NFC Training Camp Notes 8-6: Mitch Trubisky & More
Here are the NFC Training Camp Notes from Monday 8-6. Enjoy!
WR Brice Butler gets the initial nod as the No. 2 starting receiver opposite Larry Fitzgerald.
Azcentral.com – Bob McManahan
With Sam Bradford being given a veterans’ day off on Monday by coach Steve Wilks, rookie Josh Rosen received all of the first-team reps as the Cardinals returned to practice at University of Phoenix Stadium. Rosen had two of his better practices toward the end of last week, but on this day, he looked a bit inconsistent, especially early on.
According to Monday’s unofficial depth chart, rookie RB Chase Edmonds has moved ahead of veteran D.J. Foster, Elijhaa Penny and T.J. Logan as the backup to starter David Johnson. Wilks was asked about Foster earlier in the day and said the former ASU product can be much more than just a receiving back. “I think he’s a back that can run between the tackles as well get outside,” Wilks said. “I don’t think he’s just a receiving back. I think he’s done a great job in his pass protection; he’s really stepping up there. He and T.J. both are doing some great things and it’s a good battle right there, as well as Chase.”
#Beats not practicing: WRs Josh Bellamy, Taylor Gabriel and CB Cre’Von LeBlanc.
#Bears QB Mitch Trubisky is having a great day at practice. Precision. Anticipation. Command. All on display today. Appeared to check to a play and then went deep to Anthony Miller down the middle for a long gain.
Working in team drills, Mitch Trubisky hits Allen Robinson down the sidelines for a touchdown.
RockRiverTimes.com – Robert Zeglinski
The most prominent examples of Trubisky’s command, and there were many, were his checks to successful plays.
In one of the first full team drills of practice, Trubisky surveyed Chicago’s defense, audibled and motioned Anthony Miller over, then hit the playmaking rookie in stride deep down the right seam with nary a defender in close proximity. As casual and cool of a check and cold pass in quick succession as you’ll see. This was Trubisky seeing a weakness in the defense and identifying how the Bears offense is designed to exploit vulnerabilities on a dime. Because he had seen it before.
Later, with the Bears working red zone drills, Trubisky lined up out of the shotgun and again saw an opening left behind in the defense. The quarterback then flipped Tarik Cohen over to his other side and took it for himself on a keeper in a free lane to the right side the other way.
There’s leading with words and there’s leading by example. WR Allen Robinson’s play and ability to be counted on is everything you need to see that he fits the latter description. The introvert is as ruthless, calculated, and intelligent as it gets. That’s part of why he can get so open on a quick sequence of plays.
“He’s very competitive, and man, he’s football smart. He understands the game,” said Furrey of Robinson. “He’s like a quarterback out there playing wideout.
The other Chicago wideouts like Miller might be getting the headlines now in the early season as Robinson eases in after his knee injury suffered in September 2017. But make no mistake, this Bears passing offense is built around Robinson’s skill set, leadership, and drive to be great. These small clips of the receiver’s game-breaking flair in clutch moments will become full-fledged motion pictures soon enough, and Furrey knows it.
DALLAS COWBOYS
ESPN.com – Todd Archer
“Still trying to gain chemistry,” Dak Prescott said. “It’s going to come.”
At receiver, Prescott and Cole Beasley have the most time together and their connection has been the best of the group. Allen Hurns has missed time with a sore groin. Deonte Thompson has an Achilles’ strain. Terrance Williams has worked intermittently as he comes back from offseason foot surgery. Tavon Austin has provided some spark inside and outside with his quickness.
At tight end, Geoff Swaim has been consistent on the underneath routes and Blake Jarwin has shown the ability to get down the field.
The coaches called a deep ball for Dak Prescott & Mike Gallup during Compete Period. Another overshoot. Jourdan Lewis with the coverage #cowboyswire
Tom Silverstein @TomSilverstein
WR Randall Cobb has returned and is practicing. Just caught a pass from Rodgers.
WR Jake Kumerow bears Williams on a deep In and Rodgers finds him over the middle during Pass Under Pressure. Kid is not going away.
Cheeseheadtv.com – James Reynolds
Jimmy Graham is back. Just beat Jermaine Whitehead with an inside move, easy catch from Aaron Rodgers.
WR Jake Kumerow bears Williams on a deep In and Rodgers finds him over the middle during Pass Under Pressure. Kid is not going away.
WR Randall Cobb has returned and is practicing. Just caught a pass from Rodgers.
WR Valdes-Scantling with a nice play deep, wrestling ball away from Goodson in the air on a shot from DeShone Kizer.
Valdes-Scantling with an excellent snag over the middle on a heater from Rodgers. Plucked it with his hands and never broke stride.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
It wasn’t all Ravens highlights as Jared Goff found Cooper Kupp on multiple plays. Goff found him for increments of 8-, 10-, 18- yards. The starting quarterback also completed a great pass down the middle for 30-yards to Kupp, but an offsides penalty by the O-line nullified the big-time throw.
Both Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown scored rushing touchdowns during red-zone drills. Gurley found a gap up the middle while Brown went untouched for the five-yard carry after a counter run. Sean McVay’s playbook is exciting to watch in person, folks. Gurley was shut down on two attempts though, with Patrick Onwuasor even picking up Gurley at the four-yard line. Fans were rocking when they saw who ‘Peanut’ stopped.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Chris Tomasson @christomasson
Vikings RB Roc Thomas and WRs Tarvarres King and Chad Beebe out but RB Dalvin Cook back as expected after sitting out Saturday night practice for precautionary reasons.
Dalvin Cook drops a TD pass from Kirk Cousins and is so mad lays on turf for 20 or so seconds.
Chris Tomasson @christomasson
Adam Thielen makes diving catch of Kirk Cousins pass.
TheVikingAge.com – Adam Patrick
A year after being named a Second-Team All-Pro, Vikings receiver Adam Thielen looks to be on his way to another impressive season in 2018.
Thielen has been dazzling fans all training camp long with spectacular catches and he added to his highlight reel during Monday’s practice with a beautiful diving reception.
247Sports.com – Anthony Broome
Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Laquon Treadwell seem like safe bets to make the roster and be at the top of the depth chart. In Treadwell's case, he is following up a strong offseason of hype with a camp that has given him a chance to make plays and be a consistent presence in the offense. From there, it is anybody's guess who fills out the rest of the rotation at wide receiver.
Assuming the team keeps six wide receivers like it did last season, there are still a handful of spots up for grabs that guys like Kendall Wright, Tavarres King, Brandon Zylstra, Stacy Coley and Cayleb Jones, among others, can go out and snag. Wright has not been with the first team much and King and Coley have dealt with some injuries throughout camp.
Zylstra right now could be the leader in the clubhouse for the breakout player of camp. He had a few stellar catches during the night practice on Saturday and has done a great job of giving the offense a piece that can grab the ball at its highest point and make some plays.
Diggs, Thielen, tight end Rudolph and running back Dalvin Cook have all been consistent performers in camp and Cook in particular has been impressive in his return from the torn ACL early in his rookie season. He was held out of his first practice on Saturday night, but has shown no signs of slowing down in his return to the field and may even be better heading into this season.
Cook and Latavius Murray are all but Sharpie'd in as the Vikings' top two running backs, but it gets a bit dicey from there. Undrafted rookies Roc Thomas and Mike Boone, along with veteran Mack Brown, have been locked in battle for the No. 3 running back job and Thomas has dealt with some injury issues, which could give Boone the chance to be the favorite for the job.
Ted Ginn Jr. scored two TDs in full-team drills Monday, including one deep ball. We don’t talk about him as much as the New Saints receivers, but he’s having a good camp after a good debut season in New Orleans. Don’t get too sleepy on him.
NewOrleansSaints.com – Sean Kelley
Monday’s practice leads into a scheduled off day for the players and camp now turns toward the first preseason game Thursday night. Here are some observations:
After an extended absence, tight end Benjamin Watson returned to the practice field. He was limited, but his return is a welcome sign. He is the veteran leader of a group that hopes to return to a position of strength in the Saints offense. I don’t expect Watson to play Thursday in Jacksonville. I will be eager to see converted wide receiver Dan Arnold and newcomer Deon Yelder get plenty of work against the Jaguars.
Keep an eye on newly acquired wide receiver Brandon Tate on Thursday. The veteran wide receiver made a huge play on offense Monday, and should see some time in that role versus the Jaguars. More importantly, I expect Tate to get some chances as a kick returner.
NEW YORK GIANTS
Sterling Shepard was participating in position drills, but headed off to the side midway through. No apparent injury. He’s over on the stationary bikes right now. #NYGiants
Russell Shepard with first team to start in slot for Sterling Shepard, who has rejoined team out here on field.
Get used to the Jet sweep and variations off it. Pat Shurmur used it last year and brought it to Giants. You see it quite often at practice, including a fake jet sweep to Odell Beckham that turned into BIG throwback screen to Saquon Barkley. (Go watch the play on my IG)
Kyle Lauletta has experienced rookie growing pains at camp. Monday was a rough practice. He threw an INT and overthrew a bunch of deep balls, including one to Roger Lewis deep down left sideline. Even Shurmur won’t concede it, Davis Webb will be the backup. #Daily5 #Giants
Zach Ertz has missed 3 straight practices, but he isn’t expected to be out for a significant amount of time, I’m told. Maintenance, coupled with the long season. #Eagles
BleedingGreenNation.com – Brandon Lee Gowton
Kamar Aiken was in at first team wide receiver with Mike Wallace, Shelton Gibson, and Markus Wheaton all out. He made a real nice over-the-shoulder reception in the back right corner of the end zone with Avonte Maddox trailing him. Really good ball from Joe Callahan on the fade route.
Nate Sudfeld’s highlight was when he hit Josh Perkins over the middle in the end zone for a touchdown. Great anticipation pass into a very tight window.
Sudfeld to Perkins was good for another score later on with Chandon Sullivan beat this time. Perkins is coming on a little bit here.
Dallas Goedert continues to look unstoppable in the red zone. He beat Tre Sullivan and made a catch with his arms extended above his head.
NJ.com – Eliot Shorr-Parks
Veteran receiver Kamar Aiken was a late-addition to the roster during training camp but that hasn't stopped him from climbing up the depth chart.
Aiken was with the first-team offense on Monday throughout practice. Yes, there were some missing players that lead to him being called up, but it was still impressive to see Aiken with the first-team after just over a week with the team.
Aiken made the most of the reps as he had a nice catch in the back of the end zone during a red-zone drill. Aiken dragged his feet to complete the catch and held onto the ball that came over his right shoulder.
Aiken is a player to watch during Thursday's preseason opener.
RB Donnel Pumphrey has had a good training camp overall but had had two bad drops over the last two practices.
Pumphrey's first drop was on Sunday night in the corner of the end zone, when he let a ball slide right through his hands despite the fact he was wide open. Pumphrey said after practice that he lost the ball in the lights.
On Monday, however, Pumphrey had another bad drop in the end zone, letting a ball hit off of his hands and fall incomplete.
Pumphrey has done a great job catching the ball so far in camp and his ability to make plays out of the backfield is his best chance at making the roster. These drops are not helping.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
SI.com – Andy Benoit
Marquise Goodwin is not quite a true No. 1 receiver, but he became much more than just a speedster last year, particularly once Garoppolo stepped in. With Goodwin and Pierre Garçon outside, and Trent Taylor and second-round rookie Dante Pettis inside, San Francisco’s receiving corps can be good enough.
#49ers RBs Raheem Mostert and Joe Williams, who could be battling each other for a roster spot, are both listed at No. 3 behind Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida.
One thing to note on the #49ers depth chart: Garrett Celek could very well be listed as the team's No. 1 tight end all year. Really a 1a and 1b with Celek and George Kittle. They have vastly different skill sets, and Kittle should see the bulk of the targets.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Seahawks.com – John Boyle
Seattle’s running backs look more than capable of contributing in the passing game this season. That was on display again on Monday on a number of occasions, including impressive grabs by both Rashaad Penny and Chris Carson. Carson, who had a 65-yard touchdown reception to kick off Saturday’s scrimmage, showed impressive hands on a short pass, reaching out to snag a hard-thrown ball that was a bit in farther in front of him than would have been ideal. Later in practice, Penny went way up in the air to snag a pass over the middle, the type of catch that would have still been impressive had it been made by a veteran receiver and not a rookie running back.
LATimes.com – Sam Farmer
“We’ve been off the last year-and-a-half in the running game, and it’s been the difference in how we’ve played, it affects everything that we do,” said Carroll, leaning against a wall in a quiet corner of team headquarters. “We’ve had so many guys get hurt in the last two years, we couldn’t get back to it being the kind of factor that we needed. Right now, this is really exciting.”
Much of that excitement swirls around rookie Rashaad Penny, a first-round pick from San Diego State, and second-year back Chris Carson, a seventh-round find from Oklahoma State. They’re nearly identical in size — both 5 feet 11, Carson listed at two pounds heavier at 222 — and they envision forming a similar one-two punch to the Mark Ingram-Alvin Kamara tandem in New Orleans last season.
The Seahawks are stocked with running backs beyond Penny and Carson. C.J. Prosise, Mike Davis and J.D. McKissic all should be playing in the league somewhere this season, if not Seattle.
Newstribune.com – Gregg Bell
How’s TE Will Dissly doing in his first Seahawks training camp?
“Dissly’s been real impressive. He’s been, in my opinion, one of the stars of camp,” Russell Wilson said, after Seattle’s franchise quarterback completed a couple more passes to the former University of Washington tight end in the starting offense during a mock game.
He was reputed to be the best blocking tight end in this year’s draft. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Dissly also has been standing up Seattle’s rush ends in pass-rush drills. Rookie sixth-round pick Jacob Martin has been impressing coaches with his edge speed and thus earned some time with the starting defense. Last week during the daily, fiery pass-rush drill Dissly stonewalled Martin on consecutive snaps.
Dissly is taking full advantage of an opportunity left wide open for him by Ed Dickson’s quadriceps injury. DIckson has yet to practice in training camp.
#Bucs TE O.J. Howard is unbeatable in pass protection and is unguardable in the passing game in these 1-on-1 drills vs. linebackers.
Howard is having a fantastic training camp. I know we’ve said this team will still use both Howard and Cam Brate plenty, but Howard might really get the starter edge at that tight end position.
Quarterback Jameis Winston, who was with the second-team offense for most of the day, hit wide receiver Bernard Reedy in the middle of the field to set up the play above. The offense once again got close, but an overthrow by Winston on the last play meant no points.
One of the better plays of the day came on a pass from Winston to wide receiver Bobo Wilson in the red zone. Winston had another hot and cold day where some passed looked great and some didn’t.
To end this recap on a very welcomed positive note, rookie running back Ronald Jones had what was likely his best day of camp thus far. In the pass protection drills, Jones looked much improved. He looked confident when engaging linebackers with his first punch, and was able to mirror most of his assignments.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS
NBCSports.com – Rich Handler
In 11 on 11, there was a broken coverage. Alex Smith held on to the ball for an extra beat and he found Vernon Davis wide open in a hole in the middle of the defense. Not sure who blew to coverage but It’s something they will need to take a look at.
Good pass and grab by Alex Smith and Rob Kelley in seven on seven. Kelley was going full speed over the middle and Smith hit him in perfect stride.
I should have mentioned earlier that Josh Doctson is not practicing. It is unlikely that we will see him before Saturday.
Jordan Reed made a couple of catches in traffic in 11 on 11. If you didn’t know his history you’d be talking a big year for him. But we know his history.
Smith scrambled and Vernon Davis reacted well, finding a soft spot in the defense. But the TE dropped the pass. The QB said Davis’ name like Senfield says “Newman!” Not happy.
Easy touchdown from about 10 yards out, Smith to Jeremy Sprinkle. Bad exchange from Smith to Derrius Guice, ball goes on the ground. Next play it’s a Smith bullet to Reed in the back of the end zone for a TD.
If you have any comments or questions feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @Fantasytaz
If you want some great draft practice and don't have a lot of time try these FREE Best Ball World Championship Drafts that take less than 5 minutes and could possibly win you $2,500.