Tom typed all of this up.
----
Opening Statement
Good to have everyone here today. First and foremost, it was good to be in Kinnick and to have an opportunity to work with the Kids Captains. It's an outstanding concept that was come up with and it's worked really well. It's fun for us to partner with them and I think they had a great time and we had a good event prior to the scrimmage.
Football wise, it was just good to get into Kinnick and be in front of fans. That might not be as big of a deal for our older guys, but for some of the younger guys and inexperienced guys that is a big thing. For us to have a chance to have live work in camp, that was the first time for us. I thought it was really good to practice some situations and get to a higher tempo, which is something we really need. I think one thing coming off the field is we have a lot of work to do in terms of awareness and a better understanding of the situations that we are in. Then also our tempo. That clearly has to pick up a bit, but that is pretty typical of a first scrimmage and that will be on our list for this week. Turning our attention to this coming week, we will be off tomorrow. We have seven practice then in the next five days with a scrimmage under the lights at Kinnick on Friday night. That is our next block moving forward.
I think our biggest focal points right now are better execution and that is individual and team wise. The other thing is we have to make some sticky plays. That is with individuals, whether it is a tough catch or a tough block, or a tough pass breakup, or as a team. There are going to be times during the season when we are going to be looking up at the scoreboard and wondering how we are going to pull that off. That is part of it and we have to develop that mentality. How we are able to handle those situations is really critical in developing into a good football team.
As I look back at our first ten days of camp, we have had 12 workouts and the team has exhibited a real positive attitude and they are working hard. I am really pleased with that and that goes hand in hand with what we have seen since January and I am really pleased about that. I can see the leadership developing, but we are not there yet. I think our older guys are doing a great job at that and are doing a really good job of showing the younger guys how to move and that will be really critical as we move forward.
Q: What have you seen out of LeShun Daniels so far?
FERENTZ: He was hurt a little bit last week and we held him out of the media day on Saturday. He got back to work mid-week and he has done a really nice job. Again, that goes back to last fall. He got hurt and had surgery and he and Jordan Canzeri had a really great springs and have really been practicing well. When I talk about leadership, I would include both of those guys right there at the top and they are doing a good job of embracing that.
Q: Hayden Fry didn't believe in playing 1's against 1's because he wanted guys to gain confidence. You have always believed in the 1's vs. 1's philosophy. Why do you think that is so valuable?
FERENTZ: The first time Dan McCarney and I did a 1's on 1's drill, that was the fastest I've ever seen Coach Fry move in the 9 years I was with him. He came down and explained his philosophy on that. There is no right or wrong answer on that, but I really believe with a program like ours, with our younger guys the best way to learn that tempo and to understand it is to go up against guys that have been out there on the field. Sometimes you don't get those matchup's, but sometimes you do. Right now it has worked out that way for our offensive tackles and defensive tackles. It is painful at times and it's not always pretty, but I think the end result is going to be positive. There were a couple of plays today that our tackles would like to have back, but the good news is I thought I saw some growth and improvement mid-week from those guys. It's not going to show up every time, but it is on-going. As long as we are gaining ground, that is a good thing and I think we are.
Q: Jordan Walsh and Jordan Lomax were out. What are their injury situations?
FERENTZ: Nothing major. We have a bone bruise and a soft tissue injury. Hopefully by next week, early in the week, we will have both of them back. The tissue thing is a little hard to predict, but it's nothing serious.
----
Opening Statement
Good to have everyone here today. First and foremost, it was good to be in Kinnick and to have an opportunity to work with the Kids Captains. It's an outstanding concept that was come up with and it's worked really well. It's fun for us to partner with them and I think they had a great time and we had a good event prior to the scrimmage.
Football wise, it was just good to get into Kinnick and be in front of fans. That might not be as big of a deal for our older guys, but for some of the younger guys and inexperienced guys that is a big thing. For us to have a chance to have live work in camp, that was the first time for us. I thought it was really good to practice some situations and get to a higher tempo, which is something we really need. I think one thing coming off the field is we have a lot of work to do in terms of awareness and a better understanding of the situations that we are in. Then also our tempo. That clearly has to pick up a bit, but that is pretty typical of a first scrimmage and that will be on our list for this week. Turning our attention to this coming week, we will be off tomorrow. We have seven practice then in the next five days with a scrimmage under the lights at Kinnick on Friday night. That is our next block moving forward.
I think our biggest focal points right now are better execution and that is individual and team wise. The other thing is we have to make some sticky plays. That is with individuals, whether it is a tough catch or a tough block, or a tough pass breakup, or as a team. There are going to be times during the season when we are going to be looking up at the scoreboard and wondering how we are going to pull that off. That is part of it and we have to develop that mentality. How we are able to handle those situations is really critical in developing into a good football team.
As I look back at our first ten days of camp, we have had 12 workouts and the team has exhibited a real positive attitude and they are working hard. I am really pleased with that and that goes hand in hand with what we have seen since January and I am really pleased about that. I can see the leadership developing, but we are not there yet. I think our older guys are doing a great job at that and are doing a really good job of showing the younger guys how to move and that will be really critical as we move forward.
Q: What have you seen out of LeShun Daniels so far?
FERENTZ: He was hurt a little bit last week and we held him out of the media day on Saturday. He got back to work mid-week and he has done a really nice job. Again, that goes back to last fall. He got hurt and had surgery and he and Jordan Canzeri had a really great springs and have really been practicing well. When I talk about leadership, I would include both of those guys right there at the top and they are doing a good job of embracing that.
Q: Hayden Fry didn't believe in playing 1's against 1's because he wanted guys to gain confidence. You have always believed in the 1's vs. 1's philosophy. Why do you think that is so valuable?
FERENTZ: The first time Dan McCarney and I did a 1's on 1's drill, that was the fastest I've ever seen Coach Fry move in the 9 years I was with him. He came down and explained his philosophy on that. There is no right or wrong answer on that, but I really believe with a program like ours, with our younger guys the best way to learn that tempo and to understand it is to go up against guys that have been out there on the field. Sometimes you don't get those matchup's, but sometimes you do. Right now it has worked out that way for our offensive tackles and defensive tackles. It is painful at times and it's not always pretty, but I think the end result is going to be positive. There were a couple of plays today that our tackles would like to have back, but the good news is I thought I saw some growth and improvement mid-week from those guys. It's not going to show up every time, but it is on-going. As long as we are gaining ground, that is a good thing and I think we are.
Q: Jordan Walsh and Jordan Lomax were out. What are their injury situations?
FERENTZ: Nothing major. We have a bone bruise and a soft tissue injury. Hopefully by next week, early in the week, we will have both of them back. The tissue thing is a little hard to predict, but it's nothing serious.
