'Life retreat' aims to teach players the business of football

WASHINGTON -- The interior of the defensive line can be an intimidating place. Tackles and noseguards know they're going to be hit. But where will the contact come from? Will it be at the point of attack by the person directly across from them, by the blockers on their inside or outside shoulders? Or will it occur just across the line of scrimmage by a guard or tackle pulling from the opposite side?

David Carter was prepared to handle those challenges last year in his rookie season with the Arizona Cardinals. At 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, he was big and agile and confident enough to protect himself. What he was not prepared to deal with were all the other things coming at him -- the business of football, as Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith likes to call it.

"Every player coming into the NFL is walking on eggshells," Carter said Friday night. "There's just so much you don't know."

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