Weekly Answers, Pt. 1
Check out the first batch of weekly answers...
1) Do you think that Mora's peer pressure morning punishments will result in NCAA violations for excess practice time? Keep up the good work. - bibs
I'm sure they've taken that into account.
2) I know this is a busy period for you, so no rush on this, but I've been wondering what Sal Alosi has been doing while everyone else on the coaching staff, apparently, is out recruiting. What has been the reaction of the current team members to him and vice versa? How different is Alosi's approach to that of his predecessor? Thanks. - RainMan
I've only met Alosi briefly, but he just oozes "NFL." He's a no-nonsense guy when it comes to this stuff, and he seemed really into what he was doing. I havent' gauged too much feedback, but the reactions I've heard from players are positive. He has a tall order in front of him.
3) Jon: Can you envision Mazzone using Fauria similar to how the Patriots and Saints Niners are with their tight ends split out wide or in the slot? I would seem Fauria can always create a mis-match due to his height and moving him around would create other mismatches as well. - TIM
It's going to be interesting to see how they use Fauria. He really wants to continue to focus on blocking, and I don't think he's as much a traditional "wide receiver" threat that guys like Jimmy Graham and Vernon Davis are, so if he's spread wide, that's going to limit his effectiveness. He is prone for a huge season thouth.
4) Jon, in respective order:
A). Tebow leads Denver to next Super Bowl crown.
B). CJM leads unbeaten UCLA to Nat'l title.
C). You and Sam have honestly eaten a dozen Big Macs in one sitting out in some East Jesus McDonald's joint.
D). Big Josh drops 40 pounds and returns next year to dominate the Pac-12; wins "Dancing with the Stars" and then leaves as a lottery pick. - UCLA-of-the-rockies
C, C, C, C.
5) After much of the hype following last year's Spring and Fall practices which resulted in a huge disappointment of a season, I guess we really won't know how good the team is until after the 3rd game. Do you think that Mora will have LIVE scrimmages during practices? - No Campus
Thing is, I don't think anyone knew how good the team was after the 14th game. I'll always wonder what would've happened had Richard Brehaut actually gotten a chance at the starting nod going into Week 1. How different would the season have played out? I doubt Mora will hold many "live" scrimmages, but I can say that this two-hand-touch stuff needs to end.
I'm all for more physical practices/toughness, but you can hardly blame the staff for being cautious.
We went through a spell when you couldn't blow a blade of grass of a guy's shoulder pads without putting him in a cast for 4-6 weeks.
All the more reason why Alosi is so important. Better conditioning, less injuries.
I've been to the East Jesus McDonald's and they're still talking about you two guys. By the way, what does 'prone for a huge season thouth' mean exactly? Is this guy gonna lay down on us? Is he going into a trough? I agree this would be a huge season disappointment.
I didn't go to any practices under the CRN regime so I cant talk intelligently about how they ran practice. But there were some obvious issues. We couldn't tackle to save our lives and our kids never looked prepared on game day. Now both of these are results of coaching or "lack thereof" and these glaring problems were present throughout his tenure as coach. As for injuries, some were just bad luck but I am sure a lot of them were a result of the above issues hindering the players confidence and attitude towards playing a game where you have to always be confident in your approach and never have doubt - even for a millisecond. I can say with complete certainty that the kids never felt fully prepared mentally and physically and it showed. Zero confidence zero performance. Lets hope CJM gives these kids an infusion of "we can conquer the world" mentality.
Our last Redskins coach turned Dc was pretty good. I'm thinking Spanos will do an equally good job once he gets situated.