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Camp Issues & Observations

August 05, 2003 by Still Diesel

A week into training camp and Troy Polamula is getting more and more acclimated

A week into training camp and Troy Polamula is getting more and more acclimated. He has already moved into the first team dime, nickel and goal line. It is just a matter of time before he is the starting Strong Safety in the base defense. The mainstream media actually seem to be catching on to the notion that Polamula and Logan may start side by side. Cowher needs to wake up to this reality and place Burnt Alexander firmly on the bench if the secondary is to break out of last year�s funk.

 

Attending training camp last Saturday I was impressed with how quickly Polamula is able to flow toward the ball. His lateral movement seems fast and fluid. I believe the B&G will lose nothing against the run with Polamula, and he will definitely be a huge upgrade in coverage. I can just imagine on third down in the nickel Polamula and Logan both threatening to blitz; one comes and the other drops into coverage. This scenario could be a real nightmare for opposing offensive coordinators; two safeties who can both blitz, cover and play the run.

 

Another player who impressed was Ivan Taylor. His movements seemed very natural in coverage. Hopefully with the extra reps he is seeing in practice, the coaching staff will realize that keeping Poteat ahead of him on the depth chart is about as asinine as signing Scott Shields out of retirement to solve the B&G�s secondary issues. Taylor will be an immediate help on special teams and I would like to see him get a shot in the dime with Scott, Washington, Polamula, Logan and Townsend. Taylor could do no worse than Burnt Alexander in the dime and he would most likely be an immediate upgrade. Looking to the future, a starting secondary of Taylor, Scott, Logan and Polamula could be a distinct possibility next year.

 

Taylor, Clint Kriedwaldt, Jeff Reed, Antwan Randle El and Brett Keisel give hope that the B&G�s special team woes may become a thing of the past. At least now the special teams are a legitimate threat to score with Randle El and the addition of Ivan Taylor. Throw Lee Mays into the mix and the return game should be very solid this year. Kriedwaldt is a definite upgrade over Fiala (on special teams and at LB), and Keisel is a very good wedge breaker in the coverage game. Kicker Jeff Reed looked good at camp on Saturday, and it is nice to see that Ruffin is providing tough competition. Reed will win out and become the starting kicker, Ruffin will just make him work for it. Competition is a good thing for a football team, lets hope that Alonzo Jackson gets a chance to do a little of it.

 

Aside from the secondary, another area of concern is the offensive line. The B&G have six o-lineman that I firmly believe are players. Alan Faneca, Marvel Smith, Keydrick Vincent, Kendall Simmons (when healthy), Chucky Okobi and Jeff Hartings are all capable of starting and playing well for the B&G. Obviously, Marvel Smith has to justify his lavish contract, but my biggest concern is at right tackle. Thus far, it has been reported that Oliver Ross has outperformed Fordham to this point. The problem is that neither player has been particularly impressive. If you watched the November 4, 2001 game against the Ravens where Ross played in the place of an injured Gandy, there is hope that he could nail down the right tackle spot. However, up until this point Ross has seemed to perform better as a 6th o-lineman off the bench. One possibility if Fordham and Ross do not play up to snuff, is keeping Vincent at guard and playing Simmons at right tackle. However, with Simmons� health concerns I believe this to be a remote possibility. I believe that Ross will win the starting job and Simmons will return and reclaim the starting right guard position with Vincent and Chucky Okobi providing solid depth to the interior o-line. Of course, the potential disaster for the Stillers would be an injury at the tackle position.

 

Mill adroitly commented about how Bettis could show up to camp at 265lbs and maintain his weight throughout the structured regimen of camp only too gain 10lbs 4 weeks into the season. Well, anyone reading the article on the chow hall in Sunday�s 8/3/2003 edition of the Tribune-Review may realize that the weight could start coming back on well before the start of the season. Roman emperors probably did not eat the way Stiller players at St. Vincent�s do. Even if Bettis is leaner than last year and healthy, he is only a minor injury away from ballooning to 285lbs. The problem with Bettis is that he does not recover from minor injuries like he used to. This is precisely why Amos Zereoue should be the starter, that and Amos fits the �Tommy Gun� offense better with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Seeing Amos up close at training camp last Saturday (8/2/2003) was very impressive, he is just a ball of muscle. It is hard to believe that someone with that much muscle on a compact frame could be as quick and athletic as Zereoue is. The extra 5 lbs that Zereoue gained should help him survive the pounding that a starting tailback takes. With Amos being healthy this off season, it is easy to see how dedicated he is just by how he looked coming into camp.

 

Another guy that was very impressive seeing in person is Kendrell Bell. The guy is very quick and agile. Watching him on one on one drills against Marvel Smith lets you see first hand what Kendrell Bell is all about. Bell is very quick and explosive off the ball when the whistle is blown, and he uses his hand very well for someone who is just learning the rush end position. He used a bull rush against Marvel Smith and then let go of Marvel�s breast plate part of the shoulder pads. At that moment Marvel fell flat on his face and Bell went right to the QB. The next time they went against each other Marvel held his own. Though even that time you could see the speed and ferocity at which Bell comes at an opponent. Bell should be on the field any time the opponent has the ball this year.  Another guy I keyed in on during those one on one drills was Alonzo Jackson. He seemed to hold his own against Smith and Nkwienti and once beat Smith with an inside move. Jackson is very long but still solid and hopefully will have a chance to earn some playing time at LOLB, but unfortunately we all know that won�t happen this year.

 

Well, there you have it. Man it�s great to have the pre season finally underway!

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