My lord. Sam’s release looks 1000% better. I’m getting chills. This was one of my main knocks on him. Very happy to see this progress.
I'd take a Matt Ryan like career every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Except for the blowing a 25 point lead in the Super Bowl part.
He's been working to quicken his release the past few seasons. There was an episode of ESPN sports science that we discussed in another thread and it showed how Sam from one year to the next improved his release time (to the point where he was clocked as faster than Derek Carr and Winston). Now it appears that it's gotten even quicker. That was a knock against him that looping delivery (though it never really effected accuracy). Things are looking even crisper and better now You have to love his work ethic. He's never satisfied and is always trying to perfect things.
Bones Jones! This guy has A LOT to like. Great length for the position, has ball skills from playing WR, enough speed and supposedly keen to learn the game. If he can shadow Tru Johnson and absorb as much as possible, I think he can play a similar game. Also, the way Parry Nickerson plays reminds me a lot of Ray Mickens/Terrell Buckley type. I think he would make an excellent matchup on slot receivers. Golden Tate in week one is actually a solid test for someone with his attributes. As I stated in another thread, our secondary has a lot going for it right now. Bowles and Dennard Wilson are both widely regarded as secondary gurus.
Now with Darnold aboard, fans can focus on camp practices and how each player is looking. That is the one fun thing with rebuilding teams: you get to watch young potential stars emerge. There are plenty of spots open for these guys to seize. I am excited to see how it goes and how each pre-season game goes.
nice to hear clive is looking good when everyone was sleeping on him. also derrick jones emerging could be huge for us
Hopefully, Anthony Garcia seizes this opportunity by the throat and shows that he belong on the team, and gets a leg up on Shell.
I don't know too much about this Garcia kid. Other than my research. N.E's drafted plenty of busts over the years but supposedly Belichick loved him as a prospect coming out. Looks to have great size @ 6'7/300lbs (Ferguson type size) but does come from a smaller football program in Troy. Was a 3rd round draft pick of NE's and still pretty young @ 24 years of age (drafted just last year). Blood clots in his lungs. Never played a single preseason down because of it. So pretty much a rookie. Could be very rusty while being behind the learning curve. Also lost 40lbs due to his medical condition, so not sure about his current weight. Did not allow a single sack in 2016 and graded out as the Nation's 6th best in pass protection. Said to have long arms to control defenders, great footwork, naturally athletic in pass protection and thought to have had one of the highest ceilings of any offensive lineman drafted. Run blocking is his concern and weakness. Graded poorly in run blocking. Played in an air raid system so zone blocking schemes could be a difficult language for him to learn or grasp . He's definitely a player I'm looking to follow throughout training camp and one I'll focus on more come preseason. Interesting kid nonetheless, although as a fan I'd feel a lot more confident and comfortable in a kid coming out who's known as a 1st round blue chip prospect to become Sam's future Franchise LT. My confidence meter here is 3.5.
^If you use the word 'kid' one more time, I'm gonna shoot myself in the fukking face. It's not even close to a tie with the word 'like', but I can barely hold a casual conversation without hearing the word 'like' 50 times. That word has officially become an American embarrassment. Even newscasters say it ad nauseum. Ugggggggggh.
It would be great to know that we not only have great starters, but good depth in the secondary. People crap on Mac for not addressing every single position in 1-2 years, but it seems like he likes systematically overhaul entire units at a time.
