Post by fwp on Mar 26, 2010 20:51:29 GMT -5
www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100326/GPG0211/3260557/1225/GPG02
ASHWAUBENON — Jake Phillips is a firm believer that every day is a learning experience.
As a rookie quarterback for the Green Bay Blizzard, Phillips has spent most of his time in recent weeks learning the nuances of indoor football.
He learned last fall that not playing wasn't fun.
"Last year, being off for so long, just kind of fueled the fire to push forward and keep playing," said Phillips, who played at William & Mary from 2004 to 2008. "I just want to pursue my dream. I'm a competitive guy, and I just want to play football."
The opportunity to play right away was one of the reasons Phillips chose Green Bay and the Indoor Football League over the Canadian Football League or the Arena Football League, where he was being looked at as a backup.
"I tried out for just about every league there was," said Phillips, a native of Warm Springs, Va. "That's pretty much all I did last fall was bounce around from different tryouts and camps."
His only NFL look was a minicamp last May with the Atlanta Falcons following the draft.
Meanwhile, his younger brother, John, made the Dallas Cowboys' roster as a rookie tight end after being a sixth-round pick from Virginia last year.
"We knew he was going to get drafted," Jake Phillips said. "I can talk to him about anything. I talk to him all the time about coverages, about defenses, just little things you can pick up from that game to help transition to what I need to do to get better."
Blizzard coach Rik Richards said the odds of getting another look at the NFL are stacked against Phillips but noted the chances of moving to a higher level are greater because of the various professional leagues out there.
"There's a lot more opportunities for the smaller-school kids," Richards said.
"When you go to a bigger school, like his brother at Virginia, there's more scouts at every game. But he doesn't need 32 teams to take a chance on him, he needs one team to take a chance on him."
Phillips has picked up the indoor game quickly. He leads the IFL in passing yards (621) and is second in touchdown passes (13). His eight TD passes in a 69-61 season-opening win at Sioux City helped him earn the league's offensive player of the week honors.
But he has made his share of mistakes as well. After not turning over the ball once during the first two games of the season, Phillips threw three interceptions and fumbled a snap during a 48-12 win against La Crosse last week.
"He still holds onto the ball a little bit too long," Richards said. "As he gets more comfortable, that will get faster and faster."
Phillips also noted that all but one of his receivers are rookies, so he expected to go through an adjustment period early on in the season as he gets the timing down with them.
The speed of the indoor game itself is the biggest adjustment for quarterbacks, says Blizzard offensive coordinator Roger Farrar.
"He had the outdoor game instilled on him," he said. "But now he understands that things are going to be faster, so he's progressed and he's still got a lot more progression to come."
ASHWAUBENON — Jake Phillips is a firm believer that every day is a learning experience.
As a rookie quarterback for the Green Bay Blizzard, Phillips has spent most of his time in recent weeks learning the nuances of indoor football.
He learned last fall that not playing wasn't fun.
"Last year, being off for so long, just kind of fueled the fire to push forward and keep playing," said Phillips, who played at William & Mary from 2004 to 2008. "I just want to pursue my dream. I'm a competitive guy, and I just want to play football."
The opportunity to play right away was one of the reasons Phillips chose Green Bay and the Indoor Football League over the Canadian Football League or the Arena Football League, where he was being looked at as a backup.
"I tried out for just about every league there was," said Phillips, a native of Warm Springs, Va. "That's pretty much all I did last fall was bounce around from different tryouts and camps."
His only NFL look was a minicamp last May with the Atlanta Falcons following the draft.
Meanwhile, his younger brother, John, made the Dallas Cowboys' roster as a rookie tight end after being a sixth-round pick from Virginia last year.
"We knew he was going to get drafted," Jake Phillips said. "I can talk to him about anything. I talk to him all the time about coverages, about defenses, just little things you can pick up from that game to help transition to what I need to do to get better."
Blizzard coach Rik Richards said the odds of getting another look at the NFL are stacked against Phillips but noted the chances of moving to a higher level are greater because of the various professional leagues out there.
"There's a lot more opportunities for the smaller-school kids," Richards said.
"When you go to a bigger school, like his brother at Virginia, there's more scouts at every game. But he doesn't need 32 teams to take a chance on him, he needs one team to take a chance on him."
Phillips has picked up the indoor game quickly. He leads the IFL in passing yards (621) and is second in touchdown passes (13). His eight TD passes in a 69-61 season-opening win at Sioux City helped him earn the league's offensive player of the week honors.
But he has made his share of mistakes as well. After not turning over the ball once during the first two games of the season, Phillips threw three interceptions and fumbled a snap during a 48-12 win against La Crosse last week.
"He still holds onto the ball a little bit too long," Richards said. "As he gets more comfortable, that will get faster and faster."
Phillips also noted that all but one of his receivers are rookies, so he expected to go through an adjustment period early on in the season as he gets the timing down with them.
The speed of the indoor game itself is the biggest adjustment for quarterbacks, says Blizzard offensive coordinator Roger Farrar.
"He had the outdoor game instilled on him," he said. "But now he understands that things are going to be faster, so he's progressed and he's still got a lot more progression to come."