new wearing #9 and getting into some of the two minute drills at FB. It was obvious that he wasn't player listed on the official roster, Adam Burnett 5'8" x 177 lbs from Everman. As it turned out it was Ronnie Hull, who up to this point had been playing TE. So it looks like they may want his big body (6'3" X 250) and blocking skills at the FB position.

So, near as I can figure it, the TE position looks like this.

#88 Beau Davidson, #85 Gill, #83 Seidle, #99 Harmon (when he gets back from injury), and #95 Collins.

If Hull stays at FB, then that brings up this question. Is James Mitchell going to stay at FB, or is he going to be put into the mix for Jamario's back-up?

Edited August 16, 2006 by SilverEagle

meangreendork · August 16, 2006

I haven't made a practice yet (can't get home until 630pm these days), but if Phillips and Wilson are almost equal at passing, I say have them both ready to fire at QB. It gives the opposition one more guy for a LB to watch, and draws a little more attention away from the passing game.

That is, if this snapping issue is resolved/can be resolved.

Ideally, it'd be nice to almost rotate them at random, so the opposition doesn't know when to put an extra guy on the QB, or even if our speed QB will haul-off with the ball or not. It'd be pretty sweet to see the opposition cover the WRs and RBs since they think Phillips won't run...and he sneaks 15 on them.

Keep 'em guessin.

untwillrise · August 16, 2006

If woody wilson is any where close to MP throwing the ball give WW the starts. we wouldnt even need to throw the ball. Run the zone read and play action bootleg. And since he can throw the ball almost as good as the best on the team THROW THE BALL ON 3RD AND 8 PLEASE!

mad dog · August 16, 2006

QB “Controversy”

I didn’t complete the last position preview for a reason. I wanted to take my time to really gauge the three Quarterbacks before offering a definitive opinion on each of them. I was at five practices and one scrimmage, and overall, here’s what I see.

Daniel Meager

Everyone seems to be down on Meager. He doesn’t have the biggest arm, and, although pretty mobile, he doesn’t have Woody Wilson’s wheels. He struggled in his redshirt freshman year and, as such, he is not anything close to approaching a fan favorite. He has been labeled by many people as “injury prone,” and not tough enough mentally to withstand the pressures of the college game. There have been knocks on his team leadership ability and his ability to run an offense without costly delay of game penalties and burned timeouts.

With all those chips on the table, I still think he is the guy that starts against Texas. Here’s why:

There have been many quarterbacks succeed at the D-I level without the ability to throw the 70 yard bomb. Although nice to have, it is not the determining factor in the success of a college QB. I’d say the more important pass to complete is the intermediate (10-15 yard) ball over the middle. You can hit this kind of route with a 5 step drop (or maybe even a 3 step drop with a fast receiver), and you’d need probably a 7 step with a little extra time to deliver a deep post or fly. If a defense is really flying across the LOS or waiting in that shallow contain that just ate our lunch last year, the deep ball ain’t gonna work, because you’re going to have 4 deep every play. Even if you are running paired fly routes, you’re going to be double covered, and the QB won’t have time to make a secondary read before he is planted in his face. Daniel Meager can complete the 10-15 yard pass easily.

He is mobile enough, but he’s more “pocket-mobile” than “downfield-mobile.” He won’t burn any 70 yard runs, but he will be able to roll out and buy himself a few more seconds. But, once again, he doesn’t need burning speed to be effective.

As far as the labels, he was healthy enough to play in all 11 games last year, and he took more than his fair share of licks, including a monstrous hit at the Arkansas State game that I was sure would have seriously injured him. The delay of game problem is very much attributable to the fact that he was a redshirt freshman, and so far hasn’t been nearly the problem it was last year. If you want to say that he’s not tough enough mentally, then I don’t know how to respond there. That’s a subjective opinion, and I can’t really prove or disprove that… it’s just something that just needs to be “felt” and I am willing to forgive a disastrous freshman campaign.

Bottom line is experience. Matt Phillips probably isn’t mobile enough to buy himself enough time against what will undoubtedly be a tenacious UT pass rush, and Woody Wilson is too prone to take off and run, which means big hits, fumbles, and, worst case, serious injury. And Meager might be the guy who’ll be least fazed by the raucous fans at DKR.

Woody Wilson

Woody has tremendous athletic skills. Everyone who observes him for even one or two practices can pick up on that easily. He has a pretty good arm, though not top-flight in either arm strength or accuracy. He is still adjusting a little to his receivers and the play calling scheme.

Much has been made of his poor scrambling decisions, and I would like to clarify that a little. His issue of running back across the middle has been shrugged off by some, but let me be clear that this is a very serious issue. If you can imagine Wilson trying to reverse field and running into a 250 pound linebacker at a full 4.5 speed, you can imagine how that story ends up. Ball comes out, Woody comes out, and we’re left with a cold quarterback checking into the game already down by a touchdown more than they would have if Woody just throws it away or runs out of bounds. Don’t make light of this, as it is a problem that needs to be monitored, and I’d rather not experiment with a guy like Woody against the team best suited to contain him.

Where I would love to see Woody is against a team like SMU or Middle Tennessee. Throw him in as a changeup, and make him a gameday decision. Force the opponent to fill out a gameplan on Phillips or Meager, and then make them try to play a guy with Woody’s speed. I would very much like to see what he could do for us next year if no one steps up this year.

Matt Phillips

Matt can throw the ball, plain and simple. He’s got the best arm, and, yes the best accuracy. I’m not sure I buy the “consistent overthrow” hypothesis. I saw three deep balls thrown, and two of them were about a yard or two overthrown. The third was an on the numbers pass from about 40 yards out that hit Arthur Stubblefield in stride. I don’t think 1-3 on deep balls is quite that bad, especially so considering that is on the low side for him. The deep pass is more risky, because it is harder to be accurate. If it was just as easy as a five yard out, everyone would throw downfield every play. Even if you think Phillips isn’t particularly good on the deep ball, put it like this: he is, by a wide margin, the best deep arm we have on the team. And those guys are all we have to choose from.

That, and he has the respect of all the guys out there. He is tough as nails, and has bounced up from hits that might have knocked another guy out for the year. Today, he was blindsided by Phillip Graves on a hit that frankly made me sick to watch. Two drives later he was back at the helm.

Other things:

The first play of practice was a 15 yard bubble screen to Johnny Quinn

Tyrone Carter had a great single coverage pass breakup on a deep seam route.

Fumbles were the rule of the day, but they always seem to be this time of year. I stopped counting at 8.

Speaking of fumbles, Jamario picked up a fumbled snap and ran, turning a sure 2 yard loss into a 15 yard gain and picking up the first down.

Cliff Higgs laid a HUGE hit on WR Isaiah Smith, knocking the ball lose in midair. Before it hit the ground, Korey Washington came up with a diving pick. Higgs might have hurt himself on the play, because he didn’t practice the rest of the day. Might have re-injured his shoulder.

Deavin Cox had issues in practice with running sideways instead of turning the ball up field. Coach Dickey laid into him a few times, but, once he started turning it up field, he began to tear out nice chunks of yardage.

On a Deavin Cox fumble, CB Gary Oubre picked up the ball and ran it back around 85 yards, evading several tackles before being taken down by TE David Collins just short of the first down. Coach Dickey was furious by the lack of pursuit by the offense, and made those who didn’t run hard after Oubre do about ten up-downs.

Jamario Thomas caught a screen pass and began weaving his way upfield. He was eventually taken down from behind by DT Sky Pruitt, who had been doggedly pursuing the play, which drew praise from the coaching staff.

At one point, Coach Dickey yelled out to True Freshmen center Kelvin Drake “Be the starting center today!”

Maurice Holman returned a fumble for a TD. Two plays later, on a jarring hit by CB Antoine Bush, the ball came out again, and this time it was returned by Junior Transfer DB Freddy Gittens all the way to the house.

A few drives later, Antoine Bush also came up with a fumble.

A long pass down the right side from Daniel Meager was caught by a diving Brandon Jackson for the offense’s first touchdown of the day.

The second TD came on an equally impressive pass from QB Nathan Tune to TE Victor Gill. Tune stumbled back after the snap, almost losing his balance before winging a pass twenty yards down the seam to Gill, who caught it in the numbers and turned it up field, breaking two tackles before dragging another defender into the end zone. Might we have an answer to the TE controversy?

Speaking of Tune, he led the young team on several long drives, completing huge passes on third down. He displayed good mobility and great leadership. He’s definitely a guy to keep your eye on as time goes by.

Desmon Chatman had a terrific pick-6 on 3rd and goal.

Eagle1855 · August 16, 2006

after reading Illuvius' assessment, one question comes to mind. Is our defense that good, or is our offense that bad? That seems like a lot of picks, fumbles, etc resulting in big gains (or points) the other way.

oh, and thanks to everyone who attended and gave us a report! much appreciated

Edited August 16, 2006 by Eagle1855

Buford_Julep · August 16, 2006

It was very hot today and I was only there for about an hour and one half. It must have been brutal to be out there playing.

I counted 8 center snap bobbles. Four for #6 (Tune?), three for Meager and one for Phillips. The offense also ran some shotgun and two snaps were over head high but were caught by #6. Other than the snaps, I saw only one other fumble.

To me, Phillips was the best QB out there today. He led the only TD drive I saw today. It was set up by a deep pass completion to Arthur Stubblefield. Josh Maldonado scored the TD on a short run. I hope the last two names are correct. At Fouts I sometimes have difficulty reading numbers when the play is on the other side of the field. Phillips impressed me with both his arm strength and his accuracy. One of his passes was intercepted. I would like to see a re-play. I lost sight of the ball. I think it bounced off someone. Maybe it was the intended receiver.

Meager never really moved the offense. It seemed the pass rush was all over him every time he tried to pass. One sack resulted in a safety for the defense. Several times he escaped the pass rush but was unable to gain much yardage running. Meager was not intercepted while i was watching.

#6 (Tune?) moved the offense fairly well but was plagued with bobbled snaps and penalties for movement on the offensive line. #6 threw several quick slants and some quick out patterns while using a short drop back. Most of these quick, accurate passes were caught by Casey Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald also made some good runs after the catch. #6 moved the team close enough to attempt a FG. I could not tell if it was good or not. One quick out pass was intercepted by Desmon Chapman and ran back for a TD. #6 left the scrimmage early. He walked away with someone who may have been a trainer. I'm not sure.

TE Beau Davidson caught at least 3 passes today.

The RB's getting the most action today were Evan Robertson (5-9 164) and Josh Maldonado (5-5 173).

North Texas had a very strong pass rush today. The QB's did not have much time to throw.

The defense also did a good job of stopping the run.

mad dog · August 16, 2006

The fumbled exchange was probably the result of three guys who have very little playing experience. You have RS Freshman Bryan Glass (who seemed to look the best), D-Line convert Chase Pistole, and true freshman Kelvin Drake. Inexperience like that would be the best guess. But you can rest assured they heard about it after practice.

At this point in the year, the defense should still be a little on top of the offense. Barring things like fumbled snaps, weird trick option/reverses that don't work, or true freshman walkon QBs throwing picks, there were lots of DBs making big plays. The big hit by Antoine Bush that knocked the ball loose. The huge hit by Cliff Higgs on Isaiah Smith. The long fumble return by Gary Oubre on a defensive strip. Those are the kinds of things that will tell you if it is the defense being good or the offense being bad. Seeing those things next to what the offense did will give you the impression things are pretty balanced right now, and what people saw out there today is a pretty good impression of where the team is at right now. Barring the fumbles, of course.

good_ken · August 16, 2006

Where did Steven Prince go?

NT80 · August 16, 2006

How was the kicking game: punting, kickoffs, and field goals if any? Is the next scrimmage this Saturday at 8am?, at Fouts or practice field? Thanks for the reports.

mad dog · August 16, 2006

I was actually pleasantly surprised by Denis Hopovac's kick strength and accuracy. Not that he is Nick Bazaldua or anything, but he looked a lot better today. Woodward has a ton of leg, but, like Nick, he'll need to continue refining his technique.

H-towngreen · August 16, 2006

So did Rose get moved to Tackle?

emmitt01 · August 17, 2006

That, and he has the respect of all the guys out there. He is tough as nails, and has bounced up from hits that might have knocked another guy out for the year. Today, he was blindsided by Phillip Graves on a hit that frankly made me sick to watch. Two drives later he was back at the helm.

You left out the fact that the blindside hit resulted in a fumble. That's my other knock on the annointed one...he sits in the pocket too long. Anyone with even a short memory recalls him taking sacks last year because he drops back, eats a lunch, waves to mom and dad in the stands, and then goes through his reads again...sack.

And why are we assuming that if Woody gets hit he'll fumble and it's an automatic return for a touchdown? And, again, tell me why bringing in Phillips should Woody get hurt is a bad thing. Yes, he may be cold when he first gets in there but he's gonna hand the ball to Jamario for the first few plays right? And if turning into the defense is the best reason we can come up with keep Woody off the field I've got a sure-fire two pronged solution:

1)Send Phillips or Meager out there against UT

2)Tell Woody to slide or run out of bounds

Presto, guy under center who isn't a statue.

mad dog · August 17, 2006

You left out the fact that the blindside hit resulted in a fumble. That's my other knock on the annointed one...he sits in the pocket too long. Anyone with even a short memory recalls him taking sacks last year because he drops back, eats a lunch, waves to mom and dad in the stands, and then goes through his reads again...sack.
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Phillips isn't the annointed one. He's just the guy I've been most impressed in the past year. And as for his tendency to hang on to the ball too long, let me remind you, like I did earlier today, that he has gotten much better at getting rid of the ball quickly. And you can't fault him for hanging onto the ball too long when he gets blindsided like that. If he can't see the pressure coming, he can't get rid of the ball.

And why are we assuming that if Woody gets hit he'll fumble and it's an automatic return for a touchdown? And, again, tell me why bringing in Phillips should Woody get hurt is a bad thing.

If he proves to me that he can consistently stick around in the pocket long enough to complete passes instead of taking off when things get hairy, I'll be more inclined to listen to that. But I would NOT start him against Texas.