Chiefs: Communication and Smarts Needed For Playing Football

Chiefs: Communication and Smarts Needed For Playing Football – The two most important aspects of a quality football team are good communication and the proper use brainy tissue. Players need to communicate effectively in the game to perform well as a unit and good communication is one of the leading factors which contributes to a successful team. I’ll explain the different forms of communication, how they apply to the game, then show how communication, and the intellect, function together. 

Forms of Communication

Verbal Communication

Everyone knows about verbal communication, but how many fans truly know how it applies to what is happening on the field. Football players aren’t just always talking smack to opponents. They must share useful information about what they see pre-snap. The offense must point out blocking assignments, and announce the Mike Linebacker. As any individual plays are processing, then verbal yelling could be needed, calling out turnovers is an example. Audibles are often called out by the QB. Just takes 1 player not hearing the change of play to ruin the entire down. On the defensive side of the ball, coverages need to be communicated. If anything that could be relevant as to what the called play could entail, it must be broadcasted to teammates. 

Hearing or Listening, and Communication

“Hearing is Not Listening” (I’ve always loved that quote; taught to me by another coworker early in my railroad career). Hearing is very difficult on a football field, usually because of crowd noise. Listening is often lost in the communication process, because players sometimes lose focus, or they are focused on someone, or something else happening on the field. Real listening, helps with staying focused, understanding a message, then helping the communicator. Listening, is something you consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences.

Visual Communication

When a player sees something happening, pre-snap or midplay — that could be vital — it must be communicated to teammates. It might also be where you just tell yourself to adjust to what you have seen. Visual communication can also be reacting to what the opponents, or your own teammates are doing. As we see many times when Patrick Mahomes is scrambling away from pressure, then players adjust their routes to run to an open position. Many analysts refer to it as playground football, which is essentially just excelling at visual communication. Here’s an example (below) of Travis Kelce adjusting his route which ended up in a TD, but afterwards, Kelce said to Mahomes: “How’d you know I was going to do that (turn that way)?” Sometimes, Mahomes uses visual cues to make his decisions.

Telepathic Communication

Some people call it: being tuned in. Patrick Mahomes and his skill position players excel in this department. It could be called, familiarity…. the art of knowing when a player will turn his route a certain direction, before he actually does it. It can be mistaken for planning a move. The difference between the two is partly, anticipation. Anticipation is knowing ahead of time when a player will turn his route a certain direction, because that is what the play is designed to do. Telepathy, is when a player has not yet decided which way he is going to turn, or he makes an unscheduled move that is based on what the defense is doing… and another player knows that’s what you’re going to do, without any planning. Patrick Mahomes has shown the uncanny talent to know when receivers will adjust their routes, before the receivers have made that decision yet. Again both telepathy and anticipation are forms of mental and verbal communication. 

The Mental Work

Focus. Staying focused on the task at hand, every play, every catch, every tackle, run, pass, or block… is vital to keeping a player’s head in the game. Another aspect of mental, or the brainy part of the game, is film study. Using what a player sees on midweek game film, then applying that to the field of play is critical. We constantly see it from Tyrann Mathieu, after he makes a good play, he points to his head.

It is highly important that every player watches game film in scouting of the next opponent. When a player does see something about to happen in a live game, that he saw on game film, then he should react immediately to be in the right place to make a play. Furthermore he needs to communicate it to other players that could assist him in the given play. 

Mental Toughness 

What do top-level athletes all have in common? Mental toughness. That’s right, they have mastered the skill of mental toughness and have a strong football mind. Take a player like Johnny Manziel. He had his chance to make it big in the NFL, but he turned out to not be mentally tough enough. From an article called: “Psychological Perspectives on Johnny “Football” Manziel & his Pending NFL Future,” Dr. Stankovich says:

“Basically, Manziel doesn’t look like he’s interested and prepared to lead, even if deep down he feels that he can.  Like it or not, perception goes a long way in life, and the perception of Johnny Football right now is that he’s much more into the party scene than he is in turning his team around.”

Manziel was 22 years old when that was written. Compare and contrast that with a QB like Mahomes at age 22. An often-asked question is: how does mental toughness relate to football? Firstly, it is important to know that mental toughness is a learned skill, that it is a necessity for all athletes to master and needs to be trained as frequently and seriously as you would train your body physically. This skill allows athletes to remain calm under pressure, not be affected by an opponent’s size, reputation or abilities. To be able to stay focused in the midst of chaos, make the right choices during strenuous situations, persevere through adversity and continue playing despite being in pain.

On the cerebral side of football, mental toughness encompasses resiliency. In order to be resilient you need to have certain skills:

• To channel both positive and negative energies to your benefit.

• To develop both self-confidence and self-motivation.

• To maintain excellent self-control, in several areas including, attitude and emotional control, as well as cognitive areas, such as visual and attention control.

These traits produce a calm environment, a focused atmosphere, resulting in alert athletes who are positive, who perform well, and in control of their actions. That pretty much describes the 2020 K.C. Chiefs. These Chiefs are prepared to perform their best on and off the field as a result.

Having the best physical skills when playing football is not enough on its own. What truly separates an average, or even a good player, from an elite top-level player… is how well that player’s mental game and football mind is developed.

These are the players that strive to improve their game every day, not just certain skills, or become content with the skills they have. They aim to improve their entire game, each day and excel to make their minds work with them instead of against them. 

Combining the Two Aspects

When these two forms of communication — intellect and physicality — are in alliance, then we see Teamwork and Unity come to the forefront. When all these forms of communication are in sync, then you have a player who is a highly functioning, and self informed player. When that player is mentally tough, and done extended film study, then he can process what is about to happen right in front of him, and that usually creates a superb performance.

When you have 11 players using all of the communication skills combined with mental mastery… it usually will create a winning environment. 

Poor Communication and Brain Farts

As David Bell’s recent article pointed out, there were many negative plays by the Chiefs LBs in the first half vs the Ravens. We’ve seen this trend for 2+ years now and I believe a lack of communication skills is 50% of the problem. Even a less talented player that processes the awareness for what he is seeing, feeling, or hearing, can put himself in the proper position to make a play. A linebacker’s playing ability relies on these skills more than any other position on the field. They are usually the QB of the defense so, a mental mastery is required. The Chiefs LBs are inadequate at reacting to what is happening in front of them. Coupled with their obvious lack of talent needed to make up for their mistakes in reading, processing, or reacting… creates an even bigger problem. 

Summary: Communication and Football Smarts

When you take well trained, highly skilled athletes, endow them with top level communication skills and they play smart, fundamentally, sound football, then do it for consecutive years… you’ve probably built a team capable of being called a dynasty. Which was the recipe behind the long run for Bill Belichick and his Patriots. Tom Brady, disliked by many, yet respected, for he had all the skills listed above, and now we see much of those same skills in Patrick Mahomes. We’ve seen many talented players over 100 years of football, but it’s been proven that talent does not win on its own. The most talented players and teams, must also possess and develop the abilities that include excellent communication skills, plus football smarts aplenty, if they’re going to be considered great. 

Alan Haupt — ArrowheadOne

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