It's art not science - maintaining the team (1 Viewer)

[guidomerkinsrules]

for obvious reasons all of us are looking for the root of the problem (of the season)
why did it happen? Was it avoidable? Is it fixable?
We look for silver bullets b/c that's so much easier than trying to juggle all of the variables that are in play

SP talks a lot about is role as a teacher and it's made me look at the team's current woes through a "classroom management" lens

here's what i've experienced/seen as a teacher:
-you can never predict how one extra person is going to effect a classroom:

I often get kids who transfer in to my school. the last 2 years have illustrated this point. 2 years ago i got this kid who was quiet, almost sullen. I assumed he was going to be a problem- come to find out he was just struggling with the transition and he turned out being a great kid and is now one of the leaders of the school.
This year i got a kid who seemed open and very polite, i figured he would be an asset to the class- come to find he's a bit of a jerk and i have to work at breaking up his influence with about 5 other students.
And maybe to answer some of the did SP lose the lockerroom - it took me about 3 weeks to see that i was in danger of losing the class. and even now the seed is planted so i have to spend as much time "weeding" as i do "harvesting"

- there is a balance of chuckleheads.

there's always going to be chuckleheads in any mix of people (and in their own way the serve a valuable purpose). in a class 20, i find a 3-5 chucklehead population to be some magic number. 3 chuckleheads and under i don't really have to worry about them much - the "good" kids will take care of them. Over 5 and the class is nothing but chucklehead management. In the middle of that is the unpredictable realm. "good" vs "chuckle" is a daily improvisation that's really hard to predict
i think SP might have one or two more chuckleheads than he realized

- talent alpha vs social alpha

when the talent alpha (the one who the team looks up to b/c he's just beast) and the social alpha (the one that everyone just gravitates to) is the same person or works together, then everything is gravy
when those are different people in different camps, then you got trouble
One of the reasons the offense has been so successful is that Drew is obviously the "both" guy
but i don't know if the D ever had that. Vilma might be the closest, but i don't know if we've ever had the best athlete and the best personality on the D

that's all
congrats if you read it all

 

[TurboWhoDat]

also feels like a lack of enthusiasm. thats just what ive gathered from sideline and interviews.

 

[LOONEY]

good post it the same in any military unit 2-3 chuckleheads can be a good thing to keep up unit morale any more then that and everyone turns into a chucklehead.

 

[Dog]

Excellent post Guido! Include the fact that everyone of these guys are very well paid and most are extremely talented, as well as having to have a certain amount of arrogance. Therefore I would imagine that it's a very tough balancing act for the coaches and management.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

Add DWash in the offseason.

 

[P'cola WhoDat]

This is gold. So if we assume Morgan was one chucklehead who is gone and KV is a CH that was put on notice are we still 1 or 2 chuckleheads out of balance? What about Junior? How do you decide which chuckleheads to keep and which to get rid of? Cap hit? A feeling? If we are allowed 3 but have more I'm just wondering who they all are and which chuckleheads to cull.

 

[AARPSaint]

Great original post!

 

[cpg]

Add DWash in the offseason.

I'm assuming "DWash" is Daryl Washington. The same Daryl Washington that has been suspended 3 times in 2 years despite repeated promises to "be better". The same Daryl Washington that is currently contracted through 2018 with Arizona. Yeah, probably not a great idea.

 

[duckjr78]

Fantastic post.

I wondered when reading the "Did Sean wait too long" thread, if it really was that simple. I mean, how do you know when to pull the 'chute and when to wait it out?

It really is art, not science.

 

[dekand]

let me just say, good post, and I just love the use of the word "chucklehead" ... that is all

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

From here on out, we will refer to this as the CHR (Chucklehead Ratio).

We need a lower CHR.

 

[crosswatt]

 

[Saints318]

There is a glaring lack of leadership on defense to go along with a lack of talent at several positions on both sides of the ball.

Drew and possibly even Sean have at times tried to do too much to cover for these weaknesses and it has backfired with costly turnovers.

The way the ball bounces or luck seems to have been against us all year as well.
And IMO refs haven't treated us the same since Bountygate.

 

[Whodat GT]

The obvious explanation is something we all took for granted in the offseason: veteran cuts.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

I'm assuming "DWash" is Daryl Washington. The same Daryl Washington that has been suspended 3 times in 2 years despite repeated promises to "be better". The same Daryl Washington that is currently contracted through 2018 with Arizona. Yeah, probably not a great idea.

Yeah i can see the negatives...but those same negatives turn into positives.

Just to touch what the OP said on being the best talent and personality. He would immediately fill that role. He's also a younger personality..but despite being a "pot head" he is well respected in the cardinals locker room.

Go back and watch the Top 100. Mathieu and a few of his teammates spoke very highly of him.

Going back to those negatives we could get him at a cheaper rate if AZ releases him which could happen hypothetically. Especially after the defense survived without him. Weve had plenty boom or bust signings. Dan Morgan ring a bell? This would be similar territory. Except instead of a guy 1 injury away he is 1 bad decision away. Should motivate him to keep his nose clean.


We need an athletic LB to pair with lofton.