Hard to get into flow coming in and out so much

In the NFL these days, players are constantly running on and off the field due to situational substituting.

It probably helps players with their conditioning, but one former NFL defensive lineman told JC he doesn’t like it.

“When I played defensive line we didn’t rotate a lot,” said the player from the 1990’s. “If you were good enough to play on first down, you were good enough to play on third down. We didn’t rotate a lot, and I think that helped us a lot to build the chemistry and continuity upfront, and the trust in one another. I’m not a big believer in (all this rotating). I’m not a big fan of that. I think if you are good enough to start, you should stay in there as long as you can.”

As we mentioned in the last issue, constantly rotating makes it very difficult for players to get into the flow of the game.

“Without a doubt, if you have back-to-back good plays, and the next thing you know, they take you out, and then the next thing you know, you are sitting out a whole series, and then they put you back in — the game is still off momentum,” said the player. “The game is played off me playing against the guy in front of me. And I’m not going to win all the plays. All I want to do is win 60 to 70 percent of them.”

The matchup between a defensive lineman and the offensive lineman in front of him is like a chess match. Over the course of the game, a player gets a better feel for the opponent’s bag of tricks, and this can help him gain an advantage. As the game progresses, more and more tendencies start to appear.