OrangeXtreme
The Mayor of Dewitt
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At least it's not the blue helmet. :bang:
Fort Drum Scrimmage Report (TexanMark and Tomcat)
- Thread starter TexanMark
- Start date
At least it's not the blue helmet. :bang:
LeMoyneCuse
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Franklin's wearing #4 this season. He's in there.
orange79
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texascpa
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Yeah, I know. Couldn't find him. But good to hear he was in there.
OrangeXtreme
The Mayor of Dewitt
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jekelish
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(Mystery solved)
TexanMark
Tailgate Guru
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And that was my mystery guy...
OburgOrange
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Just starting at my place. Radar does not look good
CUSU
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Pretty good guess eh?
orangehomer
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mark if you still have one more I will take the last one. I wanted to share this, it is a link to a podcast called 99 Percent Invisible, which is an architectural/engineering podcast that is based around the idea of "design". I highly recommend it, the episodes are 15-20 minutes and very well done.
http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/coin-check/
so the link is to a podcast that has to do with these challenge coins, before the podcast I had never heard of. when I heard this I thought it was great, and when I saw your post I was immediately like hell yeah I want one!
jgeorge322
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Cool stuff. Great job guys. Just curious but any thought of using the battle axes as the tails side?
TexanMark
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Orangehomer...you got the last one...so you have two now. Good link on the Challenge Coin...I'll send it to the FB staff.
The challenge coin literally popped up in my head a few weeks ago. These coins were the best I could throw together in an hour or two taking info off the web. They need artwork or pictures to make them (I wanted to show a link to Ft Drum, the backside is the actual emblem on the field from 2014)...anyways SU is very interested in taking this idea forward. I'm going to tell SU they might consider a batch of 1000 coins. Give to dignitaries, Ft Drum soldiers, recruits and also Orange Club donors of a certain level. They have to be somewhat exclusive though.
The challenge coin literally popped up in my head a few weeks ago. These coins were the best I could throw together in an hour or two taking info off the web. They need artwork or pictures to make them (I wanted to show a link to Ft Drum, the backside is the actual emblem on the field from 2014)...anyways SU is very interested in taking this idea forward. I'm going to tell SU they might consider a batch of 1000 coins. Give to dignitaries, Ft Drum soldiers, recruits and also Orange Club donors of a certain level. They have to be somewhat exclusive though.
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HtownOrange
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Mark,
When you decide to design the second series please notify us. I would like a few for my family and I support your idea of handing them out to the troops, DVs and VIPs.
Kudos on a great idea.
When you decide to design the second series please notify us. I would like a few for my family and I support your idea of handing them out to the troops, DVs and VIPs.
Kudos on a great idea.
KaiserUEO
2022 and 2x ESPN Tourney Challenge Winner
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IMHO, Hunt is Hunt...seems the same...he'll win us games but there is a ceiling.
now youve done it mark, welcome to the 'doom & gloom' club.
let me get your things and scooch will be along later to make sure youre comfortable...
now youve done it mark, welcome to the 'doom & gloom' club.
let me get your things and scooch will be along later to make sure youre comfortable...
orangeinjersey
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So there you have it, 5-6 win season.
sutomcat
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I will post some stuff here...have to work so I will update it from time to time during the day. But here is my take...
TexanMark, northacuse and I had planned to meet in Watertown at 4:30 pm. Got a call from Mark at about 10:30 telling me CuseLegacy had just texted him that the scrimmage had been moved to 11:30 AM due to the bad forecast for the afternoon. Could I possibly make it? About 10 minutes later, I was on the highway heading north.
It is pretty cool being on a military base, seeing the PX, the living quarters for the troops, etc. Things are at a heightened state of alert right now (Bravo, I think), so there was more security at the checkpoint entering the base and at other points as well.
When we arrived, there was almost no one at the field where practice was being held. Talked to a few kids and a few curious troopers who stopped by. One of the kids was sporting a high fade and said he played RB for Indian River. We pointed out Floyd Little to him. They had a nice conversation and Floyd posed for a picture with him, which thrilled him to no end.
But let's talk about the scrimmage.
There was a strong wind blowing downfield. The coached elected to have all drives head with the wind. The defense was on one side of the field and the offense on the other. One glaring change was that the players on offense were a lot more spirited and vocal than they have been in recent years. The players on defense have shown a lot of spirit and togetherness since Scott Shafer arrived but the players on offense...not so much. It is a little thing but I think worth noting.
Will try and break down what I saw unit by unit...
Special teams
Riley is as expected far better than anyone else at punter. He is wearing cut off football pants (they end about halfway up his thighs) and uber low socks, which gives him the air of one of those Italian bicyclists from Breaking Away. All that is missing is the little hat with the turned up brim and maybe a Cinzano umbrella. But he is kicking the crap out of the ball, getting the best hang time I have ever seen and it looks like he has gotten quite a bit stronger. Sterling appears to be the backup. Can't get the ball to spiral or turnover, doesn't release the ball properly before punting it and needs a lot of work on his flexibility if he wants to be decent in the future. Looks better suited to be a placekicker at this point.
Speaking of placekickers, Cole Murphy and Ryan Norton are continuing their knock-down, drag-out fight for the starting job here (Sterling does not appear to be involved). I thought Norton kicked it better, got it higher and hit it more solidly than Cole. Norton had a 52 yarder, that would have been good from 55, but missed a 48 yarder short as well. Remember, he was kicking with a really strong wind. Cole was okay, just want to see him get the ball higher so he doesn't get any more kicks blocked in 2015. Both worked with the first team at times, but Cole had more snaps there. I think both made something in the range of 5 of 6.
Keith M-long Japanese name and Matt Keller are also in a battle for the snapper jobs. Both worked with the first team at times. I think Keith M might have had a better day; Keller had at least one bad snap.
Looks like Dixon is going to be the holder. Mahoney is the backup.
Brisly spent by far the most time catching punts. Ishmael was out though so that might change when Steve starts practicing again. He looked solid on a day when judging punts was not a trivial task.
They didn't practice kickoffs. Don't know what is going on on that front.
Offense
Hunt worked with the first team offense against the second team defense. I would say he looked similar to how he looked at FanFest. Made the routine throws, struggled some on longer throws with his accuracy, struggled some with his accuracy in general. Again it was really windy, which didn't help matters. The best thing about his performance at FanFest was that he didn't throw the ball into coverage once, and his avoided this mortal sin yesterday, except for one throw to the left flat where Dowels anticipated the pattern, jumped the route and made a great play for a pick six. Hunt runs the option better than the other QBs but is not particularly good at it. The refs were extremely aggressive with early whistles when a defender got near a QB, so that handicapped Hunt running the ball, as he is more than capable of breaking tackles or evading defenders with a good late move. Anyway, like Mark said, Hunt is Hunt. Doesn't look like he is going to mutate into Dan Fouts out there but he looked like the good Hunt we have seen in the past, not the bad one.
Wilson didn't get a ton of snaps, wasn't very effective when he was in. Confidence might be an issue. His biggest problem continues to be bad decision making. Loves to try and force the ball into coverage, which is a really bad trait for a QB for a team that has a lot of WRs who struggle to get open.
Mahoney got about the same PT as Wilson. Was more effective, had a few nice passes. Doesn't have a big arm or a lot of athletic ability but made good choices.
Dungey might have gotten the most reps of any QB, which was a big change from FanFest. Looked visibly more confident, made some really nice throws. Showed a strong arm and unual poise in the pocket for a true frosh. More than any QB, he was hurt by the quick whistle as he had a number of instances when he held the ball until the last minute to allow the WR to finish his route and got called for a sack when he actually got rid of the ball just in time (and made a good throw). He showed his quickness and agility some too. This kid has a high ceiling and it is hard not to be excited about him. Should note though that he played mostly with the 3rd team offense and mostly against the third team defense, which is not nearly as good as the other defensive units. He did do some damage against the 2nd team though.
With Ishmael and Avant sitting things out, the other WRs had a great chance to show off their skills with the extra playing time. Wasn't wowed with them very much.
Estime had a good day and scored a couple of TDs. Philips is probably the best athlete on the team and does something good every time the ball is thrown his way. Lewis, wearing wearing jersey #5 for some reason, looked solid. Stronger, probably our toughest and most physical WR right now. Custis barely touched the ball. Looks great in his uniform but no production yet. He would do well to study the way Lewis plays. Adly Enoicy had a bad drop but made a nice catch and move for a TD. AC was basically a no show. Don't remember his touching the ball. I see no evidence he is going to be a factor this season. He could really help himself if he could get stronger. Womack gets open and has good hands but if he gets bumped, he is out of the play. Strickland has some strength and speed and I think it is only a matter of time before he cracks the two deep.
At TE, Parris and MacPherson got almost all the PT. Both made good receptions, neither looks like they will ever get more than 1 or 2 YAC. but they can block and catch the ball. Dunk had a nice grab in limited minutes. He can clearly run and has to have the highest ceiling of the bunch. I assume he needs to know the playbook better and improve his blocking to get more playing time.
At RB, as already noted, McFarland sat practice out. He was fully dressed though and showed no signs of injury. Morris got a lot of PT and did well, running with more urgency and power than I have seen from him in the past. He had a couple long TD runs on sweeps. Strickland appears to be working exclusively with the express backs, so he is out of the picture too. They left Fredericks and Hill to split the carries. Hill looked good when he ran to the outside but did little running between the tackles. Fredericks did damage a lot, looks like he has a nice blend of speed and power. Also cuts really well and was successful running inside and outside. Surprised by his power, he is clearly our strongest runner as a true frosh. McFarland and Morris better watch out, this kid has some talent.
On the OL, Foy and Roberts kind of stand out with the notable changes to their bodies. Both look great and are moving well out there. Palmer is struggling a little at RT, and Robinson and Trudo look good. It is strange to see Trudo moving around without a limp, in a good way. He opened some holes. Snapped the shotgun snaps decently but had a couple bad ones. The backups at OL are LT McGloster, LT Hayes, C Emerich, RG Mixed Cast and RT Lasker. Of the true frosh, looks to me like Evan Adams, Duerig and Conway might have a leg up. That group of frosh OL is impressive looking.
Will get the defense later.
TexanMark, northacuse and I had planned to meet in Watertown at 4:30 pm. Got a call from Mark at about 10:30 telling me CuseLegacy had just texted him that the scrimmage had been moved to 11:30 AM due to the bad forecast for the afternoon. Could I possibly make it? About 10 minutes later, I was on the highway heading north.
It is pretty cool being on a military base, seeing the PX, the living quarters for the troops, etc. Things are at a heightened state of alert right now (Bravo, I think), so there was more security at the checkpoint entering the base and at other points as well.
When we arrived, there was almost no one at the field where practice was being held. Talked to a few kids and a few curious troopers who stopped by. One of the kids was sporting a high fade and said he played RB for Indian River. We pointed out Floyd Little to him. They had a nice conversation and Floyd posed for a picture with him, which thrilled him to no end.
But let's talk about the scrimmage.
There was a strong wind blowing downfield. The coached elected to have all drives head with the wind. The defense was on one side of the field and the offense on the other. One glaring change was that the players on offense were a lot more spirited and vocal than they have been in recent years. The players on defense have shown a lot of spirit and togetherness since Scott Shafer arrived but the players on offense...not so much. It is a little thing but I think worth noting.
Will try and break down what I saw unit by unit...
Special teams
Riley is as expected far better than anyone else at punter. He is wearing cut off football pants (they end about halfway up his thighs) and uber low socks, which gives him the air of one of those Italian bicyclists from Breaking Away. All that is missing is the little hat with the turned up brim and maybe a Cinzano umbrella. But he is kicking the crap out of the ball, getting the best hang time I have ever seen and it looks like he has gotten quite a bit stronger. Sterling appears to be the backup. Can't get the ball to spiral or turnover, doesn't release the ball properly before punting it and needs a lot of work on his flexibility if he wants to be decent in the future. Looks better suited to be a placekicker at this point.
Speaking of placekickers, Cole Murphy and Ryan Norton are continuing their knock-down, drag-out fight for the starting job here (Sterling does not appear to be involved). I thought Norton kicked it better, got it higher and hit it more solidly than Cole. Norton had a 52 yarder, that would have been good from 55, but missed a 48 yarder short as well. Remember, he was kicking with a really strong wind. Cole was okay, just want to see him get the ball higher so he doesn't get any more kicks blocked in 2015. Both worked with the first team at times, but Cole had more snaps there. I think both made something in the range of 5 of 6.
Keith M-long Japanese name and Matt Keller are also in a battle for the snapper jobs. Both worked with the first team at times. I think Keith M might have had a better day; Keller had at least one bad snap.
Looks like Dixon is going to be the holder. Mahoney is the backup.
Brisly spent by far the most time catching punts. Ishmael was out though so that might change when Steve starts practicing again. He looked solid on a day when judging punts was not a trivial task.
They didn't practice kickoffs. Don't know what is going on on that front.
Offense
Hunt worked with the first team offense against the second team defense. I would say he looked similar to how he looked at FanFest. Made the routine throws, struggled some on longer throws with his accuracy, struggled some with his accuracy in general. Again it was really windy, which didn't help matters. The best thing about his performance at FanFest was that he didn't throw the ball into coverage once, and his avoided this mortal sin yesterday, except for one throw to the left flat where Dowels anticipated the pattern, jumped the route and made a great play for a pick six. Hunt runs the option better than the other QBs but is not particularly good at it. The refs were extremely aggressive with early whistles when a defender got near a QB, so that handicapped Hunt running the ball, as he is more than capable of breaking tackles or evading defenders with a good late move. Anyway, like Mark said, Hunt is Hunt. Doesn't look like he is going to mutate into Dan Fouts out there but he looked like the good Hunt we have seen in the past, not the bad one.
Wilson didn't get a ton of snaps, wasn't very effective when he was in. Confidence might be an issue. His biggest problem continues to be bad decision making. Loves to try and force the ball into coverage, which is a really bad trait for a QB for a team that has a lot of WRs who struggle to get open.
Mahoney got about the same PT as Wilson. Was more effective, had a few nice passes. Doesn't have a big arm or a lot of athletic ability but made good choices.
Dungey might have gotten the most reps of any QB, which was a big change from FanFest. Looked visibly more confident, made some really nice throws. Showed a strong arm and unual poise in the pocket for a true frosh. More than any QB, he was hurt by the quick whistle as he had a number of instances when he held the ball until the last minute to allow the WR to finish his route and got called for a sack when he actually got rid of the ball just in time (and made a good throw). He showed his quickness and agility some too. This kid has a high ceiling and it is hard not to be excited about him. Should note though that he played mostly with the 3rd team offense and mostly against the third team defense, which is not nearly as good as the other defensive units. He did do some damage against the 2nd team though.
With Ishmael and Avant sitting things out, the other WRs had a great chance to show off their skills with the extra playing time. Wasn't wowed with them very much.
Estime had a good day and scored a couple of TDs. Philips is probably the best athlete on the team and does something good every time the ball is thrown his way. Lewis, wearing wearing jersey #5 for some reason, looked solid. Stronger, probably our toughest and most physical WR right now. Custis barely touched the ball. Looks great in his uniform but no production yet. He would do well to study the way Lewis plays. Adly Enoicy had a bad drop but made a nice catch and move for a TD. AC was basically a no show. Don't remember his touching the ball. I see no evidence he is going to be a factor this season. He could really help himself if he could get stronger. Womack gets open and has good hands but if he gets bumped, he is out of the play. Strickland has some strength and speed and I think it is only a matter of time before he cracks the two deep.
At TE, Parris and MacPherson got almost all the PT. Both made good receptions, neither looks like they will ever get more than 1 or 2 YAC. but they can block and catch the ball. Dunk had a nice grab in limited minutes. He can clearly run and has to have the highest ceiling of the bunch. I assume he needs to know the playbook better and improve his blocking to get more playing time.
At RB, as already noted, McFarland sat practice out. He was fully dressed though and showed no signs of injury. Morris got a lot of PT and did well, running with more urgency and power than I have seen from him in the past. He had a couple long TD runs on sweeps. Strickland appears to be working exclusively with the express backs, so he is out of the picture too. They left Fredericks and Hill to split the carries. Hill looked good when he ran to the outside but did little running between the tackles. Fredericks did damage a lot, looks like he has a nice blend of speed and power. Also cuts really well and was successful running inside and outside. Surprised by his power, he is clearly our strongest runner as a true frosh. McFarland and Morris better watch out, this kid has some talent.
On the OL, Foy and Roberts kind of stand out with the notable changes to their bodies. Both look great and are moving well out there. Palmer is struggling a little at RT, and Robinson and Trudo look good. It is strange to see Trudo moving around without a limp, in a good way. He opened some holes. Snapped the shotgun snaps decently but had a couple bad ones. The backups at OL are LT McGloster, LT Hayes, C Emerich, RG Mixed Cast and RT Lasker. Of the true frosh, looks to me like Evan Adams, Duerig and Conway might have a leg up. That group of frosh OL is impressive looking.
Will get the defense later.
cuseguy
Living Legend
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Thanks for the report, Tom. Great stuff.
Surprised with your thoughts on Cornelius. Thought the coaches felt he had elevated his game since last season and was prepared for a big year. Also read where he had added about 10 pounds since last year. It would be disappointing if he isn't ready because we all know that Estime is one step away from another high ankle sprain.
Also seems like we have nearly a half dozen Express Backs,
Philips
Lewis
Perkins
Strickland
Womack?
Of course, we don't want to make it seem like we're loaded at tailback. wink, wink.
Surprised with your thoughts on Cornelius. Thought the coaches felt he had elevated his game since last season and was prepared for a big year. Also read where he had added about 10 pounds since last year. It would be disappointing if he isn't ready because we all know that Estime is one step away from another high ankle sprain.
Also seems like we have nearly a half dozen Express Backs,
Philips
Lewis
Perkins
Strickland
Womack?
Of course, we don't want to make it seem like we're loaded at tailback. wink, wink.
sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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I didn't mention Perkins, who had a catch or two and looked good running with the ball after the catch.
It is crazy how many players are getting reps at express back. I think the staff considers it a key position and wants to see which of the top athletes on the team are best suited to playing it. A couple of these players will be moved shortly.
jekelish
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Speaking of - with questionable depth at WR, and seemingly a lot of young talent at express...would Ben Lewis be moved back to WR? It seems like a logical move to me, anyway, assuming Strickland or Perkins emerges.
sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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I hear you...express back calls for someone who can run the ball on a sweep and that isn't what you think of when you think of Ben Lewis.
But I think with the new offense (and this is only a thought now, I am not real familiar with it), on passing plays, the express back is going to fill the role of the slot receiver. The XB is going to be asked to over the middle, find seams in the zone and make tough catches in traffic. Similar to what Alec Lemon did for us most of his career.
And I think the express back plays a big role in blocking on running plays.
In those areas, Lewis excels. He is probably our most physical receiver, our toughest and I think he is our best blocker there too.
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