There is nothing like a team tradition like "The Pit". Are you willing to get into the pit and see what you got?
In close quarter s negotiation, it is about last man standing.
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Friday, July 28, 2006 (SF Chronicle)
RAIDERS NOTEBOOK/Shell's drill straight out of the old days
David White
This was the pits, but in a good way.
Raiders coach Art Shell further indoctrinated his team in the way things
were, this time dusting off an old-fashioned blocking drill best suited for a dark alley.
Shell calls it the "pit drill." Other teams dub it "Oklahoma." It had
Raiders defensive end Tyler Brayton reaching for a painkiller.
"I definitely had a bit of a headache afterward," Brayton said after
Thursday morning's training camp practice in Napa.
Here's how the macho-man workout goes.
A defensive lineman and offensive lineman line up against each other. They're confined to a small space between a set of flat pads on the ground.
The offensive lineman has to block the defensive player so a running back
can get by. The rest of the team stands back and roots for their side to win while coaches holler helpful tips, such as, "Get 'em!"
Once the whistle blows, the two linemen smash into each other and it's on. Last one standing gets some love, the other guy gets an earful. It's violent and spirited. You know, like football.
"Going down into the pits and getting dirty," said Shell, who ran the drill on the third day of camp throughout his previous coaching tenure.
"That's one of the toughest drills there is in football. John Madden ran it the third day of training camp. Tom Flores ran it the third day. So, it's ingrained in me."
Players had no idea the drill was coming, and it's used only once a year because, Shell said, "It's always been that way."
"It lets you know the type of mind-set that coach Shell wants and this is physical football," running back LaMont Jordan said.
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Copyright 2006 SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/07/28/SPGJOK6UCU1.DTL
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Can you picture what would happen if one of the players properly mastered the IMA principles and consciously knows how to release a strike from any of his body part within 1" of contact?
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