Going to Camp...

[richig07]

We love us some Fullers! Kyle and his brothers have been great representatives of VT.

Keep an eye out for the baby brother Kendall who was a true freshman for VT last year. He will most definitely be the best of all 4 if he stays healthy.....and being the best in that family is saying a lot considering 3 of your brothers have signed NFL contracts with one of them being a 1st rounder.

Yeah, I've seen him play, and I definitely wouldn't at all mind if he also wound up in Chicago. I figure by the time his draft class is up, Tim Jennings contract will be up and Tillman will be enjoying retirement. The Bears should be once again in the market for a CB. Two Fuller brothers as a CB duo sounds like a lot of fun to me.

 

[Camfantasy]

Yeah, I've seen him play, and I definitely wouldn't at all mind if he also wound up in Chicago. I figure by the time his draft class is up, Tim Jennings contract will be up and Tillman will be enjoying retirement. The Bears should be once again in the market for a CB. Two Fuller brothers as a CB duo sounds like a lot of fun to me.

Sounds good to me.

Hopefully by that time Chicago will be so happy with Kyle that they will jump at the chance at having another Fuller in their secondary. Us hokies have been throwing around the idea of passing around a collection plate to donate to Mr. and Mrs. Fuller to have a 5th son. It's going to be a sad day when Kendall graduates and we run out of Fullers!

 

[JoeyTourettes]

Camp Trip #1 (sorry for the double post...this is also on rich's Training camp post)

Thursday: Got a late start so arrived about 20 minutes into practice. If anyone has been to camp before they know that the crowds can be difficult to navigate through to get a good sight line for serious reporting. I found a spot in the endzone- I was behind the offense so I focused on that side of the ball today. (the rest of the team was behind the defense so it was almost impossible to see through them.)

First impressions:
Ka'Deem Carey- looked quick and small compared to the Oline when darting through the line. He caught the ball well. One really nice one handed catch thrown behind him, by Clausen, on a swing route. He showed that he could transition really well- catch... get north and south very quick. Later in practice- they had run fits, and he looked quick there too. +

Jordan Lynch- Sorry to report, but he did nothing. Literally he stood on watched most of the day. I didn't notice him with a ball all day until after practice when he worked w/ Fales. Nothing to see. -

Marquess Wilson- looked stronger and made some nice catches. One really well thrown corner route that came right into my lap. Nice move on a no-name DB who almost fell down.

Dale Moss- Who?... 6'3" WR looked pretty good. Got a few ooohh's and ahhh's. Made some nice adjustments from poor throws from Palmer/Fales. Jumped really high. Just a camp body- but on this day he looked good.

Eric Weems- Some time with Cutler/Forte/Wilson... Caught one pass in "team" and one in 2min. Looked quick.

Lance Briggs- looks trimmed up from when we last saw him- the doughnut shaped lump he was in his last game. Seemed to be much the leader on defensive side.

Two Minute Drill: Going away from me- so couldn't see that well, but Jay looked in command and the ball came out really quick- scored both times he had a shot at it- Only one dropped ball- (Marshall) that was on the numbers. TD's to Wilson (about 25 yards out- seem route) and one to Bennett (15 yard option route) Jay was very accurate all day.
I don't know why or what was with the QB rotation, but Clausen got a shot in the 2Min and only had 4-5 plays- no score. two missed passes- he looked confused and held the ball too long- at least one would have been a sack no question. Didn't see Palmer much at all.

Defense: From what I could see:
Jared Allen/Larrmar Houston= STUDS. Allen was VERY fast and disruptive throughout the whole day. You could hear him talking a lot too. With it being practice and early- you don't know how many of his rushes would have been sacks, but I'm betting at least 3 in Team.

Houston- was just as disruptive... filled the hole really fast on in Run Fit. Playing inside a lot today. They both have seemed to have created a celebration jump/high five thing- that was cool to see.

After Practice Notes:
Palmer/Fales: stayed to throw balls to a few guys (Lynch)- Clausen stayed for about 4 passes- the others were still at it there when I moved.

Forte- had a camera crew and a helmet cam on and did some bag drills away from the crowd. Added some impressive push-ups too.

Special Note: Punters- Patrick O'Donnell- Was on the other field w/specialist... there was a slight cross wind and he was still booming it. He's our punter. Bar none. I don't know what they were working on, but Tress Way just didn't have it today. (unless they were working on placement... you never know) O'Donnell also got lots of praise when he walked to LR. Fans seemed to love him.
*Sorry didn't see any long snapping.

I plan to go back next week and focus on the Defense. Today the view was just better to see the offense.

Questions? Comments?

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

yes none of my questions are answered. Are they jamming Wilson or not? How is he handling it? Kyle Fuller, how exactly are they using him? Is he able to force the receivers outside yet consistently? What are they doing with the linebackers? Is all this karate training they are giving the defenders evident in their hand-to-hand work? Is Shea playing strongside, and if so, what is he doing on plays driven right at him?

That's nice that you saw receivers jumping and punters making long punts, but I'd be a lot more interested in the up-close tactics and specific battles. I'd rather hear more details about specific players and play issues and less overall generalized color commentary.

Pretty jealous that you are at camp though!

 

[NCChiFan]

Thanks for that report Joey...

 

[noonthirtyjoe]

Thanks Joey you da man. Keep up the good work. Cali you can go to Chicago bears.com and see all the camp video. Wilson is gonna be a badass ala AJ. He has that ability and playing style of adjusting to the ball. The more I see of this team the more I am getting excited. Did anyone catch that NFL network report on the Bears yesterday? BMs leadership is coming through in spades. He is not only great but he is teaching how to be great to AJ and Wilson both. I see this Bears team starting to get that swagger that great teams have.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

where is all the video? I see highlight films but nothing beyond that. It's hard to really tell much of anything from highlight reels.

Being able to watch the one-on-one battles and installation of tactics is the thing about the preseason that interests me. Otherwise I have a hard time getting excited over preseason, since usually whatever I think I am seeing turns out not be the case in the regular season. That's why I almost never watch preseason games. I tend to draw way too many false conclusions.

 

[NCChiFan]

Couple interesting tweets today about Christian Jones to note:




Rich Campbell ‏@Rich_Campbell 16s
80 minutes into practice and still waiting for the second-string OL to block LB Christian Jones. Jones' fluidity & hand quickness stand out


Zach Zaidman ‏@ZachZaidman 41s
When Christian Jones practices, you tend to notice him. That's a good thing for the rookie.


Kind of opposite of Shea... Who's getting noticed for a lot of the wrong reasons. But it is still early.

 

[nebearsfan70]

Couple interesting tweets today about Christian Jones to note:




Rich Campbell ‏@Rich_Campbell 16s
80 minutes into practice and still waiting for the second-string OL to block LB Christian Jones. Jones' fluidity & hand quickness stand out


Zach Zaidman ‏@ZachZaidman 41s
When Christian Jones practices, you tend to notice him. That's a good thing for the rookie.


Kind of opposite of Shea... Who's getting noticed for a lot of the wrong reasons. But it is still early.

Jones can definitely make the team, and possibly see some playing time this season (probably on ST).


Thanks NC

 

[JoeyTourettes]

yes none of my questions are answered. Are they jamming Wilson or not? How is he handling it? Kyle Fuller, how exactly are they using him? Is he able to force the receivers outside yet consistently? What are they doing with the linebackers? Is all this karate training they are giving the defenders evident in their hand-to-hand work? Is Shea playing strongside, and if so, what is he doing on plays driven right at him?

That's nice that you saw receivers jumping and punters making long punts, but I'd be a lot more interested in the up-close tactics and specific battles. I'd rather hear more details about specific players and play issues and less overall generalized color commentary.

Pretty jealous that you are at camp though!

1. I couldn't see the defense-Even at my impressive 6' 2" height, at ground level I couldn't see the defensive side of the ball. I tried using my superhero vision, but didn't want to blow my secret identity.

2. I asked one of the kids working the camp...he was driving a golf cart so I think he's pretty important... I asked him if I could get a copy of the practice film. He's sending it to me as soon as he can.

3. I also spoke to Mel Tucker- nice guy to just talk to this random fan in the middle of practice.... I asked him what defensive plays were called and what he was looking for. He took the time to tell me everything they were working on. And he also directed me to have lunch with Trestman and asked for my email address so he could send me a copy of the playbook.

Cali- I appreciate your questions and would love to answer them, I just can't. I would love to be on the field and in the meetings and know what they are working on and who does what...with about 3,000+ people crowding the field, roped off areas, "special seating" bleachers, and simply the entire rest of the team lined up across the field blocking views, it's just difficult to see that stuff.

It's practice. As cool as it is to watch our professional hero's...we don't know what the play call was, what the player is supposed to do- so what some might think is an amazing play- the coaches might show they completely missed an assignment...
Also- being practice- they don't tackle, they don't hit... So it's really difficult to scout defense. What I can see is speed. I can assume that some plays would be sacks/TFL. I will try next week and look for those specific things you asked for. Cheers.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

ok, cool enough. Have fun out there!