Working the Game...Grantham's Way

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Learning from Lapses...in Lieu of Repeating Them

Like most who witnessed GDay, I'm trying to drink in as much Grantham as possible. Yes, like most who suffered through some seasons of pedestrian defending 'tween the hedges...we are very thirsty.

So when the new DC talks about working the game...it's like a large gulp of sweet tea on a hot summer day, right after you shut down that mower you've been trudging behind.

"What I mean by that is you've got to come over and adjust to what just happened to you. You've got to go over the play you just saw and you've got to handle it the next time."

If you were paying attention you noticed the exact play Grantham speaks to in this piece by Weiszer. The defense gave up a couple draw plays to Jackson that resembled a sieve under a kitchen faucet. And while the basic plan was very vanilla throughout the scrimmage, you have to admit the defense adjusted well.

Case in point, some tackles of the running back behind the line of scrimmage.

So back to Grantham's quote and his overall point, we are to expect the defense to drink in what they are seeing, swish it around a little and let it linger. Not just gulp, forget and steady yourself for the next snap. An offense can slip plays by you, it happens. But if you learn from it as you go, you are less likely to fall victim a second or third time.

I read that as less reactionary and more proactionary - which is a word I just made up, but hopefully you get it too. We all can remember plenty of times when a DB in recent years failed to turn and play the ball in the air. The result was either a big play or a flag most of the time. Well, I get the impression that any player under Coach Todd Grantham who isn't working the game is very susceptible to riding the pine.

Accountability is especially refreshing over ice isn't it?

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