Offensive mini-camp report

[TheLionKing]

Lulay on Day 2

http://bclions.com/video/index/id/109529

[B.C.FAN]

Heads up for anyone planning to attend the final mini-camp session on Wednesday: It has been moved to the team's practice facility in Whalley, from 10:55 a.m. to 1:10 p.m.

[B.C.FAN]

Jeff Tedford was interviewed by Scott Rintoul on TSN 1040 in the 9 p.m. hour Tuesday. Tedford said Lulay is on a pitch count of sorts but his workload is gradually being increased with the goal of being 100% when camp opens at the end of May. Tedford sounded confident that Lulay will be the starting QB this year. Of the other five QBs vying for the No. 2, 3 and 4 spots on the roster, he said Beck, Partridge and Rodgers have a bit of an upper hand for now because of their pro experience and exposure to the CFL but he seemed to indicate it's a wide-open battle. Asked specifically about Jordan Rodgers, since he coached his brother Aaron at Cal, he said he can tell that Jordan has a good football mind and absorbs things quickly.

Asked about the NFL veteran receivers he brought in, such as Austin Collie, Lavelle Hawkins and Cameron Morrah, he said they're great athletes but they have a lot to learn about the Canadian game, including pre-snap motion. He said the new rules this year preventing DBs from jamming receivers downfield will be more like what the NFL receivers are accustomed to .

Listen here.

For what it's worth, the Lions have juggled the depth chart at three positions for Day 3 of mini-camp. Jermarcus Hardrick moves ahead of Kirby Fabien at LG, Courtney Taylor moves ahead of Bryan Burnham at SB and Kito Poblah moves ahead of Marco Iannuzzi at WR. The Hardrick move could leave them with one fewer spot for an international defensive back, a postion where speed and quickness will be more important than ever under the new passing rules.

[Toppy Vann]

It looked like a fast flowing, up tempo camp. One thing I don't like is the pass catching drill where they immediately drop the ball as in my view REC need to practice bringing it in to a safe carry position then drop it for another one. Every year someone fails to tuck the ball away from a tackler and the ball pops loose to cost a team. I like lots of pass catching in motion though but I'd want them to end the catch with something from a game situation. Coaches won't do it - but a lateral off that kind of pass is good in my view but today's coaches are too risk averse to practice that even.

Lulay sounds fine but in my view I don't think his mindset is avoid hits. When Peyton Manning takes a big hit it becomes a story:

http://blogs.denverpost.com/broncos/201 ... ame/20845/

"What caused Peyton Manning to take that brutal hit in the Seahawks game?"

“Peyton, he expects a lot out of us, and obviously, everyone in the stands knows when a running back misses a block,” the second-round pick said. “Protecting him is definitely the most important thing if you want to stay off the bench.”

[Hambone]

Asked about the NFL veteran receivers he brought in, such as Austin Collie, Lavelle Hawkins and Cameron Morrah, he said they're great athletes but they have a lot to learn about the Canadian game, including pre-snap motion. He said the new rules this year preventing DBs from jamming receivers downfield will be more like what the NFL receivers are accustomed to .

One interesting thing I noticed was on the depth chart WCJ posted earlier in this thread. Morrah and Leonard are listed as "HR" as opposed to WR, SB or TE. I'm not exactly sure what HR equates to. Anybody know? I'm guessing a CFL equivalent to the NFL's H-Back? Could it be a sign of something new to the Lions offence and perhaps something outside of what has become the standard CFL offence?

[Hambone]

One thing I don't like is the pass catching drill where they immediately drop the ball as in my view REC need to practice bringing it in to a safe carry position then drop it for another one. Every year someone fails to tuck the ball away from a tackler and the ball pops loose to cost a team. I like lots of pass catching in motion though but I'd want them to end the catch with something from a game situation.

I noticed that too Toppy. It seemed strange but from what I've seen watching training camp every drill has a purpose. Most receiving drills like you speak of see a receiver catch one ball, tuck it, then turn a corner to burst/jog 20 yards downfield before jogging back to get in position for another pass. This one seems to be a rapid fire drill with the next ball being thrown about the same time the receiver is catching and dropping the previous one, possibly from a different QB. This drill could be all about making the receiver locate the QB and ball. He'd have to focus on the first ball then quickly adjust his eyes to pick up the next one. It would be not unlike picking up the ball as you're coming out of a break except you're doing it 3 or 4 times in rapid succession.

[B.C.FAN]

One interesting thing I noticed was on the depth chart WCJ posted earlier in this thread. Morrah and Leonard are listed as "HR" as opposed to WR, SB or TE. I'm not exactly sure what HR equates to. Anybody know? I'm guessing a CFL equivalent to the NFL's H-Back? Could it be a sign of something new to the Lions offence and perhaps something outside of what has become the standard CFL offence?

I'm not sure what it means either but it seems to be like an NFL H-back. The two players listed at that position, Morrah and Leonard, are former NFL tight ends listed at 250-pounds plus. And they can move. They can be used as blockers or they can run deep post patterns. Defensive coordinators will have a tough time matching personnel. They're bigger than most CFL defensive ends and linebackers.

To Toppy's point about pass-catching, while Khari Jones is the receivers coach, both George Cortez and Jeff Tedford have been vocal about stressing pass-catching technique. Cortez often stresses the importance of hand position, catching over the outside shoulder and tucking the ball away immediately upon catchng it. Kito Poblah was one of his targets on the first day of camp for catchng the ball with outstretched hands along the sideline and not immediately tucking it away. In the hot passing drill where receivers catch balls from all six QBs while running at full speed across the field, Tedford stopped the drill Tuesday to tell receivers not to raise their hands immediately when turning around to look for the ball because the pass may be at their waist rather than at their chest. One fan who attends every practice throughout the season told me he's never seen receivers get so much instruction on technique.

[BC 1988]

To Toppy's point about pass-catching, while Khari Jones is the receivers coach, both George Cortez and Jeff Tedford have been vocal about stressing pass-catching technique. Cortez often stresses the importance of hand position, catching over the outside shoulder and tucking the ball away immediately upon catchng it. Kito Poblah was one of his targets on the first day of camp for catchng the ball with outstretched hands along the sideline and not immediately tucking it away. In the hot passing drill where receivers catch balls from all six QBs while running at full speed across the field, Tedford stopped the drill Tuesday to tell receivers not to raise their hands immediately when turning around to look for the ball because the pass may be at their waist rather than at their chest. One fan who attends every practice throughout the season told me he's never seen receivers get so much instruction on technique.

Great detail on the camp. I'm looking forward to the season from the point of view of the receiving corp. I doubt they'll have received this much attention from coaching before. (Bene doing the rah-rah on the sidelines was not constructive attention).

[WestCoastJoe]

One interesting thing I noticed was on the depth chart WCJ posted earlier in this thread. Morrah and Leonard are listed as "HR" as opposed to WR, SB or TE. I'm not exactly sure what HR equates to. Anybody know? I'm guessing a CFL equivalent to the NFL's H-Back? Could it be a sign of something new to the Lions offence and perhaps something outside of what has become the standard CFL offence?

I'm not sure what it means either but it seems to be like an NFL H-back. The two players listed at that position, Morrah and Leonard, are former NFL tight ends listed at 250-pounds plus. And they can move. They can be used as blockers or they can run deep post patterns. Defensive coordinators will have a tough time matching personnel. They're bigger than most CFL defensive ends and linebackers.

To Toppy's point about pass-catching, while Khari Jones is the receivers coach, both George Cortez and Jeff Tedford have been vocal about stressing pass-catching technique. Cortez often stresses the importance of hand position, catching over the outside shoulder and tucking the ball away immediately upon catchng it. Kito Poblah was one of his targets on the first day of camp for catchng the ball with outstretched hands along the sideline and not immediately tucking it away. In the hot passing drill where receivers catch balls from all six QBs while running at full speed across the field, Tedford stopped the drill Tuesday to tell receivers not to raise their hands immediately when turning around to look for the ball because the pass may be at their waist rather than at their chest. One fan who attends every practice throughout the season told me he's never seen receivers get so much instruction on technique.

Great information. Tedford, Cortez and Jones. That is a huge base of high quality experience from which to give instruction. No guarantee of world-beating results on the field, but we could hardly expect to have done better in turning over our staff.

Very interesting re Morrah and Leonard. Looking forward to seeing them bowl over some defenders.

Kind of amazing that for years we were forced to bring in an extra OL to play tight end in certain situations. Hardly going to test or stretch the D that way.

[WestCoastJoe]

It looked like a fast flowing, up tempo camp. One thing I don't like is the pass catching drill where they immediately drop the ball as in my view REC need to practice bringing it in to a safe carry position then drop it for another one. Every year someone fails to tuck the ball away from a tackler and the ball pops loose to cost a team. I like lots of pass catching in motion though but I'd want them to end the catch with something from a game situation. Coaches won't do it - but a lateral off that kind of pass is good in my view but today's coaches are too risk averse to practice that even.

That is interesting.

I think the emphasis is on awareness. When to hold and wrap. Catching, releasing and dropping the ball just gives awareness. It does not necessarily teach the bad habit of not tucking the ball away.

Sounds like lots of new ideas and approaches.

New offence.

[Hambone]

To Toppy's point about pass-catching, while Khari Jones is the receivers coach, both George Cortez and Jeff Tedford have been vocal about stressing pass-catching technique. Cortez often stresses the importance of hand position, catching over the outside shoulder and tucking the ball away immediately upon catchng it. Kito Poblah was one of his targets on the first day of camp for catchng the ball with outstretched hands along the sideline and not immediately tucking it away. In the hot passing drill where receivers catch balls from all six QBs while running at full speed across the field, Tedford stopped the drill Tuesday to tell receivers not to raise their hands immediately when turning around to look for the ball because the pass may be at their waist rather than at their chest. One fan who attends every practice throughout the season told me he's never seen receivers get so much instruction on technique.

That was the other angle I was thinking of too; hand positioning. Your explanation makes sense. If the hands are more at waist level initially the player is better set to adjust up or down. But if he starts with hands up initially it becomes a big adjustment for a low ball. Something simple like that can be the difference between a completion and an incompletion.

[TheLionKing]

e[/url].

For what it's worth, the Lions have juggled the depth chart at three positions for Day 3 of mini-camp. Jermarcus Hardrick moves ahead of Kirby Fabien at LG, Courtney Taylor moves ahead of Bryan Burnham at SB and Kito Poblah moves ahead of Marco Iannuzzi at WR. The Hardrick move could leave them with one fewer spot for an international defensive back, a postion where speed and quickness will be more important than ever under the new passing rules.

Depth chart at this time means squat. Ask Hardrick.

[Toppy Vann]

e[/url].

For what it's worth, the Lions have juggled the depth chart at three positions for Day 3 of mini-camp. Jermarcus Hardrick moves ahead of Kirby Fabien at LG, Courtney Taylor moves ahead of Bryan Burnham at SB and Kito Poblah moves ahead of Marco Iannuzzi at WR. The Hardrick move could leave them with one fewer spot for an international defensive back, a postion where speed and quickness will be more important than ever under the new passing rules.

Depth chart at this time means squat. Ask Hardrick.

First off I was surprised at how they were even adjusting the depth chart in a camp that is purely offense.

Then I am surprised at the guy moving up being released.

Possibly more to the story (contract issues/money) or just Nat. vers non-Nat issues.

[David]

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

[TheLionKing]

Thanks for an excellent report David