Don’t complain to Mike Smith.

Until the Bucs check in at One Buc Palace to report for training camp, Joe will try to get in the mind of defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

Joe will regularly deliver excerpts and/or highlights from Smith’s book, “You Win in the Locker Room,” available on Google Play and iTunes.

When Smith took over the Dixie Chicks, he knew turning a loser into a winner wouldn’t happen overnight. The path to fix the fortunes of the Falcons, Smith believed, was in baby steps. One goal at a time, so he explained in his book, “You Win in the Locker Room.”

Smith seems like both a great guy to hang with and a great guy to have for a coach. But Smith has a pet peeve: guys who constantly b!tch and moan and complain. To quote former Lightning Stanley Cup-winning coach John Tortorella, Smith would like to tell these players, “Shut yer yap!”

In short, Smith writes, negativity must be deloused from the locker room as it is a MRSA-like affliction.

“When it comes to weeding the negativity from your team you must also weed the subtle sources like complaining in addition to overt negativity like energy vampires. While it’s obvious who your energy vampires are, complaining can often grow undetected beneath the surface and, if left to breed and grow, it can have disastrous effects on your team as well. That’s why … I created a “No Complaining Training Camp” … and told the team that they weren’t allowed to complain. If they had a complaint, they could bring it to me, or if they also had a suggested solution to the complaint.
We were going to be a positive team who stayed upbeat through the long, hot August weather in Atlanta. We were not going to be a group of guys who complained about insignificant issues. It worked so well we declared it the “No Complaining Season,” and our players wore the bracelets all the way through.

This is a pretty cool concept. Whining and complaining is not just a distraction, it robs teams of valuable teaching moments and time. Joe believes Smith is on to something big here.

Got a problem? Find an answer and come to coach with it so it can be fixed. Otherwise, get better, work hard at practice and shut yer yap.