FlyingGreg
Active member
Just got back from an awesome day at VMAC for camp. I went with my wife, younger sister, brother in law, nephew and niece. I took a lot of notes, I apologize that most of this is mind burps and not organized lol. There is a LOT going on.
We dropped off my nephew at The Landing in Renton very early (around 6:30 am), and he held our place in line. We ended up being on the first bus and had our pick of where to stand at the facility. For those who haven't attended yet or are not aware, there is a Top Pot donut shop close by to where you line up... :> There is definitely a lot more media present this year.
*** I did like that in the buses that take you down to the VMAC, they have the "I'M IN" signs above the door.
-- Marquand Manuel came out early with CB/S DeShawn Shead to do some one-on-one work, very close to where we were standing along the fence line. Surprisingly, most of the fans there had no idea who Manuel was...but I did. I chatted him up back and forth for awhile. I think I cursed the memory of Etric Pruitt too.
-- Other than the PUP guys - DT Jesse Williams, DE Cliff Avril, LB Heath Farwell and T Michael Bowie did not practice. FB Michael Robinson and TE Sean McGrath were back in.
-- LB K.J. Wright has a cast on his left wrist. According to Danny O'Neil (more on him soon), it should come off soon and should not be an issue for the regular season.
-- WR Stephen Williams has really good size and flashed some potential. I see why John Schneider is high on him. He made some plays today.
-- LB John Lotulelei is definitely smallish, but has quickness and he brings some pop. I can see him as a practice squad guy this season.
-- LB/DE Bruce Irvin is definitely bigger. He works out with the LB's and spent all his time (that I noted) in a 2-point stance as the SAM.
-- TE Sean McGrath seemed to be moving well and had a good practice with quite a few nice catches. I'm hopeful he can bring his game from the practice field/pre-season games into the regular season games this year. I did note that he seems to get dinged up a lot and is slow to his feet more often than I'd like. He had several nice plays in scrimmage today and was one of the standouts for me.
-- TE Darren Fells is a big boy...but raw. I see the practice squad for him too. If he can develop his game, I like the idea of having an athletic 6'7" target for Russell Wilson.
-- TE Zach Miller is walking with a slight limp. He came by after practice and signed autographs and he said he will be back "soon".
-- Chatted up Danny O'Neil for awhile...he's fun.
-- For whatever reason, Beast Mode was doing individual positional drills (the hand-to-hand engagement drill) with the defensive line for awhile. Just Marshawn being Marshawn, I guess. He was one of the highlights of the day (more later).
-- Even though he didn't practice, it was interesting to see Farwell "coaching up" a few players during the special teams portion of practice. He was right out there in the mix showing guys what to do. Pretty cool.
-- Ashton Wilson sighting! She is pretty nice. Her, Golden Tate's girlfriend and a few other players wives/girlfriends were right next to us for awhile.
-- K Carson Wiggs definitely has some leg. I'm hoping he pushes Steven Hauschka for a roster spot.
-- DE Kenneth Boatright looked "small" to me. He's listed as 6'3", 254...
-- During the LB positional drills, they set up orange rings that the players were race around and then run towards a tackling dummy - a speed drill. Bruce Irvin and John Lotulelei really stood out.
-- LB Malcolm Smith had a brace on his right leg, but it didn't seem to be bothering him.
-- LB coach Ken Norton cracked me up during one of the LB drills. They set up tackling sleds, and the backers would lift them up and then twist them to the ground. After one set of players knocked them down, they just walked back to the end of the line and Ken said, "everyone standing around and nobody helping me pick this sh*t up!"
-- RB Spencer Ware seems to be a little small for a fullback. Just my two cents. He had a rough day today as well, getting smacked around a bit in the scrimmage portion. Welcome to the NFL, rook.
-- The RB vs. LB drill is a lot of fun to watch - considerable violence in a short area. Lots of pads popping and "oohs and aahs" from the crowd.
-- The new RB we signed, #30 (Holley) was out there. He may be the next Great White Hope in the hallowed name of Jesse Lumsden!
-- Beast Mode fought for a swing pass with one of the defenders and couldn't make the catch. He then reacted very dramatically and did a swan drive onto the ground, which brought a lot of laughs from the crowd and also some push-ups from Sherman Smith, lol.
-- DE Chris Clemons looks to be walking around pretty good.
-- DT Jesse Williams is a large man. So is DT Tony McDaniel. So is LT Russell Okung. Heck, they all look big.
-- TE Luke Willson has a well constructed frame and is athletic. He didn't stand out much today, nothing bad just that they seemed to be featuring Harper/Kearse/McGrath/Bates more.
-- RB Christine Michael is VERY, VERY impressive. He is low to the ground but has great quickness and elusiveness. He runs with a purpose and looks like he is going to be a force in time. Lots of people behind me were asking me, "who is #33??" One of the standout players from today for me...Robert Turbin better get back on the field quick :shock:
-- WR Phil Bates was another standout for me today. He has good size and seems to have developed his game the last year quite a bit. He made a lot of catches today.
-- QB Brady Quinn... well, he doesn't really excite me. He loses some steam on his passes beyond 15 yards, and seemed to have some accuracy issues at times, and it looks like he has a tendency to rush his throws. I've seen others post from camp today and they said he looked good, so who knows. I wasn't overly excited. On the plus side, he spent the longest time after practice signing autographs. And his sister is white hot. So there is that.
-- Another standout...and another receiver: WR Jermaine Kearse. He caught everything today.
-- Seahawks.com photographer Rod Mar has a really BIG _________________ camera.
-- It is a blessing that we have this man. Nothing spectacular from Russell today, although he had a few nice gains on read options keeps.
-- WR Chris Harper had a few catches in the 2-minute drill. Looks like he is getting his feet under him.
-- The Legion of Boom just looks ... ridiculous. They are like flypaper! Actually, the whole #1 defense today was like that. Our offense has it's hands full every day in practice, which is going to help them. The secondary is particularly tight and close-knit. Sherman was pandering to the crowd quite a bit. Gotta love him.
-- Beast Mode lined up in the slot on one play during the scrimmage portion. On the next play, Christine Michael went wide. Just a few wrinkles.
-- I noted a lot of camaraderie and closeness - not just between the players but also the players and coaches. You can tell that it is a tight unit. At one point, WR Doug Baldwin walked up and hugged Tom Cable.
-- SS Winston Guy FLATTENED TE Cooper Helfet on a play during the scrimmage portion.
-- FS Earl Thomas dropped a pick! He needs to stop that. :mrgreen: In all fairness, it was a short throw from T-Jack with a lot of zip on it and he broke on it beautifully.
-- DT/DE Michael Bennett got some good interior pressure. I'm pretty sure he got a sack on Wilson during scrimmage.
Today was a great day for autographs. We were positioned not too far down the line from the scoreboard on the fence line. I brought my custom made white jersey that the Commanding Officer of my last ship gave to me as a going away present - he sent it to the Hawks and Red Bryant and Kam Chancellor signed it before he presented it to me. The #84 is in honor of that ship's hull number, which I thought was cool. Red and Kam were the only two autographs I had on it before today. As you can see from this picture, I got quite a few more:
Players who signed today: Zach Miller, Sidney Rice (he is really cool), Michael Bowie (he was surprised I knew who he was), Fat Rabbit, Max Unger, Mike Person, Carson Wiggs, John Moffitt, J.R. Sweezy, Chris Maragos, Kenneth Boatright, and Lemuel Jeanpierre. We were REALLY close to Richard Sherman but he had to punch out.
Here's a pic of Sidney signing close to us:
My wife also took a picture of me and Pete Carroll. He is very patient and generous. I reminded him that he has a standing offer for a flight in an EA-18G Growler when he wants it. :lol:
Probably the best part...Beast Mode (who was only signing for kids) walked up to where my sister and 5-year old niece were standing, and she looked up and said, "I think that was Marshawn Lynch"...and Beast said, "I AM Marshawn Lynch, and I'm not going anywhere!" She got his autograph. Pretty funny.
You think you are a die hard fan? I stood next to a guy who had a really cool large matted picture of a sky dive he did near Snohomish, with the 12th Man flag proudly flapping above him. He told me he has done 840+ jumps. He got quite a few of the players and also Pete Carroll to sign it after practice. I took a picture of it:
In closing, I was impressed with Michael, Bates, Harper, McGrath, Kearse, Lotulelei, Bennett and of course our 1st team D. I'd also be remiss not to mention WR Bryan Walters, who made some plays today as well.
That's about it, .Netters.
We dropped off my nephew at The Landing in Renton very early (around 6:30 am), and he held our place in line. We ended up being on the first bus and had our pick of where to stand at the facility. For those who haven't attended yet or are not aware, there is a Top Pot donut shop close by to where you line up... :> There is definitely a lot more media present this year.
*** I did like that in the buses that take you down to the VMAC, they have the "I'M IN" signs above the door.
-- Marquand Manuel came out early with CB/S DeShawn Shead to do some one-on-one work, very close to where we were standing along the fence line. Surprisingly, most of the fans there had no idea who Manuel was...but I did. I chatted him up back and forth for awhile. I think I cursed the memory of Etric Pruitt too.
-- Other than the PUP guys - DT Jesse Williams, DE Cliff Avril, LB Heath Farwell and T Michael Bowie did not practice. FB Michael Robinson and TE Sean McGrath were back in.
-- LB K.J. Wright has a cast on his left wrist. According to Danny O'Neil (more on him soon), it should come off soon and should not be an issue for the regular season.
-- WR Stephen Williams has really good size and flashed some potential. I see why John Schneider is high on him. He made some plays today.
-- LB John Lotulelei is definitely smallish, but has quickness and he brings some pop. I can see him as a practice squad guy this season.
-- LB/DE Bruce Irvin is definitely bigger. He works out with the LB's and spent all his time (that I noted) in a 2-point stance as the SAM.
-- TE Sean McGrath seemed to be moving well and had a good practice with quite a few nice catches. I'm hopeful he can bring his game from the practice field/pre-season games into the regular season games this year. I did note that he seems to get dinged up a lot and is slow to his feet more often than I'd like. He had several nice plays in scrimmage today and was one of the standouts for me.
-- TE Darren Fells is a big boy...but raw. I see the practice squad for him too. If he can develop his game, I like the idea of having an athletic 6'7" target for Russell Wilson.
-- TE Zach Miller is walking with a slight limp. He came by after practice and signed autographs and he said he will be back "soon".
-- Chatted up Danny O'Neil for awhile...he's fun.
-- For whatever reason, Beast Mode was doing individual positional drills (the hand-to-hand engagement drill) with the defensive line for awhile. Just Marshawn being Marshawn, I guess. He was one of the highlights of the day (more later).
-- Even though he didn't practice, it was interesting to see Farwell "coaching up" a few players during the special teams portion of practice. He was right out there in the mix showing guys what to do. Pretty cool.
-- Ashton Wilson sighting! She is pretty nice. Her, Golden Tate's girlfriend and a few other players wives/girlfriends were right next to us for awhile.
-- K Carson Wiggs definitely has some leg. I'm hoping he pushes Steven Hauschka for a roster spot.
-- DE Kenneth Boatright looked "small" to me. He's listed as 6'3", 254...
-- During the LB positional drills, they set up orange rings that the players were race around and then run towards a tackling dummy - a speed drill. Bruce Irvin and John Lotulelei really stood out.
-- LB Malcolm Smith had a brace on his right leg, but it didn't seem to be bothering him.
-- LB coach Ken Norton cracked me up during one of the LB drills. They set up tackling sleds, and the backers would lift them up and then twist them to the ground. After one set of players knocked them down, they just walked back to the end of the line and Ken said, "everyone standing around and nobody helping me pick this sh*t up!"
-- RB Spencer Ware seems to be a little small for a fullback. Just my two cents. He had a rough day today as well, getting smacked around a bit in the scrimmage portion. Welcome to the NFL, rook.
-- The RB vs. LB drill is a lot of fun to watch - considerable violence in a short area. Lots of pads popping and "oohs and aahs" from the crowd.
-- The new RB we signed, #30 (Holley) was out there. He may be the next Great White Hope in the hallowed name of Jesse Lumsden!
-- Beast Mode fought for a swing pass with one of the defenders and couldn't make the catch. He then reacted very dramatically and did a swan drive onto the ground, which brought a lot of laughs from the crowd and also some push-ups from Sherman Smith, lol.
-- DE Chris Clemons looks to be walking around pretty good.
-- DT Jesse Williams is a large man. So is DT Tony McDaniel. So is LT Russell Okung. Heck, they all look big.
-- TE Luke Willson has a well constructed frame and is athletic. He didn't stand out much today, nothing bad just that they seemed to be featuring Harper/Kearse/McGrath/Bates more.
-- RB Christine Michael is VERY, VERY impressive. He is low to the ground but has great quickness and elusiveness. He runs with a purpose and looks like he is going to be a force in time. Lots of people behind me were asking me, "who is #33??" One of the standout players from today for me...Robert Turbin better get back on the field quick :shock:
-- WR Phil Bates was another standout for me today. He has good size and seems to have developed his game the last year quite a bit. He made a lot of catches today.
-- QB Brady Quinn... well, he doesn't really excite me. He loses some steam on his passes beyond 15 yards, and seemed to have some accuracy issues at times, and it looks like he has a tendency to rush his throws. I've seen others post from camp today and they said he looked good, so who knows. I wasn't overly excited. On the plus side, he spent the longest time after practice signing autographs. And his sister is white hot. So there is that.
-- Another standout...and another receiver: WR Jermaine Kearse. He caught everything today.
-- Seahawks.com photographer Rod Mar has a really BIG _________________ camera.
-- It is a blessing that we have this man. Nothing spectacular from Russell today, although he had a few nice gains on read options keeps.
-- WR Chris Harper had a few catches in the 2-minute drill. Looks like he is getting his feet under him.
-- The Legion of Boom just looks ... ridiculous. They are like flypaper! Actually, the whole #1 defense today was like that. Our offense has it's hands full every day in practice, which is going to help them. The secondary is particularly tight and close-knit. Sherman was pandering to the crowd quite a bit. Gotta love him.
-- Beast Mode lined up in the slot on one play during the scrimmage portion. On the next play, Christine Michael went wide. Just a few wrinkles.
-- I noted a lot of camaraderie and closeness - not just between the players but also the players and coaches. You can tell that it is a tight unit. At one point, WR Doug Baldwin walked up and hugged Tom Cable.
-- SS Winston Guy FLATTENED TE Cooper Helfet on a play during the scrimmage portion.
-- FS Earl Thomas dropped a pick! He needs to stop that. :mrgreen: In all fairness, it was a short throw from T-Jack with a lot of zip on it and he broke on it beautifully.
-- DT/DE Michael Bennett got some good interior pressure. I'm pretty sure he got a sack on Wilson during scrimmage.
Today was a great day for autographs. We were positioned not too far down the line from the scoreboard on the fence line. I brought my custom made white jersey that the Commanding Officer of my last ship gave to me as a going away present - he sent it to the Hawks and Red Bryant and Kam Chancellor signed it before he presented it to me. The #84 is in honor of that ship's hull number, which I thought was cool. Red and Kam were the only two autographs I had on it before today. As you can see from this picture, I got quite a few more:
Players who signed today: Zach Miller, Sidney Rice (he is really cool), Michael Bowie (he was surprised I knew who he was), Fat Rabbit, Max Unger, Mike Person, Carson Wiggs, John Moffitt, J.R. Sweezy, Chris Maragos, Kenneth Boatright, and Lemuel Jeanpierre. We were REALLY close to Richard Sherman but he had to punch out.
Here's a pic of Sidney signing close to us:
My wife also took a picture of me and Pete Carroll. He is very patient and generous. I reminded him that he has a standing offer for a flight in an EA-18G Growler when he wants it. :lol:
Probably the best part...Beast Mode (who was only signing for kids) walked up to where my sister and 5-year old niece were standing, and she looked up and said, "I think that was Marshawn Lynch"...and Beast said, "I AM Marshawn Lynch, and I'm not going anywhere!" She got his autograph. Pretty funny.
You think you are a die hard fan? I stood next to a guy who had a really cool large matted picture of a sky dive he did near Snohomish, with the 12th Man flag proudly flapping above him. He told me he has done 840+ jumps. He got quite a few of the players and also Pete Carroll to sign it after practice. I took a picture of it:
In closing, I was impressed with Michael, Bates, Harper, McGrath, Kearse, Lotulelei, Bennett and of course our 1st team D. I'd also be remiss not to mention WR Bryan Walters, who made some plays today as well.
That's about it, .Netters.
