I like speed and quickness as much as anyone.. But our niche has to be crisp execution, at all the positions.. We want to be athletic, but I hope that is not the main 'take away' from spring as saying "We are athletic" is always relative.. We aren't 'athletic' compared to the Michigan States, Ohio States, Michigans in the Big Ten, most of the time. When I think of 'CRISP", I am thinking the o-line from when Maroney and Barber were running behind that line. "Crisp" is when a receiver runs a good route and the ball is right there when the receiver turns his head. Then, be able to improvise well when a play 'goes to pot'. Jet sweeps sound great and sexy to say, but the most athletic opposing teams will have coaches that read those formations, and have DBs and LBs waiting on the other side that can run with anyone.. We aren't going to "OUTATHLETE" the Buckeyes, Wolverines, or Spartans.. Maybe catch them in a safety blitz or a safety sneaking up to the line towards the middle of the defense where that jet sweep can be effective around the end. Even then, we still have to maintain our blocks. We have to execute with sharpness to be competitive.
Defensively, I know the DBs will be there.. Sounds like the LBs as well. My concern is still the lines and D-line has to be sharp.. Otherwise, you have to get help from the LBs and DBs. That is when the defense falls apart is when the d-line needs the help. When the d-line struggles, everyone has to shift up towards the line and responsibilities intermediate and deep, get exposed.. The nice thing about the spring game is to see what needs to sharpen up but when you are a program like ours, crispness in execution is what we HAVE TO HAVE, coming out of the summer.. Without Mitch, things wont be great but we gotta see some of that sharpness even without him or we wont get to that 8-9 win season.
Defensively, I know the DBs will be there.. Sounds like the LBs as well. My concern is still the lines and D-line has to be sharp.. Otherwise, you have to get help from the LBs and DBs. That is when the defense falls apart is when the d-line needs the help. When the d-line struggles, everyone has to shift up towards the line and responsibilities intermediate and deep, get exposed.. The nice thing about the spring game is to see what needs to sharpen up but when you are a program like ours, crispness in execution is what we HAVE TO HAVE, coming out of the summer.. Without Mitch, things wont be great but we gotta see some of that sharpness even without him or we wont get to that 8-9 win season.
Last edited:
