Ricardo McDonald's Sportscity Blog

Former Cincinnati Bengal and Chicago Bears Line Backer Ricardo McDonald has joined the Sportscity.com team. Throughout each week, McDonald will bring his own perspective on all things NFL, from current games and news, to past experiences.

From Good to Great

Written by Ricardo McDonald on February, 20th 2008

The word greatness is sometimes greatly exaggerated. But I think that within the coaches’ rank in the NFL, there are truly noble coaches that stand out shoulder and above the competition. I often ask myself what separates a great coach from an average coach. Within the NFL ranks every team has talent; every team has a great supporting cast made up of assistants, scouts, GM’s, executives, staff, and fans. I once heard a quote by Ronald Reagan that said, “The greatest leader is not the one who is able to accomplish every thing, but the one who is able to make the people accomplish the greatest things.”

This quote is very profound, because the greatest coaches in the NFL, NBA, and MLB are the ones who are able to get their players first to believe that the dream of winning a championship is attainable and motivate those players to go out each practice and game to execute the game plan. Even though these teams have superstars, they play within the confines of the team’s philosophy and play together. Some of the coaches who come to mind are Vince Lombardi, Chuck Knoll, Don Shula, Bill Walsh, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Belicheck, and now Tom Coughlin.

What separates these top quality coaches from other coaches? Sure they have talent along with superstars just as the others do. However, there are 3 essential qualities that truly separate them from the rest of the pack:

1) CONFIDENCE – Some coaches will put in a game plan for the week and feel pretty confident that the plan is good enough to win, but there is a key factor that many fail to realize and that is the “game plan” is only as good as the paper it’s written on. The key factor is Execution. Execution of the game plan on every play and every down.
2) ATTITUDE – I believe that a team’s attitude has everything to do with whether you will be successful or not. I remember in 1998, having just signed with the Chicago Bears that during our training camp, we had some of the trainers from the Bulls come out to help. I had a conversation with one of them about the mind set and the attitude of the Chicago Bulls championship team. He told me they went into EVERY game knowing that beyond a shadow of a doubt, they would win. He also shared with me that their confidence was through the roof. Their fearless leader, Michael Jordan just would not let them be a good team; he wanted them to be great. The Bulls ended the season with an accomplished record that will, in my personal opinion, never be broken.
3) SUCCESS (Resilience) – The word resilience is a very powerful word. To measure the heart and the mind of a true champion is to show that someone or something is resilient. On every team you will have injuries, distractions, etc.; but the teams who are able to overcome adversity by being relentless and persistent, are able to achieve success.

Teams led by great coaches are able to attain ultimate success – GREATNESS if you will. Tom Coughlin was able to coach the New York Giants to pure “Greatness” during their Super Bowl XLII win over the highly favored New England Patriots. That’s a perfect example of “From Good to Great!”

You be the judge. 0 Comments |

Mind Over Matter

Written by Ricardo McDonald on January, 30th 2008

On “Conference Championship” weekend, we saw some unprecedented cold weather conditions. There were many people who sat in their comfy recliners and thought to themselves, “What kind of a nut could go out in sub-zero plus weather conditions to play a boy’s game?” The fact of the matter is all those players were focused one thing - a chance to play in their life long dream, the Super Bowl - hopefully emerging victorious. You see, for a lot of those players this dream began when they started playing Pop Warner and continued through high school and then into college. Just the thought of the weather affecting this dream can be quite a challenge because not only do you have to go out there and physically compete at a high level, but your concentration and attention to detail has to be extremely high as well.

For those of you, who have never played on the professional level in freezing cold temperatures, let me give you some quick insight. Imagine stepping onto the football field and within the first 5 minutes your toes, nose, ears, and fingertips are frozen. The ground is almost like concrete, the wind is howling, and with every move your bones cringe. You now are on the football field and have to make physical contact with your opponent for 60 minutes or more. The average person you meet on the street would think you’re nuts, but when you have been dreaming your whole natural life about something like the Super Bowl, you don’t let anything or anyone stop you from achieving your goal.

The Super Bowl is very special in its own right. Whether you win or lose, you are still among the two best teams in the National Football League. The National Football League itself is a very close knit fraternity, but the number of guys who have ever gotten a chance to play in the Super Bowl, win or lose, are very few and far in between.

I use to hear my coaches preach that there are things in your life you absolutely have no control over like the weather, your opponents’ attitude, and the fans. The one thing you can control is the effort you put forth on every play. Effort can compensate for a missed assignment, a break down in coverage or a bad defensive call. The teams who are able to not let the weather affect there mental and physical state are better off. There is still a goal to reach and all 53 guys have got to be on the same page.

Bottom line is when it’s cold everyone is cold... including your opponent. Most people believe that teams who play in warm climates are at a disadvantage when they play in a city where there is snow and ice. The fact of the matter is these guys are pros’ – They’re paid a lot of money to do a job. When I played, most of the guys never let the weather keep them from doing their jobs. The New York Giants proved this with their win over a heavily favored Green Bay Packer team. Despite the brutal below zero temperatures, they pulled out a win, when all odds were against them. It’s about mind over matter! The great Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning is not everything, but it is the only thing!” Way to go Giants! 0 Comments |

The Kicker

Written by Ricardo McDonald on January, 22nd 2008

The kicker has long been known as the forgotten man on most football rosters. They are usually small in stature, but pack a powerful punch. Normally on game day, they are usually in their own little world chewing gum or chompin’ on sunflower seeds and often playing golf, soccer, and cracking jokes during weekly practices. But these guys in my mind do not get enough credit for the job they do. Imagine that two teams have tussled and fought for 59 minutes and all of a sudden you are called onto the field to win the football game for the entire team, the fans, the city, management etc. – Everything is riding on your shoulders. Can any one say “pressure”?

I once heard the quote, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression!” How fitting is that for this situation. These gentlemen usually have a short memory because they could be in a game in which they are playing horribly, missing 3 field goals, and all of a sudden they are called on to win the game. What is his frame of mind? Are there voices in his head haunting, teasing and telling him that he can’t make it?

I use to feel sorry for kickers, because if they missed the game winning kick, they were the only name mentioned on Monday’s meeting as to the reason we lost the football game. Meanwhile there were over 100 plays, offensively and defensively that could have done just that.

I remember back in 1990, watching the Super Bowl - Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants. Both teams played their hearts out. The Bills had the ball for the last 3 minutes of the game. They ran the clock down to 7 seconds and then took a time out to get kicker, Scott Norwood, in the game to kick the field goal in order to win in their 2nd Super Bowl appearance. Scott kicked with all of his tenacity and strength and ball started right down the middle of the field. I just knew it was a for sure field goal and what a shame! It broke to the right and never came back. I remember thinking to myself, “That guy has to be one of sickest people in America right now.” Not only did he fail his teammates, but the fans, his family, management, everybody. Even himself! I would not have wanted to be him.

I saw a statistic that said 70% of all NFL games are won or loss within the final 5 minutes of most football games. Once you get in the playoffs, it is even more vital that you have a kicker that is accurate. That’s why the Indianapolis Colts paid Adam Vinetierti so much money, because they knew that if they were ever in a close game “win/lose” situation, they would have someone reliable.

The NFC Championship playoff game over the weekend showed how important it is to have a good kicker. The kicker for the Giants was either going to be a hero or a goat. Fortunately for him, he made the field goal, which gave them the win over Green Bay and clinched a spot in the 2008 Super Bowl!

In closing, I would challenge everyone to take a moment to understand the pressure that a kicker is under. He’s not the darling of the offense or the vocal leader of the defense, but he is called upon week end and week out to perform. Unfortunately, he doesn’t always get another chance to make that first impression. There are no other downs after fourth down.... 1 Comments |

Remembering the Good Ol’ Days

Written by Ricardo McDonald on January, 17th 2008

From the moment you hear your name on “DRAFT” day, your life changes forever. You are thrust into an environment in which you are praised, criticized and humiliated all at the same time. The NFL, which any veteran will tell you means, “Not For Long” was very good to me and my family. I was extremely blessed and in some cases very lucky to have played the game of football professionally for nine years, especially since the average NFL career currently only lasts 2-3 years.

I remember getting a call from David Shula in 1992 and I recall the words he spoke like it was yesterday, “Rico, we just drafted you and we think you could be a great addition to our special teams!” I remember thinking, “Does he know who I am?” – Rico McDonald, one of five TRUE freshmen to ever start at the University of Pittsburgh in the company of such greats as Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Hugh Green, and Rickey Jackson.

Recalling mini camp and just sitting in the locker room with Anthony Munoz, Icky Woods, and others, the first thing I noticed was that a lot of the guys were in the training room using ice, taking pain pills, and getting a couple of toradol shots just to practice. These guys were in a lot of pain but the fear of telling the trainers how bad they were hurting was something they knew not to do. I once heard a buddy of mine say, “It’s either the game quits you or you quite the game!”

I enjoyed every moment of my career, but I must be frank – it was nine (9) of the most stressful years of my life. Let me give you a close-up picture of what I’m talking about. Earlier in my career, when I was with the Cincinnati Bengals, we returned to New York to play the Jets. I was so excited to be going back home since I grew up on the East coast. After curfew a couple of veteran players and me hung out all night partying (just so you know this is a normal occurrence in the NFL). We got in so late, the sun had almost fully set. We made it just in time for pre-game breakfast (barely). I was dog tired and could barely keep my eyes open, so I figured I’d drink lots and lots of coffee. Mind you, I have never been an avid coffee drinker – YUCK! I drank so much coffee that I started to shake and fidget like someone having a seizure. Once during the game, I recall coaches screaming “Get your head in the game!” That game turned out to be one of the worst football games I ever played.

On the flight back, all I kept thinking to myself was that I was going to get cut. I worried so much about my career with the team, I was thinking, “They’ll just bring a veteran in to take my place.” The next day, I reluctantly made that trip down to the facility to watch the film, and the first person I ran into was my coach. He rolled his eyes at me never saying a word. You can only imagine the things running through my young mind. As we watched the film, I was anticipating the horror to be displayed. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, although I graded out very poorly at 65%. A narrow escape in my mind, but duly noted for future reference.

I’ve seen good players’ careers end well before their time – long before they had a chance to show their full potential and that they could have been great for this game. I’ve seen grown men cry like babies when they were told they’re no longer a part of a team they tried so desperately to become a part of. It’s a feeling that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I played with this fear and stress... I felt like with every practice, every game, I had something to prove, just to avoid getting that knock at the door or worse still, that phone call! The owners and the coaches hold your destiny in their hands. Ultimately it’s their call on whether you stay or go. For some of us that time comes all too quickly. In hindsight I guess I was one of the lucky ones. 3 Comments |