Post-scrimmage thoughts

Greetings. Me, again.

I want to do a more complete rundown of the actual football played today at TCF Bank Stadium; My story for the paper was aimed more at capturing the atmostphere of the first real football played at TCF Bank Stadium. Even with 15,000-plus, that atmosphere was real, by the way. There is such a difference being on campus.

Anyway, here goes.

Some lineup notes:

Duane Bennet and DeLeon Eskridge both ran with the first team at running back. Kevin Whaley (foot injury) did not play. R.J. Buckner and jay Thomas also saw a lot of action with the backup offense.

At wide receiver the top two after Decker are Brandon Green and Troy Stoudermire.

Along the line, Chris Bunders started at left guard and was backed up by D.J. Burris. Trey David started at tackle, but Jeff Tow-Arnett (elbow) did not play. The center position still appears to be up for grabs.

At linebacker, Lee Campbell, Simoni Lawrence and Nate Triplett were backed up by Gary Tinsley, Red sharpe and Keanon Cooper.

At safety Kim Royston and Kyle Theret were backed up by Mike Rallis (who had a pick) and Tim Dandridge.

Center Ryan Wynn (back), receiver Xavian Brandon (knee), running backs Whaley and Shady Salamon (hamstring) and defensive back Johnny Johnson (unspecified injury) did not play.

Here is an overview after having watched more Gophers football in one afternoon than we've really been able to see in camp up to this point:

1. I think the Gophers are going to be fine at running back. Kevin Whaley (foot injury) didn't play today. Duane Bennett and DeLeon Eskridge both did, and both played relatively well. Bennett, in particular, showed some change-of-direction skills and some burst. Afterward, coach Tim Brewster made it seem like those two will share the bulk of the carries with Whaley being a change-of-pace back.

3. I think quarterback Adam Weber has a little ways to go before he's completely comfortable with the Gophers' new, pro-style offense.
"I feel there are mistakes out there that I would like to have back," said Weber, who had two TD throws to Decker but also three interceptions. Two of them came from freshman corner Michael Carter (more on him later), with one of those coming after a pass behind tight end Nick Tow-Arnett glanced off him into Carter's hands. Weber also had a pass picked off in the red zone, when Rallis stepped in front of a pass aimed at Decker in the back of the end zone.
"There is only one throw I eally wish I could have back, the interception coming off Nick," Weber continued. "The other ones were decisions ... It's nice to experiment with those throws. You go out and test some throws. I do know that, in the Red Zone, coming across the middle, you have safeties dropping and it's OK to drop down (in his read). I wish I'd left it with just two touchdowns and no interceptions, but you learn from every one."
Weber indicated there is still some work to be done.
"There will be some times when you haven't repped the plays that many times (yet)," he said. "Our old offense (last year), that was our second season in it. That's why I'm spending a lot of time with coach (Jedd) Fisch. We have to feel comfortable with each other so I feel comfortable with what he's calling."

4. I still think the success of the season depends on how well the offensive line comes together. I think it could be the biggest question needing an answer.
In the first half Saturday the Gophers ran 15 times for 26 yards, a 1.7-yard average. Credit line coach Tim Davis and his crew, because it got better in the second half, in which the Gophers averaged 4.8 yards on 26 carries.
"Early on we weren't getting it done," Brewster said of the running game. "The efficiency wasn't exactly like we want. I thought the guys came back in the second half and found a groove and got going a little bit. We will run the football. Obviously, today, we were extremely vanilla in what we did, on both sides of the ball. I thought we finished strong with the running game."
Bennett ran six gimes for 63 yards in the second half.

5. I think the Gophers are in very good shape in the defensive secondary. We all know what Marcus Sherels and Traye Simmons can do. Now we have an idea what Carter can do.
He showed some toughness today. He got beat on the first offensive play of the game, when Decker got behind him for that 53-yard touchdowns. But he rallied with two interceptions. On the second one, which came on a flea-flicker, he had a great break on the ball.
"He's been an outstanding player this whole training camp," Brewster said of Carter. "He's a very mature young guy. He runs well, has great instincts as a corner, has great confidence as a corner."

6. Both punters Dan Orseske and Blake Haudan each got off big punts today. Orseske was very impressive during warmups, regularly kicking it 60-plus yards. He also showed some touch as well.

7. The Gophers defense should be improved against the run. I know it was just a scrimmage and they were going against the second team, but both Garrett Brown and Eric Small got a nice surge and Lee Campbell had six tackles. If McKinley flowers as a pass-rusher the defense could be pretty good. Barrett Moen looks like he's working to secure a job as a run-stopping, point-of-attack end opposite McKinley. He's had a good camp and knows his role. The Gophers do need to have a situational pass-rusher come through.