05-04-2004, 07:30 AM
Being the starting QB at Marshall requires this kind of dedication and it carries into the NFL. I recall a story about Pennington taking the Jets playbook with him on his honeymoon.
_____________________________
By MIKE FREEMAN
Times-Union columnist
These are words you want to hear from the mouth of a young franchise quarterback.
"This is my job, this is what I do for a living," Byron Leftwich said after being asked about his work ethic, which is quickly becoming one of the most renowned in football. "So I'm supposed to work hard at it. I study. I work out. I study some more. I have no girlfriend. Football is my girlfriend."
Some quarterbacks go on The Bachelor to find love. Leftwich lusts for games, not gams.
Leftwich entered this weekend's minicamp with the full knowledge that he is the undisputed leader of this team. He has earned that title, following what was a rapid growth on the field toward the end of last season, and mental growth off it, thanks to gold standard study habits.
It is a wonder why so many professional athletes fail to grasp what Leftwich has, that football is a full-time job, requiring constant learning and adjustments. Let's compare and contrast. Jesse Palmer, the hunky bachelor, could have secured his position as the No.2 quarterback in New York, instead he angered team officials by spending most of his offseason smooching in a hot tub.
Meanwhile there was Leftwich, who spent his summer caressing a film projector, and working out daily with the receivers. He has thrown passes, instead of making them.
It is not unusual to see Leftwich make an appearance at Alltel Stadium at 6 a.m., when many of his teammates are still comfortably in REM sleep, so he can absorb the ghostly images of opponents and others on tape, over and over and over again. He has watched each of last year's games six or seven times, mining them for clues, like a detective working a cold case.
How many times can you count the number of steps it takes a cornerback to go into his backpedal? To Leftwich, not enough.
He owns a thick collection of handwritten notes that include various observations from his film studies. It is his equivalent of a little black book.
Call it a hunch, but this might just be the year Leftwich becomes a star. All the indicators are there. Has respect in the locker room? Check. Rocket arm? Roger that. Talent around him on offense? Check, check, check.
Most of all, Leftwich will be successful because his head is on straight, and he has learned in only his second year what it takes some players a career to do. Professional football, especially for a quarterback, is about mental discipline. The players that work the hardest, particularly in the classroom, are the ones who usually enjoy the most success.
"You don't see a lot of young guys that work as hard as he does," said wide receiver Jimmy Smith, "and that is why he is going to be a great quarterback."
The road to stardom is littered with the carnage of careers crushed under the weight of expectations. There is no guarantee that Leftwich will soon have his own bobblehead, but the odds are good.
Recently, Leftwich finished third overall in the NFL Quarterback Challenge, a made-for-television skills competition that features the league's top throwers. In one event, in which the quarterbacks launch the ball as far as they can, Leftwich finished second, heaving the football 65 yards, losing to Carson Palmer by just 3 inches.
"I hated losing," Leftwich said.
And that's yet another good sign.
mike.freemanjacksonville.com, (904) 359-4377
_____________________________
By MIKE FREEMAN
Times-Union columnist
These are words you want to hear from the mouth of a young franchise quarterback.
"This is my job, this is what I do for a living," Byron Leftwich said after being asked about his work ethic, which is quickly becoming one of the most renowned in football. "So I'm supposed to work hard at it. I study. I work out. I study some more. I have no girlfriend. Football is my girlfriend."
Some quarterbacks go on The Bachelor to find love. Leftwich lusts for games, not gams.
Leftwich entered this weekend's minicamp with the full knowledge that he is the undisputed leader of this team. He has earned that title, following what was a rapid growth on the field toward the end of last season, and mental growth off it, thanks to gold standard study habits.
It is a wonder why so many professional athletes fail to grasp what Leftwich has, that football is a full-time job, requiring constant learning and adjustments. Let's compare and contrast. Jesse Palmer, the hunky bachelor, could have secured his position as the No.2 quarterback in New York, instead he angered team officials by spending most of his offseason smooching in a hot tub.
Meanwhile there was Leftwich, who spent his summer caressing a film projector, and working out daily with the receivers. He has thrown passes, instead of making them.
It is not unusual to see Leftwich make an appearance at Alltel Stadium at 6 a.m., when many of his teammates are still comfortably in REM sleep, so he can absorb the ghostly images of opponents and others on tape, over and over and over again. He has watched each of last year's games six or seven times, mining them for clues, like a detective working a cold case.
How many times can you count the number of steps it takes a cornerback to go into his backpedal? To Leftwich, not enough.
He owns a thick collection of handwritten notes that include various observations from his film studies. It is his equivalent of a little black book.
Call it a hunch, but this might just be the year Leftwich becomes a star. All the indicators are there. Has respect in the locker room? Check. Rocket arm? Roger that. Talent around him on offense? Check, check, check.
Most of all, Leftwich will be successful because his head is on straight, and he has learned in only his second year what it takes some players a career to do. Professional football, especially for a quarterback, is about mental discipline. The players that work the hardest, particularly in the classroom, are the ones who usually enjoy the most success.
"You don't see a lot of young guys that work as hard as he does," said wide receiver Jimmy Smith, "and that is why he is going to be a great quarterback."
The road to stardom is littered with the carnage of careers crushed under the weight of expectations. There is no guarantee that Leftwich will soon have his own bobblehead, but the odds are good.
Recently, Leftwich finished third overall in the NFL Quarterback Challenge, a made-for-television skills competition that features the league's top throwers. In one event, in which the quarterbacks launch the ball as far as they can, Leftwich finished second, heaving the football 65 yards, losing to Carson Palmer by just 3 inches.
"I hated losing," Leftwich said.
And that's yet another good sign.
mike.freemanjacksonville.com, (904) 359-4377
:D