TedfordsBears;356507 said:
Cool to hear from sr D Hill...
He's the third or fourth defensive player I've heard mention being "free" this offseason.
I may be reading too much into it, but it sounds to me like a lot of guys were pretty frustrated playing in BG's scheme, they just never said anything publicly about it. IMO that's a testament to the character of the guys on our team. But if true, to me this explains a lot about why when things have gone wrong they've gone wrong in a big way. It's one thing psychologically to fail doing something you believe in, and something totally different to fail while you're doing something you don't agree with to begin with.
Add to that widespread (ok, maybe just amongst us, the cyberobsessed) public criticism of the thing you don't like, which you probably agree with at least to some extent, and IMO it's a recipe for a lack of motivation. And you can say it's their "job" to get over it and get themselves motivated, but to a certain extent it's a matter of degree: how much self-motivation do you have to manufacture vs. what the guy across from you has to do. (Not to mention the fact that as adults most of us have probably had to deal with this, and these guys are really still just kids learning to be adults.)
I'm not saying everything is going to turn around now or that it was all BG's fault, but I do think it's easier to perform at a high level--no matter what the task--if you've totally bought in to what you're being asked to do. Here's to the new "fun" Cal football experience, for players and fans!
