Who do you want to see in the Big Cat Drill?-per Les Miles

I haven't seen what type of brace TT has on his hand or how he catches the ball with it on. I'm all for Miles making him do what he can but I hope he doesn't develop the bad habit of catching the ball with his body to compensate for not being able to use one of his hands in the process. Hanagriff made that point on a local radio program recently.

The Big Cat drill might be PR but it can certainly help set the tone for practice. I remember in high school when our coach felt we weren't being physical enough he has us do a drill called "bull in the ring". If you didn't hit the player in the middle with all you had, you were put in the middle.

 

Drake Nevis vs Gary Crowton

 

Yep. PR move or not, CLM actually has people excited about it. Something that can't be said for spring games of the past. If it puts people in the stands, who cares?

 

Jordan Jefferson vs. anybody...We need him fired up

 

Oh, I don't think CLM re-invented the wheel, but as you point out it has people excited and talking. As I pointed out refocusing on a winning culture has to start somewhere, and this move seems to be working toward that.

 

Dominique Allen vs. Kelvin Sheppard

 

I think it could be both PR as well as functional. Miles knows his back is against the wall this year. The team MUST perform better. Its beyond just wins and losses, its the performance and lack of improvement throughout the year. The PR will help show some fire and give fans something to talk about. Smart move there. As a coach its also a smart thing to try to bring some fire back in the team. LSU didnt show its usual fire or passion last year. THe OL especially needs a fire lit under them, this is the kind of drill to hopefully bring some intensity. Ultimately though players must be coached up and held accountable for their play. Dont perform, you sit.

 

I have no problem with the drill itself or any other teaching method employed by the coaching staff. They're the experts at teaching the game. It's great if they are doing things in practice to build intensity, toughness or whatever.

My problem is that it's been made into a side show. Why is it that this one drill is the biggest story of spring camp? And it's not like it's some revolutionary idea. Are things that bad right now that this is the most positive thing to report?

I don't like the idea of turning practices into a media circus just to get the fans excited. I want to hear reports of the oline coming together, Ford stepping up, JJ getting more comfortable in the pocket, etc. That will get me excited. Not player X knocked down player Y in a drill. The coaching staff should worry about coaching and keeping the team focused not PR. Fan support will come by putting an excellent product on the playing field.

 

For the life of me I can't understand why people are complaining about this. Getting fired up before an athletic event, practice or game, brings out the best in the players. In high school, we used to do the "bull in the ring" drills during practice and would have the school bus rocking back and forth to Queen's "We will rock you" before every game. We won every game that year except the state championship which we lost by 1 point -- all this with a whopping 13 players on the team. It also gives the players something to look forward to, something to talk about which then brings the team closer together and stokes the fire.

I keep remembering how Jefferson was sitting on the ground watching the clock run out against Ole Miss instead of jumping up, running down the field and assembling his troops. Where was the fire from him or anyone else? Had teamwork been better last year, someone else would have pulled him up and got him going, and if he didn't get going they would have gotten in his face.

This is a good thing so let the media spin it any way they want, as long as the team benefits from it (and I think they do), I don't care.

:geaux: