The regular season of the National Football League (NFL) of America runs for eighteen weeks. But just after the first four, the league has honored Emeka Egbuka, of Nigerian heritage, for his talent. This week, the league named Egbuka as the Rookie Offensive Player of the Month of September.
Egbuka plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Bucs). It is the first time a wide receiver on the Bucs has received this honor.
One of the many differences between American football and soccer (what the rest of world calls football) is how the two games classify players.
Soccer, as a game, ebbs and flows and players are on attack or defense, depending on the state of the game at any time. The players switch back and forth in seconds, including those of them who are designated defenders or attackers.
In contrast, NFL players, depending on their role, are on the field only when their team is playing offense, defense or special teams. Egbuka plays only in offense, predominantly as a ball catcher, although he has the build, talent and “hands” (ball catching ability) to play defense.
The NFL recognized Egbuka because they judged him as the rookie who made the most difference to his team’s offense. He made two critical catches in each of the first two games to help the Bucs secure narrow wins in each game. The team lost the fourth game, but one of his catches in that game contributed to making that loss a narrow one.
Egbuka does more for the Bucs than the touchdowns and catches show. Sometimes, he is just a decoy. Because he is always a threat, opposing teams put some of their best defenders on him, leaving another of his teammates to catch or run the ball. Also, he sometimes “blocks” other defenders to enable a teammate to run with the ball. Such “extra” work by a wide receiver contributes greatly to his team’s success, but does not show in the statistics.
Barring injury, Emeka’s fame is only likely to grow. But there may be weeks when he may appear to have done nothing. That will be not because he lost his edge, but because he always has a big target on his back as the best receiver to come out of college this year.
