Giving Credit

One thing I wanted to note. There has been a lot written about the game, but one guy who hasn't gotten any accolades is Michael Norris. In a night with a lot of crucial plays, Norris made some big ones but you may have not even noticed. From my excellent vantage point up in the noise bleed seats at the Rose Bowl... I took notice.

Michael Norris made at least two touchdown saving tackles on Monday. One was on a blown coverage by the outside linebacker (not sure who it was) but Norris was left out there with no help to contain Foster has he rolled out with the ball. He fought past the much larger wide receiver and managed to corral Foster out of bounds.

Another big tackle came on a kick off where the return man broke left as the entire mass of players when right. Except for Norris, who held his position and tracked down the ball carrier. Add to that six total tackles and a downed punt inside in the 10-yard line and Michael Norris had one heck of a night. For a guy who's taken his fair share of criticism over the years, it was good to see him have a solid night as a starter.

Last Monday night was full of stories like this one. Guys stepped up and took starting roles for the first time and they played as a team. They were outmatched at every position but, as a whole, this team played better because everyone did their part. Some of them didn't make the hight light reel. But their impact was definitely felt... and much appreciated.

My First and Last Practice

So, I've been away a lot lately. Good for me personally but bad for the blog. But today made a trip to Westwood to see my first practice of the season. It was the very last practice of the season and now the team heads into seclusion to prepare for the opener.

Nothing special happened. The team wasn't in full pads and there wasn't any major injuries. I'll have thoughts on it later, but my first impression is that this offense needs a lot of work. They have a very long way to go if they want to compete with Tennessee in a week and half. In the 7-on-7 and 11-0n-11 drills the QBs made a lot of bad throws. The running game wasn't good mainly because there were no holes made by the O-line. Nothing surprising if you've been following the team all camp but I confirmed it with my own eyes today.

Michael Norris had a really good day. Made some nice plays, downed a punt inside the ten, had a nifty interception in the end zone where he took the ball almost literally out of Marcus Everett's hands. That kid has a lot of heart and he plays really intense. I always think he looks good in practice. It is just too bad that he doesn't have the size or skill to match.

On a separate note, Frank Gantz Jr (the special teams coach) is a riot. He yells and gets in the face of his players. I could hear him all the way across the field. He was giving the kickers grief during the last set of drills and I couldn't help but chuckle.

I also noticed that this staff curses a lot more than the last one. They are much more vocal and don't tolerate mistakes. I like it.