TicketsWEST HARRISON, INDIANA - It's become increasingly common in pro and college football to use GPS devices to track a player's workload at practice.
I would love to see the training staff affix one of those devices to new defensive line coach Al Washington while the Bearcats are in training camp.
"He's the most animated coach I have ever met in my life," said defensive end Kevin Mouhon with a laugh. "If somebody messes up you can see it. If somebody does great, you can tell."
The 33-year-old coach was entertaining to watch throughout spring practice as he often appeared to be getting as much of a workout as his players.
"I'm an emotional coach in what I think are good ways," said Washington. "If something's wrong, then I will address it with urgency because the game calls for it. If something's right, then I celebrate with urgency. I think that's the nature of the game and that's the kind of coach that I am. I coach with heart. A 'cardiac coach' of sorts – I've heard it put that way before."
"When you see your coach have a great reaction it makes you want to play harder," said Mouhon. "If you see your coach fall down to his knees and look pretty upset, you think, 'I've got to pick it up.' It really helps us overall."
Washington spent the past five seasons at his alma mater, Boston College, and served as the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach last year. The Eagles ranked as one of the nation's top defenses, ranking second in the country in sacks (3.62 per game) and sixth in tackles-for-loss (8.2 per game).
Head coach Luke Fickell is counting on Washington to improve a young group led by second-team All-AAC defensive tackle Cortez Broughton.
"(Al's) done a great job," said Fickell. "I've challenged him several times with that group that he's got. I think there's definitely some talent in that group and they've got numbers to be honest with you. I think we could play nine guys up front. Not one guy has got to play 70 snaps. But if we could get eight or nine guys to play 35 to 40 snaps with incredible energy I think we've got the opportunity to be really good."
"We have to become tougher – that's just reality," said Washington. "In order to do what we should do and what's expected of us, we have a long way to go. But they've embraced the process and I've told them that the results will take care of themselves.
"I'm thinking about the best offensive line in America. Are we good enough to beat that? Right now we're not, but we are working every day to get better. That's what I'm focusing on."
I will be spending some time focusing on Coach Washington at Camp Higher Ground. It's sure to be lively as he pushes and prods his players to maximize their ability.
"I learned a long time ago to do anything you do with love and passion," Al told me. "I played like that and I coach like that. I enjoy it."
"He's a great guy," said Mouhon. "He's really nice and you can tell that he's a team player. I am going to love playing for him."
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
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I would love to see the training staff affix one of those devices to new defensive line coach Al Washington while the Bearcats are in training camp.
"He's the most animated coach I have ever met in my life," said defensive end Kevin Mouhon with a laugh. "If somebody messes up you can see it. If somebody does great, you can tell."
The 33-year-old coach was entertaining to watch throughout spring practice as he often appeared to be getting as much of a workout as his players.
"I'm an emotional coach in what I think are good ways," said Washington. "If something's wrong, then I will address it with urgency because the game calls for it. If something's right, then I celebrate with urgency. I think that's the nature of the game and that's the kind of coach that I am. I coach with heart. A 'cardiac coach' of sorts – I've heard it put that way before."
"When you see your coach have a great reaction it makes you want to play harder," said Mouhon. "If you see your coach fall down to his knees and look pretty upset, you think, 'I've got to pick it up.' It really helps us overall."
Washington spent the past five seasons at his alma mater, Boston College, and served as the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach last year. The Eagles ranked as one of the nation's top defenses, ranking second in the country in sacks (3.62 per game) and sixth in tackles-for-loss (8.2 per game).
Head coach Luke Fickell is counting on Washington to improve a young group led by second-team All-AAC defensive tackle Cortez Broughton.
"(Al's) done a great job," said Fickell. "I've challenged him several times with that group that he's got. I think there's definitely some talent in that group and they've got numbers to be honest with you. I think we could play nine guys up front. Not one guy has got to play 70 snaps. But if we could get eight or nine guys to play 35 to 40 snaps with incredible energy I think we've got the opportunity to be really good."
"We have to become tougher – that's just reality," said Washington. "In order to do what we should do and what's expected of us, we have a long way to go. But they've embraced the process and I've told them that the results will take care of themselves.
"I'm thinking about the best offensive line in America. Are we good enough to beat that? Right now we're not, but we are working every day to get better. That's what I'm focusing on."
I will be spending some time focusing on Coach Washington at Camp Higher Ground. It's sure to be lively as he pushes and prods his players to maximize their ability.
"I learned a long time ago to do anything you do with love and passion," Al told me. "I played like that and I coach like that. I enjoy it."
"He's a great guy," said Mouhon. "He's really nice and you can tell that he's a team player. I am going to love playing for him."
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
And I'm on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dan.hoard.1