NFL Training Camp, 60-Day Workout: Day 5

Where are my back-to-back off days?

Day 5, the second of back-to-back workouts, followed by two off days. Sounds like the NHL. (I think the NBA takes four days off after back-to-back games.)

I have virtually nothing in common with this man.

Looks like the Detroit Field Trip of Dominance, otherwise known as Florida. Today's workout was in the last of three stadiums in the state, Everbank Field in Jacksonville. (Apparently it's no longer Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Sorry, can't push those updates out to the Wii.) I stuck with Maurice Jones-Drew, partly because he's one of the few NFL players shorter than I am and partly because I wanted to ask him about not being able to play in week 16, possibly costing me a chance at the league title.[1]

New drills today: the WR Challenge and the RB Obstacle Course. The WR Challenge wasn't much of anything, actually, but maybe because I'm on Medium ... first you jog, then you're supposed to run in place or lunge toward a "cone" (imagine that you're standing in the middle of a six-foot square marked by four cones, one at each corner) depending on what the narrator says.[2] I didn't have to lunge at all, just run or squat and then stand back up.

Next was a DB test (huh? I thought we were on offense), where you lunge up, left, or right depending on what the narrator says. More jogging, then a route-running drill where you run in a straight line and raise your hands when he says to ... in theory, the speed at which you run affects how far you "run" after the catch, but either that doesn't happen in this part or the lack of a left-leg sensor meant it wasn't catching my speed effectively. Maybe I just need to raise my legs higher. Anyway, the effect was that I coasted through each route.[3] I think we ran at the end, but whatever. End of the WR Challenge.

The RB Obstacle Course started with a tire drill (left-right-left-right, slowed down of course as the WR drill was), then jogging, then running through obstacles: punch left or right to stiff-arm tackling dummies or jump to clear arm tackles. This one went pretty quickly, which makes me wonder about the WR drill.

After that, it was the usual selection of exercises and stretches, focusing mostly on the lower body. I was prepared this time and had the leg sensor strapped tightly to me.[4] I only had to "skip" one workout, so I got more credit this time.

Afterward, I found that I'd moved up into the 6th round, to pick 190 (30th pick in the round because we're ignoring supplemental picks). Hello, conference championship loser![5] Purchased the Panthers helmet, did a quick check of achievements, and then shut down the Wii for a couple of days. I'll be back on Thursday.

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[1] I lost by quite a bit, and it wasn't MJD's fault for being unable to play through yet another injury. I blame the commissioner for requiring us to set our lineups prior to the first game of the week. (return)
[2] Yeah, the players never actually say anything. Another "drawback" to using low-density discs on the Wii rather than high-density discs on the 360 and PS3. Drawback is in quotes because really, do we need each individual player to voice the same instructions? No, we don't. (return)
[3] You may recognize this as the Randy Moss Exercise. (return)
[4] I forgot to mention that I jumped out of the sensor yesterday. Ha ha. Who says white men can't jump? (return)
[5] The rules are here. Non-playoff teams pick in reverse order of record, then teams are grouped by the round in which they lost and then reverse order of record, which means right now, 21 through 24 are KC, Indy, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. I could end up in Seattle![6] (return)
[6] Actually, I couldn't. The Seahawks would have a worse record than the other CC loser and would thus pick 29th. You may have heard something about their record somewhere.