A football player’s body is on a week-long timer. The damage he sustains in a game takes seven days to heal. On Sunday, when another game comes around, he’s finally ready to do it again — which is why playing on Thursday night presents challenges.
On a typical Monday morning, every bit of stiffness, bruising and swelling, which you did not feel the previous night because the adrenaline hadn’t died down yet, greets you when you wake up. You struggle to get out of bed, “North Dallas Forty” style, pull on sweats and go in to work to watch film, lift weights and run, hoping to flush the soreness from your body. Then you go home and rest.
Tuesday is everyone’s day off in the NFL. This is when you really benefit from doing nothing. Relax, watch TV, maybe go to the mall and purchase objects to fill the empty spaces in the large suburban house you live in alone.
Wednesday starts the NFL work week. Still sore, still limping, the coaches install the first half of the game plan and you practice in shoulder pads and helmets. Coaches assess how banged up you are and adjust expectations accordingly. After practice, you get treatment, take your pills, maybe a massage. Then more meetings where you begin to study your opponent and the “wrinkles” in your own game plan which are meant to catch the other team off guard.
Thursday is the middle of the work week and the most physical day of practice. Its also the most strenuous mentally. Full pads. Short yardage. Nickel. 9 on 7. Basically the whole game plan is in but there is much to learn. There are many mistakes made, necessary mistakes, that are coached up to help prepare the player for Sunday. You are starting to understand your opponent’s tendencies. After practice, more treatment. More ice. Pills. Stretching. Maybe even acupuncture. The body still hurts but is starting to feel better.
Friday is when the game plan crystalizes and you have a good feel for both your own plan and your opponent. Practice and meetings are shorter. Helmets and jerseys, no shoulder pads. Fast pace. Red zone. Goal line. When practice is over you sigh knowing that the hard part is over and now you get two more days of rest.
On Saturday morning, for an away game in New York, you arrive at the facility, have a few meetings, then change into your suit, get on the bus, go to the airport, get on the plane and fly across the country. When you arrive, you pull up next to the buses on the Tarmac and have police escorts through the city. You enter through the hotel’s back entrance and pick up an envelope with your name on it, which has your room key in it. You relax in the room for a few hours, then it’s dinner at 7 p.m., more meetings and more film.
At 11:15, there’s a knock at your door. “Here!” And they move on to check the next room.
All the while, your body has been recovering and the game plan is sinking in, which gives you the confidence you need to play at a high level.
On Sunday morning, the alarm clock wakes you up, you put on your suit and tie, have a chat with the man in the mirror, go down and eat breakfast, then get on the bus and head to the stadium. You go into the locker room, change into your gear and start your warm-up routine. Two hours later, moments before kick-off, the oven dings and your body is finally ready, just in time, to run back into the tornado of hammers.
This is what a normal week looks like. It takes every solitary minute to prepare, and all of them are accounted for on the itinerary. For a Thursday night game, there simply isn’t time to prepare or heal like you normally would.
So you step out onto the field, and your body still hurts. You haven’t been able to watch much film of your opponent or put in any “wrinkles” on your own game plan. It will be a simple game: just go play football.
This may be exactly what the Broncos need.
Nate Jackson is a former Broncos’ wide receiver/tight end who now lives in Denver. He works part-time at 104.3 The Fan.
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October 01, 2020 at 03:21AM
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Jackson: Short week poses real challenges for Broncos, but it might be just what they need - The Denver Post
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