M3's Key Message on Gameday?

[Tarlam!]

We've all seen the movies where the head coach makes that invigorating speech. Some of the lucky PackerRats have actually played the game and been privy to such themselves.

What will M3 say?

"Aaron, we need 21 points by the middle of the second quarter" "Nick, if I see so much as a field goal attempt, your ass is toast!"

What will M3 likely say??

[MJZiggy]

"Do everything like we did it in practice. I want good tempo, good pad level and a win."

[Fritz]

One of my favorite "coach" scenes . . . not from The Gipper, not from Rudi or Hoosiers....

No, from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

So I'd like to see MM don a baseball cap like the coach in that claymation classic, and speak in that same nasal voice as the reindeer coach does, the one that runs the tryouts for the reindeer.

"Alright, everybody, let's get lined up here."

It'd be great.

[red]

GET OUT THERE AND KICK THE SHIT OUT OF THOSE FIB BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!!!

send those pricks back home across the boarder where they belong, with their tails between their legs

and yes, fibs have tails

[pbmax]

"All right everyone, listen up. Pass your bluetooth headsets and cell phones to your left. PDAs, smart phones, tablet PCs and netbooks too. Commissioner Goodell will hold them until after the game. The non-Tweeting portion of your day has begun."

[mmmdk]

Coach: "Are we fixed to go?"

Lockerroom: "YEAH!"

Coach: "Let's correct!!"

Lockerroom: "ROAH!!!"

[KYPack]

Glad you brought this up, Tar. IMHO, the most overrated thing in football history is the pre-game pep talk. If you ask a guy who played in a huge, emotional game what the coach said to the guys before the game, you usually get an answer like, "Hell, I dunno what he said. I never listen to that shit, I was getting myself ready to go."

There have been some emotional talks and some coaches do capture the moment with heart-stirring words. Most coaches are content to prepare the guys all week and have 'em loose but focused before they go out.

The game lasts about 3 hours and so much happens that takes you both up and down, a few minutes of rhetoric before you go out and hit doesn't really make much difference one way or the other.

There are two famous instances of locker room talks that really got a team going that captures this in the NFL. Both talks together comprised less than 5 seconds of time and 9 words, but they were the perfect

In 1962, the Packers and Lions were the NFL's two top teams. The Packers would only lose one game and repeat as champs. They narrowly beat the Lions in GB 9-7 on a last second field goal by Paul Hornung following a Herb Adderly interception of a foolishly thrown pass on 3rd down by Milt Plum. The Packers then went undefeated and faced the Lions in Detroit for the Thanksgving Day game on National TV. Before the game, the Lion locker room was full of a bunch of pissed off guys that had their minds one thing only, beating the hell out of the Packers. The guys were quiet and totally focused. With about two minutes to go, George Wilson, Lions coach, walked to the front of the locker room and sat on equipment trunk. He got out a cigarette, lit it and quietly had a smoke. After a bit, he looked at his watch and then at his team. "OK, lets go", he said. The Lions went out and destroyed arguably Lombardi's greatest team, 26 - 14 sacking Bart Starr nine times in the process. Wilson, an old time NFL player and coach, knew no rah-rah shit was necessary. His boys were ready and he could only screw it up by saying anything.

A similar (and much better for Packer fans), locker room speech tale also includes the Packers, Lions and Lombardi

Three years later, the Packers were getting their asses kicked by the Lions. The Pack could do nothing right. The Lions were killing the Pack 21-3 at halftime. The Packers were listless, and worse, making mental error after mental error. The worst was ahead of the guys as they filed into the locker room in Detroit. The team was playing stupid football and to a man, they knew Vince was gonna scream at everybody for their stupid play. But, as Lombardi did from time to time, he surprised everyone. He moved around the locker room, moving from coach to coach to make sure everyone was assignment sure. The players all eyed him, nervously awaiting a famous Lombardi thermonuclear explosion.

But as time drew near to go back out, nothing from the coach.

Vince went into the john and straightened his tie and smoothed back his hair. They guys were still awaiting the screaming, when Vince walked to the front of the room and stood erect in front of the team. Lombardi addressed the boys calmly, in a clear voice, "Gentlemen, we are the Green Bay Packers". That was it. Relieved and being spared a blistering dressing down from the head guy, the Pack took the game over. 3 Bart Starr TD's and stout D yielded a 31-21 road victory. After the game, the guys said they knew VTL was a genius, but that game confirmed it.

A few words before the kickoff can usually only hurt you if they are the wrong sentiment. Get the guys ready and get out of their way when they run out the locker room is the best coaching advice I've ever heard.

[mmmdk]

Glad you brought this up, Tar. IMHO, the most overrated thing in football history is the pre-game pep talk. If you ask a guy who played in a huge, emotional game what the coach said to the guys before the game, you usually get an answer like, "Hell, I dunno what he said. I never listen to that shit, I was getting myself ready to go."

There have been some emotional talks and some coaches do capture the moment with heart-stirring words. Most coaches are content to prepare the guys all week and have 'em loose but focused before they go out.

The game lasts about 3 hours and so much happens that takes you both up and down, a few minutes of rhetoric before you go out and hit doesn't really make much difference one way or the other.

There are two famous instances of locker room talks that really got a team going that captures this in the NFL. Both talks together comprised less than 5 seconds of time and 9 words, but they were the perfect

In 1962, the Packers and Lions were the NFL's two top teams. The Packers would only lose one game and repeat as champs. They narrowly beat the Lions in GB 9-7 on a last second field goal by Paul Hornung following a Herb Adderly interception of a foolishly thrown pass on 3rd down by Milt Plum. The Packers then went undefeated and faced the Lions in Detroit for the Thanksgving Day game on National TV. Before the game, the Lion locker room was full of a bunch of pissed off guys that had their minds one thing only, beating the hell out of the Packers. The guys were quiet and totally focused. With about two minutes to go, George Wilson, Lions coach, walked to the front of the locker room and sat on equipment trunk. He got out a cigarette, lit it and quietly had a smoke. After a bit, he looked at his watch and then at his team. "OK, lets go", he said. The Lions went out and destroyed arguably Lombardi's greatest team, 26 - 14 sacking Bart Starr nine times in the process. Wilson, an old time NFL player and coach, knew no rah-rah shit was necessary. His boys were ready and he could only screw it up by saying anything.

A similar (and much better for Packer fans), locker room speech tale also includes the Packers, Lions and Lombardi

Three years later, the Packers were getting their asses kicked by the Lions. The Pack could do nothing right. The Lions were killing the Pack 21-3 at halftime. The Packers were listless, and worse, making mental error after mental error. The worst was ahead of the guys as they filed into the locker room in Detroit. The team was playing stupid football and to a man, they knew Vince was gonna scream at everybody for their stupid play. But, as Lombardi did from time to time, he surprised everyone. He moved around the locker room, moving from coach to coach to make sure everyone was assignment sure. The players all eyed him, nervously awaiting a famous Lombardi thermonuclear explosion.

But as time drew near to go back out, nothing from the coach.

Vince went into the john and straightened his tie and smoothed back his hair. They guys were still awaiting the screaming, when Vince walked to the front of the room and stood erect in front of the team. Lombardi addressed the boys calmly, in a clear voice, "Gentlemen, we are the Green Bay Packers". That was it. Relieved and being spared a blistering dressing down from the head guy, the Pack took the game over. 3 Bart Starr TD's and stout D yielded a 31-21 road victory. After the game, the guys said they knew VTL was a genius, but that game confirmed it.

A few words before the kickoff can usually only hurt you if they are the wrong sentiment. Get the guys ready and get out of their way when they run out the locker room is the best coaching advice I've ever heard.

mmmdk: "Phew, what a read!"

Vinny Lombago: "What he say?"

mmmdk: "Hell, I dunno what he said. I never listen to that shit, I was getting myself ready to go."

Vinny Lombago: "Darn, I always take notes!!"

[Fritz]

KY's story reminds me of my own experience, in another life, as a ninth grade boys' basketball coach in Maryland.

We had a good team, really good. We were 11-1 at that point in the season, and headed up to play a terrible team in Catoctin. My guys were better but they thought all they had to do was show.

They bombed. They pressed, quit running the offense, tried to score six points on every possession, starting snipping at each other. At halftime, we were down by twelve - and in ninth grade basketball, that's a lot of points.

I waited longer than usual to go into the lockerroom for the half.

And when I walked in, the guys were ready for me - this was deserving of a dressing down, big time. You could see they were braced for a screaming coach. I stood up in front of them, and said, in a quiet voice, "Okay, if you want to win this game, here's what you have to do."

Then I went through the assignments and the adjustments, one by one, no yelling, no criticism. Just told 'em what they had to do in the second half.

It worked. Blew the other team out of the water.

However,. I also blew a game for that same team later in the season and cost us a game. But that's another story.

The whole thing does bring up a question: why did Shermy's teams seem to start games and seasons so badly?

[mmmdk]

KY's story reminds me of my own experience, in another life, as a ninth grade boys' basketball coach in Maryland.

We had a good team, really good. We were 11-1 at that point in the season, and headed up to play a terrible team in Catoctin. My guys were better but they thought all they had to do was show.

They bombed. They pressed, quit running the offense, tried to score six points on every possession, starting snipping at each other. At halftime, we were down by twelve - and in ninth grade basketball, that's a lot of points.

I waited longer than usual to go into the lockerroom for the half.

And when I walked in, the guys were ready for me - this was deserving of a dressing down, big time. You could see they were braced for a screaming coach. I stood up in front of them, and said, in a quiet voice, "Okay, if you want to win this game, here's what you have to do."

Then I went through the assignments and the adjustments, one by one, no yelling, no criticism. Just told 'em what they had to do in the second half.

It worked. Blew the other team out of the water.

However,. I also blew a game for that same team later in the season and cost us a game. But that's another story.

The whole thing does bring up a question: why did Shermy's teams seem to start games and seasons so badly?

Thanx - water on my mill!
I like Obama too - this is so Barack Obama and so Euro :P Screw the gold rush - Europe is what was, for better & mostly worse, and is anew what is to be again! New frontier, Amigos.

This post is pure satire and I feel compelled to point that out.

[Fritz]

So...why did Shermy's teams always seem to stumble out of the gate?

[mmmdk]

So...why did Shermy's teams always seem to stumble out of the gate?

Ah! Lack of ability to read and analyse the state of the team - leading to what needed to be done on the field. Shermy was a lapdog subjugated by, say, a self-centered player or players. Which leads to muddy communication and motivation - at best. Shermy is/was jello!

[MichiganPackerFan]

Great post there KY. It would be nice to see the Lions competitive again and have that rivalry back for some more intense games. Would make the division more exciting for sure!

[Fritz]

You don't want to see the Lions competetive again. I saw it when it happened last - in 1991 - and I've never been around such pompous, obnoxious people. Even my friends turned arrogant and grating.

[MichiganPackerFan]

They had a couple good seasons in the mid-late 90's too that brought out the same. And every time I went to Ford Field, they are exactly what you describe!