March 22, 2006

The Baylor defense earned praise from head coach Guy Morriss following the Bears' two-hour helmet and shoulder pad workout Wednesday afternoon on the grass practice fields at Floyd Casey Stadium. It marked the second time this spring the Bears have worked out on consecutive days.

"We struggled offensively today, the defense got after us pretty good today," Morriss said. "It (the defense) is overwhelming us right now, we are still thinking too much and they are throwing the kitchen sink at us. And, they (our defensive staff) have a pretty good idea on handle on stopping this offense to start with. They are sending the house and we are still struggling to deal with all that stuff.

"I try and encourage them (the defense), because we can't win ballgames if we can't stop anyone," he added. "We (the offense) need to see that because we are going to see that down the road and we have to deal with it. The defense makes the offense look bad at times and sometimes we get down, but I told our players this is not an overnight deal. We have to keep working at it."

The Baylor defense must replace seven starters from last year's unit, but Morriss and his staff have been encouraged by what they've seen on the field thus far.

"Everyone that is out here, for the most part, has been in the system for at least a year, so there wasn't that lull of learning a new system," Morriss said. "The new guys have to learn the details and grow up in a hurry. They know the basics, but they don't have any experience."

The Bears will take Thursday off, then wrap up the week with practices on Friday and Saturday. All workouts are open to the public.

Post-Practice Notes: Morriss said he's been pleased with the play of fifth-year senior quarterback Shawn Bell and his redshirt freshman back-up, Blake Szymanski, but noted that "it is hard to throw the ball with bodies in your face." ... Sophomore offensive guard Dan Gay, who is listed No. 1 on the pre-spring depth chart, missed Wednesday's workout with a shoulder strain and hopes to be back on the field by the weekend ... San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, whose son Wes is in his first year as the Bears' quarterbacks coach, is visiting Waco and attended his second straight practice on Wednesday ... Baylor concludes spring ball with its April 8 Green & Gold Spring Game.