When I was scouting for the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, I always felt like I had an advantage over other scouts who had not played football.
This does not mean I was a better scout or had a better eye for talent than them. But as a former player, having spent so much time watching hours of game film, I saw the game differently.
I was an average player at best, so I needed to prepare different than a star player may have to. There are players in the NFL, when I played and even today, who could be in the Hall of Fame off talent alone.
There are players who watch just enough film to grasp the basic concepts, and they still perform at a high level.
A guy like Michael Vick has stated publicly that he did not take film study and preparation seriously early in his career. Then there are players like Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis and Larry Fitzgerald who devour film work and take their God-given talent to a different stratosphere.
Everyone in the NFL watches film in preparation for the game the coming week. Every player starts the week after a game by breaking down the previous game as a unit or in positional meetings.
The coaches will correct mistakes individually and as a unit. Great coaches take the time to teach the correct techniques and to show players where they can improve.
Players are the hardest on themselves when they make a mental error or play a technique wrong. Getting yelled at in front of your peers by a coach rarely helps.
One of my favorite parts of watching game film as a team was good plays by individual players. The groups in that room all know and appreciate how special playing in the NFL is and the work that is put in to achieve success. While ESPN may focus on the highlights, NFL players focus on the job they are asked to do in any one play.
Let me give you an example: A defensive tackle will get off the football low and hard, gain leverage on the offensive guard and force the blocker into the backfield. That defensive tackle may not make the tackle, but the running back may have to stutter his feet, lose momentum and get tackled for a loss by the linebacker.
In NFL rooms, the defensive tackle will get shout-outs and “Atta boys.” I know that sounds silly, but when one of the best like Ed Reed or Adrian Peterson give another teammate a compliment, those words go a long way for the individual and the team. Getting props for a solid play that helped the team...that’s about as good as a feeling as you can have.
