Friday, October 18, 2013

Playing fast vs playing overwhelmed

Great piece here by Gentry Estes about the young defense absorbing a massive playbook. I think Josh Harvey-Clemons sums it up nicely.
“A lot of those guys from the secondary last year, they’ve told us the playbook they have in the NFL is not even as hard as the playbook we have here,” safety Josh Harvey-Clemons said. “It just shows you right there how difficult our defense can be, I guess. …
"We run a very complex defense. You’ve got to know a lot to play fast.”
And it's not just the freshmen. As Estes points out, even some of the more experienced players are playing different positions than the ones where they played previously. People ask where Jordan Jenkins has been. Well, he's at his new spot - the Will.

Add in a bunch of new kids and it explains a lot as to why we're seeing so many players standing instead of running because they're not sure yet what they're seeing. Reaction is good. Reacting late yields yards. And points.