http://www.detroitlions.com/document...ment_id=445516
Getting Used to Being Miserable
Marinelli, Millen Believe Misery Comes with the Territory of Being an NFL Athlete
By Chrissie Zavicar
Detroitlions.com
June 21, 2006
May 5.
ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Fans like to see players show hunger for the game of football both on and off the field of play. To see a player’s desire is to see a player who will put himself on the line to come away with victory.
That is why players reported as being frustrated or exhausted by the hard work that goes into creating a championship team can be looked at as a negative.
But Head Coach Rod Marinelli and President and CEO Matt Millen have a different perspective on the grumbling that goes on behind the scenes of a professional football team: it means the coaches are working the players hard enough to create that championship team.
“I learned this a long time ago: you’ve got to learn to be comfortable with being miserable to play this game,” said Millen. “If the coaches are not pushing you and they’re not making you be uncomfortable, you’re not going to get any better. So, you’ve got to get comfortable with being a little miserable.”
Marinelli came into this head coaching position looking to make some men miserable. He expressed from the time he arrived in Detroit that he would work the Lions players hard, and he has said recently that he is planning on starting each and every training camp practice in pads.
“It’s going to be a very rigorous and challenging camp,” said Marinelli. “They’ve got to be prepared for that, and that’s set for them and then the next phase is going through camp. Hopefully our conditioning keeps reprising as we’re going. And the biggest part: if they come in here in-shape, they can play faster.”
Marinelli and the Lions’ coaching staff are adamant about the players getting themselves into top shape before camp even begins, but being in shape doesn’t mean getting to a point of being physically comfortable with workouts and practices.
“When you get in condition, people think, ‘oh you don’t get tired’,” said Marinelli. “No. All it does is allow you to play faster, longer. You still feel miserable, which is fine. But it’s playing more snaps at a higher level. That’s our goal. More snaps at a higher level.”
The idea of being miserable coming with the territory is something Millen, Marinelli and the Lions staff understand. It shows that just because players are putting forth a full effort and have the best intensions toward earning a championship doesn’t mean there won’t be grumbling here or there.
“The players have always been willing to work,” said Millen. “I was never really displeased with the effort; it’s just what were we asking them to do. They’re a willing group. There’ll be some grumbling, but there’s always grumbling. That always happens. If they’re not grumbling then you’re not doing it right.”
Since Marinelli began his reign in Detroit, players have definitely been pushed to their highest potential. They have been put into high-pressure situations both physically and mentally, but what Marinelli is stressing is that the two aspects of the game are intertwined.
“To see a team take it over in the fourth quarter; not just with the physical conditioning but with the mental condition and the mental toughness,” said Marinelli. “Conditioning allows you to think better. That’s the thing. In the fourth quarter, when you get tired, can you focus?
“We’ve got to put them in those situations as much as we can under duress, under fatigue and force a guy to listen, react and then hopefully the conditioning will kick in and they perform.”
The players have been working hard on both aspects of the game throughout the team’s offseason conditioning program under Marinelli and his staff. But it will be putting on pads during training camp practices that will help the coaching staff determine who will be on that 53-man roster in the fall.
“The key is to get into the pads and add a little pressure,” said Marinelli. “I think [making personnel decisions is] going to happen fairly quickly. The thing is that it can change, too. Guys up here doing pretty good [can move down]. So it’s still a process and we get our ideas and we’re feeling and seeing.”
The Lions have been in Allen Park working their tails off, but putting on pads will separate the final-roster players from the others, allowing coaches to not only see how players hit and run, but to see how their physical condition holds up.
“It all changes now in pads, it’s all different,” said Marinelli. “The guy’s up there turkey-necking looking for the ball and it’s a whole different world when you get low, a whole different world with your hand placement. All the details you’ve got to have, so it’ll be challenging for them.
“But we’ve got to be smart also with the amount of volume we put in, which we’re good at putting it in, too, then doing a nice job with the fundamentals that follow volume. We’ve got to keep our eye on both of them.”
As the Lions prepare over the next five weeks for training camp, all of the coaches, players and fans should be expect one thing: camp will be anything but comfortable.
These players will be tested mentally and physically heading into the regular season.
“It’s about being hardened and being smart,” said Marinelli. “It’s what I’m used to in this league. You know. I worked for Tony Dungy and that’s how we practice. It’s just a philosophy, it’s not so much a system, but it’s how you’ve been brought up in this profession and that’s always been a point to me. It’s to develop people, and, in my opinion, you need the pad work to get it done.
“It’s just our belief as a staff that we need to go in and learn to play football that way.”
Marinelli plans to work his players hard
Marinelli plans to work his players hard
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