This will be a shorter report because practice was light and ended early. They worked a lot on special situations like onside kicks and Hail Mary plays. There weren't many changes on the depth chart in the abbreviated no-contact, 11-on-11 they conducted, although Tre Jackson got some reps with the second unit at cornerback in place of Willie Langham.
Jaetavian Toles made a really nice catch in the corner of the end zone in individual drills when receivers were working on their routes. He has not been that noticeable lately in 11-on-11 drills--Kevin LeDee appears to make the most catches of the freshmen--but he has some ability. Chase Kuerschen, who is noticeable every practice, broke up a pass by Jonathan Banks downfield. Taris Shenall almost made a spectacular interception of a Johnathan Brantley pass on the sideline, breaking quickly to undercut a receiver and working hard to get a foot inbounds, but he could not hold on to the ball.
Zach Harris was in uniform but did not have his helmet on, missing another day. The other inactives were Thakarius Keyes, Miles Strickland, Brian Webb, Hunter Knighton, Andrew Hicks, Robert Kennedy and Nick Kubiet.
One thing I learned today is Willie Fritz and Tom Jackson have a big philosophical disagreement when it comes to defending the Hail Mary. Tulane's defense practiced on stopping them for a segment during practice today. Jackson, when he was on ESPN's NFL highlights show Prime Time, used to scream every time they showed a Hail Mary that the defense should "KNOCK IT DOWN" rather than attempt to catch the ball.
Fritz disagrees.
"Obviously you are trying to not let them get outside the pocket,"he said. "That's a big deal because everybody is trying to buy time to get the receivers down to the end zone on that last play of the game. You've got to make sure that you're defending the tip-back because sometimes the teams will to tip it have somebody behind, so we're going to try to put a square around the intended target, and you've got to really go after the ball. Too many times guys are trying to knock the ball down and it's awkward for them to do that, but you've got to aggressively go after the ball in those situations. It's our ball just as much as it is the the offense's ball."
Take that, TJ.
Tulane will practice at the Saints facility on Thursday and Friday while the Saints are out of town practicing against the Chargers.
Here is the rest of Fritz:
You are still balancing the outdoor and indoor practices. How did todays' go in the heat?
"It is a little more humid out here than it is inside at the Saints facility (laughing). We cut back a little bit because we are going to do some scrimmaging on Thursday and Friday, but there's a lot of things that we inserted today. The last two plays in the game we worked on a little more than usual. We worked on some obvious onside kicks with our hands team, so we're starting to work on special situations."
How many games are won and lost on that kind of stuff?
"Oh at least one or two a season. Over the course of a career there are so many situations that happen. I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day and we were going over a couple of situations with a game years ago where Philadelphia played Miami and they thought it was a first down and they had their offense out there and the clock was running and all of a sudden they measured it and they were short, and they didn't have enough time for their field goal team to get on the field and kick it. There are so many situations, and it seems like you learn another one every year."
Is that something you're in charge of?
"Yeah, we'll go over situations almost daily in meetings, and we'll talk about different ones we have to insert. I've got a checklist that I've accumulated over the years."
What is your number one concern right now?
"Getting everything in. Just crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is. It's kind of a race against time. Then also we've got to remember this is a marathon, not a sprint, as far as preseason camp is concerned. With the NCAA allowing you to meet with your guys throughout the summer--they used to not let you do that--our practice No. 1 was like practice 15 in the old days. We've got a lot of our stuff in right now, and I've just got to be cognizant that I don't want to wear these guys out before the first game."
How comfortable are you with the defensive tackle depth?
"I think we've got some decent depth inside. Sean Wilson's had a great, great spring and summer. He's gotten much stronger, he's gotten bigger and you need some big bodies in there. Braynon Edwards is another guy that's a big body. We've got some other guys we think can play inside as well. Eldrick Washington has started a bunch of games here. We've signed some freshmen we think are going to be excellent players for us in Cameron Sample and Patrick Johnson, so we've got some big bodies, and you've got to have big bodies in this conference."
How about De'Andre Williams?
"He's doing a good job. He's another one I didn't mention, but he's up to 280 pounds. We redshirted him last year, and the best thing about him is he's really a tough kid. He practices hard and does what he's supposed to all the time. He's mentally tough, too."
(Fritz did not mention Deion Rainey, who practiced with the third unit on Wednesday)
How big a factor will Braynon Edwards be?
"He's lost 80, 90 pounds. He's able to go hard and he's really quick-footed for a big guy. Surprisingly so."
What would it take to make a significant leap forward this year?
"We've got to get better offensively. We were pretty good defensively. We were 20-something in the nation last year defensively, and we did some good but not great things in the kicking game. My philosophy is playing complimentary football, so it's all intertwined, but the one area we were deficient last year was offense, and I told our guys that. There's no kidding around here. We've got to get a lot better in that area."
Do you feel like you're on the way?
"Yeah, I really do. I think we're running the ball a lot better. Part of that is Banks and Brantley and those two freshman can really run the ball extremely well, and that's going to open up the passing game. I remember a few years ago we weren't great pass protectors on the offensive line, and you'd have to check the stats, but I think we only gave up four or five sacks for the whole year because everyone had to play laterally because we were running the ball so effectively, and that allows you to throw the ball effectively."
Do you feel the option plays are like a night and day difference from a year ago?
"Getting out there on the perimeter is a big deal. Pulling it and outflanking people, sometimes it's just a footrace. If you're faster than that guy and have them outflanked by a yard, shoot, you're going to gain 15 or 20 yards."
Jaetavian Toles made a really nice catch in the corner of the end zone in individual drills when receivers were working on their routes. He has not been that noticeable lately in 11-on-11 drills--Kevin LeDee appears to make the most catches of the freshmen--but he has some ability. Chase Kuerschen, who is noticeable every practice, broke up a pass by Jonathan Banks downfield. Taris Shenall almost made a spectacular interception of a Johnathan Brantley pass on the sideline, breaking quickly to undercut a receiver and working hard to get a foot inbounds, but he could not hold on to the ball.
Zach Harris was in uniform but did not have his helmet on, missing another day. The other inactives were Thakarius Keyes, Miles Strickland, Brian Webb, Hunter Knighton, Andrew Hicks, Robert Kennedy and Nick Kubiet.
One thing I learned today is Willie Fritz and Tom Jackson have a big philosophical disagreement when it comes to defending the Hail Mary. Tulane's defense practiced on stopping them for a segment during practice today. Jackson, when he was on ESPN's NFL highlights show Prime Time, used to scream every time they showed a Hail Mary that the defense should "KNOCK IT DOWN" rather than attempt to catch the ball.
Fritz disagrees.
"Obviously you are trying to not let them get outside the pocket,"he said. "That's a big deal because everybody is trying to buy time to get the receivers down to the end zone on that last play of the game. You've got to make sure that you're defending the tip-back because sometimes the teams will to tip it have somebody behind, so we're going to try to put a square around the intended target, and you've got to really go after the ball. Too many times guys are trying to knock the ball down and it's awkward for them to do that, but you've got to aggressively go after the ball in those situations. It's our ball just as much as it is the the offense's ball."
Take that, TJ.
Tulane will practice at the Saints facility on Thursday and Friday while the Saints are out of town practicing against the Chargers.
Here is the rest of Fritz:
You are still balancing the outdoor and indoor practices. How did todays' go in the heat?
"It is a little more humid out here than it is inside at the Saints facility (laughing). We cut back a little bit because we are going to do some scrimmaging on Thursday and Friday, but there's a lot of things that we inserted today. The last two plays in the game we worked on a little more than usual. We worked on some obvious onside kicks with our hands team, so we're starting to work on special situations."
How many games are won and lost on that kind of stuff?
"Oh at least one or two a season. Over the course of a career there are so many situations that happen. I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day and we were going over a couple of situations with a game years ago where Philadelphia played Miami and they thought it was a first down and they had their offense out there and the clock was running and all of a sudden they measured it and they were short, and they didn't have enough time for their field goal team to get on the field and kick it. There are so many situations, and it seems like you learn another one every year."
Is that something you're in charge of?
"Yeah, we'll go over situations almost daily in meetings, and we'll talk about different ones we have to insert. I've got a checklist that I've accumulated over the years."
What is your number one concern right now?
"Getting everything in. Just crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is. It's kind of a race against time. Then also we've got to remember this is a marathon, not a sprint, as far as preseason camp is concerned. With the NCAA allowing you to meet with your guys throughout the summer--they used to not let you do that--our practice No. 1 was like practice 15 in the old days. We've got a lot of our stuff in right now, and I've just got to be cognizant that I don't want to wear these guys out before the first game."
How comfortable are you with the defensive tackle depth?
"I think we've got some decent depth inside. Sean Wilson's had a great, great spring and summer. He's gotten much stronger, he's gotten bigger and you need some big bodies in there. Braynon Edwards is another guy that's a big body. We've got some other guys we think can play inside as well. Eldrick Washington has started a bunch of games here. We've signed some freshmen we think are going to be excellent players for us in Cameron Sample and Patrick Johnson, so we've got some big bodies, and you've got to have big bodies in this conference."
How about De'Andre Williams?
"He's doing a good job. He's another one I didn't mention, but he's up to 280 pounds. We redshirted him last year, and the best thing about him is he's really a tough kid. He practices hard and does what he's supposed to all the time. He's mentally tough, too."
(Fritz did not mention Deion Rainey, who practiced with the third unit on Wednesday)
How big a factor will Braynon Edwards be?
"He's lost 80, 90 pounds. He's able to go hard and he's really quick-footed for a big guy. Surprisingly so."
What would it take to make a significant leap forward this year?
"We've got to get better offensively. We were pretty good defensively. We were 20-something in the nation last year defensively, and we did some good but not great things in the kicking game. My philosophy is playing complimentary football, so it's all intertwined, but the one area we were deficient last year was offense, and I told our guys that. There's no kidding around here. We've got to get a lot better in that area."
Do you feel like you're on the way?
"Yeah, I really do. I think we're running the ball a lot better. Part of that is Banks and Brantley and those two freshman can really run the ball extremely well, and that's going to open up the passing game. I remember a few years ago we weren't great pass protectors on the offensive line, and you'd have to check the stats, but I think we only gave up four or five sacks for the whole year because everyone had to play laterally because we were running the ball so effectively, and that allows you to throw the ball effectively."
Do you feel the option plays are like a night and day difference from a year ago?
"Getting out there on the perimeter is a big deal. Pulling it and outflanking people, sometimes it's just a footrace. If you're faster than that guy and have them outflanked by a yard, shoot, you're going to gain 15 or 20 yards."
