Posts tagged RSP

RSP Writers Q&A: Jene Bramel, Footballguys.com

Lardarius Webb is part of a complex defense explained in simple style by the inimitable Jene Bramel. Photo by Keith Allison.

Bramel RSP Q&A

You gotta love reading the work of a writer who understands how to complement simplicity with complexity and present it in an easy to understand manner. I think Jene Bramel does this as well as anyone in the football hemisphere today. Whether its injuries, X’s and O’s, or fantasy football strategy, Bramel is a must-read.

I especially enjoyed comparing my team with his, because Bramel was a huge part of putting this project together. We installed Continue reading

David Wilson

David Wilson getting better? I think it’s on the horizon. See below.

Many of you may remember that I did a series on David Wilson’s game at Virginia Tech and how it translates to the NFL. One of Wilson’s issues was the tendency to bounce runs outside to attempt the big play. I euphemistically call this “the corner store,” because it is fun to visit but few things are good for you there.

I just saw a promising David Wilson quote from Ralph Vacchiano’s Twitter feed that I think is worth reading.

Is rookie RB David Wilson ready for a bigger role? Yes, because he’s already learned a few lessons about the NFL…

“In my position in this league you can’t go out there and try to make the big play all the time,” he said. “At least I’m not comfortable to go out there and do it now. You can turn a bad play into a worse play by always trying to have the greatest play. I won’t say (I’ve) so much changed (my approach), but I know the playbook more, so I know what to expect a little bit. When I first got here I barely knew the playbook and the plays, and I just knew enough that the coaches would say ‘messing up’ and start screaming at me. When you get more into detail in the playbook and know what you are doing, you can become more of yourself.” #NYG

Whether he can do this on the field is a different story, but the fact he can verbalize it is half the battle.

RSP Writers Project Q&A: Joe Goodberry, CincyJungle.com

If I didn’t know this was Mike Zimmer talking with Marvin Lewis, I might think Joe Goodberry was one of this guys based on his personnel bias towards Bengals. Photo by Navin Ragagopalan.

Joe Goodberry writes for Cincyjungle.com. A regular of the football Twitterverse, Goodberry is one of the diehard draftniks frequenting social networks during the offseason. His RSP Writers Project Team is quarterback-driven on offense and features a 4-3 defense with two well-known 3-4 outside linebackers as bookends in his front. Find out the thought process behind his team and the risks he took. Continue reading

RSP Writers Project Team: Joe Goodberry, CincyJungle.com

Nice to have another writer spend the money on Aaron Rodgers. A.J. Green will be ecstatic (see below). Photo by Darin House.

Joe Goodberry writes for Cincyjungle.com. A regular of the football Twitterverse, Goodberry is one of the diehard draftniks frequenting social networks during the offseason. His RSP Writers Project Team is quarterback-driven on offense and features a 4-3 defense with two well-known 3-4 outside linebackers as bookends in his front. Stay tuned for Goodberry’s Q&A and check out the rest of the RSP Writers Team’s here. Continue reading

Reads Listens Views 8/17/2012

[youtube=http://youtu.be/61xVmBlFWPw]

It’s fitting that this video tribute to Carl Pickens was set to the song made famous by the movie “Deliverance.” Because when Pickens went to Tennessee his demise made the Titans fans want to SQUEEEEEEE…

It’s okay, Carl. You were a terrific receiver.

Scavenger Hunt – Win a Free 2012 RSP

Somewhere in this blog is a page with a photo of a former high school football player who is a future Hall of Famer in the Continue reading

Quarterback Development: When Practice Reports Are Useless

Tom Brady succeeds because he doesn’t avoid risking failure every day. It’s how great decision-making is developed and refined in the NFL. Photo by Jeffrey Beall.

 

“A lot of times you learn from your mistakes. You know, you gotta make the mistakes to learn from them,” he said. “And you never know how tight a window is until you throw it, and it was too tight. You try to force a ball into certain areas and then you learn from it, you say, ‘I can’t do that.’ You install new plays and you try to run them over and over and you try to identify all the problems where they come up and then really make good decisions.

“We’re out here running a ton of plays every day, 75, 80 plays a day,” he continued. “Believe me, they’re not all perfect, there’s a lot of learning every day in a lot of the situational stuff that we do. All of it is a good learning experience, whether Ryan or Brian are in there taking the snap, I’m paying attention to see what I would do if I was in there and vice versa. And that’s the only way to play football, you can’t sit here and only concentrate when you’re in. You gotta learn from every day on the field, every rep in practice, mentally and then physically when you get a chance to go out and do it, you gotta try to execute it as best you can.”

Tom Brady talking about the value of taking risks and making mistakes in practice

This quote from Field Yates’ piece posted yesterday on ESPN’s New England Patriots Report is a perfect example of why readers have to be careful about what beat reporters and analysts observe at practice. Continue reading

Boxscore Bottom Dwellers to Watch

In a different era of football not so long ago, Chris Owusu would have been a third or fourth-round pick. Find out why he’s a Box Score Bottom Dweller to watch. Photo by Michael Li.

The most prevalent question with the most divergent opinions during preseason football is, of course, How much should pay attention to the games? If you play fantasy football in a dynasty league the answer is quite a bit. The production that these end of the roster players earn shouldn’t be weighted heavily, but watching how they get their yardage and touchdowns is worth a look. Here’s a list of players I’m watching this year. They’re battling for roster spots, much less any significant playing time. However, this is where players like Victor Cruz Continue reading

Separating The Dark From The Dark: QB Tyler Wilson, Victim or Perpetrator?

Prologue: M. Degas Teaches Art & Science At Durfee Intermediate School by Phillip Levine

Even 2.9 seconds of football can generate an hour of analysis. Photo by Erik Daniel Drost.

I love the phrase “separating the dark from the dark.” It signifies that we never have certainty about anything despite the fact that we often want to manufacture a world filled with absolutes. Life is rarely black and white. Pulitzer Prize winning writer Phillip Levine, a former factory worker who often writes about work-class life in Detroit, draws a great portrait Continue reading

RSP Writers Project: Zach Bahner, NFL Draft Hub

Zach Bahner is an analyst at NFL Draft Hub. Bahner is a Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan, which is an odd combination when one considers that most Miami Dolphins fans are Miami Hurricanes fans. Bahner’s team has some personnel fresh to this project and I’m intrigued with what he intends to do with them. What I like about Banher’s team right away is that his players tend to be second- and third-year veterans on the verge of their prime. Stay tuned for the Q&A.

For more information about the RSP Writers Projects and how to build your own team, check out this link. Continue reading