Player Intelligence

[Box_O_Rocks]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/256-05092007-1343613.html

There is book smart, and there is football smart, and Brian Baldinger had to be both. How else could a product of Duke University's prestigious psychology department and forlorn football program survive for 13 seasons in the NFL? So the former Eagles offensive lineman has a soft spot in his heart and the history in his head to appreciate what his old team has done this off-season, the way Andy Reid and Tom Heckert have acquired a group of free agents and draft picks who could ace an A.P. chemistry exam.
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...a 2004 survey by the NFL Players Association showed that the three teams with the most college graduates on their rosters the previous season were the Carolina Panthers, the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. New England won the second of its three Super Bowls that year, and all three of those teams reached the league's two conference championship games.

The fourth, of course, was the Eagles.

“In this day and age, where things are in transition all the time, you must get the right qualities in your athletes,” said Dave Czesniuk, the director of operations for the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University. “As we're seeing, it's affecting the bottom line in the wins and losses columns.”

As an adjunct professor for three years at Marist College, Czesniuk taught a course called “Understanding the Mind in Sports,” and he noted that a successful elite athlete possesses the same attributes that a good student does. Preparation, time management, stress management, the speed with which someone processes information — the same principles apply whether you're studying the works of T.S. Eliot or an NFL playbook, and they're vital.

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

When I hear Baldinger bash the Pats, I don't hear smart at all... I do hear jealousy though.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

When I hear Baldinger bash the Pats, I don't hear smart at all... I do hear jealousy though.

I've heard Baldy go both ways, as opposed to Marshall Marshall Marshall's tears over the SB XXXVI 'robbery.'

M.Faulk: "Officer, there was a hit and run."

Officer: "Who was the victim?"

M.Faulk: "I was, a bus or truck hit me and left the scene."

Officer: "Did you see a license or any identifying marks?"

M.Faulk: "All I saw was the number 55 and stars."

Officer: "Where did this occur?"

M.Faulk: "New Orleans at the Super Dome."

Officer: "That's out of my jurisdiction, here's a number to the NOPD's help line."

 

[psychoPat]

As the mental factor in football becomes larger
it must comparatively disadvantage players of strong body but weaker mind.

That is only at the margin, however.
Faster ... stronger ... tougher will always outscore merely smarter.
Smart, slow, weak wimps are advised to take up chess.

 

[jczxohn1]

As the mental factor in football becomes larger
it must comparatively disadvantage players of strong body but weaker mind.
The disadvantage is that of predictability and one-dimensionality.
That is only at the margin, however.
Faster ... stronger ... tougher will always outscore merely smarter.
Not exactly a marginal difference. Didn't see San Diego in the top four, did you? Or Jax in '05?
Smart, slow, weak wimps are advised to take up chess.

Or coaching.

 

[RayClay]

I don't think it's all "book smarts". It's also about character and follow through.

After all, these clowns are throwing away a free education.

The guy that realizes a career could be over so he makes sure to get the sheepskin, is the type that will watch the clock and the situation.