Today, 03:48 AM
Bulldog great Ben Watson has the secret to elite defense
-- by macondawg
Brilliant investor and all-around wise man Warren Buffett once remarked that “Investing is simple, but it isn’t easy.”
It is a sentiment which finds validity in a variety of walks of life. Losing weight is also simple: you just need to burn more calories than you take in. The math is simple; the behavioral adjustment is not easy. One can also build a nice nest egg by simply earning more money than they spend and socking away the difference. Again, simple but not easy.
Bulldog and NFL legend Benjamin Watson today noted a similar phenomenon in relation to football defenses. Many commentators and fans have noted over the past few years that, with an increased concentration on player safety and welfare, the game has changed and defenses simply aren’t as tight as they once were, with a few notable exceptions.
Watson has the simple reason.
You can’t tackle if you don’t do a lot of tackling. Seems fairly self-explanatory. But again, the solution isn’t easy. Kirby Smart is well-known for his “Bloody Tuesday” full-contact practices, and his former players have credited them as a difference-maker.
Those Tuesday practices are simple, but they aren’t easy. Coaches worry about player fatigue. They worry about injury. Can you imagine the hew and cry if an All-American defender broke his collarbone in a full-pads scrimmage at most schools during a game week?
But ultimately the game of football isn’t about looking good coming off the bus before the game. It’s about performance during the contest. And as the old adage goes, you play as you practice. Unshakable faith in the methods he’s built over the past eleven seasons in Athens, and he’sgotten good at identifying and recruiting players who buy into doing the simple things that are nonetheless hard, like Bloody Tuesday.
That’s a big deal. So on this Tuesday, be thankful that you’re a fan of a college football team whose coach is a super-intense perfectionist who’s willing to make everyone around him more uncomfortable today so that they can celebrate on Saturday.
Go ‘‘Dawgs!!!
EDITED by Shootist
-- by macondawg
Brilliant investor and all-around wise man Warren Buffett once remarked that “Investing is simple, but it isn’t easy.”
It is a sentiment which finds validity in a variety of walks of life. Losing weight is also simple: you just need to burn more calories than you take in. The math is simple; the behavioral adjustment is not easy. One can also build a nice nest egg by simply earning more money than they spend and socking away the difference. Again, simple but not easy.
Bulldog and NFL legend Benjamin Watson today noted a similar phenomenon in relation to football defenses. Many commentators and fans have noted over the past few years that, with an increased concentration on player safety and welfare, the game has changed and defenses simply aren’t as tight as they once were, with a few notable exceptions.
Watson has the simple reason.
You can’t tackle if you don’t do a lot of tackling. Seems fairly self-explanatory. But again, the solution isn’t easy. Kirby Smart is well-known for his “Bloody Tuesday” full-contact practices, and his former players have credited them as a difference-maker.
Those Tuesday practices are simple, but they aren’t easy. Coaches worry about player fatigue. They worry about injury. Can you imagine the hew and cry if an All-American defender broke his collarbone in a full-pads scrimmage at most schools during a game week?
But ultimately the game of football isn’t about looking good coming off the bus before the game. It’s about performance during the contest. And as the old adage goes, you play as you practice. Unshakable faith in the methods he’s built over the past eleven seasons in Athens, and he’sgotten good at identifying and recruiting players who buy into doing the simple things that are nonetheless hard, like Bloody Tuesday.
That’s a big deal. So on this Tuesday, be thankful that you’re a fan of a college football team whose coach is a super-intense perfectionist who’s willing to make everyone around him more uncomfortable today so that they can celebrate on Saturday.
Go ‘‘Dawgs!!!
EDITED by Shootist
