Freak's Peek, from Charlotte

[freakofthesouth]

Hey all.

Here are a few observations on our team, directly from Bank of America Stadium:

-First off, Let's talk about Ramsey. As many of you saw on the TV, Ramsey did, indeed, look very sketchy in the pocket. His thoughts seemed to be on the pass rush, not where the recievers are. He's not seeing the patterns our guys are running.

His biggest mistake came from a play where he dumped off to Betts, actually for a first down. He had Santana WIDE OPEN, streaking down the field, behind everyone. And he didn't even look at him. As a starting QB in the NFL, you must make these reads. OK, so you threw an INT, you were very unsettled in the pocket, and you had a couple of errant throws. Under no circumstances can our starting QB miss a scoring opportunity such as that in the regular season.

-That said, our receiving corps was open last night. There were guys getting a lot of seperation, just as we have noticed in training camp. We have a ton of speed there, and I really think we will have better production there this season.

-NEMO. It really doesn't matter to me that he was playing against 2nd, 3rd string guys. Carolina is a great football team, and Nemo put the Redskins on his shoulders for our only TD drive. They'd run up the middle, Nemo would get hit for no gain, and turn it into 3 yards. He was always heading up the field when he was getting taclked. The guy is big, makes one cut, and then goes. I really like him, and personally, I'd like to see him uproot Betts as the bruising spell HB that we need behind Portis, who's 1-2 plays last night looked great.

-I know this has been discussed, but we have to talk about Jason Campbell. I want to touch on his feel for the game, his drive; his surprising awareness of the field.

The players around Campbell kept making mistakes; there were 3 turnovers in the 4rth quarter while he was in the game. But don't be fooled; none of these turnovers were his fault.

From his first throw, it was refreshing to actually see a QB move around the pocket a bit, take some heat, and keeep his eyes downfield. His first throw hit his WR right in the numbers, but the WR slipped. Not JC's fault.

Immediately following that, Forsey ( I think) fumbled a handoff that was his fault.

What impressed me was what ensued on our next drive: Campbell got out there, regardless of the turnover, and drove the ball down the feild in very big chuncks. We counted 4 plays from our own 30, and we were in the redzone. Then, someone who's name I don;t even want to know fimbled on our 1 yd line.

Still, Campbell comes back that next drive, and takes us down the feild once again. Granted, these our reserves, but it didn;t matter. He looked like a starter making a fool of their backup secondary.

And then, to see him scramble, and make throws on the run....and the final INT wasn't his fault, either. He hit the reciever in the hands, and the guys dropped it.

Alright, so that said, regardess of how well Brunell played (because he looked pretty good...), I would really like to see Campbell in the second rotation against the Bengals. He just might light it up.

All in all, I was relatively embarrassed to be at that stadium...but I did keep my head high. I suppose we can only get better.

But, Ramsey had better show that he can settle down and play, or I say we start JC. And i mean that; he has an amazing grasp of the game; he is a field general. He was not acting like a rookie.

[Blondie]

Good to see you FOTN.

Been a while.

Blondie

Freak of the South

[freakofthesouth]

Originally posted by Blondie

Good to see you FOTN.

Been a while.

Blondie

Freak of the South

Cheers!

Oh and BTW, I thought Rock looked really good last night. He made some great plays. I'd like to see him on the team, for sure.

[LiveStrongSkins]

Great post. It's so obvious Ramsey is still bruised from being the red-headed step child of the NFL. The constant beatings he took under Spurrier have messed up his internal clock so bad, that he doubts the time he has to go down field.

I like your assessment on Campbell, I would like to also add he has a completely effortless throwing motion. When he threw that pass to the wideout who fell, he threw it off balance and off his back foot. He also has great touch and awareness.

Im glad im not the only one who thinks Nemo is the real deal. I think with due time he will be the absolute perfect compliment to Portis. Kind of like Dunn and Duckett. I love Ladell but I think in due time the bruising style of Nemo would better suit the offense.

[Blondie]

Originally posted by freakofthenorth

Cheers!

Oh and BTW, I thought Rock looked really good last night. He made some great plays. I'd like to see him on the team, for sure.

Good to hear.

Glad someone who was THERE thinks he did well.

Blondie

[jimster]

good assesments.

I am also excited about Campbell, and was thinking the same thing about him playing with a scrub team and how he would look working with Portis, Moss, Patten and Cooley. At the same time I hope it's at least a year before we find out.

Nemo does look like he could turn out to be a real gem.

I am also very relieved to see Rock looking sharp out there as well. Forsey and Combs made a 14 point difference in this game against us. - Rock can play special teams and shows he can be a solid depth player at RB, so my mind id made up.

[freakofthesouth]

Right on you guys.

To reiterate, Campbell was showing, regardless of what team was in, a ceratin posie and presence that Ramsey and Brunell definitely did not have.

It seems to me that JC would not even be shaken by starting defenses. he may find it more difficult to move the chains, but he illustrated last night his ability to improvise. I feel as if that will play a major role in his future. He's smart, he won;t run too much, but he will make plays. And we desperately need that from our QB.

At the same time, I agree- make it the right time for this guy. Don't put him in too early...get him ready. But after I wathced that game last nihgt, I left w/ a legitimate sense of hope for the future of this team.

[PCS]

Thanks Freak. Nice job as always. Things are shaking out right now, ( more comments and such about the team from those there), and it will be interesting to hear coach's comments about things as the week goes on. Though still mixing them together, appears as though the team has put together the right ingredients for the teams success in the future.

*

Just like Papa Johns. Better ingredients. Better Pizza.

Sorry. :doh: It was there.

[freakofthesouth]

Originally posted by Park City Skins

Thanks Freak. Nice job as always. Things are shaking out right now, ( more comments and such about the team from those there), and it will be interesting to hear coach's comments about things as the week goes on. Though still mixing them together, appears as though the team has put together the right ingredients for the teams success in the future.

*

Just like Papa Johns. Better ingredients. Better Pizza.

Sorry. :doh: It was there.

Yeah PCS!

I have a strong feeling that in a few years from now, no one will be able to argue that we gave up 3 draft picks to get Campbell. The potential is undoubtedly there.

I really like the acquisitions we have made since Gibbs has been in town. We gave up a lot for Cooley, too; and he figures to be a big part of our offense this season.

The pieces are coming together...

[RunPortisRun]

Originally posted by Park City Skins

Just like Papa Johns. Better ingredients. Better Pizza.

Sorry. :doh: It was there.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[jimster]

everyone is trying to make the connection of Brees and Ramsey, Does anyone see the connection of Rothlisberger and Campbell? - The teams are built around them, strong running games, they don't need to be stars, but can get the job done and are both mobile.

... Although I hope we don't have this controvery this year.

[The Full Monty]

Freak of the North you're one of my favorite posters, same goes to you Jimster.

-Monty

[freakofthesouth]

Originally posted by jimster

everyone is trying to make the connection of Brees and Ramsey, Does anyone see the connection of Rothlisberger and Campbell? - The teams are built around them, strong running games, they don't need to be stars, but can get the job done and are both mobile.

... Although I hope we don't have this controvery this year.

I think your last line says it all...Campbell has all of the tools, and then some. But we both know that Gibbs is not about to create dissention in his team by creating a controversy such as this. If Ramsey faulters, Brunell will go in, most likely.

It seemed to me in Pittsburg that Rothlisberger started because of an injury and lack on depth. While the rest of the team freaked out, Ben surprised everyone by putting it together. It would take freak accidents for both Ramsey and Brunell to go down. (And by 'freak accidents,' I mean like maybe they would both just seem to dissappear on September 10th, right before the Bears game...but I, Freakofthenorth, wouldn't know where they were...) :laugh:

Again, I simply felt a strong sense of hope from our younger players last night. As if all the personnel decisions we are making are good ones.

And MONTY- cheers bro!

[RunPortisRun]

[BG]

Originally posted by freakofthenorth

Hey all.

Here are a few observations on our team, directly from Bank of America Stadium:

-First off, Let's talk about Ramsey. As many of you saw on the TV, Ramsey did, indeed, look very sketchy in the pocket. His thoughts seemed to be on the pass rush, not where the recievers are. He's not seeing the patterns our guys are running.

His biggest mistake came from a play where he dumped off to Betts, actually for a first down. He had Santana WIDE OPEN, streaking down the field, behind everyone. And he didn't even look at him. As a starting QB in the NFL, you must make these reads. OK, so you threw an INT, you were very unsettled in the pocket, and you had a couple of errant throws. Under no circumstances can our starting QB miss a scoring opportunity such as that in the regular season.

-That said, our receiving corps was open last night. There were guys getting a lot of seperation, just as we have noticed in training camp. We have a ton of speed there, and I really think we will have better production there this season.

-NEMO. It really doesn't matter to me that he was playing against 2nd, 3rd string guys. Carolina is a great football team, and Nemo put the Redskins on his shoulders for our only TD drive. They'd run up the middle, Nemo would get hit for no gain, and turn it into 3 yards. He was always heading up the field when he was getting taclked. The guy is big, makes one cut, and then goes. I really like him, and personally, I'd like to see him uproot Betts as the bruising spell HB that we need behind Portis, who's 1-2 plays last night looked great.

-I know this has been discussed, but we have to talk about Jason Campbell. I want to touch on his feel for the game, his drive; his surprising awareness of the field.

The players around Campbell kept making mistakes; there were 3 turnovers in the 4rth quarter while he was in the game. But don't be fooled; none of these turnovers were his fault.

From his first throw, it was refreshing to actually see a QB move around the pocket a bit, take some heat, and keeep his eyes downfield. His first throw hit his WR right in the numbers, but the WR slipped. Not JC's fault.

Immediately following that, Forsey ( I think) fumbled a handoff that was his fault.

What impressed me was what ensued on our next drive: Campbell got out there, regardless of the turnover, and drove the ball down the feild in very big chuncks. We counted 4 plays from our own 30, and we were in the redzone. Then, someone who's name I don;t even want to know fimbled on our 1 yd line.

Still, Campbell comes back that next drive, and takes us down the feild once again. Granted, these our reserves, but it didn;t matter. He looked like a starter making a fool of their backup secondary.

And then, to see him scramble, and make throws on the run....and the final INT wasn't his fault, either. He hit the reciever in the hands, and the guys dropped it.

Alright, so that said, regardess of how well Brunell played (because he looked pretty good...), I would really like to see Campbell in the second rotation against the Bengals. He just might light it up.

All in all, I was relatively embarrassed to be at that stadium...but I did keep my head high. I suppose we can only get better.

But, Ramsey had better show that he can settle down and play, or I say we start JC. And i mean that; he has an amazing grasp of the game; he is a field general. He was not acting like a rookie.

First off, shame we didn't catch up at the tailgate session. I must have arrived a bit after you left there. Damn.

Anyways, istead of starting another thread, I'll lump my thoughts in with FOTN's.

Let me start by stating some obvious things. IT WAS A PRESEASON GAME.

:obvious:

This was the second chance that coaches have been able to see their players against a real live NFL squad. To compare and contrast and to see how well the guys are utilizing fundamentals, conditioning and the other guys around them. I know we all brushed off poor showings last preseason, but I don't think that we CAN show too much. I may be completely wrong, but I would assume that both offense and defense played some basic stuff so that the coaches can guage the players. We can all get ancy if we don't show improvement against the Bears.

Now I am not saying that we vanilla'ed out all day. They definitely threw some plays in there. They threw the shotgun in there and there were multiple back sets a few times. They also messed with alot of motion.

Here are a few things that stuck out to me that need improvement:

#1 I thought we'd see some better runs by Tonio Brown. He's got such amazing speed, but the ST's are not blocking that well for him. Reaction time seems to be slow on Special Teams.

#2 QB play. Not going into it because I can't offer any sort of insight that could further any intruiging discussion.

#3 Seemed to me that our defense played some base packages. Nothing special. A few random blitzes, but I thought that we were fairly bread and butter. With so many of our starters on the sidelines, this is not really something that needs improvement.

#4 I fear we aren't as deep as we thought at CB.

#5 The Sean Taylor benching in the first half is kind of silly imo, but I have never coached and realize that something does need to be done to show that many people were dissapointed in him.

#6 A few stupid and boneheaded mistakes. Better to get that out now than in the regular season.

POSITIVES:

#1. Offensive line. Great protection and opened up some good holes. They are spreading out the LOS much better and giving our backs ALOT of options. I also believe we have some depth there and that is so damn key what with injuries and the pounding they take every game. I would venture to say that they will play even better next week.

#2 We have a logjam at RB. Even though Broughton looked GREAT, Ladell played well (one good run, but a few key catches), Rock really impressed me. (not to suck up to Blondie. Seriously) He's showing more speed and a nice threat catching balls out of the backfield. Carolina has some seriously fast defenders and he was able to juke a few of them. I am sure Portis can handle that, but Rock has something about him that makes him a nice passing target and his low center of gravity enables him to bounce of hits nicely.

#3 Gardner scored on us on a catch he normally wouldn't make.

#4 Sean Taylor is a beast.

#5 WR's are getting seperation and are definitely fast. All we need is our QB's to get comfortable with them and start looking for them on the outside routes. They can get to the ball.

Antonio Brown is fast. :obvious:

#6 Qb's were accurate for the most part. Underneath routes were hit well.

#7 We have OK depth on the defensive line.

#8 I still believe in DMAC!!! :applause:

It's hard to glean much more from the Preseason. There were definitley some rough spots, but for the most part, I doubt we will see us light up the scoreboard this preseason.

[Blondie]

Christmas List

Names:

.............

............

.............

Add BG.

Rock has great hands......always has. Just never had the opportunity to prove it.

Blondie

[iheartskins]

Good read FotSouth, let me know if you ever make it up to your old stomping grounds during the season.

[Mr. S]

Was at the game as well. FOTN and BG explained things well, so Ill just add a few random pointers.

I personally didnt think our o-line played too badly, not many sacks or anything, though a lot of rushes. I feel this unit can get the job done, they just need more time to gel due to 2 new starters basically.

Linebackers, I was hoping we were stacked here, but apparently not. I kept seeing them blow tackles and whatnot, and last year we seemed to have the best tackling in the league. Last season, we also seemed to be where the ball was always, I did not see that at all saturday night. Then again, with Ade Jimoh on our first team, doesnt really say much, though that guy needs to go.

Special teams were horrible, not much better than last season, good at blocking things, but not good at return blocking. I never was a fan of Danny Smith and hope he is released after the season for another guy.

I will applaud the receivers, they got open. Our backs also played well, I was impressed with Rock. I was thinking he was going to be cut, but now Im not so sure, he's good on special teams, and he played awesomely last night, scratch out every backup save for Betts, Rock, Nemo, especially Johnathan Combs, that guy must go!

Walt Harris got beat a bunch also, Im not so sure I want him starting alongside Springs, hopefully he can improve or someone else will step up.

Oh well, Im not jumping ship, nor will I ever, we had some problems, a LOT of ROOKIE problems, but Im not too worried otherwise.