WholeHogSports
KNOCK ON WOOD : Scrimmage provides blueprint for improvement
Posted on Monday, August 11, 2008
URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/nwat/68010/
The good comes with the bad in any scrimmage situation, and that certainly was the case Sunday morning when Bobby Petrino tested his Arkansas Razorbacks with a 145-play dress rehearsal.
Early on, the offense had their way in the proceedings as tiny titan Michael Smith ripped off runs of 48 and 69 yards to show that quality running backs remain on campus despite the early departure of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones for the NFL.
Smith went the distance on the 48-yarder thanks to a gapping hole created by the Hogs’ offensive line.
How many times did we see McFadden or Jones take advantage of a similar hole to go the distance ?
The 69-yard tote that ended at the 11-yard line started with some misdirection left that allowed the 5-7, 178-pound speedster to turn the right sideline into his own personal sprinting lane.
As many predicted, the Razorbacks offensive line appears to be a team strength, and honestly, that’s not a bad place to start.
When the men up front do their job well, everyone else on the unit becomes a better player.
The same can be said for the other side of the football. Arkansas started slow on defense but improved as the day wore on.
Conversely, Arkansas’ offense lost some concentration after their half-time break, which resulted in more mistakes.
That’s the give and take a head coach wrestles with when eyeing a scrimmage at ground level.
No doubt, Petrino and his staff will know exactly what holes the Razorbacks needs to go about filling after dissecting the video of Sunday’s scrimmage.
But his first impression was that he wants more out of the Hogs’ front four defenders in terms of pressure on the quarterback.
But he also allowed that it’s difficult for ends and tackles to truly tee off when they aren’t allowed to hit the quarterback.
Several of Arkansas’ quarterbacks fired passes with a defender standing in their face. In a game, those plays would have resulted in sacks or at least forcing the QB to scramble.
Speaking of quarterbacks, their play looked pretty good. It seems all hands have improved since last spring.
Casey Dick is the clearcut leader at the position, in case some were wondering. He had a good day completing 20 of 35 for 260 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. But Petrino said he lost concentration as the day wore on and that he missed some assignments late that he can’t miss once the season begins.
Dick does seem to play it safe at times, throwing to the flats instead of hitting his deep or intermediate routes, but there is time for him to pick that up.
Of the other quarterbacks, freshman Tyler Wilson of Greenwood was the most impressive from the stands, although fellow freshman Jim Youngblood does have good wheels.
The biggest sticking point of the scrimmage was a subject Petrino did not broach and one he wasn’t directly questioned about: linebackers.
Going into camp, we knew linebacker was a question mark and Sunday that question mark was not erased.
At middle linebacker, the Hogs have red-shirt freshman Jerry Franklin battling sophomore Jermaine Love for the starting spot. True freshman Tenarius Wright was in the fray, too, but he was withheld from the scrimmage Sunday and appeared to be wearing a protective boot on one foot.
Middle linebacker appears to be a spot where Arkansas will have growing pains this season, and that’s not a good place to be inexperienced when facing Southeastern Conference opponents.
With its pros and cons, the scrimmage served its purpose. It gave the coaches a blueprint for improvement.
Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.