Photo by: Brian Morse
CATS IN CAMP DAY 9: Video Review Reinforces Positives, Adds Teachable Moments
8/14/2016 7:14:00 PM | Football
Positives on both offense, defense emerge on video review of scrimmage
The longer look ended up looking a lot like the first glance for Montana State head football coach Jeff Choate. Choate and his staff reviewed the scrimmage Saturday, and Sunday morning offered analysis:
On the offensive performance – "As we talked about on the field, it's never as good or as bad as you think it is," Choate said Sunday after reviewing video of his team's first fall scrimmage. "Even on the plays where peripherally it looks like we're executing really well there are things to clean up, a lot of details on our route-running and communication up front on the offensive side. My initial impression offensively on the field was some frustration with lack of efficiency in the red zone, not being able to score, putting ourselves in bad situations with penalties. That definitely played out as we watched the film. One of the things I talked about with the offensive staff last night was, we left a lot of plays on the grass. We can't do that. There's going to be some great teaching off the film today. We have to go out this afternoon and get better."
On the defensive performance – "On the defensive side, it's just fatigue. We had guys that took a lot of reps especially on the defensive line. One of the things I challenged our guys on (Sunday) was when you get tired you can't focus on your fatigue, you've got to focus on your technique. That's when you've really got to lock in mentally. You could see pad level not what it needs to be, technique not what it needs to be, and some of the explosive plays were a result of that. We've got to continue to harp on our conditioning and our mental toughness, but I did think there were real positives. We played tight coverage by and large, One thing that stood out to me on the field that I felt even more so after watching film is that we've got to spend more time in space-tackling. I thought we were pretty efficient tacklers from tackle to tackle, but once the ball got out, whether it was a quick screen or in the open field, we didn't take proper angles. We've got to spend some time on that. Really pleased with their effort, and looking forward to seeing how they'll bounce back (Sunday and Monday)."
YOUNG GUNS: Several young players have received reps with the varsity during the first week of camp, and Choate said that's a nod to the bumps and bruises of fall camp, but also the importance of developing young players. "Some of those things, in terms of mixing up the depth chart, are by design, and some are based on who's ready to go."
"We can't lose these kids in the first 10-12 days," he said. "They can't just be sitting there holding bags. They've got to feel they have a chance to go out there and get on tape and get coached off that tape. We've been doing a lot of mixing and matching, especially in the secondary, who's running with the ones, who's running with the twos."
Courtney Messingham likes the young players emerging on the offensive side, especially in the skill positions. "We've got a number of freshman, (receiver Kevin Kassis and running back Anthony Pegues) being two of them, that have done a nice job so far," Messingham said. "But we're still a long ways away from picking and choosing who are the (freshmen) will play and who are the guys that get redshirted." Offensive coaches laud Kassis for precise route-running and good hands and movement, while Pegues' combination of power and speed packed into a compact 5-8 frame makes him "a different guy," in Choate's parlance.
Cornerback Damien Washington continues to stand out, but defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak said several of the youngsters on his side of the ball are taking advantage of opportunity to impress. "At this time of camp depth gets a little iffy in terms of do you have a full group practicing that day or not… You've got young guys taking reps who hopefully won't have to play this fall." Defensive end Lewis Kidd, at 6-6, 266, remains a player that's hard to miss for both physical stature and impressive play.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Jeff Choate indicated that the team's decision on captains will come near the end of fall camp. "We're going to do that before our last week of fall camp. The 24th is Media Day, we'll have a team meeting that night and we'll probably have them after that." Choate said the timing allows for leaders "to emerge during a really important time. We have guys stepping forward, taking on leadership roles, and that will be a good time to make that decision." Choate indicated the team will elect captains, with the coaches adding "some say in the process."
On the offensive performance – "As we talked about on the field, it's never as good or as bad as you think it is," Choate said Sunday after reviewing video of his team's first fall scrimmage. "Even on the plays where peripherally it looks like we're executing really well there are things to clean up, a lot of details on our route-running and communication up front on the offensive side. My initial impression offensively on the field was some frustration with lack of efficiency in the red zone, not being able to score, putting ourselves in bad situations with penalties. That definitely played out as we watched the film. One of the things I talked about with the offensive staff last night was, we left a lot of plays on the grass. We can't do that. There's going to be some great teaching off the film today. We have to go out this afternoon and get better."
On the defensive performance – "On the defensive side, it's just fatigue. We had guys that took a lot of reps especially on the defensive line. One of the things I challenged our guys on (Sunday) was when you get tired you can't focus on your fatigue, you've got to focus on your technique. That's when you've really got to lock in mentally. You could see pad level not what it needs to be, technique not what it needs to be, and some of the explosive plays were a result of that. We've got to continue to harp on our conditioning and our mental toughness, but I did think there were real positives. We played tight coverage by and large, One thing that stood out to me on the field that I felt even more so after watching film is that we've got to spend more time in space-tackling. I thought we were pretty efficient tacklers from tackle to tackle, but once the ball got out, whether it was a quick screen or in the open field, we didn't take proper angles. We've got to spend some time on that. Really pleased with their effort, and looking forward to seeing how they'll bounce back (Sunday and Monday)."
YOUNG GUNS: Several young players have received reps with the varsity during the first week of camp, and Choate said that's a nod to the bumps and bruises of fall camp, but also the importance of developing young players. "Some of those things, in terms of mixing up the depth chart, are by design, and some are based on who's ready to go."
"We can't lose these kids in the first 10-12 days," he said. "They can't just be sitting there holding bags. They've got to feel they have a chance to go out there and get on tape and get coached off that tape. We've been doing a lot of mixing and matching, especially in the secondary, who's running with the ones, who's running with the twos."
Courtney Messingham likes the young players emerging on the offensive side, especially in the skill positions. "We've got a number of freshman, (receiver Kevin Kassis and running back Anthony Pegues) being two of them, that have done a nice job so far," Messingham said. "But we're still a long ways away from picking and choosing who are the (freshmen) will play and who are the guys that get redshirted." Offensive coaches laud Kassis for precise route-running and good hands and movement, while Pegues' combination of power and speed packed into a compact 5-8 frame makes him "a different guy," in Choate's parlance.
Cornerback Damien Washington continues to stand out, but defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak said several of the youngsters on his side of the ball are taking advantage of opportunity to impress. "At this time of camp depth gets a little iffy in terms of do you have a full group practicing that day or not… You've got young guys taking reps who hopefully won't have to play this fall." Defensive end Lewis Kidd, at 6-6, 266, remains a player that's hard to miss for both physical stature and impressive play.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Jeff Choate indicated that the team's decision on captains will come near the end of fall camp. "We're going to do that before our last week of fall camp. The 24th is Media Day, we'll have a team meeting that night and we'll probably have them after that." Choate said the timing allows for leaders "to emerge during a really important time. We have guys stepping forward, taking on leadership roles, and that will be a good time to make that decision." Choate indicated the team will elect captains, with the coaches adding "some say in the process."
Players Mentioned
WR
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DE
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RB
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CB
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