A man who enjoys going to work

NFL veterans and coaches warn of something called the "rookie wall". It's when an NFL newcomer starts to tire from the daily grind that is NFL life.

You also hear those same players and coaches talk about day-to-day life in the NFL as a job that can be taxing.

But so far this season, Tennessee Titans wide receiver and former Havre High star Marc Mariani has neither hit his "rookie wall" or found his new job taxing.

Instead, Mariani, who is seventh in the NFL in return yardage heading into Sunday's road game at Miami insists he feels fresh and focused at the halfway point of his first season in professional football.

"Guys talk about hitting the wall, but I don't think I'm there yet," Mariani said. "I feel good, my body feels good so far. And I go into work every day excited and ready to go."

And while Mariani knows he's living out a boyhood dream by getting to wake up every day knowing he plays football for a living, it's also not all lights, camera and action. Playing football in the NFL is a daily grind and Mariani repeats his work day throughout every week of the regular season.

And while Mariani's work week is unlike the rest of us — his job all week is to prepare for an all-or-nothing game each Sunday, it's still a day-to-day grind.

But it's one he's enjoying every minute of.

"Early in the week is different, but Wednesday through Friday, it's pretty much the same every day. It's up and at the facility by 7 a.m. and in that time you eat some breakfast, go in for treatment, hot tubbing, icing or whatever you need, and then it's time to go to work."

And work he does. After being at the Titans' facility for the first hour, Mariani's day becomes one of preparing for a football game, of trying to improve as a player and one of intense focus.

"By 8 a.m. it's off to team meetings and those last until about 9:30 or 10 a.m.," Mariani said. "We have offensive meetings, full team meetings and special teams meetings where we go over just about everything.

"Then it's a walk-through at 10:15 a.m.," he added. "That's where we go everything we're going to do for that the week. After that you grab some lunch.

And the structure of Mariani's day doesn't end with hours of meetings and game-planning in the morning. There's still practice, conditioning and lifting, then more prep work.

"We're on the practice field by 11:40 a.m. each day," he said. "It's usually two hours of practice, then right after practice, you have about an hour to get your lifting in for the day. Right after that it's film until about 4 or 4:30 p.m. That's when we watch film from practice, the coaches break down what we're doing and we correct our mistakes, and we watch some film of our next opponent too.

"That's pretty much my typical Wednesday, Thursday and sometimes Friday's," he added. "It's pretty regimented."

And that has been Mariani's work week since the day he found out he made the Titans' 53-man roster, but he's been at work even longer. Really, his job started the day he was drafted by the Titans, and while he's focused on doing the job to the best of his abilities, he's still finding some time for himself as he adjusts to NFL life.

"After we're done for the day, I usually go straight home and take a nap," he laughed. "You have to get your rest in where you can. But during my free time, I've been pretty busy the last six weeks. When you're work day is over, that's when you just live your regular life. We have charity things we do and other engagements, but when you go home, it's just pretty much regular life."

And it's a life Mariani is loving on a daily basis. While many people complain about the weekly grind of work, there's no complaining coming from the former University of Montana All-American. It's a job, yes, and it's one that requires more physical stress on a person's body than most professions in this world, but Mariani is loving it every day, and he's excited about going to work every morning.

"As far as getting worn down or hitting the wall is concerned, I think I'll be ok," Mariani said. "The last two years at Montana, because we went all the way to the national championship game, I played two straight 16-game seasons — that's a lot of football," he said. "So at least in games played, that's no different than an NFL regular season.

"I'm not tired yet, I get up every day excited," he added. "I've learned a lot in the last three months, and while playing in the NFL is certainly an every-day job, it's one I get up excited about each day. I look forward to going to work every day."

Fans can follow Mariani's rookie season with the Titans every Thursday with the Havre Daily News and at http://www.havredailynews.com.