09-19-2017, 01:19 PM
(09-19-2017, 12:37 PM)McC Wrote: Okay. That makes sense. But it still doesn't explain how they can win enough to get to the playoffs then look like frightened children once they get there.
Does he walk around the locker room blowing into a paper bag, freaking out all over everybody? What the hell does he do on game day? Not only does he not lift his team up, somehow he brings them down? How the hell does he do that?
I think that when you get to the playoffs you're generally playing the best organizations - coaching and players that year. While we have taken a great leap from where we were in the 90's to respectable...our organizational culture and coaching hold us down.
I think it's mental too. When you have the 'We haven't won a big primetime game or playoff game' always out there...and you focus on winning those...then you play not to lose it instead of playing normally and focusing on your best performance and then let the results fall where they may. ie The Bengals play tight in big games.
How many times, even during the 90's has this franchise had a terrible regular season only to win 2 of the final 3 games once the pressure was off?
My point got missed...but had Palmer not blew out his knee in the playoff game against the Steelers and we won that game...our trajectory might have changed. We wouldn't have had the mental block that is winning a playoff game and actually performed better in past seasons.
