North Dakota State’s Billy Turner would probably like to forget about Tuesday’s practice (Photo: inform.com)
DraftBrowns.com Staff Writer: Justin Higdon
The North Team braved the winter winds of Mobile this morning, but everyone was really more interested in how South quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and David Fales would handle the conditions. But the Jaguars’ coaching staff tested the patience of onlookers with an extended stretching session as temperatures dipped into the high 40s. After the sleep-inducing start, things ramped up, and a productive session was born. Here’s a look at the South’s Tuesday session.
QBs played pitch and catch without opposition, leading directly to snarky “analysis” and the #theresnodefensethough and #theresstillnodefense twitter hash tags. All of the early loosening up didn’t clear the jitters and several players including Auburn fullback Jay Prosch, Georgia tight end Arthur Lynch, and ‘Bama receiver Kevin Norwood dropped passes despite the lack of opposition. When the offense and defense finally faced off, I focused my attention on pass protection drills. Running backs and tight ends faced off against linebackers and defensive backs and pads started to pop. Prosch was more comfortable here than in pass catching drills, and stoned Georgia Tech pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu on one particular rep. Prosch was mostly stout save for one occasion, when Alabama’s Adrian Hubbard ran him over. Hubbard’s bulldoze must have been a stroke of luck, because he was handled on just about every other attempt. Hubbard is stiff as a board and moves gingerly like a man 20 years older. I have to wonder if he is battling some undisclosed ailment this week. Hubbard wasn’t one of my favorites before this week, but I never thought he looked quite so awkward.
One of the stars of the pass protection drill was Lorenzo Taliaferro. As I’ve mentioned before, I knew little about the running back from Coastal Carolina coming into this week, but he has shown well as a power runner and receiver, and now as a blocker. Aside from an eye-popping blitz from LSU linebacker Lamin Barrow (who’s playing well this week from what little I’ve seen of him), Taliaferro passed just about every test handed to him on Tuesday.
The same couldn’t be said for Lynch, who is off to a terrible start this week. Having already dropped and double-caught a number of passes, pass protection drills were a chance for redemption, but he was beaten badly by Christian Jones and even struggled against a number of defensive backs. Lynch was a player I liked heading into the season, but he has seemed to regress. Now, I’m not sure he’s worth more than a mid round pick, and this week isn’t helping.
In passing drills, Texas wide receiver Mike Davis had a brutal drop deep down the right sideline. Later, he torched Auburn CB Chris Davis down the same sideline and caught the ball against his chest. Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews continued to have an uneven week. He made an outstanding adjustment to twist and haul in a wobbly deep ball down the left sideline from David Fales, but later let a slant go right through his hands. Mathews is a physical receiver and defensive backs seem to be giving extra effort when facing off against him. It makes for entertaining viewing, but Matthews appears to be getting frustrated at times. To his credit, he has stayed late for extra work with Fresno State QB Derek Carr on each of the first two days of practice.
Carr was once again the cream of the crop among the South quarterbacks. He has a strong arm, but shows good touch, and he didn’t seem bothered a bit by the winds. On one play he pulled off a perfect play fake, rolled to his left, and fired a bead on the move. The only problem was that Davis was unable to get both of his feet down in bounds. While Carr looked pretty good overall, it’s important to remember that these guys aren’t facing any serious pressure. That’s not going to be the case on Sundays.
Over in the pit, North Dakota State tackle Billy Turner had a day to forget. He struggled repeatedly with speed rushers, and his issues continued in team drills. Auburn’s Dee Ford and Arkansas’ Chris Smith were the primary beneficiaries of Turner’s generosity, and helped him earn the nickname “Turnstile Turner” for at least one day. After watching him get smoked at left and right tackle today, it’s easy to see why some teams are curious about Turner’s ability to play guard.
One more practice for me before I return to the icy North to ride out the winter indoors. But it won’t be much better here. Wednesday morning’s practice time temperature is expected to be right around 32 degrees. Look for plenty of tweets about which players are wearing sleeves and which one’s aren’t, and how much that tells us about mental toughness (I kid. I mean, I hope I’m kidding).