Re: Scrimmage impressions
Hate that we've lost another big body for the Arkansas game. Both of these guys would have likely been starters for the opener.
Courtney Wallace 6'-2" 320 DT out 3-6 weeks
O'Shea Dugas 6'-5" 330 OG out possibly for the season.
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
boxerdog
...he doesn't need much of a crease to squirt through.(TWSS)....
You are much more clever than you look, boxer.
Sometimes you surprise even me. :laugh:
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DogsWin
Hate that we've lost another big body for the Arkansas game. Both of these guys would have likely been starters for the opener.
Courtney Wallace 6'-2" 320 DT out 3-6 weeks
O'Shea Dugas 6'-5" 330 OG out possibly for the season.
That sucks. We had two DBs go down last week. Already thin at DB as it is so might make it easier on your new QB to get comfortable.
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
boxerdog
J'Mar can throw as well as Price and moves much better. I think he's the clear number 2. Higgins looked great at the start of practice (1's against 2's) but he lost some luster as it went on. Our offense outplayed the defense early but the defense controlled the last 2/3's of the scrimmage.
Carlos is the most electric playmaker on offense. I forget how good he is with the ball in his hands. I don't think one guy can tackle him in the open field. Conner Smith is vastly underrated. He's the best blocker among the wr's and can catch it in traffic. Excellent routes. Several of the new guys had drops. Gaines impressed me more than Tarzan.
I though Holley was basically a blocking back but he got several carries. He's faster and more elusive than I thought. Runs with a good lean. Boston Scott had a solid scrimmage, he doesn't need much of a crease to squirt through.(TWSS)
Dugas went down with what seemed like a serious leg injury. They carted him off the field and took him away in an ambulance.
The OL got the best of the DL early on but that changed noticeably after a few series.
As for LB's, I though Farris looked good. The big kid from Texas is solid. Really all the LB's played well. Hogan has the best nose for the ball of all of them imo. He's earned playing time.
Xavier was good. They played him close to the LOS several times and dropped Grogan back deep.
Our db's were almost always in position to make plays on the ball--even if they didn't.
No punting but the pk's looked good.
I think J'Mar will turn some heads against Arkansas. His arm talent coupled with his scrambling gives him the start. Higgins can't run anything like him but Higgins is much more comfortable with the offense. That said, Higgins kinda gets squirrelly when he's pressured. J'Mar can hurt you with his legs.
Wow, thanks for the up-date my friend! always look forward to hearing your thoughts on here!
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Ive noticed Lloyd defending the pass in team looking much more polished in that aspect than before. So its good to hear somebody else confirm that.
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
boxerdog
J'Mar can throw as well as Price and moves much better. I think he's the clear number 2. Higgins looked great at the start of practice (1's against 2's) but he lost some luster as it went on. Our offense outplayed the defense early but the defense controlled the last 2/3's of the scrimmage.
Carlos is the most electric playmaker on offense. I forget how good he is with the ball in his hands. I don't think one guy can tackle him in the open field. Conner Smith is vastly underrated. He's the best blocker among the wr's and can catch it in traffic. Excellent routes. Several of the new guys had drops. Gaines impressed me more than Tarzan.
I though Holley was basically a blocking back but he got several carries. He's faster and more elusive than I thought. Runs with a good lean. Boston Scott had a solid scrimmage, he doesn't need much of a crease to squirt through.(TWSS)
Dugas went down with what seemed like a serious leg injury. They carted him off the field and took him away in an ambulance.
The OL got the best of the DL early on but that changed noticeably after a few series.
As for LB's, I though Farris looked good. The big kid from Texas is solid. Really all the LB's played well. Hogan has the best nose for the ball of all of them imo. He's earned playing time.
Xavier was good. They played him close to the LOS several times and dropped Grogan back deep.
Our db's were almost always in position to make plays on the ball--even if they didn't.
No punting but the pk's looked good.
I think J'Mar will turn some heads against Arkansas. His arm talent coupled with his scrambling gives him the start. Higgins can't run anything like him but Higgins is much more comfortable with the offense. That said, Higgins kinda gets squirrelly when he's pressured. J'Mar can hurt you with his legs.
So........10-2 this season??
Re: Scrimmage impressions
On defense, Canty was impressive. He's bigger and more imposing. Xavier blew up a few plays. I did notice that if a ball carrier got past the LOS he seemed to have open field for at least 5-7 yards before somebody could get to him. Santos was solid but he isn't a destructive force. He's not quick on his feet--plays similar to Tony Johnson. Farris can scat, he looks like a running back playing linebacker to me. Durham has improved but Hogan seems more instinctive and disruptive. They didn't bat many balls at the LOS for whatever reason. I could see Arkansas being able to run ball control on us.
Higgins' arm is underrated. He can throw the ball and showed nice touch on a few throws. But he's not going to hurt teams with his feet and I think he gets out of his game once he's forced to scramble. There were several times I thought he looked extremely vulnerable to being hit hard. Had he not worn a red jersey, he would've been creamed a few times. J'Mar can hurt teams with his feet. He's not run-happy but is a much more fluid runner than Higgins. There was a noticeable drop-off in terms of open receivers between the 1st team rotation and the 2nd/3rd teamers. Higgins' numbers reflect some of that. Price had a few receivers drop balls which didn't help his cause.
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Take this for what it's worth, I've only witnessed this 1.5 hour scrimmage...
Positives:
Dline is good and deep. We can pressure the QB without having to blitz. Should be solid against the run.
QB is fine. They are all talented. Higgins is a better decision-maker because he's been doing it longer (the game is a little slower for him). All 3 are capable of running this offense, imo. There were very few (1 or 2) bad decisions by the whole group.
1st team defense looks solid. Corner is my only concern due to inexperience.
Pass protection looked solid by the first team.
Negatives:
Run blocking. OL still isn't very good at it. I don't look to see the explosive run plays we saw when Dixon was here. Hopefully, maybe it's because our DLine is pretty good. It might be challenge running the ball this year though. RBs look fine especially in the passing game.
Pass catching. Multiple drops both in pregame warmups and live action. Only 1 starter had trouble though... mostly backups dropping balls.
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
T1
Pass catching. Multiple drops both in pregame warmups and live action. Only 1 starter had trouble though... mostly backups dropping balls.
We use a lot of WRs so "backup" see a lot of action. Hopw this improves.
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
T1
Take this for what it's worth, I've only witnessed this 1.5 hour scrimmage...
Positives:
QB is fine. They are all talented. Higgins is a better decision-maker because he's been doing it longer (the game is a little slower for him). All 3 are capable of running this offense, imo. There were very few (1 or 2) bad decisions by the whole group.
That's definitively great to hear, I was very surprised to read so much negativity from much of the BBB on this position. I knew that J'mar and Price couldn't be useless...
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Bearpaw
That's definitively great to hear, I was very surprised to read so much negativity from much of the BBB on this position. I knew that J'mar and Price couldn't be useless...
Remember to take it for what it's worth though. I've only seen them in this one scrimmage.... maybe they all just had a good night. But just comparing them to the last time I saw them play (the Spring Game), they have improved a lot. They both look capable of running the offense now, and I couldn't say that after the Spring Game. They are confident, make good reads, have good arms.... and J'Mar can move pretty good.
Re: Scrimmage impressions
My guess is that whoever starts against Arkansas will likely play the first quarter then we will see Higgins. Regardless, our QBs are inexperienced and will need time to develop consistency in game setting. Since both teams are starting new QBs the Arkansas game will be about the success of each teams running game, each Ds ability to control the running game and turnovers. I may be surprised but I think the team that can play the best run defense and not turn the ball over offensively will win. However, I could be wrong and Arkansas' new QB could have a "coming out" party against us and we get blown out. The worst thing that can happen is that our D gets man-handled on the line of scrimmage and they rush for a bunch. Make them throw it to beat us which is exactly how they are gonna play us on D. Who knows it just might be the "coming out" party for the next great bulldog QB!
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Re: Scrimmage impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BruceWillisDawg
My guess is that whoever starts against Arkansas will likely play the first quarter then we will see Higgins. Regardless, our QBs are inexperienced and will need time to develop consistency in game setting. Since both teams are starting new QBs the Arkansas game will be about the success of each teams running game, each Ds ability to control the running game and turnovers. I may be surprised but I think the team that can play the best run defense and not turn the ball over offensively will win. However, I could be wrong and Arkansas' new QB could have a "coming out" party against us and we get blown out. The worst thing that can happen is that our D gets man-handled on the line of scrimmage and they rush for a bunch. Make them throw it to beat us which is exactly how they are gonna play us on D. Who knows it just might be the "coming out" party for the next great bulldog QB!
Holtz has already said he won't make a mockery of Higgins' punishment, so I would expect him to sit Higgins for at least the entire first half. And maybe the entire game.
I expect Arkansas --in typical Bret Bielema style-- to run the ball hard all day. It will be 2 yds and a cloud of dust, smash mouth football. This game won't be like our past games against Arkansas. Bielema is the king of smash mouth football. We've got to be smart enough to keep moving the chains on offense, and not get bogged down by trying to play their game. We need to open it up. Whoever our best "passing" QB is, will need to have a big day.