Brian: You can never read too much into the spring football game. I suppose Saturday's Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game was a success considering there were no major injuries (though Montel Harris put a scare in us all after leaving the game after his first carry for precautionary measures).
Let's start with the QB play. Rettig completed 20-of-29 passing for 182 yards, but didn't get the Eagles in the end zone in a 36-35 victory over the defense. Even though he didn't get in the end zone, after Rettig there was a pretty significant drop off in production. Shinskie completed 9-of-15 for 103 yards, while Marscovetra went 4-14 for 35 yards and an interception. Rettig was the leading QB after getting a bulk of the reps in the spring. When asked whether the extra reps helped him gain confidence that he'll be named the starter, Rettig said:
"It definitely helps," said Rettig. "I think I'm the guy. It seems like I'm the guy. You can just worry about playing your best and executing with the rest of the team."
Like I said, you certainly can't read too much into the spring game. But are you surprised by the final QB stat lines? And given the difference between Rettig's play and the rest of the team, are you at all worried about what would happen if Rettig would go down this season (knock wood)?
Jeff: No, I am not any more worried now if Rettig goes down than I was before. Shinskie's lack of development is very disappointing and I have never been at all impressed by Marsco, but still, its not like our starting QB is going to be single-handedly winning us a lot of games. Even if our backup is not great, its not going to be a gigantic dropoff from the starter. And honestly, I would bet that a lot of coaches in our league would like to have Shinskie on their bench. We know Shinksie can help us win games against teams that we should beat and those 50-50 matchups. He has done it before so if the running game is going, Shinskie can do enough as he has proved before. That's more than you get with most college backups.
Brian: Mike Javorski led all rushers with 82 yards on 20 carries. Any worry that Montel Harris won't be ready to go this fall?
Jeff: No, not really. There is no reason to test anything at this point.
Brian: Former Eagle and current Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan was in attendance for Saturday's spring game (though he looked so bundled up you would have thought the spring game was played to sub-zero temperatures ... Ryan -- you've gone soft playing in the Dome, eh?). Any chance he'll be able to impart some wisdom on Rettig, Shinskie, Marscovetra and the rest of the BC QBs?
Jeff: Well, he did address the team prior to the game and Rettig impressed. Maybe that will carry over through the season. Hopefully they exchanged cell phone numbers and keep in touch throughout the summer and fall.