By Rod Pedersen,
CFL.ca
It may technically be called the off-season, but for NFL players, their commitment to ‘The League’ is almost year-round.
Green Bay Packers’ punter Jon Ryan has been in Wisconsin for the past month and a half preparing for his second NFL season with the storied franchise.
“Since mid-March we’ve been in off-season workouts which consists of an hour of running every morning and an hour and a half of weight-lifting,” said the former Winnipeg Blue Bomber and Regina product. “I’ll also go through an hour of kicking drills, then watch video every day. That’s Monday to Thursday type stuff, and then once we get later into May we’ll go into mini-camps and then after that we have 12 practices over three weeks and then we break for the summer and come back for camp in August.”
Ryan caught the eye of NFL scouts during a two-year stint in Winnipeg where he set an all-time CFL record for longest punting average at 50.6 yards. In his final year with the Bombers in 2005 he also had the CFL’s longest punt at 80 yards.
The University of Regina Rams alumnus was quickly snapped up by The Pack, signing a free agent deal on February 1, 2006. In the mini-camps, he out-punted Packer veteran B.J. Sander to win the job.
“My rookie year could’ve went better,” reasoned Ryan, who averaged 44.5 yards on 84 punts with Green Bay and was 1 of 1 passing for 16 yards on a fake. “As a pro athlete you are your toughest critic and are very hard on yourself. I think if you asked any punter where they’d like to improve, I’m sure they’d say consistency. I want to work on my punts inside the 20, and get able to drop it on the five or 10-yard line.”
Ryan will for sure be more relaxed in his second season in Green Bay, not having to live in a hotel which he did for four months last season. Being more acclimatized with his teammates and city should make for more confidence on the field. But after just one season, Ryan has noticed the contrasts in the two pro leagues he’s played in.
“The No. 1 difference that’s blaringly obvious is the paycheque!” laughed Ryan. “As far as the time commitment, a lot of guys say you work a full day in the NFL but a
half-day in the CFL but if you’re fully committed in the CFL, you’re still putting in a full day. Here in Green Bay we’re putting in eight, nine, 10-hour days but that includes your breakfast, lunch and a workout. But in Canada it’s a four and a half-hour day but you still have to eat your meals and get in the weight room. If guys aren’t committed to that in the CFL, they’re not going to be there very long.”
With the bigger paycheque comes more responsibilities and Ryan knows that all to well. In his off-season home of Regina, he gets mobbed by the football crazy fans as soon as he leaves his house. It became a lot to handle when his father Bob lost a battle with cancer this past year.
“It is a lot different,” he admitted. “A bit of your privacy is taken away and that became very obvious for my family when we went through some personal struggles. Always being watched is kind of hard but it comes with the territory but it’s something that I can’t really complain about it.”
The other big difference between now and this time last year is the status of legendary Packer quarterback Brett Favre. In the spring of ’06 the former MVP had not decided whether or not to return for another season. He eventually did, but Green Bay wound up missing the playoffs. This year, there’s no indecision.
“Brett Favre will definitely be back for at least one more season.” Ryan confirmed. “Around here people see him as a son or brother. The fans can relate to him and they think of him as one of their own.”
Funny. That’s how fans here in the heartland of the CFL feel about Jon Ryan.
Rod Pedersen is the Voice of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Regina correspondent on The Score. Check out his daily blog at www.rodpedersen.com.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
