What It’s Like To Burn A Defender For A Touchdown

I’ve been sidelined with a broken finger for what’s approaching two months, so I’ve been missing playing football a lot.  I had to answer a What It’s Like question recently and I’m afraid my answer will not be used and I don’t want it to go to waste, so I’m posting it here.

What It’s Like To Burn A Defender For A Touchdown

Jehremy & David

At the line, you eye your defender off the line to see how they are playing you, if they are out of position, if they’re playing press coverage or if they are giving you cushion, if their feet are aligned improperly, whatever you can learn to give you an advantage. Next, you survey the rest of the defense: is the safety playing close or deep; to your side or the far side?

At the snap of the ball, you explode off the line, running straight at your defender. You look toward the middle of the field in order to trick him into thinking you’re running an inside route. Just before you think he’ll turn his hips to run with you, you make a sharp cut toward the sidelines, with your hands positioned as if ready to catch the ball.

Your quarterback pump-fakes to you, then you cut sharply up field and turn to look for the ball. As you do so, the defender says the two most beautiful words in football, “Oh shit.”

You see the ball arching through the air, high and long, and it’s taking forever to get to you. In full stride, you catch up to it, eyes tracking the ball over your right shoulder, arms stretching out before you. As the ball arrives, you position your hands beneath it, spread eagle, pinkie touching pinkie, and the ball settles into the palms of your hands as your fingers grip the leather to ensure the catch.

You bring the ball to your body, the far point against your elbow, your right index finger on the opposite tip. The ball secured, you focus on the end zone. You hear the footsteps of your defender behind you and he’s getting closer so you cut toward the middle of the field to break his angle. It works. He’s given up. And you’re home free for the final five yards as you cross the end zone.

You turn in the end zone, hand the ball to the referee, catch the eye of your quarterback and point to him in appreciation for the perfect throw.

My Shattered Finger

An x-ray of my broken pinkie. It is a compound fracture coupled with a dislocation.

Broke it playing football. The ball hit the tip of my pinkie straight on. It hurt. And it sucks.

My Shattered Finger

I’m On Google StreetView!

but hadn’t notice until The Vet pointed it out, that we’re on StreetView. You can’t explicitly identify us, but but you can definitely see the crew we play with every Saturday of the year on StreetView.

If you look straight ahead, across the other side of the parking lot, between the cars you can see some people seated on the ground under the shade of the trees. That me and my crew resting in between football games. Amazing!

Saturday Play Of The Day

This was the Play Of the Day (POD) for our Saturday on November 2, 2007:

It rarely happens but when it works, it’s a beautiful thing to behold.

Omar was playing defense and settled into an open zone, started waving his hands and shouting as if he were an open receiver. The rare happened and the opposing quarterback threw the ball right into Omar’s gut. He caught the ball and cut to the left sideline, following an entourage of blockers who ensured he remained untouched on his way to the end zone.

Saturday Play Of The Day

This was the Play Of the Day (POD) for our Saturday on October 20, 2007:

Andre gets Play of the Day for a long bomb catch with a defender in his
hip pocket and with two hands on the ball. Andre went up for the ball
simultaneously with his defender but with his vice-like grip, came down
with the ball and scampered the remaining ten yards for the score.

David Erickson Drops Touchdowns…NOT

As I mentioned in , my friends find it very amusing that when you search for "david erickson drops passes," this blog is the first link.

Since I’ve now rectified that problem, I’m sure my friends will try an alternative search phrase. The assertion that "david erickson drops touchdowns" is even less true than the idea that I drop passes.

But it is just as malicious, so I must take some preemptive measures with this blog post.

David Erickson Drops Passes…NOT

My friends find it very amusing that when you search for "david erickson drops passes," this blog is the first link. That is because I wrote a post a while ago that includes the phrase ""

I’ll find the phrase in my web stats occasionally. There are only two people use that phrase to get to my site.

The problem is, it’s not true. I mean, I drop my share, but I don’t drop a lot of passes and I don’t drop passes consistently. So, clearly, it’s just a malicious lie.

But there it is. The search results lead to me so it’s high time I did something about it. Thus this blog post.