Day Six
by John Berkowitz on Apr 10, 2009 10:32 PM PDT
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PrintHere’s the schedule for practice number six from Matt Peterson. The emphasis today will be on special teams and two-minute situations. This afternoon’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 56.
The team will be practicing in helmets and shorts so they can get healthy before Saturday's scrimmage. That scrimmage should be pretty fun to watch. I think it will give everyone a good idea of where the team is right now.
2:15 p.m. Special Teams / Team / Offense & Defense / Position Meetings
4 p.m. Explode & Run-Thru
4:15 p.m. Special Teams Walk-Thru
4:20 p.m. Stretch
4:30 p.m. Practice #6
6:15 p.m. Off the Field
I happened upon this article today in Seattlest. I like it! It gives a good picture of what is going on at practice.
Profanities fill the air like runway geese, but praise is heaped in equal amounts. The overall impression is one of fairness. Whether there is enough talent on the field to overcome recent failures remains to be seen. But you get the feeling that Sark and his crew will be on these guys until they get faster, get better, and finish each and every damn play.
The weather turned foul this afternoon so the Huskies headed into the Dempsey for practice today.
The big news of the day was QB Luther Leonard was switched to WR. Luther's arm strength wasn't cutting it at QB and even thought the Huskies are down to only two scholarship QB's the move had to happen.
Anthony Boyles had another good day and Vonzell McDowell was back out there and was burned on a 40 yard Boyles reception.
The team scrimmaged 11 on 11 for the last half of practice in anticipation of tommorows full pad scrimmage. a lot of emphasis today was spent on the two minute drill. Demetrius Bronson had a 65 yard run during that period of practice. He is looking more and more like a guy that will contribute this coming season.
Jake Locker had his best day this spring which was good to see. Hopefully he will continue to progress on Saturday when they are in full pads.
Erik Folk went 4-of-5 on his field goal attempts with his only miss coming from 52 yards away.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times
"I thought Jake was a lot better today,'' Sarkisian said. "There was a lot of emphasis on throwing the ball today, that's why were inside. He threw the ball well. In the seven-on-seen we didn't catch the ball particularly well, but I thought we threw the ball better today with more accuracy and on time, so I was really impressed with Jake.''
The offense had a good showing in today’s high-tempo practice in the Dempsey Center. Big plays by WR Anthony Boyles and Demitrius Bronson highlighted what Husky head coach Steve Sarkisian said was a good day of work even though the team was just in helmet’s and shorts.
"There will be tackling, and we’ll play football," he said. "I don’t know if it will be so much different, but I think it’s a mindset for our guys that this is kind of their first test. We’ve gone through six days now, and now it’s time to test them."
Locker had a solid day of passing the ball. Izbicki and Bronson continue to impress. On defense Darion Jones and Marquise Persley had solid days.
1. Players of the Day: On Offense Cody Bruns and on Defense Marquis Persley.
2. Play of the Day: Tripper Johnson’s interception the last play of practice.
3. Coach of the Day: Demetrice Martin"Count on us, to stay on top!"
4. Thought of the Day: It is not for everybody.
5. Team Competition Winner: Defense
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explode and run through
Hi John,
I very much enjoy your reporting. Especially now that the wall has been lifted.
Can you tell me what “explode and run through” are exactly. Sounds like it happens before practice begins.
Thanks!
A Warm-up Drill
Run and explode through isn’t common terminology but it is a warm up drill they use to get the players lose before they start hitting.
One of the other guys who has been to practice this year can probably help you out on that one. Because of work this Spring I haven’t been able to head out to Seattle to watch practice. One of the problems when you are self employed in a down economy is you have to put more time in at work which cripples travel opportunities. Another problem I always have is April 15th which means I always have to write a big honking check to Uncle Sam.
I think you might enjoy these videos of typical warm up drills football teams use to get loosened up.
Click the link to link to check out some typical warmup drills that football teams use.
by John Berkowitz on Apr 10, 2009 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Seattle Sunshine?
“Mostly sunny skies”…
It’s been drizzling all day. Oh Seattle…
Not like the Utah Jazz... it's about REAL jazz. Go Dawgs, Go Blazers!
Forecast is wrong
Like usual the forecasters missed the target, expect clouds and light rain.
Unless work calls, I’m going to be at practice tomorrow, really looking forward to watching the scrimmage.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Lear
If you go to practice can you share with everyone what goes on during the run through and explode drill?
I have a good idea in my head but I don’t want to just make an educated guess.
by John Berkowitz on Apr 10, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
I'll gladly pay more attention to it this time
Last time I showed up 15 minutes early and they had already started, so I wasn’t sure what part was the “run through and explode” drill.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Tough Love is Coaching
"You think tough is getting a penalty that will cost us 15, 30 yards? Tough is blocking your man, making a play, communicating!"
It was a little like Kurt Russell in Miracle.
Fellas I’ve been around football long enough to know that good coaching is all about “tough love”. You get a kid so fearful of a coach, so ticked off at a coach, and so mad at a coach- the kid will grow to respect the man. Why do you suppose coaches like Bear Bryant (Alabama), Vince Lombardi (Green Bay), Bobby Knight (Indiana), and Herb Brooks (80 US Hockey Team) had earned so much respect from their players they’d go to battle for coach? How did these coaches get to that point? They demanded it from their perspective players. This is what Sark and Holt are doing and it is the most successful way to put a team together.
In today’s world it may seem old fashioned, out dated, and a little politically incorrect, but I’ve seen first hand at what “tough love” can do to a team and it pays off. From what I’ve seen and from what I’ve heard I will go on record and predict at least a 6-6 mark this upcoming season, maybe better. Trust me I know a little about the way these coaches are going about their business on the practice field and in the weight room. All this hard work will pay off as early as this year. We’ve got talent and we’ve had decent talent for awhile. TW never developed our unrealized talent, didn’t do a dam thing with it, where the program eventually faded into obscurity. Sark and Holt can visualize the unrealized talent and can shape it into something special. What do I mean by “unrealized talent”? Real hard-nosed football players who are starving for success. The only way to get this type of talent to play is to use the Bryant, Lombardi, Knight, and Brooks methods. Look at some of the talent that Bryant, Lombardi, Knight, and Brooks had. Those clubs didn’t have the best talent in their company either, but one thing they had that the opposition didn’t have was a championship.
6-6 record this year, maybe better
Go Huskies! WOOF!
All I saw was purple
Leonard to WR
Sounds like they are moving Luther Leonard to WR. Doesn’t sound like it’s a guaranteed move, more like lets give it a try and see how it works type of a deal. But given what I saw at practice on Monday, I’ll bet it becomes permanent before very long.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Somthings gotta give
They need to clear room for the class coming and the one they are recruiting now. Somethings gotta give here and there. I imagine the coaches will sit down with a few kids after the spring is over and help them move on. Same thing will happen again after the season.
I know they want to bring in at least 20 players in the 2010 class so they have to make some room.
One thing that isn’t making the job easier is that all the kids are doing what is asked of them and working hard. It won’t be an easy thing to do when they get to that point.
College football is a business after all and with only 85 scholarships you have to make some real tough decisions.
by John Berkowitz on Apr 11, 2009 6:39 AM PDT up reply actions
Bradly Roussel is a kid that may be running out of chances. Good heart out on the field during practice but undersized for the Pac 10. He missed practice because of academics today and we all know he had problems with the previous staff which started almost as soon as he arrived. Everyone started the Winter with a clean slate so he really needs to get his head screwed on straight.
“College football is a business after all and with only 85 scholarships you have to make some real tough decisions.”
Sometimes the kids make those decisions for you unfortunately.
by John Berkowitz on Apr 11, 2009 6:51 AM PDT up reply actions
I can think of a few rb’s that could move on.
by justicebeau on Apr 11, 2009 11:06 AM PDT up reply actions
My first practice
Didn’t get the player’s sheet (with the #s), so I had some trouble knowing who was who, but it was still interesting.
Some random thoughts and experiences-
-Two old guys (seems like former players) next to me were talking about all the horrible techniques the WR had. They even added that they must have been horrible HS players. Of course Goodwin was out today.
-The same guys said that Bronson has a good feel of the ball.
-I was around the reporters when they interviewed Sark and he said Bronson broke out again and had another huge break.
-According to Sark, Locker’s accuracy has improved, but just from my views, some of the passes were a bit high.
- The kicker’s range seems to be ~30 yards.
Old guys
We were hoping that Ty and Tormey would do a better job of evaluation than Neuheisel did but it seems they didn’t in quite a few cases.
by John Berkowitz on Apr 11, 2009 6:42 AM PDT up reply actions
Tieing Lear and Carzi together
When Lear said he got there 15 minutes early and they were already drilling, it reminded me of some old Lombardi stories, and then Crazi mentioned Vince. Packer practices ran on “Lombardi time”, which was always early. Top draft pick Donnie Anderson showed up 5 minutes before practice only to see the drills well under way. All the veterans were biting their tongue waiting for Vince to explode in front of him about being late and dissing the other players time.
Later halfback Anderson fumbled the ball and Lombardi boomed out for all to hear that Anderson just might become the highest paid punter in the NFL.
Respect and fear.
Respect and Fear
Don James
I’ve met DJ a number of times and a kinder and gentler man you will never meet in a social situation. He also has a good sense of humor.
For the numerous friends I have that played under him it was different. Respect and fear is a good description…I would also add positive father figure, compassionate person….and distant when you were a player and a good friend once you graduated. DJ really had it all figured out. Just a remarkable human being.
I remember running into him at halftime in South Bend the second time we played Notre Dame. We had a very interesting conversation over a hot dog. We both just looked at each other and communicated our feelings with our eyes. The team wasn’t prepared and we were both disgusted.
I rank DJ up there with my own father as people who I have respected the most in life. That sounds really corny but I think a lot of the older readers of this blog feel the same way.
DJ or Lombardi ?….I take DJ.
It’s funny….I never played for him, never really knew him except as a casual aquaintance, but he had a real positive influence on my life and how I do things. Reading about how he did things allows me to be organized enought to get a lot done every day. This blog could be a full time job for some people…I knock it out and still give a solid twelve hours of work without neglecting my family.
It is all about organization and goal setting.
I get a lot of that from my dad and studying how Don James worked.
by John Berkowitz on Apr 10, 2009 10:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Don James Era Has Run It's Course
To me coach Don James is the Husky version of John Wooden. That is saying something! I respect and love coach to death, but it is time to go in a new direction.
It has been said that we are still trying to replace Don James. I don’t buy it. We are replacing Tyrone Willingham and we are moving in a new direction. Do you think USC fans sit around remembering the good times under McKay and Robinson? No, they’ve moved on and in a new direction w/ Pete Carroll. For years USC held onto their heritage- runningback U and all and “student body left … student body right” approach. It wasn’t working any longer. Finally someone at SC had a sense of vision and hired someone outside the USC family and someone who had a vision for gridiron success. ENTER: Pete Carroll.
It might come as a shock to some, but I think it is time we Husky fans realize what is in the past is in the past. We all loved the 91 “46 Bear” Husky defense under Jim Lambright, but that defense won’t work in today’s game. For us to become the major power we once were requires a new approach. Football evolves in regards to coaching, player characteristics, and scheming. USC finally had to come to terms with this and it paid off. Oklahoma under went this from Switzer to Stoops. We and Nebraska are in the same boat. We both cherrish our historically great coaches so much we can’t let go of it. The sooner we all realize that, the much faster we can begin to embrace the new Husky regime.
Love coach Don James, but it is time to put all the trophies in the case and use them only as a recruiting tool. This is coach Steve Sarkisian’s time and he is bridging his high octane football system with a little old school tough love. To me, that is a recipe for success!
Go Sark! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
yes and no
I would agree that it’s not realistic to think that the Huskies will necessarily play the exact same schemes as they did under DJ, and it’s not necessary for the coaching staff to have ties with DJ.
On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with hoping that the program will emphasize things similar to what DJ emphasized – tough players, great defense, strong special teams, a dependable running game, pro-style QB’s. Those things still work today. I think it’s also not a bad thing to emulate the organization skills DJ had as a coach, and I think DJ’s recruiting philosophy of winning the best players in-state & targeting the kinds of players USC goes after in California (and getting a few of them as well as wrapping up the best of the guys USC doesn’t get) also are still valid.
Completely Agree
James ran a great program, he was organized, recruited as well as anyone, and was highly successful here. I don’t doubt any of that one bit. My arguement is that I don’t neccessarily believe coach James should be the benchmark at this particular time. If we continue to look at James as the benchmark then every coach that passes thru here is bound to fail in our eyes. How can you top what coach James did? Is it possible?
The benchmark for success should be for the new coach to do his job as good or better then the previous coach. From what I’ve witnessed since the firing Jim Lambright is that the program has continued to sprial out of control, where we’ve sunk as low as we possibly could at 0-12. The reason?
My arguement is based upon the assumption that we fans still see the Washington Huskies still trying to replace legendary Don James as coach- and each coach who has come and gone has failed to meet those standards and we’ve carved out a deep hole for ourselves. This sort of stuff happens to highly successful programs. Look at the 49ers for pete’s sake. Since the Bill Walsh era the Niners have sunk lower and lower- could it be that the 49ers are still trying to replaced Walsh?
Love coach Don James, but I am ready for a fresh start with a coach that does it his way. And I agree with you that James had great qualities that can still be used in today’s game. Those James-esque qualities are being utilized under Steve Sarkisian.
At this point Don James should not be the benchmark. Currently the benchmark is that of Tyrone Willingham. If Sark can do a better job then TW, then surely we are on the right path. Now it may seem as if I am raining on someone’s parade- I’m not. I think Sark is going to have us in the Rose Bowl by year 4. Yet we just came off an 0-12 season under TW. It takes baby steps and my prediction of at least a 6-6 record would be a gigantic baby step in the right direction.
To me James is Wooden in purple and gold- coach is truly a legend.
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
I dunno – I get what you’re saying, but I’m also wary of lowering expectations too far. I think the goal is to achieve what DJ achieved – he proved it could be done, so that’s what the UW should strive for. Doesn’t mean I think Sarkisian is a failure if he doesn’t get us there. If he can win as often as Lambo & Neuheisel, he’ll be a success in my book.
I just think it’s damning with faint praise to say if he does better than Ty than we’re necessarily on the right path. I think any coach with a pulse can do better than what Ty did here.
And maybe it will require a lot of baby steps to get to the level of success we demand, but I’m not convinced that has to be the case – there are plenty of examples out there of successful coaches showing after a couple of years that they are the right guys. Took Tedford only a year to turn things completely around at Cal.
Got to agree with kirkd
I think we are all smart enough to know the offensive and defensive schemes used in the early 90’s will no longer work. But all the principles that DJ brought and were mentioned by kirkd should always be emphasized, they will always be the core of championship football.
I’m a bit surprise that this is coming from Crazi, you seem to like an “old fashioned” offensive style, that being run the ball, kill the clock, and keep scoring down. That sounds very Don James esque in my opinion.
Every future coach at the UW should look forward to having the honor of trying to be the next Dawgfather
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Of course it's a lot easier...
…to let go of the past when your current coach is the best coach you’ve ever had. We can’t say that and therefore we will always pine over our glorious past. That’s human nature.
by doubledeucedawg on Apr 11, 2009 10:37 AM PDT up reply actions
Explode and run
from Bob C at the times
For the reader who asked what “explode and run-through’’ means - it’s a daily segment of practice - Sarkisian said it’s simply a higher-paced walk-through of plays.”It’s about that we explode off the football. We have a walk-through period and then a period where we are trying to get a little more tempo. It’s still a walk-through but we are trying to explode off the ball and run through.’’
explode
I only posted it here, but it makes me feel better that I wasn’t the only one with the question!
I went to practice
and I wasn’t even sure what it was.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
Great question Waltham
Usually when I can’t figure out something I either ask Bob Condotta or Chris Fetters.
They are both great guys, friends of the blog, better writers then myself, and always willing to fill in the blanks for me.
by John Berkowitz on Apr 10, 2009 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Thanks!
Thanks for the answer.
I very much liked your posting about DJ. It’s always seemed a challenge for coaches to maintain the proper distance and relationship with the players. Don’t want to be their friend, don’t want to be too distant either. DJ, as you said, really seemed to have it just right. I suppose because it was who he was.
Again, thanks for the blog, and the answer. It’s so much fun this year to keep tabs on what’s happening with the team.
Loved to read this
by doubledeucedawg on Apr 11, 2009 10:56 AM PDT reply actions
Crazi I like your style..........
and it’s good to see your optimism grow with your “6-6 or better” prediction. I recall in the “Am I Strange” thread (the first I joined in on) I went out on a limb and said I think the Dawgs have a good chance of catching LSU with their pants down. I still do. So, I’d like to think that one of your sixes might be the opener.
And John, I’ve been thinking the same thing about Roussel. He’s got to step up or he’s moving on.
Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!
Could Happen...
The first game of the season at any level, minus the pros, the offense isn’t all in yet and not nearly fine tuned. The reason why I said “minus the pros” is because of the preseason games. That is why the NFL uses preseason so that by the time week 1 starts the teams have four games already under their belts, that and it makes a lot of money in ticket sales and televeision $ deals.
But yeah it is possible to catch the Bayou Tigers off guard. Everything would have to fall into place and for it to happen, it’s better to not give LSU a lot of material to work with. If LSU thinks for a second that Washington could catch them off guard- then surely LSU will be that much more in tune with the Washington opener.
The LSU game is not one of my “or better”. First things first- this team needs to learn how to win and I seriously doubt that learning to win will happen in week 1 against that type of opponent. Week 2 will be the first win, but it won’t be the “learn how to win” game I am referring to. An Oregon, an Arizona State, a Notre Dame, a Ucla, a Cal, and an Oregon State type is that sort of “learn how to win” game I am referring to.
But it does have to start with one victory and it has to happen early on in the season. If we drop 3 out of the first 4 games it could be devastating to our young players. We MUST at least go 2-2 in the first four games- we have too or it will kill a mid season push.
All I saw was purple
The Emtman Influence
Go to coachsark.com and see great footage of the best defensive player in UDub history. The youngsters at Camp Sark & Hot got a briefing about one of the most feared defensive players in modern day college football.
In the modern era only Steve Emtman and Hugh Green stand alone. The video is so AWESOME I am ready to GET IT ON!
Go Dawgs! WOOF!!!
All I saw was purple
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