I just got back from the stadium. I took some notes. I generally find I follow the X's and O's better on TV (and know who's doing what), but get an impression of different things (energy, crowd, seeing the whole play) from being at the stadium.
For me, the biggest positive was the energy the defense brought to the "second half." They came out with some attitude. I just like seeing that.
Also, I think the positive on offense is that we have, as we expected, a lot of skills position weapons. There were some dropped balls and some O-line miscues, but there's some good speed. It was fun to watch EJ Smith live getting to be his own "Swiss Army Knife" RB/Receiver. I imagine he will get some opportunities to show what he can do in games, like McCaffrey and Love got.
In terms of QB depth, the bad news is there's no returning starter like Mills. But the good news is that there are multiple QBs who have something. Remember that year when there were no scholarship QBs remaining in the Spring and they had to use a walk-on. It's hard for me to gauge how good the QB will be without the blitzes, the contact, and the tricky defenses. I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to connect on end zone fades like we've been able to in the past. I was impressed with Isaiah Sanders' speed. I thought -- yeah, running QB from Air Force. But that dude is quick. I hope he can throw so the running play won't be too predictable. But it's really nice to have another option, and one with experience.
Defensively, the biggest positive I saw was that the 2nd string looked a little more athletic than I've seen things get in the past (at the start of the season, I think Stanford always has an athletic 11 in the first string). I also saw some positive plays -- like a sweep where the D Line stretched it out wide then the defensive back fired in and made the tackle. It was pretty to watch.
Of course, you don't like to see the blown coverages (one of them resulting in the McKee-Tremaine touchdown), but it's Spring so I don't make too much of it. Anyway, the first string of defense looked solid to me. Maybe not as much of explosiveness and dominance in areas we've seen, but I think they can be solid or more, if they are healthy.
The positive related to the crowds was that there were more people than I expected. It was hard to park(!) and I wound all the way through the Sunken Diamond parking, down to the next lot and almost to El Camino Real. I mean, it was pretty empty, but I'd say a high percentage of people who reserved seats came, and it seemed like a lot more people than I've seen in places like Cagan Stadium.
The crowd noise component was a little odd. At one point, the announcer said "make some noise", and largely, we didn't. But should we? I think people are unsure. I'm unsure. I just tried to clap extra-hard. It's a bummer because I wish we could provide a more energized space for the players.
One peeve: about 20% of the fans weren't wearing masks. It was typically like a group of 3 dudes in their fifties or sixties. I don't want to make this a political or even a scientific question, but only an issue of compliance with Stanford's policy. I think it's better if people follow Stanford's policy whatever it is, especially this fall, when hopefully the stadium is at full capacity and people are yelling and screaming.
For me, the biggest positive was the energy the defense brought to the "second half." They came out with some attitude. I just like seeing that.
Also, I think the positive on offense is that we have, as we expected, a lot of skills position weapons. There were some dropped balls and some O-line miscues, but there's some good speed. It was fun to watch EJ Smith live getting to be his own "Swiss Army Knife" RB/Receiver. I imagine he will get some opportunities to show what he can do in games, like McCaffrey and Love got.
In terms of QB depth, the bad news is there's no returning starter like Mills. But the good news is that there are multiple QBs who have something. Remember that year when there were no scholarship QBs remaining in the Spring and they had to use a walk-on. It's hard for me to gauge how good the QB will be without the blitzes, the contact, and the tricky defenses. I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to connect on end zone fades like we've been able to in the past. I was impressed with Isaiah Sanders' speed. I thought -- yeah, running QB from Air Force. But that dude is quick. I hope he can throw so the running play won't be too predictable. But it's really nice to have another option, and one with experience.
Defensively, the biggest positive I saw was that the 2nd string looked a little more athletic than I've seen things get in the past (at the start of the season, I think Stanford always has an athletic 11 in the first string). I also saw some positive plays -- like a sweep where the D Line stretched it out wide then the defensive back fired in and made the tackle. It was pretty to watch.
Of course, you don't like to see the blown coverages (one of them resulting in the McKee-Tremaine touchdown), but it's Spring so I don't make too much of it. Anyway, the first string of defense looked solid to me. Maybe not as much of explosiveness and dominance in areas we've seen, but I think they can be solid or more, if they are healthy.
The positive related to the crowds was that there were more people than I expected. It was hard to park(!) and I wound all the way through the Sunken Diamond parking, down to the next lot and almost to El Camino Real. I mean, it was pretty empty, but I'd say a high percentage of people who reserved seats came, and it seemed like a lot more people than I've seen in places like Cagan Stadium.
The crowd noise component was a little odd. At one point, the announcer said "make some noise", and largely, we didn't. But should we? I think people are unsure. I'm unsure. I just tried to clap extra-hard. It's a bummer because I wish we could provide a more energized space for the players.
One peeve: about 20% of the fans weren't wearing masks. It was typically like a group of 3 dudes in their fifties or sixties. I don't want to make this a political or even a scientific question, but only an issue of compliance with Stanford's policy. I think it's better if people follow Stanford's policy whatever it is, especially this fall, when hopefully the stadium is at full capacity and people are yelling and screaming.