Post by ccboy on Dec 21, 2009 12:55:51 GMT -7
Phillips’ faith in young players paying off
By Tom Orsborn - Express-News
Wade Phillips is the anti-George Allen.
Allen, who guided the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins during an NFL head coaching career that lasted from 1966-1977, was known for stocking his rosters with veterans.
Inducted posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, Allen deeply distrusted rookies and younger players. He made that abundantly clear during the early 1970s, when he stocked the Redskins with so many aging vets the club became known as the “Over the Hill Gang.”
Unlike Allen, Phillips has no problem putting inexperienced players on the field. That was evident last week in Philadelphia, where undrafted free agent receiver Kevin Ogletree and fourth-round outside linebacker Victor Butler made key plays.
“As long as I have been in it, when you get young players, you have to play them if they can play,” Phillips said. “A lot of people, in my opinion, are too hesitant (to play young players). They want to bank on what they had and not step out and take a chance on someone else. But you can see it. You can see if (young players) are good enough in practice, preseason, all those things, whether a guy is good enough to help you or not.”
Ogletree and Butler flashed enough in training camp and the preseason to convince Phillips to find limited roles for each.
“We (the coaches) say, ‘These guys, we think, can do things,’ and then we try to fit them into a role,” Phillips said. “We discuss getting them into the game, like Ogletree. If a guy is good enough to play, to contribute, then you’d like to get them in there.
“Now, you have to have some faith in whether they are good enough to play and help you, but that’s the coach’s decision.”
Ogletree converted two third downs via the bubble screen in last Sunday night’s 20-16 win over the Eagles. Both plays set up scores.
For the season, Ogletree is 3-for-3 converting third downs on the bubble screen.
Butler has also made the most of his limited playing time. As a situational pass rusher, he’s recorded three sacks and has forced and recovered a fumble.
In the fourth quarter in Philly with the Cowboys nursing a 20-13 lead, Butler sacked Donovan McNabb with a shoestring tackle on third-and-10 from the Dallas 33 with 4:33 left, forcing the Eagles to settle for a 52-yard David Akers field goal.
“The telltale of that game was the shoestring tackle,” McNabb told reporters after the game. “All I saw was green grass. (Butler) just did a great job of peeling off and just grabbing my foot when I thought I was going to pick up some big yards. That’s kind of how the game went. It was just that close from it really being on our side of things.”
Ogletree and Butler made the plays, but give Phillips credit for putting them in position to do so.
By Tom Orsborn - Express-News
Wade Phillips is the anti-George Allen.
Allen, who guided the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins during an NFL head coaching career that lasted from 1966-1977, was known for stocking his rosters with veterans.
Inducted posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, Allen deeply distrusted rookies and younger players. He made that abundantly clear during the early 1970s, when he stocked the Redskins with so many aging vets the club became known as the “Over the Hill Gang.”
Unlike Allen, Phillips has no problem putting inexperienced players on the field. That was evident last week in Philadelphia, where undrafted free agent receiver Kevin Ogletree and fourth-round outside linebacker Victor Butler made key plays.
“As long as I have been in it, when you get young players, you have to play them if they can play,” Phillips said. “A lot of people, in my opinion, are too hesitant (to play young players). They want to bank on what they had and not step out and take a chance on someone else. But you can see it. You can see if (young players) are good enough in practice, preseason, all those things, whether a guy is good enough to help you or not.”
Ogletree and Butler flashed enough in training camp and the preseason to convince Phillips to find limited roles for each.
“We (the coaches) say, ‘These guys, we think, can do things,’ and then we try to fit them into a role,” Phillips said. “We discuss getting them into the game, like Ogletree. If a guy is good enough to play, to contribute, then you’d like to get them in there.
“Now, you have to have some faith in whether they are good enough to play and help you, but that’s the coach’s decision.”
Ogletree converted two third downs via the bubble screen in last Sunday night’s 20-16 win over the Eagles. Both plays set up scores.
For the season, Ogletree is 3-for-3 converting third downs on the bubble screen.
Butler has also made the most of his limited playing time. As a situational pass rusher, he’s recorded three sacks and has forced and recovered a fumble.
In the fourth quarter in Philly with the Cowboys nursing a 20-13 lead, Butler sacked Donovan McNabb with a shoestring tackle on third-and-10 from the Dallas 33 with 4:33 left, forcing the Eagles to settle for a 52-yard David Akers field goal.
“The telltale of that game was the shoestring tackle,” McNabb told reporters after the game. “All I saw was green grass. (Butler) just did a great job of peeling off and just grabbing my foot when I thought I was going to pick up some big yards. That’s kind of how the game went. It was just that close from it really being on our side of things.”
Ogletree and Butler made the plays, but give Phillips credit for putting them in position to do so.