Today is transition day as we move to Wien after a very important 30-20 win yesterday against Australia. I tip my hat to the Australian coaching staff as they came at us with everything they had and kept it a close game. They attacked our defense with short timing passes that were very effective. They also rolled the dice twice on 4th and long and came away both times with big touchdowns. From a fans’ standpoint it was a great game to watch, just as many of the games have been. We did not help ourselves with our Special Teams play, but had a good day offensively and played strong defensively when it got real close. The difficulties of playing 3 games in 5 days have really taken a toll physically on our team and the next 2 days will be a big test for our already overworked medical staff. Our guys really need some recovery time
and the next 2 days will be very helpful towards that purpose.

We spent most of the first half of the day figuring out exactly what when wrong last night and getting those things corrected. After an early start we fixed our issues by lunchtime. After lunch we switched from correction mode to preparation mode for our game tomorrow vs Australia.

Although Australia is tough and fight hard, they just don’t have the technical skills to be able to hang with us. This is, of course, just my personal opinion and is meant in no disrespect to the Aussies. I am good friends with their Head Coach- John Leijten, who is a former NFL E Assistant Coach with the Amsterdam Admirals. John is a very good coach and has been doing a fine job in putting together & preparing his team.

DAY 7, July 10th, 2011

Well, things didn’t quite go as planned tonight against the Americans. My hat goes off to the American team who displayed superior technique and speed. Although they were our opponent, as a life-long ‘football guy’, it was refreshing to see the game played how it is supposed to be played. They played much lower and naturally were much faster than we are, and they rarely missed tackles, always wrapping up.

With each turnover their goal was to score and they executed as such. They also seemed to have had more downfield blocks than line of scrimmage blocks. That all being said, only two of their 7 touchdowns were scored with their offense and in the end the stats were not near as one sided as the final score.

Recovery day was very positive as we got great news that the injuries from the last were not as bad as first thought and there is a good chance that we will be fully reloaded for the Americans tomorrow night.

We spent the day repairing our mistakes, as well as our bodies. I feel it was a very productive and successful day. We have a good plan for the Americans tomorrow. I could not be more pleased working with such an outstanding coaching staff. Every coach we have works endlessly in getting this team ready for each game and practice. The fact that we all get along so well, makes it that much more enjoyable.