Afternoon Session
-This team is definitely more serious about improving special teams. The afternoon session started with a fairly long (15-20 minute) special teams period that was nothing short of high energy.
-Speaking of high energy, new special teams coach Bob Ligashesky is as passionate a football coach as you will see. He runs around like a madman with instructions for everyone all the time. If his players put forth the kind of energy and enthusiasm of Ligashesky, chances are good that the special teams will drastically improve.
-Rookie punter Reggie Hodges is in a difficult situation as the team’s only punter, but he has the strong leg to do the job. His biggest question entering camp was his ability to kick directionally. He put in quite a bit of time in the afternoon working on his directional kicks and was hit or miss.
-The afternoon practices are more of a cool down practice compared to the more intense afternoon sessions. The players are in shells and there is no need for the gold jerseys on
Steven Jackson or Marshall Faulk.
-The starting linebacker trio of
Pisa Tinoisamoa, Dexter Coakley and Chris Claiborne has the chance to be excellent. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, but the strengths seem to complement each other well enough to cancel out any of the weaknesses.
-We all know that Kevin Curtis is fast, but it becomes easy to forget just how much speed Shaun McDonald has. In the afternoon workout, McDonald caught two or three bombs on plays where he ran right by members of the No. 1 defensive unit.
-Call it an early prediction and I don’t think it’s going out on a limb…if
Marc Bulger stays healthy and has time to throw, he will become one of the league’s top five quarterbacks this year. His release is as good as ever and he was flinging the long ball as effortlessly as I have seen.
-The concerns about the backup quarterback spot are legitimate, but Jamie Martin looked solid in the afternoon workout. He doesn’t have much zip, but it is clear that he has the accuracy and timing that is more necessary than a cannon in this offense.