Cyclone Time

The best catch of the day went to a Cyclone, which covers me, because on this day, it could either have been Xavier Hutchinson or Higgins. I DO KNOW that it was certainly one of those two. Mills came back into the drill on a 3rd and six. He had Hutchinson in man coverage to our sideline so Hutch ran a speed out towards us. Mills put the ball a little wider than perhaps expected. He did need to get it away from the DB, but when he threw it, I thought he had gone a bit too far. NOPE. Hutchinson stuck out his big right paw and snagged the pass one handed for first down yardage.

The last team period was one with the Texans offense backed up to its own goal line. The goal was to get a first down from their own two yard line. On the first series, the Texans ran Chubb on inside runs for the first two plays before Stroud drilled one to Brevin Jordan for a first down. I wrote down “GOOD OFFENSIVE SERIES”. Good start, anyway.

LB Jake Hansen is well known for his special teams contributions, but he’s one heck of a playmaking linebacker as well. On first and ten from the two, he slammed the door shut on a run that initially looked like it had possibilities. He was so quick to the hole and then physical and strong enough to shut it down.

Catch of the Day?

The very next play? The Catch of the Day (or the runner-up, it’s close). Higgins was lined up on the left side of the formation, the sideline where I was standing. On the snap, Mills immediately locked into Higgins who faced man coverage with a defender down on his hip, down our sideline. Mills lofted one HIGH in the air in that direction. Now, I’ve seen HIggins do this a million times in college and at the Senior Bowl, but against grown man professionals? That’s a different story, but that’s exactly what he did! He leapt in the air and “Moss’d” the defender as they both fell out of bounds, Higgins cradling the ball in his arms. I got shielded by a few bodies in front of me but I looked to the field to see the players’ reaction. RB Jawhar Jordan signaled first down but he wasn’t totally sure until he got closer and then his reaction was like ours “HE CAUGHT THAT?!?” He did and he’ll do it again for all to see later this camp and this season.

Runnin’ Hard

I really like the way that young RBs Jawhar Jordan and Woody Marks are running the ball. More specifically, I LOVE how hard they’re running the ball. J.J. Taylor too. Those guys aren’t backing off, trying to bounce runs outside when there’s an inside gap available. Marks may have only picked up three yards on a run late in practice, but the way that he took an interior run and SLAMMED into the defense to pick up those three yards was impressive.

Stroud dart

Then, it was time for the ones v. ones again to finish the drill. On first and ten, C.J. threw a ball that I’m not really sure how he was able to make a completion. He had TE Dalton Schultz on a seam route that he bent inside away from CB Derek Stingley Jr. Schultz’s subtle movement gave Stroud just enough space, perhaps the size of a big purse, where the third year QB could place the football. Then, HE DID. How he fit that ball into that tiny space was, just, I don’t know how to describe. That’s HIM. That dude that threw that ball is special, man.

Stroud hit Nico on a speed out to our sideline on the next play, but the defense came up with a stop on the final play of the drill. Either way, I thought it was Stroud’s best day in camp by far.

Jaylin Smith stands out

The rookies made a number of asterisk plays throughout the day and the last one was from former USC star CB Jaylin Smith. He broke up a speed out to Watson and was inches away from taking that one to the house. He’s going to be a player for this defense and on into the future. Mark my words.

So, that’ll do it for day six. What an offensive day! Not perfect, but a damn lot of progress. Iron is certainly sharpening iron the past few days in pads. Pass protection has been much improved. Blitzes are getting picked up. Confidence is growing. LB Henry To’o To’o said that the one thing that stood out to him about this defense was how confident it is and it looked like the offense found some of its confidence on Tuesday. Back for more tomorrow, folks. See ya on Wednesday!!