Great article by Danny Woodhead on Players Tribune

[The Gr8est]

I could have done with about 99% less "god's plan" That's such a stupid phrase, and using it as an excuse is incredibly weak.

And yet if you take that away from him, then he is not the same person, and likely, not the same player.

It is what it is.

 

[Batman]

And yet if you take that away from him, then he is not the same person, and likely, not the same player.

It is what it is.

His faith in his god helped keep him stong thats all that matters. While I personally have between little and no time for that I would never knock someone who does. (Unless their advice was to pray and ignore medical professionals.)

 

[FCB02062]

Woodhead was awesome. Not as skilled and elusive as dion lewis. But more importantly Woodhead stayed on the field - missed 3 games in 3 years here. Probably take Woodhead over Lewis...

 

[chasa]

And yet if you take that away from him, then he is not the same person, and likely, not the same player.

It is what it is.

If he wants to have faith in god that's fine. But using god as a crutch anytime something doesn't go right irks me, even more so when the thing not going right is so wildly out of sync with the reality Billions of people on this planet live in.

"well i didn't get any contract offers, except the one from the patriots, but you know its gods plan"

while at the same time some dude is homeless on the street, or some kids are being kidnapped to be sold in to sex slavery. All part of gods plan

Or some little kid is about to find out that they have a tumor in their brain that can't be operated on, and will be dead by the the holidays. All part of gods plan



If you want to believe that there is something out there, I'm totally okay with that, but just like, take a few steps back and really get a good perspective on things before you start saying things like I almost had to settle for playing at below market value for the patriots(who would have won a superbowl) because of gods plan. God doesn't make plans, gods more of the chug a bottle of jaeger and play it by ear sorta fella.

 

[Le Numéro Douze]

Being able to not get discouraged when something goes bad is a nice trait to have no matter if it is based in something as "meh" as "it is part of God's plan".

If his faith is the source of his resiliency, that's his perogative. Where it becomes "dangerous" is when you EXPECT things to go your way because you believe in a diety. The line is thin.

 

[Jackson 2]

I could have done with about 99% less "god's plan" That's such a stupid phrase, and using it as an excuse is incredibly weak.

Yeah, Woody's clearly much more religious than I am, but that's just who he is. This anecdote might shed a little light on that part of Woodhead's story: Very shortly after Woody was cut by the Jets and subsequently signed by the Pats, a friend of mine was on a flight from the mid-west to either Boston or Providence. Well, the person sitting in the assigned seat next to my buddy was Woody's mother. During the ensuing conversation, Mrs. W. revealed how grateful she was that her son was leaving the Jets and going to NE. When gently pressed by my friend as to why she was so pleased, Mrs. W. said she was disgusted by the language used by Rex Ryan during the Hard Knocks show. You may recall that there was a scene when Rex reluctantly decided, after discussion with his coaches, to cut Woody. I remember, and evidently so did Momma Woodhead, Rex referring to her son as a "tough little f#####" or some such other genuine term of endearment involving the f-word. Not sure things improved much in the language department with BB, but at least it wasn't on national TV!

 

[mihap]

Letter to My Younger Self | By Danny Woodhead

He is writing to his 18 himself about his career.
Interesting part how he got to new england and leave them.

Edit. SSomeone already posted this. How can i delete this?

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

... using god as a crutch anytime something doesn't go right irks me...

Me too, but I think you are misinterpreting his usage a bit.

He's saying that when something bad happens to you, and (after that supposedly devastatingly bad thing happens) you end up far better off in the long run, then (in his opinion) God had some role in leading him through this fortunate, unexpected, and initially unwanted turn of events.

example:
-his dream was to play for Nebraska
-Nebraska wasn't interested, other than him walking on as a kickoff returner
-he went to Chadron State and worked his butt off, played like he never would have been allowed to play at Nebraska, and got his athleticism and football skills to a pretty high level
-Then he oddly got invited back to Nebraska for a pro day. He ran a 4.33 and that got him invited to Jets camp.
-Had he, four years before, gotten his way and gone to Nebraska as their last scholarship player or a walk-on running back, he likely would have been buried behind players who "looked the part", never seen the field, never would have been invited to Nebraska's own pro day, and never would have made it to the NFL.

It's one of those odd twists and turns in life when bad fortune leads to good. He wants to attribute it to a higher being. As long as he's not demanding that I do the same, I have no issue with it.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Yeah, Woody's clearly much more religious than I am, but that's just who he is. This anecdote might shed a little light on that part of Woodhead's story: Very shortly after Woody was cut by the Jets and subsequently signed by the Pats, a friend of mine was on a flight from the mid-west to either Boston or Providence. Well, the person sitting in the assigned seat next to my buddy was Woody's mother. During the ensuing conversation, Mrs. W. revealed how grateful she was that her son was leaving the Jets and going to NE. When gently pressed by my friend as to why she was so pleased, Mrs. W. said she was disgusted by the language used by Rex Ryan during the Hard Knocks show. You may recall that there was a scene when Rex reluctantly decided, after discussion with his coaches, to cut Woody. I remember, and evidently so did Momma Woodhead, Rex referring to her son as a "tough little f#####" or some such other genuine term of endearment involving the f-word. Not sure things improved much in the language department with BB, but at least it wasn't on national TV!

Thankfully she never attended Patriots training camp and heard Tom Brady.
I think it was the 2001 season when at a press con or shorty after Brady said his mother admonished him for his bad language.

 

[deters]

Danny was awesome. Sad his time as a Patriot ended so soon as he really embodied what the team is about.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Danny was awesome. Sad his time as a Patriot ended so soon as he really embodied what the team is about.

So, if he married her...

...she'd have a heck of a hyphenated last name

 

[XLIX]

If you want to believe that there is something out there, I'm totally okay with that,

Actually, your own post proves you're not "totally ok with that." It obviously (and by your own admission) irritates you to a very large degree that he relied heavily on his faith to get him through some tough times.

Oh but wait.... he wasn't sold into sex slavery or doesn't have cancer so, according to you, he has no right calling his own situation "tough times." What a selfish *******.

 

[QB12]

I could have done with about 99% less "god's plan" That's such a stupid phrase, and using it as an excuse is incredibly weak.

Not stupid and not weak.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Being able to not get discouraged when something goes bad is a nice trait to have no matter if it is based in something as "meh" as "it is part of God's plan".

If his faith is the source of his resiliency, that's his perogative. Where it becomes "dangerous" is when you EXPECT things to go your way because you believe in a diety. The line is thin.

Honestly, "meh" has gotten me through countless trials and tribulations in my life...

 

[bruinator]

What does Damien Woody have to do with this?

 

[Le Numéro Douze]

Honestly, "meh" has gotten me through countless trials and tribulations in my life...

I do totally respect that you feel that way. We cling to what we can in life. If your faith has helped you get through difficult things, good for you. Who am I to judge?

However, I do not have any religious beliefs and I prefer to have faith in my ability to put things in perspective and overcome adversity. I prefer facing things head on rather than putting my life in the hands of what I consider to be a fictional character. In a nutshell, I consider determinism to be a fallacy. Sure, you don't control everything in life, but you sure can concentrate on those you do.

That is what works for me. If something else works for you, I am genuinely happy for you. I wish nothing but the best to me fellow humans. To me, it is all about respect and love, no matter what we believe or don't believe in. I might disagree with other people's beliefs/values, but I won't judge. Share opinions regarding why I think blind faith may be dangerous, yes. Judge and tell others how to live their lives? Nope.

Sorry if I offended you by using "meh", I was trying to be as neutral as possible and I must confess that I feel I failed.

 

[chasa]

Actually, your own post proves you're not "totally ok with that." It obviously (and by your own admission) irritates you to a very large degree that he relied heavily on his faith to get him through some tough times.

Oh but wait.... he wasn't sold into sex slavery or doesn't have cancer so, according to you, he has no right calling his own situation "tough times." What a selfish *******.

Hey man, me not being a fan of his saying its all part of gods plan is probably all part of gods plan.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I do totally respect that you feel that way. We cling to what we can in life. If your faith has helped you get through difficult things, good for you. Who am I to judge?

However, I do not have any religious beliefs and I prefer to have faith in my ability to put things in perspective and overcome adversity. I prefer facing things head on rather than putting my life in the hands of what I consider to be a fictional character. In a nutshell, I consider determinism to be a fallacy. Sure, you don't control everything in life, but you sure can concentrate on those you do.

That is what works for me. If something else works for you, I am genuinely happy for you. I wish nothing but the best to me fellow humans. To me, it is all about respect and love, no matter what we believe or don't believe in. I might disagree with other people's beliefs/values, but I won't judge. Share opinions regarding why I think blind faith may be dangerous, yes. Judge and tell others how to live their lives? Nope.

Sorry if I offended you by using "meh", I was trying to be as neutral as possible and I must confess that I feel I failed.

Not offended!!!! Just commenting!

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

What does Damien Woody have to do with this?

Omen II

 

[Reckedtrek]

Always liked Danny. How could you not cheer for a guy like that? Even now, despite that stupid San Diego powder blue I like to see him slip through the line a run like hell.