Practice report: Trufant, Hill practicing again
Posted By Ryan Divish on October 20, 2009 at 12:29 pm
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A few quick notes from practice ...
Players were in shells and sweats
As Jim Mora said yesterday, CB Marcus Trufant and LB LeRoy Hill were out practicing today with the team. I wouldn't call it full participation for both, Hill, more so than Trufant.
Trufant
Tru did some individual work and did some drills on his own on the side, but he also worked in with the second team in 7-on-7 drills and the final 12-on-12 period.
Obviously, he's a little rusty. But he did show moments of his normal self including a nice job on a little double move by Nate Burleson.
"Going through rehab and going through a long injury is a mental grind," Trufant said.
He had no specifics about his back injury other than to say it was a lower back injury and that he thought it was just a minor tweak when it first happened. It wasn't an injury that was nagging and kind of came out of nowhere. He did say that he has to be proactive and do some maintenance to keep the back healthy, including some of the same core strengthening exercises that Matt Hasselbeck must do.
"He's a quarterback, I'm a DB, so I kind of see myself as a little better athlete at times," Trufant joked. "But it is same some of the stuff and we had some of the same type of injury stuff. It's a constant rehab thing."
Hill looked really good. He participated in just about everything that I saw and was with the first-team linebackers in all group stuff. Perhaps the most impressive thing for me was seeing Hill plant, change direction and go full speed without a moment hesitation. He ran down Louis Rankin with ease on a pitch play and also was right there on a swing pass to the flats.
Hill
"I'm just trying to get back as quick as possible," Hill said. "I wouldn't exactly put a timetable on it. Practicing today, I felt perfect. I'll try my hardest to get back maybe next, but we'll see."
Teammate Deon Grant joked that Hill is playing better than he did before he got hurt.
How exactly Hill got hurt is kind of strange.
"It was kind of a freak thing," he said. "Basically I had bad form on a tackle. I'll try not to do that again. It was odd. I wasn't touched. It was just something that happened. It just snapped.
There were a good portion of players not practicing. CB Kelly Jennings, DE Patrick Kerney, OL Rob Sims, OL Walter Jones, OL Sean Locklear, LB Lofa Tatupu did not practice, but all were out there watching at the end.
One other noticeable thing is that Matt Hasselbeck is making good on his promise about getting more comfortable with receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh.
"T.J. and I have to get on the same page," he said. "We have to be automatic. We have to narrow our focus, instead of talking that we could do this or we could do that."
That was the quote Hasselbeck had after Sunday's game. Well they worked on it after practice on Tuesday, staying for at least 20 minutes working on those routes and discussing things before each repetition. These guys are still working and haven't given up.
pabuwal: "Eric Williams says Walter Jones hasn't been able to run yet. How does he even play this year and at a higher level than Sean Locklear? "
I haven't got the foggiest idea. All I know is that he was their left tackle going into training camp and the knee started giving out on him and it just kind of snowballed from there. From the reports I've been seeing all season long I'm surprised they didn't put him on the IR a long time ago. The fact that they haven't tells me that they think they need him in there, that he's still their left tackle and Locklear is a guard. If they ever do manage to get everybody back then that's how it will play out. I.E.
Jones Locklear Spencer Sims Willis
Maybe with Sims and Locklear swapping sides. I really don't know.
WCO is all about throwing short to medium passes with YAC, which Matt has been doing since his first day in the NFL with Holmgren. Matt wouldn't be the guy for Al Davis, but he can throw a nice 20-25 yard pass. I think it lies more in the amount of protection the OL gives him (time for WR's to work deeper) or not having a real burner to get deep, fast. They did take a shot with Butler that was close.
Losing to AZ sucked, absolutely. I'm really starting to take a dislike of our division rivals. That said, I'm still optimistic that we can win our next game, just like I always am. Call me a kool-aid guzzlin' fool if ya want, but I am a true fan. I cheer, root and support my team, win, lose or draw.
GO HAWKS!!!
On a different note, here's a real sad story about Terreal Bierria. Accused of 1st degree murder.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/7359/recalling-bierria-safety-turned-murder-suspect
"I'm really starting to take a dislike of our division rivals." Lol, welcome aboard!
bird the the niners play the Texans this week not the Cowboys.
I still hate the AFC West teams, but since moving over to the NFC, outside of the Rams the first couple of years, we have owned this division. We used to beat both AZ and SF so bad, it was hard to hate. But getting kicked around last year and this has put an end to that..lol
I've been the same way. I still hate the Raiders more than any team in the league. But the Cards and their bandwagon fake-ass fans are climbing the charts.
OutSydeDog: "They did take a shot with Butler that was close."
It was also a touchdown if it weren't for the pressure. The announcers were blaming Butler for not getting under that pass but I didn't think that was fair. It was a good throw, a good route, Buttler was at full gallop and had a step on his coverage. Hasselbeck was just hurried on the play and had to throw it too soon.
"That said, I'm still optimistic that we can win our next game, just like I always am. Call me a kool-aid guzzlin' fool if ya want, but I am a true fan. I cheer, root and support my team, win, lose or draw."
'
That's the spirit. It's still early in the season. This team could still have some surprises in store.
It's just football. Even if they're terrible the rest of the way they're still making memories. Thirty years from now you're going to be saying, "Hey, remember those teams back in '08 and '09 that had guys limping off the field every second play? Yeah, those were the days. Jones cola, hotdogs and hospital gurneys".
If Walter Jones does come back and is 60-70% of his old self, I'd put Locklear back at right tackle. I think Locklear's more proficient pass blocking outweighs Willis' more powerful run blocking, especially with the zone scheme.
Darnell Dockett was certainly talking some trash in the post game. That's what helps fire up a rivalry, if only Seattle can deliver on its end and make him eat his words (and taunt him with them afterwards.)
As a former baseball player, we were taught (and I later coached) to look up for the ball and then run to the spot it was going to be (I have heard this to be true from some football coaches as well). We were not taught to stare at it the whole time. The longer you run with your head in the air and looking up, the slower you become. On that play, Butler kept looking straight up and up and up, which slowed him down. If he could have judged the ball properly, and ran to the spot (or near the spot before looking up again) he would have been there and it would have been a TD. I think the announcers were correct in blaming the play on Butler. Granted, it's not easy and it's us sitting on our couches watching the game who think we know it all... but we aren't professionals either getting paid big bucks either (b/c we're not good enough).
"...staying for at least 20 minutes working on those routes ..."
Ooooh 20 minutes of after-hours practice. But I am not impressed. How about 2 hours?
" bulldog80 says:
October 20, 2009 at 6:33 pm
bird the the niners play the Texans this week not the Cowboys. "
Proof I am not just paying attention to football - and least not the friggin 9ers.
The Redskins Signed Levi Jones!
What did Ruskell Sign?
Pabuwal,
If Jones is in the lineup, he and Lock are bookends...Lock is NOT a G.
Thus you would have:
Jones, Sims, Spencer, Willis, Locklear
Pilot, what, you want Matt to blow out his arm? We don't have enough injurirs, you want we should have a few more? In 20 min, a receiver and QB can go through a game's worth of plays...
Clarification-in yesterday's blog I wrote that TR and probably Mora and knapp should go. I didn't mean now, in mid season. I'm saying TR should not be re-signed, that Mora was ineffective last year as secondary coach and probably has no business as Head coach and Knapp as plucked from his OC position at Oakland, where the Offense is as poor as there is, and has been in the NFL for many years. I don't know what the answer is, but what we have now isn't it. You just knew when Holmgren came from GB that things were going to get better, I just don't get that same feeling with this regime. I hope I'm wrong.
Yes. It is a little ironic that last years DBs weren't very good, but I blamed a lot of that on the lack of pass rush. Now, I'm not so sure that was the only reason. I think I drank too much Mora kool aid thinking his intensity would charge things up a lot.
The secondary clearly struggled last year. But so far this season, without Trufant, and Wilson and Lucas missing time or being dinged up, and having to rely on Fisher who's also been hurt, I think they've played pretty damn well. Now, when Tru comes back and gets up to speed and presuming Wilson and Lucas stay somewhat healthy the rest of the way, if we don't see improvement, then I'll agree there are larger issues there. (Like, when the hell are they going to address the safety issue in earnest?)
princeaden - can't say I disagree with that. Though I'd like to see TR gone before the absolute end of the season. Do players play off the emotional environment of the front office? If TR was let go, would it effect the team emotionally as a positive or negative? My gut says uncertainty cuts both ways. Some will try harder and some will be overly concerned about the next paycheck and be less effective. As we get closer to the end of this season, if the problems persist, I would want them to cut TR early. I wish the collective crowd at Qwest would 'boo' anytime TR makes an appearance. Maybe that is why he has been under th radar since the Rams game.
bird_spit - Before the Cards game last Sunday, he was roaming the sideline, pressing the flesh with quite a few people. If there were any fans who wanted to give him an earful, they would have certainly had every opportunity. He's just not the type to grant a lot of interviews regardless of how they are playing.
"The secondary clearly struggled last year. But so far this season, without Trufant, and Wilson and Lucas missing time or being dinged up, and having to rely on Fisher who's also been hurt, I think they've played pretty damn well"
Agree with that. Excepting the Colts game, and who can stop that guy anyway.
I think Jennings is back to decent form this year as well. I like what I've seen from our defense for the most part.
One note from Sunday - what a luxury to have a guy like Fitzgerald - b/c he doesn't really even have to get open to catch a pass - the CB is literally right next to him, but you just throw it high, and nobody else in the league goes up as high, and with as much body strength as he does, so if anyone's gonna catch that ball, he is. Several plays in the game, he was covered as well as you can cover a guy, and the pass was still completed.
That catch Fitz made while falling down and Jennings draped all over him was one of the best I've ever seen, live. Like you said, his strength and control is amazing. His hand are the perrfect combination of strength and yet soft. That's why the only way to slow him down is to keep Warner on his back side.
yeah, those amazing Fitzgerald catches are still replaying in my brain when I try to sleep at night. I can only imagine how Jennings, Lucas, and Wilson feel. Un-coverable.
What still bothers me most about the AZ game is our defensive line. I think we lost the game because we had too few healthy O linemen available, and because Fitgerald & co are unstoppable, but if we were going to be competitive in that game our defensive line had to step up and pressure Warner. We made AZs O linemen look better than they are. Kerney made some plays, but in the end, I am most disappointed in Tapp, LoJack, and Mebane. We needed more out of them.
"We made AZs O linemen look better than they are. Kerney made some plays, but in the end, I am most disappointed in Tapp, LoJack, and Mebane. We needed more out of them. "
Remember thought that they never got much rushing going - and also, we pretty much kept the receivers in front of us (Fitz had all those catches but his average was < 10 ypc), with the only exception i can remember being the Breaston TD catch (also a helluva catch). Given that AZ started what, like the 3 or 4 drives inside our 40 yd line (the pooch k.o., the hass fumble, the Breaston punt return) - holding them to the points they got was actually a decent effort.
"What still bothers me most about the AZ game is our defensive line"
I'm now pissed the most at Dockett's post-game comments . . .hope the Hawks are reading this guy, who's questioning their leader's toughness, and respond the right way when we see them again . . .
I agree pd, that AZs controlled passing scheme was very tough to defend. (and we could say disturbingly similar things about the Indy game.)
But coming into the season, I believed our front seven is the strength of our team, and i still want to believe this. A four-man rush with occasional help from an LB or DB simply must get to the QB more often or more teams will beat us with a controlled passing attack.
We have very good D linemen, but It might be that Bradley still needs one more dominating DT to line up next to Mebane in order to make this work. Does anyone know what's going on with Red Bryant and why he isn't playing more? I thought he was going to become that guy but now I am wondering.
Stevo - Sorry if this is redundant but Terrill taking more snaps than Mebane is not a good thing. And I'll have to re watch the game to be 100% certain, but it was damn close. I understand there is a rotation but when Terrill is in at either RDT or LDT (and he was at both) as often as a healthy Mebane and Cole, it's reasonable to expect a drop in production. I'm not intending to knock Terrill mind you. It's just that regardless of down and distance, I don't feel he helps make up one of the best variations of the d-line.
nightwulf: "If Jones is in the lineup, he and Lock are bookends...Lock is NOT a G."
In fact he is. He was a guard in college and he was drafted as a guard. He just ended up being pressed into service at tackle because because Seattle had a hole in that spot and previous drafts who were supposed to fill that hole were not panning out. If you recall he was kind of lost out there for the first couple of years. Then he got better with experience, which is what you expect.
Willis, on the other hand was a tackle in college and was drafted as a tackle. He didn't pan out as well as they wanted at first either. Then he was pressed into service as a guard because injuries created a need there. He did well there. It turns out, I suppose, that Willis is one of those guys that just performs better in game conditions than he shows in practice. Well, now they have him at tackle which is his natural spot. He needs more experience, but that's where he's likely to stay. Locklear's natural spot is guard. As long as Jones remains out they need him to play tackle but if you can get everybody back and healthy then you want to put him in his natural position because natural is optimal. I.E. he's become a good tackle but in the long run he's likely to become a better guard.