psubills62
09-22-2011, 09:49 AM
This is an article published by ESPN in their magazine (and online), written by an anonymous NFL star. They put these out for most of the major sports, but of course I've always found the NFL ones to be most interesting. I know we can't quote entire articles here, so I'll just include the link and some interesting blurbs. He's talking about how the lockout is affecting the season.
Note: it is an insider article.
http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/blog?name=player_x
Question is, with the lockout over, how good will the season be?
If early returns are any indication, not very. Ever since training camp, our rookies have been absolutely clueless, and I know we're not alone. I have this one buddy who plays on the defensive side of the ball whose team normally uses four or five types of zone blitzes. He told me his team was so lost in Week 1 -- of the regular season! -- that instead of the usual array of blitzes, the coaches really dumbed down the game plan and gave them only one zone dog. And they never even called it.
Everywhere you turn, teams are giving up points by the bushel. The Bills scored 41 points on the Chiefs, and the Steelers gave up 35 to the Ravens. Say what? And there were eight return touchdowns in Week 1 alone. Eight! Obviously, teams are botching the little things. Look at the Chargers, for example. They hired a special teams coach who's about as good as they get, and then on the very first play of their season they gave up a 103-yard return for a score. It just proves that if teams don't have enough time to detail every little aspect of the game, it's going to show. And anyone who says otherwise is flat-out wrong.
...
Don't worry, though. It won't stay this ugly for too long. By the time October rolls around, I guarantee you'll start noticing a difference. The conditioning will come first, and then hopefully not long after, the X's and O's should fall into place. In the meantime, if you're keeping score at home, you'd might as well give us a big fat mulligan for September.
To me, this certainly helps put things in perspective. If a veteran defense (assuming veteran) can't put in even two blitzes, how do we expect some of these rookies to contribute? I have a feeling we got very lucky with Dareus. And I'll also say that in the very, very limited time I've seen Kelvin Sheppard, I thought he looked pretty decent - I'd love to see what he can do with a full offseason.
I also remember hearing somewhere that Buffalo was one of the better conditioned teams in Week 1. I have to think it benefited our team to have guys who have a good work ethic despite the lockout.
What amused me most about this article was that the player started by saying "Let's start by clearing the air: The lockout happened. There, I said it." It seems the lockout was a much more sensitive topic for the players than for the fans...I didn't think it was that big a deal to say it happened.
Note: it is an insider article.
http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/blog?name=player_x
Question is, with the lockout over, how good will the season be?
If early returns are any indication, not very. Ever since training camp, our rookies have been absolutely clueless, and I know we're not alone. I have this one buddy who plays on the defensive side of the ball whose team normally uses four or five types of zone blitzes. He told me his team was so lost in Week 1 -- of the regular season! -- that instead of the usual array of blitzes, the coaches really dumbed down the game plan and gave them only one zone dog. And they never even called it.
Everywhere you turn, teams are giving up points by the bushel. The Bills scored 41 points on the Chiefs, and the Steelers gave up 35 to the Ravens. Say what? And there were eight return touchdowns in Week 1 alone. Eight! Obviously, teams are botching the little things. Look at the Chargers, for example. They hired a special teams coach who's about as good as they get, and then on the very first play of their season they gave up a 103-yard return for a score. It just proves that if teams don't have enough time to detail every little aspect of the game, it's going to show. And anyone who says otherwise is flat-out wrong.
...
Don't worry, though. It won't stay this ugly for too long. By the time October rolls around, I guarantee you'll start noticing a difference. The conditioning will come first, and then hopefully not long after, the X's and O's should fall into place. In the meantime, if you're keeping score at home, you'd might as well give us a big fat mulligan for September.
To me, this certainly helps put things in perspective. If a veteran defense (assuming veteran) can't put in even two blitzes, how do we expect some of these rookies to contribute? I have a feeling we got very lucky with Dareus. And I'll also say that in the very, very limited time I've seen Kelvin Sheppard, I thought he looked pretty decent - I'd love to see what he can do with a full offseason.
I also remember hearing somewhere that Buffalo was one of the better conditioned teams in Week 1. I have to think it benefited our team to have guys who have a good work ethic despite the lockout.
What amused me most about this article was that the player started by saying "Let's start by clearing the air: The lockout happened. There, I said it." It seems the lockout was a much more sensitive topic for the players than for the fans...I didn't think it was that big a deal to say it happened.