Preparing for the NFL, the final chapter.

Heading to camp

When I found out I was on my way to Philadelphia I called John to get some advice and he told me, “Look, every team has 4 or 5 guys who will wow you, those are your Pro Bowl guys, but nobody can afford to have a whole team of them. Everyone else is just like you and just like the guys you have been playing against for 4 years. Nobody will be faster than MacKay, nobody will be stronger than Eddie (Keele). Just go out there and don’t get all bugged eyed, because you belong with those guys.” When I got off the phone I called up Reno Mahe because I knew he had been out there and could offer me some insight into what to expect also. The message I got from him was almost identical. Finally I got the chance to talk to Zach Collie who had been in my shoes just one year earlier and he said the exact same thing as John. Needless to say it pays to have friends who have been there and it calmed me down.

Making the team

Maybe I am not the expert on this, because I obviously did not make the team. But it is really no different than going through spring ball at BYU, except instead of being relegated to scout team or 3rd string until you “mature” they just cut you. The tricky thing about the NFL is that there are more variables than just who is better than the next guy. With a salary cap you have to decide the best way to spend your money. Do you take a Veteran who is making the league minimum for a 7th year guy? Or do you take a rookie who is slightly less productive but can let you afford a big name WR or RB? Then there are the connections. Who brought you in? Someone had to stick their neck out for you and explain to management why you were the guy for the job. Someone put their job on the line, so you better believe they are going to give you every opportunity to succeed, otherwise there are two guys that will be leaving the team. I miss football, but I am at ease more with it knowing that I was able to see the competition and know that I can compete at that level. Sometimes that’s just the breaks. There were OL that I went against in Philly that were nowhere near as good as Eddie Keele or Jake Kuressa, but those guys aren’t in the NFL. Why? I don’t know. I remember John telling me his OL coach didn’t keep a guy because his hand wasn’t big enough. Are you kidding me? It wasn’t about his pass blocking or his run blocking, it was his hand? When there are so many pieces of meat, I guess you can really be specific on what cut you want.

The Grimm Reaper

This is the name given by most NFL guys for the infamous phone call to tell you that you are cut. It is not a coach, it is not anyone you have ever met nor will meet. The call comes and they say, “We had to make some cuts today and you didn’t make it. I am sorry, please come back to the facility and check out with the trainers and get your plane ticket home.” For me the call came about 2 hours after the last practice. The next day I got a call from my LB coach and he said “I am sorry you have to go, it was not my call. I didn’t know they were going to release you until they handed me the cut sheet. Best of luck, I know you’re a roster player.” He may have just been being cordial, but I do know from other guys too that that is how weird it is. Your coach isn’t always the one that says whether you are good enough. Sometimes it is what the guys above him decide and he really has no say.

Let me just close with a slight motivational soap box display. I was at lunch with my High School LB coach a few months ago and he pointed out just how hard it is to “Make it.” I was a pretty good sized kid in high school. I led the county (In San Diego that’s like a state) in tackles on defense (over the two leading tacklers for the St Louis Rams) and yards per touch on offense (Ahead of Reggie Bush, claim to fame). All that got me was a chance to play in the Ivy Leagues, for some WAC teams or walk on at BYU. But I made the most of my opportunity and that got my foot in the door at the highest level of competition.

When I was young I got tired of people telling me, “You know how many high school players even play in college?” My HC in HS told me, “You know how many scholarship players have come out of here in the last 5 years? (And we were always in the title game)” Then in college, “You know how many college players make it to the NFL?” It seems like everyone tries to explain that the odds are so far against you so don’t even try, and don’t be disappointed. Well That always ticked me off. Why couldn’t I be the 1 person who went on to play in college or in the NFL? Someone has to be that guy, so why not me?

That is the point of this little soap box…I hope you guys reading on this blog realize that your kids CAN be that 1, so don’t take that dream away from them. I look at Nate and Ben and Kayle…guys that were great players who just needed the opportunity. Be the 1.

By Markell Staffieri