OK, I ran this up the flagpole and back down. I was going to crash tonight but I couldn't sleep right away - which is not unusual lately. But I feel as if I've lost some of my fellow Cats' fans trust these past few months and / or years. I heard from a buddy who has been observing practices lakeside with great intent and attention, and figured I'd share with the Rock:
Share your thoughts. Shout-out to @ParisCat for confirming I should post this.
And maybe I'll send another Rock subscriber a blurry practice photo from my buddy to prove this is based off of recent info.
- The Great
- My guy said he expects 8-9 wins minimum but also said "they look solid most of the time, but just ok the rest". I told him I'd be personally happy with 7 wins and a trip to my nearby Pinstripe Bowl. But if we don't have a winning record this season, we should all be heavily disappointed.
- The highlight so far has been WR play. He said there have been two "speedsters" that have stood out in practice. I asked him to confirm if they're Robinson and Hirtz and am waiting to hear back. But both of the starting TEs have shown some signs, whom I presume are Mangieri and Pugh. Let's hope that Jake figures out one of my personal favorite formations (the 3 WR, 2 TE look with a mobile QB) as that could be a nice one for us
- He said that Skoronski and Priebe "look like massive hungry animals" on the left side of the line, which was music to my ears
- The quarterback battle is visually still being hotly contested. It doesn't sound like either Hunter nor Hilinski has established dominance as both are splitting first team reps equivalently to date. Maybe one will separate from the other, but based on what he's seeing on the practice field it's up in the air
- The LBs look really good despite the graduation losses - as should be expected by now under Fitz. Nuff said.
- Fitz still looks really happy to be in Evanston. I think he'll stay here despite for as long as it's good for the both of us. But he's as hungry as ever to keep winning from the evident passion that he's displayed during practice, which makes me happy
- The Concerning
- Aside from our LT and LG, the rest of the OL and DL look "small" compared to our anticipated B1G opponents. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing if they can move and make their blocks, but I was hoping our RG and RT would look "big enough"
- The practices have been "simple" and unfortunately soft. So while our back 7-8 on defense look really good... they haven't been truly tested. Mostly short crossing routes have been utilized by the offense which are easy for the defense to read and make plays on. So while they "look really good", does it matter?
- The TEs, while looking good when given opportunities, have been mostly used in "blocking capacities". The starting QB will need his safety nets - can Jake maximize their talents to help ease their transition?
- The special teams weren't the focus of the practices. Maybe they were indoors to focus on the skills of kicking, punting, and long snapping with Genyk? I can ask my buddy but it sounds like they simply haven't been present on the field. Hopefully they're in a good spot for the season
- The Ugly
- Our defensive line has looked "small and soft". Which is really bad considering our new DC might prefer some 3-man fronts. But hopefully they can figure it out
- The Wisconsin OL is likely to average 325 pounds so I should change my prediction to a loss there if they come out angry. I fear for our defensive performance if we can't find some beef up front
- Running backs haven't stood out "yet" but that's likely due to the function and format of the practices. They have mostly focused on passing drills... which I thought was an interesting shift from the Walker era (which were mostly running game focused), but also sensible given the current game and our questions
- The linemen look thin as well in terms of depth - meaning that while the starting OL looks serviceable, there is little depth on that side of the ball and limited (if any) on the DL.
Share your thoughts. Shout-out to @ParisCat for confirming I should post this.
And maybe I'll send another Rock subscriber a blurry practice photo from my buddy to prove this is based off of recent info.
