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!