you might be right about Higbee, LMU
honestly, I am not fan of either Cooper or Higbee right now.
Cooper just wasn't an asset based on the "form factor" the club needed to fill in the roster. Granted by the time they had traded their prime picks for Goff, the arsenal to go get better were limited. And is Cooper expected to take up the role that Bennie had on kickoffs. Or is that Thomas?
Higbee needed time to develop. And I hope an offseason and prep season will get him more rounded.
Oddly, as much as I am not feeling for Higbee, I thought he may have the best interior work on that pass from Goff in traffic for a TD. The overview from cameras didn't really tell the story on that play. There were bodies everywhere and Goff was certainly facing pocket pressure, but Jared stayed calm in the storm and found the TE.
I am not exactly thrilled with loss of the trio. Gone Britt. Gone Kendricks. Gone Cunningham. Gone Quick.
To me, those are holes to be filled, and as of now I am not convinced their replacements are on the current roster. Expectations for me on the second year players are a tad low. And expectations that rookies will provide an instantaneous equal value are equally low.
Perhaps I need a shot of Ram43 optimism.
I had higher hopes for Michael Thomas, too. Thomas' nice coverage work didn't overshadow an awful special teams drop; ugly; And to add to my lack of confidence, an enormous drop on clear an easy mid field, wide open, nothing but grass in front of him ball.
The long road to see Spruce take the field during last season's mysterious rehab as an active didn't exactly help remove some questions.
If I had to guess at "most improved?"
Cooper, Thomas, and Spruce will have to be the ones I would look for.
Boiling it down. Thomas doesn't have elite athleticism, but has that superior football speed, which was illustrated many times on special teams. He wasn't targeted enough to give me a better idea of his Sunday worthiness, but I do believe that if he's worked hard in this offseason he may be the kid to keep an eye on. Came from small school, and needed to adapt. Biggest question is can he win in press coverage. How far up the ladder in football knowledge has he climbed? To me, this is coaching. I'd think Thomas would be noted "most improved" name over the course of the summer should they get inside his head and implant the McVay system.
To me, Cooper's frame just doesn't make me warm up. Another Austin sized guy just isn't the game changer I was thinking of. Even if he adds all the technique, and knowledge I think he remains limited in targets due to being a replicant of Austin. Gosh, ya know, I hope I'm wrong.
Underneath, short zone, get the ball out quick, super sticky hands, contested catch, snag the bad ball?
Nelson Spruce sure has a lot going for him. He's got a quarter or so of great of football against 2nd teamers. Granted the 2nd teamers were on a playoff caliber club. Spruce doesn't have the combine numbers, doesn't have a lot of the "it" factor stuff, but he's got that "came to play" attitude I just love. He's not the star on a football team.
What he is a chain mover, willing blocker, and DOESN'T DROP THE BALL. That would be the rarest of traits among what's left on the roster today.
Caught more balls than in PAC 12 history. Kind of funny. Mannion holds the most completion record. Nelson holds the most receptions......does it surprise that they were killing against scrubs in a preseason game?
The thing about Spruce is that he'll be limited in what he brings to the field. Everyone else will have more of something he doesn't have in measurables. And yet this kid would shock me if he wasn't on the roster and valuable asset to McVay. Hard to call him most improved. He has yet to even play one live game.
Winner
Mike Thomas.
