What’s the Deal With Mangini and Boxing?
Checking out the Jets’ site this week, I saw that the Jets site had an article about Teddy Atlas’ boxing class with the team, as well as some tasty leftovers on Randy’s blog. To learn more about Teddy Atlas, check out his Wikipedia page.
Not being very knowledgeable about the Sweet Science myself, I have been interested, but somewhat detached in the storyline over the past year about Mangini using boxing as a means to communicate and connect with players (and them with each other). Although the article doesn’t mention the names of all the attendees, take a look at some of the names mentioned: Bobby Hamilton, Ben Graham, Mike Nugent, Eric Barton, Victor Hobson, Anthony Schlegel, Brad Smith, Matt Chatham, and Shaun Ellis … some core players on this team.
Other than the coach’s personal passion for the sport, here are some interesting reasons why I think Mangini is using boxing with his players:
- Admiration – We fans (many of us pasty cubicle dwellers) admire football players for how they sacrifice themselves, time and again for the greater good of the team. So, who do football players admire? I can see why boxing is a natural fit. Although football players can get badly injured on any given play, they aren’t allowing someone to repeatedly bash their head in, with the only protection being their own quick feet, weary arms and a small amount of padding between their opponent’s fist and face for the greater goal of winning.
- Motivation – Although we’ve only seen a year of it, it’s clear that Mangini is a solid Xs and Os coach. Mangini has a charming although somewhat closed public personality and I don’t think he’s ever been characterized as a “fiery motivator.” Professional players are less needy of this than at the collegiate level, but there is still some intangibles that a coach can provide by commanding an extra effort out of a player, purely by emotion. So maybe in at least one area, Mangini can’t compete with Herm when it comes to motivation (hallelujah). But given the choice, I would choose a strategist to the motivator. If a defender doesn’t understand his assignments, his enthusiasm won’t help much as he watches a blown assignment streak down the sideline. Teddy Atlas is someone that I think the Jets have identified who can stand in that gap and provide players with some of the enthusiastic edge that they might need.
- Technique – Proper use of feet, hands, hand-eye coordination, leverage and use of motion are all integral parts of boxing. The same is true with football. Even though a player might have heard a thousand times for a position coach to do something, hearing it from a new perspective can be very beneficial for players. From reading the article linked above, there’s an interesting quote by Atlas about technnqiue. “When you throw the punches the right way, you don’t raise your elbow … if you raise your elbow, you waste time and you lose power. When a lineman has to keep a guy from coming onto him, he goes straight out and gets more power. He doesn’t lose a tenth of a second warning the guy that his arm is coming out because of his elbow. He can take that drill and use it specifically to his position.” Maybe a tenth of a second might not matter in our world, but it’s the difference between a hole opening for a runner or getting past a lineman going for the sack.
- The Visceral – I have heard Atlas talk many times, and one of the things he often talks about is the visceral sense of surviving versus winning. His point is simple, humans innately know how to survive, but winning is something that must be learned … harnessing our base instincts to “merely” survive is crucial to winning. If you are just concerned with your survival, the hesitation it takes can be the difference between winning and losing. Players at the Pro level are equipped to win on their athleticism, but this is also their professional. Can doubt creeep in? Can players overprotect themselves for the sake of survival (literally and professionally) but not win in the process? An interesting concept.
3 Responses to What’s the Deal With Mangini and Boxing?
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RK says:
The real thing about boxing to me is that people can relate to the me vs. the opponent; the opponent being anything you can think of – even yourself. Although Football is a team sport you are the only one who can control your actions and play by play manage your own game. Every play you must go against an opponent as well as yourself and that is the real correlation between the two sports. Overcoming adversity to push yourself to the limit and achieve victory, beating your opponent through technique, smarts, strength and force of will, studying an opponent to exploit weakness. These are very simple to understand and explain in a one on one sport but translate well to football.
Great post. I like the expression “playing to survive instead of playing to win. I think many will understand it better than “playing not to lose.” I even think it is more accurate.
Even Herm may get it.
harlan