Thu, 21 April 2011
My trip to the Cloisters in New York City. |
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Thu, 20 May 2010
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Thu, 20 May 2010
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Fri, 31 October 2008
Boomer Esiason Foundation BEF UPDATE Fall 2008 Newsletter in PDF Format
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Mon, 27 October 2008
A little demo of Crazy Talk program with my boy Chase..
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Wed, 21 May 2008
I ran into this busker while walking across town on 42nd Street just east of Fifth Avenue. Thought he sounded great so I tipped him a fin and shot some video before heading into work. Guys like him make NYC a great place to explore. The US Postal Service never sounded so Good ! |
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Mon, 10 March 2008
University of Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs is the recipient of the
2007 Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation's most outstanding
center in college football. The announcement was made today by the
Rimington committee.
Luigs will be recognized as the winner at The Home Depot College Football Awards show, broadcast live on ESPN, in Orlando, Florida on December 6, 2007. The annual Rimington Trophy awards banquet will be held at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on January 12, 2008. "This is a tremendous eye opener for me especially when I look at the history of the trophy and the distinguished lists of winners. It is an honor to be mentioned in the same circle and even bigger honor to recieve the trophy," said Jonathan Luigs. Luigs is the centerpiece of a University of Arkansas offensive line that has cleared the way for the SEC's top rushing attack (296.8 yards per game) which ranks third in the nation. The junior is riding a streak of 28 consecutive starts at center for the Razorbacks and leads the offensive line with a 90.4 percent grade average including team-leading averages in run (86.1 percent) and pass (96.9 percent) blocking. "It is an honor to name Jonathan as the winner of the 2007 Riminton Trophy. He and the Razorbacks played a great season. To compete at the level Jonathan did against such a tough SEC defense, it is a testament to the strength and skill that makes him the top collegiate center. Congratulations to all the watch list candidates, finalists and Jonathan," added Dave Rimington. Luigs will line up against Rimington Trophy finalist Adam Spieker and the Missouri Tigers in the 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl which will take place on January 1, 2008 in Dallas, Texas. About the Rimington Trophy The eight-year old trophy is presented by Canon and The Cornhusker Marriott. The award is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Esiason created his foundation in 1993 to support research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Esiason and Dave Rimington were teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-87. Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first team All- America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 during which he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's premiere college interior lineman. Past recipients include Dominic Raiola (Nebraska. 2000), LeCharles Bentley (Ohio State, 2001), Brett Romberg (Miami, 2002), Jake Grove (Virginia Tech, 2003), co- winners David Baas (Michigan, 2004) and Ben Wilkerson (LSU, 2004), Greg Eslinger (Minnesota, 2005) and Dan Mozes (West Virginia, 2006). Since its inception the Rimington Trophy Award has raised over $1.03 million for its benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It, in turn, is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation which, to date, has raised nearly $60 million for Cystic Fibrosis research. The Rimington Trophy is a fully accredited member of the National College Football Awards Association. |
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Mon, 10 March 2008
University of Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs is the recipient of the
2007 Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation's most outstanding
center in college football. The announcement was made today by the
Rimington committee.
Luigs will be recognized as the winner at The Home Depot College Football Awards show, broadcast live on ESPN, in Orlando, Florida on December 6, 2007. The annual Rimington Trophy awards banquet will be held at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska on January 12, 2008. "This is a tremendous eye opener for me especially when I look at the history of the trophy and the distinguished lists of winners. It is an honor to be mentioned in the same circle and even bigger honor to recieve the trophy," said Jonathan Luigs. Luigs is the centerpiece of a University of Arkansas offensive line that has cleared the way for the SEC's top rushing attack (296.8 yards per game) which ranks third in the nation. The junior is riding a streak of 28 consecutive starts at center for the Razorbacks and leads the offensive line with a 90.4 percent grade average including team-leading averages in run (86.1 percent) and pass (96.9 percent) blocking. "It is an honor to name Jonathan as the winner of the 2007 Riminton Trophy. He and the Razorbacks played a great season. To compete at the level Jonathan did against such a tough SEC defense, it is a testament to the strength and skill that makes him the top collegiate center. Congratulations to all the watch list candidates, finalists and Jonathan," added Dave Rimington. Luigs will line up against Rimington Trophy finalist Adam Spieker and the Missouri Tigers in the 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl which will take place on January 1, 2008 in Dallas, Texas. About the Rimington Trophy The eight-year old trophy is presented by Canon and The Cornhusker Marriott. The award is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Esiason created his foundation in 1993 to support research and treatment of cystic fibrosis. Esiason and Dave Rimington were teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-87. Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first team All- America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982 during which he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's premiere college interior lineman. Past recipients include Dominic Raiola (Nebraska. 2000), LeCharles Bentley (Ohio State, 2001), Brett Romberg (Miami, 2002), Jake Grove (Virginia Tech, 2003), co- winners David Baas (Michigan, 2004) and Ben Wilkerson (LSU, 2004), Greg Eslinger (Minnesota, 2005) and Dan Mozes (West Virginia, 2006). Since its inception the Rimington Trophy Award has raised over $1.03 million for its benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It, in turn, is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation which, to date, has raised nearly $60 million for Cystic Fibrosis research. The Rimington Trophy is a fully accredited member of the National College Football Awards Association. |
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Tue, 22 January 2008
BEF UPDATE Fall 2007Boomer Esiason Foundation Newsletter |
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Mon, 5 November 2007
2007 Costa Rica Classic Billfish Tournament
To register or for more information on the 2008 tourney go to: www.costaricaclassic.com March 28-29, 2008 Los Suenos Marina Playa Herradura, Costa Rica |
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Wed, 1 August 2007
The Boomer Esiason Foundation was founded in 1993.
This short video helps explain what the foundation is doing to help
fight CF and improve the quality of lives for those affected by cystic
fibrosis.
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Tue, 31 July 2007
The Boomer Esiason Foundation was founded in 1993.
This short video helps explain what the foundation is doing to help
fight CF and improve the quality of lives for those affected by cystic
fibrosis.
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Wed, 4 April 2007
Blubrry Jam - Spread the LoveBoomer Esiason Foundation Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser Date Saturday, Apr 7, 2007 Time 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm Location Canal Room 285 W. Broadway New York, NY 10013 Tickets $18 Online $20 at the Door |
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Mon, 12 March 2007
What is Second Life?
Why Build CF University in Second Life ? NOTE: CF University is located on Secondlife Main Grid and is intended for CF Adults over 18 years of age.
www.secondlife.com |
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Wed, 16 August 2006
Beware...NEBRASKA is BACK!!!
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Sun, 12 March 2006
On March 11, 2006 the Boomer Esiason Foundation held it's 13th Annual Booming Celebration. The Booming Celebration is one of the largest single event cystic fibrosis fundraiser in the USA with over $3,000,000 raised to help fund CF research in one night. Congratulations to Steven M. Bowman 20006 Boomer Esiason Foundation Most Valuable Player .
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Wed, 8 February 2006
Back By popular demand...I had no idea that Billfishing was so popular. Here are some video highlights of the 2005 CRC Tournament. Warning this is UNCENSORED, So it may not be something to play at work.
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Sat, 28 January 2006
www.costaricaclassic.com
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Sat, 28 January 2006
Costa Rica Classic Billfish Tourney
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Fri, 30 December 2005
Happy New Year- iTunes Version
Song: Auld Lang Syne
Artist: Friction Bailey
You can find this artist at the Podsafe Music Network http://music.podshow.com/
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Fri, 30 December 2005
Happy New Year
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Mon, 5 December 2005
Welcome Back Husker Fans. This podcast is my last Husker related podcast for 2005 and in todays show we take a look back at the season.
We also will celebrate the Christmas Season by playing a holiday tune that was performed by a variety of podsafe artists.
If Everday Was Christmas-
Produced by Slau and co-written by Orlando Pagan, the idea for this benefit project was initiated by Adam Curry. All proceeds from the sale of this recording will be donated to UNICEF.
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Fri, 14 October 2005
Coach Callahan and key Huskers players previewing upcoming game...enjoy
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Tue, 11 October 2005
Nebraska Football-Baylor
A quick look at Baylor Offense.
Texas Tech Review
Texas Tech Post Game Press Conference- Coach Callahan and Players.
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Fri, 7 October 2005
Pressure the Quarterback
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Mon, 3 October 2005
Let's take a quick look back at Iowas State game and look a head to Texas Tech.
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Fri, 23 September 2005
NFL STREET UNPLUGGED Our friends at the New York Jets will be a hosting an
interesting event called NFL Street Unplugged on October 1, 2005. |
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Tue, 20 September 2005
I'm Back...Let's Talk
Nebraska Football and Pool Choices for NFL Games
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Fri, 2 September 2005
Aug 30, 2005 - Thought we may have dodged a bullet after initial reports of lighter than expected damage from Hurricane Katrina. What a difference a day makes, spent most of the day watching the TV seeing people being rescued from rooftops. The City of New Orleans flooding and extensive damage of most of the gulf coast. It seems as help may not arrive until the roads become passable, which may take quite some time. Our fellow countrymen need our help ...so, if you have the ability please join me in helping out by giving to one of many good disaster relief charities. The folks in these areas are really going to need our help. A partial list of Hurricane Katrina and disaster relief information available on the Web: Hydrologic Information Center (river flooding) Federal Emergency Management Agency: 1-800-621-FEMA Relief Organizations Red Cross 1-800-HELP-NOW Episcopal Relief & Development 1-800-334-7626 United Methodist Committee on Relief 1-800-554-8583 Salvation Army 1-800-SAL-ARMY Catholic Charities 1-800-919-9338 |
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Tue, 30 August 2005
Thought we may have dodged a bullet after initial reports of lighter than expected damage from Hurricane Katrina. What a difference a day makes, spent most of the day watching the TV seeing people being rescued from rooftops. The City of New Orleans flooding and extensive damage of most of the gulf coast. It seems as help may not arrive until the roads become passable, which may take quite some time. Our fellow countrymen need our help ...so, if you have the ability please join me in helping out by giving to one of many good disaster relief charities. The folks in these areas are really going to need our help. A partial list of Hurricane Katrina and disaster relief information available on the Web: Hydrologic Information Center (river flooding) Federal Emergency Management Agency: 1-800-621-FEMA Relief Organizations Red Cross 1-800-HELP-NOW Episcopal Relief & Development 1-800-334-7626 United Methodist Committee on Relief 1-800-554-8583 Salvation Army 1-800-SAL-ARMY Catholic Charities 1-800-919-9338 |
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Wed, 17 August 2005
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Sat, 13 August 2005
Are you ready for some football?
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Thu, 11 August 2005
What starts out as a Pre-Season Episode...turns into a wideout rant.
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Mon, 8 August 2005
Training Camp Part III
Getting Cut..OUCH!
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Sat, 6 August 2005
We step away from the football podcasts to celebrate the Unofficial Podcast Anthem for 2005. You've probably heard it on Adam Curry's Daily Source Code...but we have the G-Rated version..Tell The FCC to Stick It !
Enjoy
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Fri, 5 August 2005
NFL Training Camp Part II
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Wed, 27 July 2005
A trip down memory lane ...NFL Training Camp
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Sun, 24 July 2005
2005 Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge On June 30th, the Boomer Esiason Foundation hosted the 10th Annual Empire Challenge. The game pits high school all-stars from New York City vs. their counterparts on Long Island. Long Island played error free football and won 44-7. This is a short video (around 7 minutes) and highlights the post game award ceremony. Thanks to everyone who made this game possible. |
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Fri, 22 July 2005
Today I have something different for you. On July 12th The Boomer Esiason Foundation held a Sporting Clays fundraising event at the Elk Creek Hunt Club in Owenton, KY. Here is a short video of the event. Special thanks to Outback Steakhouse for sponsoring the Big Bang.
Oh ...all of the drinking you see in the video was done after the shooting competition was complete. For more info go to www.esiason.org
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Wed, 20 July 2005
Just finished my football camp last week. 100 degrees in the shade! Kids held up well...better than me. Pictured right is Jack Oholent my HS coach. Special thanks to all the coaches who participated in the camp.
Camp website:
www.rimingtonfootballcamp.com
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Tue, 19 July 2005
Blocking Wide Rusher 1. Identify 3-5-7 step drop 2. Identify Launch Point of QB 3. Objective 3 step drop is to get defenders hands down...inside target -attack and cut- change up with slip block -place hands on chest and slip them down to knees and cut. 4. On 5 and 7 step drop - The wider the defender ..the deeper your kick step...Remember the wider the defender, the farther he is from QB ...Don't Panic 5. When kicking have inside target and bury your chin into your inside pec . This prevents you from losing control as you kick to defender. 6. Keep your shoulders square as long as possible before you turn and run with defender 7. If he tries to run the hump to QB and uses rip technique/uppercut, with your outside hand on defenders chest...take inside hand and place on defenders hip and widen him 8. FINISH!
Direct download: DRS-BlockingWideRusher-07-19-05_copy_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:24am EST |
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Tue, 21 June 2005
Teaching Your Child Pass Protection
Link
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Mon, 13 June 2005
Teaching Your Child The Drive Block Links www.rimingtonfootballcamp.com |
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Sat, 4 June 2005
Teaching Your Child The 3 Point Stance in Football Show Notes June 4, 2005 Apology Teaching 3 Point Stance Feet Shoulder width or less If right handed right foot stagger, if left handed left foot stagger Toe to instep stagger (4"-6" back) Start off with forearms on thighs, knees bent Bring dominant hand straight down Step away from child and check that toes are pointed straight, knees are not buckled, back straight and neck bowed with head up If you continue to have problems- Try this tip: start child in 4 point stance (not too much weight forward) he/she should be able to lift non dominant hand up without assistance and place forearm on thigh. Test: Weight Distribution Once child is in stance take your hand and move athletes hand if he rocks forward or falls he has too much weight forward on hand. The purpose of this drill is to insure athlete can step, pull and pass protect from this stance In Goal line and Short Yardage-Athlete can add more weight to hand to increase power. If teaching center stance-feet are usually a little wider and there is no stagger with feet. First make sure snap to QB is secure and then start practicing stepping and snapping. Never let your child drop his head, Head is always up to help prevent neck injuries. Links: www.rimingtonfootballcamp.com
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Fri, 27 May 2005
The No Huddle Offense I was fortunate to have had Sam Wyche as my Head Coach in Cincinnati, this guy had a very unique way of looking at problems and some very ingenious solutions to these problems. Sam to me was a mad scientist that was so far ahead of the curve on innovation in the game of football it was ridiculous. Where most people would see problems, Sam saw opportunity. As a player I really enjoyed playing for him, because I learned all the time. He is a teacher and does a wonderful job teaching the nuances of football. Now, don't get me wrong Sam was as nutty as anyone I ever been around. But I really enjoyed playing for him. Although, at the time I didn't realize it as much as I have should. I could tell Sam Wyche stories until I was blue in the face and still have much more to say. The only thing predictable about Sam was his unpredictability. As a player you spend a great deal of time trying to figure out your coaches, so you kind of know what to expect. With Sam you just didn't know...which was good and bad. Regardless of what the Buffalo Bills say...the Bengals were the first team in the NFL to put in the NO HUDDLE offense. And if it wasn't for Boomer Esiason calling his good friend Frank Reich and raving about the offense I doubt seriously that the Bills would have used it as much as they did or at least they would have been much slower in implementing it. Defenses began to use situational substitution quite a bit in the early 80's, what happened was the defense would bring in the big run stopping lineman and linebackers on first and second down and then bring in their pass rushers and small backers/nickel guys on third and long situations. You would see a hoard of guys run in the game and another hoard run off the field. The defense was just trying to get their best personnel into the game to deal with the expected type of play that they would face. Sam saw a weakness in this and began exploiting it, what he saw was 16 or more defensive guys on the field at one time and that as you know is against the rules. So Sam exploited that by coming up with a simple "SET ALERT" play, When Boomer saw a platoon of guys coming onto the field and another platoon running off ...he would scream set alert and we would rush to the line of scrimmage and run a QB Sneak on the first sound. After a few "too many players penalties" and easy five yard gains for us the opposing team had to make a decision....do we stick with the run stoppers or do we put in the nickel or come with a hybrid. The only time we would let them make substitutions was when the clock was stopped for time out or incomplete pass. From the simple beginning of a QB sneak, a whole offense was developed that could be run from the line of scrimmage. Many people say that it was no difference than the old "hurry up" offense. But it was much different, the hurry up has been used for years to save time and score quickly at the end of the half or game. The "No Huddle" is not the same tempo....we could take our time if we wanted or up tempo the offense if we thought that gave us an advantage. It was flexible and potent...we moved the ball on a lot of good defenses with this and it was . It was espionage type of stuff with code words for formation and more code words for direction and finally code words for play types and another set of code words for snap count. It wasn't all smooth in the development and many times it was hilarious...I am not sure you have ever saw the movie the Dirty Dozen...In that movie they have a rhyme that corresponds to each step of their mission. Well we had the same type of rhyme where each number rhymed with the type of play we were going to use. At meetings Sam would say the number out of the blue and we would then recite the corresponding rhyme...needless to say when the bullets started flying the rhymes went down the toilet with half of the guys getting it and the other half scratching their heads. So then we developed plan B ...code words for everything, we always worried that defenses would pick up the codes so we changed them often as far as I could tell no one ever picked up what we were doing...lets face most defensive players I met would never have been picked for Bletchley Park code breaking duties during WWII. Most of these guys had a tough time just remembering where to line up. I learned to never over estimate the intelligence of the defensive guys. Ok back to the point of this blog the no huddle turned into a complete offense that we could run at any time. It trained us to ready for anything, because you never knew when you would get the "AT THE LINE" call from Boomer. AT THE LINE meant to line up and get ready with hands on knees. You learned that you didn't want to get in a stance until you heard all required information. Once a play was establish and snap count we could get down...I usually went over the ball earlier than the rest because just in case we did get the set alert call I needed to be ready to snap the ball right away. A funny thing happened the first season we put in the "NO HUDDLE" we were still in pre season and playing the Detroit Lions in Detroit. Sam had the idea of practicing the "NO HUDDLE" in the parking lot of the hotel before the game. We had just installed hand signals for plays which were going to be used in noisy situations where we couldn't hear one another. The funny thing was we were only expecting 30-40,000 people for the game and in pre-season the crowd is pretty quiet...but just in case we had all these new hand signals ready. So here we are in the parking lot of the Hilton and we are going over our hand signals and for some reason some guys were having trouble remembering what the hand signal represented. Boomer would then give the hand signal and if he thought some guys didn't understand he would mumble or cough and say the play so they could hear it. After a while of this Sam was getting pissed at Boomer, didn't want him saying what the play was...so after his tirade he started looking around and found a old guy who was cutting the grass... he waved him over and the guy came over with his lawn mower. He is a professional football team that has a game in a bout 5 hours in the parking lot of the Hilton which is strange enough...but now here is a guy who was cutting the grass a few minutes before and now is amongst the team. Sam looks a t the guys and say hey can you rev up the lawn mower while Boomer does the hand signals. The guys looks bewildered buy says sure...so the guy rolls his lawn mower in front of the offense and starts revving the mower. Sam wanted to simulate crowd noise...and it was as noisy as hell and then all the rocks/pebbles on the parking lot around the mower was were being whipped around and hitting guys in the legs, guys were screaming like little girls...and Sam just laughed his ass off....meeting adjourned. That Sam was a character! |
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Tue, 24 May 2005
First Downs and Scoring Touchdowns You have seen it over and over in pro football, a team is moving up and down the field with ease until they get into a situation that they need to get the final yard to score or get a first down. Why do great offenses stall in these situations. I have theory that I would like to share with you. First off I have to make a disclaimer...I haven't seen any statistics to back up my assertions that teams are having more problems in Goal line and short yardage situations. It is just anecdotal evidence witnessed on my part. My Theory: Over the past 20 years game of pro football has become more of game of horizontal movement on the offensive line. Instead of displacing players vertically, plays and players are taught to get movement horizontally. Simply put, players are not knocking back players they are moving opponents side to side. When the inside zone became a big part of most of most pro teams offenses in the mid eighties, lead stepping offensive lineman went out the way of dinosaurs. Now, it became drop and crossover steps that were being taught to pro offensive linemen. The inside zone play is a play that counts on 2 big guys getting a push at the point of attack and then one man coming off late for a LBer who most of the time will flow over the top of the rolling double team. The lineman who releases then simply screens LBer as he tries to come back on the cutback. The running back starts as if he is going to hit the tackle area and then if he sees flow over the top he will cut it back behind the two behemoth linemen. If he sees a hole in the tackle area he simply takes to the hole and takes what he can get. But why was the drop cross over steps taught in the first place. I think there were a couple obvious reason. First players were having a hard time moving defensive players vertically. It take a physical mismatch for a offensive lineman to move somebody back. The day of the 6'6 275lb NG was over. Now there were NG's and T's who were short and stout, in the 6'2 320lbs. range. These guys are built to stand their ground, it takes a hell of a man to push these guys around. Reason number two when you take a drop and crossover it reduces the chance of defensive lineman skimming the combo block when 2 guys are working together. When you lead step into a combo block there is a small area known as no man's land where because you are firing out and stepping forward and the player you are working with is taking a short lateral step, if the defensive line plays the angle right there is a chance that he may split the combo block. The drop cross over all but eliminates that threat. But what you gain in security you lose in vertical movement and power. What usually happens in this scenario is the defensive lineman absorbs the initial shock of two players on him pretty well...there isn't a lot of movement, but as the d lineman rises to find the ball carrier, that is when the rolling combo gets him moving it may be horizontal movement but it is movement just the same. |
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Sun, 22 May 2005
May 22, 2005 |
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Mon, 9 May 2005
As you can imagine, game day in the NFL is a special time for players. I thought I would give the listeners/readers a taste of what it was like. I guess the logical place to start this adventure is the night before the game. We would all meet at an area hotel about 5:30-6 pm the night before the game we then would check in and relax for about 1 hour or so. Then we would have a team dinner...this is when the boys would load up on a grand assortment of food. When I first came into the league steaks (yes plural) seem to be the food of choice. As time went on guys seemed to eating less steak and more pasta (Damn Nutritionists!). This was no place for the timid, regardless of what was the emphasis, there were massive amounts of food being consumed. All this was followed by the ice cream dessert station...Banana Split heaven. After the gluttony we then went into meetings and tried not to fall a sleep. In the beginning of my career this was pretty simple stuff...coaches would just give a speech to the team and then we would break off into groups by position...the offensive line would take a meeting room, the defensive line would take another and so on. As the years passed this simple meeting turned into a mini film festival, complete with highlight films with all the bells and whistles. Didn't have to worry about falling a sleep during this iMax presentation...LOL Then it was off to our rooms usually about 10 pm with bed check at 11pm we would try and get phone calls and the ticket situation all figured out. If the NFL wanted to increase productivity a simple way would be to have one guy in charge of acquiring and distributing tickets for the players. It is not the players can't handle it...it is the timing. The whole ticket situation comes to a head right before the game, when the players should be concentrating 100% on the opponent, many would be on the phone trying to dig up tickets for their guests or making phone calls from the locker room making sure their guests were squared away. It seemed that it was the skilled players (anyone that can score a TD) that had the most demand from friends and family for tickets... so I guess what I am saying it didn't affect me personally that much... Bed check-Not much to report here---Coach knocks on door, whoever is closest to the door answers, coach peeks in room and checks around, coach says good night and leaves. Most of the time they didn't even bother entering the room. I could tell coaches hated doing this chore. I am sure they had to draw straws for this task. I never heard of anyone from the teams that I played that would try to sneak out the night before a game. But training camp is another story... Flash back of the Ben Gazarra Show...it was like a jail break at times. Ok, to save some space and time here is the material I go over in the podcast...check it out
Ok let's pick this up again at the locker room after I have studied playbook, been taped, stretched, and even grazed with my fellow offensive linemen on the field. After I returned I would then put my jersey on my shoulder pads. Now this sounds like a simple process. But for an offensive lineman it was anything but simple. You see nothing puts the fear in the minds of an O-Lineman more than being grabbed by the defensive lineman. Because once he gets a hold of you ..put a folk in you, your done. It doesn't matter in the running game but the passing game is where it makes a big difference. So linemen would go to extraordinary lengths so they would not be grabbed. The following is my jersey process/ordeal ... Step 1: Go to the trainer get a bottle of rubbing alcohol and get a towel from the shower room. Step 2: Pour the alcohol on the towel and rub down shoulder pads to take off any sticky tape residue from last weeks game. Step 3: Let dry and then put on the two way or carpet tape on shoulder pads...the more the better. The idea was to get as much area covered as possible. Step 4: Remove backing from tape and then carefully put jersey on the pads. Since the jerseys were always sized small it was even difficult to get the jersey on and that was without anyone being in the pads. Usually started with one shoulder and then the other, then the chest plate and finally the back. I always checked to see that neck hole was centered and name on back of jersey was on straight. But as Ron Propiel says ..and that's not all...Step 5: If we were at home I would take the shoulder pads into the sauna and turn the heat to high and leave them in for about 5-10 minutes. The dry heat would melt/cure the adhesive on the tape nicely and then I would take another towel and rub down the pads for a good seal. The jersey and the pads became one, there was no way anyone was going to grab me today. This trend was set by the Pittsburgh Steelers and was soon copied by everyone. WD-40 became a staple to every equipment man. Not to fix rusty equipment but to spray on the O-Line jerseys to make them extra slick...man it was out of control. Today even the D-Line has the tight jerseys...big D-linemen look like stuffed sausages in those things. The NFL began cracking down on the WD-40 and so that practice was eliminated as the jersey companies began making those tight jerseys direct from the factory. If a shoulder pad company wanted to improve their pads a simple fix would be to build in velcro on their pads. One part would be attached to the pads and the other would be sewn directly to the jersey on the should areas, chest plate and back plate....These would go like hotcakes. Every O-lineman would want them. Watch some company will take my idea and make big $$$ ..oh well PS ..if you try the Sauna thing...make sure it is a dry sauna and not a stream bath. After I had jersey on pads I would visit with the QB and discuss any different calls or keys that would be used for this game. This time was used to build QB's confidence and gauge where he was at mentally for game. When team bus arrived the locker room became electric. Players would quickly get dressed in t-shirts and shorts and then head to training room for last minute touchups on their tape jobs. Some players would put on on their headphones and rock out to their favorite tunes while studying playbooks. Others would begin to make the transformation from a mild mannered Clark Kent type of character into a raging maniac. Some players would joke around while others became deadly serious. Each guy had his own method of getting ready. I always felt I played better if I just was myself and stayed somewhat calm. Our coaches usually made their rounds visiting their players and made sure the guys were good to go for the game. Sometimes they would get all their guys together and discuss any last minute changes to the game plan. All these things were designed to eliminate mistakes on the field. I think for the most part it did help get everyone ready. About 2 minutes before the start of the game the officials would make a quick walk through of the locker room. I was never quite sure what they were looking for...maybe foreign objects. LOL Then the head coach usually had the last word before we said the pre-game prayer. He usually would talk to team captains and tell them what we would do if we won the coin toss (almost always we would choose to receive the ball) and which goal we would defend if we lost. Then he would give the keys to victory speech. Nothing magical, he would just state what we needed to do to win. No dumb penalties, eliminate turnovers, rush for X amount and remember to finish strong and believe that no matter what happens on the field we would find a way to win in the end. Occasionally the coach would have an impassioned speech....but this was few and far between, I think if felt the team wasn't ready to play. He would become emotional, but usually the team was ready to go Then the team chaplain would come in for the team prayer...The team prayer was always comforting to me, we had guys from all the the country some guys from the city , some from the country ... but this was a time when you could feel the power and unity of the team...This was when it was apparent that the whole of the team was greater than the sum of the parts ....and then that illusion would be destroyed when someone would scream let's kill them and off we would hit the field.... LOL Then it hit you like a ton of bricks...60-70,000 people screaming at the top of their lungs. The excitement generated before the game is something that cannot be explained it really has to be experienced and you never get tired of that feeling. You feel as nothing can stop you and you become transformed into another person. for a short time you feel bullet proof. Unfortunately this feeling only lasts until the first play...then it's back to being Clark Kent. Player introductions were held moments before kick off, When I played for Cincinnati the offense was introduced far more than the defense ...but the rolls were reversed in Philadelphia, probably because our defense in Philly was quite a bit more dominant than our offense. It was quite a rush to be introduced as a player I just tried to think about picking up my feet high so the turf monster didn't get you. Nothing is more embarrassing than being introduced taking a few steps and falling on your melon. After introductions everyone line up for the National Anthem and the game was soon underway. |
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Tue, 3 May 2005
2005 NFL Draft
The Player Haters
Another NFL Draft has come and gone. I always found it funny that as soon as a
team makes a pick an ESPN talking head puts his 2 cents in about the quality of
the pick. I realize that if you put the draft on TV you need someone to tell
the listeners what's going on, but the whole concept of rating a teams draft
at this point is just a load of crap. Most of these guys are rolled out once a
year propped in front of a camera and then locked up in their homes digging up
BS stats. No wonder they sound so disgruntled.
Who the hell are these guys, if they are so damn smart why aren't NFL front offices beating down their doors trying to acquire these geniuses. I'll tell you why, this is all smoke and mirrors. From the Wizard of Oz: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!!" It doesn't help that ESPN has about 8 hours of draft coverage, you can only say that player x has good speed and player y good strength so many times before that gets old. A solution would be to either break it off after 2-3 hours or get some new guys in the booth. Instead you are forced to embellish and make sure everyone knows you had breakfast with coach Z and that he said player x has a few problems, they never say what the problem is, unless it is already public. He doesn't say Bubba is a serious rinser/booze pig or just a drunk. Instead he says that Player x has had some personal problems. That is when that little voice in your head Mr. Subliminal starts whispering...oohh is he a coke head or roid guy or steals cookies from the Girls Scouts. He is now labeled and that is just the tip of the iceberg. What about medical privacy..The NFL is probably the only place I can think of that people are dissected in ways that would be illegal in most work places. Medical privacy HIPPA laws are thrown out the window. Not only are they not honored but are thrown out completely....(a rant for another day). On draft weekend and the days leading up to it, not only are the 255 players that are drafted publicly scrutinized...but all the players who are supposed to get drafted but don't are also included in this mix. Now think hard, when is the last time you watched the NBA or MLB draft and they said half of the crap they say about these college football kids. It is not right and should be stopped. Most of the things these guys say is just regurgitated combine stats or something they heard at a bar talking to a scout. And I tell you what most scouts I met are not the brightest guys in the world. Most are ex-coaches that couldn't cut it or had some kind of problem (drank too much). Group Think is a big problem in analyzing players. Things are exaggerated and then Toppers Syndrome sets in. Scout A says something about a player in front of a group of scouts and scout B thinks he needs to top that info and so he adds a layer of shit. Before you know it, some poor athlete, who just completed a great college season is being thrown under the bus. Just so the scout can seem like he is cornucopia of football knowledge. Can't Miss Players That Miss Players seem to get all of the blame when they fail to live up to pre draft expectations...the finger should also be pointed at the offending organization. When a pattern exists of bringing in the top picks in the draft and doing nothing with them. Something is broke in the organization and it must be fixed...fast. Why Can't Miss Players Sometimes Miss Player Reasons Dumb Ass-can't grasp playbook
Player's Confidence Shot
Mismatch Systems-Option QB trying to play QB in the pros or an O-Lineman who is not used to pass protection. Less obvious is a great running back in college who ran the ball 30-40 times a game is now is being asked to run 10-15 times and catch ball out of back field. Most obvious in offensive players
They are thrown in the mix before they are ready-asking them to do things that
can't yet do.
Coaching
Most are hardworking and competent ...but
Don't believe for one minute that each team is equal in developing a player.
This is not even close, some coaches are great, some just plain suck. Some
teams take great players and waste them. By wasting them I mean well coached
players in college are sent to a team that have terrible coaches. There are
some real whack jobs in coaching, These wankers will talk football buzz words
without really knowing what they are talking about. Each year some coach
comes up with a term that he serves up at a coaches clinic and then all the other poser coaches pick up on and beat that
term to death. Buzz words are used as vocal cues to remind a player to use proper
fundamentals or make adjustments to certain schemes. When pressed with
questions by the player these poser coaches are the guys that will tell a
player "just be a football player" . Huh! OK
Beware of Coach Buzzword
Buzz Word Alert:
BURST-As in that player has a burst or burst to the ball. Now, just substitute the following: run like you stole a purse and the cops are after you.
RUN DOWN HILL-How it's used "Son, I want you to run down hill
and meet the ball carrier"
this term is a load of rubbish substitute "Son, I want you to run to the ball carrier and hit him like he stole your mom's purse".
Vocal cues work, but it has to be more than words. The coach has to
understand what exactly he wants the player to do and why doing it this way is
better.
Player Development
Some teams do a horseshit job of developing a players physical skills. I know
of a strength coach that wouldn't allow players to lift certain types of lifts
because...well they could get hurt, even though the player did the same type of
lifting throughout his college career. Can you say - C.Y.A or Cover Your
Ass. This guy had no business being a strength coach. Oh I get it, it's not
"Be All You Can Be" , it's more like "Be Here as Long as You Can Be".
Some Teams don't test their players...for strength or speed. I am serious
there were teams when I played that did no testing. none...but that team did
have a cool jukebox in the weight room.
I actually talked to a coach that had his players take a rubber mallet in each hand and had them strike an anvil over and over. When I asked the coach why, he said have you ever shaken hands with a blacksmith...At this point I just said what the f@#$ and walked away...this guy was a pro strength coach...Oh by the way if you ever try the rubber mallet workout..watch your head, I tried it and the rubber mallet bounced up and almost took my head off.
Front Office
It is the responsibility of the Front Office to get players signed in time for most of camp. Players who miss most of camp won't play, there is just too much to learn. If you can't sign them in time don't draft them. A rookie player who misses camp is almost guaranteed to be on the sidelines the first year. Some of these guys are never heard from again. They sit on sidelines for 3 seasons and then are released and then get picked up by someone else and become star. If teams spent half has much time and money developing their current talent as they do acquiring new talent, they would see big changes in team performance. So next time you're watching the draft and some loudmouth draft analyst starts up, turn down the volume and remember the weatherman with that fancy Doppler radar who said there was no chance of rain.. Yeah Right! |
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Thu, 28 April 2005
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Tue, 26 April 2005
Equipment managers in football when dealing with 18-21 year old kids have to
be the "no men" There is nothing more enticing to young man than FREE
stuff...t-shirts, shoes, and socks. You see, our job as players was to get as
much glom as we could and Glen's job was to say no. Glen Abbott just "got it"
he knew how to handle a player without shouting or making the kid feel bad. He
knew that most of the guys he was dealing didn't have "a pot to piss in" and
somehow when you least expected it you would find an extra shirt or socks in
your locker.
I remember in a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at home I blocked back on Big
D-tackle Mark Bortz. We hit each other so hard my facemask just snapped off my
helmet. It was early in the game and as I made my way off the field with my
facemask in my hand...the coaches were yelling for Glen to fix the mask. Glen
without saying a word took my helmet and went to another guy on the team asked
for his helmet and gave it to me. I didn't know we had two guys on the team
with buckets heads. I missed just one play and was good to go. It was like a
NASCAR tire change, Glen had that portable electric drill buzzing, zip, zip
zip zip and the helmet was done. He knew his stuff.
When my playing days were over at the Big Red, I got to know Glen Abbott
better. We shared a few stories over a few beers and I liked this guy even
more. When I became involved with raising money for cystic fibrosis Glen was
always there for me, getting a jersey or football signed for me by Nebraska's
current star.
Glen Abbott died on April 8th, at the age of 62. Goodbye to a good friend and
a Nebraska Football Quiet Giant.
|
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Sat, 23 April 2005
Show Notes: Well there really isn't any....but... Here is how the show shakes down. Dave intro- Why Podcasting? Nebraska Football- Joe Dailey Departure Boomer Esiason Foundation Rimington Ramblings- Utter Nonsense Podcast Voiceovers Featured Websites Boomer Esiason Foundation |
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Thu, 7 April 2005
Website: Booming Celebration In March the Boomer Esiason Foundation held it annual Booming Celebration Fundraiser. Over 2.8 million dollars was raised that night to fight cystic fibrosis. A cause that is very dear to me. Although the 2005 Video is not yet complete I wanted to share with the audio portion of Booming Celebrations past.To View Booming Celebration Animation Video- Open Feed in Browser.
Category:podcasts
-- posted at: 2:51am EST
|
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Wed, 31 December 1969
Happy New Year
|
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Wed, 31 December 1969
I'm back...Let's Talk
Nebraska Football
NFL Pool Choices
Category:podcasts
-- posted at: 6:59pm EST
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December 10, 2009 - University of Florida junior Maurkice Pouncey has been named the recipient of the 2009 Rimington Trophy. Last month Pouncey joined former Gator center Mike Degory in becoming only the second player from the school to be named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy. He now becomes the first player from the University of Florida to receive the award. 
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