⚡ CFB Dashboard

Recalling what I learned in Health Class over 50 years ago, adding to my own experience in workouts, coaching, and just plain living....in reading the posts over the past 4 games I thought I would conjecture to what some think is a slower IU defense. The concept of muscle memory immediately comes to mind when analyzing things...doing something over and over correctly "develops" not only the muscle but the mind in doing things. If your spouse all of a sudden changes the layout of the room, the pain in your knee or foot in the middle of the night, even though you saw the changes before going to bed, reminds you that your memory was still controlling your movements. When Fish and the gang from JMU came, especially the defensive players, they certainly looked faster than everyone else. They had 3 to 4 years experience of working with Haines and company....their "muscle memory" was so far advanced that they immediately made our defense look faster. Then you ask yourself "what about the other portal guys though?". That is where Cig and his film study come in....not to mention the support staff. Cig has gone out and gotten portal guys from teams that play relatively close to our scheme....that and his amazing ability to "foresee" how the players skill set can be easily instilled into Haines defense. Today's team basically has 1 JMU guy left....Tucker. All the others have at most 2+ years experience in this defense...it is simplistic yet complex. What I am seeing is a lot of guys still trying to "grasp" what their assignment...they are "thinking too much and not reacting"....they are getting better. That is why I look at the make-up of the roster....IMHO this year is setting up the stage for a really, really good defense next year. I am not discounting this year whatsoever...far from it...I have extreme confidence in Haines along with his staff....but next year 90% of our defensive players will have 3+ years of working with Haines...their reaction time will be amazing...their processing and recognition skills we be where they need to be and then some. I look forward to Saturday....how is this group going to A. Contain their running back and B. Defend Duff.