HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -- The first day in pads, like the Steelers had Monday at Heinz Field, is when all the coaches, players, fans and media will tell you real football begins.
There are lots of emotions and feelings that go into those first days in full equipment. Excitement, butterflies, nausea and, truth be told, even fear for some. It’s all natural when you really digest what putting on the pads mean to each and every person on the turf.
This year has made it difficult for NFL teams to put a whole offseason together because of the limited activities due to COVID-19. In the spring, you normally have the ability to get a few hundred plays in during OTAs and minicamp. Mike Tomlin recently cited the number as being "900 snaps we've lost." There is even some physicality in that work. We’ve all seen the reports, in years past, of players being “ahead of the curve” from reporters who had the opportunity to see those practices on the South Side.
The ability to show off your talent without the physical element is something that’s a nice little appetizer for what’s to come in late July and early August. I’ve seen young outside linebackers rush and attempt to swipe at the quarterback's throwing arm in the months of May and June and snicker when told to stay away. We all know the quarterback is hands-off at all times on most teams. Still, defensive players love to get their spring-time stats, which never count for anything because, again, football is played in pads.
There always seems to be this one freak of an athlete who shows up out of nowhere — one who grabs back-of-the-end-zone passes, glides through the secondary, snares balls over the middle and finishes plays for practice touchdowns. The most interesting thing about such plays is guys never forget about them when the pads come on. Suddenly, the intensity grows as the competition for jobs become real. Those pass plays become more contested and physical.
Young defensive linemen who think they can make the team in the spring get remembered by the veterans in August. Can they still keep offensive linemen off their linebackers with the pads on the double-teams coming? The Steelers' practice facility is filled with cameras, and the truth will show up on video in team meetings.
Football is very much an acclimation sport. It takes time to get to a nice, finished product. You can be in the best shape of your life, and you’re still going to be tired on the first day of pads. There’s the added weight of the equipment and other adjustments. But players need to make the transition quickly with one goal in mind: Be the hammer, and not the nail!
The hammer-and-nail concept gets thrown around a lot in football. Especially in those AFC North games against Baltimore when they know you just as well as your teammates and the outcome is often determined by who's willing to be the most physical.
The first day in pads holds that same weight.
There's going to be a lot of hitting, and the coaches can’t wait to see who’s able to transition from shorts and helmets to full pads.
The primary drill is team run. We've always differed from other squads because Tomlin has always stated that the secondary needs to be involved, since some runs could make it to the third level. And you also get to see which defensive back is willing to hit. That can be the difference between an 8-yard run and punting the ball or an 80-yard run and six points.
Coaches always seem to call a run play first to get the jitters out of the way, and I was always thankful. The initial hit is what it’s all about — just holding your own and not getting injured or psyched out. Still, both sides are pushing, shoving and grunting to win or finish a play. If you happen to win the play easily, you can believe you’re going to have an even tougher play next. Keith Butler never took lightly to giving up a big play in practice, especially not in camp. He has the ability to send as many defenders as he would like to stop the run. And it’s at those moments we would hope the offensive coordinator would call a play-action pass to keep the defense honest. If the play is sold right, it's usually a big play.
It’s the back-and-forth process of camp. The daily one-on-one pass rush versus the defensive line or backers on running backs. These are the things we do on the South Side that others take for granted. There have been times when running backs can do four of five things right, but if they can’t be trusted to pick up a linebacker in that particular drill, their reps get reduced.
Football is the ultimate sport. I’ve heard some say that being able to hit a baseball coming in at 90 mph is tough. But there aren’t many sports where your physical talents must include your ability to get hit or give punishment like in football. A sprinter running the 100 meters in world-record time is amazing. But being able to run a 4.3 over 40 yards while evading people who are trying to inflict pain is also something to be applauded.
And hey, let's not forget those 300-pounders up front. The big men run into each other to set tones and harden their bodies for the long season ahead. I like how the body and mind harden from all the hitting and sweating in the summer sun. The bumps and bruises and soaked shoes from sweating become a part of you for the remainder of camp.
Some start hitting in pads as early as 5 years old, and I know, for me, I've always had the same feeling ever since then: Let’s just get this started ... and over with.
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