Cody Kessler, as he has since the team returned last week from a 10-day break, practiced really well today. My personal feeling was that he needed to regularly be the best player on the practice field and that that wasn't happening over the first two weeks. But he's certainly been among the very best players over the past four sessions.
I spoke briefly with Kessler on Tuesday about his recent play.
You've been working that far sideline more of late. Is that something you're becoming more confident in?
CK: "Yeah, it's the whole timing thing that I've been working on, anticipating guys getting open and throwing a long ball. You have to throw it on time or else it's going to be picked off, especially when you have Adoree' (Jackson) out there and Kevon (Seymour). It's also trust, expecting guys to be there, no matter if it's a 2-yard slant route or a far throw to the sideline. It all comes down to anticipation and timing and trusting your guys."
Do you credit any of that to your offseason work on your core and lower body?
CK: "I spent a lot of time with Coach Ivan (Lewis) and we did a lot of legs and a lot of core work and even upper body work. I feel a lot stronger. I feel like I can throw the ball anywhere on the field. I feel a lot more confident throwing those longer routes, getting it to where it needs to be."
What's something you're looking to accomplish between now and the end of spring?
CK: "I want to see me personally continue to get timing with guys like Steven (Mitchell) and Ajene (Harris), guys that haven't really played much. I want to continue to see leadership from guys like Tre (Madden) and Justin Davis and JuJu (Smith) and Darreus (Rogers). The offensive line, they look great and they're still moving around. It's exciting as a quarterback to see your team, where they were Day 1 of spring to where they are now, it's awesome."
We had a great Q&A with QB coach Clay Helton, who discussed the recent progress of Kessler and Max Browne as well as the development of Jalen Greene and Ricky Town, which we'll have up soon.
I spoke briefly with Kessler on Tuesday about his recent play.
You've been working that far sideline more of late. Is that something you're becoming more confident in?
CK: "Yeah, it's the whole timing thing that I've been working on, anticipating guys getting open and throwing a long ball. You have to throw it on time or else it's going to be picked off, especially when you have Adoree' (Jackson) out there and Kevon (Seymour). It's also trust, expecting guys to be there, no matter if it's a 2-yard slant route or a far throw to the sideline. It all comes down to anticipation and timing and trusting your guys."
Do you credit any of that to your offseason work on your core and lower body?
CK: "I spent a lot of time with Coach Ivan (Lewis) and we did a lot of legs and a lot of core work and even upper body work. I feel a lot stronger. I feel like I can throw the ball anywhere on the field. I feel a lot more confident throwing those longer routes, getting it to where it needs to be."
What's something you're looking to accomplish between now and the end of spring?
CK: "I want to see me personally continue to get timing with guys like Steven (Mitchell) and Ajene (Harris), guys that haven't really played much. I want to continue to see leadership from guys like Tre (Madden) and Justin Davis and JuJu (Smith) and Darreus (Rogers). The offensive line, they look great and they're still moving around. It's exciting as a quarterback to see your team, where they were Day 1 of spring to where they are now, it's awesome."
We had a great Q&A with QB coach Clay Helton, who discussed the recent progress of Kessler and Max Browne as well as the development of Jalen Greene and Ricky Town, which we'll have up soon.
