No **** man. I'm so sick of Boucher's "We have to trust the process." "The process is going great, we're just not getting the results." "The results will come if we stick to the process."
Whatever your "process" is, it's producing losses, and lots of them.
Reminds me of Danny B's "We have to get to our game." What's "our game," Dan?
I'm sure the media doesn't mind, they end up getting a bigger story about Torts blowing up instead of some generic quotes.
I think Rangers fans following the team would be more interested in hearing about their team than about their coach. You can only write so many stories about a meathead coach.
He simultaneously chews them out in the media, while drawing all the public heat to himself.
He's using the media as a coaching tool. This stuff isn't for any of us, or even the media, it's all meant for his dressing room.
He acts all put out, but he loves every second.
: Did you see the interview? He threw his players under the bus and completely deflected blame. He even went as far as asking the media to ask the players the same questions.
I think Rangers fans following the team would be more interested in hearing about their team than about their coach. You can only write so many stories about a meathead coach.
Just look at how much attention this is getting, it's a journalist's dream when coaches blow up.
: Did you see the interview? He threw his players under the bus and completely deflected blame. He even went as far as asking the media to ask the players the same questions.
I used to see people claim Torts did this type of thing to deflect attention away from his players but clearly that is BS since he had no problem giving them all the blame anyways.
The Rangers didn't play bad last night. They were very physical and outshot/outchanced Buffalo and if it wasn't for Enroth's play, they probably would have won the game.
If you're going to pick a game to unload on your players, there are probably better examples.
I haven't watched the post-game yet, but based on reading parts of this thread my guess is the only issue I'll have with it is how he treated Sam. Other than that, the team deserved to be ripped a new one -- especially guys like Gabby and Richards who have pulled disappearing acts for pretty much the whole season. And I don't care that he did that in a way that was whiny or disrespectful. He coaches with passion and shows it - I'd rather have that than an empty suit.
Not to mention that threads like this one are living proof that if it was Torts' goal to draw attention, then he knows what he's doing. What are we talking about primarily? How poorly the team or certain players are playing? No. We're talking about his outburst. Takes a **** ton of the pressure off of his players. You may not like that he's impolite and childish while doing it, but when that is his goal it certainly works. I haven't listened to it yet, so this may not apply in this specific case... But even if he called certain players out (which I'm seeing based on what I'm reading) -- a few of them certainly deserved to be called out.
--
And as to the Rangers fans in this thread calling for his head; grow a brain. Seriously, the Torts bashing after each loss is getting old. Before last night many of you were lauding him for turning the team around, or at least biting your tongues. The second the Rangers lose a game, you all come back out of the woodwork. It is one bad loss. I'm not happy about it either, but get over it and stop being so hyperbolic.
Torts is easily the best coach this team has had in over a decade. If you really think moving to a more offensive minded system is going to help this team, then I really don't know what to say -- it seems clear to me that you either don't see your own players' limits, don't understand hockey, or have no memory of - or weren't old enough to live through - the dark years from '98 to ~'08. The main reason this team was god awful during that time was that defense was an afterthought. They finally have started to build a team around a core of defensively sound players and brought in a coach that preaches two-way play -- and guess what? They have started to see some success... but you idiots want to blow that all up and move to a run and gun system because it is what is fun to watch.
I got news for you, offense may be fun to watch, but it doesn't win championships. Just look at the Philly/Pitt playoff series last year -- not a defensive bone in either of those two teams' bodies. Both failed miserably. How about any team that has won the cup recently? Name me more than 2 teams in the past 12 years that have won the cup without a solid defense -- the only two teams that come even close to fitting that bill are the Canes and the 08-09 Penguins, and even the Pens had a very different and significantly better d-corps that year than they do now.
Outside of Rick Nash, Gaborik, and Richards (at least when the last two show up to play), this team is built to play defensive-minded hockey and grind. I don't see any of Callahan, Stepan, Hagelin, Miller, Powe, Halpern, Pyatt, Boyle, Asham, Haley, or Bickel being able to consistently make a pass, stick handle, or move in a way that would allow this team to play a puck possession game or offensive-minded game. It just isn't any of those players' strengths.
If Torts' job is on the line at any point before the end of next season, I'll be shocked.
Last edited by Richter Scale: 03-13-2013 at 10:38 AM.
As has been stated we have a ton of jokers in the media here in Ottawa, would love to see Torts tell them what every one here is thinking on a daily basis! That being said i see how this gets old fast and would likely bother even fans with the thickest of skins. Also i think our guy is going to be around for a long long time.
What are we talking about primarily? How poorly the team or certain players are playing? No. We're talking about his outburst. Takes a **** ton of the pressure off of his players. You may not like that he's impolite and childish while doing it, but it certainly works.
How does throwing his players under the bus take pressure off of them? He clearly called out his top line and asked the media to ask them the same questions he was asked. Pretty contrary to your thesis.
How does throwing his players under the bus take pressure off of them? He clearly called out his top line.
Haven't listened to it yet -- so I'll retract that in this case; edited the post slightly. Richards and Gabby deserve to be called out. They've pulled disappearing acts this year. Pretty much just collecting their paychecks.
Aside from this instance though, I'd say the majority of the time when he has these outbursts he isn't calling out any specific player. In those cases, it fits what I said.
And when he does call players out its not like he's doing it without thinking - it is with purpose. If I'm remembering correctly, he went out of his way to ***** out Hagelin earlier this season (for something that wasn't even really all that bad and in response to a question that wasn't about Hagelin). Hagelin then proceeds to string together a really solid stretch of games. Now obviously that success is absolutely all on Hagelin, but Torts wasn't exactly just throwing darts at a dartboard blindfolded there. He healthy scratched Boyle twice so far this season; each time the guy comes back into the lineup and plays a lot better. He takes a different approach to trying to motivate certain players. People act like he's just a dolt who has no clue what he's doing or saying -- but that is pretty far from the truth.
To be fair, I think a lot of times it can be good to deflect media from players' poor performance and put it on himself.
But I also think there is a time and place to call out his players and honestly answer questions regarding his players poor play, and I thought he should have done that last night.
Except that's not what he's doing. He's putting himself on a pedestal and blasting his players. That's pretty much the opposite. I don't like the Rangers but he makes a classy organization look bush league.
Except that's not what he's doing. He's putting himself on a pedestal and blasting his players. That's pretty much the opposite. I don't like the Rangers but he makes a classy organization look bush league.
I agree. Whatever happened to blasting your players in the lockeroom and keeping it out of the media?
Except that's not what he's doing. He's putting himself on a pedestal and blasting his players. That's pretty much the opposite. I don't like the Rangers but he makes a classy organization look bush league.
Exactly. Take everything Torts said in his classic presser with Tampa. Apply those words to himself, and you have a perfect depiction of the man, his mind and thought process. He's just a massive self centered knob.
I agree. Whatever happened to blasting your players in the lockeroom and keeping it out of the media?
I think it's Tortorella that doesnt speak to the team after games.
As far as that interview, I don't see anything too bad. Just a grumpy coach. And based on the parts of the game I saw, it's not like he's going overboard. The Rangers were dogging it last night.
He simultaneously chews them out in the media, while drawing all the public heat to himself.
He's using the media as a coaching tool. This stuff isn't for any of us, or even the media, it's all meant for his dressing room.
He acts all put out, but he loves every second.
It's a great point.
Today - everyone is talking about the Torts press conference, while no one is talking about his team's loss and how crap the first line was.
In other sports this sort of "pick on me, leave the boys alone" type of approach to the media would be heralded.
From Torts though - it just gets old, really, really fast. As fun as it is to listen too, as UnrefinedCrudge says, none of this is meant for the fans or the media. It's all meant for the room.
Leads me to wonder just how players in a room coached by Torts manage to stay tuned into the guy for so long. Have to admit - as a fan I get tired of his tirades every now and again and I'm not even a Rangers fan.
I totally agree, and I also think he has a bit of a hidden agenda. He knows that with that style, he is not going to have a ten year coaching run, but it might get him a thirty year TV gig (Don Cherry) some day. It also sells the team in his market, comes off as brash which is what he wants his team to be, etc.
It serves a lot of purposes, actually.
Actually it does both for him. His owner is also a media hater and I'm sure is loving every second of it. This could secure torts years of coaching and also all kinds of positions under his uber rich boss. Torts is set for life.
He simultaneously chews them out in the media, while drawing all the public heat to himself.
He's using the media as a coaching tool. This stuff isn't for any of us, or even the media, it's all meant for his dressing room.
He acts all put out, but he loves every second.
Well said. I read through this thread and I'm shocked at the number of people who don't get his shtick even after all these years.
He adept at using the media for many things.
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George McPhee....The Teflon GM. 15 years of failure and counting....
6 - Number of playoff series the Capitals have won since George McPhee took over as General Manager in 1997 (which makes him the third-longest-tenured GM in the League), three of which came in McPhee's first season on the job.
Today - everyone is talking about the Torts press conference, while no one is talking about his team's loss and how crap the first line was.
In other sports this sort of "pick on me, leave the boys alone" type of approach to the media would be heralded.
I can guarantee you Ranger fans are talking a lot more about the loss than whatever Tortorella had to say. You think he does this so that the rest of us, in whatever random cities we live in, are distracted from the players? The fact is he'll talk to the media all they want after a win, and will throw tantrums after a loss. That's called a crybaby, not some sort of tactician.
Today - everyone is talking about the Torts press conference, while no one is talking about his team's loss and how crap the first line was.
In other sports this sort of "pick on me, leave the boys alone" type of approach to the media would be heralded.
From Torts though - it just gets old, really, really fast. As fun as it is to listen too, as UnrefinedCrudge says, none of this is meant for the fans or the media. It's all meant for the room.
Leads me to wonder just how players in a room coached by Torts manage to stay tuned into the guy for so long. Have to admit - as a fan I get tired of his tirades every now and again and I'm not even a Rangers fan.
How must the players feel?
I don't get how people still think he has a "pick on me, not my team" mentality when he directly ordered the media last night to ask his team the hard questions instead of asking him. Kind of the opposite, he basically told them "I'm not the problem, go bother them."
End of the day, reporters need to write articles and they need quotes. If Torts won't give them anything to write about, that means they need to hit the player interviews harder. You think they just go "Eh, Torts didn't say anything, guess I won't write an article tomorrow."
I think he's a decent coach. He's a great motivator but not really the best systems guy, probably the wrong coach for the Rangers this year. But acting like this just makes him seem more childish than cunning.
Torts is amazing and a breath of fresh air. In a day and age where reporters get away with anything it is good to see someone always shutting them down.
Torts is amazing and a breath of fresh air. In a day and age where reporters get away with anything it is good to see someone always shutting them down.
God forbid the reporters covering the Rangers be allowed to support their families! They don't deserve food on the table.
Seriously, this is what people do for a living. They write articles about the Rangers. If they can't write good articles about the Rangers, they get fired. I can't see how anyone is okay with this from a human values standpoint. If you want to (ignorantly, IMO) think this is a strategic move to keep the pressure off his players.. fine. But regardless of the logic behind his tantrums, he's unnecessarily being a complete ******* to professionals who are trying to do their job. It's not like he has to part with the company secrets every post-game, but there's a game to be played with the media and Torts is just refusing to play it.
: Did you see the interview? He threw his players under the bus and completely deflected blame. He even went as far as asking the media to ask the players the same questions.
