Foundational pieces that make a team/program great?

[LuCane]

Football is all about execution. It's about knowing your role, and executing that role. It's about stepping up to the plate when your number is called.

Somebody above compared football to war. I don't think it's quite like that, war is more unpredictable and random, football comes down to being prepared and not allowing the moment to be too big for you.

A well coached team executes with the football. A well coached team executes under the bright lights. They know how to dig in. They know how to hang in there for sixty **** minutes and get it done in some kind of way. That's the mark of a true champion.

There's a significant element to football, especially now, that requires improvisation. That's the part about us and our approach that concerns me.

 

[Ernie McCracken]

Football is all about execution. It's about knowing your role, and executing that role. It's about stepping up to the plate when your number is called.

Somebody above compared football to war. I don't think it's quite like that, war is more unpredictable and random, football comes down to being prepared and not allowing the moment to be too big for you.

A well coached team executes with the football. A well coached team executes under the bright lights. They know how to dig in. They know how to hang in there for sixty **** minutes and get it done in some kind of way. That's the mark of a true champion.

There's a significant element to football, especially now, that requires improvisation. That's the part about us and our approach that concerns me.

What requires improvisation? To me, football is about assignments, it's not about hot dogging it or free lancing. At least not at the higher levels.

That's one of the big adjustments. In high school, you can have one athlete that just takes over a game and can win it for you because they are much bigger and faster than everyone else. In the NFL, that doesn't happen, there is too much parity and nobody is really that much more gifted than everyone else, so it becomes about assignments and really working on the little things.

College is somewhere in the middle, and it's interesting. You have your Cam Newtons who can still take over a game, but I find you see it less today than in years past as the college game has improved. When I was a kid, you used to have guys like Desmond Howard and Rocket Ismael who couldn't run routes worth a ****, couldn't follow blocks worth a ****, but just out athleted everyone.

Miami was always better coached. We really were NFL U. In spite of the showmanship, we really played like a team and that I believe was the difference.

Guys like Ismael and Howard were better athletes than Michael Irvin, for example, but Irvin was a better football player because he always executed and he always ground it out, finding ways to get better in every aspect of his game.

 

[rsa coral gables]

Football is all about execution. It's about knowing your role, and executing that role. It's about stepping up to the plate when your number is called.

Somebody above compared football to war. I don't think it's quite like that, war is more unpredictable and random, football comes down to being prepared and not allowing the moment to be too big for you.

A well coached team executes with the football. A well coached team executes under the bright lights. They know how to dig in. They know how to hang in there for sixty **** minutes and get it done in some kind of way. That's the mark of a true champion.

There's a significant element to football, especially now, that requires improvisation. That's the part about us and our approach that concerns me.

do you blame the lack of ability to improvise on the coaches or on the players? assuming the coaches had this disposition, do you believe right now we have the players that have the capacity to improvise in the right way (not freelance)? doesnt it take high football IQ? not sure we have a lot of those guys on either side of the ball.

 

[RiDLer80]

It was reported that Luther Robinson got benched last season for playing out of the system against BC, penetrating the backfield and making plays.

So I'd blame the coaches. These players have known attack their whole life and now they're being asked to react.

A trait of a bad coach is rigidity. You have to be able to adapt to your personnel and Golden and Doritos have not shown the ability to adapt or change.

 

[UMJer026]

Trust is one of the main ones. It's meant to go both ways and with this coaching staff it doesn't. They don't trust Morris to audible on his own, they don't trust the defense to audible on their own. Both sides of the ball are always looking to the sideline waiting for a signal waiting for direction because it's been embedded in them that they must adhere and follow a process that in all actuality doesn't work.

The players trusted the coaches. They put in work in the off season they passed the conditioning tests and met the coaches weight S&C goals. They even bought into the system. A hesitant Tracy Howard set aside his reservations and bought in. The players did their part in trusting the coaching staff.

What has transpired is a coaching staff that forced a passive philosophy on players that play an aggressive style of football. As the weeks went by and the doubt crept in the players slowly lost faith in the philosophy and the coaches. Now it is outright apathy where they are doing the only thing they can, protest by a lack of effort.

The coaching staff lost the trust of the players by forcing the players to adapt to a passive philosophy rather than adapting their philosophies to the players and in turn putting the players in a better position to succeed.

This is an excellent post. Well said, NVA.

 

[Iggcane]

Trust is one of the main ones. It's meant to go both ways and with this coaching staff it doesn't. They don't trust Morris to audible on his own, they don't trust the defense to audible on their own. Both sides of the ball are always looking to the sideline waiting for a signal waiting for direction because it's been embedded in them that they must adhere and follow a process that in all actuality doesn't work.

The players trusted the coaches. They put in work in the off season they passed the conditioning tests and met the coaches weight S&C goals. They even bought into the system. A hesitant Tracy Howard set aside his reservations and bought in. The players did their part in trusting the coaching staff.

What has transpired is a coaching staff that forced a passive philosophy on players that play an aggressive style of football. As the weeks went by and the doubt crept in the players slowly lost faith in the philosophy and the coaches. Now it is outright apathy where they are doing the only thing they can, protest by a lack of effort.

The coaching staff lost the trust of the players by forcing the players to adapt to a passive philosophy rather than adapting their philosophies to the players and in turn putting the players in a better position to succeed.

This is an excellent post. Well said, NVA.

I think this post hits the nail on the head.

To me, there are two very large and glaring issues with this team.

First is a lack of trust between coaches and players. Whatever the scheme is, implemented by the coaches, at the end of the day, the players are on the field and need to have the trust of their coaches to adapt, in game and make adjustments to what they are seeing on the field. I don't think the coaches give the players this flexibility.

Second, and I believe more important issue, is a lack of leadership from the players. There needs to be a group of players on this (or any) team that refuse to loose. That know they will do whatever it takes to win a game. This has been missing from this program for a long time. Some of it comes with experience, and unfortuantely, we have not won many big games that help players develop that mentality. But we do have players - Duke, CHick, DP, Morris, Green, most of the O-line - that should have it in them. And I don't see it. It could be because they don't have the trust of their coaches, but I think it is more than that. Some of these players look like they are going through the motions, just waiting to get to the next level and get paid. They don't want to be special while here at UM. They need to want it more. They need to lead the other, less talented, younger players through the tough times. They need to be the bridge between a rigid coaching staff that gains thier trust. We need more leaders.

 

[LuCane]

Football is all about execution. It's about knowing your role, and executing that role. It's about stepping up to the plate when your number is called.

Somebody above compared football to war. I don't think it's quite like that, war is more unpredictable and random, football comes down to being prepared and not allowing the moment to be too big for you.

A well coached team executes with the football. A well coached team executes under the bright lights. They know how to dig in. They know how to hang in there for sixty **** minutes and get it done in some kind of way. That's the mark of a true champion.

There's a significant element to football, especially now, that requires improvisation. That's the part about us and our approach that concerns me.

What requires improvisation? To me, football is about assignments, it's not about hot dogging it or free lancing. At least not at the higher levels.

That's one of the big adjustments. In high school, you can have one athlete that just takes over a game and can win it for you because they are much bigger and faster than everyone else. In the NFL, that doesn't happen, there is too much parity and nobody is really that much more gifted than everyone else, so it becomes about assignments and really working on the little things.

College is somewhere in the middle, and it's interesting. You have your Cam Newtons who can still take over a game, but I find you see it less today than in years past as the college game has improved. When I was a kid, you used to have guys like Desmond Howard and Rocket Ismael who couldn't run routes worth a ****, couldn't follow blocks worth a ****, but just out athleted everyone.

Miami was always better coached. We really were NFL U. In spite of the showmanship, we really played like a team and that I believe was the difference.

Guys like Ismael and Howard were better athletes than Michael Irvin, for example, but Irvin was a better football player because he always executed and he always ground it out, finding ways to get better in every aspect of his game.

Maybe improvisation is the wrong word, but I'm solely applying it to coaches - not players. Thinking on the spot. Quick, analytical decisions.

 

[killa1storm]

I think trust and confidence is a big one.

Using some UF examples, I remember Meyer and some players stating that they never believed they would lose. One because the players trusted that the coaches always had them in the right positions regardless of the opponent or the outcome. And two because they had the confidence which was given by them by their coaches to make plays when they counted.

Two small examples were Percy and Janoris as freshmen. I remember Meyer saying Percy couldn't learn a full route tree, had a hard time picking up base plays, etc. So rather than continuing to force feed it on him Meyer decided to give him about 6-8 base plays where he could showcase his athleticism. As a result he was able to just play fast, let instinct take over, and his confidence continued to grow as the season progressed. Come SEC championship and national championship time he had the confidence to carry the offense as a true freshman. Same with Janoris. Meyer said he played zone like a handful of times his freshman year, just put him on an island and let him cover man-to-man. They identified strengths and weaknesses of players and always put them in a position to showcase strengths, so that trust and confidence followed. Those boys believed in the coaches so much that the confidence they would never lose trailed it and vice versa. We went for it on **** near every 4th and 1 because Tebow demanded the ball and the whole team including the staff trusted he would get it.

Same with a guy like Spurrier. I've had a chance to listen to plenty of past players talk and they felt he would always have an answer for a defense...trust. I'm rambling a little bit and I know y'all don't care about UF but just wanted to add to the discussion.

 

[killa1storm]

Unrelated to my post but I feel like your 01' team was a little like that too. The players ran that team and were so dedicated to each other. Everybody had that confidence and trust in each other...it flowed through every area of the team. Ever notice how those guys never felt they would lose either? How many comebacks did they pull off and make it look easy? They always did it with a sense of calm, it's one of the things I admired about those Miami teams rival or not. I think you saw it all the way until about 03' when those leaders started to fall off some and the same culture wasn't there.

 

[Canesfan1899]

1. respect: respect for the coaches and teammates and the system
2. Willpower: must be able to push oneself and each other pass the breaking point
3. trust: must trust that the guy in the booth is going to make the right call and the guy next to you knows his job and can execute his assignment.
4. Intelligence: on and off the field.
5. Fire/determination: not willing to be beaten by the guy in front of you.

This is where I would start, I'm a little concerned about what if any of these our team has right now.

 

[Dwinstitles]

Top 5 talents from SFLA every year



then utilize it

 

[RiDLer80]

I think trust and confidence is a big one.

Using some UF examples, I remember Meyer and some players stating that they never believed they would lose. One because the players trusted that the coaches always had them in the right positions regardless of the opponent or the outcome. And two because they had the confidence which was given by them by their coaches to make plays when they counted.

Two small examples were Percy and Janoris as freshmen. I remember Meyer saying Percy couldn't learn a full route tree, had a hard time picking up base plays, etc. So rather than continuing to force feed it on him Meyer decided to give him about 6-8 base plays where he could showcase his athleticism. As a result he was able to just play fast, let instinct take over, and his confidence continued to grow as the season progressed. Come SEC championship and national championship time he had the confidence to carry the offense as a true freshman. Same with Janoris. Meyer said he played zone like a handful of times his freshman year, just put him on an island and let him cover man-to-man. They identified strengths and weaknesses of players and always put them in a position to showcase strengths, so that trust and confidence followed. Those boys believed in the coaches so much that the confidence they would never lose trailed it and vice versa. We went for it on **** near every 4th and 1 because Tebow demanded the ball and the whole team including the staff trusted he would get it.

Same with a guy like Spurrier. I've had a chance to listen to plenty of past players talk and they felt he would always have an answer for a defense...trust. I'm rambling a little bit and I know y'all don't care about UF but just wanted to add to the discussion.

Good post. Trust and confidence are huge.

It also seems like Meyer and his staff were willing to change some of the things they wanted to do to because the players weren't able/ready to handle what was being asked of them. Don't force feed players something they're uncomfortable or unable to do. The players won't be confident, won't play fast, and won't enjoy what they're doing. Then you get performances like Duke.

Coaches have to be flexible in their coaching to get the most out of their players.

 

[killa1storm]

I think trust and confidence is a big one.

Using some UF examples, I remember Meyer and some players stating that they never believed they would lose. One because the players trusted that the coaches always had them in the right positions regardless of the opponent or the outcome. And two because they had the confidence which was given by them by their coaches to make plays when they counted.

Two small examples were Percy and Janoris as freshmen. I remember Meyer saying Percy couldn't learn a full route tree, had a hard time picking up base plays, etc. So rather than continuing to force feed it on him Meyer decided to give him about 6-8 base plays where he could showcase his athleticism. As a result he was able to just play fast, let instinct take over, and his confidence continued to grow as the season progressed. Come SEC championship and national championship time he had the confidence to carry the offense as a true freshman. Same with Janoris. Meyer said he played zone like a handful of times his freshman year, just put him on an island and let him cover man-to-man. They identified strengths and weaknesses of players and always put them in a position to showcase strengths, so that trust and confidence followed. Those boys believed in the coaches so much that the confidence they would never lose trailed it and vice versa. We went for it on **** near every 4th and 1 because Tebow demanded the ball and the whole team including the staff trusted he would get it.

Same with a guy like Spurrier. I've had a chance to listen to plenty of past players talk and they felt he would always have an answer for a defense...trust. I'm rambling a little bit and I know y'all don't care about UF but just wanted to add to the discussion.

Good post. Trust and confidence are huge.

It also seems like Meyer and his staff were willing to change some of the things they wanted to do to because the players weren't able/ready to handle what was being asked of them. Don't force feed players something they're uncomfortable or unable to do. The players won't be confident, won't play fast, and won't enjoy what they're doing. Then you get performances like Duke.

Coaches have to be flexible in their coaching to get the most out of their players.

No doubt. As a coach you definitely want to have a system/process that each player adheres too. But within that you have to give them the autonomy to make decisions too, that's the only way confidence comes because then they trust themselves to make decisions. A talented team with ****loads of confidence is hard to beat.

 

[NVA CANE]

I think trust and confidence is a big one.

Using some UF examples, I remember Meyer and some players stating that they never believed they would lose. One because the players trusted that the coaches always had them in the right positions regardless of the opponent or the outcome. And two because they had the confidence which was given by them by their coaches to make plays when they counted.

Two small examples were Percy and Janoris as freshmen. I remember Meyer saying Percy couldn't learn a full route tree, had a hard time picking up base plays, etc. So rather than continuing to force feed it on him Meyer decided to give him about 6-8 base plays where he could showcase his athleticism. As a result he was able to just play fast, let instinct take over, and his confidence continued to grow as the season progressed. Come SEC championship and national championship time he had the confidence to carry the offense as a true freshman. Same with Janoris. Meyer said he played zone like a handful of times his freshman year, just put him on an island and let him cover man-to-man. They identified strengths and weaknesses of players and always put them in a position to showcase strengths, so that trust and confidence followed. Those boys believed in the coaches so much that the confidence they would never lose trailed it and vice versa. We went for it on **** near every 4th and 1 because Tebow demanded the ball and the whole team including the staff trusted he would get it.

Same with a guy like Spurrier. I've had a chance to listen to plenty of past players talk and they felt he would always have an answer for a defense...trust. I'm rambling a little bit and I know y'all don't care about UF but just wanted to add to the discussion.

Urban would have Miami competing and either undefeated or with one loss if he were coaching.

**** Golden

 

[NVA CANE]

I think trust and confidence is a big one.

Using some UF examples, I remember Meyer and some players stating that they never believed they would lose. One because the players trusted that the coaches always had them in the right positions regardless of the opponent or the outcome. And two because they had the confidence which was given by them by their coaches to make plays when they counted.

Two small examples were Percy and Janoris as freshmen. I remember Meyer saying Percy couldn't learn a full route tree, had a hard time picking up base plays, etc. So rather than continuing to force feed it on him Meyer decided to give him about 6-8 base plays where he could showcase his athleticism. As a result he was able to just play fast, let instinct take over, and his confidence continued to grow as the season progressed. Come SEC championship and national championship time he had the confidence to carry the offense as a true freshman. Same with Janoris. Meyer said he played zone like a handful of times his freshman year, just put him on an island and let him cover man-to-man. They identified strengths and weaknesses of players and always put them in a position to showcase strengths, so that trust and confidence followed. Those boys believed in the coaches so much that the confidence they would never lose trailed it and vice versa. We went for it on **** near every 4th and 1 because Tebow demanded the ball and the whole team including the staff trusted he would get it.

Same with a guy like Spurrier. I've had a chance to listen to plenty of past players talk and they felt he would always have an answer for a defense...trust. I'm rambling a little bit and I know y'all don't care about UF but just wanted to add to the discussion.

Good post. Trust and confidence are huge.

It also seems like Meyer and his staff were willing to change some of the things they wanted to do to because the players weren't able/ready to handle what was being asked of them. Don't force feed players something they're uncomfortable or unable to do. The players won't be confident, won't play fast, and won't enjoy what they're doing. Then you get performances like Duke.

Coaches have to be flexible in their coaching to get the most out of their players.

No doubt. As a coach you definitely want to have a system/process that each player adheres too. But within that you have to give them the autonomy to make decisions too, that's the only way confidence comes because then they trust themselves to make decisions. A talented team with ****loads of confidence is hard to beat.

Everything described in these posts is exactly opposite of Golden and Dorito. They are micro managers that don't trust their players to execute with them being on top of it all. Its not a good way to run a team and its not fun football, not for the players and not for the fans.

 

[McGahee2TheHouse]

I think trust and confidence is a big one.

Using some UF examples, I remember Meyer and some players stating that they never believed they would lose. One because the players trusted that the coaches always had them in the right positions regardless of the opponent or the outcome. And two because they had the confidence which was given by them by their coaches to make plays when they counted.

Two small examples were Percy and Janoris as freshmen. I remember Meyer saying Percy couldn't learn a full route tree, had a hard time picking up base plays, etc. So rather than continuing to force feed it on him Meyer decided to give him about 6-8 base plays where he could showcase his athleticism. As a result he was able to just play fast, let instinct take over, and his confidence continued to grow as the season progressed. Come SEC championship and national championship time he had the confidence to carry the offense as a true freshman. Same with Janoris. Meyer said he played zone like a handful of times his freshman year, just put him on an island and let him cover man-to-man. They identified strengths and weaknesses of players and always put them in a position to showcase strengths, so that trust and confidence followed. Those boys believed in the coaches so much that the confidence they would never lose trailed it and vice versa. We went for it on **** near every 4th and 1 because Tebow demanded the ball and the whole team including the staff trusted he would get it.

Same with a guy like Spurrier. I've had a chance to listen to plenty of past players talk and they felt he would always have an answer for a defense...trust. I'm rambling a little bit and I know y'all don't care about UF but just wanted to add to the discussion.

Urban would have Miami competing and either undefeated or with one loss if he were coaching.

**** Golden

Yup. All of the supa fans could never give Urban credit but I'll be damned if I wouldn't have him coaching here in a minute. 2nd best in the game.