Monday - Week Off - Regroup?

"I told him that I loved him no matter what happened. And I was serious," Richt said about his message to Morgan. "It is a lot of pressure for a young man. And sometimes guys think that their worth is whether they perform well or not. But that is really not the fact of the matter. Their worth is that they are an awesome human being and we love them, and they are doing their best."

I'm not going to poke fun at this. It's really a wonderful message, but I do want to make a comment about what it says about Mark Richt.

I'm sure some will take offense about what I am going to say about this, but I offer my comment without malice and I just want to speak about the psychology of this moment.

It of course shows again that MR is a great guy. He's a guy you can trust around your kids, and a great spiritual leader. It's the message I want to hear from my life coach if I've dropped the ball.

Here's the thing though... most of his competitors view their job as getting the most out of their young men as football players while MR wants them to know that their worth is not gauged by that success. Now that is very true as human beings, but as football players, yes your value is judged by your successes or failures on the field.

Quite frankly, I do not want to hear from my coach that it's okay if I fail before I even make the attempt to succeed I want my coach to instill confidence in me. I want him to be Gene Hackman in Hoosiers when he looks at his player before two crucial free throws and says "After Olie makes his second free throw.... and you WILL make your second free throw..."

Richt's message is great and beautiful... but it was the message that should be delivered AFTER the FG attempt if it's not successful, not before he even tries.

Richt's contemporaries teach that failure is not an option, and Richt teaches that yes it is, and that's okay.

Sorry... but this is how I feel. I played sports at a high level, and I'll guarantee you that I would want to hear that message after a failure, not before a chance of success. Richt is an awesome life coach.... football coaches though, need to send a different message in
preparation for a win on the field. What he said at that moment is the message Saban would give as well... he would just give it when he let a football player know he was being replaced as the starter.

That's the difference. Blast me if you will for having the audacity to say it in regards to such a wonderful message... but I did, and I believe it.

Good read Wartdawg. Lots to agree with.

EXACTLY !!! I thought the same thing when I heard CMR say that !

My thoughts were, you're a great human being but you've lost focus as to why you were hired. TO WIN BALL GAMES !!!

CMR's speech to Morgan was like telling a kid who finished last, "You're just the last winner".

DM<

PS...I wonder if we are an underdog to the Bye Week ?

You guys don't want me on the field in any coaching capacity......I know just enough to be dangerous.

Sure be alot of fun with you guys though.

WD, totally agree with your post on CMR and Morgan. I took it as a "calming ploy" by CMR for his kicker since he had just missed a chip shot before to take the lead. You don't want your kicker uptight or thinking about extra pressure since he had just let the team down in HIS mind five minutes earlier.

No argument here though on your points, well taken. Kickers are funny, sometimes it's hard to make a 3 foot putt if you are nervous or thinking about it too much.....that's all I got from CMR saying that, a calming strategy for big game winning kick.

Hmmm....CMR and a strategy? Is that an oxymoron?

I wonder if at the end of the year CMR will get the whole team a participation trophy to make the feel better.

I was a kicker in HS.

My coach would have said something like, "Go get me my 3 points!".