Mental Toughness

I think the players probably do begin games very motivated—although I would use the word excited, rather than motivated. Excitement is a short term burst of energy whereas (to me) motivation is something bigger. There seems to be plenty of excitement pre-game.

However, the sign of a failing team is that it cannot sustain that initial energy for long. After just a couple bad drives, the players lose faith, and by consequence look unmotivated. When the message all week has been “play fast and play physical” and you are all excited to step on the field Sunday only to find that the other team still out-classes you in speed and toughness it’s a shock to the system.

We see it in almost all teams (good and bad) when they suffer some sort of punch to the gut early in a game. Some initial shock kills the energy and excitement. The team gets emotionally deflated, often making mental mistakes that compound the problem which leads to more wasted plays and wasted possessions.

The difference between a good team and a bad team is that the good team will rally to get back in the game because they believe in themselves, their leadership and their processes. But while week-long coaching will manifest itself in some form, this is also where players need to rally themselves. This is where veteran leadership takes its place in the equation. Respected peers (i.e. teammates) can do much more than coaches in this situation. The effect of coaches is only seen on the long term, whereas the effect of peers is on a moment-to-moment basis. So this is where Wake, Suh, Jones, Landry, Pouncey and Tannehill should be earning their money.

We don’t see that from Miami’s players however. The Dolphins have not been able to rally which leads many people to believe they simply don’t have the talent necessary to climb back in some of these games and that they lack mental toughness which comes from having the player-leadership.

As an aside, Jarvis Landry is the clear exception. Outside of him (and maybe Reshad Jones) we don’t see any mental toughness in this roster—even at QB.



But that’s not the whole story. If you’re down big at halftime, it’s not mere enthusiasm you need, it’s physical talent, a good strategy and players who are willing to put their heads down and go earn it.

Energy and enthusiasm alone doesn’t win the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] half of tough ball-games--execution does. It would not behoove one in any sport to simply go crazy and become as energetic as possible. That only leads to mistakes. That’s what causes a great drive to end in a fumble because someone is pushing with everything they have to gain another 8 inches. The team needs the ball a heck of a lot more than they do those 8 inches! Good players understand that.

This is why “motivation” is not a good word here. People are using that term to mean energized in one case and in other cases things like focus, discipline, and even intelligence. This is a pet peeve of mine—semantics. You can have a great argument but if the words you’re choosing do not effectively express that argument, you won’t teach anyone anything. So when we mean energized, let’s say energized (not motivated). When we mean disciplined, let’s say that instead of motivated. Etc., etc., etc.

I would use another term.

In golf, when you aren’t having a good day and you need to put your head down and produce you are said to have to “grind.” People refer to certain players as “grinders” (Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Jordan Speith, etc.). They are the ones who, even on bad days, will tenaciously fight to stay relevant. Their mental toughness is as good as it gets. And if you don’t take golf seriously when talking football, consider that golf is probably more subtle than any other sport and for that reason can be used as a model for nearly all other sports.

If you want to see what grinding is in the NFL, look at NE. The Patriots are far and away the NFL’s best grinders. In difficult situations, the Patriots can put aside their egos and their frustrations in order to focus 100% on the task at hand. Wherever it’s coming from, that is the sign of leadership—production against all odds. The Dolphins by contrast cannot go out, put their heads down and execute. It is that sort of discipline and teamwork that would speak volumes if we ever saw it.

One of Miami’s mistakes is that they rely on young players to do that. If your office was getting slammed with work over the next few weeks, would you want the most experienced and clear-thinking individual in charge delegating responsibility and setting the example or would you hand that role to one of the young guys you hired last month?

When Miami needs to grind, few of the players seem to want do it. When Miami desperately needs the more experienced and clear thinking veterans to step up and make a play it rarely happens.

For example, at one point I switched over to the Colts-Titans game to see the Colts down by 2-3 scores. I figured, ‘wow, Indy is going to begin the season 0-3! I’d have never of guessed that!’ When I switched back awhile later they were taking the lead and the Titans hadn’t scored another point. The Colts had evidently gotten their sh!t together, locked down the Titans on defense and begun to move up and down the field. The Colts can do that because, somewhat like the Patriots, the Colts have an ability to climb back into a game. The conviction and confidence is evident in their players and the ability is there because of their QB.

Miami can’t climb back into games for several reasons:

(1) They can’t shut anyone down defensively when they really need to which begins with stopping the run and pressuring the pocket. This was supposed to be a given with the enhanced D-line.

(2) Tannehill hasn’t shown that Luck-like quality that most elite QBs have of being able to ignite a spark offensively on-demand. Like it or not, elite QBs have value that doesn’t show up in the stat line. That value is mostly derived from an ability to ignite a spark when the team desperately needs one.

(3) There are few if any vocals leaders amongst the veterans on the team. Suh, Wake, Jones, Jenkins and Grimes generally play with conviction but they do little for the guys around them it would seem. This might not be an indictment of them as much as it is the failures of the other players to not get excited when one of those guys makes a good play.

(4) The players lack of togetherness and their inability to put their heads down and grind suggests they have not bought into the systems and processes laid out by the coaching staff.

(5) When attempting to grind, the weaker elements of the roster predictably fail under the pressure suggesting that even if all the other things were fixed, this team would still struggle in much the same way it does now.



So, in conclusion, I'd say that Miami lacks the coaching, the veteran leadership and the necessary developmental talent to be considered mentally tough. It's not just coaching. It's not just the roster. It's not just the owner.