ArgoGabe22
06-26-2012, 05:15 PM
They're tired of fans tweeting practice details, still open to the media which means the fans do a better job reporting lol. Don't think I've posted anything revealing, I hope. The sad thing is imo if a coach uses twitter to find out info they should be fired.
You’re closing practice on Days 2 and 3. What are your thoughts behind that? “When we practise, the one thing about it in this league is that it’s hard enough to win games as it is, and we don’t to give teams a competitive edge. When half our practice is posted on a social media site, and the plays that we’re running and different things, until we figure out how we’re going to get a handle on that, we’re going to have to close it so we’re going to be able to put our practice plans together and actually practise them without other teams knowing.’’
How did you find out about it? “I’ve got a couple of personnel buddies and coaches on other teams who called me and told me what we did in practice. I asked them where they got it from and they simply led me to it. In order for us to have a good team and a competitive team … it’s hard enough for us to win games already against good coaches, so we’re not going to give them the info they need to make a game plan.’’
Did you notice these kind of posts when you were with Calgary and Hamilton? “I just know that there are coaches on different teams who read those things religiously and they make game plans off of them, and sometimes they’re pretty successful with those game plans.’’
Did you have to ask Jim Hopson and, if so, what was his reaction? “I had to go through the chain of command. That’s what’s best for the team — to protect the product that we’re putting on the field. Once again, it protects the players. They work too hard, they sweat too hard, to have all their work just leaked out. I think it’s one of those things where if you look at the fans, they want a championship team and they want to win. That’s our best product that we can put on the field. We don’t want to give a team a competitive advantage.’’
Did you think of asking whoever is doing that to stop doing that first? “If I asked somebody not to run the speed limit, several more people are going to run it. That’s just the way it is. I don’t want to go through six and seven weeks and have to keep doing that. The easiest way of doing that is to nip it in the bud. We’ll find ways to possibly open it up. It will be opened up on Day 1 and you’ll get a good practice there, and on extra days and some walk-through days it will be opened up.’’
Would you like to extend (closing practice) to media one day? “No, unless you guys are going to tape all the plays and talk about all the plays, and then you’ll get that same privilege.’’
Some of the stuff on the fan boards isn’t accurate. Did you take a look on there and say that they nailed it? “Yes. I don’t make any moves off of hearsay. Once I saw it myself, it was a play-by-play for the most part. There’s some things that can be read into it and somebody can come with it, but a football mind, if you look at it, you know what’s real and what’s there. They shouldn’t have to post who’s walking the stairs and who’s doing things of that sort. What goes on in Riderville should stay in Riderville. It’s not for other teams and other posts to see.’’
Do you know if other teams have this problem? “From what I was told, apparently not, because you can’t find anything on their sites.’’
How do you balance that against this being a community-owned team and a community-owned facility? There’s a different dynamic at work here as far as the model. “Green Bay is a community-owned team and they have championships. The thing that’s the most crucial to being it (a champion) is the football team. I understand it’s a community-owned team but, at the same time, guys’ jobs are based off whether we win or lose. Unless they’re going to extend that community welcome to us with a losing record, then we have to protect what’s on the field, which is the product.’’
The commissioner has said accessibility is an important part of the CFL. Is there any way you think a compromise can be found? “We did. We opened Day 1. That’s the biggest thing. We’ll open extra days. We’ll also open some walk-through days. We’re not trying to shut you out completely — just the days when we’re doing our game plans. The biggest accessibility, if they want to see what product we’re putting on the field, is game day. That should help pack the stands because they want to see the product that we’ve worked on all week.’’
How do you feel about doing this? “I hate to do that — and ‘hate’ is a very strong word in my vocabulary. But what I hate even more is for us to put all this hard work in day in and day out and it’s going out. We shouldn’t even practise if we’re going to tell them everything that we’re doing. I think that we’d be a little bit more mature. It’s OK to say, ‘Hey, Dressler, looked good today. He caught a ball.’ That’s what the fans need to know. If they want to know the game plan, they should critique that on game day. Until we figure out a way to get the handle on it, the best way is just to nip it in the bud and move forward because, once again, it’s about the product of this team. There’s 100 years and three Grey Cups; we’re trying to add more. The best way I know how to do it is be disciplined on the field and off the field. Like I said, I can’t police the fans, but I can control what goes on on the field.”
You’re closing practice on Days 2 and 3. What are your thoughts behind that? “When we practise, the one thing about it in this league is that it’s hard enough to win games as it is, and we don’t to give teams a competitive edge. When half our practice is posted on a social media site, and the plays that we’re running and different things, until we figure out how we’re going to get a handle on that, we’re going to have to close it so we’re going to be able to put our practice plans together and actually practise them without other teams knowing.’’
How did you find out about it? “I’ve got a couple of personnel buddies and coaches on other teams who called me and told me what we did in practice. I asked them where they got it from and they simply led me to it. In order for us to have a good team and a competitive team … it’s hard enough for us to win games already against good coaches, so we’re not going to give them the info they need to make a game plan.’’
Did you notice these kind of posts when you were with Calgary and Hamilton? “I just know that there are coaches on different teams who read those things religiously and they make game plans off of them, and sometimes they’re pretty successful with those game plans.’’
Did you have to ask Jim Hopson and, if so, what was his reaction? “I had to go through the chain of command. That’s what’s best for the team — to protect the product that we’re putting on the field. Once again, it protects the players. They work too hard, they sweat too hard, to have all their work just leaked out. I think it’s one of those things where if you look at the fans, they want a championship team and they want to win. That’s our best product that we can put on the field. We don’t want to give a team a competitive advantage.’’
Did you think of asking whoever is doing that to stop doing that first? “If I asked somebody not to run the speed limit, several more people are going to run it. That’s just the way it is. I don’t want to go through six and seven weeks and have to keep doing that. The easiest way of doing that is to nip it in the bud. We’ll find ways to possibly open it up. It will be opened up on Day 1 and you’ll get a good practice there, and on extra days and some walk-through days it will be opened up.’’
Would you like to extend (closing practice) to media one day? “No, unless you guys are going to tape all the plays and talk about all the plays, and then you’ll get that same privilege.’’
Some of the stuff on the fan boards isn’t accurate. Did you take a look on there and say that they nailed it? “Yes. I don’t make any moves off of hearsay. Once I saw it myself, it was a play-by-play for the most part. There’s some things that can be read into it and somebody can come with it, but a football mind, if you look at it, you know what’s real and what’s there. They shouldn’t have to post who’s walking the stairs and who’s doing things of that sort. What goes on in Riderville should stay in Riderville. It’s not for other teams and other posts to see.’’
Do you know if other teams have this problem? “From what I was told, apparently not, because you can’t find anything on their sites.’’
How do you balance that against this being a community-owned team and a community-owned facility? There’s a different dynamic at work here as far as the model. “Green Bay is a community-owned team and they have championships. The thing that’s the most crucial to being it (a champion) is the football team. I understand it’s a community-owned team but, at the same time, guys’ jobs are based off whether we win or lose. Unless they’re going to extend that community welcome to us with a losing record, then we have to protect what’s on the field, which is the product.’’
The commissioner has said accessibility is an important part of the CFL. Is there any way you think a compromise can be found? “We did. We opened Day 1. That’s the biggest thing. We’ll open extra days. We’ll also open some walk-through days. We’re not trying to shut you out completely — just the days when we’re doing our game plans. The biggest accessibility, if they want to see what product we’re putting on the field, is game day. That should help pack the stands because they want to see the product that we’ve worked on all week.’’
How do you feel about doing this? “I hate to do that — and ‘hate’ is a very strong word in my vocabulary. But what I hate even more is for us to put all this hard work in day in and day out and it’s going out. We shouldn’t even practise if we’re going to tell them everything that we’re doing. I think that we’d be a little bit more mature. It’s OK to say, ‘Hey, Dressler, looked good today. He caught a ball.’ That’s what the fans need to know. If they want to know the game plan, they should critique that on game day. Until we figure out a way to get the handle on it, the best way is just to nip it in the bud and move forward because, once again, it’s about the product of this team. There’s 100 years and three Grey Cups; we’re trying to add more. The best way I know how to do it is be disciplined on the field and off the field. Like I said, I can’t police the fans, but I can control what goes on on the field.”