Pat MacDonald's Journey
Inside the NFL's New Orleans Saints
May 23, 2007
I received a call yesterday from one of my good buddies Pat, who has been down in New Orleans spring camp for a couple of weeks now trying to show the organization that a Canadian kid can not only compete for a job but can thrive under these adverse pressure cooker scenarios. He is one of only 23 Canadians in the NFL, which represents approx. 1.3 million Canadians as a whole. So I guess Pat, if he wanted to, can truly say he is one in a million!
For those of you who are unaware of the situation, Pat signed a three-year contract worth a reported $1.245M with the Saints on Sunday, April 29. This whole whirl storm is certainly unexpected for everyone associated around Pat at the time and it is still somewhat surreal that he is definitely living out the king of dreams.
A Brief Review
Before the Saints
My connection, or should I say re-connection, with Pat for the last four years has been relatively tight as we even went to the same junior high school, St.Theresa in Sherwood Park, before he moved with his family back to GTA (Greater Toronto Area). In the last couple years I knew Pat was going to do something that would either piss off a lot of people or make others extremely jealous. Pat has always had a knack to come out ahead even with being naïve of what it actually takes to get there. The journey was never the issue - it has always been the dream that mattered with him. I remember at Aaron Giovanetto's (former U of A D-lineman) wedding last year, Garrett Houle, another fellow University of Alberta defensive lineman, commented on Pat's future saying he didn't know what he was going to do with his life but that SOB is going to fluke out and find something cool that makes a lot more money than all of us. I didn't think anything at the time until a few weeks before April 29 that Pat was garnering interest around a few teams in the NFL, including the Seattle Seahawks, N.Y. Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars.
From knowing Pat I am not all that surprised that he is living out one of his dreams, but I honestly thought he was going to be a rock star! I believe music will always be Pat's first passion, as witnessed by his semi-famous local band Twenty-One Red named after his ridiculous, almost insatiable habit of betting on 21 red at the roulette table. To this day I haven't heard somebody play the piano better than Pat or know the exact chords to what seems like a 1000 classic songs on his acoustic guitar better than him. By the way, Pat and his guitar are great at parties or for when we were rookies for the Bears strumming up probably one of the greatest song performances of all time at lunch during main camp. It was a spin off of the romantic love ballad by Enrique Iglesias: Hero. It soon became a classic hit on our team.
Pat once told me "luck is when preparation meets opportunity". That is a real sharp way of looking at life in general - you never really know what kind of strange things happen and Pat is a good example of it. He was always working on his speed, quickness, strength, overall fitness, and most importantly his snapping skills for the upcoming CFL draft, which he did get drafted 21st overall by the Calgary Stampeders three days after signing with the Saints. And one day in the beginning of April his buddy, Taylor Inglis, Long Snapper for the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL, told Pat about this NFL special teams open tryout in Reno. Taylor told Pat he should come with him and if nothing else it would be a great time. Well, during this camp, Pat put on a clinic and everything seemed to be aligned perfectly for him as he was getting some serious interest. This is where Pat met his agent and the whole process had begun.
Thanks to waves in technology and easy access of the internet these days, Pat was advised to make a video catering to his skills, which he posted on youtube.com. With help from local strength and conditioning coach Quinn Sekulich and his Q-school training programs, Pat was able to document his incredible talents. The video contained Pat benching 225 lbs 29 times and running a laser 4.55s 40 yard dash combined with some U of A game footage. At 6'2" and 247 lbs, Pat's physicals were clearly intriguing enough to give him a legitimate shot.
Watch the video below:
Becoming a Saint
According to Pat, the NFL is even bigger and better than what he thought it would be. He said they have absolutely spared or scrimped on any amenity or necessity. Their training facility is truly world-class with plasma TV's everywhere and a state of the art gym. The artificial grass they play on is absolutely grand and all the free clothes, cleats, and gloves you want are right there. I guess there are fridges full of food, protein bars, energy bars, Gatorade etc. Tons of fountain-style pop machines are there but filled with different kinds of protein drinks. They give you everything you would ever ask for in return for working and training hard.
Players get a weekly workout program by strength and conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple that is put into each of their mailboxes. The program is specific and manicured to correspond to their individual strength levels combined with their grueling football practices. One practice I was told they had to run for conditioning 16-100 yard sprints and then the next day do 8-300 yard sprints. After their non-equipped practice they go directly into the gym and do their tailored workouts. Pat said his legs were so sore just from the running and he had no gas left in the tank to squat his last set of 365x8. His 320x10 was more than hard enough. Meanwhile some of the bigger linemen out there were doing 585 lbs for reps - although when I inquired I found out they were high squats as no one cares really about depth since all they are concerned with is to protect their already beaten up bodies from the grid iron. Also, Pat mentioned if the players can't complete the running right now then they have to be put on a special program and I guess it's a real killer. No matter how big you are the Saints require you to still be able to run like the wind and be in great shape.
As aforementioned, Pat's physical size is impressive, but he kept telling me how small he feels, even when he is around the receiving core! The speed and skill these athletes posses are unbelievable as they are running their routes and catching what seems to be impossible balls. Then from out of nowhere they are grabbed so relatively easy - like the one Marques Colston-12 made yesterday was sick!
Some other notables that Pat was very impressed with their size is the Saints left tackle Jammal Brown-70. Pat said he is a monster listed as 6'6" 313 lbs, which does indeed classify him as a monster. Brown signed a 5-year contract rumored to be worth $30 M in 2005. Also, Willie Whitehead-98 is 6'3" 300 lbs DE has the biggest neck ever.
The biggest thing for Pat right now is trying to get it to sink in his head that this is a full time job - in fact a career. He said it's hard to separate that he is there to compete for a starting job and it is work. During the season the days are long, 7am to 8pm at night. There is no screwing around. It is serious like a real job. But a real sweet one! He feels like he is an intern just hanging out with the Saints. He has to get over being somewhat star struck - and who could blame him, watching those guys on T.V. less than a year ago. He is making some real significant strides and is working extremely hard on his long snaps - 15 yards are right on the money right now. But his short snaps, 8 yards, need a little bit of work to clean them up and he is confident that they will be in the next week or so as he sometimes spends up to an hour snapping the ball by himself. His work ethic is starting to get noticed by the coaching staff and they like how after individual time in practice he goes with the linebackers to do foot work and drills with them. He sees no point just to stand there and watch most of practice from the sidelines like most long snappers do. After all, this is like a fantasy camp for him.
Off the field, he said it is unique hanging out with his teammates, who come from such different backgrounds from most of his U of A teammates. Also, charity work is an essential part of the NFL and Pat along with the rest of the team were signing autographs for a few hours a couple of days ago. Other charities included fishing with the likes of Drew Brees and then playing poker (Pat's forte by the way) with teammates like Deuce McAllister.
One thing that bodes well for Pat is that head coach Sean Payton does not care about who you are - whether you're a highly touted draft pick, a starting veteran, or Reggie Bush - they all get treated the same, and if they can't do the job he will find someone who will. If you are out of shape it is your fault and you could be gone from the team. This hard nose coaching style no doubt lets the politics stay relatively out of it and lets the play and the players determine who should be there or not. Pat knows that it's up to him to impress or be missed out. Despite all of this, he knows this has been a great experience and hopes he will do his best and continue experiencing this type of excitement for a very long time.
Good luck Pat!
A Remarkable Story
Overall, a remarkable journey already so far from the 2005-06 University of Alberta walk on tryout and with only 2 years of high school football underneath his belt. Not bad as Pat has become the second ever player in school history that has been singed to an NFL team. The first person, Brian Fryer in 1976, was drafted, 234th overall by the Washington Redskins and played 4 games that year as he went back to become an Edmonton Eskimo after being on the PR for the Redskins in the 1977 season.
In the near future www.thestrengthcenter.com will have an in depth interview with Pat about his unique experience at camp when he has a three week break before main camp hits Mississippi in mid-July. Also, Pat promised me exclusive pictures of the Saints facilities and organization. Stay tuned and remember to log on frequently to see updates on Pat's journey into the inside of the NFL's New Orleans Saints and other cool various topics related to strength sports.
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