Bobcats Don Pads
8/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
On campuses around the nation, football coaches, fans, and pundits await the time when teams are allowed to practice in full pads and engage in contact situations.
Mike Kramer isn’t among them.
“There’s no difference at all between practicing in helmets and shoulder pads and practicing in full pads for us,” Kramer said Saturday, the first day his fifth Bobcat team donned full pads. “We could practice in helmets and shoulder pads all the time and there wouldn’t be much difference.”
Kramer also isn’t among those who feels the need to enter the season with a set starting lineup. “For us, camp ends after the second game,” he said. “I’m not in a big hurry to decide things at every position because of the quality and the improved ability of this team.”
Kramer considers three starting spots locked up on offense, with six spoken for on defense. The rest, he says, are open for competition. “There will be no defined starters in the secondary right away, we’re still taking a look at the offensive line, those receivers are dreadfully young and dreadfully inexperienced, so a lot of different things could happen.”
Instead of looking for who is playing the best at any given point in time to determine a starter, Kramer said he is looking for continued development. “I want to see two good practices in a row,” he said. “Then, I want to see three in a row. If you have a good play or a good practice, fine. One in a row. That doesn’t mean anything. But when you start stringing together good performances, the improvement is real. When you avoid the same mistakes in successive practices, you’ve eliminated those mistakes. That’s what I’m looking for.”
With this approach, Kramer views the season opener with Adams State and game two against top 25 foe Cal Poly in a different light. “We will play a variety of players at a variety of spots during those first two games,” he said. “We’re playing to win, but we’re going to use those games to evaluate personnel, because with so many new and inexperienced players we just don’t know what we have until we see them in game action.”
Mike Kramer isn’t among them.
“There’s no difference at all between practicing in helmets and shoulder pads and practicing in full pads for us,” Kramer said Saturday, the first day his fifth Bobcat team donned full pads. “We could practice in helmets and shoulder pads all the time and there wouldn’t be much difference.”
Kramer also isn’t among those who feels the need to enter the season with a set starting lineup. “For us, camp ends after the second game,” he said. “I’m not in a big hurry to decide things at every position because of the quality and the improved ability of this team.”
Kramer considers three starting spots locked up on offense, with six spoken for on defense. The rest, he says, are open for competition. “There will be no defined starters in the secondary right away, we’re still taking a look at the offensive line, those receivers are dreadfully young and dreadfully inexperienced, so a lot of different things could happen.”
Instead of looking for who is playing the best at any given point in time to determine a starter, Kramer said he is looking for continued development. “I want to see two good practices in a row,” he said. “Then, I want to see three in a row. If you have a good play or a good practice, fine. One in a row. That doesn’t mean anything. But when you start stringing together good performances, the improvement is real. When you avoid the same mistakes in successive practices, you’ve eliminated those mistakes. That’s what I’m looking for.”
With this approach, Kramer views the season opener with Adams State and game two against top 25 foe Cal Poly in a different light. “We will play a variety of players at a variety of spots during those first two games,” he said. “We’re playing to win, but we’re going to use those games to evaluate personnel, because with so many new and inexperienced players we just don’t know what we have until we see them in game action.”
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