Mike and Mike on "Heart"

[MeridianDog]

I was listening to Mike and Mike while driving to work this morning and became interested in their comments about some Hall of Fame player who ran a 4.7 at his trials way back when he was entering the NFL. He went from there to an outstanding NFL career.Mike commented that "Heart" has a lot more to do with success than height or speed (his words) (and mywords -recruiter stars) at recruiting time.

I have no idea which Mike made the comment, but it is an interesting line of thought. No player anymore seems to be as tall as he is listed, or the weight he is listedor as fast as he is listed. It seems as if everyone is 6'3" 302# with a 4.3 time. Seems that every QB these days is taller than the truth. I have given up on the stars ratings.

My thought is that "Heart" goes the other way, too.Everyone knows big guys who have lots of stars when they arrive on campus and then their stars fall from the sky when they hit the court or field. What a shame there is no accurate measure of "Heart".

I guess that is why having a staff who know how to recruit and how tocoach when the guys get on campus is important.

That's my philosophical thought for the month.

edited to correct ever present misspelled word

 

[RebelBruiser]

because regardless of the measurables, your recruiting class can always have the most "heart", and no one can make an argument against it.

I'm betting the Hall of Famer they were talking about was Jerry Rice. Could've been someone different, but I always heard Rice ran a 4.6 or 4.7.

To me, that's just an example of how poor the 40 time is for a measure of speed. Rice had top end speed. Maybe he didn't run track perfectly costing him a few tenths of a second, but no one caught him from behind in a game. And of course it's also a testament to how you can't measure football talent without film. Being a great sprinter, strong man, whatever doesn't make you a good football player.

I don't disagree on the premise though, and I think teams benefit a lot from good leadership. Part of that comes from the staff, but a larger portion of that, in my opinion, comes from the players. If you have a group of leaders that buy in and lead from within, especially in football, your team will play above its talent. If the leaders on your team aren't as strong, the team will underachieve. That's why coaches will often focus on trying to identify the leaders of their team and try to help direct them on how to lead, because they know the majority of the leadership comes from within a team.

That's why you see ups and downs sometimes with teams that you wouldn't expect to be down or up based on what they did the previous year and what they returned. Same staff, similar talent level, different results, usually is the result of different leadership from within a team.

 

[maroonmania]

without pads on unless they plan on playing without pads. Amazing how some guys can put on the pads and it doesn't seem to affect their speed at all while others slow down quite a bit.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

I think it has a lot more to do with maturity level and work ethic than something as abstract as "heart." I remember hearing about how in the 1998 NFL draft, someone asked Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning what they would do if they were picked first. Leaf talked all about how he would celebrate with a big party. Manning said that he would be talking to his coaches, get a copy of the playbook, and prepare for his job in the league. No need to explain where things went from here.<div>
</div><div>Same thing happens between all levels. Guys in high school can dominate the competition. It might be because they have a physical advantage (think 6'8" 300 lb linemen, 7'2" basketball players, or receivers who can run a 4.3 40) or because they are in a system where the coach provides much of the training and discipline. As they go up levels, they have to have more and more self discipline to compete. I don't think your top players in college get where they are by only preparing during the few NCAA mandated practice hours. If they think they can succeed solely because of what they have done, they will be sorely disappointed, as will the team coaches, owners, and fans. The hard work can pay off and make you better than your competition, even if your competition had greater potential when you started out. There's no way for a guy without talent to make it at a high level, but plenty of players have the talent level to succeed. It's why a 2-star can become an All American.</div>

 

[MeridianDog]

I think it has a lot more to do with maturity level and work ethic than something as abstract as "heart."

Ethic/maturity/heart - to me, the words are synonyms.

I liked what Rebel Bruiser said about team leaders too.

The senior guys must step up and lead the team. There must be a leader and seeing them lead always brings out the best in a team.

In Army Basic Training(a hundred years back, OK only 40 years), the senior drill Sergent (gray hair) would run circles around our company as we ran down the streets of the basic training station at Ft Lewis, WA. He would sing to us and coax us on as he ran backwards beside the ranks, never losing a step on us as we ran in formation. He ran so easily and with so little effort, it made (me at least) reluctant to fall out. If he could run backwards, why/how could I fail?

In my book, he had "Heart".

 

[Hair of the Dawg]

his 40 time at the combine sucked.

But that dude is one of the fastest people I've ever seen in open space on the football field....40 time didn't mean **** when it came to what he could do with the ball in his hands.

 

[SchruteDog]

He was fast on the COLLEGE football field. Other than getting loose on one punt return, his stats were very pedestrian. The Chiefs tried running him on bubble screens and it seemed like most of the time he got popped and went down at or behind the line of scrimmage.