Originally Posted by
Mojouw
I can see that. I just have always had a hard time believing that "distractions" are as large of a component of team performance as the media/fan narratives make it out to be. I mean everyone is distracted all the time in every job ever.
To assume that "distractions" can be eliminated seems a bit fantastic. Each of these guys has families, outside lives/responsibilities, financial concerns, and all of the other worries and anxieties of any other moderately functioning adult.
For all we know Ben threw five INTS on Sunday because his kid is sick, he and the wife are in the middle of a knock-down-drag-out argument, and Ben hasn't been sleeping and when he has it has been on the couch.
But in addition to that being absolutely none of our business, the NFL coverage and chattering class is far more comfortable imagining these guys as robots whose only existence starts and stops at the walls of the team facility.
Regarding the anthem spat specfically, 31 other NFL teams by all accounts had the same series of contentious meetings and team debates a few Sundays ago. By the logic of NFL commentary, it was only a distraction for the 50% of the league that lost. And the other half was not distracted at all. That simply doesn't make sense.