Some Initial Impressions

While I've still got to find time to rip that video off my camera and get it on the hard drive, I thought I could at least throw some impressions at there. I'll break it down into the three main groups.

Offense: Overall, this group as one thing that's quite noticeable - talent. It's actually surprising how much talent they appear to have amassed over the last couple of years. Of course, the QB position is still the biggest question mark, but the offensive line looks pretty solid. One thing that appears to stand out is the occasional ability for the offensive line to just blow a big hole open for the running backs. It happened a couple of times on Saturday, though the defensive line has been playing very fast and physical making it tough to consistently beat them. The receivers all look solid. I think I only saw one drop, as the receivers pretty much snared everything, which is a far cry from what we saw last year. Galloway is going to tear them up this year, and Stovall and Clayton are going to be performing at their best to try and latch onto that starting flanker spot, with Boston and Hilliard providing solid play right behind them. The backs look solid, especially Caddy and Pittman. Caddy's hands look great, and he appears to be over his issues receiving the ball. If he carries that over to game time, he'll be a top flight running back as his running looks to be back in full force. The Tight Ends look good. With the improved play of the line, we may actually see these guys get out there more. Becht actually looks a little more comfortable catching the ball this year. He seemed too stiff last year, but I saw him execute a nice route on the endzone drills for a score. If we can keep Garcia upright and get that run blocking going, this offense looks like it will produce. We'll see on Friday.

Defense: The line backers are faster. Ruud didn't practice on this day, but the rest of the gang looked good, especially June, who just flies all over the place. He seems to be around the ball a lot. Nece did OK at the Mike position, but I would much prefer to see Ruud back in there. Brooks seems to be a little quicker than last year. It may be the practice regimen, or a renewed vigor brought on by the competition. I don't know, but he doesn't look as slow as last year. The defensive backs look strong. I didn't get to see Sabby play, as he had a hamstring tweak, but the other defensive backs looked good, and Barber picked up one fumble to run it back, showing he's ready to be on top of any opportunities. Didn't see anyone pick a pass, except for Gruden who stepped in front of an endzone pass by Garcia. The line is really making the offensive line earn it's way. They put a lot of heat and pressure on, and I sometimes thought they were playing a real game, except they didn't hit the QB. When they got pressure, they were back there quite fast. So far it looks like both lines are getting better from talent infusions and aggressive play on both sides.

Special Teams: Punting is going to be strong again this year, as Bidwell just kept booming punts with excellent distance and hangtime. The other punter (I need to look his name up) wasn't as good as his punts were lower and more like line drives. Bidwell could have another Pro-Bowl season. The field goal kicking looked bad on Saturday, though Bryant has supposedly been solid all camp. He missed at least three times that I saw, with one ball nearly hitting me in the head. Not good, but I chock it up to one bad practice (crossing fingers here). Didn't see any real return drills, as the plays were whistled dead when the punts or free kicks were caught, so I can't really evaluate that.

Overall, this team looks like it actually has some talent, and some serious defensive speed. How much the inexperience of some of these players will impact the club is hard to tell at this point. We just need to see them in live action. Can't wait.