Jon Gruden is a nut! (1 Viewer)

[hotboyz]

PARANOIA WILL DESTROY YA: Ravens fan Ryan Lockett had an interesting story to tell in an e-mail to the Ravens regarding his visit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp. It seems that Lockett and his traveling companions put on Ravens polo shirts and went to Disney's Wide World of Sports complex to watch the Bucs at their camp.

Fullback Mike Alstott saw them in the stands and pointed them out to head coach Jon Gruden, whose team hosts the Ravens in the season opener September 10. Gruden then sent a team security man over to check and see if they were Ravens scouts (Alstott had already asked once).

Assured they weren't, security took down the fans' drivers' license numbers. Once he went away, it seemed the story ended.

Not exactly.

Twenty minutes later, security returned to eject the Ravens fans from the premises, stating that "Coach Gruden feels threatened by your presence here." Not only that, security wrote down the plate number of the traveling party's rental car.

In the early 70s, Washington coach George Allen was so paranoid about possible spies surrounding his Redskin Park practice field that he hired a full-time employee to check the field perimeter at every practice. Apparently, Allen has nothing on Gruden

 

[Joe Bryant]

I've got no problem with this. He wants to win. Badly. And he's got the jewelry to show he's pretty good at it.

The alternative is closed practices, which I'm sure the coaches would prefer.

Seems they grudgingly accept them being forced to be as open as they are but draw the line at this.

If I'm a Bucs fan, I like my coach being that "paranoid" about winning.

J

 

[code]

Would scouts looking for inside information come dressed in their team apparel?

 

[redman]

Gibbs is like that too. During his first tenure, he got all upset because some apartments relatively close to the Redskins Park practice fields were being built that could see onto the fields. Either he or Allen also thought one time that a helicoptor was spying on their closed practice.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I've got no problem with this. He wants to win. Badly. And he's got the jewelry to show he's pretty good at it.The alternative is closed practices, which I'm sure the coaches would prefer.Seems they grudgingly accept them being forced to be as open as they are but draw the line at this.If I'm a Bucs fan, I like my coach being that "paranoid" about winning. J

How most of the FBG's forum feel if a fellow league member was trying to take a peak at their draft list.

 

[redman]

Would scouts looking for inside information come dressed in their team apparel?

Maybe they would . . . before asking the very question you posed when they got rousted.

 

[H.K.]

In an unrelated note, Mrs. H.K. finds Gruden very attractive so she roots for the Bucs when they play....no real fantasy info here, just thought I'd share.

 

[Snotbubbles]

I've got no problem with this. He wants to win. Badly. And he's got the jewelry to show he's pretty good at it.The alternative is closed practices, which I'm sure the coaches would prefer.Seems they grudgingly accept them being forced to be as open as they are but draw the line at this.If I'm a Bucs fan, I like my coach being that "paranoid" about winning. J

This is training camp. Anything they do here isn't super secret. Any team with game film can see what Gruden is running. When the teams break camp and have closed practices is when they'll work on the new things.

 

[redman]

In an unrelated note, Mrs. H.K. finds Gruden very attractive so she roots for the Bucs when they play....no real fantasy info here, just thought I'd share.

Mrs. H.K. has strange taste in men . . . but then we already knew that, didn't we.

 

[Quez]

Not uncommon at all. A similar thing happened with Parcels last year in TC, where he kicked out some guy that "didn't look like he belonged there." I also heard Jim Flynn on the radio yesterday talking about a conversation he had with Bruce Allen about revealing too much about plays. It wasn't that big of a deal, and he said he thought Bruce was just giving him a hard time. It was an article on some of the terminology Gruden uses for the different formations. They were basic, and nothing an opponent couldn't easily see with their own eyes, like a 2 TE set (Patriot, in Grudens terms).

 

[Quez]

I've got no problem with this. He wants to win. Badly. And he's got the jewelry to show he's pretty good at it.

The alternative is closed practices, which I'm sure the coaches would prefer.

Seems they grudgingly accept them being forced to be as open as they are but draw the line at this.

If I'm a Bucs fan, I like my coach being that "paranoid" about winning.

J

This is training camp. Anything they do here isn't super secret. Any team with game film can see what Gruden is running. When the teams break camp and have closed practices is when they'll work on the new things.

There was one day at TC that I heard the Bucs rented out a huge convention hall at Disney Coronado Springs resort to go over "secret" plays. My company had our 50th anniversary party at the same place, and it's pretty huge.

In the future the Buc's will be going over secret plays here http://www.buccaneers.com/construction/constructionmain.aspx

IIRC they are going to have 2 outdoor & 1 indoor field.

 

[reg]

Do the Bucs charge for training camp entrance? If not then this rule would apply:

The NFL currently bans scouts from the free practices in training camp, allowing them to attend only events for which the team sells tickets.

I remember this was one of the reasons given for the Vikings to not charge attendance at TC last year.

 

[Doug Drinen]

Would scouts looking for inside information come dressed in their team apparel?

Agreed. The funny part of this story isn't that Gruden doesn't want Ravens scouts at his practices. It's that he thinks booting people with Ravens shirts will help.

 

[reg]

Would scouts looking for inside information come dressed in their team apparel?

Agreed. The funny part of this story isn't that Gruden doesn't want Ravens scouts at his practices. It's that he thinks booting people with Ravens shirts will help.

Either that or the guy is full of it.

 

[Jackal King]

How silly. Everyone knows that if you want to get close to the team unnoticed, you simply have to dress up in a kangaroo costume. You could probably even get into the locker room.

 

[R.White]

I wrote a book a few years back on "How To Meet Your Favorite Player", which basically consisted of secrets from some of my own personal experiences, as well as some of the different teams' itineraries during game weekends. Guess who the first team was to "call my home" (unlisted number and all), and threaten me. Yep, Tampa Bay

RW

 

[Tom Servo]

Would scouts looking for inside information come dressed in their team apparel?

Agreed. The funny part of this story isn't that Gruden doesn't want Ravens scouts at his practices. It's that he thinks booting people with Ravens shirts will help.

Which was part of the Ravens' "real" plan...the real scouts were off to the side in Bucs gear.

 

[MLBrandow]

Why would Ravens fans show up in a rental car to a Bucs practice?

I'll be sure to wear my neutral Florida State apparel when I go.

 

[Bojang0301]

To the fans: Get a clue! You don't go to one teams practice in another teams colors. I can't blame Gruden and I also wouldn't want to see another teams colors at my camp. I would at very least find that disrespectful.

 

[TheFanatic]

The Rams practice facility has this huge mound that runs the length of the field parallel to the street where onlookers could spy on the practices. It's landscaped but it serves a specific purpose. Well, a hotel chain bought the property across the street and built a 5 or 6 story hotel. Mike Martz was livid. He didn't want people looking in on practice, particularly if it's a closed practice. Made it hard for them to descreetly practice for away games that were played outside. For home games they just practiced indoors....Nothing to see here....

 

[MLBrandow]

To the fans: Get a clue! You don't go to one teams practice in another teams colors. I can't blame Gruden and I also wouldn't want to see another teams colors at my camp. I would at very least find that disrespectful.

on a side note, do you really feel that teams send spies around nowadays?ehhhh.... seems to break the honor code, like the not talking to free agents before FA begins (which seems to be broken a bit).

 

[Slinger]

Oh yeah I'm sure Jon Gruden is having nightmares about the Baltimore Ravens.

 

[Franknbeans]

To the fans: Get a clue! You don't go to one teams practice in another teams colors. I can't blame Gruden and I also wouldn't want to see another teams colors at my camp. I would at very least find that disrespectful.

Ravens fans aren't known for their intellect

 

[Jiggyonthehut]

I dont see anything wrong here.

I'd be scared of Jamal and Ray Lewis too.

 

[doughboydeluxe]

When I was growing up, my dad's office was right next to the Cowboys' training facility before they moved to Valley Ranch. If I remember correctly, the Cowboys would rent out the offices on the second floor that had windows facing the practice fields.

They had blue metal fence around the facility, and one day my mom took me (a first grader) and my sister (a year younger) down to the practice field. We had a van at the time, so we climbed up on top of the van so we could see over the fence and watch practice. About 15 minutes later a Cowboy staffer came out and asked us to leave. At the time I thought it was funny that they would be afraid of a housewife and two little kids stealing their secrets, but it makes much more sense nowadays. But the guy did invite us to come back on Saturday to meet all the players. Landry, Staubach, Dorsett, White, Jones, Martin... it was an awesome expereince for a little wide-eyed 7 year-old!

 

[TheFanatic]

To the fans: Get a clue! You don't go to one teams practice in another teams colors. I can't blame Gruden and I also wouldn't want to see another teams colors at my camp. I would at very least find that disrespectful.

on a side note, do you really feel that teams send spies around nowadays?ehhhh.... seems to break the honor code, like the not talking to free agents before FA begins (which seems to be broken a bit).

Why do coaches hold up a clipboard or piece of paper over their mouths when they call plays on the sideline? Because some teams were using lip readers to find out what play was called by the opposing team. You think that teams wouldn't send spies because it would break the honor code? The only honor is in winning however you can.

 

[Sabertooth]

And here all this time I thought Gruden's scowl was schtick. You mean that didn't scare anybody?

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

I've got no problem with this. He wants to win. Badly. And he's got the jewelry to show he's pretty good at it.The alternative is closed practices, which I'm sure the coaches would prefer.Seems they grudgingly accept them being forced to be as open as they are but draw the line at this.If I'm a Bucs fan, I like my coach being that "paranoid" about winning. J

I'm not one of those fans who say Gruden can do no wrong - but this aint one of them.

 

[Skinsfansince72]

Gibbs is like that too. During his first tenure, he got all upset because some apartments relatively close to the Redskins Park practice fields were being built that could see onto the fields. Either he or Allen also thought one time that a helicoptor was spying on their closed practice.

LOL! George Allen was the more paranoid of the two. He would get really paraoid during Dallas Week and I believe it was during one particular Dallas week that he thought that a traffic helicopter was spying on the team on behalf of Landry and the hated Cowboys. Ahh, the memories. I never heard about them taking down plate numbers during an open practice.

 

[GregR_2]

on a side note, do you really feel that teams send spies around nowadays?ehhhh.... seems to break the honor code, like the not talking to free agents before FA begins (which seems to be broken a bit).

Yes, I do. If for no other reason than that the NFL teams themselves act as if this sort of thing goes on.For example, when the TV cameras zoom in on a head coach or coordinator calling in a play to his team over the radio, how many of them cover their mouth with a clipboard so their lips can't be read?I don't imagine they would go to such lengths unless they believed such things might actually be a concern.

 

[Illegal Pants Downfield]

In an unrelated note, Mrs. H.K. finds Gruden very attractive so she roots for the Bucs when they play....no real fantasy info here, just thought I'd share.

Double-up worthless here, but had to chip in to add that my wife is the same way. Pretty much the only time she readily sits and watches the game with me, is when the Bucs are on. And I doubt she even knows his name - she just knows him as Chucky.

 

[H.K.]

In an unrelated note, Mrs. H.K. finds Gruden very attractive so she roots for the Bucs when they play....no real fantasy info here, just thought I'd share.

Double-up worthless here, but had to chip in to add that my wife is the same way. Pretty much the only time she readily sits and watches the game with me, is when the Bucs are on. And I doubt she even knows his name - she just knows him as Chucky.

Whatever gets them to watch, right?Wonder what this impact has on female viewership for Eagle games?

 

[H.K.]

In an unrelated note, Mrs. H.K. finds Gruden very attractive so she roots for the Bucs when they play....no real fantasy info here, just thought I'd share.

Mrs. H.K. has strange taste in men . . . but then we already knew that, didn't we.

Who cares where they get their appetite, as long as they come home for dinner!

 

[H.K.]

For example, when the TV cameras zoom in on a head coach or coordinator calling in a play to his team over the radio, how many of them cover their mouth with a clipboard so their lips can't be read?I don't imagine they would go to such lengths unless they believed such things might actually be a concern.

As another semi-related side bar, keeping things behind closed doors is good practice for business in general.Professional sales people often look at who signs in at the receptionist's desk to find out who their competition might be in an account (personally I only use my company's initials and illegibly scribble my name as well as the name of who I am meeting with so I can remain anonymous to the wrong set of eyes). Another common practice among salespeople is to never have conversations about their meetings when they leave a call if their is someone else near them...you never know who they might be or who they know. Other people I've worked with won't even discuss deals in public restaurants in fear of who might be sitting around them. Certain people like to mitigate risk whenever possible for the things that they can control. NFL coaches are in a highly competitive business, so I can see why they are so secretive.