When Pruitt was talking about the subtle alignments the d-linemen needed to master based on their read of the offensive backfield I was thinking what they’re trying to teach these guys is maybe a lot like pool, billiards. Almost anyone can look at where the balls are on the table, like up a shot, hit the cue ball, and make a shot here and there, but to really be good at the game a player needs to master the English of the cue ball. Then you can run the table almost every time.
Now it’s not all that complicated after a lot of practice but it’s easy to lose focus and not perform at your best on every shot. It could be that the heat index is 105 or it could be that you’ve had 8 shots of whiskey in the past 30 minutes. Football, like pool and most other things, is mostly mental and being able to stay focused for the duration of the practice or game is the mental toughness or consistency everyone is after, especially when you’re in the bar, everyone is watching, and of course those aforementioned shots of whiskey. jmo.
