Gase tells Parker the hard truth – like a good teacher should.
Doing it the wrong way hurts alot more than hearing the hard truth.
Coach Adam Gase laid the hard truth on DeVante Parker because he is a good coach who also happens to be a straight shooter. Gase knows that if his rising star keeps doing it the wrong way, Parker will be hurt alot more than if he gets smashed in the face by reality right now and changes course towards the right direction.
Gase said, “…I feel like I’ve been through this a couple of times. I just go back to Demaryius (Thomas), when we were in Denver. It just felt like he was always hurt. It was just one of those things, it was just like one thing after the other. The thing is, these guys, the longer they start doing this, the more they realize how much they have to take care of their body, how important it is to practice fast every day and make sure they really push themselves because now, all of a sudden, when you go to turn it on, especially on game day and your body’s not ready for it, this is when you can possibly have these kind of issues.”
Some players like Jarvis Landry come into the league professionals, some learn very early like Jerry Rice, some learn later like Irvin Fryar, and the list of those who never get it are legion.
Now, for Fryar it was drug abuse that was at the root of his lack of professionalism, Parker’s issue isn’t drugs, but it’s still in the same category — a lack of taking care of your body while working in a business that’s a voracious beast, which devours the human body.
I had to add this, not exactly the same situation, but similar sentiments. FYI Allen Iverson was my favorites NBA player of that era, so there’s no hate here.
Brown, like Gase, tried to get his star player to realize that a career can’t be based on “turning it on” come game time: professionalism involves as much before the game as it does during the game.
Much like writing an article — errhumm…(cough) edit please (cough).
But, I digress.
Gase continued, “So that’s been our point of emphasis with him is all the little tiny things that you have to do off the field, in the building, and then when you get out to practice you have to treat every day like a game. Sometimes it takes some guys a little longer to learn than others. Eventually, it gets to the point where you get tired of being the guy standing on the sideline.”
Gase finished with, “I do think he’s a little frustrated as far as he’s been the odd man out all the time. Kenny (Stills) and Jarvis (Landry) have been out there working together now and he’s kind of had to watch. We’ll keep working and he’ll eventually figure it out to where he knows his routine; he knows how to stay healthy, he knows how to push through certain kinds of pains where it’s not going to really deter him from where he’s going to miss some games…”
“…It’s a fine line there, especially at that position. You really have to be locked into your body.”
Parker’s injuries started in college in 2014, and they haven’t stopped. As a guess, maybe he was so good he could turn it on, but bad habits became checks he couldn’t cash on the NFL level. Sometimes too much talent can be a curse. It’s just a guess, who can say for sure what the root of the cause is?
But, for all intent and purpose, Gase and other members of staff said Parker is “jacking it” at practice, acting foolishly by not eating breakfast, and sometimes not drinking much of anything — much less water — through an entire day (dehydrated muscles get pulled a whole lot easier). Gase and the pay per head sportsbook site knows that the sky is the limit for Parker. The hard truth Gase is giving is a thrown gauntlet saying Parker’s choices could make that limit be the cellar. Good Job coach Gase. Go Fins!!!