This post is going to seem rough on Swoopes, and I think it is, but please keep in mind I've been one of Swoopes defenders more than most. There were things from him that I saw that I hoped would improve with time in the film room and the practice field, but that I don't think are resolving.
Also, I don't think we can know much about the OL or DL, really, because of the DL issues.
Other than that, here's what I see for now. Keep in mind that all of this is couched with the disclaimer, "for whatever it is we can see from a Spring Scrimmage game, televised."
QBs:
1. To begin, I think we have our starting QB. It's Heard, and I don't even think it's that close. I'm not saying he's going to the win the MNC, but he shows some meaningful improvements over Swoopes ALREADY. The job description is simple: be a leader, and make plays. Heard has this "it" factor much more than Swoopes.
2. Heard's INT wasn't that bad of a pass. Oliver just got held and beat by Echols. It was a great play by Echols, poor ability to defeat coverage by Oliver, and a ball that probably shouldn't have been thrown by Heard. But it wasn't some horrific play by Heard. Oliver just said, "Oh, this guy doesn't want me to get past him, so I'm going to lay off the route" and Echols got to go wherever he wanted to and made the play.
3. Swoopes is a mess. He has a big arm--bigger than Heard, for sure--but 7/10 passes are just not accurate. He never found a short route that he didn't want to either underthrow, overthrow, or throw to the worst possible momentum position for the receiver. Hell, he'll have a DB coming on on the left shouldn't of a receiver, and if he can just throw a 10 yard pass to the right shoulder, that WR may be able to pivot and make yardage. Instead, where does the ball go? WR left shoulder and is either an INT or a near INT almost every time.
3a. I think part of the issue with the "chemistry" between Swoopes and his WRs is that they never really know where that ball is going to be. 3/10 times it's right where it should be, and with great velocity. But 7/10 times it will be out of position in some dangerous ways. Look at it this way: Swoopes can make any WR look like a JAG, but Heard almost made Ty Templin look like he could be a starter today.
3b. Swoopes' best drive was his drive in the middle of the 3d quarter. And I was glad to see it from him, but even then most of his good plays were passes where he hit the WR in the wrong place. The long ball to Warrick forced him out of bounds. His dump passes made his WRs change angle or stop in order to catch. And his big 3d down, do-or-die opportunity on that drive, was damn near an interception. It's just an accuracy issue that hasn't improved much from last year, and it really turns up when he's under pressure.
4. Leadership-wise, Heard is a ahead out there already. He's active, he's talking to the offense, he's directing. Swoopes looks like a receiver--blank face, quiet, tentative. I'm not trying to pile on Swoopes at all. I planned to see him be the dominant guy today. I think the issue is...he can throw the ball, but that doesn't mean he's a quarterback.
5. In my opinion, and this isn't some biased rant against Swoopes, but I think Heard is our QB next season. And I don't actually think it's very close. Swoopes LOOKS like a more experienced backup QB (at best). Heard looks like a raw version of a future starting QB. Heard doesn't have Swoopes arm, but his instincts are already way head. He's energetic, he's trying to win when he's out there, as opposed to Swoopes who often looks as if he's trying to survive.
RBs:
1. Gray looked good enough, but wasn't out much. He is running stronger in all types of traffic, and that is an evolution for him.
2. Foreman was a bit of a revelation. Strong, fast, motivated. I really liked what I saw in general.
3. I was very interested in watching Catalon today, and I saw a mixed bag. He had some great blocks, and a few good runs. But he also seemed to be very tentative when he didn't see a hole, and that was Gray's problem for the first two years or so. Foreman, by contrast, ran with conviction regardless of if he saw a hole or not.
WRs:
1. Leonard was a wash for me. I've heard a lot about him in reports, but he was so-so today. Showed some speed and some good moves, but also dropped some passes and didn't do much with his blocking (either shaking them or holding them). His TD catch was superb, though, and is a good indicator of what he may be able to bring.
2. Daje--ugh. 180 proof, cask-strength athleticism. And he had one great catch in the first half. But he didn't block a lick, muffed a punt, fumbled the ball for a return TD, and generally just didn't make himself a factor. He's starting to remind me of DJ Monroe a bit--he wants to be given things, but he not really just going to go out and take it from anyone.
3. I didn't know we had any white receivers left (forgot about Oliver), and yet there was Heard throwing to five of them. I wish I could have seen Heard throw with the #1s.
4. I thought Lorenzo Joe showed some interesting potential for a slot-type guy, because he can sit on routes, be patient, and then catch zingers as a hot read. That's not easy to do, actually. But his routes need to get much, much better for that to ever work out.
5. Warrick has speed,hands, and a few nice little moves-- but he isn't decisive enough yet. I will be watching him, though, because decisiveness is fixable for a young player. There's something there, for sure, and he might be a guy to watch progress if you like identifying "who might breakout next".
x. Nothing I saw with the WRs told me, "okay, we're good now." But I also didn't get the constant feeling of "oh sh**, we're in trouble" like I did much of last year. Much cleaner routes, already, than last year. Better blocking (in general). Much, much crisper screen routes than last year. Doesn't mean they looked good, but if they've shown improvement over their (pretty dismal) showing last year, I think we can see what happens in fall camp before drawing too many conclusion.
OL:
1. Foreman's big run was actually the best blocked play I've seen from a Texas OL in two years.
2. Some bad moments and some good moments, but for the life of me I couldn't tell who was who. I saw a few huge misses, but then it dumped off and I wondered if it wasn't an intentional quasi-screen kind of play (clever move by Wickline, if true).
DL:
1. In general, they had good pressure and did well collapsing the pocket. But I didn't get a close enough look to know if that was a created effect or if the OL was off. I liked some of the pressure from Davis. Ridgeway had a few very disruptive plays.
2. Davis, Ford, and Ridgeway seemed to always be in the backfield in one way another. Again, I don't think we can know much about the DL or the OL because of the bad OL issues from last year. But I'm just not too worried with what I'm seeing--I think the DL will be a strength for us this year by the OU game.
3. As an aside, the wingspan on Davis, Ford, and Ridgeway is INSANE. And they're USING it so much better, too. Look at how quickly they get their arms up and out now when going after the QB. That is a big jump from the technique we saw last season.
LBs:
1. Malik was, in my opinion, the most exciting player on the field today. Fast, strong, and in-position the vast majority of the time. The "lostness" wasn't a descriptor for him, today. He is a ferocious LB in terms of the base skill set you look for. I didn't get to break down what roles he was taking on and how much responsibility he was given, but at a surface level, he did fantastically well with what he was asked to do (limited or not, I need to find out). He was as much of a "monster" as I've ever seen in a spring game for a true freshman. I may be forgetting someone, but I can't remember anyone.
1a. Malik played well in all functions today--run identification and stop, QB pressure, coverage.
2. Regarding the other LBs, we had some good plays. There were a few times when I saw the LBs out of place, but I was actually more impressed than I thought I'd be. I expected to see EdmondSantos2012™ all over again--and that's not the case. In fact, I don't know that I'm going to go into the fall all that worried about our LB play. I feel like saying, "rawness, and youth, but we're in good hands."
3. Freeman gets into the backfield in a hurry.
DBs:
1. Bonney was another revelation today. He missed a few tackles, but in most cases, he missed them because he recognized them more quickly than anyone else and got there FAST. Future is very bright if this game was any indication of his effort, improvement, and motivation (overall).
2. Haynes is a baller. Plain and simple--walkon or not. I like his attitude. He's like Rudy, but he can actually play.
3. I didn't see Hall much, but the few times I noticed him he was fast and in position. I need to rewatch and key up on who was doing what at DB and how often we were improvising.
4. Echols was all over the place. Good instincts, great adjustment to the ball, and aggressive with the WRs.
OFFENSE OVERALL:
1. Faster, for sure, but not anything near "jet tempo".
2. Much better use of QBs and screens than last year.
3. All in all, an improvement. Those who wanted a change got it, even if it's just a tiny little peek inside what is coming in the fall.
4. We don't know much about the OL. Some good, some bad, but it's early.
5. Heard will be a starting QB by sometime early in the season, I'd bet a good sum of money on it. He's raw, for sure, and locks onto his first options too much. He is still indecisive in with his hot reads in pressure. But he shows more leadership potential and makes plays, and that's all it takes to get that starting spot over what we saw last season (and there's reason to believe that Swoopes is carrying much of these same issues into this season, based on our look today).
5a. Swoopes finished 13/24 for 112 with the first team offense against the backup defense.
5b. Heard finished 20/29 for 177 with the backup offense against the first team defense.
6. Our RB position is going to be fun to watch. Gray, Foreman, and Catalon make for a good little group. They're not all americans right now, but there's a strong base to build on going into 2015.
7. WRs are already doing better than last year in terms of routes, crispness, and blocking. But they're still undercooked and they'll be a big thing to watch going into the fall. I wouldn't be surprised if this group gels together pretty well by the OU game, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they melted down around Swoopes again. So it's still undecided for me.
DEFENSE:
1. We can't know much about the DL due to the OL issues, but I have a feeling we're going to be just fine. There's no Mal Brown out there right now, but we also may have more overall depth than last year.
2. We need guys to grow up at LB, but I don't sense any great danger there right now. Maybe I was expecting our LB group to be the worst unit on the field today, and so I was surprised when it wasn't, but I think we're in good hands there.
3. Malik was as dominant as I've seen from a true freshman in a spring game on defense before. He was a force to be reckoned with. Let the hype begin.
4. DBs played very well, in general. Bonney, Hall, and Echols stood out to me. Echols was probably the strongest performer--at least I noticed him a lot more--but Bonney had me saying "damn" under my breath a few times with how quickly he would get into position and close down a play.
5. Wow. Very few missed tackles. That demon appears to have been successfully exorcised. It was gone last year, too, but I was wondering if, with all the young/new players in, we would see that pop back up. Nope.
This post was edited on 4/18 8:06 PM by Good.Shepherd
Also, I don't think we can know much about the OL or DL, really, because of the DL issues.
Other than that, here's what I see for now. Keep in mind that all of this is couched with the disclaimer, "for whatever it is we can see from a Spring Scrimmage game, televised."
QBs:
1. To begin, I think we have our starting QB. It's Heard, and I don't even think it's that close. I'm not saying he's going to the win the MNC, but he shows some meaningful improvements over Swoopes ALREADY. The job description is simple: be a leader, and make plays. Heard has this "it" factor much more than Swoopes.
2. Heard's INT wasn't that bad of a pass. Oliver just got held and beat by Echols. It was a great play by Echols, poor ability to defeat coverage by Oliver, and a ball that probably shouldn't have been thrown by Heard. But it wasn't some horrific play by Heard. Oliver just said, "Oh, this guy doesn't want me to get past him, so I'm going to lay off the route" and Echols got to go wherever he wanted to and made the play.
3. Swoopes is a mess. He has a big arm--bigger than Heard, for sure--but 7/10 passes are just not accurate. He never found a short route that he didn't want to either underthrow, overthrow, or throw to the worst possible momentum position for the receiver. Hell, he'll have a DB coming on on the left shouldn't of a receiver, and if he can just throw a 10 yard pass to the right shoulder, that WR may be able to pivot and make yardage. Instead, where does the ball go? WR left shoulder and is either an INT or a near INT almost every time.
3a. I think part of the issue with the "chemistry" between Swoopes and his WRs is that they never really know where that ball is going to be. 3/10 times it's right where it should be, and with great velocity. But 7/10 times it will be out of position in some dangerous ways. Look at it this way: Swoopes can make any WR look like a JAG, but Heard almost made Ty Templin look like he could be a starter today.
3b. Swoopes' best drive was his drive in the middle of the 3d quarter. And I was glad to see it from him, but even then most of his good plays were passes where he hit the WR in the wrong place. The long ball to Warrick forced him out of bounds. His dump passes made his WRs change angle or stop in order to catch. And his big 3d down, do-or-die opportunity on that drive, was damn near an interception. It's just an accuracy issue that hasn't improved much from last year, and it really turns up when he's under pressure.
4. Leadership-wise, Heard is a ahead out there already. He's active, he's talking to the offense, he's directing. Swoopes looks like a receiver--blank face, quiet, tentative. I'm not trying to pile on Swoopes at all. I planned to see him be the dominant guy today. I think the issue is...he can throw the ball, but that doesn't mean he's a quarterback.
5. In my opinion, and this isn't some biased rant against Swoopes, but I think Heard is our QB next season. And I don't actually think it's very close. Swoopes LOOKS like a more experienced backup QB (at best). Heard looks like a raw version of a future starting QB. Heard doesn't have Swoopes arm, but his instincts are already way head. He's energetic, he's trying to win when he's out there, as opposed to Swoopes who often looks as if he's trying to survive.
RBs:
1. Gray looked good enough, but wasn't out much. He is running stronger in all types of traffic, and that is an evolution for him.
2. Foreman was a bit of a revelation. Strong, fast, motivated. I really liked what I saw in general.
3. I was very interested in watching Catalon today, and I saw a mixed bag. He had some great blocks, and a few good runs. But he also seemed to be very tentative when he didn't see a hole, and that was Gray's problem for the first two years or so. Foreman, by contrast, ran with conviction regardless of if he saw a hole or not.
WRs:
1. Leonard was a wash for me. I've heard a lot about him in reports, but he was so-so today. Showed some speed and some good moves, but also dropped some passes and didn't do much with his blocking (either shaking them or holding them). His TD catch was superb, though, and is a good indicator of what he may be able to bring.
2. Daje--ugh. 180 proof, cask-strength athleticism. And he had one great catch in the first half. But he didn't block a lick, muffed a punt, fumbled the ball for a return TD, and generally just didn't make himself a factor. He's starting to remind me of DJ Monroe a bit--he wants to be given things, but he not really just going to go out and take it from anyone.
3. I didn't know we had any white receivers left (forgot about Oliver), and yet there was Heard throwing to five of them. I wish I could have seen Heard throw with the #1s.
4. I thought Lorenzo Joe showed some interesting potential for a slot-type guy, because he can sit on routes, be patient, and then catch zingers as a hot read. That's not easy to do, actually. But his routes need to get much, much better for that to ever work out.
5. Warrick has speed,hands, and a few nice little moves-- but he isn't decisive enough yet. I will be watching him, though, because decisiveness is fixable for a young player. There's something there, for sure, and he might be a guy to watch progress if you like identifying "who might breakout next".
x. Nothing I saw with the WRs told me, "okay, we're good now." But I also didn't get the constant feeling of "oh sh**, we're in trouble" like I did much of last year. Much cleaner routes, already, than last year. Better blocking (in general). Much, much crisper screen routes than last year. Doesn't mean they looked good, but if they've shown improvement over their (pretty dismal) showing last year, I think we can see what happens in fall camp before drawing too many conclusion.
OL:
1. Foreman's big run was actually the best blocked play I've seen from a Texas OL in two years.
2. Some bad moments and some good moments, but for the life of me I couldn't tell who was who. I saw a few huge misses, but then it dumped off and I wondered if it wasn't an intentional quasi-screen kind of play (clever move by Wickline, if true).
DL:
1. In general, they had good pressure and did well collapsing the pocket. But I didn't get a close enough look to know if that was a created effect or if the OL was off. I liked some of the pressure from Davis. Ridgeway had a few very disruptive plays.
2. Davis, Ford, and Ridgeway seemed to always be in the backfield in one way another. Again, I don't think we can know much about the DL or the OL because of the bad OL issues from last year. But I'm just not too worried with what I'm seeing--I think the DL will be a strength for us this year by the OU game.
3. As an aside, the wingspan on Davis, Ford, and Ridgeway is INSANE. And they're USING it so much better, too. Look at how quickly they get their arms up and out now when going after the QB. That is a big jump from the technique we saw last season.
LBs:
1. Malik was, in my opinion, the most exciting player on the field today. Fast, strong, and in-position the vast majority of the time. The "lostness" wasn't a descriptor for him, today. He is a ferocious LB in terms of the base skill set you look for. I didn't get to break down what roles he was taking on and how much responsibility he was given, but at a surface level, he did fantastically well with what he was asked to do (limited or not, I need to find out). He was as much of a "monster" as I've ever seen in a spring game for a true freshman. I may be forgetting someone, but I can't remember anyone.
1a. Malik played well in all functions today--run identification and stop, QB pressure, coverage.
2. Regarding the other LBs, we had some good plays. There were a few times when I saw the LBs out of place, but I was actually more impressed than I thought I'd be. I expected to see EdmondSantos2012™ all over again--and that's not the case. In fact, I don't know that I'm going to go into the fall all that worried about our LB play. I feel like saying, "rawness, and youth, but we're in good hands."
3. Freeman gets into the backfield in a hurry.
DBs:
1. Bonney was another revelation today. He missed a few tackles, but in most cases, he missed them because he recognized them more quickly than anyone else and got there FAST. Future is very bright if this game was any indication of his effort, improvement, and motivation (overall).
2. Haynes is a baller. Plain and simple--walkon or not. I like his attitude. He's like Rudy, but he can actually play.
3. I didn't see Hall much, but the few times I noticed him he was fast and in position. I need to rewatch and key up on who was doing what at DB and how often we were improvising.
4. Echols was all over the place. Good instincts, great adjustment to the ball, and aggressive with the WRs.
OFFENSE OVERALL:
1. Faster, for sure, but not anything near "jet tempo".
2. Much better use of QBs and screens than last year.
3. All in all, an improvement. Those who wanted a change got it, even if it's just a tiny little peek inside what is coming in the fall.
4. We don't know much about the OL. Some good, some bad, but it's early.
5. Heard will be a starting QB by sometime early in the season, I'd bet a good sum of money on it. He's raw, for sure, and locks onto his first options too much. He is still indecisive in with his hot reads in pressure. But he shows more leadership potential and makes plays, and that's all it takes to get that starting spot over what we saw last season (and there's reason to believe that Swoopes is carrying much of these same issues into this season, based on our look today).
5a. Swoopes finished 13/24 for 112 with the first team offense against the backup defense.
5b. Heard finished 20/29 for 177 with the backup offense against the first team defense.
6. Our RB position is going to be fun to watch. Gray, Foreman, and Catalon make for a good little group. They're not all americans right now, but there's a strong base to build on going into 2015.
7. WRs are already doing better than last year in terms of routes, crispness, and blocking. But they're still undercooked and they'll be a big thing to watch going into the fall. I wouldn't be surprised if this group gels together pretty well by the OU game, but I also wouldn't be surprised if they melted down around Swoopes again. So it's still undecided for me.
DEFENSE:
1. We can't know much about the DL due to the OL issues, but I have a feeling we're going to be just fine. There's no Mal Brown out there right now, but we also may have more overall depth than last year.
2. We need guys to grow up at LB, but I don't sense any great danger there right now. Maybe I was expecting our LB group to be the worst unit on the field today, and so I was surprised when it wasn't, but I think we're in good hands there.
3. Malik was as dominant as I've seen from a true freshman in a spring game on defense before. He was a force to be reckoned with. Let the hype begin.
4. DBs played very well, in general. Bonney, Hall, and Echols stood out to me. Echols was probably the strongest performer--at least I noticed him a lot more--but Bonney had me saying "damn" under my breath a few times with how quickly he would get into position and close down a play.
5. Wow. Very few missed tackles. That demon appears to have been successfully exorcised. It was gone last year, too, but I was wondering if, with all the young/new players in, we would see that pop back up. Nope.
This post was edited on 4/18 8:06 PM by Good.Shepherd
