What did Madden mean about the pool thing?

[CaptainAmerica]

Just found it in an old article...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/features/superbowl/archives/27/

In one remarkable session with the media, on Jan. 27, Johnson stood on the rostrum and opened a slight window into the way he looks at his life by talking about a book that had influenced him, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Then, as if he were reluctant to end the give-and-take, he sat at a table and kept talking with a handful of reporters, for 20, 30, 45 minutes, until the room started to empty. The reporters wanted to know how Johnson had come into the NFL without any experience in pro football and put together, with such clarity, exactly the type of team he wanted.

"I like the guy who can walk into a poolroom and pick up a cue stick and sink the 8 ball," said Johnson. "The people I want around me, well, the bigger the game, the more they shine. Some people, I don't care if it's a six-inch putt, when everything's on the line, it's very tough for them. It's the way their lives have been. I can't do a whole lot about it, just eliminate 'em from our program."

That is a classic illustration to describe the difference between Tony Romo and Drew Henson.

I was a huge supporter of Henson, but it became painfully obvious that he simply doesn't have the ability to respond to pressure.

Thankfully Parcells made the decision between Romo and Henson and not Jerry Jones or me.

 

[speedkilz88]

I'm surprised Madden just didn't say he thought Romo had "it", but that he really didn't know what "it" was, but that Romo had it. That would have been the perfect Maddenism.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We knew this about Romo before he ever took a snap.

You can't play golf at the level he does if you can't handle pressure.

A freind of mine mentioned that last night and I thought that was very good.

Golf is such a mental test. In fact the top golfers say that is what elevates Tiger Woods above the rest of the world. He is just on a different level mentally.

Romo's part-time golfing success suggests his mental toughness.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

about him being a hussler, he shows he is "average" in the NYG game and then Hussles the rest of the teams the remeander of the season for a perfect record

I didnt see "average" in Giants game... I saw someone coming on... more and more as game went on... a few mistakes....

but I get your point

 

[wileedog]

about him being a hussler, he shows he is "average" in the NYG game and then Hussles the rest of the teams the remeander of the season for a perfect record

He was only showing 2% of his moxie in the Giant game...

 

[BulletBob]

He said something to the effect that Romo is the guy who walks in and sinks the 8 ball then leaves with the money.

What does that have to do with football?

OK - many of the posters have touched on the analogy, but as a dedicated Master of the Obvious, let me 'splain it a bit further.

Madden's analogy referred to a game of billiards known as 8-Ball. Without getting into great detail on the rules, there are basically 15 billiards on the table - 7 solid-colored balls, 7 striped balls, and one 8-ball (usually always painted black).

Through the course of the game, one player is assigned to sink all of the colored balls, and the other the striped balls. The 8-ball is to be avoided.

However, once a player sinks all 7 of his designated billiards (stripes or solids), the object is then to sink the 8-ball to win the game. This can be a difficult task, because the shooter has only one option left on the table - sink the 8-ball. While the other player can still has potentially several options to shoot at, the player focused on the 8-ball has only one shot, and it is often times a difficult one.

So, the analogy is of a pool shark, who walks into the pool hall, and can make the winning shot (sinking the 8-ball, cool as a cucumber) from anywhere on the table.

The analogy is a bit flawed, but gets the message across in an old-school sorta way.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Or it could mean Madden is still crazy. And loud. And repetitive.
Bless his heart.