Speed

[zincfinger]

The skills that you talk about also require already present athletic ability. I'm not saying that, if given enough training, that I will ever be able to run a sub 4.7 second 40. I am saying that given enough training that my speed could be drastically improved. Just like, given enough training, Vernon Gholston or Antonio Gates did/will drastically improve their skills.

A player with far less athletic ability than Gholston or Gates can learn the techniques of their positions better than Gholston and Gates have done. It won't make the guy a better player than Gholston or Gates, because competing against great athletes requires athleticism plus technique. However, a player who is substantially slower than Gholston or Gates can never become faster than they are. And that's the difference. Some things can be learned completely, regardless of your starting point. Speed isn't one of them.

 

[IronBuckI]

A player with far less athletic ability than Gholston or Gates can learn the techniques of their positions better than Gholston and Gates have done. It won't make the guy a better player than Gholston or Gates, because competing against great athletes requires athleticism plus technique. However, a player who is substantially slower than Gholston or Gates can never become faster than they are. And that's the difference. Some things can be learned completely, regardless of your starting point. Speed isn't one of them.

Far less athletic ability = a much larger gap and lower ceiling from one player to another in both cases. Teaching technique, along with strength training can improve performance in both cases. Speed can be and has been taught, see Ted Ginn Jr. Brandon Saine has the fastest sprint times in the history of Ohio High School track. Do you really think that Brandon Saine is simply the most naturally fast runner in the history of Ohio HS track athletes, or just an extremely gifted runner that also received the advantages of living in a time where the training/teaching has been at an all time high?
I never said that natural ability wasn't a factor. I said that the phrase that you can't teach speed is a fallacy.

 

[Cajunbuck]

Will Big Ten learn the secret of speed training?

Interesting link and comments from one of the sports directors at D1 sports in Franklin, TN. about the Big Ten bringing up the rear in combine preparedness. Living in SEC country I worry that although our Bucks are very, very good and consistent in conference, they have struggled against the elite teams of the SEC. I hope they can in fact keep pace with USC as I think they are truly one of the most talented and fastest teams in the country. I love JT and all he stands for I just hope that he is progressive enough to learn from our obvious shortfalls on the D-line, O-line, and training / gameplanning for a faster paced game.

Opinions?

Opinion: Will Big Ten learn the secret of speed training? - College football - MSNBC.com

 

[Dryden]

Hmm ... an SEC (Florida, specifically) partisan blogger writing about the slow, plodding Big 10 and the superior speed of the SEC?

Meh.

Spencer Hall = Orson Swindle = EDSBS

Speed is overrated.

1. OSU lost both those games on the OLine and with mental mistakes and faults in defensive schemes. Not talent or the speed of execution of that talent.
2. Florida and LSU were both really, really good, and there weren't many other teams that would've beat them either anyway. OSU had the bad fortune to get the call both times. The better team won, but not because they were faster.
3. We didn't need more speed to win. We needed surer run stuffing reliables like Tim Anderson, Matt Wilhelm, and Mike Doss. Nobody would've confused those guys for track stars in 2002, but they are the reason we won a national title, not the wheels of our DEs and skill guys.
4. Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State don't have any problems with SEC teams in bowls, and we're sure as shit faster all the way around than any of them.

 

[Wingate1217]

Hmm ... an SEC (Florida, specifically) partisan blogger writing about the slow, plodding Big 10 and the superior speed of the SEC?

Meh.

Spencer Hall = Orson Swindle = EDSBS

Dryden is spot on....

Spencer Hall is the real name of Orson Swindle, a name he uses on the Internet. Why use a name? Because fake names are always funny, especially when they're real: Orson Swindle is a real man who has done far more than Spencer Hall ever can hope to accomplish in this life or the next, whereas Spencer Hall simply started a blog in March 2005 called Every Day Should Be Saturday, focusing on college football and, to a lesser extent, great mustaches throughout history.
Spencer continues to use Orson Swindle as a pen name for a number of reasons. It's funny; everyone calls him that anyway; it's part of an Internet literary tradition to have an alias; and thus far, the real Orson Swindle is just fine with this. Spencer lives in Atlanta, Ga., is a Florida Gators fan and holds degrees from the University of Florida and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Interesting link and comments from one of the sports directors at D1 sports in Franklin, TN. about the Big Ten bringing up the rear in combine preparedness. Living in SEC country I worry that although our Bucks are very, very good and consistent in conference, they have struggled against the elite teams of the SEC. I hope they can in fact keep pace with USC as I think they are truly one of the most talented and fastest teams in the country. I love JT and all he stands for I just hope that he is progressive enough to learn from our obvious shortfalls on the D-line, O-line, and training / gameplanning for a faster paced game.

Opinions?

Opinion: Will Big Ten learn the secret of speed training? - College football - MSNBC.com

2006-2008 NFL Draft Top 10 picks
SEC 7
B10 7 including the overall #1 in '08.

Yep, we obviously have a long way to go to catch up.

 

[Cajunbuck]

Hmm ... an SEC (Florida, specifically) partisan blogger writing about the slow, plodding Big 10 and the superior speed of the SEC?

Meh.

Spencer Hall = Orson Swindle = EDSBS

Speed is overrated.

1. OSU lost both those games on the OLine and with mental mistakes and faults in defensive schemes. Not talent or the speed of execution of that talent.
2. Florida and LSU were both really, really good, and there weren't many other teams that would've beat them either anyway. OSU had the bad fortune to get the call both times. The better team won, but not because they were faster.
3. We didn't need more speed to win. We needed surer run stuffing reliables like Tim Anderson, Matt Wilhelm, and Mike Doss. Nobody would've confused those guys for track stars in 2002, but they are the reason we won a national title, not the wheels of our DEs and skill guys.
4. Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State don't have any problems with SEC teams in bowls, and we're sure as shit faster all the way around than any of them.

Great points Dryden but all things considered I think speed is probably not overrated. It actually is probably the single biggest game changing weapon a team can have IMHO. I was at that LSU NC game and I have to tell you that their defense was much faster and quicker than our offense. The discrepancy was not at the skill positions but on both lines. Our O-line was not used to handling the depth and speed of their D-Line. There was a big difference. LSU's offensive lineman were aggressive and were blocking us out man-to-man. I think the biggest factor in our win over Miami in 2002 were the turnovers and Will Smith / Darrion Scott/ Kenny Peterson, obviously all very quick and fast defensive lineman. I agree with you on the scheme comment, I don't know what Heacock and company were thinking at preparing in both NC losses. I wonder if maybe they know we are mismatched going in to the game and are gameplanning to limit big plays or to keep it simple to reduce mistakes. Maybe it's just mental...the monkey on the back thing. When I watched the game on TV later, Heacock looked flabbergasted on the sideline with the "Oh Shit" look Cooper used to have when things were going in the tiolet. I definitely am praying for redemption this year. A rematch and win against slimey Urban and the Gators would be freakin' great.

Anybody but the SEC. Go Bucks!

 

[Taosman]

My most recent watching of that same game looked like a team executing sharply against one that was slow to react to game speed(rusty)(mental errors). We were ahead until mistakes caught up to us and turned momentum.
Not team speed.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

Interesting link and comments from one of the sports directors at D1 sports in Franklin, TN. about the Big Ten bringing up the rear in combine preparedness. Living in SEC country I worry that although our Bucks are very, very good and consistent in conference, they have struggled against the elite teams of the SEC. I hope they can in fact keep pace with USC as I think they are truly one of the most talented and fastest teams in the country. I love JT and all he stands for I just hope that he is progressive enough to learn from our obvious shortfalls on the D-line, O-line, and training / gameplanning for a faster paced game.

Opinions?

Opinion: Will Big Ten learn the secret of speed training? - College football - MSNBC.com

john cooper can be credited with ohio states speed change. coop set up speed mins for every position that he held to (sort of). he i still believe fostered a lot of what is going on here now. cooper saw the need to be able to create team speed.