What Are They Thinking? Eagles Psychology
One of the most difficult tasks with covering the Philadelphia Eagles is not finding news. It's filtering it. Eagles have something to talk about even when the rest of the NFL is in their doldrums. Either we have a player we are trying to part ways with, or there is a player out there whom we covet who will take months of planning and execution to sign.
Sometimes the personnel move does not happen, but even when it doesn't we find ourselves at a loss. This Eagles team seems to love change for the sake of change. Historically speaking, when a team finds a thousand yard receiver, a thousand yard runner, and a quarterback who is young and wins games, you would be pretty secure to think that the team was "content". But in Philadelphia? That thousand yard receiver was Jeremy Maclin, now playing for the Kansas City Chiefs; that thousand yard rusher is LeSean McCoy, now playing for the Buffalo Bills; and that quarterback is Nick Foles, now playing for the Saint Louis Rams.
It's as though the Philadelphia Eagles have gone to war with "contentment". From the outside looking in, it feels like something terrible is going on with the team. Players we've rooted for, who cheered and jeered, and who have excelled in the fraternity of the NFL while wearing the uniform of OUR team, for OUR city, are now gone without fanfare, without ceremony. But those on the team are not shaken. Remaining players are calm, as though they "get it". They understood that Kelly wants a team built to optimize his scheme. So many changes to the fans, but everything seemed to make sense when OTAs began in June.
But in June 2015, mere days prior to mandatory team activities, the team decided cutting pro bowler left guard Evan Mathis was in the best interest of the team, and they did. Despite two years of excellent offensive yardage and points scored, the team has more questions, more uncertainty, than the end of the 2014 season.
Contentment. A state of satisfaction. To be pleased with oneself. In the NFL, it's the antonym of …
HUNGRY.
Hmm. Let's consider that. Could I have stumbled onto something, a different perspective? The fans are hungry. Owner Jeff Lurie is definitely hungry. Head Coach Chip Kelly, the coach many consider to possess great football insight and sound logical strategy, is often defended by "He has a plan", but he's definitely hungry.
So if the opposite of hungry is contentment, perhaps fighting contentment is a good thing? It seems to be part of the "master plan". But what kind of plan pares productive talented players from the team? Could it be that Chip Kelly is trying to make this team… hungrier?
To answer this question, let's go back to January 2015. The season ended with the Eagles losing three out of their last four games. Following the season, I researched areas where Chip-The-Innovator might innovate in 2015, and I found the following:
(1) Sports Psychology
When you think about Psychology, you think of mental illness, or more politically correct, behavioral medicine. But there are healthy components to sports psychology which are only now being (discussed in mainstream media). The anxiety felt before competition can prove to be a detriment to an athlete. The discipline required to focus in the moment, to shrug off a failed attempt and limit the celebration after success. And finally, the psychology of motivation, understanding how does someone stay “hungry” even when that person achieved their personal goals?
All of these questions are being addressed by new initiatives in Sports Psychology. Now known as Sport and Performance Psychology, this is the science that aligns an athletes mental state with his physical conditioning – to elevate the likelihood that a gifted athlete will realize those talents in sport achievement.
There are a number of new programs both internationally and domestic touting these innovations with varying success. But as I learned from numerous websites about the process – the smart integration of a mental skills professional into your coaching program can give both professionals and coaches a distinct performance edge. And we know that Chip Kelly loves to gain “the edge”. Look for this to be a possible upgrade in the Eagles training arsenal in 2015.
(Inside The Iggles January 2015- Bret Stuter)
By itself, this is just me putting some thoughts on paper for readers entertainment. But a recent article by Sheil Kapadia of Birds 24/7 on June 11, 2015, revisited this topic of Sports Psychology in more detail. In his article, Sheil described a book by Stanford University Psychology professor Carol Dweck – Mindset: The New Psychology of Success which is being circulated among the Eagles players.
The book considers success as something that is attainable to everyone. It's simply a function of perseverance, passion, effort, coaching, and training. The key to this is found in the interview of Dweck with 24/7:
"A growth mindset is the belief that people can develop their talents and abilities," Dweck said during a phone interview with Birds 24/7. "It doesn’t mean everyone’s the same. It doesn’t mean they have the same abilities now, but it’s the idea that everyone can get better with good practice, good strategies, good coaching." – as detailed in Kapedia 11 June 2015: Growth Mindset: The Idea Shaping the Eagles’ Offseason
If you dig into what this claim is among the background of NFL sports, it comes down to a very simple perspective.
Mindset, as Dweck describes, come in two forms. It's a fixed mindset (you have a ceiling to how successful you can be based upon what you feel your talent level can support) or a growth mindset (you have no true ceiling to how successful you can be, as dedication, passion, and hard work raises the ceiling).
If you believe, train, adhere to the Chip Kelly principals, you will realize the best you can offer. If you go your own way, you will not. Remember when I said that "contentment" might be counter-productive? When Dweck sums that up in her book thus:
"It’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success—but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals—personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area.
In layman's terms, its the "Eye of the Tiger" explained in Psychology terminology. You know the lyrics, dont you?
So many times, it happens too fast You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past You must fight just to keep them alive
It's the eye of the tiger It's the thrill of the fight Risin' up to the challenge Of our rival
And the last known survivor Stalks his prey in the night And he's watching us all with the
Eye of the tiger – Survivor's Eye of the Tiger by Frank Sullivan & Jim Peterik
What does this mean to the Philadelphia Eagles franchise? Failure is not failing. It's learning. The goal is to learn, to correct, to improve, to enhance, to exceed yesterday. It's a fundamental shift of the team, the franchise, and perhaps even the NFL.
The passion to learn drives the growth mindset. With a growth mindset, production can suddenly go through the roof at an "AHA!" moment. Think back to the 2014 off-season, and the warm reception guest coach Kevin Greene received when working with Eagles players. The most vocal of the two supporting Greene at the time were Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham. The 2015 starters at outside linebacker are: you guessed it… Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham.
It's that passion to excel, that love to learn. It's that same passion that gives me the hunch that Brandon Boykin will do very well for the Eagles this season. He has been very vocal about the new techniques he is learning under new defensive backs coach Cory Undlin.
There is no "guarantee" than any plan will work to 100% effectiveness. But there is more at work here than the normal lottery of an NFL draft. There is more to be said about a team that expects more from it's players than just showing up for the minimum. Whether or not this team will achieve Lombardi greatness remains to be seen.
But we've done the same old before, and we know exactly where that path leads. Perhaps we need to hold off on negative rhetoric before we see how the season plays out. If this psychology of growth mindset finds a home in the Philadelphia Eagles, we may not have as many problems on the team as we had once feared.
It boils down to common ideas we've known all our lives: The "eye of the tiger", the "self-fulfilling prophecy", even "hard work pays the biggest dividends". We know it takes work, drive, determination. Your success comes from within, and each day you train brings you one step closer to realizing that success.
That's the Chip Kelly way. But even more-so, that's the blue collar Philadelphia way. That's our culture baked into the Chip Kelly mantra to make "THE PLAN". When paid professionals show signs of insincerity, it's more than just a difference of opinion. It's a fundamental difference of a belief system. It only takes one nay-sayer to break the spell. Have you ever been to a great restaurant, but one person at the table complained constantly? Now put that in terms of football training day in and day out for eight months out of the year. It's not an ideal situation.
So in this framework, it's not a function of getting "the best talent". It's getting the players who have the most passion, dedication, commitment. An undrafted player is viewed as a first round draft selection, with the only difference is the amount of time it will take to reach NFL caliber production. Is this proven in real life scenarios? Yes. It's the connection to undrafted free agents succeeding in this NFL. Despite a higher hill to climb, they remain dedicated, work harder, and know they must perform better than anyone else to have a fighting chance at ending up on the roster.
Kelly is baking that into his team.
Perhaps some day, the team will find contentment. But as long as the team's season ends with a loss, don't look for that anytime soon. We'll all learn about this together.
