The athlete's answer, he maintains, says much about his mindset and NFL potential. The dog or cat question is one we feel has a lot of symbolism. A dog is man's best friend. A cat is more independent. Players who go for dogs tend to like structure, and being part of a team is more important to them.
Cats are guys who are more comfortable being a more solo contributor.
You have to let him feel like he's making the decisions. Troutwine notes that no one question is indicative of anything. But after a players answers all of them and Troutwine and his staff assess them, and trends develop. Three years ago, Troutwine assessed Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning for the Indianapolis Colts. It was his assessment that Leaf would have far more problems coping with early failures than Manning and that he might not react well under mounting pressures from the media and the public.