Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys.
When BA was introduced as the Cardinals' new HC, one of the first things he said is: "With me, what you see is what you get."
We've all heard that one before, haven't we?
It's become a cliche for coaches, of sorts.
Yet---now that BA is more than six months into his first bona fide head NFL head coaching gig---his self-description rings perfectly true...
And better yet...there is absolutely nothing trite or cliched about BA.
First of all: look at the guy. He wears Kangol hats and he lets everything hang out.
Secondly: listen to what he says.
He is about as blunt as a sledge hammer.
When asked "how far behind is Jonathan Cooper?", BA's response was, "Last week."
Sticking with Cooper---yesterday during his interview with MJ, MJ asked him what BA said to him when he arrived and it was something to the effect of glad to see you now get your butt on the field and don't make mistakes.
BA made Cooper run his conditioning test in front of the entire team. Why?
That's the BA way.
It was BA's way of chasing Cooper to get him caught up with the team. It was BA's way of trying to get Last Week to catch up with This Week.
You see---when it comes to coaching BA has very little patience.
"You won't hear me or Steve Keim use the word rebuilding," quipped Arians, way back at his opening press conference.
"We are reloading."
"We want to win now."
"We expect to win now."
Think BA&SK have been reloading the roster this off-season?
The 60+ acquisitions been the most impressive mother lode of new talent the Cardinals have ever seen in one off-season.
Yesterday BA was asked if his current goal was to build team chemistry---which seems like a rhetorical question, doesn't it?
Yet, BA may have surprised and enlightened everyone who heard his response when he said: "This is not a time for chemistry. My philosophy is, we're not the Cardinals yet. Now we are 90 guys trying to get a job. We'll become the Cardinals when 53 of them are picked. Then we will be a team."
BA's message went right to the players: seize the day, boys.
BA's message is clear---roster decisions will dictate the chemistry the coaches are seeking.
When asked if this is a make or break training camp for oft-injured RB Ryan Williams, BA dropped the sledge hammer: "I would think so."
Now---we already know that BA is a fan of his fellow Hokie and would have every reason to want Williams to excel.
But---today Ryan Williams is just like every other of the 90 players trying to win a job to become a member of the 2013 Cardinals.
Like the old saying goes: "you can't make the club from the tub."
BA---at the very core---is old school.
Having learned his craft from the likes of Bear Bryant (whose photo adorns the wall of BA's office) and Bill Cowher (who was the epitome of old school coaching with the Steelers)---what BA has learned is to find the core of veteran players to hitch his wagon to---that the true chemistry and ownership of the team begins and ends with the leaders on his football team---
Which is why BA has the least patience with veterans who lack leadership.
Look at the first free agent BA signed: Lorenzo Alexander. BA&SK signed him to a multi-year deal because they laud Alexander's veteran leadership.
Alexander was a guest on MJ's show yesterday---and the interview was very telling indeed.
First of all, MJ was discussing how BA was questioning whether the practice conditions at UofP were "too nice." Upon hearing this Alexander chuckled, because he too understands BA's concern.
But, what Alexander said was that BA has entrusted the tone of the camp to his core of veterans and that, as one of them, the veterans have been pushing the younger players and setting the standards---
The goal has been very clearly stated by BA himself with the very words he uses at the end of practice: "Win the west."
Jason La Canfora---the NFL beat writer---visited with MJ yesterday as well---and he politely expressed his doubts in QB Carson Palmer by questioning Palmer's character, skill maintenance and endurance---and then went on to say "if the offensive line doesn't get straightened out there is no way Carson Palmer will make it through the season."
La Canfora is very high on the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams. As for the Cardinals, he loves Fitzgerald as a "classy, eclectic ambassador of the game," but otherwise he's---meh.
The juxtaposition of Lorenzo Alexander's interview with Jason La Canfora's was stunning. Alexander has both hands firmly on the bar that BA has set for this team, while La Canfora's bar sits at about the height of Robbie Toma's knees.
Lincoln Kennedy, the Raiders' All-Pro offensive tackle, was MJ's sidekick in the booth yesterday---and from time to time he looked over to watch Levi Brown and each time Kennedy was highly critical of Brown's footwork and his approach.
Fortunately, Kennedy saw stronger footwork, bounce and approach from Nate Potter.
This is why it is very likely that BA will become highly impatient with Levi Brown to the point where he might not be one of the 53 guys who earn a job.
Why then did BA, prior to the NFL Draft, call Levi Brown "elite"?
Well, that's where BA set the bar for Brown. And BA expects nothing less.
Could Brown become an elite tackle?
He seemed to be blazing a path toward that goal the last half of the 2011 season.
But---there now seems to be something significantly lacking in Levi Brown...especially for a guy who was a top 5 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
As the elder statesman on this much-maligned offensive line---where is Levi Brown's leadership? What kind of ownership of the unit and the team has Levi Brown shown?
This is the first thing that has to change---if it's possible for Brown to change.
With BA the veterans have to be leaders, at least by example---it's the Bear Bryant and Bill Cowher old school formula.
BA has to be able to trust and rely on his veterans.
If you asked BA today whether he still thinks Levi Brown is elite---I would bet you my cache of Cardinals paraphernalia that BA would say no.
You see---since getting to see Brown during mini-camps and OTA's---the perception has changed. Brown hasn't seized the day---not in the BA way.
Will Brown be able to win BA's trust? Yes, one would hope.
BA keeps heaping praise on LT Nate Potter and now RG Paul Fanaika (6-5, 325, 3, Arizona St.), who seemingly at the age of 27 has come out of nowhere...which is somewhat surprising too in that you just know how high BA is on the prospects of 4th round pick RG Earl Watford.
The point is this---we are likely to be very surprised by BA's choices for the 53 man roster. Veterans who don't start, nor add to the leadership of the team will likely be gone. No patience for them.
BA loves younger players---which again is old school---because he trusts that he, his coaches and his carefully selected cadre of veteran leaders can mold them.
BA showed he could win with young players last year---and look at all the young talent he developed as OC in Pittsburgh.
So---stay tuned---todays question is: what players are going to carpe the heck out of this diem and tomorrow and tomorrow?
BA will let us know, one way or another.
That too is the BA way.
When BA was introduced as the Cardinals' new HC, one of the first things he said is: "With me, what you see is what you get."
We've all heard that one before, haven't we?
It's become a cliche for coaches, of sorts.
Yet---now that BA is more than six months into his first bona fide head NFL head coaching gig---his self-description rings perfectly true...
And better yet...there is absolutely nothing trite or cliched about BA.
First of all: look at the guy. He wears Kangol hats and he lets everything hang out.
Secondly: listen to what he says.
He is about as blunt as a sledge hammer.
When asked "how far behind is Jonathan Cooper?", BA's response was, "Last week."
Sticking with Cooper---yesterday during his interview with MJ, MJ asked him what BA said to him when he arrived and it was something to the effect of glad to see you now get your butt on the field and don't make mistakes.
BA made Cooper run his conditioning test in front of the entire team. Why?
That's the BA way.
It was BA's way of chasing Cooper to get him caught up with the team. It was BA's way of trying to get Last Week to catch up with This Week.
You see---when it comes to coaching BA has very little patience.
"You won't hear me or Steve Keim use the word rebuilding," quipped Arians, way back at his opening press conference.
"We are reloading."
"We want to win now."
"We expect to win now."
Think BA&SK have been reloading the roster this off-season?
The 60+ acquisitions been the most impressive mother lode of new talent the Cardinals have ever seen in one off-season.
Yesterday BA was asked if his current goal was to build team chemistry---which seems like a rhetorical question, doesn't it?
Yet, BA may have surprised and enlightened everyone who heard his response when he said: "This is not a time for chemistry. My philosophy is, we're not the Cardinals yet. Now we are 90 guys trying to get a job. We'll become the Cardinals when 53 of them are picked. Then we will be a team."
BA's message went right to the players: seize the day, boys.
BA's message is clear---roster decisions will dictate the chemistry the coaches are seeking.
When asked if this is a make or break training camp for oft-injured RB Ryan Williams, BA dropped the sledge hammer: "I would think so."
Now---we already know that BA is a fan of his fellow Hokie and would have every reason to want Williams to excel.
But---today Ryan Williams is just like every other of the 90 players trying to win a job to become a member of the 2013 Cardinals.
Like the old saying goes: "you can't make the club from the tub."
BA---at the very core---is old school.
Having learned his craft from the likes of Bear Bryant (whose photo adorns the wall of BA's office) and Bill Cowher (who was the epitome of old school coaching with the Steelers)---what BA has learned is to find the core of veteran players to hitch his wagon to---that the true chemistry and ownership of the team begins and ends with the leaders on his football team---
Which is why BA has the least patience with veterans who lack leadership.
Look at the first free agent BA signed: Lorenzo Alexander. BA&SK signed him to a multi-year deal because they laud Alexander's veteran leadership.
Alexander was a guest on MJ's show yesterday---and the interview was very telling indeed.
First of all, MJ was discussing how BA was questioning whether the practice conditions at UofP were "too nice." Upon hearing this Alexander chuckled, because he too understands BA's concern.
But, what Alexander said was that BA has entrusted the tone of the camp to his core of veterans and that, as one of them, the veterans have been pushing the younger players and setting the standards---
The goal has been very clearly stated by BA himself with the very words he uses at the end of practice: "Win the west."
Jason La Canfora---the NFL beat writer---visited with MJ yesterday as well---and he politely expressed his doubts in QB Carson Palmer by questioning Palmer's character, skill maintenance and endurance---and then went on to say "if the offensive line doesn't get straightened out there is no way Carson Palmer will make it through the season."
La Canfora is very high on the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams. As for the Cardinals, he loves Fitzgerald as a "classy, eclectic ambassador of the game," but otherwise he's---meh.
The juxtaposition of Lorenzo Alexander's interview with Jason La Canfora's was stunning. Alexander has both hands firmly on the bar that BA has set for this team, while La Canfora's bar sits at about the height of Robbie Toma's knees.
Lincoln Kennedy, the Raiders' All-Pro offensive tackle, was MJ's sidekick in the booth yesterday---and from time to time he looked over to watch Levi Brown and each time Kennedy was highly critical of Brown's footwork and his approach.
Fortunately, Kennedy saw stronger footwork, bounce and approach from Nate Potter.
This is why it is very likely that BA will become highly impatient with Levi Brown to the point where he might not be one of the 53 guys who earn a job.
Why then did BA, prior to the NFL Draft, call Levi Brown "elite"?
Well, that's where BA set the bar for Brown. And BA expects nothing less.
Could Brown become an elite tackle?
He seemed to be blazing a path toward that goal the last half of the 2011 season.
But---there now seems to be something significantly lacking in Levi Brown...especially for a guy who was a top 5 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
As the elder statesman on this much-maligned offensive line---where is Levi Brown's leadership? What kind of ownership of the unit and the team has Levi Brown shown?
This is the first thing that has to change---if it's possible for Brown to change.
With BA the veterans have to be leaders, at least by example---it's the Bear Bryant and Bill Cowher old school formula.
BA has to be able to trust and rely on his veterans.
If you asked BA today whether he still thinks Levi Brown is elite---I would bet you my cache of Cardinals paraphernalia that BA would say no.
You see---since getting to see Brown during mini-camps and OTA's---the perception has changed. Brown hasn't seized the day---not in the BA way.
Will Brown be able to win BA's trust? Yes, one would hope.
BA keeps heaping praise on LT Nate Potter and now RG Paul Fanaika (6-5, 325, 3, Arizona St.), who seemingly at the age of 27 has come out of nowhere...which is somewhat surprising too in that you just know how high BA is on the prospects of 4th round pick RG Earl Watford.
The point is this---we are likely to be very surprised by BA's choices for the 53 man roster. Veterans who don't start, nor add to the leadership of the team will likely be gone. No patience for them.
BA loves younger players---which again is old school---because he trusts that he, his coaches and his carefully selected cadre of veteran leaders can mold them.
BA showed he could win with young players last year---and look at all the young talent he developed as OC in Pittsburgh.
So---stay tuned---todays question is: what players are going to carpe the heck out of this diem and tomorrow and tomorrow?
BA will let us know, one way or another.
That too is the BA way.
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Good one Mulli. I remember some years ago the Eagles did just that in a game when Cunningham was their QB and they ended up getting like a 75-80 yd punt out of it with no return. If I'm not mistaken the punt ended up inside the other teams 20 yd line when the Eagles were trapped inside their own 20 with a ton of yards to go on 3rd down. Cunningham punted the ball and it rolled forever.
