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The mental side of the game

Mr. Scot

By Mr. Scot,
in Carolina Panthers

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

Posted
Posted

How many times have you seen an exchange like this?

"Hey, let's sign/draft/trade for this guy. He's big and runs really fast."

"Eeeehhh, no. He's a dumbass."

"So what?  He's big and runs really fast."

Troy Williamson was a guy who was big and ran really fast. So much so that the Vikings drafted him at #7 overall in 2005.

A mere five years later, Williamson was out of the league.

Why?

Here's what Williamson himself says about it.

The Vikings tried everything to tap into the potential they saw in wide receiver Troy Williamson.

When you draft a guy seventh overall in 2005, that’s what you do.

But after watching him struggle to catch the ball, the Vikings decided he had depth-perception problems, and he had special exercises prescribed to try to fix it.

“That didn’t have anything to do with it,” Williamson said, via Michael Rand of theMinneapolis Star-Tribune. “I had every physical attribute to be an elite or even a good receiver in the NFL. I always go back to my mental game, as far as reading too much into things people were saying in the papers. When I was in college or high school I never read the papers, I never looked at what anyone said. That took a big mental toll on me. I’d say that was the biggest thing. Any player I talk to now that’s going.

“Any player I talk to now that’s going into the NFL, I tell them football of course is physical but it’s more mental than anything. When I look now at prospects who don’t pan out, I go back to my own situation as far as having all the tools but not having it there mentally when it came down to it.”

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Pejorative Miscreant Grand Master

Pejorative Miscreant

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IMO this is why guys like TD being on the team and having coaches like Rivera and Proehl who have been in the league is extremely valuable.   Guidance for a young guy can really be a factor and shape someone's career.  Guys aren't finished products when they are drafted. A 21 year old can easily be influenced.  

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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8 minutes ago, Pejorative Miscreant said:

IMO this is why guys like TD being on the team and having coaches like Rivera and Proehl who have been in the league is extremely valuable.   Guidance for a young guy can really be a factor and shape someone's career.  Guys aren't finished products when they are drafted. A 21 year old can easily be influenced.  

Whereas the team's coached by a guy like Rex Ryan tend to be an utter mess behind the scenes.

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