Gaining Trust Within Seconds

In football there are 3 main phases of the game, Offense - they try and score, Defense- they try and stop the offense from scoring, and Special Teams - both sides compete to optimize field position whether it be for their offense or defense. One of the most dynamic and demanding sub phases of special teams is called Punt Team.

The objective of the Punt Team is to protect the Punter so he or she will punt the ball (hopefully) back into the opponents territory. Then after the ball is punted they go and tackle whoever is returning the punt, before they get any closer to the punt teams defending end zone. The only dilemma the Punt Team has is the…Punt Return Team; those guys are the ones in charge of stopping us from getting to their punt returner. The transitioning from blocking to chasing the Punter require team work to be effective.



Now let me tell you about one of my experiences.

In one particular punt during a pre-season game with the Eagles, I played alongside a Veteran and gifted Special Teams player, Tank Daniels. When the ball was snapped(hiked) I had a huge defender sprinting towards me, Tank didn’t have anyone to block so he blindsided the opponent that was headed towards me, just before he blindsided my opponent he said, in the calmest voice I’ve ever heard on the field, “Go, I got him.” I released on the outside of him and while sprinting in the open I felt so ambitious that there was a possibility of me making the play. I was so grateful for the work he did that put me in that position.

Torrence "Tank" Daniels

The next week had come and they had moved the veteran Tank down to second string because another rookie was doing well at his same defensive position. This rookie named Moses was so ambitious about making the team that he stressed out about others alongside him messing things up for him. All week he was splitting hairs on my spacing on the Punt Team and was always coaching me up. I did what I could to make him feel comfortable playing alongside of me because I was confident that I was going to get the job done at the end of the day. When game time came, I waited for the opportunity to apply the same technique that Tank had done for me. When the ball was hiked, I saw a guy sprinting towards Mo. I saw I had no one to block so I knew it was perfect timing to blind side the opponent and I did just that. Blasting the opposing player from the side and taming him with my kung fu grip, in a very calm voice I said “Go, I got him.”  Mo continued to chase the ball without a problem and I knew that I had replicated something great.    

The next morning you would have thought that we were longtime friends because he came up to me like never before and said “Marcus my dog, how you feeling?” Inside I felt great. It was the shift in his attitude I noticed in him, which was similar to how I had felt after my first game punt experience with Tank.

 I could tell that Mo knew at that moment during the game, I had potentially sacrificed myself to help him out. I knew that if we were ever to play side by side again, we would work together more efficiently and leave any possibility of distrust out of the equation.  Based on his actions, I knew he had felt very similar to how I felt when I received help from a teammate.  The veteran who helped me on a single play earned a lifetime of respect from me and taught me a lesson I will not soon forget.  When you make the right sacrifice for your fellow man, it makes it easier for them to trust you and it can happen in a matter of seconds.