Having made it through his first NFL preseason, Pittsburgh Steelers OT Broderick Jones is preparing for the transition from exhibition play to the 17-game regular season where the bullets are live, and the games are for real. Speaking to the media prior to practice Monday, Jones was asked how much of a workload the regular season can be. Jones mentioned that his time in college has prepared him for the league but understands that the little details will be things that he needs to focus on intently as the regular season gets underway.
“You know, I’m excited for it,” Jones told reporters Monday via video from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski’s Twitter page. “I really don’t know just yet because I really won’t know until the real season starts and get involved into kicking and we just get to playing… week after week, it’s just long. But I went through that at Georgia, so it’s really not as bad as people think it is. Like the practices aren’t as bad as college. That’s the plus of coming to the league from college, but it’s longer hours. You have more studying, more film. You know, you wanna take care of your body more. There’s a lot of different things to improve on that you think don’t matter that really play an impact.”
This isn’t the first time a University of Georgia Bulldog has said that practices were harder in college than they are in the NFL. WR George Pickens made the same comment last season, stating that the talent on Georgia’s defense made practices more intense on a day-to-day basis compared to the to more professional atmosphere at the NFL level. While the talent level may be higher in the league, players focus a lot more on managing workload in the pros than they do in the college game, having more walk-throughs and veteran rest days than at schools competing for a national championship.
While the practices themselves may not be harder, the length of the NFL season can be grueling compared to the college game and all that comes with it. In the NFL, you play 17 regular-season games as well as three preseason games. In college, you are normally only guaranteed 12 games prior to a college championship or bowl game. With all those extra games, a greater focus needs to be put on rehab to keep the body functioning at peak capacity. Former Steelers OG Kevin Dotson found this out the hard way after his first couple of seasons in the league, putting a greater emphasis on taking care of his body after seeing himself wear down during the long NFL season.
You could hear in Jones’ voice that he understands what lies ahead of him regarding a taxing season. It’s going to be a grind physically as well as mentally, having to stay locked into the playbook as he constantly hones his craft in hopes of cracking the starting lineup at some point his rookie year. It can be easy to get caught up in it all and just go through the motions as a rookie, but Jones can’t afford to do that. He was drafted to take over as this team’s franchise left tackle. To beat out LT Dan Moore Jr. for the starting job, Jones will have to be locked in during the monotonous grind for the regular season, falling in love with the process of working to become the player he is capable of being in the NFL.
