Gilbride spoke with the media Thursday after minicamp was over.
He had some cautiously positive spin on where the team is.
He singled out 4 players by name:
Bradshaw and Ware– “..we feel pretty good about some of the guys that have been given a chance to step up, whether it is Ahmad Bradshaw at running back or Danny Ware.”
WRs– “so many young receivers look good”
Manningham– “he’s showing some things that we thought he could do which we never saw last year, now all of a sudden he’s doing it”
Beckum– “you miss this whole time, it certainly sets him back and you don’t want to say he can’t do it, but he will be one of the unusual ones if he can”
It is very good info on the margin to hear that Manningham had a good minicamp. It means he is getting an understanding of the offense, and will be in a position to start playing instead of thinking. We keep hearing this from the coaches and the players… how when you are rookie the playbook is so immense that you are too busy just trying to learn the plays and not screw up your assignment instead of going out there and hitting the ground running. This is why each season you have to pay attention to which rookies are doing well early- it means these guys are keepers. Guys like Gibril Wilson and David Diehl, fifth rounders who came in, started their first rookie game… they can have very nice careers. These are the exception, the notable exceptions, but it gets you excited. So when we hear that Manningham is doing much better, that Nicks is doing well, that Bomar has a great release… it means these players have half a chance of doing something. And when Beckum is in the trainer’s room as a rookie, he needs to make sure he is healthy for ALL of training camp because he is already behind.
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