Scrimmage - Saturday 8-13

[Birdswin]

Based on the article in the Pantagraph - sounds like our defense played very good.

But, there are several items in the article that sound intriguing concerning the offense:
- 13 sacks - but did not list them by QB or whether these were due to an offensive line breakdown or what plagued us at times last year - the QB holding the ball too long.
- negative yard plays after a "good" play.
- calling out receivers as "sometime" guys - looking for receivers who are "all the time" guys OR younger guys will get to play.

There was no mention in the article about special teams.

 

[fourthandshort]

what I noticed is no mention of the 4 most prominent LBErs: Holm, DeForest, Horton, Barajas ..... but looks like Brannon Barry and Demarco Washington had very productive day.

Were they held out or restricted to limited duty ?

 

[Total Red]

Barry is definitely the man that has made a move in August camp. I think he has vaulted into the 1's as an OLB. Holm will man the Mike position and Horton should fill the other OLB. Horton hasn't been mentioned in the practice write-ups but he's clearly one of our best linebackers. We're more athletic at the OLB positions than I thought we would be.

Washington backs up Holm at the Mike and Vanderburgh is behind him. We might be set in the middle for the next five years.

Barajas and Kelly-Martin are guys I thought might contend for starting positions but they haven't made their moves - yet. DeForest should see some playing time.

We'll know more Saturday.

 

[fourthandshort]

Barry is definitely the man that has made a move in August camp. I think he has vaulted into the 1's as an OLB. Holm will man the Mike position and Horton should fill the other OLB. Horton hasn't been mentioned in the practice write-ups but he's clearly one of our best linebackers. We're more athletic at the OLB positions than I thought we would be.

Washington backs up Holm at the Mike and Vanderburgh is behind him. We might be set in the middle for the next five years.

Barajas and Kelly-Martin are guys I thought might contend for starting positions but they haven't made their moves - yet. DeForest should see some playing time.

We'll know more Saturday.

was waiting for the usual camp nuggets from TR .. so any sign that Spack is experiment with 3-4 defense like he claimed ?

Also anything on DE position group .. I am surprised they are still talking about Conley at DE given his size, and the emergence of Harris and Swaine .. plus potential for Barajas and Brannon Barry to play up onto line like LB Frierson used to do so well.

Who's getting the DE reps and highlighths ?

Has Conley played both DE and DT ?

Going to be fun watching this defense come together .. the talent and depth is unbelievable. Spack will be able to go 2 deep at most positions.

 

[Total Red]

Conley is currently listed at 265 so even though he plays DE he can move inside and I think we've already seen that happen on occasion in the past. There is tremendous depth at DE. Conley and Harris as starters. Swaine and Graham as supersubs. Graham gets typed-casted as a pass rusher but if you can beat your man with quickness you can be effective against the pass or the run. If you keep going and Clark and Guhl are good too. So with this much depth at DE doesn't it make sense to rotate someone like Conley at DT? That's fine but don't be in a hurry to pull a DT off the field. Keene is our best D-lineman and McCown is good too.

I think we'll see some 3-4. We've dappled with it before mostly on passing downs. It could be useful against the run too because it forces the O-line to rethink their assignments and as we all know most O-linemen have the IQ of a paperweight and they hate it when they're forced to think. (Note to self: do not go down on the field and mingle near any O-linemen after the scrimmage). :naughty:

Also let me grind my favorite axe in a positive direction for once. Fourth is right. The talent and depth of the DL is nearly unbelievable. It's a Championship level D-Line. NOT coincidentally 3 of the 4 starters are 5th-year seniors and all 4 starters have been redshirted. The investment was made and now we are getting the payoff. That's how Championship level units are formed.

 

[fourthandshort]

when we go up against hurry up offenses who like to spread things out, we better move Conley inside with Keene .. 2 decent sized athletes who can move their feet .. then go with Swaine/Harris at DE .. or rotate Barry and/or Barajas from LB to DE once in a while.

Got to believe between Barry (6'4" 230), Holme (6'2" 240), and Barajas (6'2" 240) .. plus tall rangey DE's Swaine/Harris .. we will have answers to SDSU big stud TE Goedert. And then we have CB Harris to keep stud WR Wieneke in check. They will get their numbers, escpecially playing at home .. but last year we seemed to play defense with emphasis on containment and staying home .. very few TFLs and less sacks than normal Spack team. This year, we ought to be in more aggressive mode and feel good on every level and be able to play a little more aggressive game plan aganist most teams.

 

[Total Red]

Got to believe between Barry (6'4" 230), Holme (6'2" 240), and Barajas (6'2" 240) .. plus tall rangey DE's Swaine/Harris .. we will have answers to SDSU big stud TE Goedert. And then we have CB Harris to keep stud WR Wieneke in check.

I think what's going to seal the deal for Barry as a starter is his big play potential as a pass defender. There's a type of player that has emerged as an effective weapon in FCS football. He's either a big/long WR or an unusually athletic TE with great hands. Tonyan of INSU, Bounds of EIU and Wienke of SDSU have all been highly effective offensive weapons for their teams. They're tough to defend with a 6'0 corner or a 6'1 LB'er. The response would be a longer more athletic LB'er like Barry which is ironic because he began his Redbird career as a TE in hopes of being a tall, athletic receiver. Now it's his job to shut them down.

btw I think true freshman Brandon Price was recruited to be our own hybrid WR/TE. The write-up said he made a nice catch yesterday.

 

[DaveBird10]

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/isu-linebackers-versatility-impresses-spack/article_0d3902a0-bddf-54ff-af62-933ac1c4fbd2.html

Really interesting article, as I read it I am excited for the defense. First team defense has Dex Kelly Martin, Bryce Holm and Tyree Horton. They listed backups as Brannon Barry and Ty DeForest with Josh Barajas the Notre Dame transfer coming along very slowly. The 2 deep linebackers are very deep and exciting. Be interesting to see, how much they rotate with matchups.

I was also glad to read that Austin Galindo the redshirt freshman from Uhigh is getting reps with the first team defense.

 

[Sanantoniobird]

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/isu-linebackers-versatility-impresses-spack/article_0d3902a0-bddf-54ff-af62-933ac1c4fbd2.html

Really interesting article, as I read it I am excited for the defense. First team defense has Dex Kelly Martin, Bryce Holm and Tyree Horton. They listed backups as Brannon Barry and Ty DeForest with Josh Barajas the Notre Dame transfer coming along very slowly. The 2 deep linebackers are very deep and exciting. Be interesting to see, how much they rotate with matchups.

I was also glad to read that Austin Galindo the redshirt freshman from Uhigh is getting reps with the first team defense.

Galindo; highly touted (locally)...highly anticipated by me, I'm very excited to see what he can bring as he came to us with a college build, hope there is talent there.

 

[fourthandshort]

speaking of Galindo .. I noted reference to him helping back up Keane, McCown, and Conley .. so like TR said, looking like Conley will float between DE and DT depending on game/situation .. but maybe more at DT than DE. We need to get Swaine and Harris on field more, and then Barry and Barajas at LB/DE.

Planets are aligning on defense .. my limited concerns replacing all 3 LBs are gone .. only a question of chemistry now and figuring out how to get people on the field .. we are 2 deep everywhere.

 

[ISUBU]

speaking of Galindo .. I noted reference to him helping back up Keane, McCown, and Conley .. so like TR said, looking like Conley will float between DE and DT depending on game/situation .. but maybe more at DT than DE. We need to get Swaine and Harris on field more, and then Barry and Barajas at LB/DE.

Planets are aligning on defense .. my limited concerns replacing all 3 LBs are gone .. only a question of chemistry now and figuring out how to get people on the field .. we are 2 deep everywhere.

Apparent talent - yes
Chemistry - developing
Schemes and Assignments - this is why you practice. Hopefully this is coming along too. We're going to play the guys that know their roles. It is great that a couple of the LBs understand assignments well enough to move between any of 3 or 4 spots. Given the apparent state of the team, a player has to be reliable in their assignment execution or they're not going to get in the game.

 

[Source]

Watched an offense vs defense scrimmage this morning. It was....chippy. Some pushing and shoving between the two sides of the ball and a whole bunch of good old fashion sh*t talking. Intense stuff. Just a few take aways:

Kolbe is going to be a hell of a QB1 this year. He commanded the entire offense during his reps and stayed on the field supporting his team, and the other QB's during their reps.
Malachi Broadnax has to be QB2. This kid is incredibly fast, and elusive. He extends plays like Roberson did. I should mentioned that QB's were live to be hit and there were two consecutive plays that looked broken and he shook 3-4 defenders from the backfield and scored from about 15 yards out. He also had an awesome shuffle pass to Markel Smith for a score. Broadnax faked a QB draw to the left and then shuffled to Smith on the right in front of him for a 10 yard score.
Tristan Smith surprised me with his speed, and Hatfield will strongly benefit from a RS year. I think it would be silly to not RS HIM. The 4th QB is Conor Joyce.
Markel Smith and Robinson are our clear 1 and 2 backs. Followed by Henderson and Kielbasa. Kielbasa is the definition of a power back, not laterally quick but strong! (Redbird fans should be excited that 3 of those 4 running backs are FR/Soph!)
The receivers didn't get much, there was a lot of running the ball. No one really stood out today.
Defensively, it is going to be tough for the other team to score in goal line situations. the 1st defense went against the 1st offense running goal line plays and the defense won. I look at that more like our defense has some really good, strong players up front, rather than an issue with the offense.

We're only 16 days away!

 

[Total Red]

Source - Thanks for the report.

Since you brought it up I've never been a big fan of letting players fight or coaches using loud vulgar language. I just don't think it's necessary. The players should be taught to intervene and break up fights quickly. We don't need anybody getting a broken eye socket from his own teammate. When it comes to correcting players I'm more in the low-key but direct camp - Tony Dungy style. Dungy didn't raise his voice a lot. He might look a player directly in the eye as he comes off the field and say - "I put you out there to make that tackle. Now you either man up and get it done or we'll get you a hacky sack and you can go hang out on the quad." I guess it's essentially the same message but I think it comes across more dignified.
That's just me. All the players were recruited by this staff and them seem ok with it so who gives a bleep what I think.

Glad to hear that Broadnax is continuing to make progress at QB. If he's #2 everything falls into place with Smith and Hatfield able to redshirt. btw I'm assuming you meant that Broadnax, Smith, Hatfield and Joyce were all live. I don't believe anybody would be putting a hit on Jake.

I continue to like Smith at RB so I share that with you but I think Robinson is still #1 with the coaches. He's getting targeted with plenty of passes so that could be an increased part of the offense. As Coach Spack told Jake - "If a back catches the ball and then runs for 50 yards it's still a 50 yard pass."

 

[Source]

Source - Thanks for the report.

Since you brought it up I've never been a big fan of letting players fight or coaches using loud vulgar language. I just don't think it's necessary. The players should be taught to intervene and break up fights quickly. We don't need anybody getting a broken eye socket from his own teammate. When it comes to correcting players I'm more in the low-key but direct camp - Tony Dungy style. Dungy didn't raise his voice a lot. He might look a player directly in the eye as he comes off the field and say - "I put you out there to make that tackle. Now you either man up and get it done or we'll get you a hacky sack and you can go hang out on the quad." I guess it's essentially the same message but I think it comes across more dignified.
That's just me. All the players were recruited by this staff and them seem ok with it so who gives a bleep what I think.

Glad to hear that Broadnax is continuing to make progress at QB. If he's #2 everything falls into place with Smith and Hatfield able to redshirt. btw I'm assuming you meant that Broadnax, Smith, Hatfield and Joyce were all live. I don't believe anybody would be putting a hit on Jake.

I continue to like Smith at RB so I share that with you but I think Robinson is still #1 with the coaches. He's getting targeted with plenty of passes so that could be an increased part of the offense. As Coach Spack told Jake - "If a back catches the ball and then runs for 50 yards it's still a 50 yard pass."

When I say chippy I mean pushing and shoving. No all-out brawl, or punches. It was usually and shove and then they went on their way. The players seemed to respond to it. The coaches and players use that language at length during practice but of course don't during community events or anything like that. The players seem to respond to it. Trash talk goes a long way if the players have the skin to take it. Some don't.

I said what I meant, all QB's were live today. Kolbe didn't take any hits though he could have. There were a lot of handoffs and quick passes.

Kolbe is a very accurate passer. More so in the short and intermediate game than the long game. I fully expect swing passes/screens to the RB's.

I agree that Robinson is RB1 but they will be by committee. My guess would be Robinson (35%), Smith (35%), Henderson (20%), and Kielbasa (5%), 5% other (Hendershot, Muhammad-Rogers (will see time as WR/wildcat QB if needed), Birch,).

 

[fourthandshort]

nice report out Source .. so how did OL look ?? We're they battling, even if getting beat a little too often ??

Got 2 weeks till opener against Butler, then a bye, then on road against EIU and MoST, then home for InSU, then back on road for NAU. None of those defenses are too worrisome .. EIU is always tough, but not dominant. MoST didn't lose many starters, but did lose stud MLB.

So does OL look like they are on track ??

p.s. I'll bet our OL can't wait for season to start to get a break form our front 7