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Old 08-12-2018, 11:55 AM
JAFF JAFF is offline
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Default Indy Star: TE Ebron

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...lts/953336002/

Quote:
WESTFIELD – Back in March, in the immediate aftermath of perhaps the darkest moment of his football career, Indianapolis Colts tight end Eric Ebron got the phone call that changed everything.

Waived by the Detroit Lions, the team that drafted him in the first round in 2014, Ebron was at a low point.

More: Colts Eric Ebron spends time with kids at Boys & Girls Club

More: Frank Reich tells Colts locker room postgame to be tough and obsessed with finishing

Then Frank Reich called. So did the Colts' new offensive coordinator, Nick Sirianni, and new tight end coach Tom Manning.

"They were all the first people to call me,” Ebron said. “They wanted me to be a part of what they were building. For them to want me and to be a part of what they were building was such a wake-up call for me, to know what I’m capable of and what I can do to help the team".


The front office had briefed the new coaches on Ebron’s situation, and the trio could immediately visualize Ebron fitting into their new, tight-end heavy offensive scheme. Their courting of Ebron instantly went into high gear.

The best relationships, in life or in football, often are those in which the parties truly need each other. That’s what this was.

“I sensed that we connected,” Reich said. “Eric’s an easy guy to talk to. He’s just such a personable guy. I think it helped that Nick and I, when we were together in San Diego, and then when I went to Philadelphia, we had a lot of success with tight ends that can do some of the stuff that he can do. And then we have a quarterback (Andrew Luck). So, I felt an instant connection. I got off the phone and I said, ‘Man, I hope that was as real as I thought it was.’”

So far, so good.

Things had become toxic for Ebron in Detroit. There are many reasons for that, some of them his fault. The dropped passes – and there were many – certainly didn’t help. Neither did his tweets. Throw in a scheduled $8.25 million salary for 2018, and the Lions saw fit to cut the cord.



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Ebron was booed robustly anytime the Ford Field crowd had the slightest justification. And Ebron came to see himself being at odds with the fans, once tweeting, “Some of you wouldn’t know the half. Boooo me all u want but pay attention to the whole picture #StayWoke.”

Nothing Ebron could say or do was going to change the fact that Lions fans saw him – and still see him – as the guy their team picked over the likes of Aaron Donald and Odell Beckham Jr.

Even wedding photos Ebron posted on social media during the offseason were met with cruel responses from Lions fans.

“Surprised you didn’t drop the ring,” one tweeted.

Ebron’s relationship with Detroit was the definition of a bad marriage in football.

Life is good
Having only recently emerged from all of this, it’s hard to imagine Ebron is currently enjoying the very best days of his life.

But it’s true, he says.

He’s recently married to girlfriend Gabriela. They have a nine-month old son, Oliver. And Ebron has a new two-year contract with the Colts that could pay him $13 million while he is, potentially, featured in ways he’s never imagined.

Life is good.

“I’m in a great place,” Ebron said while flashing the smile he seems to have permanently worn since his arrival. “I have a beautiful family. I have everything going. The thing I want to build on is positivity, my relationships with not only my wife, but God, and to just continue to stay in a positive light. At the end of the day, I don’t have much time in this league. None of us do. Anything can happen. So, I just want to stay positive and continue to play football for as long as I can.

“This is a whole new start for me. A whole new everything. It’s all been positive. I just want it to continue.”

You can’t help notice there’s a sense of maturity when Ebron speaks. Was it always there? That depends on who you ask. But Ebron’s displaying it now, for sure. He’s talking in big-picture terms, less concerned about what others think of him and more about what Oliver might one day see.

“I can’t wait to share my story with him, what I’ve been through and what I’ve struggled with,” Ebron said of his infant son. “Everybody wants to leave a legacy for their next generation to know about. And I’m 25 and my son is nine months. So, hopefully in about five years, I’m still in the league and he can understand and see, and my legacy and the things that I’ve done, he’ll get to witness. I think everybody plays for that when they have a son, and I think it changes your mentality toward the game.”

'Brought me down to size'
Getting a fresh start can change your mentality, too. The frequent booing Ebron endured in Detroit could not have been good for his on-field production. After a game against Tampa Bay last season in which he recorded career highs in catches and receiving yards, Ebron said, "I'll never make this fan base happy, which is fine with me."

Now, he’s trying to forget much of what happened in the Motor City, but he also learned something about perspective through those experiences. Whether he avoids similar events in the future likely depends on his performance and how he handles any adversity, but Ebron says he has absorbed some important lessons.

“It made me a better person,” Ebron said of his time in Detroit. “I was a (coveted) high school recruit. Then I became a (star) college athlete. Well, (Detroit) kind of brought me down to size and taught me about being humble. And it was great. All the negativity and all the things that I went through in Detroit, whatever obstacles I had in my four years there, it just made me a better person.”

Still, Reich’s phone call was the perfect pick-me-up at a time when Ebron most needed it.

“It just boosts your morale,” Ebron said. “Going through negative things, you can get down on yourself. So, being in a positive light and knowing that someone believes in you and wants to use you in the way you believe you’re capable of (being used) is way better than being in a negative light and having negativity being brought on you every day. So, Frank just lifted me up and told me to come on.”

That he did. And now, Ebron’s effervescent attitude is something no one around him can ignore.

“He has taken a very positive attitude,” Luck said. “There are a lot of second chances for a lot of guys. That is a beautiful thing. I certainly feel a bit of a second chance for sure (after shoulder surgery), so I think we empathize with each other in that regard. He has taken a great attitude. He has taken a very humble attitude and a learning (approach) and seeing, ‘All right, how can I help this team?’ And he does some things very special.”

Getting noticed
If you’ve attended Colts training camp this month, odds are you noticed Ebron.

You might have witnessed him playfully and loudly trash-talking teammates from the sideline as he is wont to do. More likely, you noticed him giving the defense fits. Ebron has been one of the most dynamic players on the field each day in practice. His skill set has Reich privately salivating, especially given Reich's preference to use tight ends as a core part of his offensive scheme.

Ebron gives Reich the ultimate chess piece. He can line him up anywhere. Next to an offensive tackle? Check. In the slot? Check. Split out wide? Check.

If you’re a tight end in the Colts’ offense, you’d best get ready to eat.

“Starting back in the spring, coach Sirianni started showing (film) from the Chargers and coach Reich was showing stuff from the Eagles and you start to see it,” Pro Bowl tight end Jack Doyle said. “There was two (tight ends) out there a lot, making a lot of plays. So, we got excited right away.”

When Ebron visited the Colts as a free agent, Manning cued up much of that same film. The message was simple: We’ve done this before and we can do it again – with you. That message was reinforced over a dinner meeting with Sirianni and Manning.

Manning “had tapes of Zach Ertz last year, Antonio Gates (in San Diego) and (Trey) Burton over there in Philadelphia,” Sirianni recalled. “He had so many little stats and tapes put together. (It was) about treating (Ebron) the right way. He is a phenomenal talent so we would be foolish not to want him on our team.”

Just say the words “tight ends” to Reich and watch his face light up. He’s likely not a great poker player, because he can’t hide his elation at what he believes those players can accomplish in his offense. Don’t be surprised if the Colts keep four tight ends on their final roster, with Ebron, Doyle, Ross Travis and Erik Swoope being the possible quartet.

“That group,” Reich said, his smile now turning to a deadly serious expression, “I keep saying it more and more every day to (GM) Chris (Ballard), ‘There are some guys who can really play ball out there.’”

Said Doyle: “The defense has to pick. Are they going to play nickel? Are they going to go base (personnel)? Then you just base your offense and what you’re going to do off that. So, it really puts them in a bind.”

The Colts have plans for this unit. And those plans begin with Ebron, one of the most athletic tight ends in the league. Whether he ultimately becomes one of the best overall is up to him.

Time is on his side. So, too, is his coach.

“I entered this league at a very young age,” Ebron said. “I just turned 25. And I’ve been in the league now, this is, what, my fifth year? I do think I have a lot of upside. I have nowhere near reached my upside.”

If Ebron can do that, the matrimony between him and the Colts just might be for real.
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Old 08-12-2018, 01:39 PM
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I want to see what he can do before spending my times reading that long ass post lol
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Old 08-12-2018, 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by NoLuck4Chuck View Post
I want to see what he can do before spending my times reading that long ass post lol
So you have never read a rewspaper?
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Old 08-12-2018, 09:32 PM
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So you have never read a rewspaper?
It was a joke Francis lol
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Old 08-12-2018, 10:22 PM
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Originally Posted by NoLuck4Chuck View Post
It was a joke Francis lol
The joke failed and made you look simple.
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