I would guess he believes Shawn Slocum is failing at teaching the players to play SMART, not so much teaching them to commit penalties. Diving for an onsides kick that has not went 10 yards is a mental error that the coach should be able to correct with his players.
Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool
I'm not sure it is to play smart as much as it is to play prepared. The one are teams are going to try to best the Packers in is Special Teams. Most teams are going to have nothing to lose, seeing as most defenses can only stop our O for so long before they put up points.
You'd expect Slocum to coach players on different scenarios. Surprise onside kick going less than 10 yards? Well lets practice each player doing something to recover the ball, or freeing up another player to get the ball based on the area the ball went to. Surprise onside kick traveling 10 yards and going past you, well then lets practice either: A) turning around and looking for the ball; or 😎 (knowing some other teammate is behind you) running full steam ahead to block as many of the opposing players as you can. Your chasing a player while you KR is running towards the sidelines looking to take it all the way back? Well lets practice blocking the opposing player in X way (which is not illegal, even if it pushes the line of what is allowable).
For what it is worth, I had no problem with LB DJ Smith trying to dive for the ball before it reached 10 yards. The ball was still going forward and seemed like it had the spin to travel the 10 required yards, and he had a pretty clean shot at it. But perhaps more reps in recovering loose balls would be ideal.
The NFL: Where Greg Jennings Happens.