“I would have a very simple message if I’m Mike Norvell \u2014 everybody thinks you stink, what are you going to do about it?” Kanell asked. “”That’s the message. That’s it. Everyone thinks Mike Norvell is going to get fired. Everybody thinks Florida State is going to be no good? What are you going to do about it?”<\/p>\n
FSU football needs to have a ‘bunker mentality’ this season<\/p>\n
The “us against the world” mentality is not unusual, and often it’s one of the most annoying tropes in sports. There’s nothing I hate more is when the star player from a team that’s dominated all season, regardless of sport, says, “nobody thought we’d get here.” It’s so disingenuous I am just left to shake my head.<\/p>\n
But in this case, Kanell is absolutely right. This is the season where Norvell and the FSU team should be able to rally around each other because the expectations are what they are. The offense can rally around Ashton Daniels as he has been treated like a joke. The defense should be able to rally around the belief that Tony White’s defense will regress despite history telling us it will improve.<\/p>\n
This presents a golden opportunity for Norvell to get the players to lead. As much as players may like their coaches, it’s a hard sell for a coach to ask players to rally around the head coach. He’s got amazing financial security if things work out or if they don’t. However, it’s a much easier task to tell players to rally around each other and fight off the general belief that they aren’t good enough.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: ACC football contender tiers reveal Florida State optimism and a brutally tough schedule<\/a><\/p>\n The best FSU teams have been ones that were led by the players<\/p>\n This season has to be about the players. The guys that are expected to be good, like wide receivers Duce Robinson and Micahi Danzy, running back Ousmane Kromah, defensive lineman Mandrell Desir and cornerback Ja’bril Rawls, have to be great. And players with lower expectations, like Daniels, have to prove everyone was wrong about them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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