Monday, April 7, 2008

Intensity

Intensity was the word used to describe the first full day of pads on Saturday. This from Kevin Pearson at the Press Enterprise:
The Bruins were in pads for the first time today and to say they were flying around hitting one another may be a gross understatement. There is a new sense of urgency and competition around here that I haven't seen in my four previous seasons covering this team.

Rick Neuheisel wasn't kidding when he said the tempo would be a lot faster today than it was on Day 1 of spring practice. There was an immediate quickening of the pace today. Guys were running in between drills, the energy was up, and afterwards, quite a few guys told me they were pretty tired.
This coincides with reports that the team is working out harder with the new strength and conditioning coach Mike Linn. I try not to put too much weight into these types of "bigger, stronger, faster" reports because they come in every season from us fans. But if the beat writers see a dramatic change in pace then I'll put a little more stock into it.

Apparently there were a few fights that broke out during practice as guys were flying around and hitting people. You love to see that kind of scrappy, hard-hitting attitude on your team. Chris Foster had this report from Saturday:
Defensive tackle Brian Price and tight end Logan Paulsen scrapped at each other after the whistle during the first contact drill. Moments later, tackle Brandon Bennett and defensive end Reginald Stokes scuffled following a play, prompting Neuheisel to step in.

"You guys got that much energy, let's put it to some use, start jogging in place," Neuheisel barked. After a handful of up-downs, Neuheisel hollered, "knock that [stuff] off and let's play some football."

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