 |
 |
| X Front Page RiceOwls.com Rice Forum CUSA Forum Chronicle Rice roster Schedule Quicklinks Last Update Email us  About Rice
|
'08 Spring Scrimmage Mr.
Automatic Blue 44, Grey 43 HOUSTON (Mar. 29) -- It's hardly a new wrinkle when the Rice Owl offense rolls up 44 points to win by a nose in the waning moments -- while somehow not looking particularly all that impressive en route. But that was the eerily familiar outcome in Saturday's annual Blue-Grey intrasquad scrimmage at Rice Stadium, which pitted first team offense versus second team defense and second team offense versus first team defense. The contest ended up Offense 44, Defense 43, such having been scored by way of a system which awarded points directly to both the offensive and defensive sides for big plays in addition to stops and points scored. It was clear that Rice offensive minds had been placing a big focus this spring on the acquisition of some semblance of a running game, and it could be said that 'some semblance' was what showed up Saturday. Veteran quarterback Chase Clement scrambled ran 10 times for 69 yards on the day to lead all rushers, C. J. Ugogkwe led a passel of Owl running backs with eight carries for 33. The Rice offensive units finished with 191 yards rushing on the day, showing the occasional capability of running the ball up the gut, especially late in the contest. The play of both units appeared, in conclusion, to be that of a work-in-progress, with numerous spots to be filled, skills to be honed, and improvement still needed on both side of the ball. Both the Rice offensive and defensive coordinators closed the proceedings with, shall we say, a spirited critique of the day's performance. Suffice it to say that no one earned an "A" -- well, almost no one. On the defensive front, Scott Solomon played like a man possessed, winding up with eight tackles, three of them for sacks and three more behind the line of scrimmage. Not bad, for a guy who was too banged up to strap on full pads for a good part of the spring thus far. "I had hurt my hamstring earlier in the spring, " Scott told us. "But I was really feeling pretty good out there today. We're pretty hyped, and think we're all working together for one goal, and we're excited about the upcoming season." "I feel intensity is up in the weight room and we just get it done in there, for starters." More risk defensively, Coach says With at least a nominal increase in size and speed in the offing, Coach Bailiff said that the defensive strategy for ‘08 will involve a greater degree of risk than that ‘07 version, and, at least to a slight degree, that gambit was played out on the field Saturday. "We absolutely did that this spring," Coach said, "but we have to put the defense under stress to make sure we are getting our alignments right and get our assignments right. I think we showed we’re getting better at that." "At times, I thought the defense showed just how much it has improved. You saw some extremely hard, violent tackles." It should be noted that several key Owls did not suit out for the scrimmage, owing to various degrees of injury. AMong them, OL Preston Thompson stayed on the sideline with an ankle sprain; RB Justin Hill was out with a shoulder injury of unknown nature and degree, and DL Cheta Ogozokwu was just a bit too banged up to play. But that forced a number of youngters to step up and show their coaches what they can do, Coach Bailiff insisted. "For instance, Preston hurt the ankle; he didn't play today," Coach Bailiff observed. "So that forced Tyler Parrish to come in – that's part of the game. We got to learn, whosoever’s there -- they've got to compete. We tell them all the time that you're a play away from being the one; when that happens to you, all of a sudden, you've got to be ready to go." One guy who’s always ready to go is sophomore utility man James Casey. The Mighty Casey was up to his usual level of performance on the field Saturday – and when has he ever done anything less? Case led all receivers with six catches for 63 yards, and lined up in several positions, just as he did last year. "Wherever they put me , whatever Coach tells me to play, that's what I'm doing," Case told us afterwards. "Mostly this spring it's been pretty much the same stuff as last year; H-back, slot, short receiver." (He forgot to mention they had him fielding punts as well Saturday. Imagine a 170-pound wideout caroming down the field and getting ready to blast into that Rock of Gibraltar.) "But I don't mind taking the snaps for the short yardage situation at all," the big guy added, "Even though Chase is perfectly capable in that kind of situation." More autonomy on offense another emphasis Another change in approach that Owl fans will be glad to see, come fall, is a decreased emphasis on looking to the sideline to pick up play calls by the offense. At times, last season, the Owl offensive skill players looked like so many deer in the headlights, peering inquisitively over to the sidelines with drives on the line among hostile road crowds. There should be less of that situation showing up, come fall. "We're messing with the tempo," Coach Bailiff said. "We have a thought at times offensively of really speeding it up and not looking at the sidelines." "And you saw the offense at times look like the big play, quick strike offense that we want to become." In the passing department, Chase Clement adeptly, if not spectactularly, led the first unit, completing 14-of-19 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown, a 26-yard strike to C. J. Ugokwe roaming out of the backfield. Meanwhile, John Thomas Shepherd captained the second unit, completing 15-of-24 passes for 62 yards. In fact, neither offensive unit pushed the ball downfield very hard, concentrating instead on the short passing game along with the rushing attack. Defensively, junior linebacker Terrance Garmon had 10 total tackles including a pair of quarterback sacks and a tackle for lost yardage. Rice's linebackers split up numerous tackles among themselves showing good lateral speed, although none of them turned in a monster performance. Brian Raines looks healthy, however, and appears to be back in full stride. While Rice position coaches clearly were expressing dissatisfaction with the level of performance in Saturday’s scrimmage, there has been a major bright side to this year’s spring drills, Coach Bailiff said. "We have been able to do more this spring because we have had some numbers," he noted, considering the fact that the absolute numbers went from 50 players during spring ‘07 to 71 this year. "Last spring there was not a lot of things we could do because we could only stay out for 16 periods. This year we are able to say `these are our objectives and these are the things we have to improve on.' Last spring it was all we could do just to get our offense and defense installed." The Owls will conclude spring drills with three more practices next week – and then it’s back to the weight room, and the school books in anticipation of final exams. --P. T. H.
|
RiceOwls.com
| Chronicle
football | Rice fan forum
| CUSA fan forum
| Owldigest.com |
