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First off, keep in mind that I wasn't at practice yesterday, so I'm going to limit any attempts at any real analysis. (KLINE = AARON RODGERS! BEAR RAID IS AMAZING! etc)
With that said, after reading up on practice, I do find that there are a couple of interesting nuggets.
Team is Further Ahead Than I Anticipated
I had really anticipated that the team would look pretty sloppy for the majority of the spring. That's to be expected when you're implementing a brand new offense, and in effect, wiping away so much information that had been engrained in the minds of players after years under the previous regime. Even Dykes himself said that he expected the first couple of practices to be "ugly."
But I don't think anyone really walked away with the impression of things looking "ugly." By and large, most of the feedbacks so far has been how surprised people are with the speed that the team is already playing at.
Now, let's remember this was the first freaking practice. The players are still in just helmets and shorts right now.
Still, the early feedback is encouraging. The team can only expect to get better from here, and the fact that the offense already seems to have a sense of what they need to do is very welcomed news.
Again, while this is early, I do think this may speak to two points.
One, this offense is far more easier to pick up. Tedford's offense took months, if not years to get down, with the hope that when the team did click under the best of circumstances, they would score on anyone. That worked when the Bears had the personnel and the focus, but when that faltered, so did the offense.
Not so here. Sonny Dykes and Tony Franklin's offense can be taught in an afternoon. The caveat is how well the team can pick it up and how well they can execute it. The execution will obviously be a work in progress, but team already seems to have a sense of what it needs to do just from offseason work. That's got to be a testament to the offense.
Zach Kline had this to say about the offense:
"Last year it was a hard offense to learn...but this playbook helps you actually know what to do. You just got to execute the play. You just have to do your job. (Jared) Goff's a pretty lucky kid man. (laughs) He gets a pretty easy playbook. Nice and easy to learn."
Second, it might be that this team has already bought in. Of course, we really only have the feedback from coaches and the players who have mics put in front of them, but you do get the sense that these players want to be great, and there seems to be less resistance than anyone might have anticipated.
And on further thought, how could a player not buy in?
Coach: "Hey kids, do you wanna score 60+ points a game by only having to learn 15-20 plays?"
Players: "No! F*** that! We want to keep scoring less than 20 points a game despite spending all of our time learning and practicing 60+ plays a game!"
The fact that the team was also able to keep up with the fast-paced offense without showing too much huffing and puffing only affirms what should have been consistent conditioning over the offseason.
Again, we're super early and we'll see how motivated players stay as the grind of practice and more importantly the season wears on, but so far, the results are encouraging.
Way Too Early Depth Chart
Nam Le over at BearInsider has a pretty preliminary depth chart.
Depth Chart:
The first team offensive line went (from left to right): Freddie Tagaloa, Jordan Rigsbee, Mark Brazinski, Geoffrey Gibson, Bill Tyndall. Gibson, it should be noted, was in for the injured Chris Adcock.
The second team offensive line went: Brian Farley, Donovan Frazer, Matt Cochran, Steven Moore, and Christian Okafor.
At today's first practice, there does not seem to be a real distinction between the wide receivers – they all rotate in and out constantly due to the frenetic pace. This will be worth watching over the next couple of weeks.
The first team defense included: Kameron Jackson, Stefan McClure, Michael Lowe, Avery Sebastian, Khairi Fortt, Nick Forbes, David Wilkerson, Todd Barr (at end), Keni Kaufusi, Deandre Coleman, and Dan Camporeale (at end). Perhaps the only name on that list that is a surprise thus far is Keni Kaufisi, as Viliami Moala was present at practice, but without a helmet for reasons unknown.
The second team defense included: Isaac Lapite, Nathan Broussard, Michael Barton, Jordan Morgan, Cedric Dozier, Gabe King, Mustafa Jalil, Damariay Drew, Kyle Kragen, Hardy Nickerson. One other player's name escaped my notes.
Won't say too much about it, because it's darned early. I can almost guarantee you that this depth chart will look different by the end of spring practice though.
Who Will be the Quarterback?
Sonny Dykes has already stated that he'd like to find a quarterback as soon as possible. He's gone as far as to state that if the right player jumps out to them, they could name a starter during spring ball, thought it probably won't be realistic for such an outcome.
Still, my guess is that the Dykes and Co. will try and whittle down the five scholarship quarterbacks to just 2 or maybe 3 candidates by the end of spring ball. You don't want to completely rule out a player with an entire summer of offseason workouts left to go, though you can continue to get a real look at your starter when you're splitting reps five ways.
Most people would put their money on redshirt freshman Zach Kline who if is anything close to his top shelf billing, will easily be the most talented quarterback for the Bears since the last player to don his Number 8 jersey. And Kline overcame a shaky start to look the most poised in 11-11s.
But the thing about Dykes is that he doesn't appear to give a rat's tail about who the player was before he got there. He cares about which QB will score points, and not turn the ball over instead of who can throw the ball the furthest. Given that we haven't had a chance to see what Boehm or Goff can do, no one can say after yesterday's practice. Still, don't sleep on Austin Hinder who might have been the most consistent quarterback all day. He's got the physical tools, and his mobility might give him that added advantage. This battle should be fun to watch.
More spring Practice Videos
Allan Bridgford
Bryce Treggs
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