Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

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Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by BrentVU »

The Black (defense) defeated The Gold (offense) 37-30, but the game didn't really seem that close. On a cold, wet evening in the lacrosse stadium, the defense seemed to dominate the offense for most of the game-- although the offense did pull off a couple of big plays in the second half (when the secondary was largely playing bench-warmers).

CAUTION: You really can't tell too much from a spring game. But this one was kind of disappointing to me in that the offense couldn't seem to manufacture many big plays. Maybe the defense really is greatly improved, but it just seemed to me the passing game was out of sync (no matter who was quarterbacking), and the defense didn't really get a good test. (Reminiscent of how poorly the offense performed last year in bad-weather games like Wake Forest and Tennessee.)

I WAS NOT IMPRESSED WITH...

- Any of the quarterbacks. Swann had two TD passes (one a 75-yarder which was nullified), but he didn't really move the team. He's No. 1 because he sees the field the best. Seals, who wore a white jersey (allowing him to take hits) is the most composed of all, but his accuracy still leaves a lot to be desired. Dickey is not ready for prime time; too many of his throws were batted down. And Taylor, though he looks the part physically and can throw a long ball (he had a nice fourth-down bomb to Wilson Long) didn't really move the team either. None of them were consistent.
- The turf in the lacrosse stadium; Swann seemed to slip on the mud and hurt himself late, though hopefully not seriously.
- The center(s); WAY too many high snaps. And too many false starts by the O-line.
- The placekickers (who are walk-ons); two missed FGs and one missed PAT. (Brock Taylor, how soon can you get here?)
- The receivers, though several starters were nursing injuries; they seemed out of sync with the QBs, and the completion percentage had to have been atrocious. Too many drops. (One exception: Richie Hoskins, a walk-on who was a lacrosse star in HS, looks like he can step in and help if needed.)

I WAS IMPRESSED WITH:

- The play of the starting safeties, Jaylen Mahoney and De'Rickey Wright, who will make a dynamite pair. Wright returned an errant Dickey pass 60 yards for a TD.
- The defensive line in general, which batted down a bunch of passes and kept the QBs uncomfortable. Darren Agu didn't start, but he makes things happen when he's in there. Aeneas DiCosmo appears to have won the role of the hybrid DE/LB, and he had a sack early.
- Sedrick Alexander and Chase Gillespie, who both outshone starter Patrick Smith. I predict Alexander especially will push Smith for playing time, and we may have running backs by committee in the fall. (And yes, we WILL miss Ray Davis.)
- Bryce Cowan was very active at LB, and since Kane Patterson was out injured, someone needed to step up.
- Ja'Dais Richard started at one corner (although I'm not sure what was up with B.J. Anderson). Jeffrey Ugochukwu got his name called a few times for good plays.
- Some guys that look like they have really made gains in the weight room: Christian James, Yilanan Ouattara, Darren Agu, De'Rickey Wright on defense; Trent Weaver, and several other O-linemen.

HUMOROUS NOTE OF THE NIGHT:

- If you stayed around until the end, you saw Hayden Moses, Vandy's 5-9 walk-on QB, take two snaps in the final minute. He completed a pass, but the second snap, predictably, was over his head for a big loss to end the game.

BOTTOM LINE IMPRESSIONS:

- Lots of work to do before the Rainbow Warriors arrive on the mainland-- mainly in the passing game. Me, I'm not sure the QB position is as settled as some think it is.
- The defense does have a chance to be greatly improved in Year Two of Nick Howell. There is improved speed and athleticism at almost every position, and there is improved depth on the D-line. But until we see how it can perform against a really good offense, the jury is out; we didn't get to see that Saturday.


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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by BrentVU »

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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by Seadog73 »

As always, THANKS Brent!
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by rEvUrB »

It’s pretty typical for the defense to be ahead of the offense during the spring. Offense takes a lot more coordination than defense.
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by AuricGoldfinger »

Thanks for the detailed writeup, Brent. I did not get to see the game, so this is very helpful.

A few reactions to your reactions:
* It's been gratifying to see Sedrick Alexander do so well in spring practice. The depth at the RB position has been a genuine concern, and I would not be surprised at all to see Alexander start over Patrick Smith in the fall.
* I'm disappointed to hear that the QB performance was so lackluster, particularly since we don't have a Mike Wright in the bullpen this year.
* High snaps were a problem last season, too. I don't get it.
* Lea said after the game they would be looking for a kicker in the transfer portal, possibly as a walk-on.
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by VandyD »

I know Swann has a lot of potential but I think not giving the job to Wright was the wrong move. He may not be the prototypical QB but as we saw he gave us the best chance to win. I think him winning those games and still being told Swann was the future is why he transfered.
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by BrentVU »

More highlights, including some big hits by the defense...

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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by MtJulietVUFan »

I was there the entire game Saturday as well. Agree that the D dominated. Tackling was very good, and coverage in the secondary was much improved. And that was without at least a couple of guys I saw on the sidelines not dressed who will be playing significant snaps in the secondary. Also at least 2-3 other guys in the front 7 who will be out there a bunch on D who didn't play. Tackling in the open field was textbook for the most part. One RB cut from Alexander was the only time I saw someone juked or miss a one-on-one tackle. Very good to see. Even with the wet field, no defenders having guys slip through their grasp, which was impressive.

Although the passing game was not in-sync, the running game looked better than expected, especially in-between the tackles. Lots of good run-blocking from the OL. And Sedrick Alexander is a very exciting young player. He may end up as a significant part of the rotation at RB as a true freshman.

I personally think the plan on offense seemed very vanilla, it felt like an NFL preseason game. Honestly Will Sheppard was running routes like it was a spring game on a very slick wet field....and I don't blame him at all. He wasn't even attempting to cut.

As far as the one comment about the QB position not being as settled as some think...not even sure what that is implying unless it's for the backup spot, but if it's about Swann, I don't buy that for a second. That gap is so massive between Swann and anyone else on this roster, it's not even close. Barring injury, this is the first time since Shurmur that there is zero QB competition going into the season.
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by FayetteDore »

IMHO, the center has one of the toughest jobs on the field especially when the QB is not under center -- delivering the ball backward, from an awkward position, to the precise spot the QB is expecting it, while looking forward to cover his opposite on the defense a millisecond after snapping the ball. When all goes right 99.9 percent of the time, they never get much praise. Hopefully he'll get the snaps down soon.
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by shelbz75 »

Not having many of the starting receivers absolutely hurt the offense, get those guys back and I think things look a bit different. The defense being ahead of the offense is pretty on par for most springs, when the offense is so far ahead of the defense (year 1 as an example), that usually presents more of an issue.
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by Seadog73 »

Here's a late thought, after watching all the various highlights and video clips. It seemed our downfield blocking by wide receivers was almost non-existent. Is there a rule against that now? On a few plays it sure looked like some of our WR's could have blocked someone so a ball-carrier could have picked p a few more yards as the WR's just avoided contact (and not on a red jersey-ed player).
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Re: Thoughts on Vandy's spring game: Lots of goods and bads

Post by BrentVU »

Another thing that was disappointing: there were at least three times when defensive players got their hands on poorly thrown passes, but couldn't hang on for the interception. De'Rickey Wright had the defense's one interception, but there probably should have been three others.
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