Here\u2019s what I like about football:<\/p>\n

\n
1. It\u2019s a wonderful game of strategy.<\/li>\n
2. Players have to be remarkably alert and aware of contingencies.<\/li>\n
3. It involves tremendous athleticism.<\/li>\n
4. The conclusion of the game can be in doubt until the very end and there are multiple options for ending the game.<\/li>\n
5. It doesn\u2019t have to be violent<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

   Earlier this month I had the pleasure, the kind that comes along once a year, when I went to Lindenwood University to see a St. Louis Rams inter-squad scrimmage.\u00a0 The Rams invited the public; the only charge was to bring school supplies for children who do not have them.<\/p>\n

   At the beginning of training camp, each NFL team is allowed to have 80 players under contract.\u00a0 By kickoff for the first game, the roster is reduced to fifty-three of which only forty-seven can suit up for a given game.\u00a0 This means that of the nearly 80 players who were on the field that August night (some were injured and couldn\u2019t participate), close to half of them were \u201con the bubble;\u201d competing for a position against teammates who are simultaneously their friends and rivals.\u00a0 The coaches try to build a sense of team cohesiveness and unity when \u2018marginal players\u201d are really wishing the worst for anyone competing for their spot on the roster.<\/p>\n

   <\/a>Football can be very precise and militaristic, and that\u2019s the way the practice was run.\u00a0 First the kickers came on the field to test their timing, strength, and accuracy.\u00a0 Actually \u201clong snapper\u201d (the center who hikes the ball for extra points, field goals, and punts) Chris Massey came on the field at least a half hour before anyone to begin stretching.\u00a0 He should be secure; no one else has \u2018LS\u2019 by their name on the roster sheet, but I couldn\u2019t help but wonder if he was thinking back to the day last December in the Dome when his knee was mangled, he was carted off the field, and shortly thereafter had surgery.\u00a0 Was his knee up to withstanding the abuse that the long snapper experiences when on each play at least three defenders try to run him over because through him is the shortest distance to blocking the kick.\u00a0 Massey looked nervous and he addressed it by stretching some more and kindly going over to sign autographs before any other Ram was on the field.<\/p>\n

   Finally the whole roster was on the field; coaches seriously leading them in calisthenics.\u00a0 It seemed that the seriousness with which each player took the exercises was a function of how certain he was that he would make the team.<\/p>\n

   The \u201cscrimmage\u201d was a series of match-ups.\u00a0 It began with the first team offense against the second team defense; then the second team offense against the first team defense.\u00a0 Quarterbacks were shuffled in and out, protected unlike any other player by the red jersey that they wear.\u00a0 The coaches experimented with different match-ups and while each defender might know which offensive player or players was his responsibility, the offense is the keeper of the secret; they know what the play will be; the defense has to \u201cread and react.\u201d\u00a0 That particular evening the offense dominated, at least when they put the ball in the air; they could never get the running game untracked.\u00a0 It seemed that each of the 8,000 fans in attendance had their eyes glued on #8, Sam Bradford, the first player chosen in this year\u2019s draft and the quarterback who hopefully will lead the team back to glory.<\/p>\n

   As a spectator, I tried to do what was beyond my reach; to fully understand what was going on each play.\u00a0 A quarterback drops back, looks to the right, and then throws left to a receiver who has run a five yard \u201cdown and out\u201d pattern.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t work; the ball is off line; the receiver can\u2019t hold on to it.\u00a0 So what happened?\u00a0 Did the quarterback simply make a poor throw?\u00a0 Did an offensive lineman fail to make his block?\u00a0 Did the receiver drop a pass that an NFL wide-out is expected to catch?\u00a0 Did the defensive back have outstanding coverage because the team was in the perfect defensive alignment for that play, did the defensive back simply \u201cread\u201d the play quickly, or was his sound coverage because he was just physically superior on that play?\u00a0 And what about everyone else seemingly uninvolved?\u00a0 Seemingly the right offensive tackle has little to do on the play because it\u2019s a quick timing play going in the opposite direction.\u00a0 But he can\u2019t dog it because the camera never blinks and he along with the twenty-one other players on the field are videotaped.\u00a0 After the scrimmage one or several coaches will assess with or without the player how he did on that play and every other down.<\/p>\n

   Watching the scrimmage was a wonderful challenge; trying to observe, absorb, and analyze as much as I could.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t keep up; only able to focus on three or possibly four players at a time while everyone else was seemingly out of sight and out of mind.<\/p>\n

   The scrimmage ended in less than 90-minutes, about 40% the length of an actual game.\u00a0 But I think that they ran more plays in quicker sequence than you\u2019d ever see in a game.\u00a0 There were no television time-outs.\u00a0 There were no injuries with players being carted off the field because this was controlled mayhem (you can wish the worst for a teammate, but you can\u2019t be responsible for injuring him).<\/p>\n

   Not only was the scrimmage crisp and intense, it was held without distractions.\u00a0 There were no cheerleaders (now I know I\u2019ve offended someone), there were no fans with painted faces, there was no video-board telling fans what to say and when.\u00a0 It was the skill-building that is essential to the game that the fans who pay with more than t school supplies to watch on Sundays.\u00a0 A very kind gentleman from the Rams had offered me a bargain price for season tickets.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t decided what to do; this scrimmage was my Super Bowl for the year because to me a game and a sport is great when it can stand on its own without hype.\u00a0 That\u2019s what happened that Saturday night in August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

   Here\u2019s what I like about football: It\u2019s a wonderful game of strategy. Players have to be remarkably alert and aware of contingencies. It involves<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[304],"tags":[616,617,618],"yoast_head":"\n