Every week of the preseason, I have such grand plans. I\u2019ll sit down at night, watch a bunch of players & gather clips, all the while visions of deep film dives on each one dance in my head. Then I look up, and the week is over, and I don\u2019t have time for any of that. But I have all these clips and notes, and I need something to do with them. So here you go. Some clips and notes before the final preseason game. Let\u2019s hit the offensive side of the ball first.<\/p>\n
Good feet in pass pro, but he is a little late with his hands, which can get him into trouble at times. Shows a good secondary anchor when he\u2019s initially knocked back.<\/p>\n
Generated some movement in the run game, but doesn\u2019t seem overly confident there yet. Pulled one time and looked like he missed his aiming point. Good movement skills. Looks strong and smooth. The run game should get better with more reps & comfort.<\/p>\n
Yes, there is plenty of bad. The penalties stand out, and there are multiple instances of Belton just getting beaten, both in the run and pass. Some awkward climbing to the second level, some aimless attacking on runs, getting beaten by speed on the edge, getting out too far over his skis, and getting pulled out of the play. That\u2019s all there.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s also plenty of good. Some solid anchor in pass pro and some strong seals in the run game. He has a long way to go (and I still think his best position is at guard), but he showed quite a few flashes.<\/p>\n
Much more good than bad. Big improvement over game 1. 25 snaps at RG (all with Willis), 6 snaps at C (all with Elgersma). Inconsistent and a couple of clean losses.<\/p>\n
Plays with a good head. Knows where he\u2019s supposed to be. Looks for places to help when he doesn\u2019t have a man to block. Not a ton of power in the run game, but can move people on occasion. Cautiously optimistic.<\/p>\n
Burst is certainly there, but I\u2019m not sure about the vision\/pacing. Doesn\u2019t always see the blocks and sometimes arrives before it has a chance to develop. Could be lethal in the passing game, and he\u2019ll have some explosive plays in the running game, but he feels like there\u2019s a lot of boom-or-bust in his game right now.<\/p>\n
Uses his size well. Willing blocker and tends to know where he\u2019s supposed to go, but the technique isn\u2019t great, and his approach has a little hesitation in it, so some of the downfield\/digging-out-safeties stuff often sees him blocking air.<\/p>\n
Decent (but not great) speed, and he tends to do too much at the top of his routes.<\/p>\n
If that can get cleaned up, there may be something here. Profiles as an outside possession receiver.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s crazy how much better he is than when he was with the Titans last preseason. Good footwork. Good working the reads. Accuracy & decision-making still have some pretty big question marks, but he has turned into an actual, functional QB, even without any gimmicks. Wouldn\u2019t want him as a full-time starter, but he seems to be a solid backup.<\/p>\n
The above clip is incomplete, but a good example of his growth. Clean footwork, no play action or misdirection, reading the middle of the field, and taking the one-on-one with the safety spinning down.<\/p>\n
Taylor Elgersma (#19, QB)<\/p>\n
Started real shaky, but seemed to settle in a bit as the game went on. Hit a nice gain with Strike, then they went back to it late, and the defense dropped an LB. Elgersma saw it and ended up with a successful scramble on the play.<\/p>\n
Still pretty robotic overall, and his movement skills are a problem, but I like what he showed as the game went on.<\/p>\n
Ty\u2019Ron Hopper (#59, LB)<\/p>\n
At best, he was fine. At his best when he\u2019s just dropping back into zone coverage. Not great angles\/attack against the run. The biggest issue was his play action. He\u2019s 5 steps up to the line before he realizes it\u2019s a fake. That recognition is something he can potentially get better at, but he\u2019s gonna get victimized in the regular season if he plays like we saw him this past week.<\/p>\n
Decent in coverage, though he did miss at least one assignment. Pretty bad against the run, in that he\u2019s just very tentative. You can see him thinking instead of moving when there\u2019s a lot of misdirection, and when a blocker or ball carrier is running at him, he\u2019s on his heels instead of going downhill. Not sure if that\u2019s something that can be fixed. At this point, I\u2019d rather him make mistakes at 100 mph than be tentative. I still think he can be useful on obvious passing downs (mugging & either blitzing or falling back into a zone), but that\u2019s a relatively small package of plays. Still, if they like him on ST, it would be a way for him to make an impact on 10 snaps a game.<\/p>\n
Was mostly fine. Ate some double-teams to free up some guys behind him, but mostly seemed to be a non-factor. Showed some nice things as a pass rusher, but not a ton of consistency there.<\/p>\n
He was pretty easily moved\/turned aside in the run game. I think there\u2019s something there, but he does not look like a guy you want playing a lot of time in his first year.<\/p>\n
Some decent reps where he was able to push, hold the point, and shed. Those were sweet.<\/p>\n
Albums listened to: Marissa Nadler – New Radiations; Chevelle – Bright as Blasphemy; Talk Talk – Laughing Stock; Over the Rhine – Ohio; Blindside – Silence; Tom Waits – Mule Variations; Deftones – private music; Wolf Alice – The Clearing<\/p>\n