Italianmobstr7
08-08-2008, 01:57 PM
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/07/cladys-own-private-idaho/
Thanks a lot, Joe Thomas.
All you did for the Cleveland Browns last season as their No. 1 pick is start 16 games at left tackle, help transform their offense to eighth overall in yardage, finish second in voting for the NFL's offensive rookie of the year and make the Pro Bowl.
So, Ryan Clady, there's your bar. Get in there and try not to disappoint for the Broncos as a rookie first-rounder, OK?
"He made it look real easy," Clady said with a laugh recently. "So there are a lot of expectations in the first round coming in to make an immediate impact."
It isn't always such a seamless transition, especially protecting the quarterback's blind side.
Robert Gallery, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Kenyatta Walker and Kwame Harris all came in with lofty reputations and produced less-than-desired results, especially immediately, as first-round picks.
There's so much to learn and so little time.
* Memorizing the playbook and quickly distinguishing play calls that might only have slight variations in terminology.
* Learning techniques taught by the new offensive line coach.
* Combating the knowledge base of veterans while having only a few months of pro experience.
* Catching up with the speed of the game and of pro life.
Most of all, it's using abundant talent in the best way possible until experience takes hold, while not letting the low moments drag you down.
"I think you just have to have the mentality that you're going to make some mistakes and have real tough skin because the coaches are going to be yelling at you and trying to get you on the right path," said Clady, selected 12th overall out of Boise State and one of a record six offensive tackles picked in the first round in April.
"You're not going to come in and completely dominate. Joe Thomas did well. But it wasn't lights-out craziness. So you have to come in with the mentality that, every day, you're going to get better."
But make no mistake, the most diligent of film study and on-field preparation won't insulate Clady from having his eventual "welcome to the NFL" moment.
Like it or not, that's coming.
'In rookie awe'
For Joe Staley, that instant came right after 1 o'clock Eastern time on Oct. 21.
The 28th overall pick in the 2007 draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Staley had reached the bye week relatively unscathed before heading to the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants and a head-to-head meeting with perennial Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan.
It was the same Michael Strahan that Staley had put on a pedestal as a youth.
At halftime and with 3 1/2 sacks allowed, Staley wasn't liking Strahan quite as much.
"I got caught up in, 'Oh, my God, it's Michael Strahan,' " said Staley, who also yielded a sack to Giants lineman Justin Tuck in that game. "In my head, I was kind of in rookie awe and played really passive. He beat me pretty bad in the first half. But I came back saying, 'I don't care who this guy is, I'm going to play my game.' And I went out and shut him out in the second half.
"But I feel like I needed that game to raise my level of play," Staley said. "I learned so much from that game. And, from that point on, I gave up one sack the rest of the year."
Levi Brown, the No. 5 pick in the 2007 draft by the Arizona Cardinals and the first tackle taken after Thomas, was lulled to sleep in a different fashion.
Having already played Seattle earlier in the season, Brown thought he was prepared for his December rematch with Patrick Kearney.
"I gave up three sacks," Brown said. "During the game, I was like, 'Man, I can't stop him.' And the first time we played them, I didn't give up any sacks at all, so I was like, 'What happened? Am I coming out of my stance slower or something like that?'
"And later, watching film, it was just little things. It was like I was lackadaisical, not punching and things like that. I didn't attack him."
Like Staley, Brown learned from his mistakes.
The Cardinals revised their thinking, too, giving their rookie tackle more help after that game by aligning a tight end on his side and chipping defensive ends with running backs.
"I just had to let it go," Brown said. "After the game, maybe the plane ride back, maybe I dwelled on it. But that was it."
The NFL schedule continues to roll along, regardless.
"You have to have the mentality that it's not going to affect your confidence level," Staley said. "A lot of players start playing bad or having a bad practice, and they start turning that into two bad practices and then a whole week of them. Then it's a bad game, and the confidence level goes down and has to be built back up."
If either player has friendly advice to Clady, it's honing in on the mental aspects of the game to allow the game to slow down.
"There's that transition of going from basically knowing 10 plays going into a game in college to knowing a 500-page playbook," Staley said.
That process begins in organized training activities, but after the Broncos broke minicamp in June, Clady had only his offseason notes on which to rely because the team collects the playbooks before reissuing them in training camp.
Once two-a-days begin, multiple daily meetings serve as more than a refresher course. But it's also the beginning of more complicated defenses, and rookies have to assimilate the information quickly on the field.
There's continual teaching of technical aspects, too, where, if you're not sharp with footwork within the first few steps, the results can be disastrous because of the speed of opposing linemen.
"The first thing is trusting the technique they've been taught because it's going to be different than college and uncomfortable for them," said veteran offensive line coach George Warhop, who has tutored lines in St. Louis, Arizona, Dallas and now San Francisco during the past 12 years.
"What happens is, they won't have as much success early as later on, and the tendency is to want to go back to the way they used to do it. But once they trust the different technique, progress comes a little faster."
The daily grind of competition can be overwhelming for rookie tackles.
"These guys are used to being the best player on the field. And now they're facing players who know how to take advantage of their mistakes, and it's a source of frustration," Warhop said. "It's up to us, as coaches, to get them through that."
Time to learn
The Broncos normally have afforded their homegrown, first- year offensive linemen a waiting period to get accustomed to the synchronization skills necessary in their zone blocking system.
Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper each went without an offensive snap as rookies. Ryan Harris played sparingly. Even the last No. 1 tackle drafted, the since-departed George Foster, made his lone appearance in Year 1 in the regular-season finale.
Clady was unaware of that historical backdrop, which makes his task "a little more challenging." But he also feels as if he was drafted to play immediately.
"I think I'm up to it," he said.
Matt Lepsis, the Broncos' starting left tackle from 2004 to 2007 until his retirement in January, said Clady will need to get used to firing out quicker on the snap.
But the toughest adjustment in Lepsis' view, figures to be cutting off the back side in the running game. The two concepts are intertwined.
"A lot of teams have these gigantic guys and just tell them to get to a spot. If there's somebody in that area, block him," Lepsis said. "But the Broncos kind of ask you to be very athletic and run down the line to cut off a defensive tackle."
Lepsis predicted the Broncos initially will give help to Clady in the passing game, but he also knows coach Mike Shanahan wants as many receivers downfield as possible without needing to use extra players to block.
The terminology also figures to be challenging.
"The thing he really has going for him is he's got Tom Nalen at center, who makes all the calls on the lines. He's not going to have to make any calls with Tom there," Lepsis said. "He'll learn it, eventually, but in the beginning, he'll rely on Tom and Ben (Hamilton), who have been doing it forever and know their stuff in their sleep. They'll help him out."
And once Clady learns the scheme, he'll have an advantage because the Broncos running game doesn't stray much from its base concepts.
Stretch right. Stretch left.
Though the Broncos system is more complex, many of the elements Clady ran at Boise State are similar, with outside and inside zone schemes.
The rookie got a further jump-start by studying the system on tape in the offseason and watching individual tape of players, ranging from Seattle's Walter Jones to San Diego's Marcus McNeill and Thomas.
"Clady's so capable, it's almost unbelievable," Broncos second-year tackle Ryan Harris said. "He's really been on top of his game. I mean, he probably gets the least coaching because I think he needs it the least. He knows what he's doing and always has great effort. That's a great kid. It's like he almost practiced before we came out here because he's always doing the right things and, in meetings, he knows all the answers."
So much for the notion that a low Wonderlic score might be a signal Clady wouldn't assimilate well to the pro game.
Clady has explained that a pectoral injury during the weight-lifting portion at the combine got him sidetracked come quiz time.
"I tell you what, whenever a defensive end asks you a logic question, we'll start worrying about the Wonderlic test," Harris said.
Focus on technique
Truth be told, Thomas never was as settled as he might have seemed.
Cleveland's Pro Bowl rookie had an adjustment period - just like everyone else.
"I think, if you ever get in a comfort zone on the offensive line, that's when you are going to get beat," Thomas said. "I think for me, it took a couple games in the regular season - finding out, 'Boy, I can block these guys' - before I felt confident to go out there and play."
The best advice Thomas received last season: Don't listen to what others say about you, good or bad.
And follow technique tips to the letter.
"Every little thing that you do, players are so good and study so much, they know what you are going to do before you do it, based upon presnap alignment, formation and how your stance is,"
Thomas said. "If you study the game, you are going to be able to help pick up on those things, too."
Physically, Clady must get stronger, particularly in the upper body, and guard against the bull rush. He has already demonstrated mobility to contest speed rushers.
His long arms, footwork and agility are his chief weapons entering Denver's first preseason game Saturday in Houston.
And, like training camp, he's fine if you don't notice him, which is actually a huge compliment.
"I just want to get on the field, learn the plays, start all the games and play consistently. That's all I'm trying to do," Clady said of embarking on his first season. "I don't have to be all-rookie team and all that."
Thanks a lot, Joe Thomas.
All you did for the Cleveland Browns last season as their No. 1 pick is start 16 games at left tackle, help transform their offense to eighth overall in yardage, finish second in voting for the NFL's offensive rookie of the year and make the Pro Bowl.
So, Ryan Clady, there's your bar. Get in there and try not to disappoint for the Broncos as a rookie first-rounder, OK?
"He made it look real easy," Clady said with a laugh recently. "So there are a lot of expectations in the first round coming in to make an immediate impact."
It isn't always such a seamless transition, especially protecting the quarterback's blind side.
Robert Gallery, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Kenyatta Walker and Kwame Harris all came in with lofty reputations and produced less-than-desired results, especially immediately, as first-round picks.
There's so much to learn and so little time.
* Memorizing the playbook and quickly distinguishing play calls that might only have slight variations in terminology.
* Learning techniques taught by the new offensive line coach.
* Combating the knowledge base of veterans while having only a few months of pro experience.
* Catching up with the speed of the game and of pro life.
Most of all, it's using abundant talent in the best way possible until experience takes hold, while not letting the low moments drag you down.
"I think you just have to have the mentality that you're going to make some mistakes and have real tough skin because the coaches are going to be yelling at you and trying to get you on the right path," said Clady, selected 12th overall out of Boise State and one of a record six offensive tackles picked in the first round in April.
"You're not going to come in and completely dominate. Joe Thomas did well. But it wasn't lights-out craziness. So you have to come in with the mentality that, every day, you're going to get better."
But make no mistake, the most diligent of film study and on-field preparation won't insulate Clady from having his eventual "welcome to the NFL" moment.
Like it or not, that's coming.
'In rookie awe'
For Joe Staley, that instant came right after 1 o'clock Eastern time on Oct. 21.
The 28th overall pick in the 2007 draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Staley had reached the bye week relatively unscathed before heading to the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants and a head-to-head meeting with perennial Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan.
It was the same Michael Strahan that Staley had put on a pedestal as a youth.
At halftime and with 3 1/2 sacks allowed, Staley wasn't liking Strahan quite as much.
"I got caught up in, 'Oh, my God, it's Michael Strahan,' " said Staley, who also yielded a sack to Giants lineman Justin Tuck in that game. "In my head, I was kind of in rookie awe and played really passive. He beat me pretty bad in the first half. But I came back saying, 'I don't care who this guy is, I'm going to play my game.' And I went out and shut him out in the second half.
"But I feel like I needed that game to raise my level of play," Staley said. "I learned so much from that game. And, from that point on, I gave up one sack the rest of the year."
Levi Brown, the No. 5 pick in the 2007 draft by the Arizona Cardinals and the first tackle taken after Thomas, was lulled to sleep in a different fashion.
Having already played Seattle earlier in the season, Brown thought he was prepared for his December rematch with Patrick Kearney.
"I gave up three sacks," Brown said. "During the game, I was like, 'Man, I can't stop him.' And the first time we played them, I didn't give up any sacks at all, so I was like, 'What happened? Am I coming out of my stance slower or something like that?'
"And later, watching film, it was just little things. It was like I was lackadaisical, not punching and things like that. I didn't attack him."
Like Staley, Brown learned from his mistakes.
The Cardinals revised their thinking, too, giving their rookie tackle more help after that game by aligning a tight end on his side and chipping defensive ends with running backs.
"I just had to let it go," Brown said. "After the game, maybe the plane ride back, maybe I dwelled on it. But that was it."
The NFL schedule continues to roll along, regardless.
"You have to have the mentality that it's not going to affect your confidence level," Staley said. "A lot of players start playing bad or having a bad practice, and they start turning that into two bad practices and then a whole week of them. Then it's a bad game, and the confidence level goes down and has to be built back up."
If either player has friendly advice to Clady, it's honing in on the mental aspects of the game to allow the game to slow down.
"There's that transition of going from basically knowing 10 plays going into a game in college to knowing a 500-page playbook," Staley said.
That process begins in organized training activities, but after the Broncos broke minicamp in June, Clady had only his offseason notes on which to rely because the team collects the playbooks before reissuing them in training camp.
Once two-a-days begin, multiple daily meetings serve as more than a refresher course. But it's also the beginning of more complicated defenses, and rookies have to assimilate the information quickly on the field.
There's continual teaching of technical aspects, too, where, if you're not sharp with footwork within the first few steps, the results can be disastrous because of the speed of opposing linemen.
"The first thing is trusting the technique they've been taught because it's going to be different than college and uncomfortable for them," said veteran offensive line coach George Warhop, who has tutored lines in St. Louis, Arizona, Dallas and now San Francisco during the past 12 years.
"What happens is, they won't have as much success early as later on, and the tendency is to want to go back to the way they used to do it. But once they trust the different technique, progress comes a little faster."
The daily grind of competition can be overwhelming for rookie tackles.
"These guys are used to being the best player on the field. And now they're facing players who know how to take advantage of their mistakes, and it's a source of frustration," Warhop said. "It's up to us, as coaches, to get them through that."
Time to learn
The Broncos normally have afforded their homegrown, first- year offensive linemen a waiting period to get accustomed to the synchronization skills necessary in their zone blocking system.
Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper each went without an offensive snap as rookies. Ryan Harris played sparingly. Even the last No. 1 tackle drafted, the since-departed George Foster, made his lone appearance in Year 1 in the regular-season finale.
Clady was unaware of that historical backdrop, which makes his task "a little more challenging." But he also feels as if he was drafted to play immediately.
"I think I'm up to it," he said.
Matt Lepsis, the Broncos' starting left tackle from 2004 to 2007 until his retirement in January, said Clady will need to get used to firing out quicker on the snap.
But the toughest adjustment in Lepsis' view, figures to be cutting off the back side in the running game. The two concepts are intertwined.
"A lot of teams have these gigantic guys and just tell them to get to a spot. If there's somebody in that area, block him," Lepsis said. "But the Broncos kind of ask you to be very athletic and run down the line to cut off a defensive tackle."
Lepsis predicted the Broncos initially will give help to Clady in the passing game, but he also knows coach Mike Shanahan wants as many receivers downfield as possible without needing to use extra players to block.
The terminology also figures to be challenging.
"The thing he really has going for him is he's got Tom Nalen at center, who makes all the calls on the lines. He's not going to have to make any calls with Tom there," Lepsis said. "He'll learn it, eventually, but in the beginning, he'll rely on Tom and Ben (Hamilton), who have been doing it forever and know their stuff in their sleep. They'll help him out."
And once Clady learns the scheme, he'll have an advantage because the Broncos running game doesn't stray much from its base concepts.
Stretch right. Stretch left.
Though the Broncos system is more complex, many of the elements Clady ran at Boise State are similar, with outside and inside zone schemes.
The rookie got a further jump-start by studying the system on tape in the offseason and watching individual tape of players, ranging from Seattle's Walter Jones to San Diego's Marcus McNeill and Thomas.
"Clady's so capable, it's almost unbelievable," Broncos second-year tackle Ryan Harris said. "He's really been on top of his game. I mean, he probably gets the least coaching because I think he needs it the least. He knows what he's doing and always has great effort. That's a great kid. It's like he almost practiced before we came out here because he's always doing the right things and, in meetings, he knows all the answers."
So much for the notion that a low Wonderlic score might be a signal Clady wouldn't assimilate well to the pro game.
Clady has explained that a pectoral injury during the weight-lifting portion at the combine got him sidetracked come quiz time.
"I tell you what, whenever a defensive end asks you a logic question, we'll start worrying about the Wonderlic test," Harris said.
Focus on technique
Truth be told, Thomas never was as settled as he might have seemed.
Cleveland's Pro Bowl rookie had an adjustment period - just like everyone else.
"I think, if you ever get in a comfort zone on the offensive line, that's when you are going to get beat," Thomas said. "I think for me, it took a couple games in the regular season - finding out, 'Boy, I can block these guys' - before I felt confident to go out there and play."
The best advice Thomas received last season: Don't listen to what others say about you, good or bad.
And follow technique tips to the letter.
"Every little thing that you do, players are so good and study so much, they know what you are going to do before you do it, based upon presnap alignment, formation and how your stance is,"
Thomas said. "If you study the game, you are going to be able to help pick up on those things, too."
Physically, Clady must get stronger, particularly in the upper body, and guard against the bull rush. He has already demonstrated mobility to contest speed rushers.
His long arms, footwork and agility are his chief weapons entering Denver's first preseason game Saturday in Houston.
And, like training camp, he's fine if you don't notice him, which is actually a huge compliment.
"I just want to get on the field, learn the plays, start all the games and play consistently. That's all I'm trying to do," Clady said of embarking on his first season. "I don't have to be all-rookie team and all that."