"Gentlemen, it is better to die a small boy than to fumble this football.” – John Heisman

The man whose last name adorns arguably the most famous trophy in all of sports took fumbling very seriously, and so does the game of football.

Fumbling can ruin careers

Mark Sanchez’s career was never the same after his infamous Thanksgiving Day fumble against the New England Patriots.

Down 14-0 with 9:10 remaining in the second quarter, the Jets had possession on first-and-10 at their own 31-yard line. The offense lined up in an I-formation, snapped the ball and then the play happened.

Prior to the 2012 season, Sanchez had compiled a respectable record of 27-20 and 4-2 in the playoffs. He had thrown for over 9,000 yards after only three years in the league. In 2011, he had 26 touchdowns, which was the combined total of his previous two seasons.

Heck, there was even a Jan. 16, 2011 playoff game, against the same New England Patriots, in which Sanchez outdueled Tom Brady to capture a 28-21 victory and clinch a spot in the AFC title game for the second consecutive year.

And by age 24, Sanchez had more post-season victories on his resume than Joe Namath at the same age. He enjoyed the Big Apple lifestyle and was dubbed “The Sanchize” by the notoriously-fickle New York media.

Things were looking up and the city was his for the taking.

Then a seemingly simple busted play, which resulted in the bizarre, backside fumble, altered the course of the young quarterback’s career. With no one to hand the ball to, Sanchez tried to scramble, turn up field and gain some positive yards like he had done many times before.

Except this time he ran into the rear end of offensive lineman Brandon Moore, a play that will be forever linked to Sanchez.

Now The Sanchize is trying to resurrect his career with the Cowboys, which is his third team since the beginning of 2016.

Fumbling can ruin cities

Cleveland has had its share of hard luck on and off the field. However, nothing will top a play that is often provided as evidence that “God hates Cleveland.”

Prior to “The Fumble”, the Browns were sitting pretty. With only 1:12 remaining in the 1987 AFC Championship game, the Browns were at the 8 yard line and on the precipice of tying the game up. Bernie Kosar took the snap and handed the ball off to Earnest Byner who raced toward the end zone.

Byner was stripped of the ball by the Broncos Jeremiah Castille just prior to breaking the plane of the goal line. The fumble was recovered by the Broncos.

Watching ESPN’s 30-for-30, Believeland, it is difficult to sit through a still-emotional Byner getting choked up while uttering several times, "I messed it up. I messed it up for everyone."

Yet, the fumble was not even Byner’s fault. Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer would review the film years later and realized Byner was not to blame.

“The Browns’ wide receiver, Webster Slaughter, is supposed to take 10 steps then block Jeremiah Castille to the outside. Instead, he wanted to watch the play,” he said. 

Although his head coach exonerated the running back, history can be particularly cruel when it involves fumbles.

Byner, who played in 11 seasons in the NFL, ran for over 8,000 yards, was named as one of the 80 greatest Redskins of all time, won two Super Bowls and went to two Pro-Bowls, will forever be remembered for one cruel play on a cold January afternoon at Mile-High Stadium.

Many in Cleveland will agree, the Browns never truly recovered from a fumble that will celebrate its 20th anniversary in January.

Byner never did.

“I am still not over it, I will let you know when it happens,” he told ESPN earlier this year.

Fumbling can ruin any good Sunday:

The Cowboys captured a big divisional victory over the Redskins this Sunday without starting quarterback Tony Romo. However, even after 83 yards rushing and a touchdown on 21 carriers, rookie running back Ezekiel Elliot had one thing on his mind: Fumbles.

“It really doesn’t matter what I did,” Elliott said to The Star-Telegram. “I had those two fumbles, and that’s what was important.”

Even rookies know how significant fumbles are within the game of football.

Fumbling can ruin seasons:

Statistical analyses examining the effect of turnover ratio have been conducted at both the NFL and college level. Ultimately, the statistics indicate a strong correlation between winning percentage and turnover differential, as well as between scoring differential and turnover differential.

What does this all mean?

Turnovers lose games.

The purpose of this drill is to teach all defensive players the proper technique for scooping and scoring when a fumble hits the ground, to capitalize on the offense’s costly blunder.

Drill Setup:

Position two step-over bags on the ground for players to move laterally over. Approximately four yards away, place a cone on the ground that will act as the starting line for the drill.

Players should begin in a two-point stance positioned perpendicularly to the step-over bags.

Utilize a coach or extra player throughout the drill to roll the ball on the ground a couple of yards after the step-over bags.

Key Coaching Points:

Players should always utilize effective shuffle footwork to move down the line. Further, players should always be positioned throughout the drill with good pad level.

Once the drill begins, players quickly shuffle down the line and step over the two bags. Players should exaggerate their footwork as they traverse the two step-over bags.

Once the player approaches the end of the drill, the coach or extra player will roll the ball on the ground to simulate a fumble.

The defensive player must continuously track the ball with their eyes while completing the step-over bags.

Then bending at the knees, while continuing to track the ball with their eyes, the defensive player will utilize both hands to scoop up the football for a clean recovery and run it up field.

The players should field the ball, similar to an infielder playing a ground ball in baseball, with the ball between their legs, deep bend in the knees and sinking their hips to get low to the ground and watching the ball all the way into both hands.

SEE ALSO: Miami Dolphins ball security drill

 

Photo courtesy of MiamiDolphins.com