The word “Camp” has many meanings. Somewhere on the definition spectrum between a Kid’s Summer Camp full of fun days and an Army Base sits Football’s Training Camp. Our mind’s eye sees players in full pads under the searing sun engaged in endless repetitions of the Oklahoma Drill for two-sessions a day. But, that imagery is preceded by the phrase, “Once upon a time…” For those unfamiliar the Oklahoma Drill was a tackling exercise in a confined area developed by Oklahoma Head Coach Bud Wilkinson. The point was not only to teach tackling to Defenders it also taught Running Backs how to get tackled without getting hurt. The drill was ubiquitous. There was scarcely a football program from High School upwards that didn’t use it. But, time and sensitivities have moved onward. The OK Drill, once a part-and-parcel of Training Camp has been banned by the NFL. Some States have legislated it to illegality. The absence is part of a bigger picture: “Camp” today would be unrecognizable to the players of the last century.
Junction
No one Training Camp experience has been as infamous as Paul “Bear” Bryant’s 1954 ten-day meat grinder at Junction, Texas during his first year at Texas A&M. After leaving the wartime Navy Bryant spent one-year at Maryland, then eight-years at Kentucky before leaving for football crazed Texas. His reception when he arrived was so enthusiastic that it caused him to think it best to get the team away from the campus for camp. His roster was anemic, at best. He wanted to purge it away from public view. A suggestion came from an assistant to go to Junction, Texas in the Hill Country some 200-miles away where A&M had an adjunct campus. The last time anyone on the staff had been there it was green and lush. But, that was not the case in 1954.
A severe drought had parched all of the greenery. Bone-dry air and triple-digit temperatures were the order of the day. One thing that did grow was a weed with stickers that somehow got through all of the pads. On the first day the players ate a full breakfast before drills in the heat. Breakfast didn’t stick around. Most of them scarcely ate again for the duration. Jack Pardee lost 20-pounds which was about 10-percent of his body weight. The heat was unbearable. After early morning drills the players’ only respite consisted of time in Quonset huts. No air conditioning was on the property. Gene Stallings said his top bunk was only a few feet from sizzling metal. It was basically an oven. But, that was the “Down Time.” Out on the field it was worse. Full pads. No water. Endless drills.
Bryant’s purge didn’t come from a red pen. The players self-immolated their football careers. After dark they’d jump the fence going to the town to catch a bus back to College Station. One night there were eight of them that took that route. Bryant had a fabulously successful career. But, he only had one Heisman winner; John-David Crow. In 1954 Crow was a Freshman which rendered him ineligible to attend camp since it was more than 30-mles from campus. He recalled seeing two full busses leave for Junction. There was only one bus that came back. It was half full.
Junction was strong medicine. The team would go on to lose all but one game in 1954. But, in 1956 it went undefeated with one tie. Practically all of the “Junction Boys” went on to have successful careers in and out of football. As it turns out there was a bit of method to the madness.
Of Carlisle and Others
Professional camps were never going to get as brutal as the Junction experience. But, they weren’t fun either. Principal ingredients included getting away, deprivation, and tough physicality. The goals were to forge a team out of an assemblage of men. Few things do that more than a shared experience devoid of comfort. For the WFT the venue was Carlisle, Pennsylvania at Dickinson College. For the rest of the NFL the parameters were similar: Have camp at a small college within a few-hours drive out in The Sticks somewhere; College Cafeteria food (ooooh, Boy), thin mattresses, Curfews, and Bed Checks. It was not, nor was it supposed to be fun.
Of course, leave it to Sonny Jurgensen to figure out a way to have some mischief. His college roommate would tell stories of the Red Head coming through the window of the dorm room in the wee hours only to cram for an early-morning exam that he would then Ace. When he was with the Eagles he and Tom Brookshier borrowed a wooden Indian from a local store. The statue took his place for bed check while he was out on the town.
Such frivolities aside Training Camp was serious business. Cut-down day was unpredictable. The roster would get set there at camp. Uncertainty was a staple. Along with most everything else, that has changed dramatically
A New Way
Deprivation was always a basic tenet of Training Camp. The small college settings with few creature comforts provided an atmosphere to instill discipline. But, the times have changed. The NFL is a $25-Billion annual enterprise. Player salaries are in the $9-Billion range. They are now assets. In Business it’s a good idea to protect your assets. The quaint Dickinson Colleges of the world not only lacked creature comforts, they also lacked facilities. The home practice facilities went from Spartan affairs to world-class fitness centers and physical treatment wards in a matter of a few years. If Player A sprains an ankle the team management would rather they get treated in the best facility available. Every aspect of the operation at home is better than what is available at the tiny school. That was enough for the vast majority of teams to scuttle the previous arrangement.
The modern approach to being isolated is for the team to be put up in a nearby hotel…a good one. That’s just for starters. The first five days are designated as the “Acclimation Period.” No contact is allowed. After that is a mandatory day off. Then the teams can have Padded Practice for one session. Although there is a second practice period it is limited to a walkthrough. As noted above the Oklahoma Drill is prohibited. Also gone is the “Bull in the Ring” drill and other staples such as the Half-Line and Run-blocking Board Drills. If it sounds like they’ve taken the teeth out things that would be a good conclusion.
Practices in pads are limited. But, the vast majority of teams do not tackle in Camp for fear of injury even when in pads. The exception is the Steelers. They tackle. Last season they went 3-0 to start the year. Coincidence? This amalgamation of changes to the Camp routine leads to a predictably sloppy start to the season. September football is exciting in that the game has returned. But, the product is lacking. Running around in shorts and shells is one thing. Getting taken to the ground is another. Teams are limited to 14 padded practices during the season. Good quality football waits until October as a result.
The team will take 90-93 players to Camp. 53 will make the team and up to 16 will make the Practice Squad. There are probably only four or five spots on the roster that are available. The rest are fighting for the Practice Squad slots. Unlike the old days, the roster is constructed in the Spring. Training Camp is for “Installs” and Rehearsals.
As we commemorate the Moon Landing in 1969 this week it would reasonably seem that Junction, Texas 1954 is as far away from Training Camp 2025 as Ashburn is from Tranquility Base.
In Seclusion
For all of the efforts that teams used to put into “Getting Away” the old-style camps were accessible. Practices were generally all open to the public. The bleachers may have been small, but were usually packed with fans, many of them young. Position Rooms would be rotated for Autograph Duty after sessions. No other major sport promoted such access to the players. For kids it was a chance to establish a connection with the team. And, remember that ticket prices for regular season games were pretty much affordable.
In the new construct that is all but gone. The WFT touts that they will have THREE whole practice sessions open to the public with three more for the Season Ticket holders and one for Military Appreciation. It’s not only underwhelming it’s short-sighted. Buying a ticket to a game is practically a capital investment. When the new stadium arrives there will be a Personal Seat License attached. Most of the season tickets are purchased by non-one-percenters. Selling off most of the games on the secondary market allows them to actually attend a few without burning a hole in the Savings Account. Now some teams are going to revoke the PSL if the holder doesn’t attend X-percent of the games. It varies, but the percentage is more than half. Forcing the middle class out of attending games is a strategy rooted in arrogance and unrestrained greed. Daniel Snyder would be proud. Ostensibly this is being done to preserve home-field advantage. Hey, NFL Ownership, if you don’t want lots of visiting jerseys in your stadium the simple answer is to field a good team.
The League is a money factory. Roger Goodell’s stated vision was to make it a $25-Billion annual enterprise. It’s past that now. But, the greed goes on. Depending on the study one finds there are somewhere south of 5% of NFL fans who have actually attended a game. Baseball learned the hard way that losing a generation of fans is a crippling injury. And, it was avoidable. Football is trying to replicate the feat.
This Year
Players reported to Camp yesterday afternoon. Well, almost all of them that is:
This will undoubtedly suck the air out of the room until it is resolved. As Rick “Doc” Walker pointed out last week on NFL Radio: “This contract negotiation is straight out of the San Francisco Playbook.” Adam Peters’ training ground was replete with hardball negotiations at the start of Training Camp. $50k per day may sound like pocket change for someone making millions. But, it adds up quickly. A key date is August 8, should this last that long. That’s the first pre-season game. If Terry skips that he will forfeit a game check from his Paragraph 5 salary. That would be a cool $911k. The Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits teams from covering the fines. That used to be standard practice. One would expect something to be done before then. The pain index for holding out only gets worse after that.
Other than the McLaurin drama here are a few things to watch as Camp unfolds:
-The Offensive Line shuffling will command a lot of attention. Whatever the dance card looks like on Week#1 it will change when Sam Cosmi returns.
–Johnny Newton is a key for this Defense. It is still underwhelming. If Newton can step up to star status that would change the outlook a great deal.
–Von Miller is on his “Sunset Tour.” But, he still produced last year. It will be a good thing, indeed if he can keep that up for one last season. He will be part of a rotation setup for the ensemble cast Edge Rusher Room. See how he looks at the end of Camp.
-Forget the pre-season games. They are worse than useless. What counts these days are the Joint Practices. Dan Quinn said essentially that a few weeks ago. In a controlled environment the team can assess individuals and position groups against real opponents. August 6 with the Patriots and August 21 with the Ravens are the dates of the two sessions. More information comes out of these than will ever come out of a pre-season game. The annals of the League are full of August superstars who never moved the needle when it counted. Babe Laufenburg comes to mind.
-Detroit held its first practice already. One of the Running Backs has a “Leg Injury.” As de-fanged as Training Camp has become the injuries come in bunches. Wide Receivers especially get hamstring troubles. Former Quarterback Jim Miller tells of going to a Training Camp visit where all the Receivers had Hammy troubles. The team cancelled practice. Instead the players went inside to watch movies. Camp sure ain’t what it used to be.
