Let's talk about the UDFA: buffalo game.

[twfish]

Pre season games are really televised practices especially the first game, to looki at the team as a whole is difficult to do but narrowing it down and focusing on individual players is alot easier. There's usually atleast one udfa that makes the roster every year and I think there's a ton of talent in this group and some have very good chances to make the 53.

 

Josh Ferguson. He got the start which surprised me a tad I thought either todman or turbin was going to get it. He may not have had the best rushing game but he still impressed me. He is very quick in the hole and has some power which surprised me. The o-line really didn't help him in the run game and he didn't really make a name for himself with pass blocking. He had a couple nice  blocks but he needs some work in that area, it wasn't as bad as the announcers made him out to be though. I really like his speed, as long as the o-line will give him holes and keep him from getting hit in the backfield and get his speed built up he will really impress people. He did miss a few reads but I still beleive he will be making the 53

 

Tevaun Smith. The Colts must be high on him because he was getting snaps early. He did have a drop but to be fair the ball was pretty low and a touch behind. I really like this guy's speed and made good separation on most plays. He may be a little more refined the previously suspected. A better QB definitely could have taken advantage of that. I'm very high on this kid, his size and speed and hands it's going to be hard for the coaches to figure out which WR there going to go with

 

Chester Rogers. I'm gunna give this one to @krunk. He was under my radar until he mentioned him. He's got good hands speed, acceleration and agility, I love how he spinned and knew where the boundry line was and turned up field for that touch down. Excellent slot receiver especially for a udfa.

 

Mekale Mckay. He had a couple nice moments. I really wish he would have gotten more looks and some time in the red zone where I think he would shine. He did have a nice tackle on kick off which I was not expecting at all. This guy must of had a terrific off season because he doesn't look like the same player from Cincinnati. Could be the WR we wanted to Carter last year.

 

Stephen Morrison. Tolzien had better watch his back and pick up his game because I could easily see Morrison take the back up roll if nothing changes. I like his ability rolling out and his arm isn't terrible.

 

 

Defense

 

 

Darius white. Another one that was under my radar. Good special team play, definitely held good tight coverage about the whole game. Definitely not a run stopper though. is definitely a player I'll continue to watch.

 

Curt Maggit. I will continue to stay on the hype train for him. He was all over the ball, constant pressure on the QB. He's bigger than I thought he was and looked good in coverage. With this being his first game coming off injury he looked good and I'm excited. Favorite play of the game though is at 5 seconds left he pretty much trucked there center coming inside.

 

Edwin Jackson. Side line to side line player with a good nose for the ball. It will be fun to watch him in pre season games.

 

Tay Glover-Wright.  Definitely not a good game for him. He was burnt several times and got lucky on a couple plays for not getting called for PI.

 

There's definitely a couple players to be excited about and played beyond my expection. I was very tempted to to try and post something about all the udfa but I think I've watched the game 4 times and going back to watch certain players and there's still other players to watch and I don't have the time I wish I had. It's looking like the practice squad is definitely going to have some talent this year

 

 

 

[AKB]

I did not like what I saw from Edwin Jackson. He was getting killed in the air down the middle of the field. I don't know if those were his faults, or a simply due to a vanilla defense being run against a talented opposing tight end.

 

 

[crazycolt1]

3 hours ago, AustinnKaine said:

I did not like what I saw from Edwin Jackson. He was getting killed in the air down the middle of the field. I don't know if those were his faults, or a simply due to a vanilla defense being run against a talented opposing tight end.

 

 

You are in a minority with your comment about Jackson. Most all DB have a problem covering TEs because they are a match up nightmare. He did have 10 tackles and was all over the field showing his speed and talent.

[backshoulderfade]

Maggit, Thompson and Bates (not an UDFA, I know) seemed to get in the backfield a whole lot. I like that.

[krunk]

I honestly liked what I saw from Maggitt.  As I said before he's got some nice quicks and he'll be even better once he picks up some additional pass rush moves from the Veterans.  More physical at the point of attack than I thought. From what I could see he got good push in the backfield on a number of occasions.  Just needs to put the rest of his game together and I think we've got a good one there.  Bates also gets in the backfield in a hurry and he plays under control.  He needs to pick up some pass rush moves but the ability is definitely there.  I think he'd also have no problem playing inside linebacker if we asked that of him.  He's just a good football player.   Liked what I saw from Ron Thompson and also liked what I saw from Earl Okine.  If Okine keeps working on his craft and picking up stuff like that spin move from the Vets I see some real good things happening for that kid. 

[krunk]

I really like Chester Rogers.  Think he's got a good shot at making this ball club.

I'd like to see us get the ball to Mckale Mckay more, and I think Tevaun Smith will

be a good ball player as well.   These are the Wrs that I feel have the best shot of

making the team in some capacity whether that be PS or the 53

[krunk]

Also have to say I like the little catch and run Swoope had last night.  Not exactly a brand new UDFA, but he basically is a UDFA.

[Archer]

It seems like when it comes to the 4th WR spot and below, we have four guys vying for three spots.  Bray, Smith, Rogers, and Boyce are the contenders.  I would have said Boyce was the odd man out because I'd heard of no good plays he made in camp (just that he was running with the 2s).  But him clawing for a 1st down on a 3rd down pass was a thing of beauty (a truly veteran awareness to get the 1st), and we know our coaching staff (over?)appreciates a veteran WR.  So Rogers, despite the great broken tackle against probably a scrub DB, might be the odd man out at this point.  I expect this battle to be truly decided at the last pre-season game...

[krunk]

11 minutes ago, Archer said:

It seems like when it comes to the 4th WR spot and below, we have four guys vying for three spots.  Bray, Smith, Rogers, and Boyce are the contenders.  I would have said Boyce was the odd man out because I'd heard of no good plays he made in camp (just that he was running with the 2s).  But him clawing for a 1st down on a 3rd down pass was a thing of beauty (a truly veteran awareness to get the 1st), and we know our coaching staff (over?)appreciates a veteran WR.  So Rogers, despite the great broken tackle against probably a scrub DB, might be the odd man out at this point.  I expect this battle to be truly decided at the last pre-season game...

I don't think what you're saying is unreasonable, but in Rogers defense he made that play against Sterling Moore.  Moore has been in the league since 2011 so he's not a wet behind the ears UDFA type of guy.  Certainly not a beast by any means, but he's got some experience.

[twfish]

5 hours ago, krunk said:

I honestly liked what I saw from Maggitt.  As I said before he's got some nice quicks and he'll be even better once he picks up some additional pass rush moves from the Veterans.  More physical at the point of attack than I thought. From what I could see he got good push in the backfield on a number of occasions.  Just needs to put the rest of his game together and I think we've got a good one there.  Bates also gets in the backfield in a hurry and he plays under control.  He needs to pick up some pass rush moves but the ability is definitely there.  I think he'd also have no problem playing inside linebacker if we asked that of him.  He's just a good football player.   Liked what I saw from Ron Thompson and also liked what I saw from Earl Okine.  If Okine keeps working on his craft and picking up stuff like that spin move from the Vets I see some real good things happening for that kid. 

Maggit played very violent and physical, more so than bates. He was really going after the qb and the kind of play he was playing will wear out a tackle or guard and make it easy for them to make a mistake

[Smonroe]

5 hours ago, krunk said:

I really like Chester Rogers.  Think he's got a good shot at making this ball club.

I'd like to see us get the ball to Mckale Mckay more, and I think Tevaun Smith will

be a good ball player as well.   These are the Wrs that I feel have the best shot of

making the team in some capacity whether that be PS or the 53

 

I'm pulling for Chester, he's a local (Huntsville, AL) kid.  I wouldn't be surprised if he beats out Quan Bray.  He's already a better receiver and I think the KR position is going to be undervalued with the new rule.  I'm pretty sure they won't want anyone to take the ball out of the endzone unless they see clear paths.

 

 

[Superman]

12 hours ago, twfish said:

Stephen Morrison. Tolzien had better watch his back and pick up his game because I could easily see Morrison take the back up roll if nothing changes. I like his ability rolling out and his arm isn't terrible.

 

I've seen a lot of people say good things about him. He made some plays, sure, and his arm is decent. He's very sloppy from a fundamental standpoint, his feet are all over the place, inconsistent dropback, inconsistent release, etc. I'd like to see him slow down just a little bit and connect his eyes, feet and arm, and I think he'll get better ball placement.

 

Tolzien wasn't bad, IMO. He just needs to stop patting the ball before he throws it (and that's not gonna happen; QBs don't change this trait). He could have led Dorsett on the crossing route, and it would have been a nice completion because Dorsett had the defender stacked, but Tolzien put the ball in a place where the defender had a shot at it. Other than that, he suffered from some drops. I thought he was decisive, for the most part.

[twfish]

58 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I've seen a lot of people say good things about him. He made some plays, sure, and his arm is decent. He's very sloppy from a fundamental standpoint, his feet are all over the place, inconsistent dropback, inconsistent release, etc. I'd like to see him slow down just a little bit and connect his eyes, feet and arm, and I think he'll get better ball placement.

 

Tolzien wasn't bad, IMO. He just needs to stop patting the ball before he throws it (and that's not gonna happen; QBs don't change this trait). He could have led Dorsett on the crossing route, and it would have been a nice completion because Dorsett had the defender stacked, but Tolzien put the ball in a place where the defender had a shot at it. Other than that, he suffered from some drops. I thought he was decisive, for the most part.

I disagree on Tolzien. It was more than just that pass to dorsett. The pass he had to Smith going outside was very poorly placed and some of the shots he took down field that were inaccurate he had guys that were open. It could be just the fact that he had the jitters and I'm hopeful that's the case the next 3 games but after game 1 I think Morrison showed more upside. But hey there both back ups at the end of the day and if we have to rely on either of them in the regular season things will probably be ugly.

[Superman]

4 minutes ago, twfish said:

I disagree on Tolzien. It was more than just that pass to dorsett. The pass he had to Smith going outside was very poorly placed and some of the shots he took down field that were inaccurate he had guys that were open. It could be just the fact that he had the jitters and I'm hopeful that's the case the next 3 games but after game 1 I think Morrison showed more upside. But hey there both back ups at the end of the day and if we have to rely on either of them in the regular season things will probably be ugly.

 

You may have watched him more closely than I did. I just noticed him taking a good deal of pressure, I noticed a lot of drops, and I felt like he was able to finally right the ship and make some plays. Not a mind blowing performance, but I didn't think he was bad at all.

[SaturdayAllDay]

17 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

You are in a minority with your comment about Jackson. Most all DB have a problem covering TEs because they are a match up nightmare. He did have 10 tackles and was all over the field showing his speed and talent.

Agreed with pretty much everything here. He had a ton of problems with TE coverage (not uncommon, especially for a young player). I liked that he was quick and seemed to be in on a lot of plays, but a chunk of the tackles that he racked up were due to letting his guy get open, so i don't necessarily see his 10 tackles as a positive. The saving grace behind that is that he could actually get the guy down after the catch,  which is something that we need on this team. Lots of plays last year where even our starters were sloppy in open field tackling. 

He didn't have a great game in coverage but I saw a lot of things to like from him. If he needs a little bit of coaching up in the positioning/ coverage aspect, that can be done.

 

I'm Excited to see what he can bring to the team down the road. 

[AZColt11]

I think we're going to end up cutting some really good players for once, and for that, I'm excited about our depth potential.  But let's be honest, there is one position I hope we never see the backup unless it's blowout mop-up duty and that's QB.  We need 12.