Rams' Mental Approach Getting to Right Spot

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The toughness Steve Addazio spoke of his first day as coach wasn't just the type built in a weight room. There was another, just as important, layer.

He was also seeking willingness from the mind, a level which allows a player to push through a strength and conditioning session's last rep or sprint. The fortitude to make it through the grind of an entire fall camp and a complete season. To carry the importance of each play, be it in practice or a game.

A want to do it day after day.

"There's no question we're headed in the right direction, what it takes to prepare and what that means each week," Addazio said after the first practice of the bye week. "They have a great mentality in how they practice and how they approach things. I think we've made a lot of progress; I still think there is room to grow. We've come from a point where there was complete disruption and it takes a while, but we're seeing that come together. It's probably not perfect yet, but it's well on its way."

No, not perfect. Addazio sees it in what he refers to as the silly penalties, the ones which stem from a lack of focus. Jumping offside on a field goal attempt, or drawing an unsportsmanlike flag for extracurricular activity.

He wants them to be sharp, all the time. And there is no better test of where the Rams are now than with a 1-3 record heading into the bye week. There is confidence the team will handle it the right way, because, while they may not be perfect, they are growing.

"There's always room for improvement, but the way guys are handling this is awesome," defensive end Scott Patchan said. "We're 1-3, but we're playing some tough opponents. When you look at it from that perspective, you want to be 4-0 coming out of it. Nobody likes to lose; losing is not fun. But you see growth with guys, and I think that's where the maturity comes through, where guys have really grown from last year to this year. You see guys take one practice to the next and the game plan out to the field and actually execute it, and have the maturity not to step backwards. It will be interesting in the bye week how mature the guys are."

Center Cam Reddy sees it in the day-to-day of the team, how they handle themselves and how they approach practice. The right mentality for a team doesn't come from just one team meeting, but the different groups within a team which meet together daily, who then in turn go out and sweat together.

What he's seen is group holding their peers accountable, and it's starting to spread team wide. Now players from across the line are challenging those outside their room, too.

They are fostering a culture.

"I think I would say I'm pretty impressed with our grind. I think the mental part of it, you can see it each week; you can see the team growing from week to week all the way to Iowa," he said. "I think each position room is super focused on improving what they have to improve. Every room is making steps to benefit the team, and you can see that every week.

"I love our fight. I love the fight of this team. I think it comes from our head coach, who is a fighter. We want to fight like him. I think we improve each week, but we're far from satisfied, because the record is obviously what it is, but we're motivated to keep fighting and win games going forward in our conference."

For Addazio, the bye week is a blessing, but it could also be a hurdle for his squad.

The week is an excellent time to try to get some players healthy. They hope to get David Bailey back, as well as Dante Wright, who has missed the past few games. The return of Henry Blackburn to the starting lineup would be a plus, too. They'll also ease up on some veterans who are feeling the effects of four physical contests, so players like Trey McBride and Patchan will take more mental reps than physical ones.

What he's curious to see is how a team he's seen make incremental improvements from the first week through the fourth game continues forward.

"These bye weeks are great, but we were really steadily climbing. Now all the sudden, boom. How do we handle this?" he said. "Do we come back and feel fresh and continue to roll, or do we come out of it a little out of synch again? Obviously, we're hoping this week we pick up where we left off and continue to grow. These are all things when you're in the beginning stages of building a program, these are the things you've got to get in place."

Patchan isn't worried. The reaction to the loss to No. 5 Iowa was on target. Yes, the Rams were pleased they played better. But they were livid they didn't pull off the upset they felt they positioned themselves to finish. There weren't smiles, there were tears. And curse words.

That's a team he's proud of, and one he has the full confidence will see the truth. There is a lot they can accomplish, and it's one sees as having its mind in the right place. For the now and the later.

"I love our fight and our guys' desire to change things," he said. "You play one week seasons. The goal is to go to a bowl game, obviously. You have one down, and we have eight more opportunities to reach that goal. If it lines up we win out through the conference, that's even better. That's' even more so the goal. We have eight cracks at it, and we want to see the team improve. Last year, we didn't get to create culture the way we wanted to. This is the season where we can do that, and we want to establish that for years to come. We want to build that foundation."

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