Our Biggest Problem? We have no heart!!!!

[Bleu Star]

But that is something the player themselves have to bring to the table. I have been in enough locker rooms to know your adrenaline level is off the wall and most of the players forget about all the talk in the locker room once the ball is kicked off. Same with the bulletin board stuff, it is great to help you focus during the week but once the game is underway your focus is on doing the job ahead of you or at least it should be

i always listened and got that extra fire from the head coach whom I always gave the utmost respect.

 

[Doomsday101]

i always listened and got that extra fire from the head coach whom I always gave the utmost respect.

As I said when the ball is kicked off the time for words is over it comes down to going out knowing your job and making plays if you do that you increase your odds of winning if not all the lip service in the world will change the outcome. Emotion are great and as you make plays players will be jacked up but when things go south team emotions fade quickly. This is why on 1 sideline guys are laughing and joking and the other sideline guys are hanging their heads. Guess which team were making the plays and which team didn't. :laugh2:

 

[Bleu Star]

As I said when the ball is kicked off the time for words is over it comes down to going out knowing your job and making plays if you do that you increase your odds of winning if not all the lip service in the world will change the outcome. Emotion are great and as you make plays players will be jacked up but when things go south team emotions fade quickly. This is why on 1 sideline guys are laughing and joking and the other sideline guys are hanging their heads. Guess which team were making the plays and which team didn't. :laugh2:

You really didn't say much. I played for two semi pro teams that both won the championship for their respective years in Europe. I had the same coach for both years and his words were a rallying point both at the start of every game and returning from halftime. That's just what I experienced. I guess everyone has their own way of defining motivation.

 

[Doomsday101]

You really didn't say much. I played for two semi pro teams that both won the championship for their respective years in Europe. I had the same coach for both years and his words were a rallying point both at the start of every game and returning from halftime. That's just what I experienced. I guess everyone has their own way of defining motivation.

And you said a lot? I have nothing against coaches giving speeches but that does not win games. You either execute or you don't. You either make plays or you don't. The winner is not the team with the best speech writer it is the team who performs the best. Coaches get you ready but as a player you know it comes down to you and your teammates doing the job no one else.

 

[Bleu Star]

Coaches get you ready but as a player you know it comes down to you and your teammates doing the job no one else.

This I can agree with. Tell that to our players. I will also add that part of that "getting you ready" is getting everyone on the same page before they hit that tunnel. That's motivation(IMO). Put all of your distractions aside for 60 minutes and do what we have prepared you to do. I would give anything to be a fly on the wall to hear what the prehistoric Tuna is saying to these guys before they head out.

 

[Bleu Star]

And you said a lot?

I guess not. It appears we're both being typical guys and beating our own chests.

 

[Doomsday101]

I guess not. It appears we're both being typical guys and beating our own chests.

I know one thing after a loss it was not the coaches doing the wind sprints it was us players. :laugh2: Our coach would run us until you felt you were ready to lose your lunch. Nothing the opponent did was as bad as what we would face if we lost a game.

 

[Bleu Star]

I know one thing after a loss it was not the coaches doing the wind sprints it was us players. :laugh2: Our coach would run us until you felt you were ready to lose your lunch. Nothing the opponent did was as bad as what we would face if we lost a game.

Yep. Me wonders how many wind sprints our players run after a loss...

 

[Doomsday101]

Yep. Me wonders how many wind sprints our players run after a loss...

I don't know. I will say I have been to several Cowboys training camp during Jimmy Johnson and Switzer time in Dallas and the Pros do have it a lot easier than the kids in the college ranks. Then again a college kid does not make big time money so the coach can afford to be a lot more physical with them.

 

[AmericasTeam31]

Emotions without making plays is false. You make plays players are excited you mess up and players start hanging their heads. This ideal that you give a speech and all of a sudden your going to play good is BS. It comes down to players making plays not the bunch of rah rah BS. As for Landry I don't need to trust you I watched him and there was no rah rah he was all business and his players went out and took care of that business. I agree emotions play a part but emotions come from making plays to just say I'm pumped up or jumping up and down is not going to do a damn thing, making plays is what gets players fired up

I agree with you here, but it is the heart that will make a man make a play. Heart is what makes a man go harder for 60 minutes than any other player on the field. I was a basketball man in school, not a football man. Heart, to me, was doing whatever it takes to get the ball. Dennis Rodman is a perfect example of this. Aside from all his antics off the court, and sometimes on the court, he had the most heart of any member of any of his teams. Diving in the stands, throwing his body around like a rag doll... That's what heart is. He had the will to win, the will to do whatever it takes to acheive your goal. I don't know how this equates to football, but in my mind, it's doing whatever it takes to win your position battle on everyplay. I don't see that with this team. We had every opportunity to win our division, and weren't even competetive when it mattered most. We looked like a JC team. That is not heart. It can't be blamed on any one person. It comes from a team, a team that is not gonna back down, no matter what the odds are. A team like the Saints, Ravens, Patriots, etc.... A team the Cowboys are not.

 

[CaptainQuint]

You're a moron!
Every player on every NFL team must have a heart...it's in the official rules of the game.
What is NOT required is a minimum IQ.
And that's what some of our players lack.

 

[notherbob]

I just want to see them playing with some determination and confidence, even if they lose. Sometimes they make silly mistakes and make me think of the Keystone Kops. Sometimes they look like they just don't believe the game plan and lack confidence and enthusiasm.

If these guys have been giving their best, then they are truly not ready for the playoffs. If they've been sandbagging, it's time to wake up and play right.

 

[Smith22]

someone is falling victim to ESPN hype.

Ray and co. have done nothing in years after a one-hit wonder season.

Watch the Ravens much? Especially their defense? I'm guessing no....

That defense intimidates players. They constantly attack. Our defense is the exact opposite of that Ravens defense.

 

[Kilyin]

im willing to bet u ever told any of them that, u'd be flat on your face with blood tricklingdown your face

What if I told them that while driving by really fast in a car? You know, drive by smack talk. I bet if you did that to Shawne Merriman, he'd snatch your whole car up and smash you accordion style. He's that good.

Another thing to consider - If one were flat on their face, wouldn't the blood trickle onto the surface that their face was resting on?

 

[the kid 05]

if we have no heart how are we alive?

 

[smarta5150]

if we have no heart how are we alive?

2 hours ago was the last comment and you re-kindle it with this ?

Why am I not surprised?

 

[the kid 05]

2 hours ago was the last comment and you re-kindle it with this ?

Why am I not surprised?

well both as a smart *** and the truth, if we had no heart we wouldn't be in the play offs would we? and we have to be alive otherwise we would be dead

 

[cstanton1987]

I think that a culture of losing is starting to permeate into the locker room I say this year we draft someone with a fire in their belly like Mike Irvin had back in the day someone who hypes everyone else up

 

[BulletBob]

I'm not sure I understand you guys all that well. I've coached and played on sports teams, and managed and worked on corporate teams.

In every case, the coach or manager's words and/or actions had a direct impact on the players/workers.

Read some of Vince Lombardi's speeches.

Look at what Jack Welch did at GE, Charles Schwab at Bethlehem Steel, and Lee Iacocca at Chrysler.

They all took people with heart (who were not functioning as a unit very effectively) and got them to perform at their highest level. They did it by their own words and actions - words and actions that matter both when preparing for battle or in the heat of battle.

You see it over and over again throughout history (especially in war) - a leader who takes a mediocre group of people and gets them to overachieve beyond anyone's dreams or expectations.

To those that say the words of a coach or manager don't matter (even during the game), I say poppycock. In my experience, they make all the difference in the world.

 

[superpunk]

It's a balance, BB.

I think what makes me work harder, or inspires me to do more, is the example set by my superiors. If they are dedicated, if they are working late to meet an impossible deadline, if they show the commitment they expect from me, then I can get behind it and do the same myself. Many times, that deosn't even require words. Conversely, if your superior is a blowhard who doesn't practice what he preaches, no charisma and motivational speech can ever overcome the hypocrisy that is clear to see.

Parcells will try to fire the troops up - we don't see it much because it generally occurs during a commercial timeout. The only thing I hate about Parcells in that regard (and it seems to be a recent development) is the dismay he shows when things are going poorly. He just looks beat, at that point, and seems to lack the energy to pick himself off the mat, in the middle of the game.

Currently, I see that same attitude from the entire team, which certainly lends credence to the notion that the team's attitude reflects authority. Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys have a weak chin right now. They can't take many punches.