Bulls Catch Better Scent of Success

[Zonald]

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061018/NEWS/610180376/1002/SPORTS

By Patrick Zier

Ledger Correspondent

TAMPA -- There is no question that Lake Gibson's Matt Grothe has triggered a revival of South Florida's passing attack.

But as the Bulls prepare for Sunday night's nationally televised game at Cincinnati, the contribution being made by Grothe's receivers must also be acknowledged.

In fact, it is safe to say that no part of this team has improved more than the receiver corps, which performed poorly through much of 2005.

In part, that was due to the often erratic passing of quarterback Pat Julmiste, but the receivers contributed their own miscues; dropped balls, poorly run routes, confusion over assignments.

Numbers, and particularly the numbers being put up by the receivers, document this.

After seven games a year ago, the Bulls had one receiver with 10 or more catches, Jackie Chambers, who had 14 for 193 yards.

This year six players, Ian Randolph, Taurus Johnson, Marcus Edwards, Amarri Jackson, S.J. Green and Amp Hill all have 10 or more catches and Randolph, Johnson, Edwards and Jackson all have more yards than Chambers and Green has gained 190.

Jackson, perhaps the most explosive of the group, admits the receivers left something to be desired a year ago and were determined to improve.

He backs away from criticizing Julmiste, as do his teammates, but many neutral observers felt Julmiste lacked a feel for the passing game.

"We can't judge how balls are thrown," Jackson said. "We just have to make plays."

Jackson does say the receivers dropped far too many passes a year ago. "That's due to a lack of concentration, a lack of hand-eye coordination, and we spent a lot of time in the off-season working on that," Jackson commented.

And he indicates that in 2005, at least some of the time, the receivers might have been worrying more about where the defenders were than concentrating on making the catch.

"You can't worry about being hit, you have to go get the ball," Jackson said. "We want to complement the running game, bring some balance to the offense."

Jackson also credits the South Florida defense for making the receivers better. "Every day in practice, the corners we play against are as good or better than anybody we play," Jackson said. "That gets us ready for Saturday.

"As a group, we want to get to a point where we're on a pedastal, where we can be the strong point of the offense," Jackson said.

[GetAHobby]

Its night and day between what the WR were doing last year to this

[USF03]

Indeed... not a bad article.  Our WRs have improved greatly, along with the guy who tosses it to them!  I'm glad both improved, not just one section.