If the corners buy-in to Brian Mitchell's attention to detail, DBU could bounce-back after a disappointing 2015 campaign. These two responses to Bitter's questions particularly stood out to me.
AB: What do you look for most in a cornerback?
BM: I talk about position mastery. It involves a number of things. It's not just on the football field. I try to teach those young men to keep everything in perfect alignment, on the field, off the field. I'm a firm believer in how you do anything is how you do anything. If you eliminate the distractions off the field, you'll learn and grow that much more on the field. And once you get on the field, of course, we're always going to be talking fundamentals and techniques. There's a book called "Good to Great" that I've pulled some things from. But more importantly, there's another book that's called "Talent is Overrated," and it talks about being the master of one's chosen profession or whatever it may be. That you need to put in 10,000 hours or 100,000 reps. And I take that approach with my guys. We're going to get 100,000 reps at plant and drive, man coverage, whatever technique we're using so we can be the master at that position. We'll never get 10,000 hours because of NCAA rules, but we can definitely get 100,000 reps.
AB: Do you like the challenge of your guys being on an island?
BM: There might be different perspectives on cornerback play and defensive play, but I think corners manage all the yards and all the points. If we play with great leverage in the pass game, we won't give up big plays. That's given up big yards if you give up big plays. If you play with width in the run game, then you won't give up big runs. And I think those guys need to have the understanding that without great corner play, you're only going to be as good as your front seven or your scheme. You're having to hide guys. Whereas when you have two corners out there that can lock things down, you can dictate tempo now. And I think in this day and age, if you're not dictating tempo to offenses, you're just a bend-and-break team. And I don't think there's a d-coordinator in America that doesn't want to go out there and dominate. And I think that gives you an opportunity to do that.
Comments
Sign me up, I'm on board! I like what he's sayin'.....Got a good feelin' about this coach!
I like it, he is saying all the right words but he has some mighty big shoes to fill so I will reserve judgement until we see the results on the field...
That's a lot of reps, I think.
I was a history major though, can anyone confirm if that's a lot of reps?
I mean you only have to do 100 reps 1,000 times to get there.
Hilgart approves of this logic.
I can confirm. Good thing the O is going up tempo in practice.
I'm real excited about this coaching hire. He did some great things with the CBs he had at wvu, and brings in valuable experience keeping pace with the up-tempo offense that they ran.
Well for the most part I feel pretty confident in Mitchell (though I ultimately agree with Jander). He certainly has the resume to back it up and I like what he says. Let's get cooking!
I keep hearing people talk about this Good to Great book. There are about 10 copies scattered around my office building. I should probably pick one up.
It starts off pretty good, but the ending is great. In all seriousness, it's a really good read as are his other books, Built To Last, Great By Choice, and How The Mighty Fall. While were at it Predictably Irrational is another good read that's along similar-ish lines.
The hedgehog concept will get after ya
I'm sure the maintenance staff would appreciate it.
In order to read it, you'll likely have to give up some time on TKP, though.
Pffft, nuts to that!
It's an interesting book, but as someone who just entered the professional world within the past 5 years, it's crazy how different the landscape is now, compared to then. Circuit City (a good to great company) is no longer around. The book has not one mention of Apple products - crazy given that the iPhone is arguable the most revolutionary item to be created in the past 30 years.
Anyways... sorry for bringing us off topic
Yeah, I just read an article on the hedgehog principle. I feel like there are better books to spend my time on.
In this genre, read Dan Pink's Drive. It's a quick read and applicable in more areas than just business.
Collins is a good read though, even if it is a bit dated. IMHO if you are leading an organization its gotta be on your 10 must read list. Peter Senge, Steve Covey, Malcolm Gladwell, Fisher and Ury; these are all authors that help shape the way I am in the world.
Edit: agree with Dan Pink mentioned above as well. Also a great Ted talk!!!
Thanks for the tips.
So if I receive 100,000 turkey legs, I will be the master of TKP.
Dig it.
You haven't spent 10,000 hours here yet?
I can't be the only one that checked Leonard's leg count to see if he was close. *Spoiler* He is not. :)
You have to have 100 legs before 100K. By the way, I could use a couple to get to the century mark.
Leonard--Master of TKP would look good on your resume'.