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- The Dude
Tim Barnes hesitated after mentioning the second-most important goal of a preseason game for a backup player.
What the Rams center who spent most of last season on the team's practice squad had said Thursday was simple enough but more true than truism.
"The most important thing is obviously letting (the coaching staff) know they can count on you and trust you to do your job," Barnes said. "That's priority No. 1. Then you try to be safe. You don't want to get hurt, you don't want to get any injuries that will keep you from practicing."
Here he paused, clearly thinking about the implication of what he'd said: How does a player do both?
"You can't really control that, so you got to go out there and play," he finished.
Welcome to the fragile world of NFL role players. The great lengths they go to in order to "make it" can end up derailing the mission itself, or they can end up in a temporary gig like on a practice squad that means when the year ends, it all starts over.
Full story: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... 69b3a.html
What the Rams center who spent most of last season on the team's practice squad had said Thursday was simple enough but more true than truism.
"The most important thing is obviously letting (the coaching staff) know they can count on you and trust you to do your job," Barnes said. "That's priority No. 1. Then you try to be safe. You don't want to get hurt, you don't want to get any injuries that will keep you from practicing."
Here he paused, clearly thinking about the implication of what he'd said: How does a player do both?
"You can't really control that, so you got to go out there and play," he finished.
Welcome to the fragile world of NFL role players. The great lengths they go to in order to "make it" can end up derailing the mission itself, or they can end up in a temporary gig like on a practice squad that means when the year ends, it all starts over.
Full story: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... 69b3a.html