Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Training Camp Review – Part 1: QBs and WRs
10:53 AM | Posted by
Phins 2 Phins
With training camp just past the halfway point and the first preseason game just five days away I figured this would be a great time to review some of the things that we’ve seen in camp along with the newly released depth chart.
QBs
As expected, Chad Henne will be the starter and at no point has there been any competition for the starting position. Overall, Henne has been doing really well in camp; according to Sparano, he has completed 75-76% of passes and has thrown only 2 interceptions. That being said he’s had a couple of bad practices, and while we all know he’s capable of bouncing back from bad drives and is able to put interceptions behind him as he proved last season, I would feel more comfortable if we didn’t see any more of those bad practices.
After seeing him a couple of times during training camp and watching the way he carries himself on the field I feel as though Henne has matured a lot this offseason and now feels more comfortable with his role as the leader of this offense. That maturity, paired with his big arm and resilience is what will help him lead this team to victories.
The one thing Henne continues to struggle with though is touch. In short pass situations he continues to be erratic at times. This is where I think having Pennington on the team will benefit him since the other Chad is very accurate and fine tuned, especially in those situations.
Pennington himself started out camp as the third backup QB, and although the current depth chart shows him to be fourth, all indications are he’ll make the team. During camp Pennington has proven to be an invaluable tool, not only because of his accuracy, but also because of his natural leading abilities; QBs and receivers alike are constantly seen having conversations and seeking advice at Pennington’s side.
There are, however, still many questions surrounding Pennington’s arm and how much strength he had left in it. Sparano has been holding him to a limited number of reps and although he started camp strong and continues to make long passes every once in awhile, his balls seem to be fluttering a lot lately so that’s something to watch for. Unfortunately, those observations will continue to be made during camp because Sparano has already stated that he knows what Chad needs. This coupled with the notion that Henne will be protected during the preseason, indicates Thigpen and White will be the guys we can expect to see more of during the preseason.
Thigpen came into camp looking to establish himself as the backup QB, and although the depth chart does put him there, he knows he needs to step up his game because Pennington is right at his heels. So far in camp, Thigpen’s been doing pretty well; he’s completed some nice long passes and has been able to carry a couple of drives. From what I’ve been told it seems as though he had one of his best practices yesterday, so hopefully he’ll be able to hit his stride. The best test of his abilities will be during the preseason though, so I’ll keep an eye on him on Saturday.
Pat White made his first training camp appearance on day two and that same day Sparano made it very clear that he was being considered strictly as a QB. The one thing White has been consistent about in this training camp is being inconsistent. He’s had good passes here and there, even a great one to Roberto Wallace during the 7-on-7 drills this past Saturday, but if he continues to perform as he has been he won’t make the team. Having White third on the depth chart is surprising to me considering the way all the QBs have been used during practice. I’m still not sure that he can do much, if anything to help this team out, but who knows? Maybe Sparano has something up his sleeve, either way, I’ll be watching to see how he’s used during the game on Saturday.
WRs
Brandon Marshall has undoubtedly been the star at camp; he’s burned every corner and has caught almost every ball thrown in his direction. Most importantly, Marshall has proved to be a great team leader and has been seen talking to the corners as well as other receivers out on the field in between plays. What has impressed me the most about Marshall though is how serious he is about his commitment to the team. After having a bad day on Saturday during the team’s first scrimmage session, Marshall was his own worst critic; he even expressed regret on having let his teammates down; a great thing to see from a guy who many thought might be a problem in the locker room.
The player who has benefited the most from the addition of Marshall is Brian Hartline. Hartline understands how the attention commanded by Marshall on the field will benefit the other receivers, but most importantly, he seems to be able to use it to his full advantage. At this point although according to Sparano there is room for competition, Hartline has pretty much cemented his spot opposite Marshall. He had a close scare on day 3 of training camp and was limited in practice after going down but seems to be doing fine so there’s not much to worry about there for now. Hartline showed flashes of greatness last season and has continued to do so in training camp so he’s one of the players I’m the most excited about following this season.
The first thing I have to say about Bess is that he is dedicated. He is always the first out on the practice field at Davie, and I don’t mean he happens to be the first one to walk out every time. He is out there 45-60 minutes before the start of practice every practice and he is working on catches despite the near 100 degree weather and that is commendable. At this point Bess has secured a spot in the roster and is still in competition for the number 2 spot. Bess is currently being used as the number one slot receiver, a position that we all can agree he is perfect for and will be great in, but as Sparano said, it’s unfair to catalog him simply as a slot receiver because he can do more than that, sure we should take advantage of him at the slot, but we shouldn’t rule him out for other plays; there’s a reason he was our leading receiver last season.
Greg Camarillo has been paired with Bess for most of the practices and is also said to be in contention for the number two spot. After replacing Marshall as the starting receiver Thursday when Marshall was rested, Camarillo suffered a groin injury on Friday which kept him out of practice all weekend; he was back on Monday and seems to be moving around fine. Although not the most explosive receiver on the team, Camarillo is certainly the most reliable. Last season, he didn’t drop one pass during games and that’s certainly a good quality to take advantage of when you’re out on the field, so hopefully he is fully recuperated. I will however continue to monitor him and keep you posted on any news.
Patrick Turner who seemed to be a little stiff at first after coming back from an injury seesm to be doing really well, he’s turned in a number of solid practices thus far and Sparano has taken notice. He seems a little more confident out there and if he can deliver consistently he could grab that fifth WR spot even though he’s behind a couple of rookies in the depth chart at the moment. Turner is 6’5”, the tallest WR in the roster and could benefit enormously by watching Brandon Marshall and the way he moves on the field.
Roberto Wallace is a name that’s been coming up a lot in the later days of practice, he’s been doing good things and Sparano is beginning to take notice. Although he doesn’t have as much experience playing football in general as do other rookies coming into the league, this 6’4” undrafted rookie has shown some potential, and while I believe it’ll take time to develop it, he has shown he has a lot of fight, always going for the catch, even though he sometimes has a little problem hanging on. I have a feeling this is a guy they will take the time to groom and who could turn out to be a diamond in the rough.
Marlon Moore, Julius Pruit and Taurus Johnson have all made a number of good catches but seem like a long shot to make the team at the moment, as does Ryan Grice-Mullen who had to sit out a number of practices after suffering a leg injury.
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I want to give special thanks to the Dolfan Bandits and Marky Marc from WQAM for the updates they have been providing on the page and which have been invaluable in adding to my camp information on the days I haven't been out there.
Also, I recently started a facebook page for the blog so if you enjoy reading I hope you'll join:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Phins-2-Phins/144135708947740?ref=ts
QBs
As expected, Chad Henne will be the starter and at no point has there been any competition for the starting position. Overall, Henne has been doing really well in camp; according to Sparano, he has completed 75-76% of passes and has thrown only 2 interceptions. That being said he’s had a couple of bad practices, and while we all know he’s capable of bouncing back from bad drives and is able to put interceptions behind him as he proved last season, I would feel more comfortable if we didn’t see any more of those bad practices.
After seeing him a couple of times during training camp and watching the way he carries himself on the field I feel as though Henne has matured a lot this offseason and now feels more comfortable with his role as the leader of this offense. That maturity, paired with his big arm and resilience is what will help him lead this team to victories.
The one thing Henne continues to struggle with though is touch. In short pass situations he continues to be erratic at times. This is where I think having Pennington on the team will benefit him since the other Chad is very accurate and fine tuned, especially in those situations.
Pennington himself started out camp as the third backup QB, and although the current depth chart shows him to be fourth, all indications are he’ll make the team. During camp Pennington has proven to be an invaluable tool, not only because of his accuracy, but also because of his natural leading abilities; QBs and receivers alike are constantly seen having conversations and seeking advice at Pennington’s side.
There are, however, still many questions surrounding Pennington’s arm and how much strength he had left in it. Sparano has been holding him to a limited number of reps and although he started camp strong and continues to make long passes every once in awhile, his balls seem to be fluttering a lot lately so that’s something to watch for. Unfortunately, those observations will continue to be made during camp because Sparano has already stated that he knows what Chad needs. This coupled with the notion that Henne will be protected during the preseason, indicates Thigpen and White will be the guys we can expect to see more of during the preseason.
Thigpen came into camp looking to establish himself as the backup QB, and although the depth chart does put him there, he knows he needs to step up his game because Pennington is right at his heels. So far in camp, Thigpen’s been doing pretty well; he’s completed some nice long passes and has been able to carry a couple of drives. From what I’ve been told it seems as though he had one of his best practices yesterday, so hopefully he’ll be able to hit his stride. The best test of his abilities will be during the preseason though, so I’ll keep an eye on him on Saturday.
Pat White made his first training camp appearance on day two and that same day Sparano made it very clear that he was being considered strictly as a QB. The one thing White has been consistent about in this training camp is being inconsistent. He’s had good passes here and there, even a great one to Roberto Wallace during the 7-on-7 drills this past Saturday, but if he continues to perform as he has been he won’t make the team. Having White third on the depth chart is surprising to me considering the way all the QBs have been used during practice. I’m still not sure that he can do much, if anything to help this team out, but who knows? Maybe Sparano has something up his sleeve, either way, I’ll be watching to see how he’s used during the game on Saturday.
WRs
Brandon Marshall has undoubtedly been the star at camp; he’s burned every corner and has caught almost every ball thrown in his direction. Most importantly, Marshall has proved to be a great team leader and has been seen talking to the corners as well as other receivers out on the field in between plays. What has impressed me the most about Marshall though is how serious he is about his commitment to the team. After having a bad day on Saturday during the team’s first scrimmage session, Marshall was his own worst critic; he even expressed regret on having let his teammates down; a great thing to see from a guy who many thought might be a problem in the locker room.
The player who has benefited the most from the addition of Marshall is Brian Hartline. Hartline understands how the attention commanded by Marshall on the field will benefit the other receivers, but most importantly, he seems to be able to use it to his full advantage. At this point although according to Sparano there is room for competition, Hartline has pretty much cemented his spot opposite Marshall. He had a close scare on day 3 of training camp and was limited in practice after going down but seems to be doing fine so there’s not much to worry about there for now. Hartline showed flashes of greatness last season and has continued to do so in training camp so he’s one of the players I’m the most excited about following this season.
The first thing I have to say about Bess is that he is dedicated. He is always the first out on the practice field at Davie, and I don’t mean he happens to be the first one to walk out every time. He is out there 45-60 minutes before the start of practice every practice and he is working on catches despite the near 100 degree weather and that is commendable. At this point Bess has secured a spot in the roster and is still in competition for the number 2 spot. Bess is currently being used as the number one slot receiver, a position that we all can agree he is perfect for and will be great in, but as Sparano said, it’s unfair to catalog him simply as a slot receiver because he can do more than that, sure we should take advantage of him at the slot, but we shouldn’t rule him out for other plays; there’s a reason he was our leading receiver last season.
Greg Camarillo has been paired with Bess for most of the practices and is also said to be in contention for the number two spot. After replacing Marshall as the starting receiver Thursday when Marshall was rested, Camarillo suffered a groin injury on Friday which kept him out of practice all weekend; he was back on Monday and seems to be moving around fine. Although not the most explosive receiver on the team, Camarillo is certainly the most reliable. Last season, he didn’t drop one pass during games and that’s certainly a good quality to take advantage of when you’re out on the field, so hopefully he is fully recuperated. I will however continue to monitor him and keep you posted on any news.
Patrick Turner who seemed to be a little stiff at first after coming back from an injury seesm to be doing really well, he’s turned in a number of solid practices thus far and Sparano has taken notice. He seems a little more confident out there and if he can deliver consistently he could grab that fifth WR spot even though he’s behind a couple of rookies in the depth chart at the moment. Turner is 6’5”, the tallest WR in the roster and could benefit enormously by watching Brandon Marshall and the way he moves on the field.
Roberto Wallace is a name that’s been coming up a lot in the later days of practice, he’s been doing good things and Sparano is beginning to take notice. Although he doesn’t have as much experience playing football in general as do other rookies coming into the league, this 6’4” undrafted rookie has shown some potential, and while I believe it’ll take time to develop it, he has shown he has a lot of fight, always going for the catch, even though he sometimes has a little problem hanging on. I have a feeling this is a guy they will take the time to groom and who could turn out to be a diamond in the rough.
Marlon Moore, Julius Pruit and Taurus Johnson have all made a number of good catches but seem like a long shot to make the team at the moment, as does Ryan Grice-Mullen who had to sit out a number of practices after suffering a leg injury.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to give special thanks to the Dolfan Bandits and Marky Marc from WQAM for the updates they have been providing on the page and which have been invaluable in adding to my camp information on the days I haven't been out there.
Also, I recently started a facebook page for the blog so if you enjoy reading I hope you'll join:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Phins-2-Phins/144135708947740?ref=ts
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