December 11, 2008
Special Thursday night edition of the NFL
Wow what a treat for us here in Illinois, we will be able to watch the Bears game even though it is on the NFL network. As luck would have it. I am at wrestling practice for the first half of the game so I will only be able to comment on the second half of tonight’s game.
The halftime recap show looks interesting as I watch our quarterback Kyle Orton, lose the ball as he tries to spike it. Even though he has scored a touchdown, this cannot be a good sign. This also reminds me right away it when you’re coaching youth football. You do not allow any hot dogging by any player. You have to continue to remind the kids that this is not the NFL so spikes end zone dances are not permitted or tolerated.
2nd Half
The first thing a notice is the weather is pretty nasty here in Chicago tonight. Even at the professional level weather can be a deciding factor in a football game. You’ll hear me state time and time again, how important is that the youth level to be able to run the football. You can never control the weather, and you must be able to move the ball and protect it with your running game. One of the main things we teach is disciplined folk ball. Since penalties will kill you and running the football since we like to control the clock. Just hearing that Brees is having a horrible half which is not surprising with what the weather conditions are. The Bears love to run the old bear defense, which is basically a nightmare in front with multiple blitzes. As you will here I am not a fan of blitzing at the youth level. To me blitzing is a sign of weakness, and you are putting your self in a unfavorable position by Blitzing. Many youth coaches love to blitz, but not me.
The Bears have just turned the ball over, and I’m sure that will not be a good thing. Penalties and turnovers, destroy most chances of winning, at all level football, but I believe is amplified in youth football even more so. It is very hard to run offense at youth football and penalties and turnovers just make it that much harder. Yet guess what I was right the Saints just scored and now it is 14 to 21.
New Orleans is just kicked a field goal. As I continue to watch this game I am noticing that the bears are starting to tighten up a defense and the saints are moving the ball easier. Right now just witnessed an unbelievable turn over by the Bears and now the Saints has gone on to take the lead in the game. Wow what a turn of events, and it’s all due to turnovers by the Bears.
Amazingly the Bears are driving the ball down the field and have even managed to tie the score to force overtime. I just want to remind everybody reading this that this is the major difference between youth football and the NFL. The NFL has the athletes and stars to make comebacks in a very short time where that is very rare in youth football.
It is now over time in the Bears have put together a nice drive kicking the game-winning field goal.