What it takes to be #1

[denverYooper]

I found this interesting, from Bedard's Twitter, fragments of a story about some veteran leadership in the locker room.

2 interesting tidbits from the Packers locker room. There was a canvas with a Lombardi speech on one of the tables. Don't know who did it

And the SI story on my old friend, DT Jeff Zgonina, was copied and placed in every Packers locker. http://bit.ly/1t4Dy7

He posts a pic of it:

http://tweetphoto.com/hqkgabhr

And the text on the canvas reads

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to play his trade he's got to play from the ground up-from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization-an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win-to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there-to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules-but to win.

And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

...Vince Lombardi

Then, a bit later, Bedard Tweets:

Mystery of the Lombardi canvas has been solved: Woodson was the winning bidder on it at Driver's charity event.

That is an awesome move by a core vet on the team. The message is pretty simple: hey guys, let's really play some ball. Hopefully it's the kick in the pants these guys need.

[Freak Out]

Damn good stuff...thanks for the SI link.

[sheepshead]

That speech has been on my office wall for years..

[BZnDallas]

i have a poster of that framed on the wall in my house, where i live with one bear fan roommate and one viking fan roommmate...

[bobblehead]

Lombardi has another quote which indirectly gets to my gripe against MM in a certain area:

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all"

Simply put, if you don't put in the time and you end up playing tired you will fail. I extend that to this: If you don't practice outdoors in the winter you will be a pussy and a coward in the bitter cold. If you practice being in the right spot and knowing your assignment, but aren't competitive in BEATING another man in that assignment you will be in the right position and be...BEATEN!!

I think a trend in recent years in GB (and likely around the league) is to not hit or be competitive in practice to save the bodies of these big hulks. MM refuses to practice outdoors in the cold because he thinks we don't have "productive practices" and then he wonders why his guys are getting their asses handed to them by Chicago in shitty weather. Lovie is a dolt, but his guys practiced in that shit all week and were fully prepared to play in it...MM's boys wondered what happened to the comfort of the Hudson practice facility where the snaps to the punter were warm and perfect.

You tell me if Babre has to stop a raging Kampman in practice daily that he could put in those piss poor efforts on sunday...I highly doubt it.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Lombardi is a relic. His time is past. His methods would never work on today's millionaire athletes (with a few rare exceptions).

Look at the injury thing. Players today (again with a few notable exceptions) will sit out a game or practice with a hang nail.

Lombardi guys on the Packers would be Woodson, Driver, Jennings, kampman, Rodgers... These guys can be counted upon Sunday after Sunday. They'll play hurt. Especially Woodson.

Lombardi said he'd rather have a guy with 50% talent and 100% desire, rather than the other way around.

Desire is the key. What Donald Driver has and what he shows game after game cannot be taught. It comes from inside a person's character. A coach like Lombardi can discover it and show a player how to develop it, but even Lombardi couldn't teach it to a character like DeShawn Wynn.

I'm just guessing McCarthy feels more comfortable with desire than talent, but I don't see Lombardi's fire and motivational flare in MM. And I don't mean just the ability to rant and rave and throw things.

Listen to McCarthy's press conferences and the way he discusses injuries. He defers time and again to the team doctor. He's always talking about being "smart" with players and their knicks and sprains. In his days Lombardi WAS the team doctor. He could fix bruises and sprains with a word or a glance.

[mmmdk]

Lombardi is a relic. His time is past. His methods would never work on today's millionaire athletes (with a few rare exceptions).

Look at the injury thing. Players today (again with a few notable exceptions) will sit out a game or practice with a hang nail.

Lombardi guys on the Packers would be Woodson, Driver, Jennings, kampman, Rodgers... These guys can be counted upon Sunday after Sunday. They'll play hurt. Especially Woodson.

Lombardi said he'd rather have a guy with 50% talent and 100% desire, rather than the other way around.

Desire is the key. What Donald Driver has and what he shows game after game cannot be taught. It comes from inside a person's character. A coach like Lombardi can discover it and show a player how to develop it, but even Lombardi couldn't teach it to a character like DeShawn Wynn.

I'm just guessing McCarthy feels more comfortable with desire than talent, but I don't see Lombardi's fire and motivational flare in MM. And I don't mean just the ability to rant and rave and throw things.

Listen to McCarthy's press conferences and the way he discusses injuries. He defers time and again to the team doctor. He's always talking about being "smart" with players and their knicks and sprains. In his days Lombardi WAS the team doctor. He could fix bruises and sprains with a word or a glance.

[Fritz]

Uh, Rod Marinelli was one of those macho-honor-hard-work-manly-men guys you all are slathering over. How'd he do in Detroit?

[retailguy]

Uh, Rod Marinelli was one of those macho-honor-hard-work-manly-men guys you all are slathering over. How'd he do in Detroit?

You gotta have PLAYERS to coach. I like Marinelli. Always have. He's a great Defensive coach. Not so sure about head coach, but Detoilet wasn't a fair evaluation.

[Freak Out]

Lombardi is a relic. His time is past. His methods would never work on today's millionaire athletes (with a few rare exceptions).

Look at the injury thing. Players today (again with a few notable exceptions) will sit out a game or practice with a hang nail.

Lombardi guys on the Packers would be Woodson, Driver, Jennings, kampman, Rodgers... These guys can be counted upon Sunday after Sunday. They'll play hurt. Especially Woodson.

Lombardi said he'd rather have a guy with 50% talent and 100% desire, rather than the other way around.

Desire is the key. What Donald Driver has and what he shows game after game cannot be taught. It comes from inside a person's character. A coach like Lombardi can discover it and show a player how to develop it, but even Lombardi couldn't teach it to a character like DeShawn Wynn.

I'm just guessing McCarthy feels more comfortable with desire than talent, but I don't see Lombardi's fire and motivational flare in MM. And I don't mean just the ability to rant and rave and throw things.

Listen to McCarthy's press conferences and the way he discusses injuries. He defers time and again to the team doctor. He's always talking about being "smart" with players and their knicks and sprains. In his days Lombardi WAS the team doctor. He could fix bruises and sprains with a word or a glance.

No Al Harris?

[pbmax]

Lombardi is a relic. His time is past. His methods would never work on today's millionaire athletes (with a few rare exceptions).

Look at the injury thing. Players today (again with a few notable exceptions) will sit out a game or practice with a hang nail.

Lombardi guys on the Packers would be Woodson, Driver, Jennings, kampman, Rodgers... These guys can be counted upon Sunday after Sunday. They'll play hurt. Especially Woodson.

Lombardi said he'd rather have a guy with 50% talent and 100% desire, rather than the other way around.

Desire is the key. What Donald Driver has and what he shows game after game cannot be taught. It comes from inside a person's character. A coach like Lombardi can discover it and show a player how to develop it, but even Lombardi couldn't teach it to a character like DeShawn Wynn.

I'm just guessing McCarthy feels more comfortable with desire than talent, but I don't see Lombardi's fire and motivational flare in MM. And I don't mean just the ability to rant and rave and throw things.

Listen to McCarthy's press conferences and the way he discusses injuries. He defers time and again to the team doctor. He's always talking about being "smart" with players and their knicks and sprains. In his days Lombardi WAS the team doctor. He could fix bruises and sprains with a word or a glance.

You do realize that this approach to injuries has a substantial number of players from Lombardi's generation walking around without the ability to have coherent thoughts? In fact, if I am not mistaken (and Packer lore is not my strong suit) there is a player from his championship teams that lived out his last years in a mental fog, poverty and ill health. Many of his teammates tried to help but nothing would stick. He would be unable to stick to a plan, keep a job or have a long term strategy.

From the article that ran last year (Redskins game maybe? was he from the DC area?) he sounded exactly like Mike Webster. In his day, a head injury was just a ding and as soon as you could answer a question, you went back in.

Today's players are larger and faster. Probably a good percentage are on legal (or overlooked) PEDs. The equipment and helmets are lighter, tougher and allow for more full speed impacts. Saying Lombardi was the team doctor in any tone other than disgust is to dismiss the actual damage caused by this game. Players still cut short their lives to play the game. That hasn't changed.

[Maxie the Taxi]

pbmax, you may be thinking of Lionel Aldridge. I don't know if his problems were football related or just psychological. And Willie Wood is a physical basket case due to the beating he took.

No, I'm not advocating a return to a Lombardi-as-team-doctor-type thing. I'm mainly saying I think the pendulum as swung the other way and a lot of today's players take advantage of the extreme caution of today's medical guys.

My main point is that guys like Driver are different than guys like Wynn and that difference is attitude and desire.

Besides, I think a lot of the injury horror stories of past eras are exaggerated. Most of the players coming out of that era are OK. And I agree that playing in the NFL takes a toll. But we're discussing what it takes to be number one and I think some guys are willing to pay a higher price than others.

Bottom-line: I wish we had a whole team of Drivers. And I wish McCarthy were a bit more hardnosed than he seems.

[Rastak]

Unfortunately Maxi it isn't exaggerated. The average life span of an NFL player is really eye opening. I think I get what you are trying to say but you don't ever want the pendulum to swing back....and it wasn't just Lombardi, it was the whole league operating that way.

[pbmax]

Bottom-line: I wish we had a whole team of Drivers. And I wish McCarthy were a bit more hardnosed than he seems.

Can't argue with this. As for Wynn, I think this injury situation stretches back into college, so it may be a pain threshold issue. Its hard to say without walking in their shoes.

As for desire and today's player, I think more often what happens is that players look to extend their playing career rather than risk years by playing hurt now. Its makes the focus different for some players, but from a financial standpoint, having an additional year or two of making half a millions dollars or more is hard to pass up.

[MJZiggy]

Unfortunately Maxi it isn't exaggerated. The average life span of an NFL player is really eye opening. I think I get what you are trying to say but you don't ever want the pendulum to swing back....and it wasn't just Lombardi, it was the whole league operating that way.

Yes, but the life span issues come from the obesity that's encouraged among linemen more than from playing through injury. These guys are encouraged to gain and eat tremendous amounts of food and then when the physical activity stops, their appetites don't adjust. Then a decade down the road, they think they need to work out and try to start working at the level they did when they were training and they give themselves heart attacks. And yes, an inordinate amount suffer from dementia which is horrible for everyone involved.