The Path to the Endzone

Repetitions

Sunday’s practice was pretty much more of the same.  Started off with warm-ups, then into conditioning, and then broke it down into offense and defense.  More tackling drills, then reviewing the base set and our responsibilities.  He started covering the secondary stunts, which of course has me learning the new defensive calls and hand signals.  Thankfully the old memory was still intact and most of it came back pretty quickly.

We also added in work on our pursuit drills, which the order has me a bit befuddled on the rationale.  But after several repetitions, I was able to get my timing better, so as to have a slow release while watching the backfield and still hit the intended target.

Its funny going through these drills this year, now that I have a much better idea of what I’m supposed to be doing.  Everything is moving much slower this year, based on the fact that we have more time, and already knowing the basics has allowed me to be a bit more relaxed about it all and spend more time working on the fine tuning. 

So far I’m pretty happy with the defensive group.  Most of the new girls are coming along very nicely and seem to fit in really well.  I have to admit it’s a bit fun being able to actually answer a lot of their questions with a bit of knowledge.  There are still a lot of questions and speculations as to where everyone will eventually fall as far as positions go.  Supposedly the answers should be coming soon, but soon could be another couple weeks away.

The Monster

Practice last night was a big change of pace.  In some ways slower and others much faster.  We started off breaking the offense and defense down again then headed to the chalk board to learn the basics of the schemes.  Not too surprised to find out we are shifting from the 6-2 defense we ran last year to the more traditional 4-3 defense.  Of course I got a chuckle hearing the DC’s name for the middle linebacker.  Monster.  Only he would come up with a name like that over the traditional “Mike” used by most.  Of course the ribbing on my inability to tell my right from my left started almost immediately, as the Middle linebacker is going to have to make all the calls, and everyone is pretty much assuming that’s my job.

After chalk time we all got back together and ran through warm-ups and conditioning drills.  They turned it up a notch and kept it pretty intense for about 40 mins.  Then we broke down into our defense position skill groups to start walking through our basic sets and areas of responsibility.  The middle linebacker is going to have to fill some pretty big shoes, so I know I need to drop this excess weight and fast, or I may not last too long.  Coach, I think, was trying to throw some subtle hints that I’d better keep the intensity high if I wanted to keep the starting middle linebacker job.  He had one of the new girls rotating in on that position and learning the basics for calling the plays.  Of course she doesn’t have near the weight or strength I do to throw around, but she is a hair faster and can probably last longer... at least for right now. 

Though towards the end of practice I got a few more props for the way I played on my ankle last year, so I know he knows just what I can bring to the table.  I just need to prove I haven’t lost it

The Weight of it All

Practice last night started off on an interesting note.  They decided to weigh-in all the returning players (The new guys got weighed in at try-outs).  This is where I have to admit that during the off-season, thanks to the ankle, the move, and the stress about the old house, I manage to put on a good chunk of weight.  More then I’m actually willing to admit to here.  When I stepped on the scale, the Defensive Coordinator about blew a gasket!  He of course had to relay the info to the Offensive Coordinator and I had to endure a good 30 mins of ribbing over it.  I overheard part of the conversation with the OC saying something along the lines of “Well, maybe you can use her as a solid nose guard now.”  The DC replying, “Well I guess well see if she’s lost a step or two”.  Then the OC shot back “Well, give her to me, I’ll still use her as a blocking, short-yardage fullback!”  The DC didn’t reply but shot him a look that could kill!!

We started off practice with the usual warm-ups, then broke off into the usual circuit drills, and then once again into specialty groups.  I have to admit, I’ve had about enough of the specialty groups right now.  Then break us out into QBs, Lineman and everyone else.  The everyone else group has been stuck running receiver type drills, and for someone who knows good and well she’s not going to be a receiver, it was old and tiresome.  Not to mention that the group was so large, that you spent more time standing around then really doing anything.  On occasion we would throw in some CB type drills which I could get into... but last night wasn’t to be the case.  But I figured I’d be a good player and try to pick up a few pointers as to what to watch for to keep from getting beat. 

Of course while standing around waiting for this to end, I caught the Defensive Coordinator and the Offensive Coordinator playing Rock, paper, scissors.  Knowing the history of the fighting over a few of us players, I got quite a chuckle that it had resorted to that in order to decide some of our fates.  I couldn’t resist teasing them a bit, so when we broke for water, I went up and asked who won.  The OC smiled real big and replied, “I DID!”

Thankfully they kept the skills group short and then starting the sorting of offense and defense.  Most things did not come as much of a surprise.  I, of course, ended up in the linebacker group once again.  This time, there were 5 of us, versus the two we had last year.  Guess coach learned his lesson after I went down with my ankle and the other linebacker went down with her shoulder.  Actually she was sort of one of the surprises.  She was actually sent to the defensive line group.  Apparently, he’s decided to slightly modify her role and use her more as a wide-out defensive end on a more pure pass rush type situations.  Of course this has my interest really piqued, as it already changes the formation we had been using last year.  Coach also managed to wrangle a few of the new girls who look like good candidates.  Looks like they should fit in well and hopefully they will work out to make the defense that much better.  Of course, coach re-iterated that no one has a starting position yet… he’s such a liar!!

We spent the rest of the evening going over his defensive philosophy and what he expects from all of us and what we should expect from him.  Pretty much the usual coach’s hype.  He did state that part of tonight’s practice will be spent sitting in front of a chalk board while he goes over some of the basics.  Could be a bit of a bore, but a necessary evil to get the new girls all up on the terminology of football.

Ode to Armstrong

Well, the first week back is over and I have survived.  Actually I faired quite well physically, and while some technique needed a bit refreshing, all and all I felt pretty good about where I’m at right now. 

As far as the team, it looks pretty interesting.  The lineman types seemed to have doubled in numbers, which is very good to see, as we need to find some serious upgrades and add some depth.  I’ve only seen a couple of possible LB prospects so far and honestly am not even remotely worried about losing my spot anymore.  Someone may surprise me in the next couple of weeks, but right now, just hoping we can find some decent backups.  As far as overall numbers go, I’m not feeling to overly optimistic about the size of our team.  While Sundays practice had a really good showing (somewhere around the 60 mark), Monday and Wednesday we were down around the 40-45 numbers.  This is before the splitting of offense and defense, before the pads and the hitting, before the serious play crunching with antsy coaches getting into your face.  I think we will once again be short of the 53-man roster limit, and the issue of being cut is going to become a mute point.

Of course the real disappointing news was the loss of one of our Defensive ends to the facts of life.  My Buddy Armstrong is moving away because of her job and had to quit the team.  She was a funny character, and one you would NEVER expect on a football field.  Not an athletic type, never played sports, she came out for football looking for something I think even she wasn’t very sure of.  But she had charisma that just could not be denied.  You had to love her.  For everything she lacked physically and mentally she made with heart and character.  She made practice fun, even after she became the Defense coaches’ whipping boy.  You could hear them yelling her name all across the field at least every 10 mins in practice and yet she always had a smile and she always did it better the next time around.  She also ended up being my riding buddy to the games last year... and made the trips feel very short and enjoyable instead of a bundle of nerves.  She will be missed and I wish her all the best!  Of course, the Defense coordinator has decided he may have to use me as his new whipping boy... So I may actually miss her more then I know!

And So It Begins, Again

You would think after a year of trying to iron out all the kinks, that we could finally have things running a bit more smoothly.  But alas, that is not to be.  The Chaos that so frustrated me last year, seems to be back in full swing. 

The practice last week turned out to not be so much a practice as a team meeting.  Time to get the paper work filled out, sign our lives and rights away and get the yearly pep talk.  Amazing coach managed to speak for almost an hour and a half without really saying much of anything at all.  OK, I’ll take that back, he made good points about the team being more committed.  About people showing up to practices and being accountable.  I hope some people who whined about playing time took notice.  Other then that it was the usual coach’s dribble.  More intended for the new guys, then for those of us who have heard it many times before.  Of course then there was the discussion of practice, where and when.  Nobody really knew.  The plan we initially had had fallen through right before the holidays and coach was scrambling to find a place and time that would work.  We left the meeting not knowing when we would meet again.  It wasn’t until Thursday that we finally got the answer, and Sunday would start the fun.

The turnout Sunday was pretty good.  Looked like close to 60 bodies were there, both new and old.  The skill levels pretty much ran the gambit.  Some of the new girls seem to be pretty cool and should find a nice fit on the team.  There are others I wonder if we will still be seeing them in 3-4 weeks time. 

The practice itself was pretty much like how we started last year.  We were run through a series of agility type drills for the first half, and then broken down into skill levels.  Lineman, QBs and then pretty much everyone else.  Some more position type drills that actually required a football and we were done. Coaches were having fun riding those of us that had been around pretty hard, while taking time to evaluate the new talent as well. 

The boot camp, I have to admit paid off pretty well.  While the practice was a workout, I never felt like I was really pushed too hard and had no trouble keeping up on everything.  A few minor aches today from the pushup and sit-ups we did, but other then that, I actual felt pretty good after all was said and done.  The true test may come tonight as we are scheduled for back to back practice Sunday and Monday for the entire month, but I’m not feeling to overly concern right now.