Playing with a clear mind means letting go of our past, on and off the field.  As an athlete I have been taught from a young age the only way to learn from our mistakes is to look at them from every angle possible, dissect the footage, learn where there is room for improvement and then never ever make the same mistake twice.
   

Looking back on memories in my mind is like watching old game footage.  You can rewind like the butterfly effect over and over but the truth of the mater is just like in life no down of football is ever exactly the same.  You can run the same play twice but there is no way to predict what the defense will do. 

Lately I have been reading a lot of sports articles hoping to learn more secrets of this sacred game.  I recently ran across a few things that just keep being highlighted in my mind in neon colors over and over.  Like puzzle pieces I keep seeing the words trying to understand how they fit together.

In a recent article In ESPN magazine Shaun Assael writes "Revis studied opponents like he studied jazz drumming, going as far back as their high school game films to get tips on their timing and he quotes Revis saying " I watch how they stand when they're still," he says " If it's a running play, are they more relaxed ? If it's a pass play, are they tenser? Is the heal up or flat? Is the guy grabbing his gloves tight? If I'm in your timing, I'm in your DNA."

"Favre also explained his thought process on the fateful fourth-quarter interception against the Saints in that game, an on-the-run pass to Sidney Rice that was forced into tight coverage. Favre said they connected on the same play the week before against the Dallas Cowboys, expecting Rice to come back toward him." Matt Field.

“As a player you’ve got to pull the trigger,” Favre said. “You can’t say, ‘Well, is he going to do what I think he’s going to do?’ He wasn’t wrong, and in some ways, I wasn’t either.” He continued.

A look into the minds of both a great defender and in my opinion the greatest quarterback of all time with both players explaining their desire and need to know their opponents. 

In a football game great plays are made from being in our opponents "DNA".  I would venture to say that if knowing our opponent can be dangerous how much more dangerous is it to know and to be known by the people we love and who also love us?

"As D'backs, all we have is those first five yards," Revis says in that same article." My goal is to make those five yards the hardest I can on you with my hands. I want to be a master of those five yards, because free access is what makes receivers great.  My game plan is to get up in their faces. But I also like the little things, whether it's getting in position to tackle or giving the defensive end a call where he goes into the C-gap and makes a play."

During a football game predictability is based on work ethic, film study and a players lucky guesses based on experience.  We have the opportunity to show our opponents how dangerous we can be, how in their face we can be and how we control the game.

I hear my trainer say almost once a day as a Quarter Back you need to learn to be "Poised Chaos."

And the puzzle pieces just keep coming at me. 

I read in a book this week  "It's not the hours you put into the work that matter, it's the work you put into the hours"

I'm seeing last season in my head over and over trying to "dissect" the film from my football and personal life. 

I'm finally at a point where the pieces are starting to fit together.  It's time to finally let it all go.

We don't control life, we don't control love and we have limited control over the football game.  Farve's words “As a player you’ve got to pull the trigger,” tells me all these things are about taking a chance. 

From my military experience I know first hand that once we pull a gun trigger, there's no recall on that bullet.  It's going full steam at whatever it’s pointed at.  There is nothing we can do to change the chances we have taken.  There is nothing we can do to recall the past.

“You can’t say, ‘Well, is he going to do what I think he’s going to do?’ He wasn’t wrong, and in some ways, I wasn’t either.”  Favre said. This statement teaches me we can and should study film like Revis over and over but there is always that moment of unpredictability.  We should never underestimate our opponents and we should look for the best in the people we love. Although interceptions will happen, people are capable of change.  Life throws curve balls.  We take chances and fall on our faces, people make audible calls, they change plays, they change emotions, and they change their decisions. 

Change means a percentage of unpredictability.  That can be good or bad but time is precious.  Everything is about timing and knowing when to pull that trigger.  A moment to late and the ball is behind your receiver, a moment to early and you can wind up divorced. 

"It's not the hours you put into the work that matter, it's the work you put into the hours" tells me I don't need to beat myself up if I know I've given life, my team mates and my love at 110 percent every time I've been blessed with the opportunity to do so but it also says I can not possible control my opponents.  It's not healthy to sit around thinking "Well, is he going to do what I think he's going to do."  All I can do is let the plays develop and then react.

"Poised Chaos" I believe comes from having a clear mind, discernment and understanding.  Inside we can be freaking out, amped up or ready to throw down but to be respected we need to stop for a minute and decide if the way we will react will change the outcome.  In most instances, the answer is no and that's because people will do what they want to do.  Defenders will do what they want to do.

Sometimes 110 percent means taking a sack, but which of us knows for sure without a doubt that every time we throw the ball in the air our receiver will or won’t catch that touch down pass?

All we can do is get our reps in and let those reps refine us with experience, study the film from game footage or from past life experiences and then play with a clear mind.  Never ever let the past hold you down.  We can't control or change it.  All we have is the ability to forgive our self in an unforgiving game and in an unforgiving life... move forward and let those experiences build our confidence with passion & fire for future play. 

“You’d think I’d know better by now. I’ve learned a lot through the years. What I haven’t learned is what I’ll do and when I’ll do it,” Favre said, and that's because Favre understands life, and football just happens.  He understands what he can and can not control and has mastered the read and react part of the game, in life and on the field.

It's his magic, his charm... and I hope for my team’s sake and for the people I love, that it will be mine this year too.

                                                         Taking a sack

                                                            Tackled

                                              Me, my son, and his father