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Life In The NFL
Travis LaBoy
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Preseason makes the year too long for NFL players
HEY everybody, it's Travis and I'm back and ready to give you the rundown out of Titans camp. Entering my third year in the NFL and for the Titans, I am excited to get things started and represent for the island people. As some of you may know, I had offseason shoulder surgery to repair some minor damage I suffered last season. Rehab went extremely well and I am healthier now than I have ever been going into a season. I hit the weights hard this summer, bulking up to a slim 275, which, after camp, is now down to a solid 270.
Camp was a little different this year, as the team traveled up to Austin Peay University for the first two weeks. Coach (Jeff Fisher) thought the change in scenery and rugged environment would allow us to focus more on what we needed to get done. Practice was hot -- 105 degrees every day. Definitely not the most fun weather to play football. You have to understand that training camp and the preseason are rough. You practice twice a day, all week, then play a game on the weekend with little or no time off. It is rough. Then you got guys in the game and in practice thinking they can make a team by taking out the star running back or hurting the guys in front of them. It just makes the preseason a dangerous environment.
This brings me to my next point. The argument over the number of preseason games NFL teams play has become a hot topic throughout the preseason, more so this year than in previous years. Let me break it down for you from my perspective.
The NFL regular season is 16 games played over 17 weeks. Throw in four preseason games, three playoff games, a Super Bowl, and a Pro Bowl if you are really lucky (like most of the Pittsburgh Steelers were) -- that's up to 25 games in 26 weeks. For anyone who may not know, that is a lot of football. In high school we played 12-13 games, max, including playoffs and championship games. At the University of Hawaii, I think we played 12 games and then a bowl game, so maybe 13-14 games, max, a year. I was lucky enough to play in the Senior Bowl, so that added another week of football to my final year at college, which only equated to 15 games, total, if I remember correctly. So even as a college player lucky enough to play in the Senior Bowl, you are only playing a total of 14 or 15 games, max, still a few games less than the average NFL team plays.
Then you have to factor in the physical nature of the sport. Playing in the NFL is more physically demanding than you can ever imagine. Even with all the pads, which really don't protect you all that much, it is a brutal sport. Now, I play in the trenches against offensive tackles, who are some of the largest humans on the planet, ranging from 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, to 6-7, 350. On top of that, I have to tackle running backs who range anywhere from 5-10, 215 to 6-2, 260, and running 80 mph at me, and QBs who are built bigger and stronger than ever before. You can see where I am headed, but that puts in for a long day, and when you multiply that by 20, that's a long season.
This brings me back to the question of why do we play four preseason games in August and if it is necessary? If you ask anyone in the NFL who does not own a team they will say "No!" We see it happen every year during camp and in the preseason. Someone who is vital to a team's success will suffer a season-ending injury that will affect the outcome of the season.
It happens every year, and every year teams that are smart in camp are successful and teams that aren't always fall short. The Washington Redskins lost star running back Clinton Portis for a while, and we lost Rien Long, our team's best pass-rushing defensive tackle. For a team like ours, which is struggling as it is, that's a huge loss. But it happens all over the league, and the sad thing about it is that it will never change. I am all for the practice schedule, but instead of cramming practices and four preseason games into five weeks, we could easily spread the practices out and get rid of a couple of games.
We can get done what needs to get done with two preseason games. You can evaluate all the talent you need to in practice and in two games -- you don't need four. Not when it puts people at risk the way it does. If teams cut down the preseason camp and games, teams would be healthier, fresher, and more productive, and in addition, more entertaining for fans to watch. Hopefully, one day it will change, and for the sake of the players I hope it does, but it won't be in my lifetime.
Today, we have our first regular-season game against the New York Jets. I am looking forward to playing against rookie tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. I think he is going to be a star in this league and am excited for the challenge. Next week, I will give you the scoop on how the game went and a little shout out to my alma mater, the Hawaii Warriors. I watched my boys play the Crimson Tide last Saturday and while it was a tough loss for all of us, they looked good. Hopefully next year we will pick up my boy Samson Satele so I don't have to go up against him. I already have to go up against my main man Vince (Manuwai) twice a year and that is enough for me.
Former UH lineman Travis LaBoy is chronicling his season with the Tennessee Titans for the Star-Bulletin. His column will appear on Wednesdays, beginning this week.