Spring Game

'09 Football Fans General124

I am out of town, but eager to hear the observations of SFN readers who do attend. Please post your thoughts below.

RALEIGH, NC – The Kay Yow Spring Football game drew 21,075 fans on Saturday afternoon to watch the White team win 10-7 over the Red team. The event raised over $28,000 for charity. Fans who packed Carter-Finley stadium on Saturday afternoon might have been expected a dual between First-Team All-ACC quarterback Russell Wilson and highly-touted freshman Mike Glennon.
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About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

'09 Football Fans General

124 Responses to Spring Game

  1. Gowolves 04/18/2009 at 12:31 PM #

    Running game looks a bit weak. Glennon is making some good throws. Washington looks good at running back. Defense is dominating which is not surprising for a spring game.

  2. Gowolves 04/18/2009 at 12:33 PM #

    Wilson touchdown pass to Spencer for 65 yards!

  3. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 12:50 PM #

    thanks for the posts gowolves. am eager to hear any details, impressions you have

  4. com state10 04/18/2009 at 12:51 PM #

    any idea of attendance yet?

  5. Cosmo96 04/18/2009 at 1:22 PM #

    James at PackPride said the official attendance is 21,075.

  6. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 1:24 PM #

    20,750, Glennon is overthrowing people, much snap on passes, Daniel Imhoff, junior walkon from Sanford did not look bad, composed, brandon barnes had a nice run off a pass from Glennon

  7. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 1:25 PM #

    offenses look very overmatched by defenses, as you would expect, I thought the running game would be stronger, toney baker and barnes breaking off any long runs

  8. redfred2 04/18/2009 at 1:36 PM #

    Can anyone give an idea of how mobile Glennon is? Also, how many reps have him and RW gotten between them?

  9. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 1:49 PM #

    glennon played for both sides in the second half, looked very mobile, moved very well in the pocket

  10. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 1:50 PM #

    rushing: white 30 for 13, red 32 for 18, barnes looked a lot like andre brown to me

  11. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 1:51 PM #

    receivers were smothered, glennon had three great throws at the end. moved the team 70 yards in a minute

  12. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 1:54 PM #

    TOB had archer tee off on the offensive lines with stunts, blitzes, etc to really test them

  13. CStanley 04/18/2009 at 2:02 PM #

    Defense smothered up the running game. I think we’ll be able to find some holes.

    QB’s looked really good. Glennon has work to do but I was very impressed. TE’s look good.

    We need to build depth at WR.

    I think this can be a really good year. Being a State fan, I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but it’s really hard.

  14. redfred2 04/18/2009 at 2:06 PM #

    Thanks phillypacker!

    Any overall impressions for this year versus last year, I mean from what you saw today anyway?

  15. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 2:17 PM #

    The front seven looked very solid. I know there are some questions with the defensive line fleshing out but they were very impressive. The defensive backfield needs to be fleshed out. The receivers were so well covered. They seemed to have double coverage on every throw, but jarvis williams, spencer, baker and barnes out of the backfield, all looked good. Some catchable balls were dropped. Williams had a great circus catch on the right sideline in double coverage where glennon threw the pass high and away where only williams could get it, that was a thing of beauty. As you might expect, RW was stone cold, dead on with his throws, 10-14 for 190 I think, where Glennon is still figuring out as evidence by a lot of long, high passes from him. Still, I think he was 15-24. One of my favorite moments was when TOB called out the names of all players who had attended all practices. I remember in his first year, it seemed about half the squad attended all the practices and many of the guys who didn’t acted a little like they thought he was making a lot out of nothing. This year, after he had called out all the names of players attending all practices, there maybe 8-10 players left looking lonely, and standing pretty still along the goal line. That is how you have great performance out of a team.

  16. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 2:19 PM #

    Glennon also looked very physical as a qb, not delicate at all, a couple of times he was called down because he was touched (qb’s were wearing black jerseys) when he could have broken out of the backfield or made the play. He is not an easy target for defenders, if today is any indication.

  17. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 2:21 PM #

    I am a big fan of George Bryan, he and the fullbacks looked good blocking and receiving. Punting was inconsistent. Punt reception was so, so. On the block fieldgoal at the end the defensive line just mashed the offensive line back into the kicker, it looked like. J.R. Sweezey was late coming in and the offense did not look set to me.

  18. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 2:25 PM #

    The defense looked very confident, well-coached, disciplined. Every the defense backfield did not seem to bite on play fakes, at least for the part of the game I saw. If I were looking for places to focus: offensive line and receivers would be it. Both of them really looked overmatched. But there is a lot of young talent in the O line. I would not feel confident about our receivers get distance between them and defenders based on what I saw, but that may have been a function of glennon/imhoff getting so much playing time. I only got to see RW play briefly as I tuned in late. What do other people think?

  19. phillypacker 04/18/2009 at 2:26 PM #

    My worry would be having a weak running game due to the O-line and perhaps being weak at WR. As a result, they lean on a lot of short throws out of the backfield. They have not been able to extend the field that much in recent history. That has to improve.

  20. Pack Leader 04/18/2009 at 2:35 PM #

    Just returned from the game, heres a few thoughts I left with and things that myself and other fans noticed sitting around me….

    OFFENSE
    -Off line needs more work (even though i firmly believe our def front seven are some of the best we have had in some time so that cant help them look good)
    -Glennon has poise in the pocket and quickly recognizes the open man even if it is the TE or RB and had good touch on his longer passes(25-45yds).
    -Russell was never able to truly get comfortable having been sacked several times and not much production in the running game on either side of the ball
    -Running game must improve but we clearly have 3 RB who is capable of starting
    -Clearly TE is another strong point, with Bryan and Carter pulling in atleast 5 catches a piece (redshirt fresh mario carter looked very impressive)
    – OWEN SPECER CAUGHT A LONG PASS FOR TD (and didnt drop it!!)

    Defense
    -Front 7 is one of the best in the confrence
    -almost every play 1st team def had a hand in wilsons face and made him really roll out and throw
    -nate irving is a beast all over the place (I counted atleast 3 TFL on the RB & 1 sack)
    -didnt see much problem with corners except on the deep ball when QB has time
    -Pressuring the QB is going to be a must for this team and cannot allow DB to get caught on an island..
    -Saftey seemed strong clem johnson made several tackels at the line of scrimage but same as DB, cant be left alone 1on1 for long or will get beat deep.

    Kicking
    Josh Czajkowski good kicking day missed a 45 yard FG left but had atleast 10 extra yards on the kick…. will be solid FG
    great punting!!! 3 kicks inside 15 yardline….

    Clear to see TOB knows what hes doing well run scrimage and i cant say i was suprised by anyhting considering TOB updates fans very well and doesnt sugar coat anything… Could be a special season…….

  21. BSIE80 04/18/2009 at 2:36 PM #

    Observations:

    1. Another year of weakness in the O-line which will result in virtually no running game.
    2. The no tackle rule did not provide a good evaluation of RW & Glennon’s abilities. They must have been sacked 100 times.
    3. Glennon appears to be an adequate backup. Good size, good arm strength, and good footwork.
    4. Defensive front probably isn’t that good, because we could not run the ball on either team. Which means the O-line sucks (see 1.)

    My prediction at this point is 7-5. We will have to rely heavily on passing the ball, scrambling, and short passes to the backs just to get them involved.
    Hopefully, our defense is this good and they will keep us in most of the games.

  22. Pack Leader 04/18/2009 at 3:06 PM #

    Oh and my prediction for the year….

    8-4 before bowl game… im afraid to go over that but hopefully im wrong….

  23. RickJ 04/18/2009 at 3:07 PM #

    Great comments – My only addition would be to point out when there is no contact on QB’s, it is much different than a real game. This is particularly true with Wilson. If you took the ten best plays Wilson made last year, 7 or 8 of them would have been blown dead in this game.

  24. ChiefJoJo 04/18/2009 at 3:19 PM #

    Beyond what’s been said…

    *Baker looked OK; hard to tell about cutting ability as he didn’t have much room to run; mostly tucked it and hit up the middle for a few yards; surely it will take time for him to recover mentally from the knee
    *Mario Carter has put on some weight and will be a good one at TE; good complement to Bryan
    *Offense well ahead of defense, but still plenty of time to develop
    *RW pass to Spencer was a thing of beauty–perfect throw and catch (Spencer beat a walk-on DB though)
    *Glennon has more speed than you think; excellent pocket presence & arm, but overthrew a lot; can make all the throws
    *DL probably looked better than they are (my guess) but still will be very solid when Cash is back
    *LB will be a strength–Lucas, Beasley, Cole, Maddox all looked good/improved; hard to tell with Manning, who still wears a brace on left leg
    *Sam Jones is a beast; perfect frame for a future dominant LT (6-7/300); not much fat on him; gonna be a great one in time; Mr. T haircut adds to the intimidation affect
    *CJ Wilson got some 1st team snaps at corner & looked solid
    *Dominique Ellis looked like a 1st team corner out there; he is physical and not afraid to mix it up; strikes me as a good fit for a TOB defense (cover 2)
    *IMO if there’s a potential weak spot, it may be DB (minus Ellis and Clem Johnson), esp. if Javon Walker doesn’t come back (not sure his status); may need Simmons or Wolff to step up
    *Rob Crisp was on the field; he’s definitely huge, but a bit soft looking physically; college weight program will do wonders; was interviewed on field and said he was impressed with the spring turnout; show we have best FB fans in NC; he will try to enroll next spring (2010)
    *probably 90% of the team made Wolfpack Warriors by attending every practice; seems like a great number to me!

    Prediction is 7 or 8 wins.

    Overall, a great day to be out there. Go Pack!

  25. SouthernWolf 04/18/2009 at 3:34 PM #

    Jake Vermiglio had a couple of false starts that stalled the first drive but overall he did an exemplary job running the de lined up on him away from the QB on passing plays. He did an especially good job blocking Willie Young.

    I expect a much improved running game from last year. I know that the OL did not do a good job run blocking today but that is to be expected. Coming into the spring game, the coaching staff have been shuffling personnel on the offensive line and trying to see who can be most effective where. In that context, one would not expect the offensive line to do well in the spring game. Good offensive line play depends on teamwork and chemistry. During the spring game that is not there because guys are playing new postions and with different people so that coaches can see how they fit. Wayne Crawford played center for the white team and he converted to center from d-line this spring. He is still learning the system and learning how to play OL. RJ Mattes was playing Guard instead of tackle and Julian Williams has converted from tackle to gaurd. In these circumstances, it is not surprising to me that we are struggling to run the ball against what may be one of the top 3 front 7’s in the acc this year. Even are second string front 7 is strong as Tom Obrien has brought in the likes of William Beasley, Terrel Manning, and Sterling Lucas to play LB and all of these three guys had great games today. Our offensive line groups are still learning to play together and yet we are asking them today to go out and successfully pick up blitzes and block the right people on run plays, it is just going to take time. Just because we struggled to run the football in the spring game does not mean that come September we will struggle to run.

    James Washington had a great game today, he demonstrated superior vision and short area quickness. He also showed great balance but still needs to improve his leg drive and overall strength.

    Brandon Barnes showed his athleticism catching a swing pass and subsequently breaking the corner’s ankles with an awesome cutback move.

    agree with others above on the tight ends: they looked great and I would not be supprised to see quite a few two tight end sets in september where O’Brien tries to get George Bryan and Mario Carter on the field at the same time.

    Talyor Gentry picked up where he left off last year. He made a couple of tough catches out of the back field and fought hard for extra yards. He delivered several punishing blocks that broke open a few runs and also did a good job pass blocking.

    Sterling Lucas was all over the place on the second string defense

    Audi Cole showed why O’Brien has him on first string strong side LB by doing an excellent job defending passing routes on TE’s and RB’s.

    Owen Spencer gets Open and Jarvis Williams can catch anything thrown in his vicinity but TJ Graham was missed. We desperately need more depth and playmakers at the receiver position. If Jarvis, Jay, TJ, or Owen gets hurt, we could be in trouble this year.

    I agree with what others have said about Glennon’s great arm and decision making. He needs to continue to improve on his touch and short yardage throws and ball placement on crossing routes. He threw a 40 yard flea flicker that was like a laser I doubt the ball dropped more than 3 feet on the whole throw.

    Sam Jones is a beast but he needs to take a better pad level on running plays.

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