Offseason Memories
BroadwayJoe.tv would like you to check out Joe’s thoughts on his days training in the offseason. Enjoy!
At a time in the year where little is really going on, it get me thinking about what I was doing around now during my playing days. Down at Tuscaloosa is where I did my offseason training, and when recollecting those summers it’s hard not to believe we trained in those ways. It’s not nearly the offseason training program players go through today. Nowadays players train with their teammates – either former college guys like at the University of Miami or current teammates like the Mark-Sanchez-run ‘Jets West’. A whole lot of working out that we did had to be done alone. The equipment and training tools weren’t readily available to all, though I was lucky enough to be allowed a key to the facilities. It allowed me to come and go as I pleased, and words can’t show how thankful I am for such.
Most of the time I’d be by myself with nothing more than an equipment manager. Occasionally there’d be two or three of my old teammates there, but for the most part I was on my own. With only an equipment manager to throw to, I’d have to set him up at the exact spot I’d want to throw to and throw to him there. With nobody to snap the ball, I’d pretend to take the snap then drop back. I’d go through my reads, making sure to work on looking through my other progressions. Some of these kids today get too fixated on their number one target. In practice the defense is using the other teams exact schemes. By knowing what the coverage is and having it so engrained within your actual play call, some quarterbacks will tend just go to their number one target without looking off the other ones. It’s hard to break the cycle of doing so; we’re creatures of habit – you really have to work on it. You’ve got to tell yourself to keep those eyes moving or guys at the safety position today will eat you up.
I, myself, would love the game with those safeties – the game within the game. I’d look one way and they’d pretend to bite on my fake. I had a great respect for those guys and how crafty they could be back there. It’s funny to think of all the training advancements these guys have today, and how I had to practice deep outs with a stationary equipment manager.
