OTA's are a "big waste of time"
Yardbarkers here's the deal, OTA's in a players mind – excuse me in a veteran player's mind, are a big waste of time!!! We feel like the season is so, so demanding, time wise, that we have no free time for our families from August through February. So time away from football is family time, daddy time, husband time, son, brother and uncle time... the people who sometimes feel very left out of your life!!!
People seem to think that football is only played on Sundays. The offseason to us feels like our only free times and unfortunately that has pretty much been cut down to roughly 1 month now if you play on a playoff team. February to March, that’s it! Teams are asking guys to report back mid March now-a-days – March 16th to be exact, for offseason programs.
Ninety-five percent of the NFL players play football in a state different than where they live. As a result, the so-called offseason is spent on planes...back and forth from city to city…work/family/work/family... work 4 days go home for 3 days every week... all the money you save up during the season is blown on travel arrangements.
It’s different for young guys... they tend to stay put... they’re excited about football and excited with the new surroundings and they want to hang around the complex and absorb as much info as they can because it’s all so extreme. I always tell people that I went to college for 5 years and football is the hardest class I have ever taken. It’s one big cram course. The older you get the more OTA's feel like a hassle.
I think for the coaches its beneficial because they get to see the new talent with the old talent and get to evaluate what they have. They get valuable film on their squad before the season starts. Keep in mind you are usually good at something because you put the time in...so usually head coaches are practice nymphos...if they can be on the field 24 hours a day they will! Plus practice makes perfect... and you want to gain as much chemistry among the players as possible! It has its ups and downs!!!
People seem to think that football is only played on Sundays. The offseason to us feels like our only free times and unfortunately that has pretty much been cut down to roughly 1 month now if you play on a playoff team. February to March, that’s it! Teams are asking guys to report back mid March now-a-days – March 16th to be exact, for offseason programs.
Ninety-five percent of the NFL players play football in a state different than where they live. As a result, the so-called offseason is spent on planes...back and forth from city to city…work/family/work/family... work 4 days go home for 3 days every week... all the money you save up during the season is blown on travel arrangements.
It’s different for young guys... they tend to stay put... they’re excited about football and excited with the new surroundings and they want to hang around the complex and absorb as much info as they can because it’s all so extreme. I always tell people that I went to college for 5 years and football is the hardest class I have ever taken. It’s one big cram course. The older you get the more OTA's feel like a hassle.
I think for the coaches its beneficial because they get to see the new talent with the old talent and get to evaluate what they have. They get valuable film on their squad before the season starts. Keep in mind you are usually good at something because you put the time in...so usually head coaches are practice nymphos...if they can be on the field 24 hours a day they will! Plus practice makes perfect... and you want to gain as much chemistry among the players as possible! It has its ups and downs!!!
