STEAMWHEELERFANS.COM TRAINING CAMP COVERAGE

Article:   Camp Report - Day 5 Date:  March 12, 2008 By:  Gary Stibolt, Staff Writer

..... W.O.R.K. - If I had to come up a with a word to describe this team this year, its' 'work.'  If you asked me to describe this team this year, I would be using words like Work, Integrity, Ethical, Strong, Fast, Disciplined, and Respectful.  The Steamwheelers start practice promptly at 7:30 each morning and they are off the field by 9:00 AM.  What happens in between is a solid 90-minute workout.  I do mean solid as in no down time, no one walking around from one drill to another, no one sitting out, no one talking smack, but everyone hustling, going at it 100% and now with the pads on, it just went up another 30%.  The first day in pads is always exciting.  The force, the collissions, the cracking of the helmets, the fire in the gut being expelled through a vocal strain as man meets man in a gladiator fight for dominance.  The team went through one-on-one drills while being taped for evaluation purposes.  Coaches 'motivating' guys to do better and teaching them the right way to make their moves and get after the quarterback or protect him depending on what side of the line of scrimmage you're on.  Players motivating each other and pushing themselves collectively to do things great.  I won't kid you, the most exciting part of this day is watching the linemen.  For me it is about supporting the guys and getting to know them while evaluating them somewhat in my own mind.  For the coaches, it is about testing ability, strength, technique and skill.  It's also about teaching.  For the players, its' about working out the rust and perform at the highest level possible.  Anything less for them is a personal dissappointment.  No one likes getting beat even in a drill.  That fires these guys up.  This day is about competition.  Some guys will be asked to go home in less than a week and each of them is putting it all out there in an effort to ensure it won't be them. While the linemen were beating each other up, the WR's and DB's were also going at it with their one-on-one's but they weren't on film.  That is, not until the team drills commenced.  It was full action live hitting for thirty minutes.  While the quarterback's are 'hands off' at this point, the action up front was fierce.  It was very competitive and the accolades today went to the defensive line and linebackers.  This group is going to be one of the premier pass rushing defenses in the league this year.  They have some size but for the most part, they are quick off their feet and fast to the quarterback.  They are skilled, strong, and possess great technique.  Now I may be bloviating a bit here but the fact is they are good.  The other fact is it was day one in pads and a lot of guys are working off some rust.  The defensive pass rushers finally were able to pin their ears back and take off.  Perhaps that's one reason why the screen worked so well against them but they also recorded a few sacks today too and forced an interception and batted down two balls. While talking about the linemen, I need to share a little bit about their workout.  Coach Edwards, a successful lineman himself, really works these guys.  He has them doing drills that I've never seen done in our camps or our regular season practices.  Some stuff looked like it came from an NFL Scouting Combine.  These guys condition every day and they go through a formidable workout.  When practice is done, they collect off to the side and go through another twenty-minute workout of conditioning exercises.  While that is impressive in itself, what's more is quarterback J.J. Raterink and Jesse Schmidt went over and worked out right along with those linemen.  While it may be true that the bigger guys need to condition more to get in game shape, I think it would go along way if all the other players joined in.  That would make a statement of unity, a statement of solidarity, and a statement of the desire towards building team chemistry takes precidence over all others.  If they all were to join, then I could add another word to the list I used to describe this team, and that would be 'Class.'  A true measure of each man individually and what their attitude is toward one another as team mates.  Now I'm not saying these guys don't have any class, far from it, but as a team, it takes a while for thirty some guys to come together and grow.  Class is how you do it.  So far, very impressive!  Tomorrow, the team will go through a similar schedule and the hitting technique will be more polished.  Guys will continue to get after it and after the whistle, respect one another with a hand shake on a job well done.  Friday will be their intrasquad scrimmage.  Next week, we'll start breaking down each position and focus on some guys to keep your eyes on.  We'll also feature Coach Biladeau in a piece and put this year in his own words.  Until Friday, that's the report for today.  - End ..... .....

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