difference an offseason makes

[Anonymous]

This isn't really an old topic in this sense--lately, they've all been saying more about it.

This is just a bunch of different quotations that circle the same things. Some old. Some new. Mixed together.

Here are the themes they all circle: Rushed install. Things getting too complex in the season. Not being comfortable in the offense. Being out of sync. How being out of sync means messed up communication. What happens when you're out of sync---namely, pressing. What pressing means. How that works. All the following quotations circles around that stuff.

Recent quotation: Bradford on being out of sync with the line:

If there's no trust between me and them, or them and me, when we do face tough times what are we going to do? Everyone starts to do their own thing, trying to compensate or make up for it

Saffold, on the line being out of sync:

Saffold said "... sometimes, guys would try to do too much, then we'd end up letting somebody go that shouldn't be let go and they'd end up getting an easy sack.

"Really what we've got to do is just continue to communicate, continue to work together."

Older quotations--Snead on last year's OL being out of sync (transcript paraphrase, not direct quote):

As for consistency, he thought that last year the team struggled with just being on the same page.

Older stuff--Devaney on what he saw in the preseason, particularly the OL:

I could tell in training camp -- I mean early on, I don't even know if we started playing a preseason game -- things just, especially on offense, things just looked really ... nobody looked comfortable.

Devaney added something in a quote I can't find about how they did not seem to be communicating, and his joke about it was that they would watch film on Monday with blitzers coming free and they would say "where did those guys come from?"

All of that--it's one big theme. Out of sync. Not on the same page. Not communicating. Pressing--which is acting as an individual to compensate for breakdowns instead of trusting the other players and the play. Being uncomfortable--awkward, anxious. That leads to mistakes. That compounds the problem.

And you know what not being in sync looks like--it looks like every single player suddenly regressed in ability. Or it looks like they didn't practice but the other team did. But the actual thing is...they're out of sync.

Another recent quotation--Bradford in Lacanfora:

http://www.theramshuddle.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=43736

"It wasn't until I came to camp this year did I realize truly how much I missed the offseason last year, and how much everyone in our offense missed the offseason," Bradford said. "Last year we were trying to correct mistakes we were making on Day One that never should be made in a training camp. This year we had already repped everything and we were past that, and it allows you to move on to more details of the offense."

Now old again. A couple of good ole stand bys.

Rhome: why did Bradford have such a tough time last season

Fisher: it was clear and obvious to us...it was a change in the offensive system, his 2nd in 2 years, and then with the lockout there wasn't a chance to install, and then people started getting hurt around him, and they had trouble protecting him...the injury situation here last year was extraordinary...

Sam Bradford – Minicamp – June 13, 2012

(On if it is nice to have an offseason with the team)
“Yeah, it is nice. It’s nice to be able to come out here and make mistakes. And then go in the film room and talk to(Offensive coordinator Brian)‘Schotty’(Schottenheimer) and talk to (Quarterbacks coach Frank) ‘Cig’ (Cignetti) and talk about those mistakes and learn from them. Then come out the next day or the following day and correct them and get everyone on the same page. Whereas last year, I’m not really sure we had that opportunity. There was an install on one day and then the next day we couldn’t really spend that much time going back. We’ve really been able to get into detail with what we’re doing.”

I think last year, I probably rushed to judgment and jumped to some conclusions with my comfort with the offense and everyone else’s general comfort with the offense.

Finally, very recent. Kendricks, after the Chiefs game:

Ask him what went wrong last year and Kendricks doesn’t hesitate to answer. "Honestly, last year was just a lot of rookie-year mistakes," he said. "After the preseason, things just started getting more complex; moving you here and there, injuries, just a lot of things going on. Plus (because of the lockout), we had no offseason. But now I’m a lot more comfortable."

 

[Thordaddy]

When it rains it rains on both sides of the field

 

[-X-]

So what you're saying is, a truncated off-season and system change at the same time is bad?

That's just crazy talk.

 

[Yamahopper]

Yes it is dysfunctional with no off season.
For further proof just look at the poor Texans last year. They switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 last season which is a major change and they improved from 30th overall in 2011 to 2nd overall in 2012. if they would have had a full off season they might not even have allowed a single first down. :omg: :omg: :omg:

 

[Anonymous]

Yes it is dysfunctional with no off season.
For further proof just look at the poor Texans last year. They switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 last season which is a major change and they improved from 30th overall in 2011 to 2nd overall in 2012. if they would have had a full off season they might not even have allowed a single first down. :omg: :omg: :omg:

The Houston D wasn't a predominantly young unit with a lot of rookies and with a more than usually complex system.

When Victor Cruz talked about being shelved with an injury in 2010, he said it was a blessing in disguise because learning all the variations and sight adjustments built into plays was so challenging he needed the time off to master it. The Giants run the same offensive system that McD uses.

Heck even Mark Clayton said the offense was challenging to learn, and he was a veteran who learned the previous offense quickly enough to start a week after being traded. And he's no rookie.

 

[Anonymous]

So what you're saying is, a truncated off-season and system change at the same time is bad?

That's just crazy talk.

Well yeah partly saying that.

But that;s also a set-up to talking about what "being out of sync" is. Because it can look like it's something else (sheer incompetence combined with lack of talent). But it;s like an orchestra where every member is seeing a different conductor. Or, it's like an engine put together by a blind man who doesn;t know engines. The parts are fine. They just don't work together.

For a long time I tried to describe what "pressing" was--players trying to make things happen because they aren't confident in the ensemble working the way it should. It was interesting to hear Bradford and Saffold both describe it.

 

[Yamahopper]

Yes it is dysfunctional with no off season.
For further proof just look at the poor Texans last year. They switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 last season which is a major change and they improved from 30th overall in 2011 to 2nd overall in 2012. if they would have had a full off season they might not even have allowed a single first down. :omg: :omg: :omg:

The Houston D wasn't a predominantly young unit with a lot of rookies and with a more than usually complex system.

When Victor Cruz talked about being shelved with an injury in 2010, he said it was a blessing in disguise because learning all the variations and sight adjustments built into plays was so challenging he needed the time off to master it. The Giants run the same offensive system that McD uses.

Heck even Mark Clayton said the offense was challenging to learn, and he was a veteran who learned the previous offense quickly enough to start a week after being traded. And he's no rookie.

They were 30th in age at start of the season.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/ ... 3-man-cuts

And had to move players to positions they had never played before.

I'm not arguing about the degree of change the Rams made. For the time frame and talent they had and cap limitations on bringing in new talent they over stepped. Greatly.
The point is all 32 teams had no off season. Some did better than others. It was a real test of the Coaches and front offices as to who would wither or prosper.