How to improve the slow start....

[Ace_Aladdin]

oh...and look to chip kelly's practice program as an example of how to do it right. forget the hyped up music and all that....he has no down time in practice. while he's slowing things don considerably for the NFL compared to what he did in oregon, the basic principles are the same...be efficient in your time in the class room and on the practice field. save the teaching for the class room and let the field be nothing but putting the classroom stuff to practice and just do it over and over and over.

 

while at oregon, kelly had his team getting off 30 snaps in 10 minutes regularly. we might get 10 off in that time frame...and if you've ever been to training camp you'd see that isn't an exaggeration. they only have a limited amount of time they are allowed to practice each day, they need to quit acting like they've got the luxury of two a days to get stuff down.

 

the amount of time they are allowed to be on the field has diminished by quite a bit and training camp is a shorter time frame than it used to be thanks to the new rules, but the way they handle that time hasn't changed. that is a problem. they have to quit wasting so much time on the practice field. no more standing around goofing off.

 

the more reps they take, the more stuff gets committed to memory and muscle memory. the more reps they take, the more prepared they are for battle week one mentally and physically. their endurance level will be up. they'll be faster, they'll be stronger, and they'll be better.

 

 

Or you could do it like Nick Saban :D

 

[Squirrel]

If you are Rivera, how do you try to fix the awful starts to the season your team has had?

 

Increase camp intensity? Decrease camp intensity?

 

Increase camp competition and light a fire under the players early?

 

Make the offensive and defensive game plans more rudimentary to avoid confusion and brain farts? Or make it more complex and difficult to adjust to?

 

 

Next to last option to me is the best. 

 

Issue with having a intense training camp is your players get beat up by week 6 and lose their intensity.  Has  to be a balanced TC so the players can finish the season at their peak.  

 

Teach the basic play calls in OTA lay your foundation down there.  TC get all the plays ironed and add your wrinkles in but dont over extend the players.  Keep adding new wrinkles every week during the season to keep the game plans fresh. 

 

But most importantly is dont kill them in August and not make it through November.

[carolina-chuck]

How to improve the slow start?

 

answer: Start fast

[CatMan72]

i agree, but the problem with that is historically how long it's taken for the ground game to take off. unless things really turn around this year for the ground game in terms of effectiveness (and it's not just a play=action vs. read option thing because it goes back several years with fox here), if we rely on the ground game to start us off, we're in worse trouble than we were last year.

 

Agree, but a good running game is about attitude & preparation so I guess we've come full circle... LOL

 

Hopefully we come into the season with the right attitude and preparation to establish the run game and build from that. 

[Achilles]

Simple. Don't run the read option as your base offense. If we hadn't done that we probably would have righted the ship a lot quicker. I understand that it can work well in several situations but it will only be effective if the opposition isn't expecting.

But if we want to get off to a fast start, say 3-1 or 4-1, the key will be mental toughness for both the coaches and players. Last year in seemed like everyone was unsure of how things were supposed to go. Plays developed too slowly. Special teams was ridiculous. Coaching was a real liability.

What we need is decisiveness, unity, and guts. Does Ron Rivera have these qualities? Or...only after mathematically eliminated from the playoffs in week 8?

I think everyone knows that those first 3 games will be critical for an above .500 season. At this point I expect us to get there.

[CRA]

I believe, given the situation that was inherited, the team is in a better place than last year.

Secondary isn't nor is WR.... nor OL

from a starting roster perspective

[Jangler]

Cocaine...lots of cocaine

[Tarheels23]

Sense of Urgency! 

 

Ron Rivera got to have a sense of urgency from the start. I remember Rivera's press conference after we lost the first game of the season to Tampa, he was like;

 

it's just one game,

it's not the end of the world,

we're just getting started,

let's not panic,

we have time

 

After watching Coughlin's practices for years, I'm sure Gettleman, although not a coach, will have a huge impact on the training camp itineracy.

[NCstoner420]

Secondary isn't nor is WR.... nor OL

from a starting roster perspective

How? Gamble was hurt so you can't include him. With the free agents and game experience we're definitely in a better position at all three of those. I'm not saying the roster is complete, I'm saying it is better than last season's roster.

[CRA]

How? Gamble was hurt so you can't include him. With the free agents and game experience we're definitely in a better position at all three of those. I'm not saying the roster is complete, I'm saying it is better than last season's roster.

Again, heading in....we aren't better at WR, the secondary or OL.

Keep in mind players aren't constants. Guys like Gross, Smith, etc are at stages they are getting worse. So if you haven't improved around them....you are worse than the year before.

We may have added some better depth in spots but looking at our starting lineup....explain how we are better on paper heading in to 13 vs 12 in those spots?

[rayzor]

Sense of Urgency! 

 

Ron Rivera got to have a sense of urgency from the start. I remember Rivera's press conference after we lost the first game of the season to Tampa, he was like;

 

it's just one game,

it's not the end of the world,

we're just getting started,

let's not panic,

we have time

 

After watching Coughlin's practices for years, I'm sure Gettleman, although not a coach, will have a huge impact on the training camp itineracy.

 

that sense of urgency is key.

 

the worst things i can hear from anyone i expect production from is "there's always next time" and "rome wasn't built in a day".

 

as much as i hated to hear "it is what it is" hearing those two and anything like it is worse. no more excuses. you lose. you screw up. you own it. you don't brush it off. you hold yourself accountable. you don't make light of it. you don't make it sound like it wasn't a big deal.

[DaveThePanther2008]

How about the coaching staff be prepared to make some ingame adjustments. We sucked at it last year. Chudz had no answer when TB shoved our Read Option up our ass. It took him damn near half the season to finally wake up and do the right thing.

[DaveThePanther2008]

And drive the hell out of them in TC...............

[top dawg]

Bounties! :D  :P