05/04/11 – Thoughts of a Biker

Since April of 2011, former Browns/Redskins/Ravens running back, Earnest Byner has written articles for Pro Interviews. He has also been the RB Coach for the Ravens, Redskins, Titans, and currently for the Jaguars. This is the fourth in a series of columns Byner will write for prointerviews.org.
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This is nothing novel, new or ground breaking but sometimes stating the obvious is the right thing to do.  

We have the draft every year and new blood, rookies or newborns are brought into the league to hopefully improve the team. Each year players on all levels face a possible challenge for their position on the team. The recognition is not there at times but it is a consistent. This is the cycle of NFL life and the thing that will keep the right type of players motivated. You see no one can or should be overly secure about where they are on the team, but they are secure with who they are. 

If you are driven and want to be the best, then you will prepare with that in mind. You don’t wait until someone is drafted to perhaps take your spot. You work with being the absolute best in mind at all times. It will affect how you work in the off-season, how you practice, how you meet, how you get your rest, and how you relax. It’s a lifestyle that drives you even when you are not really thinking about it. It becomes innate. 

To be the best and being driven to play perfect is sometimes a curse. It is filled with uncertainties and fears but it can also ward of those potential replacements that are a constant in this profession. 

You should always push yourself no matter whether someone is drafted in your area or if they don’t bring in a soul. But when they draft someone to challenge where you are, it doesn’t change who you are. Well, unless it makes you or takes you to a new and higher level. 

Oh yeah, on the bike trail, just so you know it wasn’t anyone there. It was just my ethereal body pushing me. I didn’t get passed today, but Eddie is out there looming. I am getting ready Eddie. That’s another story for another time.