Category Archives: ITL

The Bloodbath and the Aftermath

05 Friday May 2017

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If you follow ITL on Twitter, you know it’s been an incredible week for transition in NFL scouting departments, and not in a good way.

It began Sunday morning when 17 Bills scouts, both pro and college, woke up to find that not only were they let go, but their key cards didn’t open doors, their email addresses didn’t work, and they’d been wiped off the Website. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen an entire department (save for two scouting assistants) completely wiped out in one move. But that was just the warmup. From Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon, we reported 11 scouts and evaluators from seven different teams that had lost their jobs. Several of them are good friends of mine, and friends of friends. I remember texting scouts and their responses were full of shock and grief. It was an incredibly difficult day.

So why did it happen? Why was it such a brutal week? I don’t know, but here are some possible ideas.

Belt-tightening: As everyone who follows NFL football knows, TV ratings were off by 10 percent this year. This doesn’t mean teams lost money in 2016, of course — not by a long shot — but it could have given the teams’ bean-counters a reason to recommend cutting expenses. One fact of life in the NFL is that scouts are probably the least respected football people in the building. The players, obviously, get the lion’s share of the money, and the coaches do pretty well, too. However, scouts are on an entirely different plain. If you aspire to be a scout one day, you need to understand that reality.

Analytics: It’s possible 2017 is the true ‘dawn’ of the age of analytics in football. I’m not sure why that would be, as the Browns’ move to go all-in for metrics hasn’t exactly resulted in success. On the other hand, Cleveland has done it, and for better or worse, the critics have pulled back to see if it works or not. Some teams could see this as their opportunity to lean on the younger, cheaper analytics experts in their offices rather than the 20-year area scout in his 50s. As with other big businesses, a lot of what NFL teams do is influenced by what kind of media blowback they risk.

No template: Because scouting is such a mysterious, subjective business practiced by a select few, and because football is so cyclical, no one can point to one strict way of doing things and pronounce, ‘this is how it’s done.’ Even the really good teams blow it with their first-rounders every once in a while. This allows teams to make moves that don’t seem to make sense to people in the business. Fans and outsiders just shrug their shoulders and presume that it all makes sense somehow.

Disposability: Scouts are not celebrities. There is no union for NFL scouts. By their nature, they work in anonymity. Fans don’t know them. This means that when a scout is let go, it doesn’t make big headlines. Sometimes, a team just removes the scout’s name from its Website and never even makes an announcement. What’s more, there’s always a scouting assistant waiting for someone to retire, get fired, etc. In general, I just don’t see value attached to the experience and network a seasoned scout has.

Though Black Monday is behind us, we’re a long way from seeing all the changes in scouting departments that come in May. Time will tell if there’s even more transition next week. In the meantime, if being a scout is what you aspire to, please proceed with caution.

 

My Son, and a Draft Prospect’s Mindset

06 Friday Jan 2017

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This week, I had an epiphany on why so many draft prospects (especially projected late-rounders) struggle to see the game as a business and fail to see their place in it. It sprung from an experience I had at a hometown eatery with my wife, son, and his swim coach.

My oldest son, 14, plays pretty much whatever’s in season, but basketball, swimming and track (long jump) are his passions, and what he’s best at. He’s long and lean, with a perfect swimmer’s build, and at 6-foot-3 just an inch shorter than I am. But he lives in suburban Houston, a place where young men start being groomed for the pros at second grade. He’s also captivated by Michael Phelps, and aspires to the Olympics. So there we were at lunch with his swim coach, wanting to know what it might take for him to realize his dreams, however impractical they may be.

In the space of an hour, my son’s coach talked about his decorated career as a high school swimmer under one of the best coaches in the state of Texas. He talked about giving up summer vacations and holidays; about two-hour swim sessions early in the morning followed by two-and-a-half-hour sessions in the afternoon; about having only one month (August) off from that routine every year; and about giving up all other sports in junior high to focus solely on swimming. His sacrifices and devotion to life in the pool produced a scholarship to an excellent Division II school in the Midwest, where he swam four more years and earned an engineering degree. To me, or any other adult, that’s an incredible success story. At the same time, it came at a stiff price, and despite his excellence, fell far short of Olympic glory.

 

The coach’s story of sacrifice and work gave my wife and I pause. I’d heard pretty much all I had to hear, and to me, the path was clear: swim, yes, but also play as many sports as possible, whatever’s in season. Have fun. Let life play out, hoping to play basketball in high school but also trying to swim and maybe even continuing his long jump career. And as the competition stiffened, he could withdraw from sports, but it would all happen organically. In short, something less than total devotion to one sport in a probably fruitless Olympic chase.

That’s the reaction I expected from my son. Instead, he turned to the coach and said, basically, when do we start?

There’s a postscript. That evening, coming home from youth group at our church, we had a long talk, and he admitted his tension about what lay ahead. The commitment to swimming was daunting and he didn’t know if he could do it. “I just want to make you and mom proud of me,” he said. Though I assured him that my wife and I love him and have no expectations, and that we would support him no matter what, the next day he sent me a text a few hours before the afternoon’s basketball game. “Still nervous,” it read. Not about the game. But about swimming.

I take two things from this. One, when you’re young, you believe everything is possible. I mean, everything. With the right amount of effort and the necessary training, you’ll get to your goals. I think this is why so many aspiring NFL players feel combine prep is so absolutely critical.

But the other is this. Many of these young men feel overwhelming pressure to get to the NFL. A lot of it is internal, because they know it’s ‘put up or shut up’ time. However, a lot of that is external. Their whole identity has already been associated with their status as a football player, and when their NFL dreams die, they become someone else, not just to themselves, but to their friends, family, the people back home, everyone. That produces desperation, and it’s probably why it’s so hard for that dream to die.

As a 47-year-old, it’s so easy to forget what it’s like to not be established, and how difficult it is to grapple with the weight of expectations. But I think I understand it a lot better now.

Questions of the Season

30 Friday Dec 2016

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The 60 days from about Thanksgiving to the Senior Bowl are the busiest ‘behind the scenes’ times of the football business, or at least, they are for me and most ITL clients. It’s also when I spend most of my time on the road, hopping from all-star game to all-star game.

It’s a wild and crazy time when my wife and kids rarely see me, but it’s also the time when I get to see ‘my people,’ face to face. When you run a business like mine, you spend hours texting, emailing and talking on the phone with people, but you never see their faces unless it’s on a Facebook post. There’s still value in meeting with people, shaking hands, and talking shop.

Of course, there’s very little time to waste, so I try not to spend a lot of time on small talk. Here are a few questions I’ll be asking my contacts and colleagues over the next few weeks.

Three percent? 1.5 percent? Something else?: As you know, if you read this blog, we’ve spent a lot of time on the new SRA, which defaults to a 1.5 percent agent fee unless otherwise marked. There was a pretty high level of interest (and worry) on the part of agents when the NFLPA released the new SRA with these standards set. Were these worries warranted? Are players willing to pay 3 percent? Are they demanding training be paid in return for paying 3 percent? Do they even have any idea about the 3 percent vs. 1.5 percent issue?

How small is too small? What off-the-field matter makes a player too hot to touch?: I’m not sure anyone can answer these questions, but 14 years after launching ITL, I’m still asking them. What makes one player with high production but size limitations a first-rounder, but another with almost exactly the same production and dimensions undraftable? I started a text conversation with an ex-NFL player a few weeks back regarding this question, and it got so detailed that I asked him to postpone it, with hopes that we’ll have time to expand on it at the combine or somewhere else on the all-star trail. Maybe the truth is out there. Ultimately, I think the answer lies in what’s ‘safe’ and defensible in scouting circles. My guess is that it’s got a lot to do with the media, and how much criticism a team will get or not get if it violates the scouting ‘book.’ Could the media and public perception really have that kind of impact on player evaluation? if so, it means analytics deserve much wider use in football circles, at least to me. But I don’t want to fall back on convenient solutions if there’s something concrete that I’m missing.

Anyway, if these questions interest you, I’ll be on a fact-finding mission over the next month-plus, and I’ll try to bring my findings back to this space. I hope you’ll check it out. And if you have your own ideas on these topics, please, fill me in via the comments section.

Introducing the ITL Sleeper Report

11 Friday Nov 2016

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This week, with the season past its halfway point and seniors building a case for continuing their careers on the next level, we introduced the ITL Sleeper Report. We’ll use our weekly report to check in on players that play often-unsexy positions, usually at less-than-exciting schools. These are not players that will be first-rounders, but players that could nonetheless spend several years in the league as unsung workers that help create a team’s foundation without drawing headlines.

Our two evaluators, Danny Shimon and Todd Therrien, were recommended to us by Dan Hatman of The Scouting Academy, a service that trains the next generation of NFL scouts. We asked Danny and Todd to find players who weren’t featured on any Websites and to offer insights that were theirs alone. In other words, they are giving their opinions on one player each without a lifeline — these are their evaluations, solely. Unlike so many ‘Internet scouts,’ they’re sticking their necks out for players they believe in, without a net. We published their reports Thursday, and will continue to bring them to our clients each Thursday this month, and perhaps beyond. We’ll also bring select reports to Succeed in Football.

Without further ado, here’s their work for this week:

Brown, Blair (Ohio)
Position LB (4-3 Will/3-4 IB)
Ht/Wt 6010/240
Class RS Sr

Strong Points – Brown is a fast-flow LB who shoots gaps and fills with speed and power. Plays with great lateral quickness and awareness, and can read reach-blocks of the OL to cut off the outside zone. Brown diagnoses the run game and reads pulling guards in power and counter schemes exceptionally. Brown’s downhill, physical demeanor makes him above-average at meeting the pulling blocker in the hole at the line of scrimmage. Brown is physical and violent when it comes to ripping underneath blocks at the POA, making it difficult for offensive linemen to sink to his level and stay engaged. Brown is a high-risk player on the field, often shooting gaps recklessly, resulting in him playing out of position with disregard to his assignment. He plays with great situational and conceptual awareness, spilling blocks out to where his help is in run support.

Weak Points –Brown’s lack of size results in him getting swallowed up in blocks of long-armed offensive linemen. His “run first” demeanor has shown to get him in trouble, biting on play-action pass concepts, and getting caught not dropping to his zone.  Brown plays poor in man coverage, and is far too stiff when playing in open space. Brown possesses a strength in timing up pressures very well, hitting them on the run and baits offensive linemen out of position when blitzing. He consistently rakes and rips at the ball when he’s cleaning up ballcarriers, forcing a lot of fumbles. Brown has a nose for the football, and is an above-average tackler both inside the box and in open space, consistently wrapping up runners and finishing tackles. Brown could be a liability in the passing game, which does not pair well with under-sized, two-down linebackers. Although Brown was a consistent contributor to the Ohio Bobcats for four years, starting all games for his final two years, he has not played against top-tier competition consistently.

Summation: Overall, Brown is an athletic, sideline-to-sideline run-stopper, who better helps the pass defense by rushing the QB with blitzes, inside or off the edge.

Todd Therrien’s Projection: Late-rounder/undrafted free agent

Spencer, Joseph (Illinois)
Position OC/OG
Ht/Wt 6020/300/5.3e
Class RS Sr
Strong Points – Three-year starter, team captain and an Academic All-Big Ten member twice. Leader along the offensive line, able to call out protections, and identify blitzers. Quick out of his stance able to move his feet and play with good balance. Gets his hands inside the defensive lineman’s chest and can stay in front of his defender. Demonstrates good awareness, able to release primary assignment and help with oncoming rusher. Will chip block then release to get out to defenses second level. Average run blocker who can seal off a defender and create a lane for runner to go through. Competitive player who will finish his blocks once he has his man on the ground – they do not get up. Has position versatility as he can play both center or guard positions.
Weak Points – Possesses limited lateral agility and strength. Can get over powered, and out leveraged at the point of contact. Was asked to retreat block and “catch” defenders rather than explode into them, so on tape we never see him roll his hips and demonstrate his strength. Has limited flexibility and shows some lower body stiffness.
Summation –  Spencer is a cerebral, competitive, interior lineman who has three-years of starting experience, in a power five conference, and offers position flexibility as he can play both center and guard along the offensive line. He is assignment sound and aware. Spencer wins with good snap-and-step quickness to get his hands quickly on the defenders and steer them. Spencer is an average athlete who lacks lateral quickness, and lower body flexibility. His inability to anchor at the point of attack will allow defenders to overpower him and collapse the pocket. He is unable to sustain his blocks for an extended period, and will allow penetrators to pierce his edges quickly.

 Danny Shimon’s Projection: Late-rounder/undrafted free agent

Check Out the Two-Minute Drill

20 Thursday Oct 2016

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About two weeks ago, we started a new series that I’d appreciate if you’d check out. It’s called the ITL Two-Minute Drill.

I started it because there just aren’t enough resources out there for the parents of draft prospects, and I wanted to make the process a little more transparent. That’s especially true of players rated as late-rounders or undrafted free agents. Players rated in the top 3-4 rounds are going to get good counsel on the process because the top agents mob them, but for the lower-rated prospects, it’s dodgy. They need guidance, so we’re trying to provide it.

Right now, we’re 14 shows in, and my plan is to continue it for at least two more weeks, with four shows per week. The idea is to have a decent library of topics for parents as the regular season wraps up. My experience is that as the calendar turns to November, parents and their sons start to get serious about agent selection, often wishing they had started preparing months ago. Our series, hopefully, allows them to play catch-up (See? Two-Minute Drill. Get it?).

Hopefully, if you’re reading this, you already have a good idea of ITL and what we do. But if not, we’ve got a Two-Minute Drill on it. But we also unpack a lot of other topics.

For example, if you don’t know the first thing about the scouting process, we’ve got episodes explaining National and BLESTO, as well as five things to know about an NFL scout. We examine how scouts canvas the country, and why some parts of the country get overlooked due to geography. We sort out the process whereby a player goes from ‘just another guy’ to certified draft prospect. We even talk about how scouts look at character, and how it can affect a player’s draft status.

Are agents a puzzle to you? Do you even know when you can talk to them without risking your son’s eligibility? We’ve got episodes on new agents (and why you shouldn’t fear them), why your son might be getting overlooked, and why (even if you don’t like agents) your son needs a plan to get to the league. Here’s an episode on how to research agents without actually talking to any. And by the way, don’t ‘play agent’ yourself (here’s why).

We also address a couple topics that don’t fit neatly into any categories. Is your son considering entering the draft early? Here are a few things to consider.

Today, we explain the undrafted free agent process and why it’s not something to fear (and in some cases even preferable to getting drafted).

Even if you’re a student, an agent or a scout who regularly reads our blog, and you feel this info doesn’t apply to you, maybe you know someone who could use it. We don’t take sides and we don’t make anyone look bad — we’re simply trying to make the process less confusing. Please refer us. What do you (or they) have to lose?

More Straight Talk from Aaron Wilson

15 Friday Jul 2016

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It’s been a busy week, and we’ve fallen a little behind on our series with Texans beat writer Aaron Wilson. However, today, before the week is out, we wanted to wrap up our discussion between ITL’s Mark Skol and the Houston Chronicle’s Wilson.

Today’s segment focuses on real talk for the aspiring football journalist. Like any writer, if we really pressed Aaron on the question of what are the perils of the business, he could probably speak for days (I know that’s true of myself). However, Aaron gives a good overview of the ‘downs’ of the biz here, and that suffices for today.

Take it away, Mark and Aaron.

What are the downs to the business?

“Obviously, there are the things you would expect. The pressure. The stress. Even sometimes (I’m) worried (about) if I’m going to get this story or that story. There are some stories that you hope to get that you work on for years. You have to deal with a lot of sports agents and other people who are close to a player to get a story like that. It’s something you have to make a large investment in with time and resources, and then it’s frustrating if you don’t get that story. You want to be first, but most importantly, you want to be right. I’m not rushed to put out a rumor because reputation is all you have. Some other tough things about the business are (that)  there’s some favoritism shown. There (are) some conflict of interests within the press. There are some things that are unfair, but life is unfair.”

What advice do you have for aspiring journalists?

“Beyond reading a lot, read the New York Times. Read the Wall Street Journal. Read books. I would say that it’s really important to gather the office. Go out and talk to people wherever they congregate, whether it’s a football field or a gym. Get in there and talk to people face to face. Try not to do many phone interviews. If you can do it, meet in person. I think it’s very important to talk to people in person. It’s very impersonal if you talk to people over phone interviews and conference calls. I would be a tough editor on myself and tell people to accept constructive feedback. You want to have mentors. You want to have people who will let you know what they think of yourself. You need people to give you some reads on if a lead works or if transitions work. Think about the details. But at some point, you have to let the story tell itself.”

Why It’s Cool to be Aaron Wilson: Part 2 of Our Interview

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

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Before we go forward, I want to make something clear: Aaron Wilson has little to no ego. He never goes around talking about how cool he is, or how cool his job is, or anything of the sort. However, I asked my assistant, Mark, to specifically ask him a couple of questions related to the fun part of his job, and when he’s thought, ‘wow, this is something I’m really glad I’m doing.’

It might not be necessary, but I just wanted to offer that disclaimer. Here’s Part Two of our interview with Aaron:

When was the moment when you thought to yourself, “I’ve got a cool job?”

“I’ve had that feeling a few times, and some times it will sink in during an owner’s meeting. I remember, this was when Steve Bisciotti bought the rest of the Ravens. I was at the meeting when he was being approved as the majority owner. The owners had to sign off on Steve, and it was just a formality. I was sitting there with Steve in Palm Beach, Fla., and we are just hanging out at the Breakers Hotel and I see (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones and (Redskins owner) Daniel Snyder walking by, and I am just hanging out with Steve, who is just a regular guy who started a business and made a name for himself. Right then it kinda sunk in, “hey, you are doing something pretty cool.” I can remember another time, since I’m thinking of Steve, who is just a great guy, with my high school teammate from Washington D.C., Kevin Plank, who founded Under Armour. I was hanging out with Kevin and Steve at Ravens training camp practice a few years back at the Naval Academy where they were having a practice for the fans. It was nice sitting there talking to those guys who are two respected and accomplished people. They kept talking with me over articles that I wrote, or they thought was interesting, and they weren’t trying to butter me up. They were just really genuine and cool. It was a good feeling.”

What makes the job fun?

“I like the relationships that you build and getting information. I’m very competitive. I like to get the story out first, but I also like to get it right. Like when you get a long-term relationship with someone, you are going to get good stories with them. I like to think of it as a win-win. You get information from someone and someone gets their story out there. Human-interest stories are always good to work on especially with something compelling. I just wrote about (Texans DT) Devon Still and his daughter who beat cancer, and I had a lot of fun talking with Devon and his family about her. They were very proud of her.”

How the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson Got His Start

08 Friday Jul 2016

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My first experience with the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, who covers the Texans and who is one of the finest beat writers in the nation, was years ago. At the time, I think he was blogging for Pro Football Talk, or maybe it was during his stint writing for the National Football Post. Though he was covering the Ravens then, he was always passing along real news and info from his Twitter account.

That was unusual. So many other beat writers were simply pointing their recorders at the star player, copying it down, and then sending it out there, or maybe tweeting the odd political opinion or pop culture reference. Blah blah blah. Aaron never did that. I mean, everything that he was posting was legit news. It kinda pissed me off, because a lot of it crossed over into the kind of stuff I did (NFL scout comings and goings, agent terminations, personnel trends, that kind of stuff). I guess there was a fair amount of jealousy there, but never on Aaron’s end. From the first time we crossed paths at the Senior Bowl, Aaron was not just cordial but friendly, which is frankly pretty rare from an established person in the print media when it comes to someone like me. It was refreshing.

Last week, I asked Aaron if he’d let my crack intern, Mark, interview him about his experiences. What we got was gold, whether you’re simply a football business fan, an aspiring sports journalist, or simply the kind of person that likes to hear about good guys having success. Today, we’ll start with Aaron’s story of how he broke into the business, and next week, we’ll continue with plenty of other good stuff about his experiences.

From here, I’ll turn it over to Mark and Aaron.

“The way I got into the sports journalism business is I started off playing football as a linebacker at Eastern Carolina University. I injured my shoulder and stopped playing after three seasons. I had surgery on my shoulder and thought sports journalism would be a lot of fun and a safer route for me, so I joined the school newspaper.

“I started covering the football team that I played on, so I had a piece of insight on the team and how the team operated. I started getting stories from the people I knew and who trusted me with what was going on with recruiting, transfers, or anything that was going on with the team. At a young age, I got to cover a Division I football team that was going to bowl games and in came a lot of valuable experience. I covered the football team, the basketball team, the baseball team, and that was my start.

“(From there,) I started doing internships. I interned for a news journal in Florida, where I covered some Florida State football, minor-league ice hockey, and of course high school football, which is big in Florida. My first job was with a small paper called Hernando Today, which is owned by the Tampa Tribune, and covered high schools and local sports there. I also covered the Florida Gators and high school sports.

“The first time I got to cover a NFL game was with this small paper called the St. Augustine Record, where I covered the Jacksonville Jaguars. That was when Tom Coughlin was the coach and they had Fred Taylor at running back and Mark Brunell at quarterback. It was a pretty good team. It was a valuable experience for me to learn how to work a locker room. I had some mentors like Pete Prisco, who now works for CBS Sports. At the time, Pete was a local reporter and asked Coughlin all of the tough questions and never backed down. He was a bulldog. Pete definitely set a good example. I was watching him and asking questions.

“I went on to Baltimore, where I worked for the Carroll County Times and the Baltimore Sun. I covered the Ravens when they won the Super Bowl, and just this last year, I moved to Houston. John McClain from the Houston Chronicle recruited me to come down here and I started covering the Texans. I work for one of the largest and best newspapers in the country and I really enjoy that.”

More from Aaron next week.

How To Block Financial Advisors From Stealing Athletes’ Money

22 Wednesday Jun 2016

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Today, I turn Succeed in Football over to Richard Leader of First Houston Capital. An ITL client for several years, Richard is a seasoned financial professional who not only works with players in the league but also writes a weekly newsletter that I’ve found exceptionally informative; has penned a book discussing basic financial principles in easy-to-understand language (and even got profiled in the Wall Street Journal because of it); and even writes a blog that’s published by the Houston Chronicle. He emailed me this morning out of alarm with the news that broke yesterday, so I asked him to write today’s blog post, addressing the matter.

On Tuesday, news broke of an alleged Ponzi scheme run by a Dallas-based investment firm.

The SEC has charged Ash Narayan, formerly associated with RGT Capital, with transferring money from client accounts without their knowledge or consent using forged or unauthorized signatures.  Victims include Denver Broncos QB Mark Sanchez and San Francisco Giants pitcher Jake Peavy, along with former Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt, with possible losses of more than $30 million.

This hits close to home to me for two reasons: I’m based in Houston, so I share a state with Narayan, and like him, I’m part of the NFLPA’s program that licenses and regulates financial professionals.

Obviously, this is disturbing news for any fiduciary handling money for others.  Nothing is more important than client trust, and this sort of news gives the financial industry a proverbial black eye. The fact is, however, that such a scheme is easily avoided in the first place by taking precautions.

Money managers should employ a well-regarded and well-capitalized custodian (typically a regulated bank or trust company) that provides clear separation between the decision-making investment manager and the client’s money.  Client assets should be held in the client’s name for safekeeping, with the custodian not connected with the investment advisor/manager.

At First Houston Capital, we use Pershing LLC, a unit of BNY Mellon, one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, with net capital of over $1 billion and almost $1 trillion in assets held in custody. Pershing’s financial strength provides the first measure of protection for our clients.

Secondly, Pershing is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).  As a result, securities in ours account are protected up to $500,000 by the federal government.  On top of that, Pershing provides private insurance coverage in excess of SIPC limits from underwriters at Lloyd’s of London. This insurance provides protection for assets held in custody with a loss limit of $1 billion over all of clients’ accounts.

A simple background check of both the investment advisor and the investor’s custodian would help professional athletes and their agents avoid the devastating financial consequences of events like the news Tuesday morning.  There are additional safeguards which can also be considered on the advice of the client’s attorney. The bottom line, however, is that none of this has to happen, and with a few simple steps, it won’t.

Your 4th and 1

20 Friday May 2016

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Thursday, we talked about how in football, as in life, sometimes it’s hard to understand   the difficulty of sifting through an abundance of talent in the draft process, in the hiring process and elsewhere. I found one more parallel between football and life this week as my partners and I tried to identify the best candidates to fill a post at a Texas school district.

At one point this week, as we discussed a candidate, the founder of our firm, Bob Ledbetter, asked if this person had the temerity to make a call on third and 22 with the wind in his face? Would this candidate really have the guts and gravitas to face down tough situations without blinking?

It made me think about the times I’ve faced such situations, and when I’ve seen others face them. It also made me wonder if I’ve faced fourth-and-one decisions in my life and didn’t even realize it.

For example, several draft-eligible players and their parents faced a fourth-and-one over draft weekend when they went undrafted and unsigned. For all practical purposes, they failed to convert. Many of them, however, and maybe most of them, think they failed on a third and two. They still see the NFL as an eminently makable goal if they can just land in the CFL, the AFL, or even some European league. They don’t realize that if they failed to land an undrafted free agent deal, the CFL and AFL are uphill battles at best and, realistically, long shots.

Of course, we all face our own 4th-and-1 situations. At 47, I failed to convert on my original goal of working in an NFL front office when I was offered the chance, at 27, to work as a business office intern with my Saints. I’d be leaving a job as a sports writer in Beckley, W.Va., for an unpaid job in New Orleans. Ultimately, I was afraid to make that kind of leap of faith, and I hoped it was just an incomplete pass on 2nd and 10. Nope. It was much more than that.

The story has a happy ending for me. I was offered another chance to convert on a similar goal at 33 when I launched ITL. It would give me the opportunity to stay relevant in the game I loved and, maybe someday, even raise my family with the money I earned. At the time, I thought it was maybe a second-and-five situation in my goal of working for an NFL team; I’d go in, prove my worth, sharpen my eye as a scout, and wait for teams to line up, offering scouting jobs. In truth, it was my fourth and one for having a viable job in football. By God’s grace, I converted that one. Seven years later, with Inside the League underperforming, I was probably facing a fourth and one when I returned from the Hula Bowl, unemployed and down on the long-term prospects of ITL. If my wife hadn’t essentially dared me to retool ITL and make it into the service I originally had intended, I know I would have charged into the middle of the defense and stopped short.

A lot of people from all walks of the football business read this blog. Some of them are third-year agents who never got anyone signed and face having to take the test over again. Some are college students pursuing a degree in sport management and hoping to win a toehold in the business somewhere. Some are professionals weighing a change in course to pursue a job that captures their passion. Others are players in indoor leagues all over the world.

No matter who you are or where, I encourage you to take a long look at where you are and where you stand in accomplishing your goals. Even if you didn’t get the yards you need for one goal, it may be first and 10 for you elsewhere.