Archives for July 2009

‘The football team, after virtually ignoring its offensive line for most of the last decade, drafted a couple of offensive lineman known for their toughness, the sort of thing which pushes the ball over the goal line when it has been moved deep into the opposing red zone.’

‘”For us we’ve run a three-man wedge,” said April. “There are some teams that run four-man wedges. So those teams will be most affected. It’s very similar to what we’re doing it’s just a reduction. Wherever we took that guy out we now have to replace him in the geometry and mathematics of the blocking scheme.”‘

‘"The only thing is T.O. brings a different intensity to the guys at practice. Nobody wants to be the guy that’s made to look bad by T.O. Those guys on the back end are definitely picking their game up, and Terrell’s definitely helping them pick up their game. From what I’ve seen in OTAs, if we get any of that during the season, we got a chance. From what I’ve seen in the locker room, Terrell’s a great guy. I’m pleased to have him on the team."’

‘”It really came out of the blue to me,” said Berman. “I’ve rarely been so honored or humbled as that phone call. I said, ‘I’ll tell you this, I’ll do a helluva job for you.'”‘

‘Reed’s older brother, Norbert Reed, is a U.S. Army corporal who has been based in Afghanistan since February.’

‘Heading into training camp there are four members of the 2009 draft class that have a realistic shot at earning a starting job.’

‘"Any time everyone’s doubting you, you’re definitely going to have a chip on your shoulder," Wood said. "That’s a challenge we’re welcoming. The good thing about my experience in the NFL so far is you got enough meeting time and you got enough practice time to make it work. We got some guys returning from last year and some guys that know our divisional opponents. It should be an easier transition than it seems, but it’s definitely going to be a challenge."’

‘”We were disappointed in how little we’ve used it,” said Jauron of their no huddle usage in 2008. “It was an emphasis for us in our offseason and our OTAs. The huddle is not complicated, and so we said we’ll focus our attention on not huddling and then we’ll work on it and we need to get better at it. We need to have more confidence in it.”‘

‘"I feel like I belong," says Jackson. "Our coaches are making adjustments in our playbook to get me the ball. Any time you have coaches doing that, going in after the film study to see how we can get him on the field more, it makes you feel like you belong."’

‘”We did not have a lot of sacks and we had some pressures and we had a lot of balls on the turf that we did not capture,” Fewell said. “We did not take advantage of that opportunity to get the ball. That’s definitely going to be an emphasis for us.”‘

‘The four-day event, which ran from June 28 to July 1, helps prepare rookies for their NFL careers. Through a series of interactive meetings, it is made clear to them that they no longer are college students; they are now part of a business.’

‘”If you don’t correct them,” Kelly later says, “they’re not going to improve. Between Monday and Thursday I want to see a difference. I want to see that they’re learning something because they’re doing it the right way.”‘