Blinkscout Game 10 Dolphins Meltdown ...
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I have been at a loss many times this year, and this is no exception. Our ability to play for the "silver medal" every game astonishes me.
The culture of losing is a real thing. It's powerful, and it takes powerful people to overcome it. This is a statement about human psychology more than anything else.
So, some psychology to start ...
1) The more people expect that the Rams are going to blow it, the easier it is for other teams to have confidence in themselves beating us in the 4th quarter. (All things aside, Tannehill made about 10 amazing throws)
2) Because of our history, any team we demoralize for three quarters can still turn it around and beat us in the 4th (or we can hand it over).
3) The more likely our players feel themselves to be to make mistakes at the worst times, the less they will hold themselves accountable when they do.
4) The more of a shock it is when we play well, the easier it is to expect less.
5) The more it is needed that someone step up, the more the average human person will not only "not step up" ... but they will actually SHRINK back.
6) The more accustomed we are to playing without a sense of urgency, the more foreign it will be when we try to make the transition.
I love psychology and psychological theory, it's actually my main focus in life. My main focus within that is how difficult it is to change established habits ... everything in our mind is set up for stasis, creating meaningful change is nearly impossible. It takes focus, relentless optimism, effort, and commitment JUST FOR THE MENTAL SIDE. That's before anything physical even needs to be trained in using muscle memory and all the good athletic stuff that we have when we are dealing with world class athletes.
Jeff Fisher is a player's coach. His disadvantage in Tennessee was not having full backing or the ability to bring in top money talent. His disadvantage here is the culture of losing that is expected from the franchise. Both of those are real things, that HE HAS TO OVERCOME. In Tennessee he found some amazing draft talent and worked with it as long as he could ... and even then it was the Music City Miracle that got him to the Superbowl, heck they should have been out in the wild card round.
To overcome the culture of losing here, he is going to have to overcome much more than a lack of financing. He is going to have to change the nature of the game he plays in his head. IN tennessee he had to get average players to play better by creating camaraderie. So that he could get 9 performances out of 5 level players. That's not what he has to do here. Here he has to score 2 more touchdowns than EVERY team they play to overcome the STUPID mistakes that come from being a losing franchise.
Fisher has to come in seeing that a 10 point lead is a LOSS. Fisher has to see that when there is 6 minutes left, and we're up by anything less than 3 scores, that WE ARE ACTUALLY THE UNDERDOG. At 17 points it's about even.
My issue with changing coaches is that any coach we get will face the same issue. I'd prefer continuity over that, especially with a young QB.
We are dealing with two things, Fisher learning how to overcome his idea of how he expects games to play out, and the entire team has to overcome the disadvantage that their own psychology presents to them.
Any new coach that comes in? Those two things don't change.
We may want to site times when coaches came in and changed teams ... yes that has happened. But only a few times have they changed entire franchises and cultures. This is why some teams have a consistent level of excellence and cycle down into obscurity for a few years, and other teams have a consistent level of failure and cycle up every once in a while for a few years.
We can never feel like we're ahead in a game, we're always the underdog and we need to keep that level of urgency, and that's what's got to change in the mind of every person associated with the franchise.
The Good
7) Jared Goff's arm. I'm just happy to see the ball leap out of his hands.
8) Jared's blitz hot read to Pharoh Cooper. Relaxed, accurate, on time. That was my favorite play of the game.
9) Jared's 3rd and ten first down run (yes, I know it was called back).
10) How many sacks? 6? 5?
11) Mo's pick in the end zone ... that was a great play.
12) Barron flying all over the field. I really hope he gets some Pro Bowl consideration.
13) Joyner played really well. The Dolphins slot guys really didn't make much noise.
14) Easley keeps upping his game.
The Expected
15) Jared made his rookie mistakes.
The Bad
16) Tru allowing the winning TD. That hurt.
17) Hitting the upright. That hurt.
18) Donald's PF the last drive. That hurt.
19) Giving up how many catches to Devante Parker in the 4th quarter? Man ... that too.
The Ugly
20) The offensive playcalling in the 4th quarter. The issue with "Putting it in the hands of the defense" is that they can't really score points unless someone else makes a mistake. Our 6 minute offense is garbage.
21) The G Rob penalty. Lord. It's awesome that they drafted a freak athlete, but he's really capable of dumb behavior on the field.
22) Knowing, as a fan, that we were beat the second we didn't get the first down after they scored.
College ...
23) Good weekend of games coming up ... Ive added a CB list and I'm reallllly happy with what I see, if we are looking at going that direction. I added WR too, and am seeing more talent than I expected to see.
Thoughts and comments welcome.
The culture of losing is a real thing. It's powerful, and it takes powerful people to overcome it. This is a statement about human psychology more than anything else.
So, some psychology to start ...
1) The more people expect that the Rams are going to blow it, the easier it is for other teams to have confidence in themselves beating us in the 4th quarter. (All things aside, Tannehill made about 10 amazing throws)
2) Because of our history, any team we demoralize for three quarters can still turn it around and beat us in the 4th (or we can hand it over).
3) The more likely our players feel themselves to be to make mistakes at the worst times, the less they will hold themselves accountable when they do.
4) The more of a shock it is when we play well, the easier it is to expect less.
5) The more it is needed that someone step up, the more the average human person will not only "not step up" ... but they will actually SHRINK back.
6) The more accustomed we are to playing without a sense of urgency, the more foreign it will be when we try to make the transition.
I love psychology and psychological theory, it's actually my main focus in life. My main focus within that is how difficult it is to change established habits ... everything in our mind is set up for stasis, creating meaningful change is nearly impossible. It takes focus, relentless optimism, effort, and commitment JUST FOR THE MENTAL SIDE. That's before anything physical even needs to be trained in using muscle memory and all the good athletic stuff that we have when we are dealing with world class athletes.
Jeff Fisher is a player's coach. His disadvantage in Tennessee was not having full backing or the ability to bring in top money talent. His disadvantage here is the culture of losing that is expected from the franchise. Both of those are real things, that HE HAS TO OVERCOME. In Tennessee he found some amazing draft talent and worked with it as long as he could ... and even then it was the Music City Miracle that got him to the Superbowl, heck they should have been out in the wild card round.
To overcome the culture of losing here, he is going to have to overcome much more than a lack of financing. He is going to have to change the nature of the game he plays in his head. IN tennessee he had to get average players to play better by creating camaraderie. So that he could get 9 performances out of 5 level players. That's not what he has to do here. Here he has to score 2 more touchdowns than EVERY team they play to overcome the STUPID mistakes that come from being a losing franchise.
Fisher has to come in seeing that a 10 point lead is a LOSS. Fisher has to see that when there is 6 minutes left, and we're up by anything less than 3 scores, that WE ARE ACTUALLY THE UNDERDOG. At 17 points it's about even.
My issue with changing coaches is that any coach we get will face the same issue. I'd prefer continuity over that, especially with a young QB.
We are dealing with two things, Fisher learning how to overcome his idea of how he expects games to play out, and the entire team has to overcome the disadvantage that their own psychology presents to them.
Any new coach that comes in? Those two things don't change.
We may want to site times when coaches came in and changed teams ... yes that has happened. But only a few times have they changed entire franchises and cultures. This is why some teams have a consistent level of excellence and cycle down into obscurity for a few years, and other teams have a consistent level of failure and cycle up every once in a while for a few years.
We can never feel like we're ahead in a game, we're always the underdog and we need to keep that level of urgency, and that's what's got to change in the mind of every person associated with the franchise.
The Good
7) Jared Goff's arm. I'm just happy to see the ball leap out of his hands.
8) Jared's blitz hot read to Pharoh Cooper. Relaxed, accurate, on time. That was my favorite play of the game.
9) Jared's 3rd and ten first down run (yes, I know it was called back).
10) How many sacks? 6? 5?
11) Mo's pick in the end zone ... that was a great play.
12) Barron flying all over the field. I really hope he gets some Pro Bowl consideration.
13) Joyner played really well. The Dolphins slot guys really didn't make much noise.
14) Easley keeps upping his game.
The Expected
15) Jared made his rookie mistakes.
The Bad
16) Tru allowing the winning TD. That hurt.
17) Hitting the upright. That hurt.
18) Donald's PF the last drive. That hurt.
19) Giving up how many catches to Devante Parker in the 4th quarter? Man ... that too.
The Ugly
20) The offensive playcalling in the 4th quarter. The issue with "Putting it in the hands of the defense" is that they can't really score points unless someone else makes a mistake. Our 6 minute offense is garbage.
21) The G Rob penalty. Lord. It's awesome that they drafted a freak athlete, but he's really capable of dumb behavior on the field.
22) Knowing, as a fan, that we were beat the second we didn't get the first down after they scored.
College ...
23) Good weekend of games coming up ... Ive added a CB list and I'm reallllly happy with what I see, if we are looking at going that direction. I added WR too, and am seeing more talent than I expected to see.
Thoughts and comments welcome.
