Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile by Nate Jackson Page A

until the pads are down to the bright red flesh. Before every practice I jump up on the training table and our trainer Corey jellies, gauzes, and wraps my feet the best he can. It doesn’t do much. Every step feels like I’m walking on hot coals. By the time practice ends, the toes of my socks are soaked red. Every night, I limp into the meeting room and fall back into my chair. We sit in a cluster near Blade on the right side of the room.
    An average night of film goes like this:
    —Now look at Rod here, you guys. See how he sets him up?
    Rod has a head-up corner and is split wide to the right. His route’s a slant. He gives a quick head fake off the ball, pushes up the field three hard steps, stops on a dime, and undercuts Champ, swimming him by with his left arm and breaking toward the middle of the field. Pass complete.
    Slo-mo, rewind, slo-mo, rewind, slo-mo, rewind: ad infinitum as Gary Kubiak, our offensive coordinator, talks about the play. Kube, as we call him, is an easygoing Texas native and a former NFL quarterback who played behind John Elway for his entire career. He’s already won three Super Bowls as a coach. He finds success wherever he goes, and he runs our offense day to day.
    —Now, if he’s playing head-up on you like this you have to get him to move his feet or you’ve got no chance. Nice work, Rod. See how patient he is, guys? See how he makes him think he’s going deep? You’ve got to sell it, boys, especially against Champ. He’s seen all the tricks in the book. Great job, Rod.
    The next play is a running play. Charlie and I are on the field. It’s to my side: 18 toss. I block the corner. The safety to my side makes the tackle.
    —Great hustle on the backside, Charlie. Nate, who are you supposed to block on this play?
    —Depends on the coverage.
    —What coverage are they in here?
    —Three.
    —Yes, but it’s a Three Cloud: we call that Four.
    —I thought Four was quarters.
    —Some places it is but we call quarters Cover Eight. You should know that by now.
    I clear my throat, say nothing.
    —So if it were a regular Three on this play then the safety to your side would be deep middle and the strong safety would be down near the box over here.
    He circles an area of the big screen with a laser pointer.
    —Then you would be right, it would be Three, and you would block the corner just like you did. But that safety is down to your side. They rotated weak. It’s a Cover Four. So now what’s your rule?
    —Push/crack.
    —That’s right, push/crack. Push up the field at the cornerback then crack down on the strong safety as he comes up to fill the run. If he never comes up to stop the run or if the corner gets horny, you stay on the corner. But this crack-back can be a kill shot, boys, and the difference between a three-yard gain and a touchdown.
    —What if they’re in Cover Four, er, Eight?
    —Then you’ll stay on the corner, unless that safety is really cheating or shows blitz late and we don’t have time to check out of it. Then you have to get him or the play is toast. Same with Cover Two; keep an eye on that safety. But be careful because that corner has run responsibilities in Cover Two so if you leave him for the safety the corner might just come up and make the tackle. What you’ll have to watch for is that Cover Six: the quarter-quarter-half. That’s Cover Two on half the field and Quarters on the other half. But it really doesn’t make a shit what they do. Just watch that safety to your side and if he gets horny you block him. If not, stay on the corner.
    —What about man coverage? Should I run him off or block him?
    —If you know he’s in man you can outside release and run his ass down the sideline. But if he smells run then you gotta block his ass. Remember, if you guys can’t block, you won’t be on the field.
    Rod chimed in.
    —You know how to tell if they’re in man, right?
    —Uh . . .
    —First off it’s in their eyes. If they ain’t lookin’ at