Athletes often refer to "hitting a wall" at some point during their rookie season in the NFL. Including preseason, teams will play at least 20 games in a season. College teams, excluding those playing in bowl games, generally are finishing up the season this weekend.
Litchfield native and current Seattle Seahawks tight end John Carlson admits to hitting the wall "a couple of weeks ago." He was taken by the Seahawks in the second round of the NFL draft out of Notre Dame.
"We've played 16 games here if you count preseason," said Carlson. "We would have been done a few weeks ago if it was college. And because the game is faster and the players hit harder, it takes a toll on your body."
But Carlson doesn't feel exhausted now. He hit the wall, climbed over it, and is now ready for the final stretch of the NFL season.
"I'm fortunate that I feel healthy and I don't have any injuries," he said. "That would make it so much harder. I feel good and I'm ready for the rest of the season.'
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By looking at his numbers, it's hard to notice Carlson feeling any affects of a long season. The 6-foot-5, 251-pound rookie leads the Seahawks in receptions with 30.
"I don't look at my stats at all," he said. "It's been brought up to me a few times, but I'd certainly trade those catches for a few more wins."
Seattle, expected to be a playoff contender this season, has been hit hard by the injury bug. At one point, six wide receivers were injured and unable to play at the same time. That put even more of a burden on Carlson, who was a focal point of some defenses. The Seahawks are currently 2-8 in Mike Holmgren's final season as coach. Holmgren said prior to the season that he was stepping down as coach, no matter how the team did.
"This season has been hard for him, I'm sure," Carlson remarked. "It's been hard for everyone here. No one expected this."
Carlson's rookie season has been free of hazing, as many veterans of pro teams do as an initiation process to welcome first-year players into the league.
"Coach Holmgren doesn't allow hazing here," Carlson said. "The one thing they have is Rookie Dinner Night. The rookies have to take all the players from his position out for an expensive meal. I took four other tight ends and a couple other players came along and I had to pay the bill. I won't say how much it was, but it was a lot."
For the most part, Carlson said the veterans and rookie get along remarkably well.
"It's a first-class organization," he said. "There are a lot of great guys here, on and off the field. And the wives treat Danielle (Carlson's wife) very well, too."
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Carlson has had his ups and downs this season, as all rookies do. He has caught two touchdown passes, but he's also dropped "a couple of passes."
"I've made some mistakes, but I feel I'm learning from them as the season goes along," he said. "The speed of the game is something everyone talks about as the hard part in trying to adjust to coming out of college. And it's true. Everyone is fast. But the hardest thing for me is knowing your assignment. You have to know what to do against every defense and you have to respond so quickly. You can watch film and feel you are prepared, but once you get on the field, the defense will show you something you haven't seen on film and you have to react to it."
Carlson said he hasn't endured a highlight-reel crushing blow administered by players like Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher on occasion.
"So far, so good," he laughed. "This is why you want to be in good shape and stay healthy so when the time comes when you get hit hard, you might be able to avoid a serious injury."
Carlson was asked to sum up his NFL career so far in one word. There was little hesitation.
"Challenging," he responded quickly.
