ABJ Article

[GP1]

Article

Watching how a coach conducts practice is a good way to evaluate the tone he is setting. When they do certain drills is important. The Zips had a GL scrimmage at the end of practice. The coach is setting a physical tone by having this exercise at this point of practice. The only periods of practice more physical than GL is inside period where the team only runs the ball between the tackles...it's brutal because there is no threat of passing the ball. I like the tone. We were never a consistently physical team under JD and if nothing else, being physical is the first step in good execution.

Good message sent by the coach on the first day. He challenged the players physically and mentally by having GL at the end of practice. I also like that the leaders of the team embraced the challenge. Yesterday was a positive and something for the fans to hang their hats on.

[Blue & Gold]

Article

Watching how a coach conducts practice is a good way to evaluate the tone he is setting. When they do certain drills is important. The Zips had a GL scrimmage at the end of practice. The coach is setting a physical tone by having this exercise at this point of practice. The only periods of practice more physical than GL is inside period where the team only runs the ball between the tackles...it's brutal because there is no threat of passing the ball. I like the tone. We were never a consistently physical team under JD and if nothing else, being physical is the first step in good execution.

Good message sent by the coach on the first day. He challenged the players physically and mentally by having GL at the end of practice. I also like that the leaders of the team embraced the challenge. Yesterday was a positive and something for the fans to hang their hats on.

Thanks for the insight. I always enjoy former players posting like this.

[GP1]

Thanks for the insight. I always enjoy former players posting like this.

My pleasure. Not many comments so I guess if nobody has anything to bitch about, they don't say anything. It was a good article.

What happened prior to yesterday is important to get guys in shape, but not as important as it is once pads go on. You never know how good someone is until hitting starts. In other sports, you wear to practice basically what you play in; unlike football, where you sometimes don't wear what you play in. Players don't earn starting positions in helmets, shorts and t-shirts. That's why I didn't care as much for those silly videos UofA puts out after every practice. The reason Coach I said nothing is he had nothing to say so he stood there babbling for 60 seconds and ended up looking stupid. UofA should not put those videos out until pads go on. Or have a warning saying, "Attention! What you are about to hear is meaningless and you should spend 60 seconds of your time doing something more productive. Pads go on Date X. Come back one week after that and he will say something more meaningful." And then they should do a meaningful five-ten minute interview with him for GoZips.com.

This week is a good tone week. I expect the coaches to pull back a little after this weekend. By mid week next week, the coaches should have a good idea as to who the starters will be. After that, they can firm up the starters and really work on timing for the first game of the season.

I think if Akron can be very physical against Temple, they can pull off a win at home. Temple may be coming to town expecting a push over and if they get smacked around, they may crack on the road. MAC teams choke all the time. Physical play could make Temple choke. I'm going to be positive about this upcoming season until they give me reasons not to be positive. I'm going to hold my prediction on how the season is going to go until after the Temple game. I think it is that important and will be a good barometer.

[Dr Z]

Not many comments so I guess if nobody has anything to bitch about, they don't say anything.

Article was posted/buried 12 hours earlier in this thread also. Video 5 also address some of the same that was written in the article (also in the included thread). Johnny noticed the confidence that iCoach was exhibiting in the video, I have to say he does almost seem happy/excited.

[Zipsrifle]

Thanks for the insight. I always enjoy former players posting like this.

My pleasure. Not many comments so I guess if nobody has anything to bitch about, they don't say anything. It was a good article.

What happened prior to yesterday is important to get guys in shape, but not as important as it is once pads go on. You never know how good someone is until hitting starts. In other sports, you wear to practice basically what you play in; unlike football, where you sometimes don't wear what you play in. Players don't earn starting positions in helmets, shorts and t-shirts. That's why I didn't care as much for those silly videos UofA puts out after every practice. The reason Coach I said nothing is he had nothing to say so he stood there babbling for 60 seconds and ended up looking stupid. UofA should not put those videos out until pads go on. Or have a warning saying, "Attention! What you are about to hear is meaningless and you should spend 60 seconds of your time doing something more productive. Pads go on Date X. Come back one week after that and he will say something more meaningful." And then they should do a meaningful five-ten minute interview with him for GoZips.com.

This week is a good tone week. I expect the coaches to pull back a little after this weekend. By mid week next week, the coaches should have a good idea as to who the starters will be. After that, they can firm up the starters and really work on timing for the first game of the season.

I think if Akron can be very physical against Temple, they can pull off a win at home. Temple may be coming to town expecting a push over and if they get smacked around, they may crack on the road. MAC teams choke all the time. Physical play could make Temple choke. I'm going to be positive about this upcoming season until they give me reasons not to be positive. I'm going to hold my prediction on how the season is going to go until after the Temple game. I think it is that important and will be a good barometer.

I also appreciate the insight and I'm not going to make any predictions. I'm in "Show me" mode. I really have no idea where this program is headed right now and given the way things went last year, will the first MAC game be enough? So I'm just going to do what I did for the past year, sit back and prepare for the worst.

[GP1]

I really have no idea where this program is headed right now and given the way things went last year, will the first MAC game be enough?

Will the first mac game be enough? The jury will still be out, but it is a barometer game. If we win, high pressure and good weather can be predicted. If we lose, low pressure and storms could be on the horizon. We need some momentum early to carry us into a three game home stand after the first four. We have a lot against us, but so did Miami last year. They won some games, got some confidence/momentum and look how they ended up.

[InTheZone]

JD was all about banging it out at the end of practice just like RI early on in his tenure. Things changed in the Spring of '06 when a goaline drill at the end of practice resulted in a blown out knee for the most promising young running back JD would coach during his time here at Akron. Alex Allen was able to come back and have a decent career, but he was never close to the level he showed himself capable of as a true freshman in '05 before the injury. Incidents like that will cause a coach to shy away from some of the tough guy stuff with his starters involved.

I see both sides of the issue on having very physical practices. I was a guy who thrived in Inside Drill and Goaline, and those periods always got practice rev'd up and the juices flowing. But by the same token, those are also the drills where the most injuries occur. There is a fine line between doing what's neccessary to get your team ready to be physical and unnecessarily increasing your risk of injury to vitally important players. Regardless, I don't think periods like that are ever good to end practice with this close to the start of the season. At the end of 3 hour practices guys are exhausted and things start to get sloppy. With more bodies falling on the ground, you're really taking a chance by purposefully putting the team in short yardage, high contact, compact space situations.

I understand GP1's perspective, but I think it's a little stupid to end practice this way.

[72 Roo]

I've enjoyed the posts on this thread, but I've got to take exception to GP1's view of the short interviews with coach Ianello at the end of each day. I think he has told us something. It is what he reveals about himself. I see confidence, enthusiasm, team motivation and a plan to make us better. True, only wins will prove he is effective with all this, but I nonetheless like that he is reaching out to the Zip football community and trying to give us something to believe in. I have been very critical of icoach, but I am impressed with what he is doing. It's working on me. I'm getting excited for the season and hope has returned that we may be on our way to a much better season. Is 4-5 wins possible? Maybe.

[ZachTheZip]

It's great that he has a plan and that he believes in it. The players have bought in after rebelling through the beginning two thirds of last season. He should be happy about that.

I just think that his plan won't amount to anything more than years of misery for Zips fans. Players can buy in, assistants can run their units exactly how he tells them to, everything can go exactly how he wants off the field, but his inability to effectively call plays and manage gameday personnel will prevent him from winning more than three games in any given season.

Trying to get us to believe in his flawed plan is the same trick he pulled to get hired by TW and to brainwash the players that didn't see through it, but it won't work on the smart fans.

[GP1]

I understand GP1's perspective, but I think it's a little stupid to end practice this way.

I would agree that it would be stupid to do so every day. The AA example is a good one, but it is on the extreme side of what can go wrong. Like I said, the first week is to set the tone, the second week is to figure out the final starters and the rest is to get ready for the games. Under Faust, GL was never done at the end of practice. We went straight from inside to GL.

[Dr Z]

I understand GP1's perspective, but I think it's a little stupid to end practice this way.

I would agree that it would be stupid to do so every day.

I know an NFL team that ends each week with the GL drill. Not one injury to my knowledge in my lifetime.

[Aaron]

I'm a fan who is happy to get any communication about the team and practices, even if it is a little on the cheesy side. It's a welcome change from last year - lack of communication and lack of results together made for a dismal, depressing season.

At least 1/2 the equation is here this time - I hope the communications continue during the season. It helps me feel ok about the team for a little while longer, even if they don't produce results immediately this season.

[Dave in Green]

This is one of the better football threads I've read on ZN.O because it consists mostly of rational discussion about what goes on inside the team from a player perspective intead of the usual repetitive, boring trash talk.

[skip-zip]

JD was all about banging it out at the end of practice just like RI early on in his tenure. Things changed in the Spring of '06 when a goaline drill at the end of practice resulted in a blown out knee for the most promising young running back JD would coach during his time here at Akron. Alex Allen was able to come back and have a decent career, but he was never close to the level he showed himself capable of as a true freshman in '05 before the injury. Incidents like that will cause a coach to shy away from some of the tough guy stuff with his starters involved.

I see both sides of the issue on having very physical practices. I was a guy who thrived in Inside Drill and Goaline, and those periods always got practice rev'd up and the juices flowing. But by the same token, those are also the drills where the most injuries occur. There is a fine line between doing what's neccessary to get your team ready to be physical and unnecessarily increasing your risk of injury to vitally important players. Regardless, I don't think periods like that are ever good to end practice with this close to the start of the season. At the end of 3 hour practices guys are exhausted and things start to get sloppy. With more bodies falling on the ground, you're really taking a chance by purposefully putting the team in short yardage, high contact, compact space situations.

I understand GP1's perspective, but I think it's a little stupid to end practice this way.

Then I'm curious how you feel about that big circle they form on the sidelines before the game, where they make guys get down in a 3-point stance and attack each other like a Sumo Wrestling match while everyone else stands around and yells at them. Have you ever noticed that? A lot of people think it's dumb, expends energy, and risks injury. What do you think? It's always been difficult for me to see it as a way to get guys fired up when I imagine how much something like that can turn into a complete disaster.

[Hilltopper]

My sons youth football team ends most practices with the Oklahoma Drill.

[Captain Kangaroo]

This is one of the better football threads I've read on ZN.O because it consists mostly of rational discussion about what goes on inside the team from a player perspective intead of the usual repetitive, boring trash talk.

Go to hell, you Suckeye-loving butt munch.

[GP1]

Then I'm curious how you feel about that big circle they form on the sidelines before the game, where they make guys get down in a 3-point stance and attack each other like a Sumo Wrestling match while everyone else stands around and yells at them. Have you ever noticed that? A lot of people think it's dumb, expends energy, and risks injury. What do you think? It's always been difficult for me to see it as a way to get guys fired up when I imagine how much something like that can turn into a complete disaster.

It is important on gameday to establish some physical play prior to the game starting. I don't know about this drill, but the hitting before a game is much harder than most fans might imagine. The players are excited and they need to establish a physical mentality and the feeling of it in their bodies because the game is the most physical environment they play in. It would be hard to flip the switch once the game started.

[GP1]

This is one of the better football threads I've read on ZN.O because it consists mostly of rational discussion about what goes on inside the team from a player perspective intead of the usual repetitive, boring trash talk.

Go to hell, you Suckeye-loving butt munch.

Market must be down again today.....

[Hilltopper]

This is one of the better football threads I've read on ZN.O because it consists mostly of rational discussion about what goes on inside the team from a player perspective intead of the usual repetitive, boring trash talk.

Go to hell, you Suckeye-loving butt munch.

Glad you finally got that one figured out!

[scottditzen]

Wait, wasn't Alex Allen injured during a game? I distinctly remember being at tthe Rubber Bowl when this happened.

[InTheZone]

Then I'm curious how you feel about that big circle they form on the sidelines before the game, where they make guys get down in a 3-point stance and attack each other like a Sumo Wrestling match while everyone else stands around and yells at them. Have you ever noticed that? A lot of people think it's dumb, expends energy, and risks injury. What do you think? It's always been difficult for me to see it as a way to get guys fired up when I imagine how much something like that can turn into a complete disaster.

I'm not exactly sure what drill you're talking about, but GP1 is right in the sense that guys need to get a few "pops" in before the game starts... you never want your first major collision to occur in the actual game. It's a shock to the system, and if you haven't already had some good contact before the game you tend to come out a little timid.

I do have a "funny" story about that though. The year after I graduated (JD's first year), the Zips went down to play Virginia coming off a tough home opening loss to Middle Tennessee. I'm sure many of you remember the 51-0 drubbing we were handed that day, but before the game, apparently Terrell Williams (the first year d-line coach at the time) was unhappy with what he percieved as a timidness and lack of aggression in a pregame form up drill (form up drill is basically where you have two guys about ten yards apart, one with the ball, and a cone half way between them and off to the side. The ball carrier runs towards the cone and the defender simulates a proper tackling technique by getting his head across and wrapping him up.) Williams ordered the next two guys up in line, Brian White and Jermaine Reid, to each move back ten yards, and stated that he better start seeing some hitting (in a few more words than that). Well he saw a hit alright, a hit that Reid seperated his shoulder on, knocking out the first guy off the bench in an already short handed rotation. Needless to say, some pregame policies were altered after that one.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Wait, wasn't Alex Allen injured during a game? I distinctly remember being at the Rubber Bowl when this happened.

Yes. Busted his hip. Injury #1.

He was granted a medical redshirt after injury #2, ACL tear (it happened on the practice field next to Shrank South).

[InTheZone]

Wait, wasn't Alex Allen injured during a game? I distinctly remember being at tthe Rubber Bowl when this happened.

That was his hip injury I believe, which knocked him out for another year. Two major injuries, two redshirt years, which is why he was a 6 year player.

[InTheZone]

Wait, wasn't Alex Allen injured during a game? I distinctly remember being at the Rubber Bowl when this happened.

Yes. Busted his hip. Injury #1.

He was granted a medical redshirt after injury #2, ACL tear (it happened on the practice field next to Shrank South).

I'm pretty sure the ACL was first, hip second, but you could be right.

[johnnyzip84]

Wait, wasn't Alex Allen injured during a game? I distinctly remember being at the Rubber Bowl when this happened.

Yes. Busted his hip. Injury #1.

He was granted a medical redshirt after injury #2, ACL tear (it happened on the practice field next to Shrank South).

I'm pretty sure the ACL was first, hip second, but you could be right.

This is correct.