tigerjeb

Tigers back at practice; West happy with effort U of M in bowl mode; team knows drill; finals this week By Phil Stukenborg December 11, 2005 They've been here before. If there was a brief analysis of Saturday's efficient University of Memphis football practice -- the team's first since earning an invitation last weekend to the Dec. 26 Motor City Bowl -- it was that familiarity breeds consistency. A program that had been left out of the postseason for more than 30 years began preparations for its third bowl trip in as many years in chilly conditions at the Murphy Athletic Complex. The Tigers (6-5) made it three straight by finishing the season with back-to-back wins to earn the right to play Mid-American Conference champion Akron at Detroit's Ford Field. Saturday, Tiger coach Tommy West ran his team through its first workout since it beat Marshall Nov. 26 in a conference game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The long layoff resulted in some mental mistakes and dropped passes, but West couldn't complain with the effort or the maturity his team displayed. "We're a little rusty; that's to be expected," West said. "But we'll get better every day. ... Our guys understand what they have to do. We're fortunate. We've been there before. The first year (the 2003 New Orleans Bowl) was a little different, but our guys understand what they have to do. "These guys aren't just overwhelmed by being in a bowl. They expected to be in one. And they know how to practice." The Tigers snapped a 32-year bowl drought by earning the New Orleans Bowl bid and followed it with a trip to Mobile, Ala., last year to play in the GMAC Bowl. "Anytime you can practice in December, it's great," West said. "I thought our guys showed some great enthusiasm and had a great practice." The enthusiasm was evident from the outset. During an early drill, receiver Taz Knockum broke the blocking sled with an authoritative hit, creating a buzz that filtered across the practice fields. Later, All-America running back DeAngelo Williams was stopped on a solid hit at the line of scrimmage. And toward the end of the workout, the offense executed a perfect two-minute drill. West said the Tigers will put in their game plan for Akron this weekend, and starting Tuesday he'll begin working more with the younger players "to get a bit of a jump" on spring practice. "To be honest, they're excited to be out here practicing," West said. "A lot of people aren't getting a chance to practice (at this time of year). This is what success is about. We get to come back out and practice. "Our guys enjoyed it. We were just trying to put in a game plan and try to get a little better at it. I thought they enjoyed practice." Linebacker Tim Goodwell said it was boring without football for the two weeks the team spent away from the practice fields. Goodwell, a senior, is looking forward to not only returning to a routine, but finishing his career at a site that will be convenient to his father's side of the family, which lives several hours away in Akron. "When we found out we were in a bowl game, everyone was like 'Let's get back to practice, let's get back in synch and do what we're supposed to do,' " Goodwell said. "We just need to carry over (the work ethic) we had when we won our last two games of the season." Williams was back on the field for the first time since going to Orlando late last week as a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top running back. He had hoped to be one of the finalists selected to go to New York Saturday for the Heisman Trophy presentation, but only Michael Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young were chosen. Williams, the No. 4 rusher in NCAA history, bounced back Saturday and said ending his college career in Detroit is an opportunity. "I'm excited because people don't remember the first thing you do, they remember the last one," he said. West said he's going to schedule practices around final exams, which are this week, and giving players a chance to celebrate the holidays with their families, since the team will be in Detroit on Christmas Eve and Christmas. "We're going to get five to six practices in right here, and then I'm going to cut them loose," West said. "We're kind of juggling around finals a little bit. "I'll let them go home (for the holidays) and then come back and get in a practice and then we'll leave (Dec. 22). All our work will be done when we get to Detroit." After watching his team suffer late-season losses to UAB and Tennessee to fall to 4-5, West said the comeback has made this bowl special. "I think I'm more excited about going to this one because we had a chance to not be in it," West said. "I think that's why the guys were in such a good mood. They're glad to be going back to a bowl." Extra points: Tiger defensive linemen LaVale Washington (back) and Ryan Williams (shoulder) did not practice Saturday, but West expects them to go through workouts later this week and be available for the bowl game. ... The Tigers will practice today, take Monday off, and resume workouts Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. -- Phil Stukenborg: 529-2543

rest assured that after that tap-dance bowling green did on us last year, no one in memphis is taking this lightly

lots of people have said that. he is NOT your run of the mill running back and just may wind up one of the 5 invited to new york for the heisman presentation if he gets 100+ yds, he will break the ncaa record for 100 yard rushing games with 34. he is the all time ncaa all purpose yard leader and top 5 all time ncaa rushers.

we can throw the ball some - mainly screens and roughly 20 yard sideline patterns. avery can throw a deep ball, but the game plans have been grind it out and protect the ball, so he's not asked to chance it. our kicking game is VERY good and we have the #4 ranked rushing offense in the nation. this should be a very interesting game

Do you guys have a football forum? Which one? www.memphistigers.org Are there any people's post on that board that we should ignore? sure there are - the fun is figuring out who that is on your own If it's not too much of a hassle, could you scan the playbook, and make downloadable pdf's and post them here? sorry - we had to scrap the playbook after our 2nd qb broke his leg, we've been drawing it up in the dirt ever since I know one thing we have in common, we both like to beat Marshall' a wins a win in our book - doesnt matter against who #20 is deangelo williams. he's good.

congratulations on your bowl berth - see you in detroit