33 Notes on Training Camp, Day 3 | Harris Hits

16. In the next series, Taylor exploded his juice to reach and go through the hole. It was really impressive. I’m not sure if anyone touched him… but I guess you have to see him to tackle him.

17. On the team’s final play of the second half for Mills, he threw a backward pass to WR Xavier Hutchinson who made the adjustment for a reception and a first down on the opposite sideline. Again, another great throw from Mills during team drills.

18. It was great to see OG Kendrick Green hold his own, holding his own against a potent attack in pass protection. I had a direct window of observation on him from the sidelines and he held his own. After the knee injury he suffered in Week 4 last year, there is always that concern when the first play back on the field after the injury. However, Kendrick held his own, showing that strength that is a hallmark of his game.

19. It was awesome to see my man WR Johnny Johnson make a few catches in a row on throws from rocket-armed QB Tim Boyle.

20. I mentioned new P Tommy Townsend on Thursday because of his impressive hang time. So I pulled out my phone/stopwatch to put some real numbers behind that hang time. It was hot out so I didn’t have the brain power to remember to do it on his first punts, but I did it on his last four – 4.26 seconds, 4.76 seconds, 5.01 seconds, and 5.14 seconds. If he does that during the season, my goodness, it’s going to be a HUGE help for coverage teams. What a weapon he can be this year.

21. Stroud started the next period with a completion to Diggs on a quick play, just stealing yards. Remember what I said about the quality on both sides earlier? Well, on that same play, DE Will Anderson Jr. just flipped the right tackle and ripped him off his feet, closing in on Stroud before he ripped the ball away from Diggs on the sideline.

22. The offense exploded with excitement on the next play when RB Dameon Pierce quickly reached the vertical on an inside run. It was simply beautiful, blocked perfectly and executed exactly as Slowik drew it on the board.

23. But the defense wasn’t going to let CJ get comfortable after two successful plays. The blitz came back to Stroud as he tried to find WR Robert Woods in the flat. S Jalen Pitre was in impeccable one-on-one coverage and disrupted any completions.

24. A few plays later, Mills completed a pass to WR Tank Dell on an out route down the sideline. As usual, Tank had some yardage while the DBs were a little worried about him down the field.

25. A few plays later, QB Case Keenum connected with Robert Woods on an out route and boy, what a catch! DB Myles Bryant could NOT have been in a better position, but somehow the ball was inches away from Bryant. Then, Woods reached out with his left paw and rolled it up. What a fun football play!

26. The defense had a few moments of respite throughout the day, but their best moment came on a deep throw from Stroud to Dell. S Eric Murray intercepted and made a comeback, which was great for the defense to finally get one in a team period. But it was rookie CB Kamari Lassiter who really made the play, stopping Dell from running in front of him for a deep reception. Lassiter was out of coverage and just turned to run with Dell, staying in sync the entire way down the field. Murray rushed over to help and ended up making the interception.

27. On the next play, CB Derek Stingley Jr. ran WR Nico Collins’ route perfectly to force a pass breakup. That was excellent coverage by the Sting on that route.

28. Then the defense forced Stroud to throw earlier than he wanted with some pressure on him. Incomplete. THAT 3 play sequence was the defense’s best run of camp, in my opinion.

29. Then, during the team’s final period of the first game, Slowik tried to catch Anderson Jr. sleeping with a backhand, but WAJ ate it right there.

30. To get the offense back on track, Slowik called a play that had been successful in Cincinnati last year to Noah Brown. And on that play, it was a successful throw and catch from Stroud to, no surprise here, Brown. A beautiful throw for the completion as well. Noah was wide open like he was in Cincinnati last November when he had a career day against the Bengals.

31. On the next run, DT Foley Fatukasi completely ate the blockers on an inside run. He stopped everything, holding off two blockers and almost the fullback too.

32. A few plays later, DT Khalil Davis did the same thing, stopping a run play while holding a blocker inside. Man, I really like this DT team more and more every day. I know this is an area a lot of fans have asked me about since the offseason, but the more I watch, the more convinced I am that this group is going to be WAY better than people are anticipating.

33. Ok, so I’m going to test your memory. Earlier in this article I mentioned a play where Hughes had a pass rush move to get closer to the QB. He successfully completed the play once he earned the rep so the QB could throw the ball. Now, towards the end of the drive, Hughes beat the tackle once again, but after his play fake, RB JJ Taylor immediately retreated outside to help the tackle with Hughes. Because Taylor quickly went to help Hughes after the play fake, QB Davis Mills had much more time to find WR Xavier Hutchinson for a completion. I love seeing my RBs get involved in pass protection!! This was AWESOME!

And it was a perfect place to end the day and these Harris hits. I hope you enjoyed my Harris hits from these three days and there will be many more very soon. See you Monday, everyone!