HANOVER – It’s easy from the sidelines to see wide receivers breaking free, how accurate the quarterbacks are, who is knocking down passes, and which defensive ends are bear-hugging running backs.
It’s a little harder to see what happens in the trenches, which is something that caught Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle’s attention in film review from Monday’s second scrimmage of the preseason.
“Up front guys were in the right spots, but there was fundamental stuff they have to clean up,” he said after Wednesday’s practice. “Guys were being aggressive at times, but you’ve got to be in control.
“I was impressed by the twos up front. They are fighting to get some playing time, and I thought they did a good job. That first drive, they took it right down the field. I thought they did a good job in the run game, identifying who they’re supposed to block. There weren’t many mental busts, and they did a good job stepping up, competing, and pushing that first group.”
Also getting positive reviews were the running backs and the first defense.
“I thought the backs did a very good job of finding the gaps and hitting the holes,” McCorkle said. “And defensively, I’ll tell you what, we did a good job, especially in third down situations.
“Our guys, especially our first defense, did a good job in the red zone. In third down situations, I thought they really stepped up.”
Under slightly sprinkling skies, it was the offense’s turn to shine on Wednesday.
“I thought our offense came out strong,” McCorkle said. “They were in attack mode today, especially in the pass game. We had some explosive plays. I thought the quarterbacks did a good job throwing downfield.
“Obviously, that’s a lesson for the defense. We can’t allow that to happen, but we did get some pressure up front and did a good job in run defense. Guys were in the right spots.”
ADJUST AND IMPROVISE
The session was originally scheduled for Blackman Field, but was shifted to Memorial Field’s artificial turf because of rain in the forecast. While the precipitation that fell was little more than a light drizzle, it would have been enough to cause worry on real grass.
“We knew we might get a little rain, so we figured we’d come over here and let soccer use the practice fields,” McCorkle said. “The other thing is we wanted a little shorter practice today.
“When you go over to Blackman with the two fields, there’s a lot of distance to cover. All that jogging (between periods) adds up. Being here, we were able to keep it short and crisp. Get them out here, get them running around and competing, and get off.”
DEPTH CHART
As you would expect at this juncture, McCorkle and the staff have a pretty good idea about how the two-deep is shaping up.
“We’re pretty close,” the head coach said. “There are a couple spots where our guys are competing that haven’t been solidified yet, but we're getting close where our ones and twos are.”
Not surprisingly, McCorkle didn’t offer up what those spots are, but he stressed that it’s important for all of the players to practice like they are the ones pushing for starting roles.
“The big thing we tell our twos is that, Hey man, you gotta be ready to go. We can't have a drop-off. When we go with a two, the level's got to stay high. We have to play at that level when you're in the game.”
THE DOG DAYS OF CAMP?
With the final scrimmage behind them, Lehigh practices starting Sunday, real games on TV almost every night, and still two more full practices, it’s easy for the players to feel like it’s enough already.
“That’s part of why we shortened practice,” said McCorkle. “Obviously, they are starting to get eager. We’re starting to get eager as coaches, as well, but we still have work to do.”
While the real work of preparing for Lehigh on the field won’t begin until Sunday, the coaches are already there.
“We’ve been looking at them. We’re watching,” said McCorkle. "We’ve been starting to check them out, and we’ll get their next game this weekend.
“The coaching staff will throw a little bit (of Lehigh) in at the end of meetings, positionally, to watch before we really get into them on Sunday.”
HOW WAS PRACTICE OVERALL, COACH?
“We weren’t in shoulder pads, just helmets and spider (lightweight) pads,” McCorkle said. “Sometimes you worry when you’re in helmets that guys are going to throttle down and go half speed. Our guys did not do that today.
“They went full speed, being smart and taking care of their teammates while they were doing that. They were in the right spots, which is what we want to see, so it was good.”
NOTICE ANYONE IN PARTICULAR?
McCorkle: “I thought Jimbo (wide receiver) James Elliott had a great day today. He had a couple big plays. Nick Lemon had a nice one. I thought Fish (Ky’Dric Fisher) caught some long ones and (Jason) Bish in pass skel made some plays.
“Defensively, Joshua Johnson was in the backfield the entire time. Uche Odimegwu was doing a good job putting on pressure. It was good watching Steve Simkins cover ground covering ground and was playing the run game really well for us.”
ON TAP
The Big Green is slated for full-padded practices Thursday and Friday, essentially a walk-through on Saturday that McCorkle referred to as a "dress rehearsal," and practice No. 1 for Lehigh at 3:30 Sunday afternoon.