What Are OTAs In Football? Learn Why Teams Have Them

Posted on May 16, 2024

by Run Glasgow

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This NFL off-season may seem like a time of relaxation for the players, but behind the scenes, teams are already preparing for upcoming games. One critical step in this process is Organized Team Activities (OTAs). These voluntary workouts are essential to fostering team unity, implementing game plans, and setting the stage for a successful season.

What Are OTAs Exactly?

OTAs, which stand for Organized Team Activities, basically refer to the “voluntary workouts” that teams participate in post-NFL Draft (typically held in April) before training camps commence in late July or early August. By contrast with training camps and mandatory minicamps, players have no obligation to attend OTAs. Nonetheless, most players prefer going there, as they provide a good chance of getting into top football shape, learning new plays, and bonding with teammates.

Here’s what distinguishes OTAs from other team activities:

• Training Camp: It is an obligatory, intensive period of training with daily practices and heavy physical demands.
• Preseason Games: These are exhibition games that allow teams to test line-ups and strategies before the regular season begins. In contrast, OTAs emphasize drills, film study, and laying some building blocks for the coming season.

The duration and frequency of OTAs also depend on certain factors. This means that teams can only hold up to 10 OTA practices over several weeks, during which certain types of contact drills are banned due to injury prevention measures being implemented.

Why Teams Hold OTAs

Although voluntary in nature (and therefore not easy), there are several reasons why NFL teams have continued holding them over the years. Let’s look at some key reasons why teams make these off-season workouts a priority:

1. Building Team Chemistry and Camaraderie: After such a long break, players take advantage of this opportunity to reconnect and build rapport with each other, which helps them better understand their teammates’ strengths and weaknesses on the field of play.
2. Introducing New Players and Coaches: OTAs are important for ensuring new personnel fit right into the team. New offensive or defensive coordinators who have just joined the team teach veteran players, while rookies adjust to the NFL environment.
3. Implementing Offensive and Defensive Schemes: This is an opportunity for coaches to start teaching their offensive and defensive playbooks to players during this period known as OTAs. Coaches can implement plays and establish a unified philosophy through drills and classroom sessions, involving everyone from quarterbacks to linemen.
4. Evaluating Player Skills and Conditioning: After the off-season break, there will naturally be some decline in a person’s conditioning level. At OTAs, coaches can see where each player currently stands regarding his fitness, football-specific skills, etc. Through this assessment, they would then know which ones needed more work on certain areas of weakness, hence setting up training programs specifically intended for them.
5. Addressing Weaknesses and Fine-tuning Strategies: The team’s challenges become apparent after reviewing game films from last season and watching how each player performs during OTAs. Consequently, such knowledge can be very useful when it comes to fixing weaknesses that were identified, perfecting already existing strategies, or even trying out various formations or plays that might improve performance on average.

Behind-the-Scenes: Look at the Structure of OTAs

Now that we have an insight into what OTAs mean, let us take a peek at what happens inside the walls of these facilities during an ordinary OTA session:

• Schedule and format: OTAs typically go on for a few weeks with practices that last for a couple of hours. To maximize learning, the format organizes both fieldwork and classroom sessions.
• On-field Drills and Activities: These sessions consist of both individual and team drills. Players participate in conditioning exercises, practice specific plays and techniques, and work on drills that make them more agile and faster or increase their general football knowledge. However, unlike training camps, OTAs prohibit full-contact drills.
• Classroom Sessions and Film Study: OTA sessions also allow classroom instruction time as well as film review time. Coaches break down plays, explain game strategies, and use game footage to show areas to improve upon. This enables the players to gain a deeper understanding of how they fit into the team’s overall scheme.
• Role of Coaches and Staff: In OTAs, coaches are very important. Among other things, they lead drills, offer instructions, and provide valuable feedback to the players. The team’s trainers actively focus on player safety issues and develop conditioning programs.

Benefits of OTAs: Building a Cohesive Unit

Despite being voluntary, participating in OTAs has several benefits at both the team and individual levels:

• Improved Teamwork and Communication: OTAs give players—both veterans and rookies—an opportunity to have more exposure to each other, including coaches. This early interaction allows for better cooperation between teammates while playing on the ground for success.
• Accelerated Learning Curve for Players: Rookies, along with newly acquired players, can utilize these periods to familiarize themselves with their teams’ offensive and defensive schemes, as well as the overall system. This approach gives them a head start and enhances their effectiveness when training camps begin.
• Enhanced Performance During the Regular Season: OTAs, where teams can install offense and defense plays, work on conditioning, and identify strengths and weaknesses, lead to an improvement in performance during regular season campaigns.
• Reduced Risk of Injuries Through Gradual Conditioning: The OTAs enable players to gradually increase their physical activity following the off-season break. It’s a controlled environment that minimizes the risk of injury as compared to a more intense training camp.

Criticisms and Challenges

However, despite the many benefits associated with them, there are several criticisms in addition to the challenges faced by OTAs:

• Limited Contact and Physicality in OTAs: Due to safety concerns, contact drills are restricted during OTAs. It may limit the effectiveness of practicing some plays and strategies that involve physicality.
• Potential for Player Burnout and Fatigue: Some players have expressed fatigue concerns, as well as potential burnout, due to the addition of OTAs on top of their already demanding NFL schedule.
• Balancing OTAs with Player Rest and Recovery: It is crucial for both teams and the NFL Players Association to find a balance between maximizing OTA benefits while at the same time allowing adequate rest and recovery periods for players.

Conclusion

OTAs significantly support the NFL team’s preparation for the rigors of the regular season. They are a chance to establish rapport, teach plays, and build up a player. Teams still use OTAs as a bridge between seasons, despite challenges such as player workload and restrictions against being too harsh on them. To achieve this objective, we can expect further evolution in OTA practices as the NFL continues to improve its operations while adapting to technological advancements that ensure all players develop optimally to enhance team preparedness.