Any summary for those of us that can't listen to it at work?
Yeah, I know, I suck.
My title was a little misleading because the interview is not that "interesting" -- it consists of basically things Al Borges has said before -- he makes comparisons between Jason Campbell and Denard, talks about how they try to cater the offense to Denard's capabilities etc. He also talks a bit about preparation for Alabama, how Vincent Smith and Roy Roundtree have stepped up as senior leaders, and his love for Hawaiian shirts. He also refuses to discuss Will Campbell's eating habits, since he (Al) "has issues of his own in that arena."
- Borges has been going over a ton of Alabama film, but for now he's going on a short vacation to cool down so he can come back focused.
- It's difficult to keep expectations from getting too high after a great first year like we had, but Brady is the man for the job (wrt the team at least, there's not much that can be done for the fans).
- Typical Denard fluff: he's good at making something out of nothing, has football savvy, etc.
- He tries to impose a bit less structure on Denard as he has with QBs in the past, in part because of his unique skills.
- As we know well, he is all about fitting schemes to players, not the other way around.
- He praises Alabama's defensive speed & system understanding, but it's a good challenge and they are facing it as such.
Nice interview, i was impressed how Borges did not respond to the bumpkin host calling the coaching staff, michigan states coaching staff
Why do you call the host a bumpkin Mr. Comma Splice?
delete beat to the post
Is that you?
Can someone explain that whole saga to me like I'm 5?
I'd give the search function a whirl. It shouldn't be hard to find.
This guy is my favorite interview. He's such a practical coach, and clearly knows his stuff. I thought it was interesting that he said he wished Denard would scramble more.
I too found his comment about Denard scrambling more interesting. That being said, I'll bet he's talking about Denard scrambling the right way -- i.e., while staying in profile and moving up into the pocket, then running. As Borges said in his film room interview on BTN a while back, it's that ability to "get into the fight" while in passing profile that will really open up the lanes to pass and run.
From this comment I gather that Borges feels like there are too many times when Denard tries to pass when he should run -- too often resulting in an arm-punt INT -- and too many times when gives away his intention to run by coming out of his profile too early -- thus allowing the spying LB's to react and stop him for only a short gain. If Denard can heed Borges "get into the fight" advice, make it a natural and instinctive part of his game, Denard will absolutely shred opposing defenses as BOTH passing and running lanes will be open for him to choose from.
What I find truly amazing is that Denard's stats (minus his INT's) are so good despite really not doing this very well. He's just such an amazing natural athlete that he's been able to out athlete opponents. The next step for Denard is to beat them with his skill and consistency to catch them off guard, then turn on the athlete and blow by them. I liken it to a pitcher in baseball. There are lots of guys that can throw it hard, and guys that can throw it hard with movement and placement. But, the truly great pitchers are able to do those things, but also with little to no visible alteration of their motion throw an off-speed pitch and totally baffle the batter. If early in the game Denard steps up into the pocket, looks to everyone that he's going to stay in there and pass, then bolts for 40 yards, the NEXT time he's as similar situation, those LB's are going to crash to him, then Tree is wide open. Now they're totally baffled as to what to do. Skill first, superior athlete second.
I thought the most interesting part was his answer to the question about the "one thing that sticks out about the Alabama defense" (at about 8:36). Borges replies " Oh speed. Speed number one and overall understanding of their system". He goes on "They are fast and they know their system. They are extremely well trained and they are going to know what to do. They're going to line up and they're going to be sound in everything that they do and they're going to get to the ball in a big hurry because that's how they coach it. And they've got some really skilled players. So the challenge is gonna be immense, I can say that, but our kids are willing to accept that challenge and are looking forward to this game."
I wonder how he's going to attack it. It's going to be one heck of a game.