The players-only meeting

[Beyond the Bets]

Wrote about players-only meetings this morning. I'm not a believer in their effectiveness.

What do you think?

Link: http://wp.me/p1sRnX-3Yf

[RyanParrill]

As a better, when you hear "players-only meeting", I believe there are 2 thoughts:

1) Did I see this coming or have I been ignorant and bet on this team?

2) Never bet on this team again.

[Beyond the Bets]

It's easy to get suckered in, but if you remember that the opposing team is also similarly motivated, and that the meeting is forgotten as soon as the first points are scored, you'll be in good shape.

[jimmysingh9]

So if i bet the eagles before the players only meeting, am i screwed :)

[ChiefZilla]

Whether they had a players-only meeting or not, it wouldn't affect the way I approach betting the game. Just don't understand the thinking that they're somehow more focused than the Redskins because they talked during the week. That's what happens during these meetings. They talk. Are the Redskins not talking to each other?

[Beyond the Bets]

(10-14-2011 12:45 PM)jimmysingh9 Wrote:  So if i bet the eagles before the players only meeting, am i screwed :)

Nope, you're safe.

[patrickjbyrne]

To me it's very similar to people talking about trap games or looking ahead. When you get to a high enough level in athletics it's because you take it seriously. If your a team that loses multiple times outright as the favorite then you're a fade. If you need a meeting to clear your mind and yet focused on doing your job then I'm fading you. I do believe in bad lockerrooms or coaches losing their players and thats why I rarely bet on the Bengals the last few years.

[Beyond the Bets]

The thing with players-only meetings is that they can really be dangerous if you don't get the outcome you're looking for immediately after holding one. If the Eagles hold a meeting, then lose, well, what's the next trick?

Or, do you just start to let reality set in: 'Our team stinks!'

[jimmysingh9]

just talking about the eagles. they will be fine if they change their scheme defensively. I am utterly shocked that they dont play man to man on 2nd and longs and 3rd downs and just blitz the QB all the time.

if you have asomougha, DCR and samuel and you are not playing man to man, then it was a total waste of trade and money. why do you need those guys if you are playing a zone defense. the sad thing is the eagles setup their defense like they have ray lewis, patrick willis and terrell suggs at LB.

[Beyond the Bets]

That coordinator has got to go.

[ChiefZilla]

Eagles also have that silly scheme with the defensive ends that just shoot straight up the field and try to rush the passer. When I saw announcers breaking that down and gushing over it during one of their games my first thought was, "why not just run up the middle or off tackle until you force them to adjust that?"

Now, through five games...
Eagles rank 30th in the league against the run, giving up 140.2 yards per game.

[The Peoples Champ]

I never really put to much stock in to this in NFL, but in NCAAF, I tend to look in to it a lot more. Up here at PSU where I go to school, I have class with players and can usually figure out what the team meetings are for/what comes out of them, and a lot of times they are nothing more than an airing of all the issues, usually when there is a rift in the locker room, which with a team like PSU who had guys behind both QBs early, meant a good deal when capping.

However, when I have no inside info, I usually go to the website of the newspaper(s) in those teams areas and start reading the columns to see what the coaches and players have been doing/saying that may have led to it. That provides the best insight in to it, imo, and I think reading the local papers when betting is one aspect that is often overlooked.

[Beyond the Bets]

Players-only meetings have ruined more seasons than they've saved. Problem is, a players-only meeting that doesn't lead to a marvelous turnaround season don't make for good newspaper stories, so they aren't written.

A team that has a players-only meeting and then loses is cooked. They have no more tricks in the bag, so to speak. Then reality starts to set in: "Uh, yeah, we stink."

The Eagles held a players-only meeting earlier this year. They were bad before and they were bad afterward, too.

[The Peoples Champ]

(11-28-2011 12:44 PM)Beyond the Bets Wrote:  Players-only meetings have ruined more seasons than they've saved. Problem is, a players-only meeting that doesn't lead to a marvelous turnaround season don't make for good newspaper stories, so they aren't written.

Oh, I wasn't implying to read coverage after the meeting, but before. I'll be honest, watching ESPN and reading the national sites doesn't always give me personally a good enough idea of what's going on with a program, maybe I'm just too anal about it, but if there is something I want to know or try and figure out what's going on, I'll go to the local site and read up on what they wrote previous to the team meeting. Box scores and what not can tell a lot, but I like the extra opinion/insight at times prior to the meeting. Does that make sense?

[Beyond the Bets]

Newspapers are a great resource and should be used. As a former newspaper writer, I value the reporting and the credibility that comes with that reporting. You can find out a ton of great info by reading local beat writers, which is one of the reasons why I took the time to create the college basketball beat writers list.

However, as far as a player's only meeting is concerned, I've never believed that they have much impact on a team winning or losing a game. Once you step on the field (or court, if you prefer), all that shit gets thrown out the window.

A team that gives up an early touchdown or falls behind 8-0 in a hoops game isn't going to stop the game and say, "HEY, REMEMBER WHAT WE SAID IN OUR MEETING!"

Most "players-only meeting" stories are written after the fact, not before. And players only leak the details of a meeting if they got the desired outcome. That's why the perception that players-only meetings are season savers is so "off." The stories don't get written if they don't work.