Give me a break, Paul

[dressedcheeseside]

20 days can not get here fast enough !

I keep hearing this and keep shaking my head. We need as much practice as we can get and then some.

 

[collegeballfan]

If you are a current football player, do not read past line below:

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Alright, Johnson, I've heard enough bellyaching. "We can't block" "The OL sucks" "Nobody can get open"

What you really mean is that Roof's guys are kicking your offensive butt right now. Why would you find that surprising? Let's see, the Shaq-less OL is going against All-ACC preseason linemen Gotsis and Days. Relatively new A Backs and Wide Receivers are trying to block Davis, Marcordes, Golden, and Noble. White and Milton are shutting down your receivers. Davis is a Junior, White is a Senior, and the rest are Redshirt Seniors. They are talented, experienced, and confident. They have literally hundreds of days of practice against the TO and the players on your offense. They probably know what you are going to call before you do. They know every weakness and tell of their buddies on offense. Who else is your offense going to run into this year that has even dozens of days of practice against the TO? Give your new guys on offense at least two weeks in pads before they are expected to hold their own against that RSr laden defense. And don't expect us to swallow any more doom and gloom. You've got what you always wanted and needed the most to make your offense go; a top notch option QB and possibly the best returning OL in the country. So give me a break.

PS - Behind your back, Ted Roof is laughing at your high school offense!

Maybe I just missed it but I do not recall reading where Johnson was flat out bragging on how well the defense looks against the offense.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

You don't get better in practice without going full speed. Need live tackling and blocking drills. CPJ has a lot Bear Bryant in his demeanor as for as practice is concerned. Practice is tough. Games become a piece of cake. Need to watch fatigue during practice since that increase chances for injury. There have been some posts in the past about teams beginning to use sensors and wireless data gathering to identify players getting fatigued and subbing for them.. Believe it was FSU doing this.

Good info.
I still have lots of questions due to my ignorance on the subject. I remember a few years ago teams started doing practices in which no one "tackled to the ground" and whistles were quick. For a while no one was tackling to the ground. I think the pendulum has swung back partially but it is still a delicate balance for a lot of teams.

Also several years ago I recall there was only one college team left that actually practiced full contact kick off and punt returns. Memory is not what it used to be so don't remember who that was. It came up in an article because they tended to lead the nation in special teams. Anyway, Dodd was known as a light practice advocate and Bear Bryant practiced at a level that no one does today due to things we know now that we didn't then. He was also one of the last of the "drinking water during practice makes you a weak" advocates.

CPJ likes hard practices in the sense that they require lots of stamina for all the repetitions. Since I have not attended one of his practices I don't know, except from film, what all they do to protect star players and, as he put it, "not kill each other." It looks like linemen hit each other hard but the play is dead the moment a running back either breaks free or is wrapped up. Someone who goes to practice needs to enlighten me though.

 

[redmule]

Good to see so many of the people on this board are already in mid-season pessimism form. But then, lots of practice will get you there.

Listening to 50+ years of preseason coach speak will make it lose its effectiveness. I have never, never heard an optimistic coach in August. Even Bowden in the 90's at FSU was hoping to just have a winning record and get into a minor bowl. They might praise a player or two that is doing well, but all comments are about what is going wrong.

 

[danny daniel]

Good to see so many of the people on this board are already in mid-season pessimism form. But then, lots of practice will get you there.

Listening to 50+ years of preseason coach speak will make it lose its effectiveness. I have never, never heard an optimistic coach in August. Even Bowden in the 90's at FSU was hoping to just have a winning record and get into a minor bowl. They might praise a player or two that is doing well, but all comments are about what is going wrong.

Experience taught me that it generally takes about 4 weeks to get a team in playing (hitting) shape, getting organized and establishing routines and discipline, getting fundamentals practiced, preparing to play a game, shuffling players to get them in the right positions and building depth, and learning the playbook stuff. Anything short of 4 weeks was still chaos. Then it took about 3 more weeks to tweak the offense and defense details and still move a few players around based on actual game experience. We are just finishing two weeks so I suspect things are just now beginning to shape up and there is more hard practice work ahead to get to a functioning team with all the pieces in place to compete at our expected level. If CPJ has not changed his tune by mid September we can start to worry.

 

[GlennW]

If you are a current football player, do not read past line below:

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Alright, Johnson, I've heard enough bellyaching. "We can't block" "The OL sucks" "Nobody can get open"

What you really mean is that Roof's guys are kicking your offensive butt right now. Why would you find that surprising? Let's see, the Shaq-less OL is going against All-ACC preseason linemen Gotsis and Days. Relatively new A Backs and Wide Receivers are trying to block Davis, Marcordes, Golden, and Noble. White and Milton are shutting down your receivers. Davis is a Junior, White is a Senior, and the rest are Redshirt Seniors. They are talented, experienced, and confident. They have literally hundreds of days of practice against the TO and the players on your offense. They probably know what you are going to call before you do. They know every weakness and tell of their buddies on offense. Who else is your offense going to run into this year that has even dozens of days of practice against the TO? Give your new guys on offense at least two weeks in pads before they are expected to hold their own against that RSr laden defense. And don't expect us to swallow any more doom and gloom. You've got what you always wanted and needed the most to make your offense go; a top notch option QB and possibly the best returning OL in the country. So give me a break.

PS - Behind your back, Ted Roof is laughing at your high school offense!

Obviously you've never stepped on a college football field (in pads) in your life. I can assure you Paul Johnson doesn't say anything he doesn't mean, and if you don't don't that by now, you never will.

What I can tell you, from being on that very field, is that these guys have been busting their asses and they, and the Coaching Staff, have a high level of pride; they want to succeed and they know when they aren't doing things right. If PJ sees something that he isn't happy with, especially lack of effort/energy/missed assignments, you can be darned sure he'll say something because he knows they can, and will, do better.

You may have been trying to be "cute" or "funny" with your post, but my guess is it was insulting to those on the field and the Coaching Staff.

 

[Yoda]

Obviously you've never stepped on a college football field (in pads) in your life. I can assure you Paul Johnson doesn't say anything he doesn't mean, and if you don't don't that by now, you never will.

What I can tell you, from being on that very field, is that these guys have been busting their asses and they, and the Coaching Staff, have a high level of pride; they want to succeed and they know when they aren't doing things right. If PJ sees something that he isn't happy with, especially lack of effort/energy/missed assignments, you can be darned sure he'll say something because he knows they can, and will, do better.

You may have been trying to be "cute" or "funny" with your post, but my guess is it was insulting to those on the field and the Coaching Staff.

Dang Glenn

 

[CornerBlitz]

Obviously you've never stepped on a college football field (in pads) in your life. I can assure you Paul Johnson doesn't say anything he doesn't mean, and if you don't don't that by now, you never will.

What I can tell you, from being on that very field, is that these guys have been busting their asses and they, and the Coaching Staff, have a high level of pride; they want to succeed and they know when they aren't doing things right. If PJ sees something that he isn't happy with, especially lack of effort/energy/missed assignments, you can be darned sure he'll say something because he knows they can, and will, do better.

You may have been trying to be "cute" or "funny" with your post, but my guess is it was insulting to those on the field and the Coaching Staff.

So true. I may be a little older, but this is the way it has always been on Rose Bowl and other practice fields this time of year.

 

[PBR549]

If you are a current football player, do not read past line below:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alright, Johnson, I've heard enough bellyaching. "We can't block" "The OL sucks" "Nobody can get open"

What you really mean is that Roof's guys are kicking your offensive butt right now. Why would you find that surprising? Let's see, the Shaq-less OL is going against All-ACC preseason linemen Gotsis and Days. Relatively new A Backs and Wide Receivers are trying to block Davis, Marcordes, Golden, and Noble. White and Milton are shutting down your receivers. Davis is a Junior, White is a Senior, and the rest are Redshirt Seniors. They are talented, experienced, and confident. They have literally hundreds of days of practice against the TO and the players on your offense. They probably know what you are going to call before you do. They know every weakness and tell of their buddies on offense. Who else is your offense going to run into this year that has even dozens of days of practice against the TO? Give your new guys on offense at least two weeks in pads before they are expected to hold their own against that RSr laden defense. And don't expect us to swallow any more doom and gloom. You've got what you always wanted and needed the most to make your offense go; a top notch option QB and possibly the best returning OL in the country. So give me a break.

PS - Behind your back, Ted Roof is laughing at your high school offense!

Well I've been in plenty of camp practices and I didn't see anything offensive about your post. That's the ebb and flo of how practice goes. O and D take turns getting the best of each other. Sometimes it takes a while for one to catch up. The bottom line is those D linemen are probably making our OL work there *** off and that my friends is a good thing.

 

[cyptomcat]

 

[redmule]

I actually thought I was quite complimentary to the entire defense, the OL, the QB, and was saying I expect the A Backs and WR's to get the hang of the TO as practice proceeds. I was however pointing out that optimism from football coaches in August is rarer than leprechaun farts. Of course coaches under promise and over deliver. That's how you get ahead, not just in coaching but in any profession. Every year at goal setting time, I'd poor mouth to my boss about all the difficulties I faced so that at year end review I'd look even better. Do you seriously think this very human trait is somehow missing in football coaches? I'll bet everyone of us when we were in Tech complained to our parents about how tough it was even the quarters we knew we were going to make good grades.

You're right, I never played college football, only high school football on two state championship teams back in the 60's. Each year our coaches constantly told us all preseason that we were the worst bunch of losers he had ever seen. Our opponents were Greek Gods whose feet only touched the ground every 20 yards. Our girlfriends would laugh at us, our parents would wear bags on their heads, and we would tarnish the reputation of our high school forever. A few years later, I heard the same thing from my Drill Instructor for all of Basic Training. We should be wearing lace panties, we couldn't even pass basic in the WACs, when the Viet Cong killed us we shouldn't even be allowed a decent burial, he could walk across the firing range and never be hit, he was going to make us squat to pee. Then when we graduated from Basic, he told us we were the best group of trainees he had ever had and he would go to war with us any day. Yada, yada yada.,

How about this? Our players suck, they can't block, tackle, catch, run, kick, or even shower well. Paul Johnson is blowing smoke up our butts if he thinks we will win a single game this year. Now that is what I call insulting to those on the field and the Coaching Staff. Heaven forbid that someone might post something on this board cute or funny or even optimistic or make fun of the pre-season poor mouth ritual that all football coaches at every level of the sport spout every year. Let's all wallow in despair so that we can say "I told you so!" when we inevitably have a game or two, like every team, that doesn't go the way we want it. I just refuse to play that game.

 

[4shotB]

I'll bet everyone of us when we were in Tech complained to our parents about how tough it was even the quarters we knew we were going to make good grades.

redmule - I have enjoyed your post and perspective on things. However the quote above jumped out at me. I cannot relate to it as I never experienced a single quarter where I knew I was going to make good grades. In fact, after my first 2 quarters I dropped out and worked a bit so I could start paying my own way through. That way, I never had to report back to the homefront on my grades. Doing that twice was more than plenty. My parents never knew afterwards what I made - they just learned that I (eventually) got out.

 

[Skeptic]

Good info.
I still have lots of questions due to my ignorance on the subject. I remember a few years ago teams started doing practices in which no one "tackled to the ground" and whistles were quick. For a while no one was tackling to the ground. I think the pendulum has swung back partially but it is still a delicate balance for a lot of teams.

Also several years ago I recall there was only one college team left that actually practiced full contact kick off and punt returns. Memory is not what it used to be so don't remember who that was. It came up in an article because they tended to lead the nation in special teams. Anyway, Dodd was known as a light practice advocate and Bear Bryant practiced at a level that no one does today due to things we know now that we didn't then. He was also one of the last of the "drinking water during practice makes you a weak" advocates.

CPJ likes hard practices in the sense that they require lots of stamina for all the repetitions. Since I have not attended one of his practices I don't know, except from film, what all they do to protect star players and, as he put it, "not kill each other." It looks like linemen hit each other hard but the play is dead the moment a running back either breaks free or is wrapped up. Someone who goes to practice needs to enlighten me though.

If you haven't read "The Junction Boys," then do. Today the Bear would be pulling 3-5 . The funny thing was that it didn't help him at Texas A&M at all. They still lost, and he left.

 

[GTech63]

If you haven't read "The Junction Boys," then do. Today the Bear would be pulling 3-5 . The funny thing was that it didn't help him at Texas A&M at all. They still lost, and he left.

Bryant at Aggieland 4 years 25-14-2; last 3 years 24-5-2; Top 20 3 x; top 10 2x.

 

[OldJacketFan]

Bryant at Aggieland 4 years 25-14-2; last 3 years 24-5-2; Top 20 3 x; top 10 2x.

And turned John David Crow into a Heisman winner

 

[Skeptic]

Obviously you've never stepped on a college football field (in pads) in your life. I can assure you Paul Johnson doesn't say anything he doesn't mean, and if you don't don't that by now, you never will.

The thing is that with Johnson all is relative. When he says his franchise QB, the guy who saved his job because no matter how many of us think he can coach and love the offense, another 6-6 year would have been a deal breaker, is "okay, most days," then it seems to me he is showing the team there are no favorites, or in this case, not exactly a rousing endorsement, and he wants more. But does the team, seeing "the QB" every day, think he is mediocre? In a nutshell, relative to this time of August they are lousy as compared to the level he is after. But they have time to do the Monty Python and get better. That's the drill. Yes, he means it. No, he doesn't. When the sun sets every day Paul Johnson is still a football coach, and much like eventual Wall Street fraud, football coaches are predictable. Whatever works.

 

[Skeptic]

And turned John David Crow into a Heisman winner

Talk about behind-the-door politics.

 

[GTech63]

Talk about behind-the-door politics.

What do you mean?

 

[Buzzbomb]

This might be the first fall camp under CPJ, where our defense makes the offense better via the practices, scrimmages.

If you play up to the level of the competition, you can get a whole lot better, especially the youth going up against the first team when that might occur. If Days is still playing with the second team including those deep corners/safeties, it should challenge the newbies on offense.

 

[Skeptic]

And turned John David Crow into a Heisman winner

Talk about behind-the-door politics.

What do you mean?

Injured, play only seven games, good but not great offensive and defensive stats, a solid player but pushed by Bryant in some rave politicking. Kind of a Hornung Heisman, but probably better.