Over the last two weeks we have mentioned a lot about preparation for games and knowledge of assignments.  I figured it would be a good idea to go through the week and show exactly how we prepare for a game.
Saturday:
Immediately after the games players are handed their scout DVDs.  These DVDs have four games of our next opponent on them.  These games are selected by the coaches by how closely they match what we expect to see in our own game.  For example, …

In all honesty the weather doesn’t play a huge role in the outcome of the game. Yeah it’s cold in the stands, but down on the field the training and equipment staff take numerous precautions to keep the players warm.
For instance there are propane furnaces stationed all over the sidelines. These sideline space heaters keep your legs and feet warm in between series. The equipment staff also passes out those giant coats that are extremely insulated and keep the rain/snow off of your body.

It is a very undesirable place to get caught. Specifically, the bottom of an nine+ player pile up, six of which are offensive and defensive linemen weighing in access of 300 lbs. There are a couple of bad situations. The first is the “face where it shouldn’t be” scenario or ”just concentrate until you can breath again,” and it’s two-fold. I’ll discuss them in a bit. The other is the worst scenario, or the “I just got run over and my leg is bent behind me and everyone is laying on …

Crowton’s head coaching years have been talked about and analyzed by everyone under the sun. Everyone has their own opinion about his coaching abilities, both good and bad. My experiences during these years varied, but I noticed significant differences in the way the program operated during the Crowton years as opposed to the Mendenhall era. In this first installment, I want to discuss the developmental aspects of the program also known as the weight-training.

I wanted to let everyone know what they can expect from me this week.  The bye will allow me to catch my breath and address a few things from the programs past. During game weeks, I am trying to concentrate on the upcoming opponent and I don’t get to discuss the program as much as I would like to.  I am going to use this week to talk about the following:

To understand whether a bye week is needed let’s look at what we do during the bye week.  Monday, the players will go through all of their normal meetings, and then hit the field for a very short practice that will consist of mostly individual position specific drill.  This practice is used to get back to the fundamentals that sometimes are forgotten as we prepare for specific opponents.
Tuesday, the practice will again be short, but will have more time allocated to the team, than individual work.  The team will have …

I wanted to post a few answers on the main page that I thought more people could appreciate.  This one came via Rex who asked if I could explain zone coverage’s a little bit…I would love to.
Cover 2:
Cover 2 is a basic 5 under 2 deep zone coverage.  There are 5 underneath zones that are occupied by 3 linebackers and 2 corners.  The safeties play over the top providing coverage and help on the deep balls.  Zones are based on players’ positions on the field.  Corners cover the outside shallow routes, outside linebackers …

During the year you are playing six away games, which means six different hotels, plane rides and stadiums.  I was thinking back on those experiences and wanted to post the good, the bad and the ugly about games on the road.
GOOD- The team normally leaves on Friday at around eleven, which means no school on Friday.  I know, you are supposed to be a “student athlete”, but let’s face it; most players are “athlete students”.  Bronco’s goal for academics is much higher than other programs. (a 3.0 average for the …

We just had a somewhat questionable performance on Saturday, and everyone watched the UCLA game last night.  Lets not get ahead of ourselves and start looking forward to the UCLA game.  Coach Mendenhall will do his job keeping the team focused on the task at hand, but the team will be back in school.  That means they will be approached by students, and faculty about what they thought about the UCLA game.  Wait, what? Don’t we play Washington this week.  It can be tough for some guys to stay focused during …

Basically the night before the game is filled with meetings, eating, and waiting.  You have various meetings, reviewing film and talking about the “keys” to the game.  Some coaches get nervous before games and some are very relaxed and easy going.  Coach Hill is always relaxed.  He exudes that been there, done that attitude that can calm a nervous player.  After arrival at the hotel the team is steered to a dinning room to eat.  This is probably the best “perk” to being on the team (if there are any), and the part …

A normal football work week will consist of the following:
Monday: Lifting weights, a necessary evil.  After a game you normally feel like you have been in a ten car pile-up.  Lifting weights helps work out the kinks and soreness and will get you back into playing condition.  Meetings, meetings and more meetings.  My guess is that the normal corporation doesn’t have as many meetings as a football team.  Film study, this of coarse is what all the meetings are about.  Each play from the previous game is graded on a …