With emotions flaring in Ravens game, coaches address the issue

There was no shortage of emotions for the Miami Dolphins on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. The one that was highlighted and caught on television was Jared Odrick going off on Joe Philbin and other assistant coaches. Following the game, Odrick apologized and Philbin downplayed it. On Monday, Kevin Coyle and Bill Lazor all addressed the situation.

“I think there is a fine line. Football is an emotional game. You want guys that play with passion,” Kevin Coyle said. “But I think there is a professionalism that everybody has to have, players and coaches alike. You try to keep your composure because outbreaks of emotion, generally don’t tend to benefit the team, it can be a distraction. So I think that’s something everybody needs to be careful of.”  
 
Coyle said that he wasn’t paying attention to the outburst on the sideline because he was busy calling plays and focusing on what was happening on the field. After getting a chance to hear and see everything, he said that you need to understand the context of what happened and when it happened.

“You try to understand that it is an emotional moment so to speak. You know the relationship you have. It’s like you might be arguing with your brother or your wife or somebody and you listen and you try to diffuse it as best you can. I guess that’s the best way to do it because just going back and forth doesn’t do anybody any good.”

Coyle noted that he, along with the rest of the defensive coaches, have a good relationship with Odrick and for that matter, all of the players on the team. He noted that Odrick was upset because he was subbed out of the game and fully understood the emotions that were running through him.
 
Bill Lazor, who doesn’t deal with Odrick on a daily basis, talked more about emotion on the offensive side of the ball. 

“I think it’s easy to say not flat line. I thought our guys were really good yesterday on the sideline. Some of our coaches, as we discussed today, felt some confidence at halftime in the locker room. I felt like we did, mainly what we normally do, we keep it pretty business like, I think offensively, at halftime. We talk about what has happened, maybe any themes that we need to fix and then we try to be very specific about what we’re going to do in the second half. Generally, it’s worked pretty well for us coming out of halftime. It was disappointing that we came out, I think we had three penalties on that first drive coming out of halftime. That was a little bit out of character for us. I saw no lack of poise.”

He said that you will often hear players raising their voices at each other throughout the course of an NFL game but said there is a time and place for everything. 

“Did any players raise their voice at each other? Probably. Was it necessary? Maybe. There are times when guys do that, whether it be emotion, whether it be frustration. As long as they can find a way to be positive, to be leaders with it and to channel it to get it done. Sometimes, it’s been towards me and I think sometimes mine have been towards them. I think it’s a reflection on Joe Philbin, the kind of professional atmosphere we have. I’m very comfortable with how our players are on game day, even when they get excited, whether it be because they want the ball more or whatever reason, which is usually when the biggest deal is made of it. We’ve got players here that I feel like can talk to me and that I can speak with. It’s a very professional atmosphere. I feel good about it. To me, I’ve been in a lot of atmospheres in the NFL. It comes down to Joe Philbin and how he’s built the team.”

In my opinion, it was nice to see some emotion out of the players since we normally don’t see it from the coaches. The team lacks this kind of passion on a weekly basis and if they want to get the momentum going in the right direction, the players are going to have to step up and take over.

This story was written by Matthew Cannata. Follow him on Twitter: @PhinManiacs

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