2014 Spring Football Game

[Who'sYourData?]

3 Stars of the Game

 

1. Steven Bench

2. Elkino Watson

3. Auggie Sanchez

 

Just missed top 3 - Andre Davis, Michael Pierre, Deonte Welch, Deatrick Nichols (liked what I saw out of the true FR CB), Kennard Swanson

 

 

White O-Line was unit of the game - Djulbegovic, Jozwiak, Reiter, Amichia, Eatmon, K. Davis

 

No wonder the White O-Line did well.  Will the NCAA allow us to use six O-Linemen all season?

[Superhippy]

I ended up going even though the weather looked pretty dismal for a while there and here were my impressions.

 

 

- Both Bench and White played very well.   Bench had the advantage of the weapons around him and no doubt put them to good use.  He went through his progressions effectively and no doubt had a great internal clock today.  When there was a 7 yard easy completion to be had, he took it.   He played a Tom Brady-esque game.   When I came home and saw he threw for 317 yards, I was a little stunned at first because it didn't feel like he threw for that much, but that is what happens when on 15 - 18 of your throws you take your 5 - 8 yards, and then on 8 - 10 throws a game you hit your big plays.   He threw one ball right over the middle that should have been an easy INT for the defense, but otherwise he didn't throw one ball that even had a chance of being intercepted.  Most of the plays were getting off with a good 14 - 18 seconds left on the playclock which may have been the most impressive thing of all.   White didn't have the numbers but he played a clean game, so in my book that was a plus.  I know we only get one spring game, but I would be interested to see how White would have looked with Benches receiving core.  My only knock on White is that he is still having trouble not overthrowing his receivers which is something we saw from him last year.   

 

- I mentioned in a different thread in the last few days that my hope was that Pierre could step up his average per carry to the 4.3 - 4.5 range. Today he averaged 5.1 which was a great sign.  Early on he was ripping off some nice runs and later on he was getting some decent 4 - 6 yarders just because the threat of the pass had become very real.   We will see what happens once the season gets here in terms of production but as of right now Pierre is your clear starting half-back.

 

- The offensive line looked vastly improved.  It's tough to tell from a spring game how much to take from this but there is one thing that really stuck out to me.   2 false starts the entire game.   If Taggart can get this offensive line to be disciplined along with hitting the weight room hard, then O-line could go from out weakest spot to a strong point.   I ripped the offensive line hard last year and pretty much said they were the worst unit on an awful team but things seem to be changing.  I listened to Thor Jozwiak on 98.7 and he is clearly the leader of the gang here.  

 

- The receivers were about what I expected.   Davis is a beast.   Welch is shifty.  Dunkley has some potential.  Both TE's played decently.  The rest were not very impressive.   With the Bulls running a good amount of 3 WR sets, I am going to go out on a limb (not really) and say that atleast 2 of the 3 freshman WR's that are coming in will see playing time in nearly every game this season. 

 

-  The defense is a work in progress.   I really need to see them as a whole unit before I make any big judgments.  Nichols looked really good for a freshman corner.   It is a good thing that Taggart has about a dozen 3-star defenders coming in, because right now there isn't a ton of depth.

 

 

Overall I was pleased with what I saw today.   I know alot of people bashed Taggarts offensive style last year, but if you were at the Spring Game, you saw how that offense ideally works.  Drive up the field at a methodical pace.  4 yard pass.  5 yard run. 4 yard run. 13 yard pass. 3 yard run.  8 yard run. and so on.   The problem last year was that the team was snapping the ball with 5 seconds or less on the playclock every play.   That style of offense just doesn't work, if the defense gets to rest for 40 seconds inbetween plays, and knows when to jump off the snap.   This team in it's current form is far better then the team we saw in the last spring game.

[Ricky the Bull]

Bench had the much better game.  He was more poised in the pocket and his passes more crisp.  Someone mentioned the weapons that he had vs. White, but some of White's passes were fluttery and uncatchable regardless of the receiver's talent.  Also, some of White's yardage was on a long pass that was caught by the receiver who had his foot on the sideline, but overruled by CWT as a completion.

 

Overall, I think that you have to give the starting nod to Bench based on the performance today.

[Superhippy]

Bench had the much better game.  He was more poised in the pocket and his passes more crisp.  Someone mentioned the weapons that he had vs. White, but some of White's passes were fluttery and uncatchable regardless of the receiver's talent.  Also, some of White's yardage was on a long pass that was caught by the receiver who had his foot on the sideline, but overruled by CWT as a completion.

 

Overall, I think that you have to give the starting nod to Bench based on the performance today.

 

I think after today you have to atleast split the starting reps right down the middle between White and Bench.   Bench played himself into serious contention for the starting job, but I don't think White played bad enough to play himself out of the job.  He had a couple of fluttering passes in 17 mph winds and a slick football.      If the season started next saturday though, I would choose Bench.   If we were to get QB play anywhere close to what Bench put out today then I would have to think that this team would be miles ahead of the 2-10 team we saw last year.

[BiggTipp]

The starter should be decided based on performance with the first team offense ( the ENTIRE offense) then after both have had reps with 1st team then a decision should be made. Not after a scrimmage with mishmosh teams with partial starters. Both need to be given chances behind the 1st team line throwing to 1st team WR's

[Superhippy]

The starter should be decided based on performance with the first team offense ( the ENTIRE offense) then after both have had reps with 1st team then a decision should be made. Not after a scrimmage with mishmosh teams with partial starters. Both need to be given chances behind the 1st team line throwing to 1st team WR's

Agreed.   Bench played a great game today, but White not turning the ball over once and picking up 170 yards with the Bulls weakest receivers is not that bad either.   Hell atleast we are talking about good QB play after todays game instead of how bad they both looked.

[slick1ru2]

Sounds great but I wish it was at Ray Jay like back in the day and televised like it was for a year or two. Espn3 would be fine.

[cmhatter]

People keep saying the OL is improved but I'll wait...

Our DEs are a pretty big step down from last year.

[hbryan]

White team dominated. Linemen look bigger and stronger. Bench kept white team moving down the field. Green team offense looked like 2013 offense. Nice to see a team put up 35 at a spring game. It's usually an all D event. Hope we have some offense this year. Go Bulls.

 

I agree, hope we have offense, which I'm less concerned about now then the defense.  We lost a lot of defensive people last year and I'm hoping this year we didn't just do a flip on poor performance to the other side of the field.  Did the white team have the more defensive starters like they did on the offensive side of the ball?

[NCBull]

I ended up going even though the weather looked pretty dismal for a while there and here were my impressions.

- Both Bench and White played very well. Bench had the advantage of the weapons around him and no doubt put them to good use. He went through his progressions effectively and no doubt had a great internal clock today. When there was a 7 yard easy completion to be had, he took it. He played a Tom Brady-esque game. When I came home and saw he threw for 317 yards, I was a little stunned at first because it didn't feel like he threw for that much, but that is what happens when on 15 - 18 of your throws you take your 5 - 8 yards, and then on 8 - 10 throws a game you hit your big plays. He threw one ball right over the middle that should have been an easy INT for the defense, but otherwise he didn't throw one ball that even had a chance of being intercepted. Most of the plays were getting off with a good 14 - 18 seconds left on the playclock which may have been the most impressive thing of all. White didn't have the numbers but he played a clean game, so in my book that was a plus. I know we only get one spring game, but I would be interested to see how White would have looked with Benches receiving core. My only knock on White is that he is still having trouble not overthrowing his receivers which is something we saw from him last year.

- I mentioned in a different thread in the last few days that my hope was that Pierre could step up his average per carry to the 4.3 - 4.5 range. Today he averaged 5.1 which was a great sign. Early on he was ripping off some nice runs and later on he was getting some decent 4 - 6 yarders just because the threat of the pass had become very real. We will see what happens once the season gets here in terms of production but as of right now Pierre is your clear starting half-back.

- The offensive line looked vastly improved. It's tough to tell from a spring game how much to take from this but there is one thing that really stuck out to me. 2 false starts the entire game. If Taggart can get this offensive line to be disciplined along with hitting the weight room hard, then O-line could go from out weakest spot to a strong point. I ripped the offensive line hard last year and pretty much said they were the worst unit on an awful team but things seem to be changing. I listened to Thor Jozwiak on 98.7 and he is clearly the leader of the gang here.

- The receivers were about what I expected. Davis is a beast. Welch is shifty. Dunkley has some potential. Both TE's played decently. The rest were not very impressive. With the Bulls running a good amount of 3 WR sets, I am going to go out on a limb (not really) and say that atleast 2 of the 3 freshman WR's that are coming in will see playing time in nearly every game this season.

- The defense is a work in progress. I really need to see them as a whole unit before I make any big judgments. Nichols looked really good for a freshman corner. It is a good thing that Taggart has about a dozen 3-star defenders coming in, because right now there isn't a ton of depth.

Overall I was pleased with what I saw today. I know alot of people bashed Taggarts offensive style last year, but if you were at the Spring Game, you saw how that offense ideally works. Drive up the field at a methodical pace. 4 yard pass. 5 yard run. 4 yard run. 13 yard pass. 3 yard run. 8 yard run. and so on. The problem last year was that the team was snapping the ball with 5 seconds or less on the playclock every play. That style of offense just doesn't work, if the defense gets to rest for 40 seconds inbetween plays, and knows when to jump off the snap. This team in it's current form is far better then the team we saw in the last spring game.

Great read, thanks!