Steel Balls

On Saturday I was able to get down on the field early, one of the first ones. I was looking for someone in the stands and continued to walk to the far end of the field. That is when I noticed #88 catching passes behind a tackle dummy. He was no more than a few feet from me. I took a selfie to show how close he was, but it did not do it justice. Eventually other fans caught on to my lone access and trickled down the field. Freiermuth continued to play catch with TE coach Roberts. A Dad came over and had his two sons with him, he posed the two kids with #88 behind them. The Dad then asked Pat to turn around for the picture which he easily obliged. However, Roberts had already released the ball and it was heading for, well, Pat’s head. It just grazed the top of it and landed between me and the Dad. Pat came and retrieved the ball, I just said, “and that is how Pat Freiermuth got injured at training camp!” He turned to me with a big smile, rolling his eyes and then chuckled. A security guard then came over to remind us not to interact with the players.

Gentry, Washington and Heyward come over to join #88. It is like a trio with one of these doesn’t belong. Heyward is easily dwarfed by #80 and #81. #87 joins them shortly after. I shout to Rodney, “Hey #87!” He turns as I point to my #87 jersey and he gives me a thumbs up.

Freiermuth looks like a guy who wants to be perfect. His extra work, his enjoyment in doing so, shows through. He also has the tree trunk legs. He is no Najee, but he makes a good run at him. Speaking of Najee and Freiermuth, it seems those two are joined at the hip with Pickett once again. And once again their foursome consisted of Zach Gentry who seems to be a bigger part of the offense in camp.

Dionte Johnson looks like a man possessed. He digs in with each cut, battles after every catch (none dropped!) and gives 100% effort.

Pickens on the other hand looks like he is out for a Sunday Stroll, and I mean that in a positive way. He is fluid, he is effortless (again in a good way). You can see it in his preseason game touchdown. It looked like he was toying with the D-backs as he cut one way and slid past a DB the other way…effortlessly. Hit him in stride and the YAC will come.

#11 looks like a pro, but they didn’t seem to throw the ball to him much in the O v D drills. They love #19 deep. We may see that more than #14 going deep. The play #19 scored on in the preseason was run several times. I am not surprised it worked so easily.

Pickett looks fluid himself rolling both left and right. There is definitely a zip on the ball. I don’t have anything to compare it too as I did not see him in camp last year.

Rudolph looks so at ease. I truly wonder if his lack of relationship with Ben led to his disinterested demeanor these last few years. I feel bad for him as I thought 2019 would be his year. He seems happy now and at peace. Mitch looks ok, he is away from the other two as he puts in a lot of separate work as we are all aware he is one play away from being the starter. Mitch actually stays late and signs a ton of autographs. Fans are very pleasant with their interaction with him which is great to see.

For some reason I blanked on who #78 was. Wow, what a mountain of a man. I guess the #78 made me think OT. In one-on-one blocking drills he was a beast. Fast for a big man too. Oh wait! It’s James Daniels! I never understood why the national media thought he was getting replaced. He easily looked like our best lineman out there. New FA #73 looked like the perfect bookend surrounding the center position. Watched him go thru his reps, simply a pro. Another beast of a man, the long hair makes him look even more intimidating. However, when I had a brief chance to chat with him the night before, he was pleasant, polite and soft spoken.

I didn’t see much of our starting tackles or center, but I did watch #77 for a bit. He looked like he was having fun. His interaction with teammates did not look like a rookie at all. He looks like he could be a leader at some point.

The D practices on the middle field which in not easy to see from field level. My only time seeing them is when they go up against the offense.

#55 looks very mobile. They seemed to blitz him a lot up the middle, flushing the QB out of the pocket.

#95 has a soft cast on his wrist from the night before. Minor inconvenience. He drives back whoever they put in front of him, imagine him with the true use of both hands. The offense tries to get the younger Heyward into the action. #93 covers him downfield. The ball is perfectly placed, but so is #93. #93 contests the catch and comes down with the INT. The D rush on the field much like the O did for Pickens catch days earlier. #93 fires the ball into the air, the D shoots at it as it comes down. All fun and games, but that’s 15 yards during real action. #51 just beats everyone (I wish I put this together before the preseason game). He does not look small out there like Sutton Smith. He is everywhere. #56 looks like he swallowed James Harrison. Wow! He looks jacked! I wonder if he will use more bull rushes along with his spin move this year.

#96 looks to be lost in the NT competition yet he consistently takes on 2-3 guys. Adams still runs with the 1’s, wish #96 would get his chance.

Still too many WR screens and WR end arounds for my liking. They practice it way too much the day I am there. It doesn’t seem they like to attack the middle of the field much. They did run the ball more since they were in pads. #30 has the breakaway speed. Hopefully he can hit a HR or two when it counts. #22 watches mostly as the backup RB’s are fighting for a spot. They are practicing without their top 3 safeties, and it shows. Robinson and Riley are nice, but they are still lower skilled journeyman. They seem to like #37 a lot though. They pull him over to the sidelines for a chat, send him back in several times. I spot #39 in a hoodie. I am relieved he is back at camp even though he is not participating.

JPJ covers like a blanket. He makes a play but comes up limping. He looks ok but they are taking him out.

Chandon Sullivan is invisible, Luq Barcoo outperforms him. Levi Wallace just goes about his business. Right now, he is our best CB. Pat P gets some work in but is more of an extra coach out there.

#89 looks like our punt returner. He is desperately trying to win back his job, and it looks like he has. #19 is out there with #16. I am not sure they want #19 returning kicks/punts though.

0