Offensive mini-camp report

[B.C.FAN]

Very difficult to evaluate today without the benefit of defenders present, but happy to report Travis looked fantastic - hitting his receivers in stride, lots of 'zip' on the ball, confident, in charge etc. Lots of uptempo offense today, receivers running corner routes etc. Surprisingly, Timmy Brown was a catching machine out there at the Lions' facility, gobbling up every ball in sight (Harris and even Lumbala ran the same routes as receivers). Iannuzzi looked good as well.

Jennings will probably be in tough to get through the main camp (there's some speculation that they're only taking 4 QBs to Kamloops + O'Connor, but I've also heard that everyone is going). He just seems a little small/slight to me for the demanding QB position so will have to show some impressive intangibles, which obviously weren't on display in an offensive scrimmage environment today.

Morrah and Collie dropped a few balls but in the case of the latter (at the very least) it's probably just rust. You can see he's a precise route runner with excellent speed (on one drill in which he dropped a pass, he said "let's try that one again Jordan (Rodgers)." They did and he caught it). Kito Poblah also had his struggles today. Andrew Harris did not display any ill-effects from his surgery and looked crisp out there.

Lots of size up front from the hogs - Steward looks massive and even T-Dre Player looks to have bulked up in the off-season. Neither Morrah nor Leonard look to be over 250lbs to me (they're big guys don't get me wrong, but I have a hard time believing they're both over 250lbs as per the listing).


DH

Thanks for the great report, David. I wasn't able to get out there today.

I stood just on the opposite side of the fence from Morrah and Leonard on Monday and Tuesday. They looked big to me and I'm 6'4 and 250 pounds. They looked huge compared to the other receivers.

It's great to see that Lulay is throwing harder, farther and more frequently for three straight days with no apparent ill effects. Hopefully he will be 100% by training camp. Tedford made it clear in his post-camp interviews and Reddit AMA today that Lulay will be the starter.

[TheLionKing]

Emmanuel Arceneaux

http://www.bclions.com/video/index/id/109593

Lulay

http://www.bclions.com/video/index/id/109591

[Toppy Vann]

Very difficult to evaluate today without the benefit of defenders present, but happy to report Travis looked fantastic - hitting his receivers in stride, lots of 'zip' on the ball, confident, in charge etc. Lots of uptempo offense today, receivers running corner routes etc. Surprisingly, Timmy Brown was a catching machine out there at the Lions' facility, gobbling up every ball in sight (Harris and even Lumbala ran the same routes as receivers). Iannuzzi looked good as well.

Jennings will probably be in tough to get through the main camp (there's some speculation that they're only taking 4 QBs to Kamloops + O'Connor, but I've also heard that everyone is going). He just seems a little small/slight to me for the demanding QB position so will have to show some impressive intangibles, which obviously weren't on display in an offensive scrimmage environment today.

Morrah and Collie dropped a few balls but in the case of the latter (at the very least) it's probably just rust. You can see he's a precise route runner with excellent speed (on one drill in which he dropped a pass, he said "let's try that one again Jordan (Rodgers)." They did and he caught it). Kito Poblah also had his struggles today. Andrew Harris did not display any ill-effects from his surgery and looked crisp out there.

Lots of size up front from the hogs - Steward looks massive and even T-Dre Player looks to have bulked up in the off-season. Neither Morrah nor Leonard look to be over 250lbs to me (they're big guys don't get me wrong, but I have a hard time believing they're both over 250lbs as per the listing).


DH

Great report....Appreciated by all of us.

I'm not at all concerned with Lulay until the hitting happens and he has to decide what to do when Receivers aren't open. Other than the new HC I'm sure no one needs to be convinced that Lulay is a good QB.

What about the other QBs? Anyone impress? Look sharp?

[Hambone]

Jennings will probably be in tough to get through the main camp (there's some speculation that they're only taking 4 QBs to Kamloops + O'Connor, but I've also heard that everyone is going). He just seems a little small/slight to me for the demanding QB position so will have to show some impressive intangibles, which obviously weren't on display in an offensive scrimmage environment today.

5 always seems to be the magic number for bringing QBs to camp with the intent usually being to pare it down to 4 before the 1st exhibition game. I can maybe see them having McGhee, Jennings and O'Connor plus perhaps Rodgers show up for rookie camp but then see only 2 of them continue on to the main camp.

[David]

I'm not at all concerned with Lulay until the hitting happens and he has to decide what to do when Receivers aren't open. Other than the new HC I'm sure no one needs to be convinced that Lulay is a good QB.

What about the other QBs? Anyone impress? Look sharp?

I agree about Lulay - the real test will be when he's dropped to the turf for the first time. Still, it was his velocity (and accuracy) that had me pleasantly surprised. Somehow, reading into Wally's rather cryptic "don't expect Travis to be part of the Spring mini-camp" comments a few weeks ago, I half expected Travis to be lobbing 20 yard rainbows and to constantly be doing shoulder rotation exercises afterward. That clearly wasn't the case.

As for the other QBs, it would take a professionally trained eye like Tedford's to know how these guys progressed, made the correct reads, and graded out over the 3 day period to properly determine the pecking order. I am sure the coaches have looked at film from the 3-day OTA and have a good idea of the depth chart.

I say this as it's hard for the layman to evaluate with no defense present, as they're almost all throwing at the same time at various parts of the field and they all dropped balls into the right spot, and they all missed receivers (throwing short, wrong shoulder etc), but to me, Travis (not surprisingly) showed the most. Beck didn't get as many reps with the main offense as Partridge like one might expect (read into that what you will). Rodgers looks very athletic, like he can pull the ball down and get yards and Jennings probably faces the biggest odds if they're only carrying 5 QBs to the main camp (IMHO).

It's entirely possible that Rodgers, McGhee, and Jennings will go to the rookie camp in Kamloops but one (or possibly two) might not make the main camp with the vets. But here's one to chew on. If Tedford likes the look of all of his rookie arms (don't forget that McGhee and Jennings were his recruits), feels Partridge has made significant progress, and is confident that he can rely on Lulay to be "the guy," they may well decide to cut ties with an ex-NFL journeyman who's going to be 34 this year (although I'd feel more confident if he's on the roster). They've shown with Hardrick that they're not averse to "surprise moves."


DH

[B.C.FAN]

It's entirely possible that Rodgers, McGhee, and Jennings will go to the rookie camp in Kamloops but one (or possibly two) might not make the main camp with the vets. But here's one to chew on. If Tedford likes the look of all of his rookie arms (don't forget that McGhee and Jennings were his recruits), feels Partridge has made significant progress, and is confident that he can rely on Lulay to be "the guy," they may well decide to cut ties with an ex-NFL journeyman who's going to be 34 this year (although I'd feel more confident if he's on the roster). They've shown with Hardrick that they're not averse to "surprise moves."


DH

LU has also speculated that Beck may be the odd man out.

With Kevin Glenn in Saskatchewan this year it would figure that John Beck would move up the depth chart. But Travis Partridge appeared to get far more reps this week than Beck and wasn’t wasting them either, which could factor if the Lions feel Lulay is good to go and can live without Beck’s experience and NFL pedigree.

Lions, Lulay in business class at mini-camp

If Lulay can be the one healthy veteran the Lions need, they can afford to develop younger QBs as backups. I like Beck but Partridge struck me as an interesting prospect from the first time I saw him in camp last year. He had trouble making his reads and held onto the ball far too long, but he extended plays with his feet and often found someone open late downfield. That characteristic reminded me of Buck Pierce but Patridge is bigger and hopefully more durable.

[BC 1988]

I'm not at all concerned with Lulay until the hitting happens and he has to decide what to do when Receivers aren't open. Other than the new HC I'm sure no one needs to be convinced that Lulay is a good QB.

What about the other QBs? Anyone impress? Look sharp?

I agree about Lulay - the real test will be when he's dropped to the turf for the first time. Still, it was his velocity (and accuracy) that had me pleasantly surprised. Somehow, reading into Wally's rather cryptic "don't expect Travis to be part of the Spring mini-camp" comments a few weeks ago, I half expected Travis to be lobbing 20 yard rainbows and to constantly be doing shoulder rotation exercises afterward. That clearly wasn't the case.

As for the other QBs, it would take a professionally trained eye like Tedford's to know how these guys progressed, made the correct reads, and graded out over the 3 day period to properly determine the pecking order. I am sure the coaches have looked at film from the 3-day OTA and have a good idea of the depth chart.

I say this as it's hard for the layman to evaluate with no defense present, as they're almost all throwing at the same time at various parts of the field and they all dropped balls into the right spot, and they all missed receivers (throwing short, wrong shoulder etc), but to me, Travis (not surprisingly) showed the most. Beck didn't get as many reps with the main offense as Partridge like one might expect (read into that what you will). Rodgers looks very athletic, like he can pull the ball down and get yards and Jennings probably faces the biggest odds if they're only carrying 5 QBs to the main camp (IMHO).

It's entirely possible that Rodgers, McGhee, and Jennings will go to the rookie camp in Kamloops but one (or possibly two) might not make the main camp with the vets. But here's one to chew on. If Tedford likes the look of all of his rookie arms (don't forget that McGhee and Jennings were his recruits), feels Partridge has made significant progress, and is confident that he can rely on Lulay to be "the guy," they may well decide to cut ties with an ex-NFL journeyman who's going to be 34 this year (although I'd feel more confident if he's on the roster). They've shown with Hardrick that they're not averse to "surprise moves."


DH

Exactly how I feel. Tedford showed with the quick dispatch of Hardrick that he won't waste much time. I'm pretty sure Beck won't be here by the start of the regular season. It shows with the more thorough evaluation of Partridge. The other positive is that the 2 Travis's both have similar styles (or at least Lulay did before he became the Boy in the Bubble), so offensive strategies work for both.
I don't think he'll be sold on Lulay though until he sees him in actual game action. (At least he shouldn't be).

[Toppy Vann]

The comment by David that Rodgers looked like he could pull the ball down and run is a bit intriguing - as long as he can also complete passes and shows he can learn how to read CFL defences - or any defence - something that not all college QBs do well when they just their skills and ability to win at the lower level.

A third QB who can also run might be like what Hamilton did when Austin used all 3 QBs one of which was a guy who could run. That got them to a GC in Austin's first year back IIRC.

[Rodu]

I'm intrigued to see how we use Morrah and Leonard. I've been asking for a TE or HR or whatever you want to call it for a while. I wanna see those brutes in motion like a SB, hit the line at full speed at the snap and bowl some unsuspecting defender over. If it works, we may force defences to adapt

I just noticed that according to the depth chart, we're not running the 5 receiver set that has been the norm for teams in the last decade either

[TheLionKing]

Jordan Rodgers

http://bclions.com/video/index/id/109611

Jonathon Jennings

http://bclions.com/video/index/id/109611

[TheLionKing]

Cameron Morrah

http://www.bclions.com/video/index/id/109607

[Toppy Vann]

Rodgers is very well spoken and like Jennings both sound like great assets to a team in terms of their characters.

But the two passes from Rodgers in the clip weren't the best.

[David]

You get a brief glimpse into our 6 pivots in action in this clip on bclions.com HERE.




DH

[BC 1988]

Wally was on 1040 today in the 3-3:20 time frame. Interesting how he reacted to the "loaded question" about Travis Lulay's recovery. Well worth looking for the audio.