Tis the time of year to overreact to every dropped pass, every soft muscle injury, every INT, every obscenity a coach shouts…
We all know the drill. I recall summer practices. They were brutal. We practiced on a field that was about as much dirt as grass. It was at least 90 degrees often, sun melting the helmets we inherited from the 70s. I can still smell the pungent stink from the sticky white padding.
Our coaches made us do laps, hit the sleds, and if we screwed up, 100 yard crabcrawls which still makes my body quiver 30 years later.
My position coach would line-up CBs vs WRs to box 3 times, or just hit each other as hard as possible for no discernible reason. I suspect they had bets going on.
They barked at us to back-peddle uphill. My cleats snagged a rock, and I stumbled. Secondary coach, sporting his wrap-around Oakleys whilst chewing sunflower seeds, sneered, “Had to be a corner back…”
One of the more memorable drills was our position coach [a former pitcher] standing about 5 yards away, making us put our hands up like a diamond, then throwing the football at our face as fast as possible.
We had to take our off helmet for this drill, so if the football squeezed through your hands, it hit your face full force.
Then we had hell week, aka, two-a-days.
Good times!
I sometimes wonder if the modern NFL player is put through all that misery. Not likely. They’re probably way more scientific, focused, and detailed than what mustachioed men in spandex shorts inflicted on us mere amateurs.
One undeniable effect though:
Trauma-bonding
In Bears’ news…
Word around the campfire is that Ben Johnson does not suffer tomfoolery. He seems to be getting frustrated at the offense not clicking how it should.
That’s fine by me.
In fact, I don’t really care about ‘coaching style’. The running joke is that if the former HC was fat, the next one will be skinny.
Whether the HC is a hard-ass, player’s coach, cutting edge, or old school…
I don’t really give a damn.
These are pros getting PAID. Give fans results, and they’re not going to quibble if it’s Andy Reid, Bill Belichick or Ted Lasso.
We found our new Dan Braverman!
I’d be remiss to not relay that Raiders have shockingly cut Christian Wilkins. He’s definitely enticing, but apparently they disagreed on whether he needed surgery or not. Bears’ DT room seems full already, so I’m not expecting him at Halas anytime soon.
Some Swift
Misc. Cool plays!
Hey, having Pope on Bears’ side can’t be bad, right?
Alrighty then, enjoy your weekend, jabrones.
