Let The Chip Kelly Era Begin

[duckduckgoose]

Mops, did blount look to be in good shape? or did it look like he has been slacking in the off season? same question about masoli?

Blount was out with an ankle injury. I didnt know the extent or the reasoning so I didnt include it. Prolly should have included he was out with an unknown injury though.

Masoli looked leaner, but was rusty and that simply is because of the time off. He did throw a good ball down field a few times. Last year his throws were short and on a rope. Today he's balls had some air under it and a tad of touch.

Masoli with a tad of touch is gonna be unstoppable! That ability along with the ability to throw a ball through a brick wall... can't wait!

[brich75]

Mops, did blount look to be in good shape? or did it look like he has been slacking in the off season? same question about masoli?

Blount was out with an ankle injury. I didnt know the extent or the reasoning so I didnt include it. Prolly should have included he was out with an unknown injury though.

Masoli looked leaner, but was rusty and that simply is because of the time off. He did throw a good ball down field a few times. Last year his throws were short and on a rope. Today he's balls had some air under it and a tad of touch.

sorry mops,I new he was out. I guess i meant to ask if you could tell when he was standing there if he looked to be in any slimmer or bulked up.Im sure it is hard to tell though assuming he was in baggy sweats pant and big shirt.

[karlhungis]

How did James look?

[bmxryder507]

Hey mops heard this ? on TWB this morning from Moseley thought it was interesting. Is there any chance our WR coach gets out on the road to do some recruiting, dont know if he would be any good but ya never know.

[ljginger]

James is resting a sore shoulder...Hopes to be back next week Karl...

[karlhungis]

James is resting a sore shoulder...Hopes to be back next week Karl...

Thanks. So James has a dinged up shoulder and Blount has a sprained ankle? How did the running game look without our main guys?

[ljginger]

There wasn't much on the running game...I was told Harper looked very good in the slot though...We know Crenshaw is solid and Remene isn't bad as well...They brought in a couple walkons to...

[VinnyKnuckles]

According to Chip, Harper needs to get in better shape. I always felt that was part of his problem last year as well. He didn't get the typical conditioning a wide receiver goes through since he went through all of camp and part of the season primarily practicing at QB. Perhaps in part due to this, he looked a tad more bulky than ideal for a WR, more reminiscent of a RB body style. I don't know if he has slimmed down at all since last season, but if he is going to stay at WR full-time I think it would serve him well to slim down a bit (nothing dramatic). This would improve his conditioning and also help a bit with his quickness and change of direction, which is critical for a slot receiver.

[wheaton4prez]

I might have missed it. Where did Chip say that Harper needed to be in better shape? I thought he was saying that about the new JC guys.

[brich75]

I dont remember harper being talked about at all except in mops wright up.
All he said in there was basically harper looks like a stud.(not his exact words)

[VinnyKnuckles]

I might have missed it. Where did Chip say that Harper needed to be in better shape? I thought he was saying that about the new JC guys.

Chip mentioned Harper needs to get in a little better shape in one of the many videos that are available. Specifically, in the video that was available on eDuck after the first practice. If you don't have a subscription, here is what Chip had to say about Harper...

"Harp flashes. Harp's inconsistent. Harp needs to get in a little bit better shape, but he proves when you get the ball to him he can do some things."

http://oregon.scout.com/2/852352.html

For what it is worth, some people claim Harper has slimmed down a bit since last season, which would be good news. Of course, they are viewing him without pads on, compared to their recollection of him with pads on, so it is probably hard for them to judge accurately. Also, like Chip mentioned, some observers felt Harper was more inconsistent than one would be lead to believe after listening to people hyping him up. It probably comes as a shock to many, but Pflugrad was considered by most observers to be the best wide receiver out there on Day 1, and Pflugrad was the first player Chip mentioned when talking about receivers that looked good.

[BisonDucks]

Let's hope that Phlugrad doesn't stay at the top of the list though.

[dthomas=ddixon]

Let's hope that Phlugrad doesn't stay at the top of the list though.

No doubt. Pflugrad's great & all but with the athletes that we have at that position, if he is the top guy....there's something wrong. Same thing in 2006, Jordan Kent was our top WR & it was simply because he outworked all the other guys not because he was the best, most talented player. If Pflugard is on top it means the other guys are slacking off big time.

[VinnyKnuckles]

Let's hope that Phlugrad doesn't stay at the top of the list though.

Agreed. That being said, Pflugrad is probably going to be a little bigger factor next season than most people anticipate, assuming he doesn't transfer to follow his dad to a new job or something along those lines. I know the message board experts think he will be lucky to make the 5-deep (sarcasm), but the people that actually get paid to analyze these players up close and personal (the coaches) have a little different perspective. Chip has mentioned Pflu as a player that had a good off-season, the coaches list him as a starter on the Spring Depth Chart and coaches/observers have singled him out as a receiver that has impressed in the first couple of practices (not that a person should read too much into that). Pflu has as good (probably better) of an understanding of the offense as any receiver on the team, is probably the best route runner on the team and probably has the best hands on the team. I personally don't think Pflu is going to be a starter this year when all is said and done, due to his lack of size primarily, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him get more playing time than most people anticipate, which wouldn't be hard to exceed since most people think he will get no time at all. Also, even though it is not popular with the message board experts, Pflu will be very much in the mix when the battle for punt returner begins.

[wheaton4prez]

Thank you for the quote about Harper. I hadn't seen that.

Pflugrad probably does have a lot of things down better than the younger guys. I imagine that is an asset when it comes to getting the new guys up to speed at practice. I know for me, playing receiver in HS, we learned a lot from practicing with the upper class-men and them telling us what to do (or making fun of us for doing it wrong).

The problem with Pflu, imo, is after-the-catch threat. He does seem to have solid fundamentals and good hands. But, his size is noticeable once he gets the ball and gets taken down easily. It makes you realize how athletic those defensive players flying around are out there. They send an average sized person flying to the ground with what looks like, in D1 terms, a little shove.