DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Greg Little Has an Epiphany

Hopefully he take this to heart and truly work on becoming a pro ...... doing everything it takes to be a true pro, and maybe even a great player. Putting in the extra time it takes to make a decent player a good one, or a good player into a great one can do nothing but benefit him.

Cleveland Browns WR Greg Little says meeting with NBA's Alonzo Mourning has sharpened his focus | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/11/cleveland_browns_wr_greg_littl_1.html#incart_2box

BEREA, Ohio -- The theme of Greg Little's bye week was: Mourning has spoken.

So powerful was the message Little received from former Heat center Alonzo Mourning during a two-hour lunch in Miami that he brought it back and shared it with the Browns before practice Monday morning.

"The message he gave to me is 'what are you willing to give up to win?'" said the Browns receiver. "That's kind of the message I relayed to our team -- 'what are you willing to sacrifice to finish this season out like we really want to?'"

Mourning, the Heat's Vice President of Player Programs, heard about Little from a mutual friend of theirs and thought he could help. He knew that Little engaged in a Twitter war with fans and that it knocked him off his game. He knew about the dropped passes. He saw a young man who needed to be set straight on a few things, including true dedication to the game.

"I didn't know he was following me as close as he was," said Little. "I had the thing on Twitter and that whole debacle and he just explained to me that [the fans] were right. Winning is more important than any other thing in sports and that's just something that I enjoyed hearing from him."

Mourning cited the example of a former Cleveland superstar to drive home his point.

"He said that the biggest thing that helped LeBron [James] in his playoff run was the sacrifice he made to stay off Twitter, don't text people, don't instagram, things like that," said Little. "He said that was the best performance that he's seen other than Michael Jordan."

A seven-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mourning also stressed the hallmarks of a champion.

"He explained a story that Tiger Woods would putt five-foot putts 500 times and he'd have to hit 500 in a row," said Little. "If he missed at 299, he started all the way back to one. That was the way he was explaining to me about when I have drops -- doing something so many times where it's just muscle memory."

Mourning's words packed such a punch that the loquacious Little was virtually speechless throughout. "I was lost in what he was saying and really trying to soak in 100 percent," he said.

Even an hour later, Little was still dumbstruck.

"I was riding home with my friend and I didn't even say anything," said Little. "I was still thinking about what he was saying."

Little, whose receptions are down from last season, couldn't help but stand up in front of the team Monday morning and share his epiphany, the perfect jumpstart after the bye week.

"Usually I'm more the joker on the team, so anytime I get up and say something serious, I think the guys were shocked," he said. "[But] they took it well."

The speech reached even longtime veterans such as Josh Cribbs.

"He encouraged a us to do a little extra," said Cribbs. "If everybody does extra, we'll be a complete football team. Everybody took it to heart coming from him. For a young guy to speak up, we were surprised and we back him 100 percent and I'm proud of him."

Cornerback Joe Haden agreed. "Everybody has to come in and just do a little bit more, because what we've been doing in the past obviously isn't working," he said. "If it's another hour of film study, if it's another workout, if it's a little more conditioning, if it's meeting with your coaches, if it's anything like that, take that next step because obviously what we've been doing for the first nine weeks hasn't been working."

Little admitted that it's been tough at times especially for the young receivers not to have a veteran to show them the way.

"I wouldn't shy away from having a guy of that magnitude [for] when you're going through adverse situations, to say, 'you know, I've been there. I know what you're going through and this is the way that you should go about handling it,'" he said.

For his part, Little won't change everything, including his latest first-down signal of holding his hand out straight, dropping the ball and pointing. But he will stay off Twitter for the time being -- he hasn't tweeted since Sept. 22 -- and do more before and after practice -- including extended time on the JUGS pass-catching machine.

Although others have tried to tell him his improved production over the last three games -- 17 catches for 132 yards and a TD -- can be attributed to eliminating the distractions, it didn't really hit home until his Mourning luncheon.

"I was like 'Yeah, whatever. That's not it. I'm just playing well,'" he said. "[But] when you hear it from somebody like that, you take it [to heart]."

And spread the word.

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For his part, Little won't change everything, including his latest first-down signal of holding his hand out straight, dropping the ball and pointing.

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So in other words quit spending time telling the fans your good and instead spemd your time at preforming at a pro level and the fans will tell you your good.
I hate the heat but maybe this will actually help these young dogs "get it".

I don't know that this would have a huge impact in the next couple weeks but if enough of them can take this message seriously into the offseason, when you can really go back and work on the fundamentals, it could prove very valuable next year.

I read articles like this a fair amount.


Then we still lose.

I agree. It's unfortunate that our veteran leaders are our kicker, left tackle and kick returner.

Edit: Add the MLB to that list.

Nice "feel good" read; we can hope it has impact on Little (he might take up inspired putting instead). That impact is long overdue. Swell interview, too.

Sorry. Not until I see it out on the field. Long-winded receivers are news as much as ever. So like the number one rule in my creative writing classes I taught: "Do not tell me; show me." Show me, and we all know it, no tell is required. Good luck with mission , Grasshopper. It is worthy. But show me in the game.
Little else counts.

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Greg Little Has an Epiphany

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Ya know, they have a surgery that will correct that now! Ahh the miracles of modern medicine....

Seriously,, whatever it takes. If a talk with an ex pro basketball player gets to him, maybe he becomes what we expected. Maybe he becomes what Josh Gordon is becoming.. wouldn't that be something.

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"What are you willing to give up to win?"

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Losing?

Wait, Banner is going to call plays?