Hey all. The offense made a few big plays today, but the defense definitely won the observation portion of practice. Here are my five points.
1. I liked what I saw from Devin Lloyd today. He made a couple of big plays, including an impressive "tackle" (the team wasn't live) against TJ Green at the line of scrimmage when Green tried to take a swing pass around the edge. He also had a "sack" against Jason Shelley on a blitz up the middle, though the refs let the play continue and Shelley finished by throwing a TD pass to Boyd.
2. Several players had pass breakups today, including Blackmon, Nurse, and Burgess. Blackmon nearly had a pick on his when he jumped a curl route by Mariner, but wasn't quite able to secure the ball.
3. Caleb Repp did more good things off the edge today. His best moment was when he beat Darrin Paulo on a speed rush and pressured Huntley, forcing the QB to scramble and throw the ball away. Had the team been live, he probably would have gotten a sack.
4. The interior line continues to look impressive, and they were able to apply pressure several times throughout practice. What I like about them is that it doesn't matter which combination of DTs is playing, they all perform well and are able to make life a little tougher for the offense. That isn't a slight to the offensive line, either- they've had a solid camp so far.
5. I talked to Terrell Burgess after practice, and I'll have a full article coming later, but I asked him about this defense's potential, and he gave me an answer along the lines of- "When the season is over, I think we'll be able to look back and have had a top 5 defense in the country." Take it for what it's worth, but that belief of having an elite defense seems to be a common theme among most of the defensive players I've interviewed throughout camp.
As always, hit me with your questions and I'll be happy to answer them!
1. I liked what I saw from Devin Lloyd today. He made a couple of big plays, including an impressive "tackle" (the team wasn't live) against TJ Green at the line of scrimmage when Green tried to take a swing pass around the edge. He also had a "sack" against Jason Shelley on a blitz up the middle, though the refs let the play continue and Shelley finished by throwing a TD pass to Boyd.
2. Several players had pass breakups today, including Blackmon, Nurse, and Burgess. Blackmon nearly had a pick on his when he jumped a curl route by Mariner, but wasn't quite able to secure the ball.
3. Caleb Repp did more good things off the edge today. His best moment was when he beat Darrin Paulo on a speed rush and pressured Huntley, forcing the QB to scramble and throw the ball away. Had the team been live, he probably would have gotten a sack.
4. The interior line continues to look impressive, and they were able to apply pressure several times throughout practice. What I like about them is that it doesn't matter which combination of DTs is playing, they all perform well and are able to make life a little tougher for the offense. That isn't a slight to the offensive line, either- they've had a solid camp so far.
5. I talked to Terrell Burgess after practice, and I'll have a full article coming later, but I asked him about this defense's potential, and he gave me an answer along the lines of- "When the season is over, I think we'll be able to look back and have had a top 5 defense in the country." Take it for what it's worth, but that belief of having an elite defense seems to be a common theme among most of the defensive players I've interviewed throughout camp.
As always, hit me with your questions and I'll be happy to answer them!
