After another game watching QB Jay Cutler run for his life, O-Line coach Mike Tice decided to make a drastic change. Reaching into his bag of tricks, Tice has decided to pull out a practice tactic he hasn’t used since coaching youth football in his native New York. Musical chairs, a game associated with children, will play a big role determining which linemen play, and where.
“Fans and young players think the line is all about brute strength and size, but it’s not,” said Tice. “Footwork and reaction time are essential. Doesn’t matter if it’s the run game, the passing game or the musical chairs game.”
Although he wouldn’t divulge how the first round of musical chairs went, he did say the top two performers will not only automatically keep their job on the line this week but can choose where they’d like to play and even have input on the blocking schemes.
Tice had a more conventional approach to those who didn’t place in the top two.
“The other three lineman, we went old fashioned with the rest of practice, hitting the sleds and running drills,” said Tice. “Musical chairs was their chance to shine and separate themselves, so now they’ll just have to work harder.”
Rookie tackle Gabe Carimi tweeted he couldn’t wait to get back to practice, having been a multi-time musical chairs winner in grammar school.
