I posted this on another thread but thought it might make a good thread on it's own. I think we are going to see a completely different team than we have seen the past few weeks. Here is the reason I think this way. This group of guys as a TEAM had never lost until Saturday. I'm remembering from my playing days that the week after a win is all positive. Even if the win wasn't "impressive" or the team didn't perform like everyone thought they should have everyone was still positive. Team meetings are positive, coaches have a good attitude, players are usually relaxed, friends, teachers, and people on campus are all positive after a win. The week after a loss is a completely different animal especially after the first loss of the season. It's almost like the "personality" of the team changes after a loss. The first part of the week the mood in team meetings and practice is probably going to be somber. Players are thinking what role they had in the loss. They're thinking to themselves,what did I do, or not do that contributed to the loss. Coaches are thinking to themselves, could I have prepared better or taught something to my kids that may have made a difference. Coaches that are usually joking around at practice or meetings are suddenly quite serious and focused and the players pick up on the change. The feeling after a loss is like a gut punch. You just feel this empty pit in your stomach. I'm very sure that these feelings are amplified a thousand times in a major college program that is ranked number one in the nation. As a player and a coach you want to fill that empty feeling with something. What follows to fill that empty feeling, usually about mid week is anger. Everyone turns it up a notch in practice. That anger has to focus somewhere so during the first few days after practice it is focused on the player, from your own team, lined up across from you. This can make for very intense practices. Your not mad at your team-mate but the anger has to be focused somewhere. Now usually later in the week that anger gets focused on your next opponent. After a loss, especially if your a part of a program that is used to winning, the team as a whole is much more focused. You know as a player that whatever you did in that loss, a missed assignment, a missed block, a missed tackle, a missed catch; it ain't gonna happen in this game. That anger that was focused on your team-mate is now focused on the player in the other colored jersey. I think we are going to see a controlled, intense, anger in this team on Saturday. The focus of that anger is going to be the Auburn tigers.
Yeah i feel the same way about this saturday. I know these Tigers are going to come out swing'n.:cuss: :geauxtige
I hope we are fired up enough.. to play well and win. We can't afford idiot penalties. I hope they went back to the basics in practice this week. Screw trick plays, fake blitz packages, stripping the ball.. just play basic physical football. Let's establish a north-south football game in the first half and take it to the house. :geauxtige
Great post. I think they'll come out ready to take care of business. Those Barners better watch out! :geauxtige
