Practice makes perfect... does more reps = accelerated learning curve? | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Practice makes perfect... does more reps = accelerated learning curve?

Wildbill3

Wildbill3

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Ok, typically i'm a conventional wisdom guy, (rookie qbs need to sit... etc) however this last decade has certainly changed the minds of many teams in how they deal with Rookie QBs. Having a military background, it was pounded into my head that you fight how you train. Meaning if you don't take training serious it's going to kill you when the real bullets start firing. Now of course football isn't war, but the principle of practing hard to play hard still applies. To see the amount of reps this team is going through in practice and to realize that even our rookie QB is going to take nearly 3x as many snaps as our 3rd string QB last year, and for that matter all of our rookies are looking to get nearly 3x as many practice plays in, how does that affect thier learning curve? Can a rookie only absorb so much and then the whiskey just pours out of the shot glass?

My prediction, more reps is going to solidify this team and even though we've got a new D, and a new O, I don't think at this point that our season is going to be the doom and gloom that many of the pundits say its going to be.
 
In general, I don't see how I coudn't help, unless, are they eliminating something else that might be productive in order to make time for the extra reps.
 
It's like math, the more exercises you do, the easier they become... Our brain can absorb everything, not at once I know, but repetition makes it easier...
 
I believe in this principle. From a management stand point, I always felt, let the new guy take his lumps from on the job training. With that being said, sometimes there are those types that need a little or perhaps alot more coddling than others in order to learn. I was in Tannehill's corner since I saw him play his junior year. Always believed he could make a solid starting QB. But what worried me was his lack of playing time as a QB or better said, lack of experience at the QB position during his college career. I was scared he could turn into Sanchez 2.0 with only 19 college starts compared to 14 for Sanchez. This may still turn out to be the case, but at least you can see his growth since the OTA's. As a Dolfan for 40+ years, I can only hope he turns his raw talent into what many perceive as being a better than average starting caliber NFL QB. I love his moxy, his attitude and his ability to learn. IMO having this kind of up tempo practice routine can and will help not only Tannehill, but others like Devlin, Clay, Wallace, Pruitt and Miller.
 
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This news is either a sterling endorsement of Joe Philbin or a damning indictment of Tony Sparano.

The meatball is already gone and forgotten, so let's hope it's the former.
 
In my opinion, the only way more reps are going to hurt anything is if they are not quality reps. When the reps are coming in the abundance that it sounds like they are, the main factor to consider when judging quality vs non-quality would be fatigue.
 
registeredguy said:
This news is either a sterling endorsement of Joe Philbin or a damning indictment of Tony Sparano.

The meatball is already gone and forgotten, so let's hope it's the former.
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It's both, and the former is the better. Meatballs ways are way too old school and only hampered the growth of the younger guys.
 
As I mentioned in another thread these practice methods were the ones Mike Sherman used at TAMU and the results there weren't good. He seemed to have good offensive output but the defense was awful. Now he's not the HC or the DC but I'm still cautious about the outcome here. I'm sure game planning during the week and practice methods during the week will be much different and on paper it seems like the increased reps would help tremendously as long as the coaching staff focuses on teaching fundamentals as well as scheme and plays...which seems to be happening from what I've read.

My whole thing is if this is what Sherman was doing at TAMU why wasn't he more successful? I'm optimistic but I'm anxious to see the results before we know if this helps or hurts.
 
datruth55 said:
As I mentioned in another thread these practice methods were the ones Mike Sherman used at TAMU and the results there weren't good. He seemed to have good offensive output but the defense was awful. Now he's not the HC or the DC but I'm still cautious about the outcome here. I'm sure game planning during the week and practice methods during the week will be much different and on paper it seems like the increased reps would help tremendously as long as the coaching staff focuses on teaching fundamentals as well as scheme and plays...which seems to be happening from what I've read.

My whole thing is if this is what Sherman was doing at TAMU why wasn't he more successful? I'm optimistic but I'm anxious to see the results before we know if this helps or hurts.
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I think it helps, in terms of teaching and improving the learning curve. But like you, I'm not sure I'd want this in game situations as frequently as this coaching staff seems intended to do.
 
datruth55 said:
As I mentioned in another thread these practice methods were the ones Mike Sherman used at TAMU and the results there weren't good. He seemed to have good offensive output but the defense was awful. Now he's not the HC or the DC but I'm still cautious about the outcome here. I'm sure game planning during the week and practice methods during the week will be much different and on paper it seems like the increased reps would help tremendously as long as the coaching staff focuses on teaching fundamentals as well as scheme and plays...which seems to be happening from what I've read.

My whole thing is if this is what Sherman was doing at TAMU why wasn't he more successful? I'm optimistic but I'm anxious to see the results before we know if this helps or hurts.
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I'd have to ask... who was drafted from the D? was it an underperforming unit, was it an undertalented? I don't know enough about TAMU to make a guess myself.
 
dolfan91 said:
It's both, and the former is the better. Meatballs ways are way too old school and only hampered the growth of the younger guys.
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Ironically, the Jets seem to be holding very high-paced training camps also. Maybe not with Sherman's split-field structure, though.

I dunno. Reps will help and the high tempo will surely benefit come gametime, in terms of conditioning and decision-making. But I'm not sure on it's own it's going to take us up a level. It's another sign of how professional and unified the coaches are, for sure.
 
Wildbill3 said:
I'd have to ask... who was drafted from the D? was it an underperforming unit, was it an undertalented? I don't know enough about TAMU to make a guess myself.
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a CB in the 7th round and a few guys got slots as UDFAs.
 
datruth55 said:
As I mentioned in another thread these practice methods were the ones Mike Sherman used at TAMU and the results there weren't good. He seemed to have good offensive output but the defense was awful. Now he's not the HC or the DC but I'm still cautious about the outcome here. I'm sure game planning during the week and practice methods during the week will be much different and on paper it seems like the increased reps would help tremendously as long as the coaching staff focuses on teaching fundamentals as well as scheme and plays...which seems to be happening from what I've read.

My whole thing is if this is what Sherman was doing at TAMU why wasn't he more successful? I'm optimistic but I'm anxious to see the results before we know if this helps or hurts.
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a lot depends on how Sherman and his entire staff was running the reps. I'll use the comparison of Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke. RichRod and his offensive staff emphasized getting to the line and getting the play off in under 30 seconds (from when the last play ended), and while against crap opponents they looked good, against quality teams they struggled. Why? They weren't taught the basics. Same thing basically happened with the defense, the staff for Rod was so focused on the players getting their assignments right they didn't teach them technique, which resulted the players panicking and making even more mental mistakes. Hoke and his staff basically didn't even open up half of the playbooks (either offensive or defensive) until the season went on a bit more as they wanted to get the fundamentals down.

I dunno enough about how A&M ran practice. I now their OL coach (who is our OL coach now) was really detail oriented (much like WB he has a military background) and in turn they had a lot of great OL recruiting classes (including 2 of Bruce Matthews kids, the oldest was there before Sherman became HC) and they became decent pro prospects.

The only other things I know are that 1)The boosters of A&M have REALLY high expectations (they feel A&M should be on Nick Saban's Alabama level) and 2) A lot of talent struggled under the pressure they were put under last year (they were preseason top 6).

And to answer WB's question, A&M's DC Tim DeRuyter is a damn good DC and is entering his first season as Fresno State HC. He switched them to a 3-4 and Von Miller flourised... granted before that he had 17 sacks and 21 TFLs before DeRuyter got there, but the defense went from 104th to 22nd under DeRuyter.

My impression on Sherman however, has always been that when he just has to focus on coaching (like as OC, or his early HC career in GB) he's good but when he has more to do (like GM duties in GB or recruiting/other functions in college coaching) he really struggles.
 
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