Lunch lines...
I always feel a bit guilty when I come to practice late, which is now every day with work. Still, when I arrived yesterday, the coaches were just finishing the form run/stretch period and it was already 4:30. So, I was right on time.
I studied Sunday night - thankfully Coach L gave me all the plays we were installing this week, and working on learning them and the playbook for the OL was a bit like being back in school... I love that feeling. I had a good chance to work with the centers during offensive individual, as we're installing the buck sweep and there are three distinct jobs for the line - Tackles always have gap-down-backers; Guards are pull and kick (or wrap); and Centers are fire-on-backer.
I worked on steps for a few minutes with regard to the fire - which is a 45 degree step playside, blocking anything that crosses your face. We did some on-blocking and then some reads with one man at defense with a gap and one on offense with his rules (fire-on-backer).
I stopped them a few minutes in and asked one of the boys to tell me what he was doing wrong. He said he didn't know. We started to talk about it, and he realized he was supposed to be on offense. We started to laugh and it was at that point in time that he told me he didn't eat lunch because the line was too long. First of all, for an offensive lineman not to eat lunch.... blasphemy. Second, how could you possibly go that long without eating and try to have a good practice!? I went to my car and rescued my banana for the two of them to share during the break, and I heard him say to the other center, "Centers are so cool!" Maybe he was talking to his friends about why the two of them weren't sharing with the other boys. (Because all of them looked starving at that point.)
I like to think it's because centers like us are cool.
I studied Sunday night - thankfully Coach L gave me all the plays we were installing this week, and working on learning them and the playbook for the OL was a bit like being back in school... I love that feeling. I had a good chance to work with the centers during offensive individual, as we're installing the buck sweep and there are three distinct jobs for the line - Tackles always have gap-down-backers; Guards are pull and kick (or wrap); and Centers are fire-on-backer.
I worked on steps for a few minutes with regard to the fire - which is a 45 degree step playside, blocking anything that crosses your face. We did some on-blocking and then some reads with one man at defense with a gap and one on offense with his rules (fire-on-backer).
I stopped them a few minutes in and asked one of the boys to tell me what he was doing wrong. He said he didn't know. We started to talk about it, and he realized he was supposed to be on offense. We started to laugh and it was at that point in time that he told me he didn't eat lunch because the line was too long. First of all, for an offensive lineman not to eat lunch.... blasphemy. Second, how could you possibly go that long without eating and try to have a good practice!? I went to my car and rescued my banana for the two of them to share during the break, and I heard him say to the other center, "Centers are so cool!" Maybe he was talking to his friends about why the two of them weren't sharing with the other boys. (Because all of them looked starving at that point.)
I like to think it's because centers like us are cool.
Love the banana story - like he needs proof that centers are cool?! Duh!
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