Losing confidence

[HB Pony Dad]

such downers...

This would be a perfect time for someone to link that Saturday Night Live skit featuring Debbie Downer.

My message for Rice...

“Surrender Hope, All Who Enter Hereâ€

[Nacho]

I've seen too much losing over the last 20 years. I can't be optimistic. Optimism and I parted ways a long time ago. Unlike JT who expects nothing I expect loses. From what I can tell this will be the same old, same old.

[George S. Patton]

Can you show examples of the amount of success in any walk of life that came from pessimism?

I have no idea what's going to happen this year. No one else does either.

[Nacho]

I just think this is going to be an awful season. What's wrong with that?

[Mustangsabu]

Can you show examples of the amount of success in any walk of life that came from pessimism?

I have no idea what's going to happen this year. No one else does either.

The thing about pessimism is that it never leads to happiness. Even when something goes right, a pessimist fears the worst.

Optimism need not lead to complacency, but it may lead to pure joy.

I believe we can go bowling this year. I don't expect that we will. I will be thrilled beyond belief if we do.

When SMU does go bowling, I will be there. It will be special, and not made more if I claim it will never happen.

[George S. Patton]

I just think this is going to be an awful season. What's wrong with that?

I said 4-8 but I'm not going to kick the dirt if the season turns out that way.

[Stallion]

Some of the defensive plays were supposedly in 7 on 7 drills. Great for teaching the passing game but I would think the defense has one big advantage in 7 on 7-for instance not having to worry about the RUNNING GAME. I would think DBs and others can afford to be much more agressive in 7 on 7. Plus, Jones has mentioned that the defense would be adding new wrinkles to he predicted would disrupt the offense. That's teaching opportunity.

[High Horse]

We don't know how the season will turn out. That's why we play games... generally one at a time. Nacho, you're getting ahead of yourself.

[ponyboy]

Nacho's thoughts are understandable given history. But JJ will get this turned around. You watch.

[couch 'em]

Can you show examples of the amount of success in any walk of life that came from pessimism?

I have no idea what's going to happen this year. No one else does either.

Hitler was so pessimistic about his general's plans to invade France that he refused to listen to them. Because of that he discovered the much-dismissed idea of Blitzkrieg and went with that instead. I'd say it as an amount of success.

[jtstang]

Can you show examples of the amount of success in any walk of life that came from pessimism?

I have no idea what's going to happen this year. No one else does either.

Hitler was so pessimistic about his general's plans to invade France that he refused to listen to them. Because of that he discovered the much-dismissed idea of Blitzkrieg and went with that instead. I'd say it as an amount of success.

From the classifieds in the Paris Daily Picayune Times News

For sale: French military rifle. Never fired, dropped once.

[George S. Patton]

Can you show examples of the amount of success in any walk of life that came from pessimism?

I have no idea what's going to happen this year. No one else does either.

Hitler was so pessimistic about his general's plans to invade France that he refused to listen to them. Because of that he discovered the much-dismissed idea of Blitzkrieg and went with that instead. I'd say it as an amount of success.

How did the rest of the war work out for Adolf? The man with helmet on the left side of this post had a lot to do with the arse kicking he got from 1943-1945.

[SmooBoy]

I think he ended up managing a Sbarro's at a mall in Wisconsin.

[Webmaster]

Some of the defensive plays were supposedly in 7 on 7 drills. Great for teaching the passing game but I would think the defense has one big advantage in 7 on 7-for instance not having to worry about the RUNNING GAME. I would think DBs and others can afford to be much more agressive in 7 on 7. Plus, Jones has mentioned that the defense would be adding new wrinkles to he predicted would disrupt the offense. That's teaching opportunity.

If this is all stemming from the FSN reporter's question to June on the video I posted the other day, I think I can shed some light on it.

This "exercise" was done at the very end of practice. And it was as much of a conditioning drill as anything else. Sort of like running, but in football formation. The coaches who were running the exercise were much more intent on getting players right back to the line of scrimmage and hiking the ball rather than executing a particular strategy or working out kinks.

My guess is that in addition to the conditioning aspect mentioned by June, the coaches were trying to develop quicker reactions. I've participated in similar exercises as this, where you rapid-fire commands and the participants try to keep up. It looks sloppy as hell, but the idea is to wear the participants out to take their brains of the equation. So in order to keep up, their muscles just need to learn to react. That's really about the only way you get faster.

That way, for example, when a DB does something the WR immediately makes the proper counter without having to think about it.

[KnuckleStang]

To tell the truth, I worry more about the defense than the offense this yr. We never showed we can stop anybody last year. Now, the staff is again talking about being more of a "blitzing," "attacking," "dictate-the-tempo" style of unit. That all sounds really good, but don't you need certain kinds of athletes to do that? I guarantee you if Bennett is reading any of that up at Pitt, he is laughing and saying "Good luck." That's what he said he wanted to do when he got here. He too thought he could do the same thing here because he had done so at K-State. Every time we would blitz last yr, it seemed like our LB's would kind of disappear into the line and not come out the other side. For a lot of teams, I think the "blitzing-attacking" style defense is another way of saying, "let's allow them to score quicker than they normally would, so we can get the ball back, and score." Anyway, that's my fear at this (early) stage. Carry on