Saban and his Psychology Advisor

[SkapePhin]

This year, Saban has enlisted his unconventional ally in his steepest challenge as a head coach, retooling the Dolphins. Rosen came to pre-season training camp in Davie to help Saban evaluate players with psychological tests. During the regular season, he is available to Saban and players by telephone in East Lansing, Mich., where he teaches and practices at Michigan State.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2005/11/20/a1b_dolphins_1120.html

I think this test may have been one reason why AJ Feeley was completely discarded following preseason. I believe something showed up in his Psychological makeup, that in Saban's opinion, did not fit work well for an NFL QB, and from that point figured he would never amount to anything anyway, so why try to see in the regular season.

Now, I really wonder how some of our other players made out on these examinations.. I have a feeling the likes of Reggie Howard and Sam Madison did not score too well for what Saban was looking for. I think he uses this guy as a tool to evaluate the mental makeup of college players as well, and will really serve us well in the future.

 

[flintsilver7]

This year, Saban has enlisted his unconventional ally in his steepest challenge as a head coach, retooling the Dolphins. Rosen came to pre-season training camp in Davie to help Saban evaluate players with psychological tests. During the regular season, he is available to Saban and players by telephone in East Lansing, Mich., where he teaches and practices at Michigan State.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2005/11/20/a1b_dolphins_1120.html

I think this test may have been one reason why AJ Feeley was completely discarded following preseason. I believe something showed up in his Psychological makeup, that in Saban's opinion, did not fit work well for an NFL QB, and from that point figured he would never amount to anything anyway, so why try to see in the regular season.

Now, I really wonder how some of our other players made out on these examinations.. I have a feeling the likes of Reggie Howard and Sam Madison did not score too well for what Saban was looking for. I think he uses this guy as a tool to evaluate the mental makeup of college players as well, and will really serve us well in the future.

Assuming your theory is correct, are you willing to put the future of your franchise essentially in a witch doctor's hands?

 

[Doktor Ivel]

interesting

 

[SkapePhin]

Assuming your theory is correct, are you willing to put the future of your franchise essentially in a witch doctor's hands?

Not a witch doctor.. I think its a very good tool to have, but then again Im a Psych major, so I might be biased..

Several teams use such tests to evaluate players, particularly QBs.. There is that one guy who has come up with a formula as to which Personality types make successful QBs, and which dont..and his predictions for the most part have been solid.

 

[Maynard the Hammer]

braintypes? i believe it to an extent. hes the guy who said leaf would be a bust right?

 

[SkapePhin]

braintypes? i believe it to an extent. hes the guy who said leaf would be a bust right?

Ya..

I think its just based off of the Myers-Briggs.. http://skepdic.com/myersb.html

He has just composited a list of successful QBs vs failed QBs and contrasted their personality types.. He then applies that to new players coming into the league.

 

[flintsilver7]

Not a witch doctor.. I think its a very good tool to have, but then again Im a Psych major, so I might be biased..

Several teams use such tests to evaluate players, particularly QBs.. There is that one guy who has come up with a formula as to which Personality types make successful QBs, and which dont..and his predictions for the most part have been solid.

Then I would assume you are biased.

Tests are one thing. If you can tell me that based on somebody's psych evaluation, A.J. Feeley would've been the worst option for this time, I would have to tell you that's completely ridiculous.

 

[Maynard the Hammer]

Then I would assume you are biased.

Tests are one thing. If you can tell me that based on somebody's psych evaluation, A.J. Feeley would've been the worst option for this time, I would have to tell you that's completely ridiculous.

its really not much of a stretch. we are always talking about wanting players who are mentally tough and qbs that dont panic. why would a psych evaluation be rediculous then?

 

[SkapePhin]

Then I would assume you are biased.

Tests are one thing. If you can tell me that based on somebody's psych evaluation, A.J. Feeley would've been the worst option for this time, I would have to tell you that's completely ridiculous.

Not that he is the worst option, just that he wouldnt have the personality type to develop into a "winner" in the future.. I was a big Feeley advocate, and still think he got a raw deal, but I always found it odd how one performance brought him from potential starter to 3rd string, considering all the QBs performed basically the same in preseason. But, seeing how he didnt step up to the challenge, I think that might be an indication of his psychological wherewithall..

 

[Shouright]

I'm a psychologist and do psychological testing as a big part of my job, and IMO it all comes down to whether these tests are PREDICTIVE of anything. Absent any hardcore research in this area, there's no scientific way of knowing whether these tests predict performance on the field. There may be what we call "anecdotal" evidence -- i.e., someone scored high or low on a test and then performed in accordance with the score -- but that's nowhere near as convincing as a well-designed correlational or experimental study with a large number of subjects.

That said, I'm a BIG believer that a player's psychological makeup can make the difference between a mediocre player and a good player and between a good player and a GREAT player. Players like Dan Marino, Brett Favre, Ray Lewis, Michael Irvin, Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger -- these are the kinds of guys I want on my team. They not only have great talent, they have the "I'm going to lead my team to victory" quality that makes them legendary players.

And there are an awful lot of players who have great talent who DON'T have that quality.

 

[fishypete]

I hope your wrong....thats the worst way to find football players....what they do on the field should be more important than what they do on a Psych's test. Since I don't believe in that Psych crap anyway....maybe I'm biased!!

 

[Shouright]

Not that he is the worst option, just that he wouldnt have the personality type to develop into a "winner" in the future.. I was a big Feeley advocate, and still think he got a raw deal, but I always found it odd how one performance brought him from potential starter to 3rd string, considering all the QBs performed basically the same in preseason. But, seeing how he didnt step up to the challenge, I think that might be an indication of his psychological wherewithall..

I think Feeley AND Rosenfels are similar in that regard. Both seem to be pretty content being backup QBs. Feeley was hurt in college and lost his job to Harrington, yet he chose to stay at Oregon St. rather than transfer to a school where he could start. I think that may say something about him psychologically. And I've heard talk that Rosenfels just doesn't have that "leader" mentality you want in your QB.

 

[fishypete]

I would have laughed at them giving Bradshaw any test....not sure if he could have signed his name....do you know how many great football players that are in the HOF...probably wouldn't have passed any of those stupid test's.

 

[Shouright]

I hope your wrong....thats the worst way to find football players....what they do on the field should be more important than what they do on a Psych's test. Since I don't believe in that Psych crap anyway....maybe I'm biased!!

I agree -- we should really be able to assess a lot of this stuff just by watching a guy play and talking to his coaches and teammates. Watching Michael Jordan play, for example, you know he has that "I'm gonna take over this game myself" mentality that people like Chris Chambers don't have.

 

[Shouright]

I would have laughed at them giving Bradshaw any test....not sure if he could have signed his name....do you know how many great football players that are in the HOF...probably wouldn't have passed any of those stupid test's.

Yeah but most of them are pretty simple -- true and false and multiple choice responses mostly.