Tennessee has several games in a row against physical teams such as Mississippi State and...

Tennessee has several games in a row against physical teams such as Mississippi State and second-ranked Alabama, and players are at a greater risk of injury if they spend too much time practicing and playing at full-speed.

Fulmer increasing light contact in practices : Football : GoVolsXtra.com
I'm sure this isn't exactly how he meant to put it, but "players are at a greater risk of injury if they spend too much time practicing"? Wow, that's taking the whole risk of injury a bit too far, don't you think? How about if we don't play second downs, either, to avoid the risk of injury. Look, yes, you need to balance risk of injury against risk of being unprepared, but we are on the wrong side of that risk analysis right now.

over 3 years ago Joel Hollingsworth 9 comments 0 recs |

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Yeah, he meant it this way:

Tennessee has several games in a row against physical teams such as Mississippi State and second-ranked Alabama, and players are at a greater risk of injury if they spend too much time (practicing and playing) at full-speed.

The intent was the cumulative full-speed work between practice and live game action.

I’ll be honest; I have no clue what the balance should be. On offense, the greatest problem happened before the snap, when UGA’s defense could tell what the play was going to be. Fixing that requires no contact.

However, the defense is not going to get any better at tackling without live action. They’re a solid defense, but they give up way too many yards-after-contact.

Boy, there are a lot of things to watch in this next game. It’s PPV, right? Too bad.

by David Hooper on Oct 14, 2008 3:46 PM EDT reply actions

That's how I interpreted it, too.

No one ever said he was a great orator.

Yes, it’s PPV. I bet you could find some cheap tickets though…

by rblakeh on Oct 14, 2008 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Now there's a thought.

I wonder what I could get for $20…

by David Hooper on Oct 14, 2008 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

A broadcast

from yahoo’s web service.

Actually, I think its only 10 bucks a game on there, so this one and the next pay per view special maybe?

by Muhler on Oct 14, 2008 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Good point.

I’m astoundingly chintzy, so I’ll have to think it over. Live action has the huge advantage of seeing the entire field, though. I’m dying to know more of the defensive alignments and safety reads that UT uses (as well as the opposition).

by David Hooper on Oct 14, 2008 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Lots on craigslist here in Knoxville...

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/tix/877878420.html

That guy wants $30 a piece for 2 in the north endzone, row 15.

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/tix/

by rblakeh on Oct 14, 2008 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions

yeahbut

Don’t you think it might be indicative of a philosophy that’s not really working, that it’s better not to get anybody hurt than it is to practice at full speed? I wonder how much good a team is doing when they’re just out there jogging around touching each other, getting into positions. It might even be counterproductive to condition your body at one speed expecting it to translate to another speed.

Go Vols!

by Joel Hollingsworth on Oct 14, 2008 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions

It might.

I honestly don’t know. I can come up with arguments both ways, but I have to punt on this one.

Tai-chi enthusiasts usually say that slow practice translates directly to performance at-speed, but I have doubts as well. You’re dealing with entirely different levels of momentum and balance control between 50% and 100% that can’t be accounted for properly at 50%.

So yeah, I’m certainly not arguing, but I’d like to know the answer as well.

by David Hooper on Oct 14, 2008 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions