I arrived for camp at 7:55 at the north entrance off Stadium Drive, which I prefer. I was concerned because there was a line that went not only to the corner of the fence that surrounds the practice area (maybe 120'?) but also about the same distance around the corner. Fortunately, the line moved pretty quickly thru the ticket checkers and bag security. For the first time that I can remember, they didn't have roster cards there. I was directed to the "information booth", which would've been very convenient had I come in the main entrance. As it was, I had to jog almost to the media broadcast tent to get my roster card. Then back to the field. Fortunately, I managed all of that before practice start time at 8:15 and got a nice seat in the top of the bleachers on the south 35 yard line. It also helped that they were practicing on the west fields.
Sitting on the sideline is optimal for viewing, but not for getting around as the players have a fenced off path to get to the locker room on the SW corner of the field. But beyond that are the main gift shop, info booth with roster cards, media broadcast tent and other tents with stuff not worth mentioning here. To get beyond that, there's a path that is opened and closed periodically. After practice, I went to the media tent to watch the broadcast and got pics of Bernstein, Eddie Jackson and a selfie with Hub Arkush. But it stuck me on the other side of that path which is entirely closed during the autograph session. I couldn't get to my car and just had to wait there with the mob. Did get pictures of Zach Miller and Iggy, tho.
More to come.
Training Camp Report 7/27/18
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Mikefive
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Mikefive's theory: The only time you KNOW that a sports team player, coach or management member is being 100% honest is when they're NOT reciting "the company line".
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Mikefive
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I had decided that I was going to be a bit lazy this year and just focus on watching the pass catchers, since we have so many new ones. I'll admit my bias that I was chomping at the bit to see Anthony Miller.
Note that I watched a no tackling practice.
Never seen before things...
Interesting QB drills. They had a pad that looked to be about 18" wide and 6' long. They would have the QBs straddle those, slide left then right then throw, keeping feet from hitting the pad. Good footwork drill. They'd also lay 3 of those perpendicular to the LOS with gaps in between maybe 3'. Then they'd have the QBs in their passing stance move forward and back, weaving thru them. Made sense to me.
Did see one that didn't make sense. TEs inch toward a thrower maybe 30' away and the thrower would throw the ball a their feet and they'd have to catch it.
Weird formations...
-I was a bit surprised to see us running a bunch formation with a TE alone on the other side. Saw that a handful of times. Looks like they want to see if that draws a S to the TE man to man or what the D does with him.
-Another strange formation was 4 guys out wide, one guy right behind the other wide on each side. No slot or wing.
-Another thing I saw several times was a 5-wide spread that included 3 TEs. They used this a number of times in the red zone and it was very effective hitting to one of the TEs in a box out situation. I can imagine them using that in short yardage as well.
Very little STs practice. Maybe it was just that day, but I've never seen anywhere close to as little STs practice in a day. At the very beginning when most of the players were doing leg stretches, guys were catching balls from the jugs machine. K's and P's were doing their thing while everyone else was doing O and D drills and interplay. Right at the end of practice at 10:50, guys were putting on the colored helmet covers and starting STs stuff. At that time, I left as practice was supposed to end at 10:55, so I never saw how much longer that went on. But it couldn't have been much. Very unusual and potentially concerning. But likely it was just that day.
Individual players...
Kevin White
...really caught my attention because he had more reps than anyone else at WR. They clearly want him to start and are trying to build his confidence. White clearly passes the eye test. No evidence of being hampered due to former injuries. But for every good thing, there were 2 bad things. He still doesn't run great routes. But he's such a physical beast that he just wills himself open with his physical gifts. What a tease. On the Day 7 video, it shows him running past UDFA Joseph for a beautiful TD bomb. But it doesn't show that he false started the play before. He did have a couple of bad drops. Right at the end, he did make a nice TD catch on a contested ball. But he couldn't bring in any other contested balls all day. The video also shows his bobble up for an interception. If this guy could get the little things right, he could be a monster. He's going to produce some, no doubt about it. But he still has a ways to go. And Nagy's giving him every opportunity.
Allen Robinson
...is being used tentatively, but his flashes are encouraging. He gets a good number of reps, but not what you'd expect for a starter. You saw on the day 7 video that he made a couple beautiful catches for TDs. He looks like what you'd expect for a guy 11 months from an ACL injury. I did see him laying on the ground stretching his legs during practice. Looks to me like a guy who isn't going to be ready to play a dominant role early, but may come on in the 2nd half of the season as his body completes the healing process.
Taylor Gabriel
Smurfy and slippery quick and fast. Catches with his hands well for a small guy. But it was a no hitting practice, so he's going to look good then.
Anthony Miller
I was vastly disappointed as they didn't use him as much as I expected and they didn't seem to throw to him a lot. He seemed like he was matched up with Kyle Fuller a lot. He looked good in one drill starting to the left, fighting his way across Kyle's face and catching a TD. On another play right near the end, he ran straight at Fuller, did a hesitation move and they fought his way past him for a nice downfield intermediate gainer. And I wasn't kidding in the earlier descriptions by using the word "fight". There was contact and hand battling. Miller's competitiveness is clearly evident and he seems to seek out a matchup with Fuller. Miller does focus on catching the ball with his hands nicely. I just wish I got to see more of him in action catching balls. Based on early reports and college tape, I hoped to come back with a report that his superior route running is going to have him starting early. But I can't say that based on what I saw. I do think he will play early and often though. We'll have to see what happens in the preseason games.
Interestingly, they ran an O vs. D drill with the top group of WRs while at the same time having passing drills with the lesser WR group. The top group was White, Robinson, Gabriel, Bellamy and Miller, although Miller clearly was borderline as he got clearly fewer reps than the others. I was surprised by that and expected Miller to be held in higher esteem based on his draft status and early camp reports. Maybe it's an indication that Miller isn't picking up the offense like the others?
Side note... when I was coming up the bleachers to find a seat, I saw a couple of not the youngest ladies wearing Miller jerseys. I spoke to them and they were clearly big Miller fans. Later, they left their spot a few rows below me and other fans mentioned to me that they were Miller's family. I ran into those ladies later and asked them directly. They pointed out that they were mother, grandmother and aunt. (Was that true? Who knows?) I congratulated them on their guy's success and wished them well. It was a fun exchange.
Josh Bellamy
Seems to be holding his own. Did have one noteworthy drop, but clearly looks like he's earned the trust of the coaching staff. Doesn't look like age is catching up to him yet.
Tanner Gentry
Looks a lot like he did last year in camp. Can run a route and has some kind of magic that allows him to go up and get balls downfield, despite his skinny frame.
Bennie Fowler
Experience shows. Good size. More than "just a guy". Did have a nice TD catch on the day 7 tape. Don't expect him to go wild though.
Javon Wims
Not seeing anything special here. A TC body who looks destined to be on and off the practice squad.
More to come as time permits.
Note that I watched a no tackling practice.
Never seen before things...
Interesting QB drills. They had a pad that looked to be about 18" wide and 6' long. They would have the QBs straddle those, slide left then right then throw, keeping feet from hitting the pad. Good footwork drill. They'd also lay 3 of those perpendicular to the LOS with gaps in between maybe 3'. Then they'd have the QBs in their passing stance move forward and back, weaving thru them. Made sense to me.
Did see one that didn't make sense. TEs inch toward a thrower maybe 30' away and the thrower would throw the ball a their feet and they'd have to catch it.
Weird formations...
-I was a bit surprised to see us running a bunch formation with a TE alone on the other side. Saw that a handful of times. Looks like they want to see if that draws a S to the TE man to man or what the D does with him.
-Another strange formation was 4 guys out wide, one guy right behind the other wide on each side. No slot or wing.
-Another thing I saw several times was a 5-wide spread that included 3 TEs. They used this a number of times in the red zone and it was very effective hitting to one of the TEs in a box out situation. I can imagine them using that in short yardage as well.
Very little STs practice. Maybe it was just that day, but I've never seen anywhere close to as little STs practice in a day. At the very beginning when most of the players were doing leg stretches, guys were catching balls from the jugs machine. K's and P's were doing their thing while everyone else was doing O and D drills and interplay. Right at the end of practice at 10:50, guys were putting on the colored helmet covers and starting STs stuff. At that time, I left as practice was supposed to end at 10:55, so I never saw how much longer that went on. But it couldn't have been much. Very unusual and potentially concerning. But likely it was just that day.
Individual players...
Kevin White
...really caught my attention because he had more reps than anyone else at WR. They clearly want him to start and are trying to build his confidence. White clearly passes the eye test. No evidence of being hampered due to former injuries. But for every good thing, there were 2 bad things. He still doesn't run great routes. But he's such a physical beast that he just wills himself open with his physical gifts. What a tease. On the Day 7 video, it shows him running past UDFA Joseph for a beautiful TD bomb. But it doesn't show that he false started the play before. He did have a couple of bad drops. Right at the end, he did make a nice TD catch on a contested ball. But he couldn't bring in any other contested balls all day. The video also shows his bobble up for an interception. If this guy could get the little things right, he could be a monster. He's going to produce some, no doubt about it. But he still has a ways to go. And Nagy's giving him every opportunity.
Allen Robinson
...is being used tentatively, but his flashes are encouraging. He gets a good number of reps, but not what you'd expect for a starter. You saw on the day 7 video that he made a couple beautiful catches for TDs. He looks like what you'd expect for a guy 11 months from an ACL injury. I did see him laying on the ground stretching his legs during practice. Looks to me like a guy who isn't going to be ready to play a dominant role early, but may come on in the 2nd half of the season as his body completes the healing process.
Taylor Gabriel
Smurfy and slippery quick and fast. Catches with his hands well for a small guy. But it was a no hitting practice, so he's going to look good then.
Anthony Miller
I was vastly disappointed as they didn't use him as much as I expected and they didn't seem to throw to him a lot. He seemed like he was matched up with Kyle Fuller a lot. He looked good in one drill starting to the left, fighting his way across Kyle's face and catching a TD. On another play right near the end, he ran straight at Fuller, did a hesitation move and they fought his way past him for a nice downfield intermediate gainer. And I wasn't kidding in the earlier descriptions by using the word "fight". There was contact and hand battling. Miller's competitiveness is clearly evident and he seems to seek out a matchup with Fuller. Miller does focus on catching the ball with his hands nicely. I just wish I got to see more of him in action catching balls. Based on early reports and college tape, I hoped to come back with a report that his superior route running is going to have him starting early. But I can't say that based on what I saw. I do think he will play early and often though. We'll have to see what happens in the preseason games.
Interestingly, they ran an O vs. D drill with the top group of WRs while at the same time having passing drills with the lesser WR group. The top group was White, Robinson, Gabriel, Bellamy and Miller, although Miller clearly was borderline as he got clearly fewer reps than the others. I was surprised by that and expected Miller to be held in higher esteem based on his draft status and early camp reports. Maybe it's an indication that Miller isn't picking up the offense like the others?
Side note... when I was coming up the bleachers to find a seat, I saw a couple of not the youngest ladies wearing Miller jerseys. I spoke to them and they were clearly big Miller fans. Later, they left their spot a few rows below me and other fans mentioned to me that they were Miller's family. I ran into those ladies later and asked them directly. They pointed out that they were mother, grandmother and aunt. (Was that true? Who knows?) I congratulated them on their guy's success and wished them well. It was a fun exchange.
Josh Bellamy
Seems to be holding his own. Did have one noteworthy drop, but clearly looks like he's earned the trust of the coaching staff. Doesn't look like age is catching up to him yet.
Tanner Gentry
Looks a lot like he did last year in camp. Can run a route and has some kind of magic that allows him to go up and get balls downfield, despite his skinny frame.
Bennie Fowler
Experience shows. Good size. More than "just a guy". Did have a nice TD catch on the day 7 tape. Don't expect him to go wild though.
Javon Wims
Not seeing anything special here. A TC body who looks destined to be on and off the practice squad.
More to come as time permits.
Mikefive's theory: The only time you KNOW that a sports team player, coach or management member is being 100% honest is when they're NOT reciting "the company line".
Go back to leather helmets, NFL.
Go back to leather helmets, NFL.
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Mikefive
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TEs
Trey Burton
My first impression was a question... Who is bigger, he or Brandon Marshall? He looks like a big WR to me and he plays like it. For his size, he's fairly quick and smooth and catches the ball well. But he doesn't jump off the page. He's not a guy who looks like he's going to do much in the blocking game. But he should be productive in the pass game. I sure wouldn't look for him to be anywhere close to a 1000 yard guy. That might be just fine though.
Adam Shaheen
Big improvement over last year. He and Burton practiced like starters and both looked like productive players. I talked earlier about going 5 wide in the red zone with 3 TEs. In those situations Shaheen turned his back to his defender who then had no chance. I think he had 4 short, red zone TDs. He's just too big and moves well enough. He's not going to be a dominating guy, But in a different way, he's like Burton... Efficient, productive, catches the ball... But not overwhelming. But he has a lot of potential left in the tank.
Dion Sims
They didn't seem to throw to him as much as the two above. But he looked like he was moving well and catching the ball given his opportunities. Nothing to be disappointed about as a #3 TE, other than his pay.
Daniel Brown
Same ol' same ol'. Skinnier TE who can catch.
No other WRs or TEs stood out to me like Cam Meredith did 3 years ago.
Trey Burton
My first impression was a question... Who is bigger, he or Brandon Marshall? He looks like a big WR to me and he plays like it. For his size, he's fairly quick and smooth and catches the ball well. But he doesn't jump off the page. He's not a guy who looks like he's going to do much in the blocking game. But he should be productive in the pass game. I sure wouldn't look for him to be anywhere close to a 1000 yard guy. That might be just fine though.
Adam Shaheen
Big improvement over last year. He and Burton practiced like starters and both looked like productive players. I talked earlier about going 5 wide in the red zone with 3 TEs. In those situations Shaheen turned his back to his defender who then had no chance. I think he had 4 short, red zone TDs. He's just too big and moves well enough. He's not going to be a dominating guy, But in a different way, he's like Burton... Efficient, productive, catches the ball... But not overwhelming. But he has a lot of potential left in the tank.
Dion Sims
They didn't seem to throw to him as much as the two above. But he looked like he was moving well and catching the ball given his opportunities. Nothing to be disappointed about as a #3 TE, other than his pay.
Daniel Brown
Same ol' same ol'. Skinnier TE who can catch.
No other WRs or TEs stood out to me like Cam Meredith did 3 years ago.
Mikefive's theory: The only time you KNOW that a sports team player, coach or management member is being 100% honest is when they're NOT reciting "the company line".
Go back to leather helmets, NFL.
Go back to leather helmets, NFL.
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Mikefive
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Other guys...
Be aware that I wasn't focusing on any of these guys. But these are just observations I made.
Mitch Trubisky
Looked pretty darned good. He did throw maybe 3 interceptions and had about 2 handfuls of bad throws. But outside of that, he was really accurate and made almost no throws on the run. He had one RPO flip to the RB that was behind him and ended up on the ground. Really bad error there. But again, he was rather impressive overall.
Biscuit is one of those guys coaches dream of having. Every indication is that he knows the playbook and works hard at it. He encourages his guys when they come into the huddle and when they make a play. He does everything within his power to get better and make his teammates better. Now does he have the talent and mental makeup to win a championship? That remains to be seen. Still, you've gotta love a guy who does everything the right way.
That includes the fans. I told you I had to wait until they opened the path for fans to get back to the north parking lot, so I had to wait. I don't know when MT got there to start signing, but he was the last player still there after everyone else had gone into the locker room. He's on his way to owning this city.
Chase Daniel
Smaller than I remembered him. But he can run the offense.
Tyler Bray
Almost Mike Glennon tall. Mike Glennon bad. Pray we don't have to insert him.
Jordan Howard
Nothing much to report other than I never saw him drop a ball, although I didn't watch RB drills. He did turn his ankle fairly early on and hobbled off, which left many of us gasping. But then he jogged right back in a minute later.
Tarik Cohen
They line him up everywhere. He had a beautiful one right at the end of practice. Wide right... runs straight up the field... some backup (Hall?) is in front of him in a zone... He cuts outside for about 3 steps then takes it up the sideline in the blink of an eye and is WIDE open for a likely TD. OMG.
Ryan Nall
Can't really judge a RB in no tackle practices. But he moves pretty well in a straight line for a big back. I want to see him in a game.
James Daniels
Never focused on his play. But he was standing right in front of me at one point. And let's just say... He's got a very wide base.
Leonard Floyd
On one play during 11 on 11, he got matched up in coverage against Taylor Gabriel heading downfield. LOL... Ouch. It didn't go well for him.
The secondary...
The corners look really solid as do the safeties. Amos still looks vulnerable in coverage, however.
MIA list...
Roquan Smith
Kyle Long
Kylie Fitts
Back to camp on Monday.
Be aware that I wasn't focusing on any of these guys. But these are just observations I made.
Mitch Trubisky
Looked pretty darned good. He did throw maybe 3 interceptions and had about 2 handfuls of bad throws. But outside of that, he was really accurate and made almost no throws on the run. He had one RPO flip to the RB that was behind him and ended up on the ground. Really bad error there. But again, he was rather impressive overall.
Biscuit is one of those guys coaches dream of having. Every indication is that he knows the playbook and works hard at it. He encourages his guys when they come into the huddle and when they make a play. He does everything within his power to get better and make his teammates better. Now does he have the talent and mental makeup to win a championship? That remains to be seen. Still, you've gotta love a guy who does everything the right way.
That includes the fans. I told you I had to wait until they opened the path for fans to get back to the north parking lot, so I had to wait. I don't know when MT got there to start signing, but he was the last player still there after everyone else had gone into the locker room. He's on his way to owning this city.
Chase Daniel
Smaller than I remembered him. But he can run the offense.
Tyler Bray
Almost Mike Glennon tall. Mike Glennon bad. Pray we don't have to insert him.
Jordan Howard
Nothing much to report other than I never saw him drop a ball, although I didn't watch RB drills. He did turn his ankle fairly early on and hobbled off, which left many of us gasping. But then he jogged right back in a minute later.
Tarik Cohen
They line him up everywhere. He had a beautiful one right at the end of practice. Wide right... runs straight up the field... some backup (Hall?) is in front of him in a zone... He cuts outside for about 3 steps then takes it up the sideline in the blink of an eye and is WIDE open for a likely TD. OMG.
Ryan Nall
Can't really judge a RB in no tackle practices. But he moves pretty well in a straight line for a big back. I want to see him in a game.
James Daniels
Never focused on his play. But he was standing right in front of me at one point. And let's just say... He's got a very wide base.
Leonard Floyd
On one play during 11 on 11, he got matched up in coverage against Taylor Gabriel heading downfield. LOL... Ouch. It didn't go well for him.
The secondary...
The corners look really solid as do the safeties. Amos still looks vulnerable in coverage, however.
MIA list...
Roquan Smith
Kyle Long
Kylie Fitts
Back to camp on Monday.
Mikefive's theory: The only time you KNOW that a sports team player, coach or management member is being 100% honest is when they're NOT reciting "the company line".
Go back to leather helmets, NFL.
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G08
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Great updates man, thanks for sharing! 
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VA_Mountain_Bear
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Great info sir. Thank you.
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The Marshall Plan
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That was a great write up and thank you for sharing.
We have a lot to be positive about, but I'm so excited about Miller. I'm hoping he's a starter around mid year. The matchup against Fuller just shows me that he wants to go up against the #1 CB to prove himself. We've got something special with him.
We have a lot to be positive about, but I'm so excited about Miller. I'm hoping he's a starter around mid year. The matchup against Fuller just shows me that he wants to go up against the #1 CB to prove himself. We've got something special with him.
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Mikefive
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You're welcome all and thank you for the kind words.
Mikefive's theory: The only time you KNOW that a sports team player, coach or management member is being 100% honest is when they're NOT reciting "the company line".
Go back to leather helmets, NFL.
Go back to leather helmets, NFL.