10/22/2007 2:13:14 PM

Edmonton Vs B.C. #3

Well, at least we’re creative. If nothing else this season, I’d say that we’ve become good at finding creative ways to lose very winnable games. People will say that B.C. took us lightly both times, or that they were playing down to the level of their opponent or what have you, and you can buy into that if you want but I’m telling you that’s not true. The truth is that they are a very beatable team that we did everything in our power not to beat. I somewhat understand after the last couple of weeks, what Dennis Green was going through last year when the Cardinals lost to Chicago. “They are who we thought they were, and we let them off of the hook!” was his post game rant if I recall correctly, and I certainly felt the same sickening feeling at the end of this game as I did post game the week prior. Going into this series, we didn’t feel as if beating the Lions was an unattainable goal, or as if they had any kind of mystique about them that made them untouchable. We thought that they were a good, fast team that can keep the pressure on in all 3 facets of the game…but very beatable. Turns out we were right – they were who we thought they were.
This has been an all too common trend for us this year, and it’s one that we must find a way to remedy fast. Oddly enough, we still have an outside chance of making the playoffs but we can’t spot teams 7-14 points on special teams, and not make up those 14 points offensively and expect to win games. I’m shocked that we were able to even have a chance to win this past game in spite of such play. Our football I.Q. needs to rise as well if we are to be successful at all, but I really think that most of those issues come down to professionalism. Taking pride in what you do, and understanding that the footage of you that’s being broadcast and recorded during that game is a direct reflection of your name, your organization and yourself. If this is in fact our livelihood and our passion, this child’s game that we all say that we are so blessed to have the opportunity to play – then we must play as such. We must approach the games with the same passion and conviction that we would approach trying to keep anything that we cherished dearly that could be snatched from us in an instant.
I think at times we as players get comfortable in what we’re doing. Be it the routine, our position, our role, even our place in the game. It’s at the moment when complacency sets in, that things go awry. It is then when you get sick of the weight room and decide you’ve done enough for this year, and decide that you’ve watched film on this team the other 3 times you’ve played them so what could have changed? It’s at that time when someone more motivated and hungry makes the play in spite of your best efforts. It is then when the man across from you shows that he is less at ease with his current status than you are, so he goes through you to make the play that he prepared to make – and you did not. Then it is you who are embarrassed, and you should be embarrassed when that happens because that moment is there for all to see. The world watching can now see that you weren’t as prepared to do your job as the man across from you, and the powers that be now have decisions to make about whether or not you can be depended on to aid in the success of this team. It is at that point that you have a problem, and you likely will feel less comfortable in the days that follow.
Make no mistake; comfort is the enemy in this game. There is absolutely nothing cushy about a job that has both open ended contracting, and the violent collisions that this job has. The moment we as players feel irreplaceable, we’re in trouble. Beyoncé said it best in expressing that they can “find another you in a minute.” When a player feels as if he can continually make the same mistakes and it not have an adverse affect on his position or standing with the team– that is a content situation. In such a position, it would be easy to lose the motivation to strive for more, and to achieve greater things. I don’t know how many games we’ve lost this year because of comfort, but I’d venture to say that much of this season has amounted to our contentment as players to “just be living the dream.”
Until that culture changes, here we will sit. ©

KP8