![]() In this case, the Yankees overestimated Rodriguez’s longevity, and his performance started to falter as he aged. In a 2016 paper, I explore the New York Yankees’ 2004 acquisition of superstar Alex Rodriguez, and the massive 10-year contract extension they awarded him in 2007. Having a lot of resources invested in one player – even if he is a star – can be risky. Because the Eagles devoted a small amount of money to their quarterback – a position that usually commands the highest salaries – they were able to invest their resources in other positions. It probably helped that Carson Wentz is playing on his rookie contract, so his salary cap hit is only US$7.25 million, or around 4 percent of the team’s $167 million salary cap. But they were nonetheless able to absorb the loss of star quarterback Carson Wentz, and now find themselves one game away from dethroning the Patriots. The Eagles don’t have the Patriots’ role-based culture and history of success. Confidence in your ability, in turn, has been shown to predict performance in a variety of situations, from sports arenas to the classroom to the workplace. Indeed, the greatest predictor of being confident in your ability to win in the future is having won in the past. It’s quite another to truly believe it, even when you’re down three touchdowns. It’s one thing to tell the media you will win. If you’re on the Patriots, you’re probably pretty confident you can win, regardless of the score or situation. Since 2001, they’ve won 15 division titles, eight conference championship games and five Super Bowls. Then there’s the Patriots’ history of winning. Second, it makes it easy to adapt to adversity, setting up a dynamic where players can easily be plugged into roles to replace teammates lost to injury. ![]() This naturally builds interdependence by identifying the specific skills each player needs to contribute to the team. It creates what management scholars would refer to as a “ transactive memory system” – a “group mind” where each team member knows what each other one is good at. First, it allows the players and coaches to understand each player’s strengths, weaknesses and responsibilities. This type of system serves two functions. Welker ended up thriving his production exploded, and he redefined a position now occupied by Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. He just had to do one thing well: Give quarterback Tom Brady a short, underneath passing option. Importantly, in Belichik’s system, Welker didn’t have to outrun and outjump the opposing team’s biggest, fastest defensive backs. But Belichick had a role in mind for Welker, bringing him to New England with the specific purpose of playing in the slot. On his previous team, the Dolphins, he had been an average player. This is because head coach Bill Belichick’s system is designed to emphasize specific roles linked to specific abilities.įor example, in 2007, Belichick traded for undersized wide receiver Wes Welker. But none likely understand the role and abilities of each player – and the need to coordinate – better than the Patriots. How might this translate to football? Well, most teams are equally motivated to win the Super Bowl. This happened because, on these teams, individual members thought they could solve the mystery on their own. Interestingly, groups whose members each had useful information – but weren’t told that the information each possessed was necessary for the team to perform well – did the worst. Unsurprisingly, these groups did the best. Some groups were told that each member had a distinct role, and that they would need to rely on everyone’s expertise to solve the mystery. In a 2012 study, I charged four groups of students with solving a murder mystery. So do “collective efficacy” – a team’s shared belief that it can attain a given goal – and “interdependence,” whether a team believes each member is valuable.īy considering these three latent team characteristics, we can dig deeper into how the Eagles and Patriots made it to Super Bowl LII. Having the ability to adapt to adverse or unpredictable situations plays a big role. Because talent goes only so far, it’s important to evaluate a team’s structure and mindset to determine its true strength. ![]() Inside and outside of sports, I’ve studied what makes some teams thrive and what makes others falter. ![]() While many NFL analysts deal with easily observable factors – individual performance, weather, play-calling and match-ups – it’s often what can’t be seen that determines a team’s success. Yet, each will be playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII on Sunday in Minneapolis. In early December, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz – in the midst of a breakout season – tore his ACL.Įach team experienced enough upheaval to have derailed their seasons. ![]()
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