Confidence.
You need it in every area in life. When I look at the Carolina Panthers today, I don't see any confidence on this football team.
When you wake up in the morning, you do so with the knowledge that you have food on the table and a roof over your head. Obviously you all have internet access, so that's one source of entertainment right there. Many of you have families, people that you love and people that love you. This knowledge gives you confidence to go about your day. To go to work and come home, and to get whatever you need to do in life done so that you better yourself and become useful to society.
As time goes by and life goes on, you get used to a routine. You go to work. You come home. You spend time with your family, eat, and go to bed. You wake up in the morning the next day and rinse, dry, and repeat. You don't think about what you're doing because you've already done it so many times. Nothing in life is going to change in the near future as long as you're entrenched in your job and doing all the right things. You're prepared for what each day brings you, and this knowledge breeds natural confidence. Eventually, you get to a point where you start acting like a machine. You don't think about what you're doing, you just do it and it gets done.
Today, you saw one of the sloppiest games that you have ever seen in Panthers history. Our team made mistakes in areas of their game that kids in high school years have learned not to do.
Why?
I believe the problem on our team is very simple. We are ignoring the one of the most fundamental principles of human psychology. If a man is not prepared for what the day brings him, he cannot expect to be confident in what he does. He thinks too much about what he is doing. He gets nervous. He does stupid things and acts silly at times. Without confidence, a man will commit errors on the job. With errors come both a learning experience and the intermediate damage. If you were a cook, you might make horrible food. If you were a waiter, dishes might be broken. And if you are a football player, games will be lost.
So what do you do to make a man confident in his job? You train him. You train him up hardcore. In a team where only 4 players are above the age of 30, this rule rings true even more. Our teams come out on that football field prepared to fail. We are prepared to fail because our players are unprepared to accomplish the tasks they need to do to win the football game. There are too many rookies, too few veterans, and our coaching staff seems unable and/or unwilling to do the job of preparation themselves.
Without preparation, there is no knowledge. Without knowledge, there is no confidence. A lack of confidence will cause you to make mistakes, and mistakes in the National Football League will cause you to fail.
That my friends, is why we suck.
We will continue to suck until our players come out on that field prepared to win the football game.
That is all.