*Note: Posting this IMMEDIATELY so the 'recent police' don't call me out for having a life. Ready, set, GO...
That quote is Frank, "The Duche", Verducci on our offensive line. I'll just give you the whole quote to be clear:
“On one hand, it’s scary that they haven’t heard it before,” Verducci said. “On the other hand, it makes me realize if they can acclimate to it, that the chance for them to make a big leap as far as production is there.”
So there's good and bad to this, as The Duche explains above.
The bad: WHAT THE F LATINA WHY IN THE WORLD DONT OUR PLAYERS KNOW THE BASIC STUFF?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?
The good: Now The Duche can teach them this stuff, and as he mentions, that gives us a chance to be better on the o-line.
Eric Olsen's quote, below, also makes me feel like Latina would poorly explain something, and then yell yell yell until a player got it, or didn't. Ugh.
“A lot of times, I feel he has more of an NFL kind of approach, where you don’t have to be, as coach (Charlie) Weis would say ‘(Swearing at) players,’ ” senior guard Eric Olsen said. “And you can coach them, you know what I mean. You’re paying guys all this money, you don’t have to be sitting there baby-sitting them and disciplining them.
“I feel he brings that kind of approach to it and it that helps the psyche, especially of young players, a lot. Instead of getting on them and riding them, riding them, riding them, he asks them what do they think they messed up so they can answer and coach themselves.”
I am sure there's more to it than these few select quotes give us, but either way I am glad The Duche is on board, and that our issues are somewhat easily fixed by someone on top of this stuff.
Time!
Did I make it?
By Jim March 24, 2009 - 12:36 pm
I was wondering about that comment as well. I had suspected there were fundamentals issues not as some had reported a disconnect with the scheme and Weis. This is scary. Verdicci really gets into the details. Can’t wait for Fall.
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By The Biscuit March 24, 2009 - 2:37 pm
Jim, the big question then is, why did Weis wait THIS long to replace Latina?
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By Jim March 25, 2009 - 11:36 am
Not sure he took too long on it. Did not see anyone calling for Latina’s head prior to 2007. We started 4 first-year players in that year. That is a recipe for disaster. Look at MI last year. Not sure what choices were available to salvage that season. O-line development is as much about unit as well as individual performance. 2007 was as much about unit integrity as anything. Blown assigments etc. Think it took into 2008 to see slow personal development. He wasn’t going to make a change mid-season. What quality coach would be available mid-season?
Actually, let’s also look at the plus side as well if we speculate critically. Weis’s first recruiting class had an emphasis on o-linemen. That’s who is playing today. He saw the need. A little credit in forethought there.
I don’t know if he has been fast enough on all his changes, but I do know theer were more holes in this program that a slice of swiss cheese when he arrived. 10 years of neglect will get you that.
Unlike 2008 preseason, I’m optimistic this year. I think it’s going to be a good year.
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By Jim March 25, 2009 - 11:41 am
Oh, my error. Three new o-linemen, 4 new positions. Young and Sully were not new. Young switched positions due to a hand injury. Still had to leard how to function in concert with the others.
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By The Biscuit March 25, 2009 - 1:19 pm
Jim, for sure, I agree. But I think he could’ve moved on it before last season – no, not an easy/clear-cut decision like this year, but the performance in 07 was just SO atrocious that you had to think there was a problem. Now maybe Weis wasn’t sure, and maybe there werent quality guys like The Duche out there, and that could’ve been why he delayed…I just think it all speaks to the need for the change, and I’m glad it was made. Nothing against Latina, I just think he was a little too old school for my taste, and for Weis’ offense.
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By Jim March 25, 2009 - 1:52 pm
Amen to that. Oh BTW I have never understood the thinking that Latina coached well at Ole Miss. His teams were good at pass blocking, but if you carefully review their record during his tenure for a running game it was lackluster at best.
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