Players call 18 games ‘grind’

Associated Press

Doug Flutie remembers feeling how his arm was ready to fall off during his one year in the USFL. Nate Newton recalls how he did absolutely nothing but rest for an entire month after playing his two USFL 18-game regular seasons.

And former CFL quarterback Danny McManus can still see the telltale signs of blurry-eyed fatigue that set in on rookies when Week 13 rolled around in Canada with five games still left to play.

For those wondering what the effects might be if the NFL expands from 16 to 18 regular-season games, take it from those who’ve been through it: It’s a grind.

“From week to week, game plan to game plan, there’s the physical part, but the mental part of the preparation is what wears a guy down,” said Newton, a former offensive lineman who began his pro career in 1984 with the USFL Tampa Bay Bandits. “You’re going to blow a fuse. It’s just bound to happen.”

McManus, who played for Florida State, spent 17 seasons in the CFL where 18-game schedules have been the norm since 1986.

“You’d see it around Week 13 through Week 16, these guys are just dragging themselves into the locker room,” said McManus, who retired in 2006 and is now the head U.S. scout for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “There’s no doubt it’s a grind to go 18 weeks. And we used to do it going 18 weeks straight.”

Of course, that led to some unorthodox recuperating methods.

“The saying we have up in Canada is we ice from the inside out,” McManus said, laughing. “And that’s because of a lot of that Canadian beer up there. That’s the quickest way to get into the muscles, to ice from the inside out.”

These are among the sobering messages from several ex-USFLers and CFLers — rounded out by Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, who broke in with the USFL’s Houston Gamblers in 1984 before starring for the Buffalo Bills — with firsthand knowledge of playing 18-game seasons.

In going to 18 games, the NFL would eliminate two preseason games in exchange for adding two regular-season games with the prospect of generating more revenue.

NFL players have balked at the proposal.

Flutie didn’t even complete his one USFL season with the New Jersey Generals. His year ended 15 games in when he broke his collarbone after being sacked by Reggie White. Flutie’s throwing arm was already feeling shot.

“I thought I was fine and I was gung-ho,” Flutie said, of how he initially felt reporting for training camp. “And then, about four weeks into it, my arm felt dead and there was no break coming.”