OFFENSE
Position: Running Back
Brainteaser: The Blitz Pickup
When your job is to collide with a linebacker who weighs 50 pounds more than you do and who is running at full speed, it helps to distract yourself from the one thing sure to get your quarterback clocked: fear. So in the moments before New England's Corey Dillon picks up a blitz, two parts of his brain go into action: the prefrontal cortex (1), where the sense of safety is generated, and the cerebrum (5), the tactical war room. Through repetition, Dillon creates a false sense of safety. Essentially, the more often you repeat a behavior—even a dangerous one—the more your brain comes to see it as safe (window cleaners and firemen pull the same trick). But Dillon also distracts his brain by plotting an attack on the oncoming pass-rusher. When facing a bull-rushing linebacker, he'll choose how to cut-block him. For more speedy pass-rushers, Dillon will focus on keeping his hands high and between the shoulders. "It's all about setting people up," he says. But it's also about occupying his mind so that it's not consumed by fear: "The defense can see when you're afraid to block, because you hesitate." And that's when QBs start getting hurt.
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Five Blitz-Resistant Backs
1. Corey Dillon, Patriots
2. Thomas Jones,Bears
3. Ladainian Tomlinson, Chargers
4. Marion Barber, Cowboys
5. Joseph Addai, Colts
Position: Wide Receiver
Brainteaser: Catching In Traffic
In the world of the NFL (No Free Lunch), catches over the middle are costly. "You have to take the hits," says Chicago wideout Muhsin Muhammad. The secret to success? Focusing on reward rather than risk. Studies show that when we anticipate pain, the brain's pain matrix (which includes the thalamus (12), insula (7) and cerebellum (8) kicks into action before the hurt has even taken place. So anticipating the hit of a hard-charging safety is just as effective in preventing a catch as the hit itself (think alligator arms). "If you anticipate contact," Muhammad explains, "you might not reach for the ball." Wideouts who thrive over the middle are those who create virtual tunnel vision, training themselves to ignore the peripheral blur of an oncoming DB by keeping their eyes on the ball, courtesy of their vision-controlling occipital and parietal lobes. Out of sight, out of mind.
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Five Reckless Receivers
1. Muhsin Muhammad, Bears
2. Marques Colston, Saints
3. Derrick Mason, Ravens
4. Darrell Jackson, Seahawks
5. Terrell Owens, Cowboys
Position Offensive Tackle
Brainteaser: The Edge Rush
After 10 years of operating on the edge for the Seahawks, Walter Jones has seen every D-line trick in the book. More important, each one is logged in his hippocampus (9), where long-term memories are stored and made available for instant recall. That's crucial for O-linemen, who are always reacting to chicanery. So when a pass-rushing defensive end feigns like he's beat by letting up, Jones doesn't bite—he knows to stay square to his man because there's a spin move on the way. "I've always gotta be thinking about what this guy is gonna try to do to beat me," he says. Jones also knows that the most effective tool against a DE with a big motor is to wear him out. "I keep my hands on him and do all I can to make him have a rough day." The resulting fatigue—which Jones hopes to make greater than his own—takes a toll on his opponent's brain, decreasing levels of serotonin. That can result in mood swings (taking a dumb penalty) and decreased sensory perception (missing a read), which is enough to throw even Dwight Freeney off his game.
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Five Learned Linemen
1. Walter Jones, Seahawks
2. Tarik Glenn, Colts
3. Jonathan Ogden, Ravens
4. John Tait, Bears
5. Matt Light, Patriots
Position: Quarterback
Brainteaser: The Red Zone Pass
When a defense knows you have to pass inside the red zone, a QB's mind is under siege, the margin for error nonexistent. The primary task at hand? Analyzing variables with a clear head. "You try to get as much information as you can," says Saints QB Drew Brees, "so once the ball is snapped, you're just reacting." The problem is that the brain's temporal lobe (6), which processes sound, gets an earful. Says Brees: "It's loud, but not because of the crowd. I'm hearing the calls from the O-line, plus the defense is shouting at me." The solution for Brees—who at his ideal line of scrimmage would see everything but hear nothing—is to block out the noise by getting lost in his brain's Broca's area (3), where information is processed into reason. "I check my progressions across the line. One, two, three, then run. Is the backside open? Then I'm thinking about how to alter my delivery, arm angle and ball placement based upon each defender's position. Then you can just make the play." Oh yeah, just like that.
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Five Clear-Thinking QBS
1. Peyton Manning, Colts
2. Tom Brady, Patriots
3. Drew Brees, Saints
4. Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks
5. Steve Mcnair, Ravens
SPECIAL TEAMS
Position: Kicker
Brainteaser: The Gimme Field Goal
Philly kicker David Akers says the key to the dreaded gimme field goal is to "take your brain out of the equation." It's about rhythm, not ritual. Like a golfer waggling his club, once his leg feels right on the sideline, Akers stops the practice kicks and clears his mind of everything—like distance and wind conditions—to let his body take over. "It's not a Zen thing," he says. "It's a reminder to relax and let my training and muscle memory kick in." Sounds simple. It isn't. To prevent his brain's emotional command center, the hypothalamus (11), from cranking out anxiety Akers, over eight years in the NFL, has guzzled gallons of pregame Pepto-Bismol. It helps he's had stints as a substitute teacher, a waiter and, worse, in NFL Europe. Along the way, he's learned to train his brain to remain calm by pressurizing every kick he attempts, even in practice, and to behave like a cartoon flip book, each page a different fundamental stored in Akers' cerebellum, which controls repetitive movement. When all goes to plan, the kick unfolds like a short movie. With a happy ending.
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Five Cool Kickers
1. Adam Vinatieri, Colts
2. David Akers, Eagles
3. Matt Stover, Ravens
4. Nate Kaeding, Chargers
5. Robbie Gould, Bears
DEFENSE
Position: Cornerback
Brainteaser: The Open-Field Tackle
Charles Tillman doesn't think. When Chicago's supercharged cornerback is the only thing standing between a running back and six, all he does is react, fueled by adrenaline surging to his amygdala (10), the almond-shape area of the brain responsible for primal emotions. "You can never be too aggressive," Tillman says. "It's all about getting that man down." But with ferocity comes fear of failure—phobias hitchhike the same neural pathways of the brain—and in the back of Tillman's mind, he knows he's the last line of defense. That's where "short memory" comes in. Turns out, that concept has been proven to be real. Research shows that short-term memories stored by the brain's visuospatial sketchpad (2), which includes the parietal and occipital lobes, can be quickly overwritten with new experiences and thoughts. Of course, that's more true for some people (say, professional golfers after a bad shot) and less for others (say, you, swinging from the bunker). And it's especially true for big time D-backs. "You can never dwell on anything," Tillman says. "You're only as good as your last play."
Position Defensive Lineman
Brainteaser: The Goal-Line Stop
Almost to a man, Jamal Williams' teammates describe the 6'3", 348-pound nose tackle as mild mannered. To prepare for the barely-incontrol havoc needed along the goal line, Williams takes himself to a more intense place. It begins with a chain reaction of taunting, fistpumping and general feverishness, which he's been known to punctuate by loudly daring opposing coaches to go for it on fourth and goal. The ritual raises his blood pressure, prompts his adrenal glands to pump juice to his amygdala and engages his brain's anterior cingulate gyrus (4), which controls vocal emotion (adding true menace to his voice) and administers negative psychic stimuli (bad thoughts = violent outbursts). This self-induced insanity ends with his exploding into an offensive lineman's chest. "I'm not crazy, but my mind goes completely blank," Williams says of his ritual. "Then I blast them. It's fun." For him, anyway.
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Five Demonic D-Linemen
1. Jamal Williams, Chargers
2. Richard Seymour, Patriots
3. Brian Young, Saints
4. Haloti Ngata, Ravens
5. Mike Patterson, Eagles
Position: Inside Linebacker
Brainteaser: The Zone Drop
As physically challenging as man coverage is, it's the most instinctive task for a linebacker: Find your guy, go where he goes. But playing in a zone, Chicago's Brian Urlacher will tell you, requires a 'backer to stay put and analyze the field—suspending his strongest instinct. "It's difficult to be disciplined in those situations," Urlacher says. "It's hard to stay in one place and not chase guys." How does he focus? Practice, practice, practice. A recent Duke study showed that repetition sparks neuro priming, a process in which the brain conserves its resources by putting repeated behaviors on autopilot. If Urlacher has practiced the zone enough during the week, his brain will go on cruise control in that coverage on Sunday, freeing its thought areas for other tasks—like, say, figuring out where the QB is going with the ball or whether he should keep an eye on the RB or the TE. "I'm responsible for two or three guys when we're in zone," he says. "There's a lot to think about." And it's a lot easier when you're standing still.
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Five Locked-In Linebackers
1. Brian Urlacher, Bears
2. Ray Lewis, Ravens
3. Donnie Edwards, Chargers
4. Lofa Tatupu, Seahawks
5. Tedy Bruschi, Patriots