UVA
Virginia had only minor problems in dispatching Richmond 43-19 on Saturday at Scott Stadium. It was 29-12 into the fourth quarter when the Cavaliers scored two touchdowns to really put the game away. The score was more like 43-12, but the Spiders recorded a late TD with under a minute left. Here are my grades for different parts of the team for the Richmond game:
Rush offense: C
I was expecting much better out of this unit against an FCS school. The Wahoos totaled 184 yards on the ground. The interior of the line really struggled to push back the Spiders on many run plays. There was one set of three rushes in the early part of the second half where Virginia had negative yards on all three, including on a fourth down. Virginia had more success running to the outside where Perry Jones could get to the edge with his speed. Jones and Khalek Shepherd each had 52 yards and a touchdown while Kevin Parks totaled 49 yards and a pair of scores. LoVante Battle also had one carry for 22 yards, the longest run of the game. I would give the highest individual grade to Shepherd, actually. He seemed to hit the holes harder than both Jones and Parks. His cuts were sharp, too. Maybe he feels he has something to prove, since he's listed behind Jones, Parks, and Clifton Richardson on the depth chart. Richardson didn't play because of a sore hamstring. Jones' cuts and moves were crisp, as well, and he is very shifty, but sometimes he dances around too much. Parks didn't seem to be hitting the holes with as much vigor as he did last season. Hopefully this unit gets better. It will need to. The line had to replace a couple of players, so it still needs time to jell.
Pass offense: A-
Over 350 yards through the air, a touchdown, and no interceptions, not to mention a completion percentage near 70 percent. Those are the stats that starter Michael Rocco and backup Phillip Sims compiled against Richmond. Rocco had good command of the offense and most of his throws were on point. He still seemed to have a little bit of last year in him, but overall, a good job. A couple of passes could have been intercepted, but it is hard to nitpick when a guy throws for over 300 yards with no interceptions. Sims was probably the best backup quarterback I've ever seen. You could tell he had "it" as he dropped back to make his passes. In an offense that was new to him, he made five really good reads and throws (though one was tipped at the line but still caught by Dominique Terrell) and seemed very poise. He made just one bad throw that sailed high over tight end Jeremiah Mathis. A good opening performance. Of course, the game was out of reach at that time and there was no pressure on him, but still. Those calling for the insertion of him into the starter role and demotion of Rocco are premature, however. Sims looked good in mop-up time against an FCS school. It wasn't the beginning of the game vs. his old school, Alabama, or even an ACC school. So everyone needs to settle down. If Sims wins this job, it will be because he just has to start -- he clearly is better in practice and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor sees this -- or because Rocco starts getting worse and costing the 'Hoos games. Or because he gets injured. As long as we win the games we are supposed to win this year, I don't think Sims will start. And that could mean we go 6-6 but I still don't see Sims starting.
Also, wanted to point out some great individual performances by the receivers. Tight end Jake McGee, listed third on the depth chart, made an amazing one-handed grab with his left hand in the second quarter. Another tight end, Paul Freedman, had a diving catch later in the game. Darius Jennings had a spectacular juke and stiff arm on his touchdown catch and run. When Tim Smith gets running with the football, watch out. He is a pretty powerful, stocky guy. He reminds me of a bulldog with his play and also the way he was getting in the Spiders' faces. Good performance by sophomore EJ Scott, too, who had three catches for 54 yards. And as much as I was hating on the offensive line's performance in the run game, it was much better in the passing game. The big uglies gave up no sacks and I rarely remember Rocco or Sims getting knocked down.
Rush defense: B
Except for a couple breakout runs by Richmond's best player, fullback Kendall Gaskins, Virginia stuffed the Spiders' run game pretty effectively. They ended up only recording only 28 yards rushing. Gaskins had 38 yards rushing but his teammates did not fare as well and that is why the team actually has less yards than Gaskins. His longest run was a 21-yarder.
Pass defense: C+
Spiders quarterback John Laub really exposed Virginia on a couple of touchdown drives. Richmond used a hurry-up offense to pick apart the Cavaliers. There were some interceptions to be had by the secondary that didn't happen. The pass rush was OK and I think Richmond's QBs used quick passes to avoid it, but still, the 'Hoos tallied zero sacks, a little disconcerting against an FCS level team. In all the Spiders passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
Special teams: B+
Maybe it was the level of competition, but the special teams, which I considered the weakness of last season's team, performed admirably Saturday. Richmond had a couple of good kick and punt returns, but for the most part, this unit looked good. Shepherd recorded 90 kickoff return yards on just two returns with a long of 59. I would not be surprised to see him break one for a TD this year. UVa hasn't had a kickoff return TD since early in the 2010 season vs. Eastern Michigan. Shepherd also was the main man on punt returns even though Terrell was listed first on the depth chart (Shepherd wasn't even listed on the depth chart, Demtretrious Nicholson was listed second). Shepherd was maybe a little risky by catching a couple of punts n traffic, but hey, for one game, he didn't fumble, and that's more than we can say for a lot of punt returns last year. Field goal kicking was good, too, as Drew Jarrett made both his field goals, showing some leg strength in hitting one from 45 yards. Punting was solid as well, as sophomore Alex Vozenilek averaged 41.3 yards per punt on three punts, with a long of 51, and putting a pair inside the 20.
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COWBOYS
Dallas gets the season kicked off tonight against the Giants in New York. The Giants and Cowboys concluded the regular season last year with a winner-takes-the-NFC-East-crown game in New York, which the Giants won, 31-14, on New Year's Day. The Cowboys have done some retooling on their offensive line and defense in the offseason. They drafted cornerback Morris Claiborne out of LSU and also picked up highly regarded corner Brandon Carr in free agency. The Cowboys have had a hard time recently with the Giants. New York swept both meetings last season and the Cowboys haven't beaten the Giants in the new Cowboys Stadium since it opened in 2009. In New York tonight I think it will be tough for the Cowboys to get a win. One hope they have is that Eli Manning has a hard time adjusting to Dallas' new secondary. He's had a field day against the Cowboys recently but tonight could be different. I'm expecting a close game and for Manning and Tony Romo to trade punches but I think it will be a relatively low scoring game for these two teams.
Giants 24, Cowboys 21
Virginia had only minor problems in dispatching Richmond 43-19 on Saturday at Scott Stadium. It was 29-12 into the fourth quarter when the Cavaliers scored two touchdowns to really put the game away. The score was more like 43-12, but the Spiders recorded a late TD with under a minute left. Here are my grades for different parts of the team for the Richmond game:
Rush offense: C
I was expecting much better out of this unit against an FCS school. The Wahoos totaled 184 yards on the ground. The interior of the line really struggled to push back the Spiders on many run plays. There was one set of three rushes in the early part of the second half where Virginia had negative yards on all three, including on a fourth down. Virginia had more success running to the outside where Perry Jones could get to the edge with his speed. Jones and Khalek Shepherd each had 52 yards and a touchdown while Kevin Parks totaled 49 yards and a pair of scores. LoVante Battle also had one carry for 22 yards, the longest run of the game. I would give the highest individual grade to Shepherd, actually. He seemed to hit the holes harder than both Jones and Parks. His cuts were sharp, too. Maybe he feels he has something to prove, since he's listed behind Jones, Parks, and Clifton Richardson on the depth chart. Richardson didn't play because of a sore hamstring. Jones' cuts and moves were crisp, as well, and he is very shifty, but sometimes he dances around too much. Parks didn't seem to be hitting the holes with as much vigor as he did last season. Hopefully this unit gets better. It will need to. The line had to replace a couple of players, so it still needs time to jell.
Pass offense: A-
Over 350 yards through the air, a touchdown, and no interceptions, not to mention a completion percentage near 70 percent. Those are the stats that starter Michael Rocco and backup Phillip Sims compiled against Richmond. Rocco had good command of the offense and most of his throws were on point. He still seemed to have a little bit of last year in him, but overall, a good job. A couple of passes could have been intercepted, but it is hard to nitpick when a guy throws for over 300 yards with no interceptions. Sims was probably the best backup quarterback I've ever seen. You could tell he had "it" as he dropped back to make his passes. In an offense that was new to him, he made five really good reads and throws (though one was tipped at the line but still caught by Dominique Terrell) and seemed very poise. He made just one bad throw that sailed high over tight end Jeremiah Mathis. A good opening performance. Of course, the game was out of reach at that time and there was no pressure on him, but still. Those calling for the insertion of him into the starter role and demotion of Rocco are premature, however. Sims looked good in mop-up time against an FCS school. It wasn't the beginning of the game vs. his old school, Alabama, or even an ACC school. So everyone needs to settle down. If Sims wins this job, it will be because he just has to start -- he clearly is better in practice and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor sees this -- or because Rocco starts getting worse and costing the 'Hoos games. Or because he gets injured. As long as we win the games we are supposed to win this year, I don't think Sims will start. And that could mean we go 6-6 but I still don't see Sims starting.
Also, wanted to point out some great individual performances by the receivers. Tight end Jake McGee, listed third on the depth chart, made an amazing one-handed grab with his left hand in the second quarter. Another tight end, Paul Freedman, had a diving catch later in the game. Darius Jennings had a spectacular juke and stiff arm on his touchdown catch and run. When Tim Smith gets running with the football, watch out. He is a pretty powerful, stocky guy. He reminds me of a bulldog with his play and also the way he was getting in the Spiders' faces. Good performance by sophomore EJ Scott, too, who had three catches for 54 yards. And as much as I was hating on the offensive line's performance in the run game, it was much better in the passing game. The big uglies gave up no sacks and I rarely remember Rocco or Sims getting knocked down.
Rush defense: B
Except for a couple breakout runs by Richmond's best player, fullback Kendall Gaskins, Virginia stuffed the Spiders' run game pretty effectively. They ended up only recording only 28 yards rushing. Gaskins had 38 yards rushing but his teammates did not fare as well and that is why the team actually has less yards than Gaskins. His longest run was a 21-yarder.
Pass defense: C+
Spiders quarterback John Laub really exposed Virginia on a couple of touchdown drives. Richmond used a hurry-up offense to pick apart the Cavaliers. There were some interceptions to be had by the secondary that didn't happen. The pass rush was OK and I think Richmond's QBs used quick passes to avoid it, but still, the 'Hoos tallied zero sacks, a little disconcerting against an FCS level team. In all the Spiders passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
Special teams: B+
Maybe it was the level of competition, but the special teams, which I considered the weakness of last season's team, performed admirably Saturday. Richmond had a couple of good kick and punt returns, but for the most part, this unit looked good. Shepherd recorded 90 kickoff return yards on just two returns with a long of 59. I would not be surprised to see him break one for a TD this year. UVa hasn't had a kickoff return TD since early in the 2010 season vs. Eastern Michigan. Shepherd also was the main man on punt returns even though Terrell was listed first on the depth chart (Shepherd wasn't even listed on the depth chart, Demtretrious Nicholson was listed second). Shepherd was maybe a little risky by catching a couple of punts n traffic, but hey, for one game, he didn't fumble, and that's more than we can say for a lot of punt returns last year. Field goal kicking was good, too, as Drew Jarrett made both his field goals, showing some leg strength in hitting one from 45 yards. Punting was solid as well, as sophomore Alex Vozenilek averaged 41.3 yards per punt on three punts, with a long of 51, and putting a pair inside the 20.
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COWBOYS
Dallas gets the season kicked off tonight against the Giants in New York. The Giants and Cowboys concluded the regular season last year with a winner-takes-the-NFC-East-crown game in New York, which the Giants won, 31-14, on New Year's Day. The Cowboys have done some retooling on their offensive line and defense in the offseason. They drafted cornerback Morris Claiborne out of LSU and also picked up highly regarded corner Brandon Carr in free agency. The Cowboys have had a hard time recently with the Giants. New York swept both meetings last season and the Cowboys haven't beaten the Giants in the new Cowboys Stadium since it opened in 2009. In New York tonight I think it will be tough for the Cowboys to get a win. One hope they have is that Eli Manning has a hard time adjusting to Dallas' new secondary. He's had a field day against the Cowboys recently but tonight could be different. I'm expecting a close game and for Manning and Tony Romo to trade punches but I think it will be a relatively low scoring game for these two teams.
Giants 24, Cowboys 21
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