Observations on Sunday's practices

[Larry Brown #43]

A few very quick thoughts from Sunday:

Dan Frantz was booming LONG field goals to the delight of the crowd. His longest was close to 60 yards. Of course, he was making them without oncoming rushers.

Emmett Johnson, rookie free agent WR out of VA Tech, looked impressive...very quick and elusive. Didn't look awed by his surroundings.

Shamar Finney, rookie free agent LB out of Penn State, completely PANCAKED Robert Royal on one play during the scrimmage, forcing Royal to drop the ball on what would have been a TD reception.

I met Larry Moore, Jacquez Green and Sam Shade (and Shade's son). All three players were very cool and friendly, especially Larry Moore.

I didn't see Robert Gillespie at all on Sunday...did I miss an injury or something?

[Zen-like Todd]

thx for the update.... but

Shamar Finney, rookie free agent WR out of Penn State, completely PANCAKED Robert Royal on one play during the scrimmage, forcing Royal to drop the ball on what would have been a TD reception.

I'm guessing you mean DB instead of WR? Otherwise Shamar did a bad, bad thing.

[@DCGoldPants]

and the QB's?

[Larry Brown #43]

OOPS! Thanks TCO...Shamar Finney is actually a linebacker. My bad. I'll go back and edit that.

[Larry Brown #43]

Originally posted by Bufford

and the QB's?

I would have to say Sage looked best, but only by a hair. This looks like such a tight race to me. Shane showed flashes of brilliance, but looked below average at other times. Danny was emabarrassing to watch during much of the drills, but performed adequately during the scrimmage. Sage seems to be the popular favorite.

Off the topic of of the QBs, Smoot is just incredible to watch up close in drills. What an athlete. Great hands, Dazzling feet. And he loves interacting with the crowd.

[amsterdamgator]

One day you guys will realize that DW will never look good in practice.

It is game type situations that he shines.

Same for Shane.

If you are expecting him to light it up in drillls you will be waiting forever.

He makes the right decisions with the ball and in SOS system that is way more important than arm strength.

Look at the Qb's SOS had coached.

None of the ones that have excelled have had a great arm.

[Ford]

Originally posted by amsterdamgator

None of the ones that have excelled have had a great arm.

An none of them have made it in the NFL.

[Larry Brown #43]

Originally posted by amsterdamgator

One day you guys will realize that DW will never look good in practice.

It is game type situations that he shines.

If you are expecting him to light it up in drillls you will be waiting forever.

Amsterdamgator, when we Redskin fans visit practice, we can only base our assessments on what we see the quarterbacks do. With all due respect, what they did at Florida doesn't impress us. The reason Sage seems to be the popular favorite is because Danny and Shane are "the Florida boys," while Ramsey is "the Holdout." Sage isn't anybody's anything, which makes him an appealling underdog character. And frankly, he has looked better than Shane and Danny to this point.

[amsterdamgator]

And what did Brett Farve, Steve Young, Trent Dilfer...ever do in their first years in the league?

I could go on. Numerous Qb's are late bloomers historically.

[OrangeSkin]

And what did Brett Farve, Steve Young, Trent Dilfer...ever do in their first years in the league?

Good point, but the Gators still haven't shown that they have the physical skills to perform in the NFL. The jury is out on whether they can excel in this system in this league.

I doubt they've been "misused" as many people would say J. Green had been in Tampa. They are career backups in the NFL, I am sorry to say. There's a time to give up on your college boys and face the facts. They do not have impressive physical attributes, such as Favre, Young, and to a lesser extent Dilfer did when they came out.

There is a difference in being raw and just plain having certain physical incapabilities. The QBs whom you mentioned had tremendous physical ability, but just needed to be molded by the right coach. Those of us who do not have that ability are either couch potatoes or backup NFL quarterbacks. Sage and Danny fall into the latter category, as I think we all know.

I'm a BIG homer, and I'm hoping these guys succeed as much as anybody, but Sage is the man right now, and I really hope that he turns into a solid QB. Then we can relegate Matthews and Danny to their customary backup duties.

[GatorEye]

AG,

You'll have a hard time convincing the folks around here that most former Gators will ever be average or better pros. I completely agree with your assessment that neither Shane nor Danny will be great practice players. It's all about decision making come gametime and Danny is one of the best. It's why he was able to succeed in college with a mediocre arm. Arm strength is not needed in SOS's system.

Basically we'll have to let the actions of this upcoming year speak for itself. I'm hopeful we'll have a lot of believers before it's all over.

[Tommy-the-Greek]

That's all I keep hearing is when it is game time they perform, they make the right reads. Well excuse me, If SS taught them to make those reads in his "O" are you telling me he can't TEACH it to someone else. Now if Sage or Ramsey is too stupid to make those reads nomatter how much magic dust Spurrier sprinkles on them, then I will bow out to your way of thinking. But I know what I saw. SS has taken a liking to Sage. He spent 90% of sat's practice talking to, teaching and laughing and joking around with Sage. If you could read his body language it said this is my guy.

If SS can teach Sage and Ramsey to make those reads and make the right calls I would rather have them then the gator boys. They are the superior atheletes hands down. And with the way our guards our doing we need that kind of qb because he will be taking some hits. Matthews and Wuerfful Are not going to be able to take those hits. Barrows, Coakley, and Kirkland will have a field day knocking them around and after a few hits will be back to Ramsey and Sage anyway.

[Larry Brown #43]

If Danny or Shane ends up winning the job and performing well this year, I'll be the first one out there cheering for him. I want what's best for the Skins. I was simply reporting that Sage has looked best up to now, and that people are gravitating to him because he's the underdog.

I will say it's pretty cool to see you Gator fans adopting the Skins as your own. I saw tons of Gator gear up at Carlisle over the weekend...even saw one guy with a "Gatorskins" t-shirt. The Skins have such a rich an exiting history, you couldn't pick a better team to cheer for.

[NavyDave]

SpiceMan was on my fave list as an underdog since last preseason.

The hardworking accesible players from the lower rounds will always have the fans backing them while the players drafted higher but without the press clippings demanding dollars like he is a blue chip top 3 draftee will always rub players the wrong way.

[bulldog]

I think there is a difference between players that don't get up for practice and those that simply can't make the throws or run the drills at a professional level

if a qb can't complete a 25 year out pass, that is a skill I find it hard to believe he is all of a sudden going to find once the whistle blows.

sure, you see players like Bruce Smith not going 100% in any practice or preseason game, but he has proven that he does have the requisite speed and explosiveness to get to the quarterback.

those are physical skills that don't just come and go

[Luca Brasi]

Originally posted by bulldog

I think there is a difference between players that don't get up for practice and those that simply can't make the throws or run the drills at a professional level

if a qb can't complete a 25 year out pass, that is a skill I find it hard to believe he is all of a sudden going to find once the whistle blows.

Bulldog, based on what I saw at camp, all of the qb's are capable of making the necessary throws. I think Sage might throw a tighter spiral and have a little more velocity on his throws, but Shane and Danny are very capable qb's. After all, they're NFL quarterbacks. You don't hang around in this league if you can't complete a 25 yard out pass.

[RiggoDrill]

I've seen a lot of posts comparing QB throwing velocities. Apart from that, which QB so far is showing the best "touch" overall, i.e. air under long ball, velocity on 15-20, and a soft touch on swing passes?

[PediGator]

Let's debunk a couple myths right away.

"None of the ones who have excelled have had a great arm."

Rex Grossman excelled under Spurrier at UF. Rex Grossman has a great arm.

"Well excuse me, If SS taught them to make those reads in his "O" are you telling me he can't TEACH it to someone else."

Since Wuerffel's departure at UF, Spurrier had Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer at QB. Both of them, but especially Johnson, had the tools to make all the throws. Come game time, it was a completely different story. There is more to it than just absorbing Spurrier's teaching. He can beat it into your head over and over again, but some people can make split second decisions with people bearing down on them and others can't. So yes I am telling you that learning is a two way street. It takes a capable student as well as a good teacher.

That's not to say that Sage won't be a great student. Just to point out that it's not automatic. There is something that you can't put your fingers on always that makes a successful QB in Spurrier's system. Does Sage have that something? We'll all find out together.

[RTerps2002]

Shamar Finney .... Any thoughts of him making the team ? If he is a capable backup can we save some cap room by cutting Mitchell?

[Larry Brown #43]

Too early to tell on Shamar Finney. I saw him blast Robert Royal from here to Egypt before my very eyes, but that was just one play. I'm sure he caught a few coaches' eyes on that one, so we'll just have to keep an eye on him.

[Zen-like Todd]

Make the team? Nah... his name is Shamar "P-squad" Finney.