There’s no question: Eric Weddle loves football. You can see it on his face after a win – a grin broadening from ear to ear, cracking jokes, coining catch phrases. His passion for the game is even more noticeable after a loss – stoic in his character as he represents the team, while microphones are shoved in his face querying for answers. As a 12-year NFL veteran, Weddle has experienced countless highs and lows, but his fervor for football has remained unwavering through it all. So why does he keep coming back, year after year? Why does he love the game so much?
BY MEGAN BOYLE
Well … Let him explain.
1. HE IS FIERCELY COMPETITIVE. The safety has been playing tackle football for 25 years, with almost half of that time spent performing at the highest level. Each season – even each week – brings new challenges, faces and talent. It takes a special individual to not succumb to the turnover the league experiences. Weddle has spent his career trying to prove himself, striving to be the best and not worrying about the doubters. He’s always looked for an edge. Take his first 24 hours in Baltimore in 2016, when he signed a four-year deal with the Ravens, for example.
As the Pro Bowler was walking around the facility, he bumped into head strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders – who offered an early morning workout before Weddle’s flight home. “It was really just by chance,” Saunders recalls. “He had only been here for a day, he’s on West Coast time, and I said I could pick him up at 5:15 a.m. at the hotel to work out at 5:30 a.m.” Weddle didn’t refuse. “We get out of my car at 5:30 a.m. together,” Saunders continues. “John [Harbaugh] just happens to pull into the facility at the same time. He gets out of his car, and he looked at both of us and
goes, ‘What are you two doing here?’” You could say it was foreshadowing the type of player the team was getting in Weddle. Two and a half years later, No. 32 is just as competitive, noting that he only sees himself as a Raven and has fully embraced the Purple and Black mentality.
2. RELISHING THE GRIND. “I look at myself as someone who is more mentally tough than anyone in this world,” Weddle says confidently. 2018 BALTIMORE RAVENS GAMEDAY | 13
Nothing gets in the way of his routine. “Eric is committed to a whole different level than most guys are willing to explore,” Saunders states. The California native has been playing for a long time. He knows what does and doesn’t work for him to be successful. Onlookers may identify his routine as “crazy,” which is OK. It doesn’t have to work for everyone – it just needs to work for Weddle. He understood early that the grind wasn’t going to be glamorous. It would involve waking up early – through pain and fatigue – to live out his dream. “Why not do everything in your ability to be the best version of yourself?” he
asks. It would involve sacrifices – staying a little later in the meeting room or reviewing the playbook one more time. “He’s the most consistent, disciplined athlete I’ve seen in a while,” defensive coordinator Don Martindale articulates.
3. FOOTBALL IS A TOTAL TEAM SPORT. One person doesn’t make a play – it takes all 11 players on the field to make it happen. Seeing the pieces of the puzzle fit snuggly together for the team’s benefit continually reinforces Weddle’s love for football.
“I get more excitement when my teammates make plays than when I do,” he effuses. “I know how far they’ve come and all the work that was put into making the play. That’s why I play. I love seeing guys do well – especially guys I believe in.” The All-Pro says he’s at a stage in his career where he doesn’t have to be selfish in his goals, and that’s a tribute to years of experience. He explains that a football career is a sequence of events in which a player advances to the next stage after garnering experience. Step One: Earn your spot on an NFL team. Prove yourself worthy to be on a roster. Step Two: Obtain status on that roster. Reach a certain level of respect and maintain it to be the best. Step Three: Give back to your teammates. Be an extension of the coaching staff and help lead the team. “He’s the student/professor of the game now,” Martindale describes. “He plays the game of football – not only as a player, but as a coach.”
the best. If you’re satisfied with just being good, then I don’t want to be around you.” “Great” can be defined by much more than standout numbers in a stat line. The connotation incorporates a man’s character: how losses are handled, using ‘I’ first instead of distributing blame, what someone stands for, or displaying consistency that benefits the team. “I want guys to remember me as someone who can be counted on, who gave his all and loved his teammates,” he continues. “At the end of day, they’re going to remember if I was a good teammate. I take those things to heart.”
5. TO BE A WINNER. Many accolades accompany his name – but one particular title hasn’t yet been tacked onto the list. And it’s a big one – a reason why Weddle keeps coming back each year.
“The ultimate goal, why you play the game, is to win a Super Bowl,” he explains. It takes more than one person to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. It requires fierce competitors who want to be great, who have an unwavering commitment to the grind and who brings out the best in their teammates. Every. Single. Day.
To be a winner means combining all those reasons why. And it means letting nothing get in the way of a love for the game. So, Baltimore. Eric Weddle has a question: Do we want to be good, or do we want to be great?
4. FOOTBALL FOSTERS RELATIONSHIPS. Baltimore’s “sergeant of the secondary” doesn’t just want to be good – he wants to be great. He desires to be surrounded by motivated, like-minded individuals and often asks teammates a rhetorical question: Do you want to be good, or do you want to be great? “When I say that, I really believe it,” Weddle confides. “I’m not just trying to be good – I’m trying to be 2018 BALTIMORE RAVENS GAMEDAY | 15