Okeedokee, here we go... As reported, Thomas Jones appeared to have sustained a sprained ankle today at the 40 minute mark of practice. They were still doing individual unit drills/reps, and word is he rolled his ankle. Jones was next seen with a velcro type brace on the ankle, trying to walk with a trainer next to him. He was obviously limping. The good news is that he put some light weight on it when he was trying to walk it off. They put ice on it and he did not return to practice. I did not see him riding the bike, though there are reports that he was. Other players who didnt put the pads on and rode the bike: Miller, Kowalewski, Tutt and Eric Smith. Most of the practice was on the turf field in front of the bleachers. The team was in full pads today. There were some walk throughs of plays by individual units before the stretching. Within the first five minutes, I knew that Danny Ware has passed Alvin banks on the depth chart, and justifiably so. After stretching they went back to the combine drills for a little while. Then they regrouped and the offense spent a great deal of time and reps working on running plays. They did not even get to the first set of 11s until more than an hour into practice. Jones was injured during handoff/running play drills. Today, Westhoff practiced the punt team, with major emphasis on the LOS and blocking for the punter. This was the type of practice drill where, at the end of the year, when you look back and see there were none or less punts blocked, the players will say, yeah, we worked on that really hard during those hot August practices. Westhoff has gotten into Harris' head, going back to last week when he reamed him out for shoddy KO blocking. Today, when Westhoff stood at the 30, and waited for his STers to come over to begin the punt practice, Harris was standing right next to him like a faithful pup. Harris was inserted as a blocker on the LOS (last week they tried him at defense LOS) and after a few reps, Westhoff pulled him and put someone else in. Harris is doing well with the D, but when it comes to ST, he is Westhoff's you know what. Chris davis mishandled a couple of punts, and imo he is gone with the first cut. Westhoff was also working the gunners on downing the ball inside the 5. Wallace did the best at it. Neither of the QBs were sharp today, and overall this was definitely not the most crisp practice I have seen by a long shot. But I didnt expect the first practice after the first game to be that sharp. The offense worked on some power, short yardage plays with two TEs and Barnes in the backfield. Even before Jones got hurt, it was apparent (to me) that Ware had passed Banks on the depth chart. After Jones' injury, Leon moved to number one, and he and Ware got the most work of all the RBs. Banks and number 32 (T. Hollings) took snaps with the second team. (Ware worked with both the first and second teams). The defenses stopped the offenses today. Downfield, the DBs had super coverage on the WRs, and what passes were completed were all underneath. Random Notes -Blake Costanzo pancake tackled #32 in the hit of the day. He continues to be one of the more physical guys in camp. -Eric Hicks got some run with the first team, and in drills made a really nice play getting off the block and stopping the runner -Haynes apparently angered the DL coach, who screamed at him to "Get the F*** off the field!" Twice. -Bender getting more reps with the second team, and if my binoculars were accurate, I think I saw him getting reps at guard as well. -Kendall did not get any first team reps that I saw. -Clemens' downfield passes continue to lack a tight spiral. -Smith took only a few reps at QB today. -Poteat and Rashad came charging off the sideline together in the dime package, whooping it up and trying to get the D charged up. -Bowens dropped a sure int that hit him in the hands- obviously a bad place. -Erik Coleman picked CP in the first set of 11s. --Ryan getting a lot of reps at TE today. -Stuckey made a nice sliding catch in the middle of the field. -Harris and Spencer getting run with the second team D in the nickel. -Harris looking more comfortable with knowing his assignments and reading the play. -Ihedigbo got on the field a lot today, and did well on the second team, which had good coverage of the WRs. -Manny Collins also seeing the field with the 2d and 3rd team. -Nuge hit 5 of 6 from 45. -In what I found to be the most interesting play of the day, Ware came out of the backfield and Vilma had the coverage assignment. They were both going 100%, and Ware had a half step on JV, heading toward the sideline. The ball came and Ware snagged it just ahead of Vilma, though it is debatable whether he got both feet in. It was a very competitive play, happened right in front of me, and both these guys rock. The rookie won that battle. -Not only was Juan Wong there, he caught not one, but TWO passes today!
I am liking what you say about Bender....and he looked good on Friday. Clemens wobbly deep balls also look like Friday. I am going to bet that Hicks Wadsworth and Haynes will not stick.
I think Hicks and Haynes have a real shot at making the team, but both of them probably wont unless Kimo is cut.
I'm gonna bet that Hicks not only makes team, but plays alot. He looked very stout at the point of attack. Kimo may be cut & made a coach ?
Thanks for another awesome report. Thats one thing I picked up from watching the game again. Kellen looked OK, not great. He's comming along but has a lot of work to do. Ware looked OK in the game, but he nor Banks were all that impressive. Much of that may be due to our 2nd/3rd O line unit not doing much of anything. I thought he looked very good in the game, but to be completely honest I did not pay much attention to his blocking. Seems like he can at least be a good 2nd TE to Baker if not push him for playing time. It seems like Harris is screwing up on ST's so he does not get put there. I find it hard that he can handle a Defensive assignment well and be that much of a ST screwup without trying.
Thanks, and you're welcome. I hope you guys on this board are enjoying the reports. I think writing them actually helps me focus on what is going on on the field. It's easy to space out there in the heat, and just hang around getting sun without getting into details.
Just wanted to add my thanks to those already expressed on this board. You do a great job and it is appreciated.
Thanks. i dont know about Miller, because he is still just riding the bike. yesterday he was bundled up in sweats and a hoody while on the bike. I was sweating just looking at him pedaling out there. I havent seen him running yet, so I think he's still at least a few days away, if not longer.
Your reports, as well as those by some of the other posters, are awsome info for a guy who lives in the middle of steeler country. :steelers: Its great to hear actualy news instead of reporters who would rather spend time complaining about how Mangini has made thier job hard.
if Coleman keeps it up he might turn out to be a stud. That guy was at every near int during the atlanta game. he couldve had three easy. Oh and BTW AMAZING!
ANOTHER great report, Jetcane. Thank you SOOOO much. I'm glad your impression of Ware is what I saw in him two weeks ago. Him and Stucky really stood out for the rookies they are. Maybe losing Houston isn't going to be all that bad... this kid (Ware) is big (6-0, 234) and plays that way. Washington's going to need a punishing guy to play along with, so maybe he's our answer on the depth chart behind Jones. I absolutely love your take on the Vilma-Ware matchup and Westhoff riding Harris' @ss... I can just picture it too. Terrific job man!
