I heard a really interesting comment about team's that win have good compression. Much like you, I had no idea what compression means in a sports sense. Compression is the level of respect between the top and bottom of a team.
A team where the top player respects and values the bottom player are said to have good team compression, whereas a team with bad compression is a team where the top player has no respect for the bottom player. Since each sport has a long season/playoff, compression is important to keep team unity and cohesiveness.
This concept makes a ton of sense. If the top player does not respect the job and contribution of the lower echelon players, they will have no chemistry and in tough games or long playoff battles, these teams will come unglued quickly.
Compression helps to explain why some teams come together in rough patches and others come unglued. Look at David Tyree of the NY Giants. A special teamer, who was not much of a receiver. He stepped up to make a huge play because the quarterback believed in him and his team had excellent compression (and defense).
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