Ticat coach wants players to 'play relaxed
and have some fun'
July 30, 2008 Ken Peters
The Hamilton Spectator
This sounds like good advice for
the sensitive fans among us
who seem personally affronted
when this young team falters.
And so does this point, too.
"As I said to our players,
you can't be a playoff team
in the first-third of the season,
it's a long season. ....
We have to step up and win some games here
and when we do that
we're right in the thick of this thing."
Hard to relax and have fun when you're losing every week
Can you imagine a guy like Jim Popp telling the Alouettes to "relax and just have some fun?"
What Taaffe should be telling his players is, "if you *&^%$ your assignments up again, you're cut."
Popp cut Armstead and another guy IMMEDIATE AFTER their miscues cost Montreal a victory a few weeks back.
Meanwhile, the good life in Hamilton's most famous, most laid-back country club (the Ivor Wynne locker room) continues.
Attitudes like this are why this team is never firing on all cylinders.
Hard to relax with Obie bringing in new guys every week.
An Argo-Cat fab
who knows it might just work. Im guessing they tried really hard there home opener and look what happened. the cats aren't Supposed to win this game, so if williams and all our young receivers just go out there and have some fun anything could happen.
If you look at the transactions on CFL.ca you will notice all the other team bringing players to look at, some they may keep and others they let go. You should stop overhauling your whole team but you cant stop scouting and looking at player.
WHY NOT.. He probably tried every other appraoch with this team.. sounds like the last desparate act.. do you think he will still be coach if we are 1 and 6 ?
(courtjester) WHY NOT.. He probably tried every other appraoch with this team.. sounds like the last desparate act.. do you think he will still be coach if we are 1 and 6 ?Frankly, CJ, I hope we don't reach that stage, but there is a good chance that he may not be the coach next season.
In terms of Taaffe's "Relax and have fun" theory, perhaps Mitchell can fill the locker room with hats and horns or hire a clown to entertain the boys after each poorly executed play.
This theory rings with desperation to me. Is the HC groping around for a winning formula and has decided to opt for fun and relaxation? Maybe the players are too tense, or could it be the usual combination of unimaginative play calling and low talent quotient?
I don't think Charlie meant to have a party.
I guess "better late than never" is the way to look at this as that attitude should have been prevalent right from the start of training camp. It is however easier to play relaxed if there is some team chemistry and the payers can rely on each other to perform to the best of their ability and as the coaches instruct.
It is much more difficult to perform when the boss is over your shoulder constantly and the threat of a layoff (or firing) is omnipresent.
If you watch the best teams in the league they play hard and have fun doing it, which is what playing games is all about.
It's all about ATTITUDE and CONFIDENCE. Sometimes I wonder who has the attitude and who doesn't have the confidence.
Now when they lose we can remind them that they had fun and thats all that matters.
"Relax":
Lancaster almost said the exact same thing two years ago and no one can accuse him of running a country club. Wasn't he he was called a "bully", "dicator" etc?
And if you believe what the ding-a-ling at the Spec blogs Taaffe is running a sweat shop with players living in fear and "looking over their shoulders"from all the cuts.
Taaffe/Obie cant win it seems:
Team gets blown out and changes are demanded But get rid of the guys who cant perform its a "turnstile" .
When other teams do the same thing(and they are every week) they're praised for being professional and not putting up with underperformance.
Taaffe will be the happiest man in the world when and if he gets fired to get away from this insane asylum of a fan base and media.
Didnt Taaffe give this same speech to the team last summer ("relax, have fun")? It seems to be an annual event now.
spike my feeling if we don`t start wiinig he will be gone by labour day and i would agree with your comment.. bad play calling bad coaching and low talent quotient
What a load of crap. You are right Charlie have fun and continue and let the players miss assignments - drop balls - poor blocking etc, etc,.. Give me a break stop the BS and get this team prepared to play some smash mouth football. This not a Day Care summer camp. No wonder we are the team we are with such a poor attitutde.
Exactly!! Let's fire them both. :lol:
Oh boy. Must be warm in Hamilton these days. Zontar does make me chuckle. If Charlie wanted out of this "insane asylum" we all know he can leave when he wants. The "have fun" philosophy is a common approach when a team struggles. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I remeber, a few years back when Pete Caroll coached the Patriots, and he asked, "why can't we all just relax and have fun. Its just a game." Pete got canned, they hired Belicheck and the rest is history. That's not to say Charlie's approach won't work. A win in Montreal, however improbable, would change a lot of attitudes. For sure people just have to chill. It is just a game. Compared to real life problems like the health of a family member, our win-loss record is meaningless. He's right. it's just a game.
I find it strange that hats and horns are prohibited items yet clowns are allowed...........
That sure worked out well for Mr. Popp, tsa.
P.S.
When you lose, everything you say, however appropriate,
will be used against you by the deeply wounded among us.
I'm not sure what Taaffe said that was so wrong. It is just a game. Some of you might treat it as life or death but in the end its just a game.
For those of you calling for heads and thinking the attitude of drillng it in the players that if you miss your assignment your gone is a good one, think again. Players need to be comfortable to excel. If a player is afraid of getting cut for missing an assignment we're already beat. Football is reactionary. If a guy goes in just trying not to miss his assignment it means that he doesn't take chances.
take Braddley's INT. If he just sticks with his assignment he just sits back and tackles the receiver and we have a TD. Instead he was comfortable made a good read and jumped a route.
I dont how so many of you treat this like life or death. Telling the guys to relax and have fun isn't desperation, it's another way of rallying the troops so they play to win the game not play to not lose their job.