“We came out flat.”

Time after time we’ve all heard that phrase as players try to explain how they stunk up the joint.

That’s been the Packers’ response after their crushing losses recently to the Patriots and Jets.

“We came out flat.”

Those of us who are fans wonder how something like that could happen. You’re being paid millions, or at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. You only have to perform once a week. You are one of the very best in the world. Thousands of fans cheer your every move.

And you came out flat?

What does that mean? I’ve heard coaches and players try to explain it over the
years and generally what they end up saying is that they played “flat.”

But, I want to know what that psychological term, “flat,” means in an athletic context.

So I asked my brother.

Now before you get your dander up, let me explain that my brother, Dr. Dan Begel, is a psychiatrist in Los Angeles. He is the founding president of the International Society for Sports Psychiatry. His seminal article, “An Overview of Sport Psychiatry,” appeared in The American Journal of Psychiatry and he has helped athletes, their families and teams at all levels. In The Journal of the American Medical Association his “psychodynamic understanding of the athlete” was described as “unparalleled.”

What all that means is that he has spent a lifetime studying the psychological twists and turns of world class athletes.

“The concept of being flat is very complicated,” he told me. “People try to simplify it -- athletes, the media, fans and coaches. But it’s not simple at all. Being flat can be caused by a number of things, either alone or in combination.

“And it’s important to stress that moods in a football locker room are very contagious. Whatever the mood is, it can spread through a locker room very quickly.”

Dr. Begel said that in many cases, being flat is caused by an absence of something.

“It can be an absence of a sense of importance,” he said. “Players just don’t come face to face with the reality of the importance of a particular game. It can also be an absence of confidence. Players who don’t have confidence in their ability or their chances or the game plan could come out flat. Also, if a football player doesn’t have confidence in his teammates, he could be flat.”

Dr. Begel also said that coming out flat can not only be caused by the absence of something but by the presence of things.

“It can be an individual thing, like family problems or money problems,” he said. “Or it can be a group thing, like a team being angry at being disciplined or ridiculed or humiliated. Athletes have a lot of pride and when that pride is threatened, it can have a negative impact.

“There is also a physical component to being flat. Overtraining is the most common physical cause of being flat, especially in a season like the NFL, where everything is so structured. When you get to the NFL, they tend to structure time down to the minute. Meetings, practice, film work and so on. That kind of thing can end up with guys who have been overtrained.”

My brother thinks that some of the responsibility for getting up for a game rests with the individual athlete.

“But in football, coaches play a huge role in creating an atmosphere that prevents players from being flat when they come out,” he said. “Most coaches do that by trying to get the players to identify with them, and thereby buy into the plans and the scheme for the game. If the players don’t buy into it and don’t identify with what the coach and coaches are teaching, then the normal result is a lack of enthusiasm, or being flat.”

My brother is not the only sports psychiatrist in the nation. And I can’t help but wonder if Mike McCarthy has ever spent any time with one and thinks that the services of a good doc might benefit his flat football team.