PatsWin2002
08-17-2005, 12:43 PM
Do not be alarmed...I'm just using the artilce title:
http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_229151546.html
'Something Serious'
by Andrew Mason, DenverBroncos.com
(CBS4/DenverBroncos.com) HOUSTON A punt snap flew over Todd Sauerbrun's head and between the uprights. Another player didn't move downfield with enough hustle.
With those two occurrences during special-teams drills, the fans on hand at Tuesday morning's practice were drawn into the tough side of preseason preparation, where the head coach senses the need to crack the whip on his charges. Mike Shanahan was unhappy with the effort, and he saw no other recourse but to call the team together for a rare mid-practice team huddle.
"If you hear him raise his voice," linebacker and longtime special-teams Keith Burns said, "you know it's something serious."
But it wasn't merely Tuesday morning's effort that dismayed the head coach. It was also Saturday evening's, when the Broncos averaged just 2.5 yards per punt return, allowed the Houston Texans a 17-yard punt return and a 31-yard kickoff return, and failed to down a well-placed Sauerbrun punt inside the 5-yard-line.
"We didn't play very well on special teams (Saturday)," Shanahan said, "and you kind of play the way you practice."
Which is why he knew he had to put a stop to the goings-on, especially with kicking, punting, returns and the coverage thereof being high priorities throughout the offseason and into training camp.
"You've got a certain standard that you've got to practice by to play well on game day," Shanahan said. "If you don't practice at that level it's hard to play very well. We were very average on special teams, and we will improve."
Shanahan's message was clear, and it got across.
"He (Shanahan) knows this team and he knows the character of each individual person, so for a guy not to go out and do exactly what that guy can do, it's upsetting," said safety Nick Ferguson, the special-teams captain last season. "So all he's trying to do is get everybody to optimize all their potential."
"It's like the E.F. Hutton syndrome," Burns said. "When he speaks, everybody listens."
Shanahan made one point clear -- if one player fails, the entire unit follows suit.
"You can have eight, nine guys doing a lot of good things, and if you have two guys who are a little off, it's very poor," he said.
The inconsistency among players is something Burns can see at this point of preseason.
"Some guys go out there with the sense of urgency you really need; some of these guys have not even taken a snap at special teams," Burns said. "But that's no excuse; they know what's expected out there. They're not going to do that on offense, and they're not going to do it on defense and my thing is, don't do it on special teams."
And the fact that Shanahan had to resort to stopping practice to exhort that kind of effort on special teams is something Ferguson took personally.
"If you have a job to do and you don't feel like you're doing it effectively and your boss yells at you, how would you feel?" Ferguson said. "Sometimes, some guys need to have a fire lit under them. If there is any person to light their fire, it's (Shanahan)."
http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_229151546.html
'Something Serious'
by Andrew Mason, DenverBroncos.com
(CBS4/DenverBroncos.com) HOUSTON A punt snap flew over Todd Sauerbrun's head and between the uprights. Another player didn't move downfield with enough hustle.
With those two occurrences during special-teams drills, the fans on hand at Tuesday morning's practice were drawn into the tough side of preseason preparation, where the head coach senses the need to crack the whip on his charges. Mike Shanahan was unhappy with the effort, and he saw no other recourse but to call the team together for a rare mid-practice team huddle.
"If you hear him raise his voice," linebacker and longtime special-teams Keith Burns said, "you know it's something serious."
But it wasn't merely Tuesday morning's effort that dismayed the head coach. It was also Saturday evening's, when the Broncos averaged just 2.5 yards per punt return, allowed the Houston Texans a 17-yard punt return and a 31-yard kickoff return, and failed to down a well-placed Sauerbrun punt inside the 5-yard-line.
"We didn't play very well on special teams (Saturday)," Shanahan said, "and you kind of play the way you practice."
Which is why he knew he had to put a stop to the goings-on, especially with kicking, punting, returns and the coverage thereof being high priorities throughout the offseason and into training camp.
"You've got a certain standard that you've got to practice by to play well on game day," Shanahan said. "If you don't practice at that level it's hard to play very well. We were very average on special teams, and we will improve."
Shanahan's message was clear, and it got across.
"He (Shanahan) knows this team and he knows the character of each individual person, so for a guy not to go out and do exactly what that guy can do, it's upsetting," said safety Nick Ferguson, the special-teams captain last season. "So all he's trying to do is get everybody to optimize all their potential."
"It's like the E.F. Hutton syndrome," Burns said. "When he speaks, everybody listens."
Shanahan made one point clear -- if one player fails, the entire unit follows suit.
"You can have eight, nine guys doing a lot of good things, and if you have two guys who are a little off, it's very poor," he said.
The inconsistency among players is something Burns can see at this point of preseason.
"Some guys go out there with the sense of urgency you really need; some of these guys have not even taken a snap at special teams," Burns said. "But that's no excuse; they know what's expected out there. They're not going to do that on offense, and they're not going to do it on defense and my thing is, don't do it on special teams."
And the fact that Shanahan had to resort to stopping practice to exhort that kind of effort on special teams is something Ferguson took personally.
"If you have a job to do and you don't feel like you're doing it effectively and your boss yells at you, how would you feel?" Ferguson said. "Sometimes, some guys need to have a fire lit under them. If there is any person to light their fire, it's (Shanahan)."