Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattyk72
I think you're giving too much credit to the player being able to properly motivate and prepare themselves. Not every average Joe in the NFL prepares himself and approaches the game like a Peyton Manning. If the league was full of Peyton Manning types there would be almost no need for coaches.
The NFL is almost like the military and the players are the soldiers. Soliders are trained to follow orders and to look to their leaders for guidance and direction. A bad leader can sour the whole bunch and be a detriment to the entire team. While a good leader can inspire and lead, and bring the best out of everyone.
I believe attitude starts at the top of an organization and works it's way down. I believe a quality leader can indeed change the attitude of an entire organization. Of course there are always going to be a few bad apples not worth saving, but quality leadership is something that can't be measured and is invaluable.
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Well, I think its safe to say that every player in the NFL has had multiple coaches along his journey to the NFL. So if a player can't self-motivate himself (which I see as a fairly effortless process, so long as you love to play the game) I don't see anyway he would continually have success at every level on his way to the NFL.
And its true that at some point, every player in the league was not at his current state of mental acuity and maturity. So at some point along the way, some coach WAS responsible for the development of the talent. But this probably happened far before the NFL level. For some guys, it happened in pee wee, for most in HS, and some really late bloomers dont mature from a football standpoint until college (these tend to be the small school players, since anyone who had NFL talent and maturity prior to college got a DI scolarship).
While I'm sure there have been instances of untapped potential reaching the NFL level, I just think the occurences of this are so low that it doesnt make a difference. These players probably werent drafted, and thusly, might not ever get their shot with a good coach to tap their potential.
It's just so rare in the NFL for a player to come along with any expectation whatsoever who isn't always mentally prepared for every play.