Every week of the preseason, I have such grand plans. I’ll sit down at night, watch a bunch of players & gather clips, all the while visions of deep film dives on each one dance in my head. Then I look up, and the week is over, and I don’t have time for any of that. But I have all these clips and notes, and I need something to do with them. So here you go. Some clips and notes before the final preseason game. Let’s hit the offensive side of the ball first.
Offense
Jordan Morgan (#77, LT)
Good feet in pass pro, but he is a little
late with his hands, which can get him into trouble at times. Shows a good secondary anchor when he’s initially knocked back.
Generated some movement in the run game, but doesn’t seem overly confident there yet. Pulled one time and looked like he missed his aiming point. Good movement skills. Looks strong and smooth. The run game should get better with more reps & comfort.
Anthony Belton (#71, RT)
Yes, there is plenty of bad. The penalties stand out, and there are multiple instances of Belton just getting beaten, both in the run and pass. Some awkward climbing to the second level, some aimless attacking on runs, getting beaten by speed on the edge, getting out too far over his skis, and getting pulled out of the play. That’s all there.
But there’s also plenty of good. Some solid anchor in pass pro and some strong seals in the run game. He has a long way to go (and I still think his best position is at guard), but he showed quite a few flashes.
Jacob Monk (#62, RG/C)
Much more good than bad. Big improvement over game 1. 25 snaps at RG (all with Willis), 6 snaps at C (all with Elgersma). Inconsistent and a couple of clean losses.
Plays with a good head. Knows where he’s supposed to be. Looks for places to help when he doesn’t have a man to block. Not a ton of power in the run game, but can move people on occasion. Cautiously optimistic.
MarShawn Lloyd (#32, RB)
Burst is certainly there, but I’m not sure about the vision/pacing. Doesn’t always see the blocks and sometimes arrives before it has a chance to develop. Could be lethal in the passing game, and he’ll have some explosive plays in the running game, but he feels like there’s a lot of boom-or-bust in his game right now.
Julian Hicks (#81, WR)
Uses his size well. Willing blocker and tends to know where he’s supposed to go, but the technique isn’t great, and his approach has a little hesitation in it, so some of the downfield/digging-out-safeties stuff often sees him blocking air.
Decent (but not great) speed, and he tends to do too much at the top of his routes.
If that can get cleaned up, there may be something here. Profiles as an outside possession receiver.
Malik Willis (#2, QB)
It’s crazy how much better he is than when he was with the Titans last preseason. Good footwork. Good working the reads. Accuracy & decision-making still have some pretty big question marks, but he has turned into an actual, functional QB, even without any gimmicks. Wouldn’t want him as a full-time starter, but he seems to be a solid backup.
The above clip is incomplete, but a good example of his growth. Clean footwork, no play action or misdirection, reading the middle of the field, and taking the one-on-one with the safety spinning down.
Taylor Elgersma (#19, QB)
Started real shaky, but seemed to settle in a bit as the game went on. Hit a nice gain with Strike, then they went back to it late, and the defense dropped an LB. Elgersma saw it and ended up with a successful scramble on the play.
Still pretty robotic overall, and his movement skills are a problem, but I like what he showed as the game went on.
Defense
Ty’Ron Hopper (#59, LB)
At best, he was fine. At his best when he’s just dropping back into zone coverage. Not great angles/attack against the run. The biggest issue was his play action. He’s 5 steps up to the line before he realizes it’s a fake. That recognition is something he can potentially get better at, but he’s gonna get victimized in the regular season if he plays like we saw him this past week.
Isaiah Simmons (#28, LB)
Decent in coverage, though he did miss at least one assignment. Pretty bad against the run, in that he’s just very tentative. You can see him thinking instead of moving when there’s a lot of misdirection, and when a blocker or ball carrier is running at him, he’s on his heels instead of going downhill. Not sure if that’s something that can be fixed. At this point, I’d rather him make mistakes at 100 mph than be tentative. I still think he can be useful on obvious passing downs (mugging & either blitzing or falling back into a zone), but that’s a relatively small package of plays. Still, if they like him on ST, it would be a way for him to make an impact on 10 snaps a game.
Warren Brinson (#91, DT)
Was mostly fine. Ate some double-teams to free up some guys behind him, but mostly seemed to be a non-factor. Showed some nice things as a pass rusher, but not a ton of consistency there.
He was pretty easily moved/turned aside in the run game. I think there’s something there, but he does not look like a guy you want playing a lot of time in his first year.
Some decent reps where he was able to push, hold the point, and shed. Those were sweet.
Albums listened to: Marissa Nadler – New Radiations; Chevelle – Bright as Blasphemy; Talk Talk – Laughing Stock; Over the Rhine – Ohio; Blindside – Silence; Tom Waits – Mule Variations; Deftones – private music; Wolf Alice – The Clearing
