I know I've been harping on different practice reports this season (as if that's something new.) I'll continue. I'm not making the bed here...just jumping on it.
(One thing that's amused me this past week comes from the running back corps. In the Tidesports report covering the scrimmage, their description of our running backs was, "- No rhyme or reason to the running back rotation - Yeldon, Henry, Drake and others getting reps all over." On the other hand, 247Sports sends out a mass email stating "Practice reveals depth chart at running back."
--------
Enough of that horse.
The team spent two days in helmets, then two days in shoulder pads. Yesterday was the first day they went to full pads. Now, we're officially in the football season.
There's a reason I view this as a turning point. It's been the practice, as it was these past five practices, that the staff puts what they call a "heavy install" on the team. Yesterday, Saban summed it up this way, the first five days were “very difficult in terms of the amount of things we throw at the players."
Now, it's almost a reboot. The team will be returning to what's been installed the last five days but now the staff will be focused on how much has been retained. In a sense, it's starting over from the beginning. There is a difference, a huge difference in my eyes.
Now that the team is in pads they'll be focusing on fundamentals—how to block and different blocking protection schemes for offensive linemen and wide receivers is one example. These types of practices start to answer questions about how well guys like Dominic Jackson understand the pass protection schemes.
What to do, how to do it, and why it's supposed to be done that way. There's week two.
(One thing that's amused me this past week comes from the running back corps. In the Tidesports report covering the scrimmage, their description of our running backs was, "- No rhyme or reason to the running back rotation - Yeldon, Henry, Drake and others getting reps all over." On the other hand, 247Sports sends out a mass email stating "Practice reveals depth chart at running back."
--------
Enough of that horse.
The team spent two days in helmets, then two days in shoulder pads. Yesterday was the first day they went to full pads. Now, we're officially in the football season.
There's a reason I view this as a turning point. It's been the practice, as it was these past five practices, that the staff puts what they call a "heavy install" on the team. Yesterday, Saban summed it up this way, the first five days were “very difficult in terms of the amount of things we throw at the players."
Now, it's almost a reboot. The team will be returning to what's been installed the last five days but now the staff will be focused on how much has been retained. In a sense, it's starting over from the beginning. There is a difference, a huge difference in my eyes.
Now that the team is in pads they'll be focusing on fundamentals—how to block and different blocking protection schemes for offensive linemen and wide receivers is one example. These types of practices start to answer questions about how well guys like Dominic Jackson understand the pass protection schemes.
What to do, how to do it, and why it's supposed to be done that way. There's week two.
