I was surprised to hear that Coach Haley was making all the players perform a physical performance test before and after the OTA’s and will do so again at the start of training camp. Even more surprising than that is the fact that Chiefs have not done this before. It is so surprising because the idea is so simple, yet so brilliant.
Haley realizes that most players come into camp to get into shape. From a coaching standpoint, such a philosophy is obviously a waste of valuable practice and implementation time, as well as leaving players susceptible to injury. By implementing the performance test upon the players Haley is insuring that the Chiefs will hit the ground running come July. It insures that the Chiefs will be ahead of those ball clubs who do not demand the same level of performance from their players. This is just another example of Coach Haley building a structured, disciplined and fit ball club. It is another example of Haley finding out what type of players he currently has on his roster. It is another example of the little things that will help turn this ball club around. It is another simple tool to find the right 53.
So why don’t all the NFL teams conduct a physical performance test? Maybe it’s because establishing a test can lead to problems, especially for a weak minded coach. Every rule must have a consequence for its disobedience. What happens when your star players fail the performance tests? If you are Todd Haley, what do you do if Brian Waters fails the test upon reporting to training camp? What punishment should he receive? How about Mike Vrabel? What if Matt Cassel fails the test? What if Dwayne Bowe gains the weight again? Wouldn’t you have to discipline them and how?
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I’d assume that if a player performs poorly during the test, Haley will just ride them extra hard. Limiting a player’s action in this case would kind of be cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
I thought it was reported that they could not take part in training camp until they passed the test. This will limit their chance to make the team which hurts their pocketbook. It might be cutting off his nose but I bet the ones that have been through the OTA’s got the message to come back in shape. Watters etal. might not have gotten the message and might find that there aren’t as many teams looking for an out of sorts out of shape OT as he thought there were.
You put all the players names and test results on a big board for everyone to see. Then the team as a whole can visually see which players are letting the team down. Now if notting letting your team down isnt motavation, then hit the road jack!
Good one goshootergo!
Another team would pass on the opportunity to acquire a perennial pro-bowl OG because he failed Todd Hailey’s physical performance test at the start of training camp?
Really?
No wait, really???
The rules are the rules and they apply to everyone. No one should get special treatment, or be allowed to skirt the rules. If they have to go, fine they have to go. Like a military unit (very effective I might add) they are establishing standards. those standards have to met by every member of the team. this is team building 101.
Marty used to get criticized for things like benching Dale Carter for the first quarter for missing a team meeting or being late. Rules for which every team member knew the penalty. “You don’t just sit down your #1 cover corner for something like this” the talking heads would say. Who was right in the end? Yes Carter was snatched up by another team, in a heart beat, but how did that work out.
Do we even need to get into the molly coddling of keyshawn, Moss, T.O. Ocho Stinko? That is where special treatment gets you. The rules are the same rules for everyone. If not you better be an above average leader, or you won’t be able to handle the rest of the team.
Last year we were picking up players from practice squads, waiver wires, grocery stores… Some of those injured players might not have been injured or out as long if they had been in better shape. At 4-12 and then 2-14 you have to change the mentality around the clubhouse.
The players have to buy in to what the new management is selling. So the management has to have a supreme commitment and burning desire. Nick Saban couldn’t sell it and the players there didn’t buy it. So the proof is in the pudding. We got some new ingredients and the mix is on and the heat is being turned up. I, for one, like it. Build some comaradery and let everyone on the team know who really wants it.
Gump,
Refresh my memory, how many Superbowls did Marty win while he was the Chiefs HC? How many playoff games did he win? Can it honestly be said that his coaching philosophy was successful?
Re Moss, could not one make a fairly strong case that he was at least partially the victim of disfunctional organizations prior to arriving in New England? Perhaps the same is true for Cincy’s #85?
Double D:
The Marty Schottenheimer years were probably some of the most successful in team history. So I’ll take it. It’s a lot more fun to root for a contender than the team that has to “upset” opponents in order win every week.
And I think you’re right about Randy Moss, but not Chad Ochocinco. I like Chad, but I think his antics and attitude are all Chad.
What do you guys think of picking up Mike Brown? I personally love it. The secondary is young and needs a vet presence. The safety spots are going to be heavily contested. Pollard and Page better improve their tackling, because this guy definitely knows how to tackle. He is injury prone, so it should be interesting to see how this shakes out. It can only make the safeties better to have this guy around. If he starts, who do you guys think will get bumped to the bench?
Dr. P,
Additional talent and depth at Safety will help this team. On top of that, competition at any position is generally a good thing. That said, I have to believe that the starting safety spots are still Pollard and Page’s to lose.
bbq,
One of the knocks on Schottenheimer was that his hard-nosed approach to conditioning was effective up until about week 14 and that after that, the team would hit the wall and not have anything left at the end of the season – thus the lack of playoff success. Considering the huge disappointment that repeated playoff losses bring to a team and its fans, my personal hope is that we are not heading down that same road.
WRT to Ocho, I think I qualified adequately in stating “at least partially.”
I only used Marty because I LOVE Marty. Major man crush for a proven winner. The same could and has been said about Parcells, Holmgren, Gibbs, Cowher, Jimmy Johnson None of these guys took crap from players just because they were primadonnas. The list goes on, leadership is leadership and coddling is not productive in the long term or as one begins his tenure in a leadership position.
Time and multiple teams tell the tale. A cancer by any other name is still a cancer. I really REALLY want a KC Championship, but never at the expense of character and doing the right thing the right way. I despise flash in the pan one hit wonders. Or those who will sacrifice the team for their own ego or the ego of one of the “Stars” of the team. In the end this behavior is destructive and counter productive.
Moss, I’ll give you guys. #85 is a punk, an entertaining, talented, over paid, punk. No feeble explanations for Keyshawn or T.O. I see. By the way that list also goes on and you all know it well.
Marty would also run practices very late, if he didn’t like what they were doing. That kind of crap is hard on the big men, and the WRs and DBs, if he’s making THEM go full speed for two more hours. Marty lost some people mentally and physically, with those sorts of things. Seemed hard-nosed, but we all know the players broke down during the season.
Haley practices as efficiently as possible. And if your expectations are in line with what your players can actually accomplish, you can do things like go bowling on a Friday, or wrap OTAs up a couple days early.
Another big thing about Marty was never going for it EARLY in games. Just ONCE it would’ve been nice to see the starters get some bench time in the 4th quarter. They don’t ALL have to be nail-biters, if you’re actually a good team or get some lucky breaks ealy in an otherwise even contest. Even in the “golden age of Marty,” there were plenty of games when the KC O-LINE wore out and were dominated in the 4th quarter. Heroics from the starters, and typically shitty depth behind ‘em.
It’ll be interesting to see how failures are handled. But it makes sense to leave the outta shape clowns outta the contact drills. They’re a danger to themselves and to their teammates if they’re not up to snuff.
And in fairness to Marty, he DID try to come out throwing against Marchibroda’s Colts in that Divisional Playoff. You know. The year we brought in Lin Elliott, after Jimmy Johnson fired him? Marcus was averaging 5 ypc on the ground, but Marty wanted to get tricky and throw the ball all day, even though Bono couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn after his injury. I think we had Gannon waiting in the wings even THEN, but NOoo. You never lose your starting job to injury (another of Marty’s things), even if the backup is BETTER than your freakin’ “starter.”
People here and elsewhere feel like Gannon got gypped. I think WE got gypped. Bono was OK to bring in, MAYBE, but Grbac was a disaster and totally unneeded.