DC Big Game 50: The Week to Gameday

A DCBLOG Sports Special

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

The preparations are in full swing for the Biggest Sunday Night of All and the biggest annual sports & pop culture event in the world's largest media market & global superpower. Super Bowl 50 will be the biggest occasion ever for the National Football League and this year promises to be something special. It's the biggest sports event to be held in a market that's become the region of champions in this second decade of the millennium, and it comes at a time where it's clear which sport is top dog. And fitting enough for this golden anniversary, the San Francisco Bay Area will host this landmark Super Bowl in the golden state of California.

   As we're halfway through its gradual countdown of the twelve teams that made it into the NFL Playoffs down to the two who'll be in the Bay Area come Sunday, February 7, DCBLOG will be presenting a special series of posts covering America's most-popular sport and certain aspects of it as the showcase sports event in this country celebrates the big 5-O, along with college football having just crowned its national champion in Alabama once again. This is the first of two special sports series on DCBLOG this year as later this summer, we'll have posts related to the year's biggest event, the Rio Olympics, alongside our other posts here. And obviously, I'm looking forward to both events.

Today, as NFL Conference Championship Sunday looms, we kick off our DC Big Game 50 series with a look at a week in the life of teams prepping for a typical week leading up to an NFL game. Of course, the build-up to the Super Bowl - or any playoff game for that matter - is something else, but for a regular season game it's still a big deal. From Monday-morning quarterbacking to Sunday game day itself, we'll offer a look into the week-long preparations for teams readying to go into the battle. It's a week full of practices, meetings and the like that gives you a sense that the game you watch is more than one played on the weekend... it's the culmination of all the preparation for 60 minutes of game time spread out over three hours in a day's worth of football.

   After the jump break, DCBLOG will look at the various aspects of a week in the life of a pro football team preparing for Sunday and a battle on the gridiron. This is The Week to Gameday.

As all of us fans are inundated with many hours of football talk, gossip and news on the various outlets on TV, radio, online & print media that cover sports during its busiest time of the year of the fall, for those who are lucky to be on those teams that prepare for every game in the NFL it's a much different story. No sport in America commands the kind of in-depth, wall-to-wall coverage like the NFL does. It also applies, obviously, to college football and there's buzz also for the high school games too.

   When most people watch an NFL game, they think of the players, the coaches, the plays and everything that surrounds it. But get down to the sidelines, and everything from defensive formations and crucial plays 3rd & long to handing special teams and of course practicing Hail Mary & onside kick recoveries - take many two-a-days and even months for a team to execute. Add to that all the opportunities to talk to the media, traveling cross-country to road games and all those distractions too many to mention here, and you have a week in the life of a football team at the biggest level.

 THE PRESEASON PRELUDE 

But like all journeys, it all begins with a prelude, and that begins while most of us are getting into playoff mode in the NBA & NHL and baseball is just starting up. It's during that time in the spring that buzz in the NFL is focused on free agency and the Draft. Just after that first rite of spring for football fans on the big stage seeing college standouts get those Commissioner's handshakes, pro teams bring those players together for mini-camps of a few days' length. The mission of those spring practices, and other organized team activities (OTA's) is to help educate the rookies on what the pro game is all about, to give coaches a chance to see the newbies for the first time, and to allow newly acquired veterans and those returning from injury a chance to get back into the groove.

   Then, during that Summer of Sports as attention is on a slew of championships and other sports outside of the Big Four (and in the case of this year, the Olympics), early July sees the beginning of full-scale training, followed thereafter by NFL Training Camp. In addition to the rookies and new players, those who have the most important job on an NFL squad - the quarterbacks join them as the first to report, a few days before the others report. When it began in the '30s, the main purpose of training camp was to get the players into shape following the summer hiatus at a time where they had actual jobs the rest of the year to pay the bills. Nowadays, virtually every player stays in good shape during the 6-7 month offseason, so this camp would just really only to get themselves into game condition.

   Everything that takes place during training camp and then during the season itself has its roots in the team's playbook - a simple notebook with diagrams of all offensive and defensive formations, every running play, every passing pattern for every receiver position (wide receivers, tight ends and running backs), and all kinds of blitzes and pass coverage options. It also includes league & team rules related to player conduct, as well as a glossary of terms. And a master playbook for a coach which is much larger than the players version can contain as many as 1,000 possible plays - literally anything a coach could use is located in his version, though only a small percentage can be utilized.

   For the rookies getting used to this new experience, just glancing over that bible for the very first time is a feat in itself. If the player comes from a college team who ran a no-frills offense, then he can look over that book as a total culture shock, and it's there that he has really arrived at the NFL level. He can look like that freshman who's just entered college for the first time being surrounded by players who've established themselves as pros the same way the big men on campus are like seniors. It's there that the rookies must prove to the coaches and to himself that he can handle playing the highest level of football that you can get. But at the same time, it's looking at that playbook that he has to take a course of cramming everything in that book over the course of an entire month.

   As much as the focus at training camp is on high-profile rookies stepping foot on an NFL facility to practice for the very first time in public view, there's also focus on the offensive unit and particularly the man who possesses the most important job of any player. The hardest course of study lies in the hands of the quarterback and the offensive line, and it's the QB who's expected to know what everyone in his unit is expected to do in every play. For a lineman, he has to learn not just a few hundred running plays but also find out what assignment he has in every play as the alignment of the defense is changed often. This is why veterans, not the rookies, start more in front of the QB.

   A lot of fans complain about the NFL preseason with meaningless games that don't in a way matter. But this is the regular season & postseason rolled into one for those young players wanting to play their way onto the squad, and considering how a number of big players were drafted in the mid-to-late rounds, we never know who the next great draft steal is in that new crop. With that in mind, those younger players get much of the playing time in the first two preseason games along with the backups.

   By the time the third preseason games take place, the attention turns more to the starters as they get more and more of the snaps in playing the first half and play into the 3rd quarter as well. And for that 4th and final exhibition, the approach to it can depend on what kind of team the coach has on his hands. If the team had a winning record last season and the veterans took the wheel that year, then he can treat it like the 1st & 2nd games and let the starters take the night out and give the bench more game experience and those on the cut line a final chance to impress him. If it's a younger team or one who didn't play well last year, then he can treat it like the first game of the regular season and let the starters play more of it.
   The goal of that last game on the last Friday in August is to win and head into the regular season on a high. But the goal of these four games is not necessarily to win, but to evaluate what kind of team they will be going into September. It's the team's make-up that determines the team's philosophy and psyche. If they are expected to be a contender, then they're expected to have a winning record. If they're a young team going through a rebuilding phase, then the personnel is more the focus.

   The coaches, no doubt, have their hands full during this late part of the summer. Indeed, overseeing the process of getting these players into football season mode is one thing, but evaluating personnel and helping with deciding who to keep on the roster and who to cut is another. That moment of young players learning that fate remains the signature moment each August on HBO's Hard Knocks, and the huge success of the show (as discussed here last summer) has made the preseason and training camp more important in bringing this unique aspect of the league to fans everywhere, which of course amounts to an undercard compared what's the one that matters.

THE WEEKLY COUNTDOWN

Then, of course, comes the season itself. And where everyone is discussing the games all week long, the week for an NFL team prepping for the next week is an experience only those who are on an NFL roster can experience for themselves. And the preparation for every game begins as soon as the buzz thaws out from the previous one. And of course, you probably have heard of the term "Monday Morning Quarterback"...this is where the origin of that came from.

> MONDAY

The Monday morning after sees the coaching staff evaluate film and video of yesterday's game in taking notes and grading players on every play, based upon their assignments. And literallly everything is counted. Meanwhile, it's an equally-tall task for team doctors & trainers as injured players come in for treatment and evaluation. The head coach checks in on their conditions to provide a first glimpse of who'll be on the active list for the next week's game, just before those healthy report tomorrow. Also, he has his Monday press conference with the media to dissect what happened on Sunday with TV, radio, print and online reporters...the first of several this week.

   The afternoon sees the coaches split into three groups as they go into the screening room for a look at edited films of their next opponent. NFL rules state that teams must exchange footage of their last two games, and those films are broken down into three reels to cover the offense, defense & special teams. The offensive coordinator is eager to find out the defensive alignments and motion lines that his counterpart has up his sleeve, while the line coach focuses on what the defensive line could do that can thwart any series. Elsewhere, the defensive coordinator and his assistants are looking at the offense of the opponents, as they zero in on how they can excite the best plan to limit the yardage and go for a blitz. And for special teams, they look at how to handle a long punt return or anything that can lead to a blocked field goal.

   When they all come back together on Monday night, the entire coaching staff re-gathers to discuss what they studied from the film study and to begin the process of formulating a game plan. A coaching staff member called an advance scout joins them to offer a review of the week's upcoming opponent and what they can expect from them based on recent games. Charts showing frequency, situational substitution and unusual plays are discussed as they put together the outline. For the offensive unit, they put together a "ready list" and select from the over 200 running & passing patterns out there the 40 they'll practice & likely utilize based on the opponents' plans. And for the D team, their lists puts emphasis on what their opponent likes to do based on strengths & weaknesses of certain players.

   All of this comes back to, of course, the head coach as he has overall responsibility for the game plan, all developed through all that discussion among his staff. If they are playing an extremely important game or playing an opponent they're not familiar with, this Monday night meeting may see an end early Tuesday morning. At least football fans aren't alone when it comes to going to sleep due to football-related matters at the week's beginning.

> TUESDAY

After a day of recovering from the rigors of Sunday, most - but not all - players report to team headquarters on Tuesday to begin their plans for the next week's game, or just for more treatment. The offense and the defense both get separate sessions to oversee the film of their last game and of the opponents, along with listening to the coaches and what they have to say in this classroom of sorts. Technology enables the coaches to play back key plays many times, forward & back every move made in those plays in both real-time and in slo-mo. If a player made a huge mistake, he would have the enigma of seeing it many times in front of everyone but can see exactly what he did wrong and why. The great coach Tony Dungy loves using that coach's clicker to great effect on NBC's Sunday Night Football coverage.

   Outside the film room, the advance scout comes in to give his outlook to the team on diagram formations and plays, along with thoughts on each player on the opponents too. When class is dismissed, the players are off to the workout room and if a team is playing on Sunday and not Thursday most teams would give the players the rest of the day off. And for the coaches, they have another meeting to look over frequency charts and more game film. Should the opponent be one they played recently in their division, they may get a second look at that game to see what did and did not work and to expand that ready list. No matter the opponent, they'll be finalizing the 35-40 plays they'll plan to practice for the business part of the week ahead.

> WEDNESDAY

The middle of the week sees one of the important tasks for the head coach in any game week: the injury report. NFL rules dictate that each team are required to file an injury report by 4PM ET or following practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as well as before Sunday should events warrant. The two reasons for them are to let the opposing coach know who'll be on the roster for Sunday and to maintain integrity with respect to gambling and those in the Vegas sportsbooks. And these days, injury reports & availability are also important to those fantasy football players as well.

   For the players who are expected to suit up, Wednesday sees the offensive and defensive units meet with their coaches to get a preview of the team's in-progress game plan and to look over plays and defensive schemes that'll likely be in the week's playbook. Afterwards, the action begins on the practice fields as the players begin to work on what the team has in store for their game plan.

   For the offense, they go through a passing drill for their own team then go into a similar one for the favorite plays of the opponents. There, the defensive unit dons different colored jerseys to act as the opposition for what's essentially a non-contact drill, while witnessing the offense runs plays slated to attack the opposition in the numerous down and yardage scenarios they'll face that weekend. And for the QB, there's that list of audibles he will use to get to the line that will be used that week too.

   After that practice, the players gather again for their grades, for key accomplishments (sacks, interceptions, key downfield blocks and special teams) and to get a psyche of what's ahead. And for the coaches, they'll then meet to look over the day's activities, discuss what they need to do and what they did, and perhaps adjust the playbook by adding or swapping out a few plays too. They'll take advantage of cleaning up early down plans and prep for what to do at 3rd or even 4th down.

> THURSDAY

Of all the days leading up to a Sunday game, Thursday is perhaps the week's most important day to an NFL team. It's here that the players will learn about what their gameplan will be for Sunday, and to begin to work on how to best use that plan to win.

   First thing in the morning for players once they arrive at HQ, yet another meeting with their respective offensive and defensive coaches as they are provided with copies of their game play, offensive ready lists and defensive schemes. They'll also look over team-filmed video from Wednesday's practice to see what corrections to make also. The coordinators will discuss the opponents' respective offensive and defensive frequency charts, while the players listen and discuss not only what to do but why too.

   After those meetings, the team breaks up into smaller units as they meet with their various specialized coaches to help study their individual assignments on each offensive play and defensive scheme. This means that receivers, offensive and defensive linemen, the linebackers and the backfield are all split up to find their way through their revised playbook. It's here that the offensive unit can practice plays they've not used yet that they could use, and the defensive group could look at altering their regular playbook to practice a blitz they don't often use. Often, it's 3rd down plays that are first used during the week on Thursday, followed on Friday by short-yardage, goal-line and 2-minute offense situations.

   As midday approaches, the players are ready for practice as they come together on the practice field. They are in small units as they go over and practice the assignments they've just looked over and are ready to execute in the weekend ahead. After a lunch break, the offensive and defensive units reconvene for another team practice to work on their Sunday assignments. One example of what they can do is when the second-team offense goes up against the defense by playing the opposition and running their favorite plays. It's likewise for the top offensive group when they play their ready list's play list against the secondary defensive group.
   It's undoubtedly the most intense of the non-game days during the lead-up to Sunday as the afternoon wave of these NFL two-a-days have more contact than all the other practices that take place during the week. But they're more so the modern day equivalent to those all-out, full-contact scrimmages we see at the high school level before the youngsters begin their Friday night seasons and was once the domain of NFL teams beforehand. Those scrimmages are no scarce in today's pro world due to that possibility that's there for a risk of injury during the course of the regular season.

> FRIDAY & SATURDAY

With the hard, intense work in their rear-view mirror, Friday sees the players relax a little on the day where they go through their final run-through's. In addition to practice reviews, this day sees small group meetings where the players get to review their assignments, which often sees coaches ask pop quiz questions to their various unit members on what they should and are supposed to do.
   After those classes that last no longer than an hour, the attention turns back to the practice field for non-contact workouts with no pads and generally shorter than the 90-minute sessions the previous two days. Once again, the offensive units go up against the defense's with their offense ready list, while the defensive group goes through their schemes up against the back-up offenses. Mental sharpness is the goal for the players to obtain for what's usually a relatively short day for the team. And if they're headed on the road, then obviously there's a flight to get set for, while hometown football fans have their eyes on the Friday night lights of high school football.
   And while we're all fixated on college football on Saturday, the preparations for an NFL team on Saturday are reaching full-on in the 24 hours before kickoff. For the home team, this day sees special teams units take center stage on the practice field in usually their sweat pants, plus light workouts as well along with the usual previous day's practice review. Plus, the coaches and some players meet with the commentators and producers from whichever network is televising their game.

   If the road team decides to travel the day before a game, then they'll shower, take a charter to the airport and fly. And if they happen to be in the same city in the same day, then there's sometimes a chance for the visitors to do some practice at a nearby field to go through their final finishing touches. And if tomorrow's game is played on grass, the players will always want to know if the turf will be good if a game or other event has taken place.

   Finally, there's a team meeting either at the team hotel or at headquarters for a final review, which features a special teams meeting, a look at possible substitutes and a last chance to run through their plan. And obviously, there's that inspirational talk by the coach, assistants and special guests, and a video of their top plays from this season, which are always included in a team's weekly game plan.

GAME DAY SUNDAY

And of course, there comes Game Day Sunday. Everyone looks forward to the end of the weekend for the NFL action, and the anticipation for a team is actually a bit business like than the fandom we have.

   A team's gameday begins anywhere from four hours from kickoff for an afternoon game or 9-10 hours before a primetime game once the players wake up. The first item of business on gameday is a team meal, and if it's a 1 PM game then it's a breakfast. If the game is played in the late window (4 ET/3 CT or 5 PT for west coast primetime) then it's a brunch, and if it's at night then it's an early dinner or late lunch. Then, both teams are off to the stadium, and in the case of the road team and both teams in Super Bowl 50 ahead, both teams take that charter from the team hotel to the stadium.
   The players arrive at their venue of battle and typically do a walk-through of their surroundings before showing up in the locker room about two hours before game time. The coaches are there also to provide them with advice, encouragement and all the necessary info the players need. Every player has his way of preparing himself, where the best sight these days is of a player being in his headphones with the tunes on and putting himself into game mode. Others like to joke around, play cards, read, sit & meditate and just about everything we can think of...including napping too.
   The first players to the field to practice are the kickers, who begin warming up on the field 30 minutes before kickoff as they begin to survey how to maneuver the field and possible wind issues if the game is outdoors. The rest of the team joins them about 10 minutes later, and then they head back into the locker rooms for a final word and pep talks before they head into battle mode. Then come the introductions, the national anthem and the coin toss. And then, it's game time.
   When it's all on, there's not much in the way of coaching to be done, other than for the head coach to take over the reigns and help direct traffic. Often times on TV, you see the offensive & defensive coordinators, the booth coach and their assistants up in the press box helping to call the 125 or so plays & formations during the course of an NFL game (sans special teams), and of the head man himself all over the sideline looking over what to do next.

As is always the case during an NFL game, a coaching staff not only must be adapt in their strategy of calling the plays, but also be able to evolve their game plan as the game progresses. This includes how to handle the coin toss, and considering what we saw last week in Arizona it's why it has remained the game's first decision. With teams being able now to defer to the second half instead of being forced to either receive or let a strong defense go first up front, they can let a 2nd year backup in place of the injured starter not have to go out first and see if the opponent's game plan can be put out there. It's decisions like this that the game's first series can set the tone for the 60 minutes.
   As the game kicks off, the team of coaches up in the booth is to track the action as it unfolds. The coaches begin to compile as much information as they can, from how the defense lines up to identifying what offensive patterns will be used to match up. The booth coach, or a quality control coach as an alternate title, then communicates the plays down to the coach and coordinators based on his play-call sheet. By the time the 2nd quarter begins, the plan for the rest of the game should be in place, with room to adjust as well.
   At halftime during those 20 minutes of resting up, there are adjustments to be made which, for the QC man, begins around the two-minute warning when he heads downstairs to the locker room - the first one there - to begin putting together a breakdown in statistical terms of everything that's occurred in the first half. The objective for him is to provide enough info for his staff to make whatever adjustments they need and to tell the players what is & isn't working. If something's going well, keep on doing it...if not, change it up. And new play-call sheets are written by the coordinators, and they look over what new plays could join the list, all in a few minutes. In the locker room among the players, they meet with their position coaches and get adjustments on their assignments in a few minutes as well, as they embark on act 2 to utilize that knowledge in the gridiron.
   The second half, of course, sees the games frequently being in the balance, and this is where all of that practice and preparation lead up to this point. We see this all the time during close games of teams calling a timeout before a crucial 3rd down or icing the kicker before a potential winning field goal try. The key thing here is, if the coaching during the week's worth of preparation was successful - and the players were prepared from a physical, mental and emotional standpoint going into this game, then you got a good chance you'll win, even if the opponents are a very good one. And obviously, it's the opposite if both of those aspects are not up to 100%. In the end, it's often the team that had the best game plan going into the game, and the one that made the right halftime adjustments in the locker room, that comes away the winners.

And then, there's the post-game aftermath after the final whistle is blown. Once the coaches have given their handshakes, the players have greeted one another and have resorted to their locker rooms, the teams are offered a brief respite from all the madness. They get as much as 15 minutes to take off their uniforms, take a shower and begin to get dressed before NFL rules lift the embargo on the media to enter the dressing room to the credentialed media. There, the journalists take advantage to talk to whoever they want, but obviously their target are those key players who had a hand in the outcome. It's a popular sight to see a huddle of interviewers around a single player being inundated with questions as he's changing over to his street clothes.

   While the locker room is the focus of the media, an area off-limits to them is the trainer's room where players who got injured report to this secluded area and need treatment. It's also a popular refuge for those who are shy and don't want to be interviewed in the madness out there. For those who do want the chance to be heard, they are willing to discuss either a good day of playing well or doing second guessing after a loss or an underperforming game. And now with social media, players can also express their thoughts with their followers as well and not have to wait for the press corps to give them the mic.

   The locker room remains a popular destination for the media to scour around after the game, but to accommodate the increasing amounts of media that covers these games, the NFL has followed the lead of other major sports and events in now holding formal post-game press conferences in the press room about a half-hour after the game. Procedure is that the winning team usually goes first, though the order can be reversed in favor of the visitors if their flight timing makes it necessary. We've seen many a famous post-game presser from head coaches in evaluating the game from his POV and answering the questions of the media. And players often desert the locker room media and wait for his turn at the podium for his first chance at postgame comments.

   It's about close to 2 hours after the game, and the business day for these warriors are about to finally come to an end nearly 10 hours after it all began. The players are about ready to depart the stadium, but not before a final, but brief team meeting. There, the head coach, in a more subdued manner than was the case during the game itself, provides some final words before letting the team put this week behind them and focus in on the next game and their upcoming opponents.

   For the winning team, it's nothing but congratulations on a great job; the losing team not much but with plenty of questions on what happened and now they can improve upon this week. For the visitors, a bus ride to the airport awaits them for the flight back home, while for the players of the home team, it's just a simple drive away back to their homes. And for the coaches, a little bit more work in getting ready for the next game is left for them before they head off. And another week has gone by as they go through this journey again.

From playing Monday Morning Quarterback to the aftermath of a Sunday game, there's nothing like a full 168-hour work week of an entire NFL team during the autumn. When you're a football player having to deal with all of these practices, preparation and following through on those plans in the span of 60 minutes spread out over three hours of game time over a full Sunday's work, it makes this all worthwhile. It's why sports fans in this country love Sundays in the fall, and Monday & Thursday nights too. And the beauty of this world is, once you wrap things up one week, you go into prep mode for the next one, as this 7-day cycle begins yet again. And this happens at least 16 and as many as 19 times every year. That's the way it is in a life of an NFL team in a Week to Gameday.

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This DC Big Game 50 series will be looking at aspects of football and the NFL over the next two weeks in the lead-up to Super Bowl 50. Next up here, we'll be turning to the marriage of football and television, and a look at preparations for CBS' landmark broadcast of this big game in the Bay Area. DCBLOG will also look at the league's first post-Super Bowl event in the NFL Scouting Combine, two relatively unknown forms of this game, and first-hand perspective on the Super Bowl experience from a fan who got to experience it for himself last year in Arizona.
   Dependent upon the increasing schedule of events to take place in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area that I am thinking about attending starting as soon as next weekend, my live coverage hub on Twitter, DCNOW at @DC408DxNow, will be providing extensive coverage of all things Super Bowl week, starting with Media Day Monday, continuing with nightly recaps and live tweets of the big game on Sunday, February 7th. And also follow my DC Instagram at IG @DC408Dxtr with my photos from all the activities here in the Bay Area.
   Along with our football series, we'll be continuing our wall-to-wall coverage of the MTV Trifecta and The Challenge Bloodlines, with the latest edition of our unique DC SocialPulse social journals covering this week's episode, and will be posted here tomorrow (Sunday, Jan. 24) in between the AFC and NFC Championship Games, followed by the DC WRAP episode recap. As always, you can offer your two cents on this post below or directly to me on Twitter @DC408Dxtr.

Again, thanks for reading this first part of the DC Big Game 50 series and this look at The Week to Gameday. Until tomorrow, see you then and good luck to your favorite team.

- DC

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
▪ The Pro Football Fan's Companion (Ch. 7 - A Week In The Life, by Ralph Kickok for MacMillan USA)
▪ Take Your Eye Off The Ball (Ch. 2 - The 168-Hour Work Week, by Pat Kirwan for Triumph Books)
▪ Football for Dummies (by Howie Long & John Czarnecki, For Dummies & Wiley)