Life as a Rookie (Week 8) Part 11 of 23

Back in E-town, I felt much better than in previous weeks. I was ready to get back at it again. Like a quick battery recharge, I had that energy again. Sask. was my favourite week! Why? Out of all the defenses I've played scout safety for, this one I was most active. Consistently blitzing it was right up my alley. Thinking of the damage I could do in a defense like this made me really excited. Though I couldn't hit anyone I worked on my timing of the blitzes, noticing that some are meant to be run later than others. It started to make sense. On a different note, the secondary was depleted, and I thought maybe this would be my chance to get in. The idea was far fetched as it did not happen. After having some time to reflect, I came to terms with not seeing the field. Realizing, that my aggressive nature in week 8 was not doing anything to help the team and was upsetting the coaches as well. A couple of pile ups, nearly hurting one of our star players, told me I had to tone it down a notch. I continued to work hard but it was more to better myself rather than get on the field. It was around this time my good friend Charlie had given me a book to read. It was about all the great CFL players and their work ethic. It really changed my thinking when I read that some hall-of-famers did not see the field the first year. I didn't feel that bad anymore. My 1 on 1's got progressively better, though I was still getting balls caught on me I was much closer than previous weeks. I was improving and I enjoyed that.

Game Day. My first home game not dressed! Pre-game was different, I went out and did some condition with the strength coach. Following that I did some footwork pretending as if I was warming up for the game. Next, I hit the sideline and watched the rest of the players warm up seeing what I could take from them to prepare better. I was taking mental notes on everyone. The stadium slowly but surely filled up and before you know, it was game time. We fell down 10 early but rallied back. Edmonton is not typically known to run the ball a whole lot. Who would when you have a receiving core and a QB like that? But we ended up winning the game on the ground. Esks win 27-10.