Quote Originally Posted by mraynrand View Post
Maxie, it's like the NCAA where the 3 seed plays the 14th seed. You need the win to keep going, it's supposed to be a cake walk, but you can always lose... The Stubby strategy of treating it like a playoff game is appropriate. The key is getting your guys to play at a high level without getting them tight.
I think it's kind of transparently phony. It's not like 2010 where you either win or go home. That said, I really don't know what I would do to get the players at a "high level" and at the same time keep them from getting "tight."

I might just approach it matter-of-factly: "You guys are pros. You know the situation as well as I do. If you phone this one in, you'll get whipped and possibly hurt. Now dig deep, earn your damn paychecks and remember why you're here. Now let's go strap it on and show these bums what a superior team looks like. Let's have fun beating the crap out of them."

But that's just me.