So what exactly explains why teams some teams lose or are considered losing teams? Is it bad play? No talent? Poor Coaching? Bad luck? I would say yes to all of these questions. And let's face it: in the NFL, everybody will lose a game at some point or other. That's pretty straightforward. But what I'm interested in discussing is why certain teams seem to consistently get beat week in and week out.
In fact, in scanning what was already out there before this post, I noticed that Pat Kirwan of nfl.com had written an article awhile back on practically the same topic. I enjoyed his insights when he worked for Sports Illustrated, but I don't get to read him much now. As for his article, I think he's right, although I would add several more factors for consideration. Observe this list and notice how many of these you spot in the next game you watch.
- Losing teams have a low talent level - Many losing football teams suffer because they simply don't have much talent compared to rival teams throughout the league. This is typically the toughest hurdle to overcome, because it's hard to compete with a team that is more talented. A poorly talented team doesn't make plays consistently enough to Win football games.
- Losing teams have no depth - For a losing team to have any success, it relies on a small core of players to play at a high level just to be competitive. If any of these core players are hurt, the entire team is sunk because the talent level behind the best, or core players is inferior. Winning with no depth is unreasonably difficult.
- Losing teams are hurt by turnovers - This is such a critical factor, because a good team can have a losing season due to a turnover-plagued campaign. Turnovers kill. Nothing is harder to watch than a football team hurt itself with fumbling away the ball deep in their own territory or throwing the decisive interception at a critical point in a contest. Conversely, a defense hurts it's team by a lack of forcing turnovers. But turnovers on special teams are probably the worst, since special teams plays involve scoring or trading possession of the football. To give the football right back to the other team is a death knell. Turnovers represent giving, or gaining extra opportunities to score and Win. Most times, turnovers decide football games.
- Losing teams are hurt by penalties - The fact of the matter is that penalties are as much a part of the game as blocking and tackling. All teams commit penalties, but only some teams get snake-bitten by them. I like Kirwan's thoughts on this matter, and will borrow his concept of "concentration penalties". These are precisely the sorts of penalties that beat losing teams. Procedure penalties are a reliable partner in sabotaging games and seasons. False starts on 3rd and Goal, defensive holding on 3rd and 17, running into the kicker when receiving a punt, and dead ball fouls that keep opposing drives alive. These are examples of the penalties that help defeat losing football teams.
- Losing teams fail to capitalize - Every team plays well in stretches, and losing ones do as well. But often what separates losing teams from the pack is the fact that they typically fail to take advantage of opportunity. Perhaps you've seen a game where x doormat is outplaying y contender for a period of time, but x team can't seem to fully take advantage of it's good fortune. Maybe they can't score touchdowns. Or maybe they get a crucial turnover but don't score. Or even their opponent suffers an injury to it's best player(s), but aren't exploited by these injuries. Good teams take advantage of the opportunities presented to them and capitalize upon them. Bad teams don't.
- Losing teams have bad luck - You've seen this one before too. And not just in football. When it rains, it pours. The problem for losing teams is it seems to do both on it's head! In a game that a team could be Winning, it gets a touchdown overturned, or loses it's best player, or has the fluke play go against it. It could be any number of things that are only explained by labeling them as "bad luck".
- Losing teams beat themselves - It never fails to amaze me how often a losing team will beat itself! A losing team does not only fail to take advantage of the opportunities it gains, it also hands its opponents prime opportunities to beat them. A losing team will have a trick play called that fools their opponent at the right time, and fail to execute the play! A loser will score a touchdown on a special teams play, only to have the play overturned due to penalty. A loser will be Winning a game late into the 4th quarter, only to commit an turnover on a needlessly risky play call. A loser will knock itself out of field goal range for the Winning score because of a routine procedure penalty. Losing teams too often help their opponents beat them.
- Losing teams have poor execution - This is endemic to a losing football operation. Fumbled snaps. Shanked punts. Muffed punts and kickoffs. Dropped passes. Horse collar tackles. Facemask penalties. Dead Ball personal fouls. The list can grow quite long, but the point is the same. Bad teams suffer from not executing routine football functions and plays properly.
- Losing teams play poorly - To me, this is the worst factor on the list! Not all losing teams have no talent. In fact, many have an impressive level of talent, yet play below reasonable standards. Poor play is defined by a lack of effort that leads to bad results. For instance, a team that offensively cannot string together successive first downs is playing poorly. A team defensively that is unable to stop their opponent from steadily moving the football down the field and/or scoring is playing poorly. Poor play is normally the culmination of several factors on the list, if not all of them. And invariably, poor play reflects either insufficient talent, a team experiencing a learning curve, a team dealing with adversity, a young or inexperienced team, or a poorly coached team.
- Losing teams are consistently flawed - A team's success rate is reflected by the habits it develops in the heat of competition. Unfortunately, losing football teams develop bad playing habits that plague them on a regular basis. These bad habits show up reliably at inopportune times, leading to substandard results.
These tend to represent the hallmarks of bad, losing teams at any level. And as I am certain you will note going forward, these factors do indeed rear their ugly head on struggling teams. Watch and see for yourself. How many bad teams have you seen play this season?
COMING SOON: What Makes Up An Average Team?
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