As if the Flyers' meltdown wasn't shocking enough, coach Terry Murray exposed some cracks in his exterior Friday when he openly questioned his players' character. It's as much of a mental block as anything else. The outburst may have been triggered by a high-decibel, emotional team meeting before the Flyers' optional morning skate at Joe Louis Arena. Players said the normally soft-spoken Murray sternly scolded his team's lack of execution and an even more serious lack of effort.
Fans use it, reporters use it, but coaches almost never use it.
But sometimes it brings out the worst. If that doesn't happen you're never going to break through and you're just going to be one of those also-ran teams your whole life. And you're going to choke. You're going to get into those competitive situations and you're not going to know how to break through and get the job done. Murray's tongue-lashing might be the last desperate act of a coach trying to find any way to win one game.