SATURDAY PRACTICE notes

[PonyPride]

• Don't forget: Like all afternoon practices, Saturday's afternoon session is closed to media and the general public.

• Seal of approval: Some of the nicest blocking of the day came in an early seven-on-seven drill, when LT Kelly Turner and LG Josh LeRibeus got a little bit upfield and turned in toward the center of the field, effectively sealing off the entire defensive line. Andrew McKinney cut behind them to the left side, and could have walked into the end zone.

• Now on-line: The starting defensive line seems set, with Anthony Sowe and Adrian Dizer starting at the defensive end spots, and Patrick Handy and Serge Elizee inside. On the second-team defensive line, Zac Thomas and Mickey Dollens lined up inside, between Taylor Thompson and Youri Yenga.

• Have a good day: One good practice does not necessarily change up a depth chart, but one guy who stood out a little Saturday morning was wide receiver Bradley Haynes, who made a number of good catches in various drills, including a few in heavy traffic during 11-on-11 drills.

• Runaway linebacker: Walk-on LB Brendan Ahern made his presence felt early on when he closed in on WR Josh Bryant, who was waiting on a screen pass from Bo Levi Mitchell ... and flattened Bryant as the ball fell incomplete. After practice, I suggested that he got there a little before the ball, rendering his hit illegal. Needless to say, he disagreed.

• Well-received: A new face joined the starting quartet of WRs - Terrance Wilkerson, who ran with the first team Saturday, along with Aldrick Robinson, Josh Bryant and Emmanuel Sanders.

• No clear leader: Head coach June Jones stuck by his statement that he'll narrow the QB race from five to two Monday. They rotated QBs wth the first-team offense Saturday, but Logan Turner appeared to get more of the snaps, for whatever that's worth.

• Game simulation: As the opener at Rice gets closer, the coaches are adding and more and more elements to make practice feel like a real game. When special teams guru Frank Gansz ran his coverage drills, Dennis McKnight first turned guys loose to chase the returner ... and then added extra wrinkles: he had them go five yards and drop to the ground and then get up to continue the chase, and even had them do somersaults (to simulate getting knocked over) before taking off downfield. DeMyron Martin and Ben Goldthorpe looked pretty smooth getting in and out of their somersaults, but Kelly Turner and Vincent Chase ... hmmmm.

• Control yourself: When the drills switched from four-man coverages to two-man units, Gansz implored the would-be tacklers to play "fast, but under control." Sure enough, LB John Nwisienyi and DE Taylor Thompson shot downfield ... only to watch Josh Bryant split the two and take off the other way.

• Got it, Coach: Several coverage units did a great job, including the group of Youri Yenga, Victor Jones, Tyler Jones and Chris Castro smothering Bryant in the end zone. When Gansz challenged Dennis McKnight to put "your two best guys" on the line, DeMyron Martin and Youri Yenga stepped up to the line and raced downfield, where Yenga grabbed Bryce Lunday before he got out of first gear.

• Better, but not perfect: The coverage units were much-improved over many of the earlier days of preseason camp, but not everyone got smothered. DeMyron Martin and Alex Odiari raced down and appeared to have B.J. Lee cornered, until Lee shook loose, curled around to the left sideline and sailed past Odiari. Quincey Whittington also got outside Victor Jones, but to be fair, Jones lost his footing on the play and slipped - it's hard enough to catch Whittington without falling. The move of the day might have come from E.J. Drewery, who took a stab as a return man - after taking a couple of steps forward, he started left, went back to his right and then put on a spin move back to the left, leaving everyone behind.

• Man of many talents: With Kelvin Beachum, Jr., sitting out another day, senior Tommy Poynter played left tackle with the first-team offensive line, joining LG Sean Lobo, C Mitch Enright, RG Bryce Tennison and RT Vincent Chase, who said he is holding his weight well through preseason camp, right around 280. Beachum said his tender ankle "will be fine," and he fully expects to be ready to play against Rice.

• Hold your breath: One of the more unnerving sights of the day came when QB Justin Willis threw a short pass to WR Emmanuel Sanders, who was hit in the side of the head by CB Deyon McElroy - pretty hard hit, but Sanders bounced right up.

• Better balance? The common perception is that the offense will revolve solely around the QB and the WRs, but the RBs got a lot more work in recent days. DeMyron Martin and Andrew McKinney have been powering through defensive fronts that are depleted up front because of the need to play so many defensive backs, and Chris Butler showed off his wheels on a number of plays in which he cut back against the grain and burst through the defensive front for long gains.

• Taking the ball and going home: Practice ended on a high note - literally - for the defense. LB Ryan Moczygemba drifted back into some kind of a zone coverage and then shot straight up in the air, making a great interception of a Justin Willis pass.

[lwjr]

• Don't forget: Like all afternoon practices, Saturday's afternoon session is closed to media and the general public.

• Seal of approval: Some of the nicest blocking of the day came in an early seven-on-seven drill, when LT Kelly Turner and LG Josh LeRibeus got a little bit upfield and turned in toward the center of the field, effectively sealing off the entire defensive line. Andrew McKinney cut behind them to the left side, and could have walked into the end zone.

• Now on-line: The starting defensive line seems set, with Anthony Sowe and Adrian Dizer starting at the defensive end spots, and Patrick Handy and Serge Elizee inside. On the second-team defensive line, Zac Thomas and Mickey Dollens lined up inside, between Taylor Thompson and Youri Yenga.

• Have a good day: One good practice does not necessarily change up a depth chart, but one guy who stood out a little Saturday morning was wide receiver Bradley Haynes, who made a number of good catches in various drills, including a few in heavy traffic during 11-on-11 drills.

• Runaway linebacker: Walk-on LB Brendan Ahern made his presence felt early on when he closed in on WR Josh Bryant, who was waiting on a screen pass from Bo Levi Mitchell ... and flattened Bryant as the ball fell incomplete. After practice, I suggested that he got there a little before the ball, rendering his hit illegal. Needless to say, he disagreed.

• Well-received: A new face joined the starting quartet of WRs - Terrance Wilkerson, who ran with the first team Saturday, along with Aldrick Robinson, Josh Bryant and Emmanuel Sanders.

• No clear leader: Head coach June Jones stuck by his statement that he'll narrow the QB race from five to two Monday. They rotated QBs wth the first-team offense Saturday, but Logan Turner appeared to get more of the snaps, for whatever that's worth.

• Game simulation: As the opener at Rice gets closer, the coaches are adding and more and more elements to make practice feel like a real game. When special teams guru Frank Gansz ran his coverage drills, Dennis McKnight first turned guys loose to chase the returner ... and then added extra wrinkles: he had them go five yards and drop to the ground and then get up to continue the chase, and even had them do somersaults (to simulate getting knocked over) before taking off downfield. DeMyron Martin and Ben Goldthorpe looked pretty smooth getting in and out of their somersaults, but Kelly Turner and Vincent Chase ... hmmmm.

• Control yourself: When the drills switched from four-man coverages to two-man units, Gansz implored the would-be tacklers to play "fast, but under control." Sure enough, LB John Nwisienyi and DE Taylor Thompson shot downfield ... only to watch Josh Bryant split the two and take off the other way.

• Got it, Coach: Several coverage units did a great job, including the group of Youri Yenga, Victor Jones, Tyler Jones and Chris Castro smothering Bryant in the end zone. When Gansz challenged Dennis McKnight to put "your two best guys" on the line, DeMyron Martin and Youri Yenga stepped up to the line and raced downfield, where Yenga grabbed Bryce Lunday before he got out of first gear.

• Better, but not perfect: The coverage units were much-improved over many of the earlier days of preseason camp, but not everyone got smothered. DeMyron Martin and Alex Odiari raced down and appeared to have B.J. Lee cornered, until Lee shook loose, curled around to the left sideline and sailed past Odiari. Quincey Whittington also got outside Victor Jones, but to be fair, Jones lost his footing on the play and slipped - it's hard enough to catch Whittington without falling. The move of the day might have come from E.J. Drewery, who took a stab as a return man - after taking a couple of steps forward, he started left, went back to his right and then put on a spin move back to the left, leaving everyone behind.

• Man of many talents: With Kelvin Beachum, Jr., sitting out another day, senior Tommy Poynter played left tackle with the first-team offensive line, joining LG Sean Lobo, C Mitch Enright, RG Bryce Tennison and RT Vincent Chase, who said he is holding his weight well through preseason camp, right around 280. Beachum said his tender ankle "will be fine," and he fully expects to be ready to play against Rice.

• Hold your breath: One of the more unnerving sights of the day came when QB Justin Willis threw a short pass to WR Emmanuel Sanders, who was hit in the side of the head by CB Deyon McElroy - pretty hard hit, but Sanders bounced right up.

• Better balance? The common perception is that the offense will revolve solely around the QB and the WRs, but the RBs got a lot more work in recent days. DeMyron Martin and Andrew McKinney have been powering through defensive fronts that are depleted up front because of the need to play so many defensive backs, and Chris Butler showed off his wheels on a number of plays in which he cut back against the grain and burst through the defensive front for long gains.

• Taking the ball and going home: Practice ended on a high note - literally - for the defense. LB Ryan Moczygemba drifted back into some kind of a zone coverage and then shot straight up in the air, making a great interception of a Justin Willis pass.

PonyPride,

It sounds like the practices are pretty aggresive. Is that the case or just in certain instances?

[ThadFilms]

I'm sticking to my gut with the Willis feeling. I don't now why, but I still think Willis wins out.

But maybe I'm sticking to my gut because it's made out of glue.... who knows?

[One Trick Pony]

I'm sticking to my gut with the Willis feeling. I don't now why, but I still think Willis wins out.

But maybe I'm sticking to my gut because it's made out of glue.... who knows?

He sealed his fate running up the middle with the ball...

[RGV Pony]

I'm sticking to my gut with the Willis feeling. I don't now why, but I still think Willis wins out.

But maybe I'm sticking to my gut because it's made out of glue.... who knows?

He sealed his fate running up the middle with the ball...

Tell us more! Tell us more!

[indianmustang]

thanks for the reports

[03Mustang]

I'm sticking to my gut with the Willis feeling. I don't now why, but I still think Willis wins out.

But maybe I'm sticking to my gut because it's made out of glue.... who knows?

He sealed his fate running up the middle with the ball...

Is this why you're saying Turner and Mitchell will be the guys on the other thread? Was there some reaction at the practice from the coaches about Willis' happy feet?

[One Trick Pony]

Is this why you're saying Turner and Mitchell will be the guys on the other thread? Was there some reaction at the practice from the coaches about Willis' happy feet?[/quote]


Just a personal observation. But what do I know, I’m just some side walk alum having fun and watching.

[PK]

Perhaps Turner and Mitchell are in a race for the back up position. I don't think you should be too quick to try to interpret the the action on the practice field. Let's wait and see what Monday brings.

[One Trick Pony]

Perhaps Turner and Mitchell are in a race for the back up position. I don't think you should be too quick to try to interrupt the the action on the practice field. Let's wait and see what Monday brings.

You're stuttering

[PK]

Perhaps Turner and Mitchell are in a race for the back up position. I don't think you should be too quick to try to interrupt the the action on the practice field. Let's wait and see what Monday brings.

You're stuttering

Thanks, I knew something didn't look right.

[Casey]

Thanks, as always, for your reports, Pride