Jeff Fisher talks to Dan Patrick of SI today in reference to different conditioning programs and addresses Fat Al specifically.
DP Show Daily: Jeff Fisher explains why he's upset with Lane Kiffin - Dan Patrick.com
DP: What is the conditioning test that players keep failing? Is it different for specific teams?
JF: Yeah, it is different. Different clubs require different things when players report. We're doing the same thing that the Redskins do, based on some of the reports I read. The players come in, and they'll be required to run a 300-yard shuttle from the goal line to the 25-yard line and back. You do that six times, and you have a time in which you have to finish it, based on positions. For example, the skill guys will be right around 60 or 65 seconds. The bigger and the heavier they get, the more time you have to finish it. Then you have a rest and recovery period, and then you go out and you do it again. That particular test is something we've been doing for years. We have a baseline. The players are ready for it. They come in and it's not a big deal. We will allow players that have participated in a [good] percentage of the offseason program—say they make 80 percent of the workouts—they don't have to test, because we assume they're in good shape. But teams do different things. I remember some of the clubs I was with had the players run an 880. That's an interesting test, because when are you going to run an 880 on the football field? What happens there is that players start training for the 880, and they stop training for football and they start running in a straight line and around tracks. The day the 880 is over, you come out to practice and you pull hamstrings and groins, because you're not in football shape. There are all different types of tests that have taken place over the years.
DP: Could you pass the conditioning test today?
JF: Absolutely. I need a little bit more time.
DP: What happened to Albert Haynesworth's desire?
JF: It's hard to say. Albert had some productive years here. He had some difficulty early in his career adjusting. He did not make an adequate commitment to our offseason program early in his career. As he matured and came on and became a better teammate, he understood it, he had fun and he enjoyed working here. I can't comment on [what happened in Washington]. Only those that were a part of [the Redskins'] locker room or that organization know what happened last year. Certainly, he's off to a rough start this year.