Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
1. I have a strong hunch that NFL training camps as we currently know them are going to slowly become obsolete. Some team is going to break the ice and have TC at their own training facility adjacent to their own stadium. And I would not be surprised if that team is the Cardinals.
With all the mini-camps now and OTAs, the players are around each other enough that they really don't need to be hanging out in dorms together. Plus, Whiz can still do his team bonding bowling and movies events...and the players can go home and stay with their families each night after practice.
Imagine the money a team would save?
Imagine too the free agents who would flock to the team that does this.
Some will maintain that TC is a necessary pain.
I think it really isn't such a big deal...not if a team maintains its TC structure and simply allows the players to return to the comforts of home when the activities are finished for the day.
2. I thought the 49ers looked strong last night. I liked their tempo...while Alex Smith is still somewhat of a question mark, I thought he played with a good, competitive fire, esp. for a QB playing w/o his main men (Gore, Crabtree, Davis). I also liked the looks of their rookie RB Anthony Dixon from Ole Miss...he's an upgarde over Coffee, IMO...and he's 6-1, 233. I liked Ziegler the WR...and I worry about Ted Ginn...he's got the speed you worry about and he seems to be catching the ball better...but I think the two rookies on the o-line were a sack waiting to happen. Yet, Smith shuffled his feet well and played within himself.
Couldn't believe Travis LaBoy...he looks better than ever...what pipes on him too. Too bad he was injury prone with us. He may get hobbled again...he seems that way. But, I couldn't help but lament that he wasn't healthy for the Super Bowl...he could have been the one missing link.
Patrick Willis is one of the best 5 players in the NFL, hands down. He is a total stud.
3. Today's offenses...it seems everything is about passing into the middle...the slants, the curls, the drags, the seam passes, the intermediate look-ins, skinny posts...the reason? Shortest distance between two points...as simple as that...with as fast as teams are getting and how quickly the QB has to get rid of the ball everything is middle, middle, middle, with release valve check-downs into the flat.
I call this the Pac Man Era...for those of us who played it...the only way to beat it was to go repeatedly through the middle...the gobble mosters were too quick and clever on the perimeter.
The point is...the premium for a QB is no longer on pure arm strength...it's on accuracy, especially under pressure. How many times does a team throw deep in a game anymore? Hardly ever.
4. Brett Favre...what would have happened if the 49ers had injured Favre on the sack he took and knocked him out for the season? Favre would have been in camp for 3 days and played 3 plays and would have collected a cool $17M. Think about it.
It's a travesty that players like Favre can call their own shots and report whenever they dang well feel like it. This could ruin the NFL if teams continue to allow for this. Before long, instead of veterans' days off...it could be veteran's half of TC off. Unreal.
It's still a team sport, is it not?
5. As for the Cardinals tonight, I am hoping to see each of the 4 QBs play a quarter. Probably won't happen, but seeing as the Cardinals have 3 games in 11 days, it probably should happen.
What worries me about practicing away from home this week is that the Cardinals need to add more roster competition at several key positions and assimilating new players into the mix while away from home is very tough. If the Cardinals wait too long they will leave themselves too vulnerable.
This is my beef with Rod Graves...he doesn't know how to finish off a roster...he hasn't yet in his tenure here. Sorry. I love the man and the class he has...but last year there were no edge pass rushers...and this year there are a plethora of issues.
With all the mini-camps now and OTAs, the players are around each other enough that they really don't need to be hanging out in dorms together. Plus, Whiz can still do his team bonding bowling and movies events...and the players can go home and stay with their families each night after practice.
Imagine the money a team would save?
Imagine too the free agents who would flock to the team that does this.
Some will maintain that TC is a necessary pain.
I think it really isn't such a big deal...not if a team maintains its TC structure and simply allows the players to return to the comforts of home when the activities are finished for the day.
2. I thought the 49ers looked strong last night. I liked their tempo...while Alex Smith is still somewhat of a question mark, I thought he played with a good, competitive fire, esp. for a QB playing w/o his main men (Gore, Crabtree, Davis). I also liked the looks of their rookie RB Anthony Dixon from Ole Miss...he's an upgarde over Coffee, IMO...and he's 6-1, 233. I liked Ziegler the WR...and I worry about Ted Ginn...he's got the speed you worry about and he seems to be catching the ball better...but I think the two rookies on the o-line were a sack waiting to happen. Yet, Smith shuffled his feet well and played within himself.
Couldn't believe Travis LaBoy...he looks better than ever...what pipes on him too. Too bad he was injury prone with us. He may get hobbled again...he seems that way. But, I couldn't help but lament that he wasn't healthy for the Super Bowl...he could have been the one missing link.
Patrick Willis is one of the best 5 players in the NFL, hands down. He is a total stud.
3. Today's offenses...it seems everything is about passing into the middle...the slants, the curls, the drags, the seam passes, the intermediate look-ins, skinny posts...the reason? Shortest distance between two points...as simple as that...with as fast as teams are getting and how quickly the QB has to get rid of the ball everything is middle, middle, middle, with release valve check-downs into the flat.
I call this the Pac Man Era...for those of us who played it...the only way to beat it was to go repeatedly through the middle...the gobble mosters were too quick and clever on the perimeter.
The point is...the premium for a QB is no longer on pure arm strength...it's on accuracy, especially under pressure. How many times does a team throw deep in a game anymore? Hardly ever.
4. Brett Favre...what would have happened if the 49ers had injured Favre on the sack he took and knocked him out for the season? Favre would have been in camp for 3 days and played 3 plays and would have collected a cool $17M. Think about it.
It's a travesty that players like Favre can call their own shots and report whenever they dang well feel like it. This could ruin the NFL if teams continue to allow for this. Before long, instead of veterans' days off...it could be veteran's half of TC off. Unreal.
It's still a team sport, is it not?
5. As for the Cardinals tonight, I am hoping to see each of the 4 QBs play a quarter. Probably won't happen, but seeing as the Cardinals have 3 games in 11 days, it probably should happen.
What worries me about practicing away from home this week is that the Cardinals need to add more roster competition at several key positions and assimilating new players into the mix while away from home is very tough. If the Cardinals wait too long they will leave themselves too vulnerable.
This is my beef with Rod Graves...he doesn't know how to finish off a roster...he hasn't yet in his tenure here. Sorry. I love the man and the class he has...but last year there were no edge pass rushers...and this year there are a plethora of issues.
