Ponte Vedra High School

I just finished interviewing the Jacksonville Jaguars equipment manager Drew Hampton, which enabled me to relax and find my comfort zone before interviewing my favorite football player, Maurice Jones-Drew.   Jones-Drew was scheduled to arrive for 9AM, but didn’t show up until almost a half hour after.  I anxiously, but patiently, waited for Maurice Jones-Drew to arrive. While I was waiting my nerves began to build up again. I had a zillion thoughts go through my mind. ‘What if he doesn’t show up? Or what if he forgot?’ I kept thinking he wouldn’t show.  My emotions were going wild, but then I heard the door to the locker room open.  In walked Maurice who apologized for being late and we began our interview.

I began by asking Maurice Jones-Drew what the most difficult transition from being a star running back at UCLA to the NFL and he simply answered “the pressure is more intense and the speed of the game increases.” While growing up, Jones-Drew was always number 21. It was his family number and he wanted to carry that on to the NFL. When he was drafted to the NFL, someone already had number 21 and they were looking to sell it to him. He didn’t want to buy it so he settled with number 32 because 32 teams passed on him in the draft.  As a side note, I was able to gain some inside information from Maurice.  He is going back to college number 21 next year.

I can only imagine what he was thinking before his first NFL game. He said he was very “nervous”. I’m sure he was very nervous considering he was playing behind one of the top running back in the NFL, Fred Taylor. With Fred Taylor being the primary running back, that didn’t give the rookie, Maurice Jones-Drew a chance to shine. Jones-Drew began his pro career in 2006, compiling a list of goals which included “making it on the field, help my team go to the playoffs and go deep in the playoffs.” Now with Fred Taylor signing with the New England Patriots and Jones-Drew carry much of the workload, he has not added any additional goals to his list; rather keeping the same ones he listed when he entered the NFL.
Jones-Drew recently signed a five year deal, which makes him one of the highest paid running back in the NFL.  He hasn’t made any big purchases yet.  He says “a shallow person lets money change them; I’ve just been the same person.”

Being the star running back for the Jaguars, you may see Jones-Drew on covers of national magazines or on billboards around town. I asked him what it was like to see him everywhere, “I don’t really look for billboards, it’s cool, I see it as another step for after my career, and it’s all fun and exciting.” Jones-Drew has his own foundation called the “Maurice Jones-Drew Foundation” which sponsors a free football camp for youth.  His foundation is very important to him because growing up he didn’t have any athletes hosting football camps or giving back to the community.  He wants to give athletes’ of all ages someone to look at as a positive influence and role model.

Outside of football, Jones-Drew likes to “play video games and golf.” From day one, he has received tremendous support and love from his grandparents and mother. Their motto to him was “if you start something you’ve got to finish it.” Finally, I asked him what his favorite musicians or group was and he said “I was just listening to Lil Wayne; I like Lil Wayne, Drake, E-40, Young Jeezy, and mostly barrier rappers.”

After my interviews with Drew Hampton (http://football4america.com/so-what-does-an-nfl-equipment-manager-do/) and Maurice Jones-Drew, I gave both of them a nice leather bag with their names on it, courtesy of my dad.  They both were very grateful to receive them. I know this was a once in a lifetime deal, and I’m happy I went through with it (even if my nerves were taking over). I learned a lot about Drew and Maurice and excitement that comes from being a reporter.  I look forward for my next interview as part of the Student Sports Information Director program with Sportz Ventures and Ponte Vedra High School.

My emotions and nerves were running wild.  I felt as if I was about to play in the Super Bowl and World Series.  The butterflies were rumbling in my stomach.  I was very intimated at the sheer fact of eventually being in the same room as the Jacksonville Jaguars head equipment manager, Drew Hampton, and my favorite Jag player, Maurice Jones-Drew. At first I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into.  However, as soon as I walked into the Jaguar locker room, everyone made me feel very welcomed and my nerves immediately began to die down.

I began my interview with the head equipment manager, Drew Hampton. Drew gave me a lot of insight of what goes on before each and every game. I never knew how much there was to getting ready for a football game. I had learned that Drew became interested in becoming an NFL equipment manager through his father, who had worked with the New York Jets for 38 years. He told me “he was in the locker rooms since he could walk, up until I left for college.” Drew’s job consists of a lot. From preparing all 53 players, 22 coaches and any extra people on game days. They tend to pack for a total of 85 people and are considered the ‘den mothers’ for all the players and coaches. He only keeps two assistants on staff and works 16-17 hour days, seven days a week during the season.

Believe it or not, Drew gets a budget of one million dollars each year to handle his responsibilities. These equipment managers look at their schedules as soon as they come out. They look to see where they play and they begin looking at the weather forecasts for where they are playing to know what to pack. For colder football games, they take everything from performance thermal wear, to performance gloves and socks, beat warmers, hand warmers and much more.  Drew reiterated the importance of monitoring the weather for each and every game so that a week before the game to know what to pack.

I asked Drew what steps a person should take if they wanted to become an equipment manager, he told me “internships with professional football teams, or get involved if there’s a football team at the college you attend.” To lighten up the interview, I asked Drew what he likes to do for fun, “I say I like to play golf but I’m not good at it.” Then I asked him what he would be doing if he were not an equipment manager. This question took him a bit longer to respond to, “that’s a good question; I’d probably be a police officer because I have great admiration for them and I think it will be a pretty good job.” Being a football equipment manager takes up a tremendous amount of time. Drew is married and has three girls, who understand his job is his passion and they support him through it.

Crazy hours, lots of preparation and commitment to doing your job to the best of your ability…an NFL equipment manager has many responsibilities and is an integral part of the football team.

In the NFC the Giants defeated the Cardinals to improve to 10-1 and are a lock to win the NFC East. The Cardinals fall to 7-4 but are going to win the NFC West by default. The Bears improve to 6-5 with a victory over the Rams to claim a share of the NFC North lead with the Vikings. The Vikings are sitting at 6-5 and are hoping the Packers lose tonight to the Saints to fall to 5-6. If the Packers lose they will be on the outside looking in. The Panthers fall to 8-3 against the 7-4 rival Falcons. The Falcons surprising victory keeps their division hopes alive as their jocking for position to make the playoffs along with the 8-3 Buccaneers. The Bucs look like they are going make the playoffs as they have the easiest remaining schedule of all the NFC South teams. The Cowboys improve to 7-4 with a nice win against San Francisco and appear to have an easier remaining schedule then the 7-4 Redskins. The Redskins beat the woeful Seahawks in a tight game which may prove that maybe they will not be a playoff team this year. The long and short of it is not much is settled in either conference, and the last few weeks of the season will be pivotal for virtually every team with playoff aspirations.

How often can you say nine games into a season that all teams from one division have a winning record? That scenario is very unlikely and rarely plays out over a whole season. With that said, only three teams from a division can make the playoffs. This is also uncommon, although it did happen twice last year as both the AFC South and the NFC East each had three teams make the playoffs.

As many people may have guessed, the NFC East is again one of the powerhouse divisions in football, with all four teams positioning themselves to make playoff runs. That division is hotly contested every single year. Another division is making its claim as the toughest in the league and that’s the AFC East. Coming into the season the AFC East was no where near as heralded as the NFC East, but they can also boast that all their teams have winning records.

Unlike the NFC East, the AFC East is yet to have a clear cut favorite to win the division. The Jets and the Patriots are both 6-3 and are heading into a Thursday night showdown that could give us a glimpse as to what might happen down the road, although the loser will be very much in the thick of things. Miami is playing the dysfunctional Oakland Raiders in what is a very winnable game. The Buffalo Bills, who have been struggling losing there last three games, are facing the 3-6 Cleveland Browns. After this week there is a good chance that there will be a three way tie for second place, with all teams being 6-4 and only one game out of first place.

The NFC East is a bit of a different story despite the overall success of the division as a whole. The New York Giants have distinguished themselves as the best team after beating the Eagles Sunday night, but that doesn’t mean that the other three teams are out of the playoff picture. The Redskins are 6-3 and find themselves playing the perennial paper champion Cowboys in what will be a crucial game that could define the future of both teams. The Eagles, coming off a loss to the G-Men, have a great chance to keep their playoff hopes alive playing the pathetic Cincinnati Bengals. So basically, nothing will be settled in either one of these divisions as far as how many teams will make it to the postseason until the last two or three weeks of the season. However, all the teams control their own destiny, and we may witness a rare situation in which six playoff teams reside in the NFL’s East Divisions.