Jump to content

NFL Playbook last night


richNjoisy

Recommended Posts

This post, everyone, is somewhat "sight unseen" but I caught part of a pretty long discussion on the 2005 Bills on NFL Playbook last night. I tivoed it to watch in its entirety when I get home tonight. It might be replayed sometime again which is why I am sending this out - look for it folks.

 

For those that watched the scrimmage, an expression that Sterling Sharpe kept using (which I really enjoyed) was how the Bills were "running downhill" to make their tackles. Sharpe stated in the show that it was TKO who told Sharpe to say that when talking about the Bills defense. TKO explained to Sharpe that the Bills were so fast and coordinated in their defensive attack that it was just like they "were running downhill while their opponents were on a flat surface". The group of four analysts broke down the Bills defense and how they coordinated their attacks to make it very difficult for offenses to get their receivers open before they were mauled by the Bills front line or blitzers. They said no other team defense can do this. They raved about Gray too. Moving onto the offense, they actually were split on JP (at first) but then they all agreed he would "do fine and get better with time". Sharpe commented on how JP needed to avoid the mental vs physical mistakes. He noted how JP made the expected physical mistakes (low throws and running when he should have stopped and thrown the ball) -Sharpe said JP would gradullay reduce these type of mistakes as he matured and grew more comfortable. The mental mistakes, he said, are the focus of the Bills coaching staff. Sharpe commented JP made those too in the scrimmage and he was certain the staff would drill it into JP to teach him to read the defenses, react under pressure in a "safe" manuever rather than throwing blindly where INTS are likely. They all were very impressed with Parrish too.

 

There was more but the discussion was lively to say the least. This discussion got me more pumped than I have been at any point this offseason. (Just to give you some idea as to how good it was :( )

 

-RichNJoisy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those Green Bay analysts sounded more excited about the Bills players and the Bills season than they did for the home squad.

 

Too bad Don Criqui and Steve Tasker were unavailable for the broadcast... :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I found that Sterling and whoever made their comments in the usaul run at the mouth stupid execution which defines NFL announcers who really work to avoid the "worse case" od dead air (they would rather say something stupid than not say anything at all)

 

I think their analysis though often stated incorrectly (I don't think they ever squared away or stuck to a definition of what was a physical error and what was a mental error) was actually based in a good cut on the task which confronts the Bills and limitations which reality has placed upon us.

 

The Bills D is special and with the return of 10 of 11 starters and Jerry Gray really showing mastery of the techincal and strategic approach to D should remain special.

 

The Bills O has some very talented playmakers (Moulds, McGahee, Evans and potentially Parrish) but questions remain about the trenches and virtually guaranteed that JP will at least have some hiccups as he learns to become a vet, He shows great talent and the potential is real, but potential simpl means you have not done anything real yet and JP is noting but potetial.

 

The ST was also special last year and while itis not unreasonable that they will be just as good and it is even possible that due to the poor placekicking performance (an issue they did not mention) they could be better, it is also possible if not likely that the ST production will go down just because the odd-shaped ball may not bounce as favrably as it did last year.

 

Advances in technology such as the first down stripe overlaid on pictures, use of the crawl so scores can be flashed and the score and clock overalid on the picture and use of the web if folks choose in parallel to the broacast as actually made me look forward to the day when they once again try the announceless game.

 

The experiment with this in the 70s failed (though part of this was the commentators having a vested interest in promoting the announcers so they trashed the announcerless game) because like many first time efforts they did not tell the viewer enough about what was happening and issues like the refs blowng valls (at least they did not blow the coin-flip this game) are impossible to sort out merely with game sound and pictures.

 

However, with use of a good producer using modern techology and a game analyst who can butt in to do audio noting key points that add to viewing of the game no more than once or twice a quarter I think it it time to go announcerless again in a serious way.

 

I can often turn the TV announcer off and listen to the humorous mistakes of the radio homers if the TV has an idit like Dierdor or Trumpy, but with a good producer and modern technology a good product that adds to the entertainment of the viewer could be produced and I hope they do this and give us the options which modern technology can provide.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Too bad Don Criqui and Steve Tasker were unavailable for the broadcast...  :(

403688[/snapback]

noooooooooooooooooooo! geez, i loved tasker as a player but he's terrible as an analyst -- particularly doing bills' games. criqui is way past his prime as well. give me guys w/ no buffalo connection to do our games, please...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, for Sharpe a 'physical mistake' is when a QB has a receiver wide open & doesn't throw it to him opting to scramble instead. :(

403738[/snapback]

Thought the same thing as well. How is JP not running for the endzone and instead passing a physical mistake?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i liekd how they talked about our defensive formations. and each players responsabilities, all while showing us KILL the jets. :(

 

new phrases:

 

"fire and ice" Vincent and Melloy (though they said this at the scrimmage also)

 

"we run down hill" T.K.O on our run defense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, for Sharpe a 'physical mistake' is when a QB has a receiver wide open & doesn't throw it to him opting to scramble instead. :(

403738[/snapback]

 

I was thinking the same thing; it seems as if Sharpe just talks to hear himself talk. I mean a lot of those things are mental mistakes; a lot of coaches prefer small mental mistakes for you can teach or learn proper techniques; you can't teach physical mistakes. You can improve upon some physical defiencies but you can't make a 4.9 guy run a 4.2 or leap like Vince Carter!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was thinking the same thing; it seems as if Sharpe just talks to hear himself talk. I mean a lot of those things are mental mistakes; a lot of coaches prefer small mental mistakes for you can teach or learn proper techniques; you can't teach physical mistakes. You can improve upon some physical defiencies but you can't make a 4.9 guy run a 4.2 or leap like Vince Carter!

403820[/snapback]

 

Looks like he studied under Yogi Berra, applying the theory to football: "[baseball] is 90% mental, the other half is physical."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...