Team Mentality

[Rambunctious]

I have understood the philosophy of not calling beyond what you believe the players are capable of doing well. Thus we don't throw over 10 yards a lot.

But last night I was working the Louisville vs USF football game. The Cardinals went for it on 4th and inches in overtime instead of kicking the field goal. They didn't get it and of course lost when USF made theirs' on the next drive.

The locker room afterward was somber and the players were dejected.

We were interviewing one of the players and he said the loss hurt the team. A reporter asked if the coach shouldn't have decided to go for it and the player basically said "Oh no... that would have hurt the team worse. They can't tell us day in and day out that they believe in us and then not have confidence in us come game time."

He would have rather lost with the ball in his hands then to have lost on the sidelines.


Sooooo... my point to the story is I'm starting to wonder if our offense is starting to believe they can't finish off a team because of the play calling?

Thoughts?

[berg8309]

What makes you think the offense is losing confidence in themselves? I mean, spot on with players wanting the coaches to feel confident in them, but what quote from the rams or behaviors makes you think the players are losing their confidence?

[swatter555]

I think we are going to see more questions about playcalling philosophy this week; maybe this issue will come up.

[Rambunctious]

What makes you think the offense is losing confidence in themselves? I mean, spot on with players wanting the coaches to feel confident in them, but what quote from the rams or behaviors makes you think the players are losing their confidence?

No I don't have any quotes or proof that any players are losing confidence.

I have also defended Shurmur's play calling to a degree putting it more on the execution of the players.

But... after talking to the players in the locker room last night I started thinking about the dynamic between what coaches say and what they do.

So if you tell the players you believe they can win any game but then game after game you call plays based on preventing a loss instead it may, even if it's subconsciously, effect the players mentality.

Again I'm just throwing it out there as a possible theory.

[berg8309]

No I don't have any quotes or proof that any players are losing confidence.

I have also defended Shurmur's play calling to a degree putting it more on the execution of the players.

But... after talking to the players in the locker room last night I started thinking about the dynamic between what coaches say and what they do.

So if you tell the players you believe they can win any game but then game after game you call plays based on preventing a loss instead it may, even if it's subconsciously, effect the players mentality.

Again I'm just throwing it out there as a possible theory.

The flipside to that is players must know two things, one, what their own limitations are, and two, that the coach will call the plays that they feel gives them the best chance at winning the game, not the one that makes the player feel special.

Coaches call plays that work to the strengths of their players, and the players know that. Your confidence shouldn't be hurt when the coach won't send you on a streak because you don't have the speed. You should know you can't run that effectively.

So I guess my point is the players should also know their own limitations, and not feel hurt if the coach doesn't try to run plays they can't run. It doesn't mean the coach doesn't have confidence in you, the coach just wants you to actually be able to make a play. Players need encouragement, but they also need some thick skin.