NFL News: Browns vs Dolphins injury report
September 4, 2013NFL News: Panthers’ Steve Smith blames Chudzinski for 2012 season
September 4, 2013While speaking to the media on Wednesday, Cleveland head coach Rob Chudzinski downplayed the importance of the opener over other games.
“Every game in this league is important. We approach this game just like we do any other game. That’s how we’ll go in.” Chudzinski said. “This week, we will go into this game and think, ‘This is the most important game we play this week.” Once we’re past that and moving on through the course of the season, we’re going to approach every week the same way.”
Chudzinski commented again later in the session on approaching every game the same.
“The key is the approach that we’re talking about. This game is the most important game we’re playing this week. That’s the approach we’ve taken. We’ve talked to our guys all along about every segment, everything that we’re doing is the most important thing at that particular time. Whether it’s OTA’s, whether it’s minicamp, whether it’s training camp, whatever the practice is, whatever the meeting is, that’s the most important thing. That’s the focus. That’s the only way I know how to do it.”
[Related: Browns vs Dolphins injury report]
7 Comments
Coach speak just beat the Dolphins!
just win, ok?
why do reporters bother asking questions they know will receive canned responses?
Frankly, I find the questions more insulting than the answers.
“Well you know, (insert name), I usually consider the first two or three games of any season as throw-aways, you know? A time to find yourself and your identity as a team. It’s really only the games 4…5…6…you know through about 12 or 13 – unless you know your going somewhere – those are the games that matter.” – No Coach Ever
Of course the first game is important. It sets the tone for the season. Since 2002, 52% of teams winning their first game have gone to the playoffs. Only 23% of teams make the playoffs after a first game loss. It gets worse if a team goes 0-2, with only 11% making the playoffs (and our second game is the SB Ravens home opener).
Chud’s point, which seems reasonable enough, is that a team typically have to win at least 10 games to enter the playoffs. They can get those 10 wins in any of the 16 games they play in the regular season. And in the grand scheme of things, an opener loss followed by 15 wins is no different than 15 wins followed by a loss.
Conversations about “momentum” are usually pure nonsense. Good teams win lots of games, so winning streaks are common. Bad teams lose lots of games, so losing streaks are common. But whether you won last week or not has very little bearing on whether you’ll win this week.
and if anyone argues with you, then you can point to the December that Baltimore had last year. gave me false hope that they’d have a quick playoff exit.